Cafe Laurent, The Corner, Pinkberry

Started the day with a run by Cafe Laurent in Culver City. Yesterday I stopped by late afternoon and they were closed, which was sorely disappointing because it had been two days since any (worthwhile) pastry. The cafe mocha was tasty, similar to a hot chocolate. It may have had real whip cream on top, but the coffee was too hot to verify before it melted away (not a downside, coffee is best hot of course...if I hadn't been driving the whip cream wouldn't have dispersed). For pastry satisfaction I picked up an almond croissant and a raisin pastry. After having a plain/butter croissant from their stall at the Santa Monica farmer's market (great flavor, but texture was a bit stale), unfortunately the almond croissant was a dissapointment; not as flavorful (butter-wise), even more stale, and instead of crafting an almond croissant from the start they had taken a plain croissant and dressed it up. Somehow they taste better if they start out trying to be a filled croissant instead of being sliced in two and filled at a later time. Anyway, enough of the downside...the raisin pastry was excellent and is now on my list of top pastries. The raisin pastry had raisins in each bite, but the pastry dough had excellent flavor for a wonderful balance between the two. Slightly sweet, with a great texture though just the tiniest bit too chewy for my preferences.

Top pastries (so far) around Santa Monica:
1. plain croissant from Le Pain Quotidien
2. raisin pastry from Cafe Laurent (the cafe itself)
3. plain croissant from Cafe Larent (Santa Monica's farmer's market)
4. apple tart from Amandine

Unfortunately, the server/barrista (perhaps owner?) let me know that the pastries are made in a bakery that is not accessible to the public, ruining dreams of fresh croissants. So sad, but will soldier on.

For dinner we had our first experience at The Corner in Marina del Ray, but probably not our last. Burgers made to order. The meat itself was fine-to-good, properly cooked Medium. Bread looked whole-wheat, though it wasn't the reason to go back. Sweet potato fries were tasty but not super crispy; fried pickle slices were fine (with a great apricot dipping sauce that overwhelmed the pickle flavor); and the two shakes were pretty tasty (strawberry) and ok (chocolate). But none of that is the reason I will probably be returning: the burger toppings. I went with red onions, lettuce, pickles, excellent bacon, hard boiled eggs, and sharp provolone with a soy glaze on the side. Wonderful flavor. Onions and pickles were mild...egg went even better on a burger than I had expected. Very tasty blend of flavors, and with so many toppings, cheeses, and sauces I won't be running out of flavors to try anytime soon. Perhaps carrots and guacamole next time...with grilled onions. Only low note was that so much salt made me very thirsty later in the night.

Finished off the night with a parfait from Pinkberry. My second experience and I continue to love the tart (original) flavor of the frozen yogurt and the super-bright flavor of all the fruit toppings. The parfait is recommended if you don't mind granola in your frozen yogurt and you want to try most (all?) of their fruits/berries. Pinkberry will probably be my go-to dessert choice unless I find a good gelato place like the one in Mountain View, CA.