In Venice: New are Whole Foods and Gjelina, but where do you go if you have only $2.50?
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Venice has been on a roll lately, with the opening of Gjelina on Abbot Kinney and now with a new Whole Foods Market on the corner of Rose and Lincoln. And although you might need a GPS locator or a treasure map to spot Gjelina (neither actual sign nor valet parking yet), finding the huge Whole Foods won’t be a problem.
The new store is 48,000 square feet of the usual organic and eco-friendly rah-rahs, with a gelato bar, made-to-order sushi and a chocolate fountain (at left). Gjelina is pretty snazzy too. It has an outside patio with comfy couch and fire pit, cool wine bottle chandeliers, and pizzas cooked in a wood-burning oven (see here for restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila’s first look).
But if you have only $2.50 in cash, as I did the other night, you’re unlikely to find anything much in your price range at either place. What you will find, however, is La Oaxaquena taco truck, which is parked on Lincoln at Rose most nights. For $2.50 you can get two of the best carne asada tacos on the Westside. No valet parking necessary.
Gjelina, 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 450-1429; Whole Foods Market, 225 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, (310) 566-9480; La Oaxaquena, on Lincoln at Rose, Venice.
-- Amy Scattergood
(Photo of Whole Foods chocolate fountain by Amy Scattergood)
