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Archive for Tar & Roses

Tar and Roses Redux

Dec25

Restaurant: Tar & Roses [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 602 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 587-0700

Date: July 16, 2021

Cuisine: American Tapas

Rating: Has not only held up but improved

_

Tar & Roses is a new American tapas-style place in Santa Monica, loosely in the vein of Rustic Canyon or Gjelina. Despite the relative crowding of this market, it’s an extremely popular addition.

The Chef & Owner is Andrew Kirschner, a Santa Monica-native who grew up in a family with a strong appreciation for travel, food and wine, Chef Andrew Kirschner initiated his cooking education at the age of fifteen with a summer job in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Like many great chefs, his culinary journey started as a job, but quickly turned into a passion. After Kirschner became the sous chef for Chadwick in Beverly Hills, and then a chef/partner at the popular neighborhood spot Table 8 in West Hollywood, where he met and bonded with his Tar & Roses sous chef, Jacob Wildman.

Years ago (2015) I had a few issues with service here, but after some good takeout experiences during lockdown decided to head back in summer of 2021 with my parents and family.


The space is airy and pleasant.

 

There is a nice patio too (not pictured) which is actually where we sat on this particular day.1A4A9990
The current menu.
1A4A9995
YELLOWTAIL CRUDO. Citrus / Avocado / Jalapeño / White Soy. Very zesty.

1A4A9997
OXTAIL DUMPLINGS. San Bai Su / Chili / Green Onion. Super tasty with a lot of umami.1A4A0004
MOORISH MARINATED LAMB KABOB. Banana Raita / Harissa. Nice grilled lamb flavor.
1A4A0010
BABY ARTICHOKES. Garlic Confit / Parmesan / Lemon Yogurt / Mint.
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BALSAMIC GLAZED RIBS. Aleppo Pepper / Fried Basil. Awesome.
1A4A0019
Wood roasted baby carrots.
1A4A0026
SQUID INK FETTUCINI. Octopus / Blistered Tomato / Basil.
1A4A0032
From my cellar: 1996 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 91 points. Hazy, sour cherry, sous bois.

I brought another wine too a NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 168eme — but forgot to photo it.1A4A0036
SHELLFISH POT. Scallops / Clams / Mussels / Shrimp / Maitake / Curry. The broth was awesome with a very strong southeast Asian flavor.
1A4A0041
ALASKAN KING SALMON. Tiny Beans / Escarole / Tomato / Salsa Verde.
1A4A0053
WHOLE FRIED SNAPPER FOR TWO. Cold Soba Noodles / Dipping Sauce. Fabulous dish. The fish sauce (not pictured) really made the dish.
1A4A0045
EGGPLANT. Crispy Garlic / Chili / Slivered Almonds. Hints of both Middle Eastern and Chinese.
1A4A0064
KING TRUMPET MUSHROOMS. Soft Egg / Rosemary.

Overall, this was an excellent meal. The patio was great in the “mid-late covid era” and service was good. I think the food has tightened and brightened up a bit since their early days. I liked the variety of mildly exotic influences — and the flavors were strong.

Everyone really enjoyed it.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Tar & Roses
  2. Tar & Roses got your Goat?
  3. Goat Herding at Tar & Roses
  4. Rustic Canyon Redux
  5. Hayato Redux
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Champagne, Family, fish, Kurg, Tar & Roses, Volnay, Wine

Goat Herding at Tar & Roses

May27

Restaurant: Tar & Roses [1, 2, 3]

Location: 602 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 587-0700

Date: May 19, 2015

Cuisine: American Tapas

Rating: The goat itself was good

_

Tar & Roses is a relatively new American tapas-style place in Santa Monica, loosely in the vein of Rustic Canyon or Gjelina. Despite the relative crowding of this market, it’s an extremely popular addition.

The Chef & Owner is Andrew Kirschner, a Santa Monica-native who grew up in a family with a strong appreciation for travel, food and wine, Chef Andrew Kirschner initiated his cooking education at the age of fifteen with a summer job in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Like many great chefs, his culinary journey started as a job, but quickly turned into a passion. After Kirschner became the sous chef for Chadwick in Beverly Hills, and then a chef/partner at the popular neighborhood spot Table 8 in West Hollywood, where he met and bonded with his Tar & Roses sous chef, Jacob Wildman.

One of our Hedonist founders is a part owner, and he secured us a big table for the special goat dinner.


The space is airy and pleasant.


Albiet a little loud.

Okay, and before we get into the food and wine like me discuss the menu. In order to get the “goat” you have to order the “goat dinner” with all its “accompaniments.” That is fine, but technically they don’t allow you to order anything else with it! And the dinner was totally insufficient in terms of course numbers (it’s a reasonable amount of food, but not balanced) for our wine consumption. We had to beg them to sell us some extra courses, to which they reluctantly agreed. The goat dinner is just 3 courses: salad, goat, and dessert.


2005 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. VM 93. The 2005 Brut Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons from Pierre Peters is beautifully open and expressive, which is quite unusual in young Chetillons. That is good news for those who want to catch a glimpse of one of Champagne’s most exciting wines. This is about as good as it gets in what turned out to be a very challenging vintage in Champagne.

From my cellar: 1999 Louis Jadot Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 91. Big, powerful and rich aromatics of honey, oak spice and limestone merging into intense, medium weight flavors and a penetrating, relatively fine finish. While not especially big or complex by the standards of classic Bâtard, it is quite intense with beautifully textured, luxuriant, almost opulent flavors.

agavin 94: Our bottle was drinking fabulously tonight. Fresh, but mature, and in a perfect rounded spot. Wine wine of the night for sure.

Charred gem lettuce/ dates / pancetta / gorgonzola / balsamic. We all hated this salad. It was warm, which I don’t liked, limp, and had very little flavor. Even the bacon didn’t save it. Two other tables we talked to had the same reaction.


2004 Sine Qua Non The Rejuvenators. VM 93. Pale yellow-straw color. Aromas of apricot nectar, nuts, exotic herbs and dried fruits. Dense, rich and oily, but with plenty of verve for a wine with such volume. Dominant flavors of apricot and peach nectar, complicated by talc and minerals. Wonderfully consistent, ripe, thick wine from start to palate-staining finish.

agavin 92: Very interesting and complex Rhone style white.

This is the first of the four extra courses we squeezed in between the salad and the main course.

Softshell crab. A very nice lightly battered take on the thin shelled crustacean. One of the two very good appetizers.

From my cellar: 1993 Domaine Bruno Clair Vosne-Romanée Champs Perdrix. agavin 88. I was a bit disappointed. This wine wasn’t fully balanced, with a bit of an earthy/bretty tone, although it had lots of bright red fruits still.

lamb tartar / banana raita / grilled naan / za’atar. Okay, but lacked a bit of umph.

1988 Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 90. This too is very fresh, in fact fresher than the Clos de Vougeot with a beguiling mix of spice and secondary aromas that lead to big, intense, firmly structured flavors that have plenty of sweet pinot sap to buffer the solid tannins. This is quite long, in fact the longest of these bottled wines and delivers unmistakable Vosne character. It remains a creature of its vintage and the finish is austere and masculine in style but there is plenty of volume and flavor authority. This will live for years.

agavin 93: Drinking very nice. Balanced without that austerity a lot of 88s have.

oxtail dumplings / san bai su / chili / green onion. These were great and we ordered an extra round (1 per person). Very succulent and full of flavor.

1982 Château Brane-Cantenac. VM 85. Full red-ruby. Slightly funky aromas of baked plum, cedar, meat and leather. Rich and layered in the mouth, with exotic, slightly candied red fruit and leather flavors. Finishes a bit hard-edged and green.

agavin 90: drinking pretty well right now, I wouldn’t hold though.

1998 Tertre Rôteboeuf. VM 94. Deep, bright ruby. Wild, highly nuanced nose combines black cherry, raspberry, roast coffee, smoked meat, exotic spices and pepper notes. Incredibly sweet and rich in the mouth; creamy, confectionery fruit caresses the palate. Finishes with lush, completely ripe tannins and explosive fruit flavors. One of the superstars of the vintage; a wine that will give pleasure early and age well.

agavin: seriously Bordy

1989 Château Palmer. Parker 96. One of the superstars of the vintage, Palmer’s 1989 retains a dark plum/purple color with some pink and a hint of amber creeping in at the rim. A big nose of charcoal, white flowers (acacia?), licorice, plums, and black currants comes from the glass of this elegant, medium to full-bodied, very concentrated, seamlessly made wine. Gorgeous and seemingly fully mature yet brilliantly balanced, this wine may well turn out to be a modern-day clone of the glorious 1953.

agavin: drinking well enough, young if anything.

braised lamb belly / minted apple chutney. Lot bad, but not standout either.

2002 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz). Parker 99. The 2002 Syrah Astralis Vineyard rivals the greatest wines Roman Bratasiuk has made in his 15-year career. This compelling, black/blue-hued offering from 75-year-old Syrah vines tastes like blood of the vine. An extraordinary perfume of flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, roasted meat, new saddle leather, and earth is followed by a wine with sweet tannin, sensational concentration, full body, an unctuous texture, and a full-throttle, tannic finish. Yet it reveals unbelievable elegance and finesse. Too many Euro-centric elitists argue that Australian wines are too rich and over the top, but all of these offerings have been made by someone with great talent and vision who takes the extraordinary ripeness and purity of fruit available from these old vine vineyards and crafts them into wines that are quite European in style … just richer and denser. The 2002 Astralis is a tour de force. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025+.

agavin: vanilla grape juice and hot hot hot.

2006 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 92-97. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, which was just released, is a stunningly rich effort displaying notes of licorice, cassis, camphor and subtle toast along with a full-bodied, powerful texture and richness. Very pure with surprisingly sweet tannins for a 2006, it’s long finish lasts over 40 seconds. It should drink well for 25+ years.

2007 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Parker 100. One of the perfect wines from Shafer is the 2007 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Think it over – in the first decade of the 21st century, Shafer scored three perfect scores and two 99s – that’s about as high a praise as I can give any producer in the world. Opaque purple in color, the 2007 has a stunning nose of sweet crème de cassis, black cherries, licorice, and toasty oak, a multilayered, full-throttle personality, and a texture that builds and builds. Great purity, fabulous fruit intensity and a richness without heaviness characterize this massive, prodigious effort from Shafer. It’s still very young, despite this vintage, which seems to be maturing precociously. I don’t believe this wine will hit its stride for at least another 5-10 years and drink well for at least 2-3 decades.

agavin: brooding monster fruit bomb

2001 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch. Parker 100. While I am not surprised that the 2001 Thorevilos turned out to be perfect, the 2001 Madrona Ranch was more of an eye-opener in that it has become even more extraordinary than I predicted eight years ago. A prodigious wine, with complex notes of subtle barbecue smoke intermixed with blueberry pie, black currant liqueur, acacia flowers, lead pencil shavings, and sweet foresty floor notes, this wine builds incrementally with layer upon layer of fruit, glycerin and concentration. The finish goes well past a minute, and the wine is full-bodied and deep, with wonderfully sweet tannin. It is still an adolescent in terms of its total evolution, but it is irresistible simply because of the flawless nature of the wine and incredible perfume and flavor intensity. Simply amazing! Both of these wines are adolescents, and probably won’t peak for another 5-8 years and keep for 30-40.

agavin: This was an awesome monster. Certainly BWOTN (big wine of the night), although I actually found the 88 vosne more drinkable (my taste).

Roasted goat. This was hands down the best goat meat I’ve ever had! Soft, juicy, tender, and full of flavor. Like a good roast lamb, but not as “spicy” (in that lamb way). This is a special advance order. Apparently, the goat is prepped with Moroccan spices and then slow cooked overnight using Controlled Vapor Technology, before being transferred to the wood burning oven.

This isn’t tired and chewy like so many goats.

Cous cous with pine-nuts and vegetables. It is what it is.

Sauces (presumably for the goat): banana raita. Would have been far better as NOT BANANA raita.

Romesco / Harissa (aren’t they really almost the same thing?). This was the best of the lot.

Tomatoes. Personal yuck.

Carrots with yogurt tzatziki and currents. Really tasty combo with a bit of a Moroccan flair to it. Not bad, but not super exciting either.

Bones!

Tar bar. Hazelnuts / Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Yum!

Strawberry ricotta crostata / honeycomb ice cream. Very tasty.

Overall, this was an okay meal. The food was uneven, with certain dishes being very good (goat, crab, pasta) and some being mediocre, and the salad lousy. Service was not great, particularly given that we were a big party containing an owner. It took some pushing to get extra dishes, and when we asked for fries or potatoes later in the meal they “were out of them.” Potatoes being a rather basic kitchen ingredient, we were a little suspicious. We also had a number of fights over the heaters on the patio (which were numerous and turned up to broil). They just didn’t want to turn them off.

We can’t help but have the feeling that Tar & Roses is coasting on its momentum and success. Restaurants should never grow complacent — far far too much competition.

The wines were good though!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more crazy Hedonist meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Tar & Roses got your Goat?
  2. Memorial Day Pig
  3. Tar & Roses
  4. Big and Bold on the Beach
  5. Tai Sui – Froggy Goats
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: goat, hedonists, Tar & Roses

Tar & Roses got your Goat?

Aug19

Restaurant: Tar & Roses [1, 2]

Location: 602 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 587-0700

Date: August 15, 2013

Cuisine: American Tapas

Rating: Awesome goat!

_

Tar & Roses is a relatively new American tapas-style place in Santa Monica, loosely in the vein of Rustic Canyon or Gjelina. Despite the relative crowding of this market, it’s a welcome — and extremely popular — addition.

The Chef & Owner is Andrew Kirschner, a Santa Monica-native who grew up in a family with a strong appreciation for travel, food and wine, Chef Andrew Kirschner initiated his cooking education at the age of fifteen with a summer job in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Like many great chefs, his culinary journey started as a job, but quickly turned into a passion. After Kirschner became the sous chef for Chadwick in Beverly Hills, and then a chef/partner at the popular neighborhood spot Table 8 in West Hollywood, where he met and bonded with his Tar & Roses sous chef, Jacob Wildman.

One of our Hedonist founders is a part owner, and he secured us a couple big tables for a blow out food and wine evening.


The space is airy and pleasant.


Albiet a little loud.


1982 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon. Parker 96. Beautiful nose packed with bread and loads of burnt butter. Also plenty of espresso and newly toasted coffee beans. A insanely nice palate with a lot of density of flavors. Butter and toasted bread with a little caramel in the aftertaste. Mid-palate has a nice structure with red/brown apples. Overall it is still juicy and well-rounded.

One of the best champagnes I’ve had!


1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused round intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.


The charcuterie and cheese board.


2001 Marcassin Chardonnay. I didn’t catch the exact version (there are several) but this was a very good Cal Chard with a lot of oak still on it.


1979 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet. Unfortunately, gone.


Charred gem lettuce/ dates / pancetta / gorgonzola / balsamic.


2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 93. I have not had this since cask and the bottle in question had a tattered label though no apparent seepage. As such¡ it’s difficult to know whether this bottle was indeed representative as it seemed relatively supple and forward¡ indeed more or less ready to drink. To be sure¡ there was no obvious secondary nuances in evidence and still good freshness to the rich¡ intense and vibrant flavors brimming with minerality on the impressively long finish. Impeccably stored bottles might need another few years to arrive at their peak but absent this bottle being an aberration¡ I don’t think that opening one today would be infanticide.


popped corn / crisp bacon / brown sugar / chili.


1989 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Burghound 87. Lovely fruit that is clearly maturing though there are no traces of sous bois that leads to medium weight, very firm flavors underpinned by rather tough mid-palate tannins that continue on to the moderately long finish. Th ’89 Clos de Bèze is a wine of adequate quality but the borderline hard tannins mar the finish and it’s not evident that the fruit will ever hang on long enough for the tannins to resolve themselves.


Bone marrow/ onion marmalade / sea salt / sourdough.


1985 Château Mouton Rothschild. Parker 90. The rich, complex, well-developed bouquet of oriental spices, toasty oak, herbs, and ripe fruit is wonderful. On the palate, the wine is also rich, forward, long, and sexy. It ranks behind both Haut-Brion and Chateau Margaux in 1985. I am surprised by how evolved and ready to drink this wine is. Readers looking for a big, boldly constructed Mouton should search out other vintages, as this is a tame, forward, medium-weight wine that is close to full maturity. It is capable of lasting another 15+ years. This estate compares their 1985 to their 1959, but to me it is more akin to their 1962 or 1953.


Roasted goat. This was hands down the best goat I’ve ever had! Soft, juicy, tender, and full of flavor. Like a good roast lamb, but not as “spicy” (in that lamb way). This is a special advance order. Apparently, the goat is prepped with Moroccan spices and then slow cooked overnight using Controlled Vapor Technology, before being transferred to the wood burning oven.

This isn’t tired and chewy like so many goats.


1985 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Parker 92. Consistently a low to mid-ninety point Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Montelena’s 1985 remains frightfully backward at nearly ten years of age. The 1985, 1987, and 1991 have the potential to be three of the longest-lived Montelena Cabernets this fine winery has ever produced. In this tasting, the 1985 was unevolved and youthful, with an opaque ruby/purple color, and a closed but promising nose of cassis fruit, earth, minerals, and oak. Full-bodied, marvelously concentrated and pure, this highly extracted, muscular, blockbuster effort requires a minimum of 5-6 more years of cellaring. A candidate for 20-30 years of longevity, it should prove to be one of the great Montelena Cabernet Sauvignons, but patience is required.


Cous cous with pine-nuts and vegetables.


1997 P Antinori Tignanello Vino da Tavola. Parker 93. The 1997 Tignanello is a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, aged in small French oak casks for 12 months, and bottled with no filtration. It possesses a dense, ruby/purple color, and an expansive nose of black currants, cherry compote, vanillin, and earth. Sweet, jammy, and opulently-textured, this expansive, concentrated, low acid wine is flashy and gorgeously-proportioned. It should drink well for 10-15 years, although who can ignore it now?


Carrots with yogurt tzatziki and currents. Really tasty combo with a bit of a Moroccan flair to it.


1994 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline. Parker 96-98. The great glories of this house are its Cote Roties, of which there are now five separate offerings. The single-vineyard 1994s were singing loudly when I saw them in July. All of them scored significantly higher than they did during the two previous years, which is not unusual as Guigal’s upbringing (elevage) of the wines results in better examples in the bottle than in cask. All three wines flirt with a perfect score. At this tasting, they reminded me of Guigal’s 1982s – opulent, sumptuously-textured, forward, rich, precocious, flattering wines that will drink well throughout their lives. The 1994 Cote Rotie La Mouline possesses extraordinary intensity. A dark ruby/purple color is followed by a penetrating nose of sweet black raspberry fruit intertwined with aromas of coconut and apricots. Jammy black fruits continue on the palate of this full-bodied, silky-textured, sumptuously-styled wine that is glorious to drink – even from barrel. It is an amazing La Mouline that offers all the elegance, suppleness, and sexiness this cru merits. It should drink well upon its release in 1998, and last for 15 more years. Guigal is one of the cellars where the wines always taste better after they are bottled than they do from cask, although as the scores in this segment indicate, some profound wines can be found in the 1994, 1995, and 1996 vintages Chez Guigal.


Sauces (presumably for the goat), yogurt, tomatoes, and romesco. The yogurt was great with the goat.


1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 96. The prodigious 1997 Insignia (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Petit-Verdot) lives up to its pre-bottling promise. Tasted on three separate occasions, every bottle has hit the bull’s eye. The color is a saturated thick-looking blue/purple. The nose offers up explosive aromas of jammy black fruits, licorice, Asian spices, vanillin, and cedar. Full-bodied as well as exceptionally pure and impressively endowed, this blockbuster yet surprisingly elegant wine cuts a brilliant swath across the palate. A seamless effort with beautifully integrated acidity, sweet tannin, and alcohol, it is still an infant, but can be drunk with considerable pleasure.


Whole fried snapper for two / cold soba noodles / dipping sauce. This was unfortunately for the other table, but it looked good!


1991 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard. Parker 95. I had inserted this wine in a blind tasting. I did not know where it would appear, but I knew it would be in the tasting, and I was able to pick it out when it was served. However, the rest of the tasters thought it was a large-scaled Bordeaux from the Medoc. This magnificent California Cabernet offers that exciting blend of power and elegance. The opaque purple color is followed by copious quantities of sweet, mineral, licorice, floral-laden, blackcurrant fruit, full body, exceptional purity, good underlying, well-integrated acidity and tannin, and a whoppingly long finish. Typical of many top California wines, it combines magnificent richness and ripeness with a sense of gracefulness and complexity. Although young, it is soft enough to be enjoyed. Look for the 1991 Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon to age effortlessly for another 20-25 years.


Bucatini tonnato / albacore tuna / blistered tomato / breadcrumb. Almost like the classic “cheese and pepper” pasta from Italy.


1985 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie Cote Blonde. Parker 91. A fully mature wine, Rostaing’s Cote Blonde is much more velvety than the tannic La Landonne. Voluptuous on the palate, with an intense bouquet of roasted nuts and ripe, jammy black-raspberry and cassis fruit, this wine offers a smorgasbord of exotic aromas and flavors.


1969 Moulin Touchais Anjou Doué La Fontaine. Drinking surprisingly nicely for such an old wine.


Strawberry ricotta crostata / honeycomb ice cream.


2006  Vinsanto Santorini. Also a nice dessert wine.


Tar bar. Hazelnuts / Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Yum!


2002 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux. Burghound 88-91. The first wine to display any reduction though there is ample wood spice in evidence. The flavors are rich, round and delicious with a lovely sappy quality though the wood sweetens and blurs the finish. There is good structure and solid density and while this will never completely lose the wood influence, there is a good chance that it will largely integrate over time.

Drinking fabulously. Mugneret is a really great producer.


Sticky toffee pudding / whipped cream. Good stuff too.

Overall, this was a great meal. The food was excellent, although I would have liked to see more dishes for variety. And the wines were particularly spectacular. Just a really good set tonight with nice variety and nearly all drinking fabulously. Too bad for the morning after!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more crazy Hedonist meals, click here.


Related posts:

  1. Tar & Roses
  2. Hedonists at STK again!
  3. Hedonists at STK
  4. Wine on the Beach
  5. Tasty Duck Lives up to its Name
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: hedonists, Santa Monica California, Tar & Roses
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