Typhoon & Venice Beach

I'm going to be honest; eating bugs isn't on the top of my list, but when I saw the Los Angeles episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where he visits Typhoon in Santa Monica, my curiosity was piqued.  Located at the Santa Monica airport, Typhoon is known for their vast variety of Pan Asian cuisine which they serve out of their glass encased dining room that overlooks the airport runways. So we ventured out on a Sunday afternoon to give their bug menu a taste.

For lunch, the only insect options to choose from were the Tawainese Crickets and the Singapore Style Scorpions.  Our waiter suggested we opt for the crickets since there would be more share.  The more the merrier, right? So we ordered our crickets and tacked on the Mongolian Lamb and Pineapple Fried Rice to round out the meal.



The flash-fried crickets were served on a bed of shoestring french fries with a thick, red hot sauce set in the middle of the platter.  The crickets were actually texturally similar to the french fries, so one bite full of both made the taste of cricket nearly unrecognizable.  Give it a nice dunk in the hot sauce and it's pretty tasty.  The Mongolian Lamb, stir-fried with tomatoes, scallions, mushrooms, and garlic - was served along side some hot, sesame buns. 

After lunch we headed straight to Venice Beach.  Although it was a pretty overcast day, we were able to take in a lot of the sights and sounds that make Venice Beach a Southern California landmark.  First up-- Muscle Beach.  After watching I Love You, Man a part of me really wanted to run into Lou Ferrigno pumping iron or even just walking his dog on the boardwalk.  Instead, there were only a few patrons grunting their way from weight to weight.

One of the coolest highlights of Venice Beach is the Venice Art Walls.  Displayed on the sands is a section of concrete walls that are open to the public for artistic expression.  Artists obtain a free permit and can paint on the walls on weekends.  Art on the walls may change up to two times per day.  The Venice Art Walls were established as a memorial to the graffiti arts that have adorned the walls of Venice over the last 30 years.



Vendors line each side of the boardwalk while street performers try to gather crowds with either their unusual acts or impressive dance skills.  To the north of the boardwalk is the Venice Beach Freak Show.  For $5 you could enter the freak show and see the Electric Lady, Sword Swallower, and many other extraordinary sights.  Vendors sold handmade jewelry and even hemp.  Venice Beach is definitely an experience.



The Day's Damage= Crickets, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Mongolian Lamb $42 + Parking at Venice $10 = $52

Items 10 & 11: Check