Go Greek for Labor Day
Sept. 4–Sept. 6 12 PM–9 PM
5761 E. Colorado St., Long Beach; 562-494-8929
$3 donation to celebrate Greek culture and sample Greek food, wine, beer and ouzo
Thyme Café and Market
1630 Ocean Park Blvd. (between 16th St. and 17th St.), Santa Monica,
CA 90405; 310-399-8800
www.thymecafeandmarket.com
$$
passcodes
available for:
13 hours, 37 minutes
or until they all get
gobbled up
30% off breakfast or dinner*
*available during breakfast (7 AM–noon) or dinner (5 PM–8:30 PM) with the minimum purchase of $15 per person; max party: 4; valid for dine-in or takeout; valid in the café only; not valid in the marketplace or on marketplace items; not valid on custom catering; not valid with any other promotions or discounts; please note: this restaurant does not accept reservations; this restaurant is closed on Sundays; please note: this restaurant will be closed Labor Day, Sept. 6
Limited number of passcodes. Early bird gets the good eats.
Passcode expires: Oct. 1, 2010
The idea for a seasonal, market-driven café and shop is no longer new to LA, so the difference is in the details, and Maire Byrne has got those covered. The longtime caterer, a veteran of prestigious kitchens including Chez Panisse, brought her personal style to Santa Monica’s Sunset Park in fall 2009. In the airy space at Thyme, you’ll find concrete flooring, walls lined with white subway tiles, and an oversize clock near the entrance, a play on the restaurant’s name. Blackboard menus tell part of the story, including breakfast and lunch options like challah french toast with fresh raspberries, slow-cooked scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms and herbs, and a signature salad with Point Reyes blue cheese, walnuts, cranberries, sweet apple and balsamic vinegar. Bread from nearby Le Pain du Jour makes a worthy partner for refined sandwiches like Kalamata-inflected egg salad on toasted pain de mie. Savory offerings include an untraditional but still satisfying spanakopita, made with pastry dough instead of phyllo and studded with pine nuts. It should be no mystery why Byrne has guests order at the counter. The Carrera marble countertop hosts dozens of irresistible baked goods, including several kinds of croissants, carrot cake sandwiches, a macaroon tower and buttery, fruit-forward galettes (fig, if you’re lucky).
menu musts
Challah french toast
Seasonal galette
Spanakopita
Israeli couscous with asparagus and snap peas
Beet and goat cheese salad
view full menu
sweet seats
The choice at this casual café is far from anxiety producing. You either sit at a sidewalk table and enjoy the open air or grab a wood-slab table indoors, amid the other market habitués.
chew on this
A set of fridges at Thyme Café and Market contain tempting take-home goodies like jalapeño cilantro hummus, carrot corn soup and a Moroccan chicken tagine that incorporates a bazaar’s worth of spices.
hours
Mon.–Sat. 7 AM–8:30 PM
price range for dinner entrées
$9 (Greek salad) to $11 (steak sandwich)
