Santa Monica celebrates its fourth annual Eat Well Week with artichoke inspired dishes from January 11 – 17 to encourage healthy resolutions. In conjunction with California Restaurant Month, our beloved oceanside area will be kicking things off with California’s native veggie. Did you know the artichoke protects against heart disease, can boost your immune system, and offers high amounts of antioxidants, fiber, magnesium, and Vitamin C?

This week we took a foodie drinking preview tour to see what you can expect. Restaurants that will be participating include our favorite lobster joint, The Albright, our favorite Italian spot Capo, our newest favorite with Greek Cyprus inspired cuisine that is just a month old, Inotheke, as well as Border Grill, Del Frisco’s Grille, eLOVate, Fig, Rawvolution, Locanda Del Lago, Melisse, Perry’s on the Beach, Pono Burger, Sushi Roku, and Upper West. 

Here is a teaser of what you can expect from Santa Monica’s “Year of the Artichoke.” Please do not miss my favorite dish from Santa Monica’s newest refined Mediterranean cuisine, Inotheke – Lamb and Artichoke “Kapama” with fennel, dill, egg, and lemon. If that wasn’t enough, we ended with a Greek walnut cake with honey. This new spot is gorgeously laid out with friendly service and great wine. We can’t wait to go back and sample more of their menu.

Locanda Del Lago spoiled us with these tasty paper thin cheese crisps, a cocktail called the Artichoke Cynar (woooooo!) and Artichoke Risotto with burrata cheese and parmesan. Magnifique!

At Del Frisco’s Grille on Ocean Avenue, we feasted on endless plates of Fire Roasted Grilled Artichoke dipped in a zesty creamy sauce.

This summer my vegan friends turned me on to RAWvolution after a beach day feast, and so it was nice to be back in this happy, healthy place experimenting with my food palate. First up, we devoured a Raw Vegan Sweet Potato Puff stuffed with Artichoke Cream with a nice side helping of Cranberry Chutney. YUM! Next, after we couldn’t stop talking about our love for good beer with WelikeLA.com, the lovely kind-hearted chef owner brought out a bottle of Solarc, ale brewed with sage, wormwood mugwort, lemongrass, and turmeric. Our final sharing included the highest grade chocolates imaginable, one even included roses.

eLOVate is a completely new to me, so the bartender convinced me to try the Vegan Buffalo Chicken Wings, which didn’t taste too bad although I’m still trying to figure out what they were made of. As the PR and media crew toasted several drinks, we noshed on their well known Marinated Maitake Mushroom Skewers and Artichoke Ceviche with artichoke and hearts of palm with a chipotle aioli.

To view more Santa Monica Eat Well Week photos, check @SeeSantaMonica and #EatWellWeekSM on Instagram. Don’t forget to follow our LA Insta ride in grams on @LaLaScoop.

All photos (except the first one) courtesy of Melissa Curtin.