LOTS OF LEFTOVERS : 1986: Year of the Search for Divine Heavenly Grits

I did have one completely exquisite meal in 1986--at Le Bordeaux in the Marina. From the baby asparagus tied like wheat to buttery veal medallions to berry mousse cake--everything was luxe, voluptuous and calm. But instead of a pantheon of three, this year adds up to a grazing grande bouffe . Here are a few of the memories:

Chicken with pomegranate and walnut sauce and cold creamy garlic eggplant at Shamshiri; the Rose Cafe’s tarte tatin ; every bit of sushi at Shibucho. The homemade soups and hot nutty molasses baked apples (to eat at the counter or to go) at Seventh Heaven; the salad appetizers (from beets with cumin to eggplant with hot chilies) and merguez sausages at the little, family-run El Morocco; the creme brulee with berries at Pasadena’s Parkway Grill.

Then there’s the place I swore I’d never reveal in print: It’s nothing but a storefront filled with lightweight chairs and cheap, unstintingly simple food. I go there often when I want something healthy, homespun and fast: with its delicate barbecued chicken, sticky brown fried rice and crisp salad, all served on paper plates, Shambala has been a favorite and a secret in Santa Monica.