Chaya Venice (110 Navy St., Venice, CA 90291; 310.396.1179) kicks off their 19th Annual Garlic Fair for the month of August, and this year they’re not messing around. After partaking in garlic revelry for eighteen years, owner Yuta Tsunoda admitted that despite the wide range of uses for the beloved culinary mystery (Is it a spice? Is it an herb? It’s actually neither…), the dishes started to get old. He challenged his head chef Shigefumi Tachibe to raise the bar and needless to say, he more than exceeded expectations.
To loosen you up, they feature a couple of interesting garlic cocktails, the Bacon Clove, with bourbon, bacon, muddled with maple marinated garlic clove, and the Devilish Mary, with tequila, house-made Bloody Mary Mix, and Orange and Lime marinated garlic. You might want to warm up with their Bagna Cauda, a spread of the creamiest garlic that has ever melted into your mouth, and other tasty starters, like their Chicken Gyoza with garlic ponzu sauce or Escargot with garlic herb lemon butter. As expected, the menu also has a lot of seafood dishes to choose from, such as the Garlic Dungeness Crab, Garlic Seafood “Tan-Tan” Soup, with garlic-miso broth, calamari, shrimp, and clam, and the Garlic Fair Fruits de Mer, with a half-Maine lobster tail, jumbo shrimp, and scallops with roasted garlic. As a more conventional meat-eater, my favorites were the Australian Wagyu Beef, “OJU BOX” (get it?), with Korean-Style garlic and Kimchi fried rice, and the 40-Clove Grilled Rib-eye, with garlic au-jus and side of garlic mashed potatoes. I ate all 16 oz and 40 cloves, and it was spectacular. The creativity doesn’t end there- cool off with a Spiked Frutas Popsicle, made with garlic and jalapeno-infused tequila, cucumber, watermelon, and cantaloupe juice with Tajin seasoning.
Perhaps most impressive is how the dishes blend the garlic so subtly with the Asian-Euro fusion they’re famous for that at the end of the meal you’ll be saying, ‘I had no idea my breath stinks right now’. But don’t worry- they have mouthwash in the restrooms. They’ve really thought of everything.
