Checking Out Bar Pintxo in Santa Monica

Submitted by Brooke Burton/Food Woolf

Bar Pintxo, the Spanish love child of Chef Joe Miller (of Joe's in Venice) offers tapas and main courses just seconds away from the beach. With the help of a few glasses of crisp Spanish wine (try a zesty Albarino or a salty Txakolina by the glass), a plate of grilled whole shrimp in a rustic, garlic and citrus sauce (gambas al ajillo) or lamb chops in a chorizo crust (costillas de cordero), you'll swear you're in Spain. Oh, and don't forget to dip a spoon into some creamy, Catalan creme brulee.