Farm and Milk the Hollywood Way

Friday night involved a farm and milk.

But this is Los Angeles, so banish the thought of hay and cows.

We had dinner at The Farm of Beverly Hills with Golf Girl, who was visiting from Chicago.

Golf Girl is a family friend of Mr. Monkey. I think she is extraordinary. Several years ago, Golf Girl left her consultant career at a huge global firm to launch her own golf magazine. She was in Los Angeles for a golf tournament she organized and in which Mr. Monkey played. Needless to say, she and Mr. Monkey have a lot in common, and I think she is pretty much the coolest girl ever for following her creative passion.

We shared a tuna sashimi tower ($12.75) comprised of ahi tuna, avocado, sprouts, and cucumbers layered between crisp wontons with miso honey mustard and wasabi sauces. The tuna was fresh and luscious.

Golf Girl ordered the Asian beef salad ($16.75) -- chilled Asian marinated farm steak, baby greens, shaved Napa cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, soy beans, noodles, crispy wontons, and sesame seed vinaigrette. Very refreshing. (Another reason to love Golf Girl -- she shares food with the Monkeys!)

Mr. Monkey got the BBQ beef short ribs ($24.25). The slow-roasted boneless short ribs came with cole slaw and grilled corn mashed potatoes. Tender and savory. Corn + potatoes = happiness.

I opted for my usual Farm cheeseburger ($14.75) with fresh and oven-roasted tomatoes, fresh and caramelized onions, arugula, country mayonnaise, oh-so-melty-yummy Gruyère, and sweet potato fries. This burger is my fave thing at The Farm.

The Farm isn't a blow-you-away kind of place, but I enjoy it because the dishes are generally tasty and reliable. The ingredients are of good quality. The service is polite and efficient. It's the perfect place to go when it's too late for the Farmers Market.

We managed to save enough room to make a short trek to Milk for dessert. Mmmmmilk!

As I was snapping away while Mr. Monkey and Golf Girl ordered at the counter, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the daughter of a partner at my old firm whom I'd met at Small Fries' christening. We both laughed at the fact she recognized me and my shutterbug ways. She highly recommended the coffee toffee ice cream sandwich.

Boy, was she right.

If you haven't tried an ice cream sandwich from Milk, run to Beverly Boulevard. This is no ordinary ice cream sandwich. It's a giant ice-cream-filled macaron!

Cold. Sweet. Heaven.

Coffee toffee ice cream sandwich ($4.00). Ah-maaaz-ing. A coffee lover's dream.

Chocolate-dipped vanilla bean ice cream sandwich ($4.00). Pretty damn fabulous, but my heart belongs to the coffee toffee.

Buttercrunch drumstick ($4.50). Delish, but still not as lovely as the ice cream sandwiches.

As if all this wasn't sweet enough, Mr. Monkey washed it down with fresh watermelon juice.

We waddled back to the car very satisfied. Quack quack.