Buddha's Belly Part 2

So remember when I went to Buddha's Belly the first time? Maybe I was a bit harsh. No, I am pretty sure I was just hungry. I went with Daphne to the Santa Monica location of Buddha's Belly to celebrate getting back into town after the holidays, because it is one of her favorite places. I was willing to give it another shot. And to not order a salad.

The space in the Santa Monica location is much nicer than the one on Beverly, I think. More space, cooler materials, and a chill atmosphere that I dug. Good start...

Daph and I ordered some drinks...she got an herbal tonic, which was served "sparkling, on ice". I don't remember exactly which tonic it was that she got (I suspect the "depth recharger" or the "power plant") but she liked it a lot either way. I liked that it was a sparkling drink! I got my usual arnold palmer, which was spot on, and nice to drink out of those bamboo fashioned glasses again.

I decided I wanted to give an appetizer a try, and after some hesitation, I went with the Chilled Vietnamese Rolls - shrimp, chicken breast, rice vermicelli, mint, cilantro, fried onion rolled in tender rice paper, sweet chili & sake reduction dipping sauces. The fusion part of this roll is the chicken breast, which I don't think is traditionally in vietnamese spring rolls. They were decent, everything was fresh, and I liked the dipping sauces. Yum.

Daphne ordered the same dish Evan had the last time I was at Buddha's Belly - the Spicy Peanut Noodles -shrimp, chicken breast, flat rice noodles, celery, mushrooms, edamame, spicy peanut sauce. Again, they smelled and tasted great, I had a bite and swore to myself next time that I'd order this dish. She barely managed to finish the whole thing, which was a feat because the serving was generous (the shrimp especially looked appetizing.)

I decided on the Ahi Tuna Burger with Sweet Potato Fries - medium-rare ground sushi-grade ahi tuna patty, sweet hawaiian bun, lettuce, tomato, avocado, spicy mayo, sesame seeds, with a side of sweet potato fries. This was a much better choice than my salad last time. I liked the ahi tuna, although it wasn't really medium rare, or medium anything. It was pretty much cooked all the way through, what's the point of having ahi if it's going to be fully cooked? It was still decently spiced, and good as the patty between the quality bun. The sweet potato fries were delicious, I am a great fan of sweet potato fries - they're better for you, right? Heh.

Dipping sauces for the burger and fries - spicy mayo and ketchup. The spicy mayo really wasn't very spicy, but it was good to dip the sweet potatoes in there anyways. Good texture.

Buddha's Belly has redeemed itself, but maybe it's because of the different location. I can see myself coming back to this location, service was friendly and quick, and afterwards, I can walk around the stores at 3rd Street promenade.

205 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310)458-2500
http://www.bbfood.com