Drive along the California coastline.  It’s breathtaking.  Sublime.  We live in Southern California yet we seldom have time to visit the beach.  To take advantage of this glorious weather and scenery, we visited Malibu during the Fourth of July weekend.  The waves were gentle and shells aplenty.  We did our cardio exercise by chasing and running away from the waves.  To top off this family outing, we stopped by Malibu Farm for supper and sunset.

Eats: Malibu Farm Pier Café

Helene from Malibu Farm is a true gem.  Her philosophy of “If you don’t know how to make it, or where it comes from, don’t eat it.  Don’t buy it” resonates well with me.  She started Malibu Farm a few years ago doing cooking classes and providing dinners from her home.  Her love for whole organic foods where she refused to use fake or substitutes won her loyal, devoted fans.  She opened up a café at the end of the Malibu pier and the business has grown and blossomed.

The café ambiance is casual and friendly.  There are two locations: one at the end of the Pier, one at the entrance.  You pass by this cute little entrance with shops.  To reach the restaurant, keep walking through the Pier towards the double towers ahead.

We chose the one at the end of the Pier, at the outdoor seating area because we wanted to watch the sun set.  We were seated promptly by our friendly staff.  They offered us warm blankets in case the evening air got chilly.

Helene’s philosophy on using only fresh, REAL, ingredients threads a common theme throughout the meal, be it elegant hanger steak, tasty hamburger, Swedish pancake, or robust Korean BBQ, every bite was delicious and refreshing.  She tries to use ingredients from her own farm as much as she can.  For instance, her own flock provides about 30 eggs, so she supplements the rest (200 daily eggs needed for the café) from local small farmers.

Arugula Salad:

Korean Short Ribs (Kalbi):

Hanger steak with a little bit of a kick:

Plumster had not one but TWO entrees because she was starving and she LOVED her food.  She ordered mini corn dogs, green bean salads, and chased that with kids pasta simply prepared  tossed with olive oil.  I couldn’t get a good shot of her food because she devoured her food too fast!  Same with our desserts: yogurt cake and whole wheat olive oil cake.  SOOOO good.  Again, sorry, my family ate too fast.

The glorious view on the way out:

I think Helene has just snatched up another three devoted fans!

Disclosure: None; this blog post was not financially supported by any business group.