Culver City's Akasha Is Both Urban And Organic

The urban Akasha restaurant boasts green materials, Fair Trade coffee, and organic local produce in a chic Culver City setting. The open airy space houses arched windows overlooking Culver Boulevard's sidewalk action, brick interior walls, and a long and lively L-shaped bar.

Chef and owner Akasha Richmond offers a variety of dishes on her seasonal menu, including heirloom carrot, local beets and avocado, and Tuscan kale Caesar salads, as well as small plates of fried chicken sliders, pea and leek agnolotti, seared scallops with lentils, tandoori spiced chicken wings, and skillet mac-n-cheese with bacon.

The flatbread pizzas are perfectly crisp and come with tomato and mozzarella, braised wild mushrooms and goat cheese, fig and prosciutto, or pork sausage and mozzarella.  For bigger plates, think sake shortribs, Australian seabass, red quinoa pilaf, Bali seafood curry, and a ribeye burger.

The house crafted cocktails include the Akasha with organic cucumber vodka and pineapple juice, a Citrus and Jalapeno with Frida Khalo organic tequila and agave, and a Blood Orange Daiquiri with organic spiced rum, blood orange star anise cordial, and lime.

Desserts are equally interesting and delicious and include a salty chocolate peanut butter bar, orange olive oil cake, coconut panna cotta, and a bourbon ice cream sundae.