Top Markets and Eats on the Westside

By MERV HECHT | Restaurant Critic

I love to cook at home, so I do a lot of shopping. Gelson’s in the Palisades is my go-to. The Gelson’s on Lincoln is not too shabby either. Not to mention Ralphs, Vicente Foods and Whole Foods Market (especially the one on Lincoln).

None of these compares to the beautiful, new Gelson’s Market on Olympic near Bundy. There are many reasons to explore there.

First of all, they have free covered parking. I know this is Southern California, but what a pleasure on those rare occasions when it’s cold or raining.

Second, they have lots of wide-open space making it easy to maneuver a cart. Third, pleasant people make themselves available to answer questions, quite helpful with a store that big.

The kicker is the sushi bar. They serve sushi under the attentive eyes of Tony from Hong Kong. It’s not just sushi—the last time we were there, I had tempura and miso soup, and my friend had a delicious hamburger.

The product selection is extensive, and my only negative thought is that the wines are priced higher than at Trader Joe’s nearby. This is countered by the large selection and some finer wines that are not available at Trader Joe’s.

Good thing there are such great markets around because a lot of restaurants have closed. Who would have thought that the Palm in Beverly Hills—an icon for 50 years—would ever close?

I wasn’t sad to see Tallula’s close, and I was glad to see the pizza place in the Palisades Village close. I hope my review wasn’t the cause.

Luckily, the Caruso folks are on the ball and now Jemma’s Pizzeria has taken over that space. Jemma’s serves a perfectly acceptable pizza. That’s not to say that I don’t have suggestions—I always do. A little more cheese would be welcome, and I don’t care for the white ranch dressing sprinkled on top. Hopefully they’ll take heed to my unsolicited suggestions so that we will all enjoy the pizza there for many years to come.

Jemma’s also has a nice selection of hard-to-find Italian products to take home, and the salads and sandwiches look wonderful.

While there is no inside seating, I have a suggestion for that as well. Perhaps they could make an arrangement with Porta Via next door—customers could sit in Porta Via, order a drink, have an appetizer, order a pizza from Jemma, and have coffee and dessert at Porta Via. What a wonderful life that would be!

Merv Hecht, like many Harvard Law School graduates, went into the wine business after law. In 1988, he began writing restaurant reviews and books. His latest book “The Instant Wine Connoisseur, 3rd edition” is available on Amazon. He currently works for several companies that source and distribute food and wine products internationally. Send comments to mervynhecht@yahoo.com.