MILK - restaurant/ice cream shop review

Have I mentioned that I love MILK?

I had occasion to be in the area on a Saturday afternoon, so I figured that was a perfect excuse to drop by MILK for lunch. The parking lot off Poinsettia behind El Coyote that MILK also uses in the daytime was full, so I ended up finding a metered spot close by on Beverly. As I walked up around 1pm, I noticed that it was pretty busy. About 3/4 of the tables outside were full, and these also happened to be the tables that had an umbrella to protect from the hot sun. Once I got inside, though, I was glad that there were a couple tables open, so I eventually ended up at a small table in the back after placing my order.

Bret had seen me as I walked in, and he had said hi, and when I got to my table, I had noticed that David, the pastry chef I'd met on my last visit, was working in the back kitchen, so I said hi to him through the glass.

For lunch, I had the herb roasted chicken breast sandwich with fresh mozzarella, portabello mushrooms, tomatoes and pesto sauce and a large iced tea. I've had that sandwich before, but it's one I really like. The chicken was very moist, and there was a good serving of it in the sandwich, and the cheese and tomatoes are a good accompaniment. I also happen to love that it comes with a side of field greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette because it gives a better vegetable balance to the sandwich, but I wish the menu board indicated that the sandwiches included a side salad.

After that, it was time to get some dessert. I opted for 2 coffee toffee milkies and a double scoop of blood orange sorbet and pineapple sorbet, and I also got a slice of banana nut, a peanut butter cookie and a walnut chocolate chip cookie to go. MILK is definitely one of those places where your eyes are bigger than your stomach. There are so many good things to choose from, and I have to remember that if I'm actually eating a meal there, I so don't have room for two scoops after that. When I got the sorbet, I discovered that they had actually given me two scoops of the blood orange sorbet with pineapple pieces on top. I decided it wasn't worth the trouble (and I really didn't have the time) to have it fixed so just enjoyed what I had, though I ended up tossing almost all of the second scoop. I figured I'd just try the pineapple sorbet another time.

As I was on my way out the door, I ran into David again. I had talked to him a bit earlier (when I mentioned them being busy, he said it was actually a little slow at that moment, but that in a couple of hours, it was going to pick up to the point where the line was out the door), and I ended up talking to him about the shopping trip that had prompted my visit. He was interested in what I was describing but not getting exactly what I was talking about, so I told him I'd come back to show him. A couple hours later, I did end up dropping by for a couple minutes to show him some of what I'd purchased. It was funny because we were sitting at a table with some of the product laid out for him to see, and someone else from the kitchen as well as one of the women behind the counter that I'm familiar with came by to see what we were doing, so they were marvelling over the products as well. It was funny but also really nice to feel so comfortable there because the staff is so nice and friendly.


The week prior, I had occasion to be bringing in breakfast for my department at work, and I had decided I was going to treat them to MILK goodies. I put in the order with MILK about a week before to make sure they'd have what I wanted and so I wouldn't wipe out their stock first thing. When I got there Friday morning right after they opened at 8am, everything was ready and laid out for me, and I ended up buying a few more last-minute-request items as well. The goodies seemed to go over really well with my co-workers.


It's probably a good thing that MILK isn't terribly convenient for me to get to, but any excuse to visit them works for me.


Here's a link to my review of MILK from our very first visit.