when in LA: toms + gjusta, venice beach

When your day starts with a 4:45am alarm (or, more accurately, a panicked-jump-up at 3:15), it's safe to say that you might be in need of a pick-me-up by the afternoon.

A recent work trip to LA started with a caffeinated work session at the TOMS flagship in Venice. Besides the usual shoes and glasses, they had surprisingly delicious espresso and great space for working outside. Tres LA.

Several hours later, with caffeine inhaled and urgent emails covered, we moved on to a quick lunch at Gjusta, the bakery slash deli little sister of the famed Gjelina. Located next door to the original, Gjusta offers sandwiches, salads, and pizzas in a way that only LA can. Incredible produce, simple sides, and a casual backyard made it the perfect swing by.

Sugar seemed in order and we started with a square of their beautiful carrot cake -- as lovely and nostalgic as they come.

Once dessert needs had been taken care of, we moved on to a simple salad of escarole and sunchokes with parmesan, and split a sandwich.

What you can't see is that this sandwich is made of the freshest bread, perfect amount of thick turkey, true Californian avocado (the likes of which does not exist elsewhere), a sliver of cheese, scraping of mustard, and perfect circles of pickles. It's a sandwich that I order every where I go, and it has never tasted like this.