best post office ever

on what was forecasted to be a 90+ degree day here at home, we hopped into the pri-YES bright and early (okay, it was 10:30, but it was a saturday) and headed down to the beach.  we were meeting up with my parents for brunch and had reservations at mb post, a restaurant i've been wanting to try forever.

it's housed in a space on busy manhattan beach boulevard that was formerly occupied by the city's post office, hence the name.  i didn't actually know this until my stepdad pointed it out to me.  i'm so smrt.  but as i looked around, the rustic interior and decor all clicked into place in my tiny peabrain and made total sense.

plus, our menu (which changes daily and also includes new specials handwritten in - chosen after the chefs have done the shopping at the local farmers market) was delivered in an envelope with our name on it.  clever.

there were so many delicious-sounding items to pick from.  our waiter explained that it was tapas-style, so the menu consisted of small plates meant for sharing.  i love eating meals this way.  it means i get to try a whole lot of different yummies without filling up too quickly.

the one thing i knew i had to try was the bacon cheddar buttermilk muffins, served with the most delicious maple butter.  ohhhhhh, so good.  totally worth the hype.  i could've eaten my body weight and more in these things.  and lemme tell you, that'd been a whole lotta biscuits.

my friend ashley, who lives in the area and loves this place, dug up the recipe as given to los angeles magazine by the restaurant for me.  i can't wait to give it a try.

the teen chose the benedict - pretty much what you'd expect, only here it was made with one of those heavenly biscuits and lovely paper-thin slices of prosciutto.

from the "breads" list, she decided to test out the apple hand pies, served with a fantastic salted caramel sauce.  obviously, i only sampled the latter.  heh.

the bean wanted a sticky bun.  it was pretty big, and definitely gooey.  and scrumptious.  mmmm.

i completely forgot to take a picture of my entree, but it was pretty simple - a poached egg on a bed of creamy polenta, served with the most delicious asparagus ever.  so good.  sometimes, simple is best.

there was also a really tasty (and slightly spicy) turkey sausage patty, and a breakfast staple (hell, who am i kidding - this is a life staple):

that bacon was coated in brown sugar, a little chili powder, and sprinkled with rosemary.  oh, it was delish.

we were definitely happy campers at the end of this meal.

the check came nestled between the pages of this:

and as i flipped through it, i came across some interesting entries, penned by previous diners.  um, okay.

the bean added a couple of smiley faces that i wasn't able to capture before it was taken away.  trust me, it was cute.

i don't think my folks enjoyed the restaurant nearly as much as we did, mostly due to the meat-centric menu (they're pescatarians).  but hopefully they liked trying something new that they probably wouldn't have had we not suggested it.

as for me, i would love to go back for dinner sometime.  and my friends are already talking about a possible brunch GTG so they can try everything for themselves.  hopefully we pull that together soon.  i miss those biscuits already.