May has arrived, which in Los Angeles, marks the beginning of summer. The sunny days make the streets come alive with bikers and skaters, while the oceans are busy with surfers; sidewalk tables are rammed and already daily sunblock is a necessity. Everyone is predicting what's hot for the season. One thing I know is certain: the summer of 2008 is going to have Culver City written all over it. In the past decade, a number of daring bars, restaurants and art galleries opened in this once sleepy neighborhood nestled between Downtown LA and Santa Monica, previously known as a suburban enclave and home of the original MGM Studios, now Sony Pictures. A traveler's trip to downtown Culver City often meant either a pilgrimage to the Museum of Jurassic Technology, the legendary ephemera museum, or a quick jaunt to admire the facade used for Tara in Gone with the Wind. One thing was guaranteed. Parking was never a problem. But something clicked with the revitalization of Culver Boulevard's small promenade a few years back and the remodeling of the nearby Helms Bakery. As time has gone on, more and more restaurants, stores and galleries have opened and they have become conceptually the most daring in the city. Culver City's downtown area, just a short drive from the Four Points by Sheraton Westside, is an essential destination.

Since the beginning of the year, the neighborhood has experienced two major additions: the opening of the green gourmet restaurant Akasha and the concept shop/gallery/future eaterie Royal T, both outstanding contributions to a neighborhood buzzing with the hot restaurant of the year, Jason and MIho Travi's Fraiche. Akasha is the first bakery/bar/restaurant of chef Akasha Richmond and is a lovely take on local, organic comfort food in a painstaking environmentally conscious atmosphere. Every detail in the restaurant has taken being green in mind, from the reconstruction of the old space to the waiter's uniforms. While tables may be getting difficult to come by, the generously sized bar makes for a sophisticated setting with large lamps keeping the space unusually private. Their humorously named house cocktails all seem to possess some anti-oxidant ingredients, but while tasty, it's the food, including a La Quercia prosciutto pizza with arugula, dark figs and blue cheese that is most worth adopting. One must also appreciate the subtle addition of a screen above the bar looping the film, The Wizard of Oz, shot just up the road long ago.