"There’s an increasingly different restaurant model sprouting up around LA, and that’s the service counter where diners order, take a number, and receive plates directly from the kitchen. It’s a way for restaurants to deliver most of the quality and creativity of a full service eatery but expediting the experience (and minimizing front-of-house staff) to keep prices reasonable. The Gables is the newest such quick service-ish experience, opening August 22 with a thoughtful but approachable menu that should cater to Santa Monica’s wide swath of diners." - Matthew Kang
