If you needed a deep-fried Scotch egg, some bangers, and a really hefty if rare Welsh ale today, where would you go?
Answer one, of course, is Great Britain. But say you're in LA. Answer two? It's Santa Monica, of course, home to the British-y bulk of Southern California's tea rooms, English goods shops, and traditional pubs. And while some may sniff and wonder if it all isn't for show and a bit fake and a bit twee, it isn't; the city happens to be home to thousands of British ex-pats, here for the film industry or the weather or probably a combination of both.
BBC America has taken note of our own London-on-the-Pacific by naming it one of The 10 Most British Towns in America. Hard to argue with that, seeing as how there are some places you can sit in Santa Monica and hear nary a surfer accent but plenty of plumy tones.
San Francisco was the other entry on the list. Nope, we don't have its famous fog, or at least not as much of it, but do they have something on par with Ye Olde King's Head's sausage rolls? They might, since it is San Francisco, but we're just saying: That's some hearty, happy eating, if you like morning meats and tender crusts.
Ye Olde King's Head is of course a central part of the Santa Monica ex-pat scene, but there are other spots that helped the ocean-close city earn its BBC America title: The Continental Shop on Wilshire -- hello, HP Sauce -- and a handful of choice pubs like Britannia Pub. The tea-nice Tudor House closed this past summer, we should mention.
There's actually a UK section on the official Santa Monica web site, if that puts the pip pip in your heart.
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