Pedalers Fork — Restaurant in Calabasas

My family discovered this first rate restaurant, coffee joint, and bike shop this last year.

Hands down, PF is the most distinguished restaurant you will ever find. I am 43 years old and travel the globe on business so I’ve seen a lot; this place is a world class establishment right here in our backyard. I had to take minute to share, this is only my 3rd Yelp Review in 5 years so you know this means a lot to me. Here is why:

This charming little locale encompasses all that’s magical about Calabasas and Malibu: secluded in a wooded paradise where every table location has unique view to the bike and rustic decor that was obviously done by a brilliant decorator. There are intimate tables, group tables, and of course this is the best place to setup a laptop for the “remote office.” In fact in early morning hours, the coders and writers congregate for networking and business so it seems- there is plenty of bandwidth and can even make conference calls in quiet corners; if a celebrity isn’t occupying. The amazing food served surrounded by high ceilings and lots of light inside, or breezy serene birds chirping landscape outside. Though most everything is cooked to order, light fare dishes are the stars of this show. Much of the menu offers a variety of locally sourced elements, PF is truly in a league of its own. There’s something sinfully delicious about getting down and dirty with the smoked fare- there is no other location in all the region that offer smoked tastes as fresh and tender as PF- might be because of the actual smoker in the back lot. The best kids fare too, even though mine make a mess of the ribs every time my kids and my friend’s kids eat there! The staff and servers are very knowledgeable on allergies, indebted to making even the quickest lunch meeting a perfect experience, and their attention to detail cleary represents they work for a fantastic management. Gideon Kleiman is one of the founders and is always around for feedback. He practically lives at the restaurant and makes sure every guest is having the best dinning experience possible, no compromises. Between the serving staff, buss staff, the skilled bartenders and baristas, and Gideon- you feel like you are part of center of excellence; a place where they learned from everyone else’s mistakes.

The coffee: For the uninitiated, PF is home to what is arguably one of the best coffee roasters on the planet. With a new store also open in Santa Monica on 1919 SM BLVD, 10 speed Coffee and Bakery in the back porch area of the Calabasas location is great place to grab a quick cup of coffee that has a whole new standard. You have to try it for yourself- they roast their own beans, so you know the attention to purity and titration is controlled to highest and healthiest standards, candidly they may be the next best thing in Coffee in our region, yes, better than Groundwork!

The bike shop: So here’s the thing with the Pedaler’s Fork Bike Shop in the back. Yes, it’s iconic and yes, its been known to be frequented by the likes of local Olympians, but the general gist of this store is that it’s not only a store, but a local gathering place and bike fixstation . You’ll want to hang out on the wrap-around porch with phone, coffee, and let your legs recover. The manager, Derek Weider, is a master technician. This guy is measured in his problem solving, professional in communication, and the most talented mechanic I’ve met. The bike shop market space is crowded, so when a superior shop rises above the rest like PF you have to admire them- take your bike to Derek, you will see why and never go elsewhere. Did I mention I spent over $10,000 on equipment from this shop- I obviously trust the work, merchandise prices are below market, Derek and his team are quality perfectionists, and they serve customers with distinction much like the culture in the restaurant.

Oh, finally, don’t forget to check out the bathrooms down the hall- exemplar attention of olde timey and contemporary. You will be stunned, I am...

We had a pretty good dinner experience at Pedaler’s Fork with some exceptions.. It was our second time here (We also visited for brunch a few months back…our experience was mixed - one of us loved it and the other didn’t)

This time around it was mostly positive in this bicycle themed upscale New American restaurant on the edge of Los Angeles which, for some reason, featured a child sitting under the otherwise empty table next to us. We weren’t sure if this was a regular feature and the kid wasn’t talking.

The bread service was pretty good…an assortment of breads served in a cast-iron skillet (what food isn’t improved when served in a cast iron skillet?) including sourdough, pretzel bread and a zucchini style bread which reminded me of some Irish soda bread's. The only issue with the bread is that it was a little soft, sort of felt like it had been heated in the microwave which, of course, no bread should ever be heated in.

I also had the The Basil Julep cocktail which was tasty enough (sweet the way I like it) though I didn’t get much of a basil flavor in it. There was plenty of basil init, but perhaps it wasn’t muddled enough as it was pretty much just a visual presence..

The entrees we ordered were great in terms of taste.

I had the the Sweet Corn Borsettini Pasta. The little pasta pockets, with a four cheese filling, were served on a bed of sweet corn. It tasted fabulous and beautifully displayed, however it was in the end very little food. Only 7 of the small borsettinis, left me still pretty hungry at the end. $22 is pretty expensive for a vegetarian pasta dish and the amount of food on the plate didn’t seem to match that price.

My wife enjoyed the Quinoa Cakes a lot. It was a beautiful vegan meal with very tasty vegetables, carrots, broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. She noted that the quinoa cake were not actually the star of the meal but it all went nicely together. Next time she’d get the aioli on the side as it was a little overpowering and too salty.

We don't live particularly close, but there are only so many options of this kind of restaurant in the deep west Valley, so I don’t think this would be a destination restaurant for us, but we would probably come in again if we were...

Date night for this week consisted of starting our day off with a delicious brunch. We visited Calabasas first with a stop at 10 Speed Cafe which is shared with Pedalers Fork for brunch. From the moment we got there down to our very last bites, customer service was exceptional. Not only did their employees engage with us but when we ordered our food asked for our dogs names so that they may engage with them as well. Each time someone checked on our table they also got down on one knee, called our dogs by name and asked if they were OK as well and awarded them with pats on the head. Unfortunately the day we visited was a 100° day and with two large Australian huskie mixed dogs it can be hard to stay cool. Their employees must have already known because they at one point even brought the girls their own cup of different sized ice cubes to enjoy, and a fresh refill bottle of water. I was truly moved by the kindness, care and attention they not only gave myself , but extended to our dogs. Although Dutchess and Hamster give them four paws and wagging tales, I do wish they had a dog menu. Either way it was an exceptional time.

When it came to food I honestly had no clue where to start. I wanted something filling but not to heavy due to the heat. The menu for Pedalers Fork was simple and right to the point. Sean and I opted for a bacon breakfast sandwich and fries. When I tell you the portions were generous, just one sandwich and frie would have been enough to feed us both. The fries were so flavorful , had an even crisp and delicious taste. My actual sandwich was pure perfection from the perfect toast of our bread, the light fluffy eggs and crispy bacon sandwiched between avocado and arugula. Each bite a mouthful of flavor did not disappoint. After my amazing experience for brunch I definitely look forward to dining here more often.

My takeaways from 10speed Coffee and Pedalers Fork is location is in an amazing spot. Parking is hassle free and even had handicap accessible parking available. There are restrooms that are fully ada/wheelchair accessible and so is the restaurant. Customer service is phenomenal, and sitting outdoors offered an...