Post-rib somnolence

I have just awoken from a delightful little nap. I have been known to enjoy a light snooze on the occasionally sleepy sunday afternoon, but today's little bout of torpidity is completely BBQ-derived.

Lewis and I had lunch today at Mr Cecil's Los Angeles Rib Shack...I had a half-order of ribs which sounds like a bit of moderation on my part, but really isn't since the 3 ribs came with hush puppies and a small pot of baked beans...so good...

I have occasionally thought of becoming a vegetarian, partially driven by Alex's love of animals and supported by my affection for the family dog. But it's so hard to give up the sweet pleasures we omnivores enjoy...

In preparation for today, I had only a banana for breakfast...I see a repeat for dinner...

M

We need a hard perimeter!

I suppose when you live in a one horse town like LA, where 85% of life revolves around entertainment, sometimes it can feel like a pretty small world. Even if the place is roughly the size of Rhode Island...Hence the following story.

Apparently, "TV's Jack Bauer" has a fairly solid reputation for imbibing pretty seriously at all the eastern LA hipster dive bars. Defamer.com has him most recently drunk on the floor at 'Ye Rustic Inn' in Los Feliz at 11 one Saturday, which is probably reasonable considering that the bar opens at 6am...I know this because I used the ATM at this bar once when the convenience store next door hadn't opened yet!

So the alleged Mr. 24 apparently was in attendance at a bar where my brother was attending a birthday function. The supposedly former nearly-Mr. Julia Roberts joined in the fun, was a friendly albeit soused participant, and duly took down directions to the after party which took place at my brother's former residence, a railroad apartment guest house in Hollywood. Unfortunately for the b-day guests, he never showed up. Which is probably for the best, since it would have been awkward the next morning to find him asleep on the beat up couch in the living room when all you just wanted to do was to make some eggs and watch CNN.

I suppose it's only a matter of time before Linsday Lohan hits my car.

M

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The Holiday Weekend

The missus was in town for the long weekend and we had a blast. Lots of checking out the new nabe, drove out to the beach and went for a stroll, saw some movies and had some brunch. A great couple of days...too short.

Pics will be posted shortly, to share some views of the new place and locale.

The abbreviated movie review:
'Match Point' - other than the rich white people living in a bubble of privilege and erudite cocktail chatter, not your typical Woody Allen movie - very enjoyable.
'Brokeback Mountain' - Loved the movie. Cowboys are frequently, secretly fond of each other, sez Willie. However, the movie's constant musical refrain, a few bars of country guitar, are still scraping the inside of my skull. Please make it stop, Ang Lee, please make it stop.
'Night Watch' - Russian vampire movie. (Thanks, Wifey...I owe you Mark Ruffalo's next 3 movies) Derivative of everything cool from the last 20 years...Ghostbusters, Underworld, Blade, LOTR, etc...and yet still kinda fun.

Two random star sightings, to boot:
1. Some boybander...not sure if he was a Backstreet Boy or from NSync, but his distinctive facial hair rang a bell, metaphorically speaking/1 point/Mexican joint
2. Jeremy 'Droz' Piven nee 'Ari' from Entourage/3/Local tea house

M

PS- It was 59 degrees here. Local news covered it as though a blizzard had struck. Gotta love the Southwest.

Would you drive an hour for chicken and snow peas?

Los Angeles is the 2nd largest city in the US, it is home to a diverse and eclectic population of many races, creeds, and ethnic backgrounds, and it is about 3,000 statute miles closer to China than NYC. So why is the Chinese food on offer supposed to be so lousy?

Every east coast refugee I have met has the same lament...

Thai food, no question. Korean BBQ, I am salivating for my chance to hit that stretch of Wilshire in K-town. Sushi seems eh, but then again, the japanese food in NY is starting to become McSushi, with every nationality BUT the Japanese serving spicy tuna rolls in disposable packages. (Parasites?)

So far I have had passable take-out from a dingy place (no obstacle there) on Fairfax and semi-decent eat-in service at Mandarette on Beverly.

Anyone willing to stake the people at Empire Szechuan on 2nd Ave with 2 plane tickets and a hundred grand, you had me at hello.

M

Observations since my arrival:

1. Some of the best views come at the tops of parking garages. I suggest level 8 at The Grove, particularly at night. (Cuz' you're not getting a spot any lower than that - it's not in your contract)
2. 1920's charm abounds. The buildings (those which have not been torn down and replced with McMansions or Strip Malls) are interesting to look at and an interesting diversion from Spanish roof-tiles.
3. It is not so much one city as many, many cities, which means that suburban quiet seems to be very close to commercial bliss.
4. This is a dog lover's town. And unlike NY, you almost always see them riding around in cars. (And they know enough not to talk on the cell phone while at the wheel)

Coke and a Slice

27'' of snow on Long Island...I never much minded the snow or cold weather, I just can't stand shoveling the stuff. That's what makes NYC so pleasant right after a snowstorm. The cars are gone, the snow reflecting the street lights like sodium lamps against concrete at a national monument...with the everpresent sound of snow being softly crunched underfoot by passers by.

Of course, I had this thought while sitting on the beach in Santa Monica, so go figure.

Lunch was had in SM after said sanglogged philosophizing, at Bravo's on Main. A fair forgery of a NYC slice...the pie itself was a little thin and not that chewy, but the crust on the edges was perfect, with all the requisite bubbles and burn marks.

bravo pizza website

West Coast Deli Hunt (Like 'Star Search' for Meat)

2nd Ave Deli, RIP

Pastrami sightings since moving to LA: One.
Art's Deli in Studio City. Excellent sandwich, latkes were great, chicken soup was just OK.

Next up for a test: Langer's in downtown LA for some of what you see here. I will have a chaperone and a convoy of armored Humvees with me for the trip, however.

M

First rant

Greetings family and friends. Welcome to the online journal of our family's west coast adventure. Shortly I will be posting some photos of our new home and environs.

Allow me to begin by itemizing for you the sum total of celebrity sightings since all of this began on 11/30/05: (celebrity/location/score 1 to 5)

Notes on scoring: Higher is better, eg. 5 being Peter Gallagher handing me half of his pastrami sandwich at Katz's while Isabella Rosellini coos sweet nothings....1 being watching the cast of Growing Pains head back to their cars after a DVD shill session on Larry King Live)

Ahem...

• 'Jim' from the office/West 3rd/2
• Doris Roberts/The movies/3 (Hey, I liked 'Remington Steele)
• Ike Turner/Melrose/4 (Points for getting into a gigantic gold Benz with license plates reading 'Ike Turner'
• Little Russell Crowe aka Ryan Atwood from 'The OC'/Restaurant/2 (although I would have awarded extra points if Marisa or Little C. Thomas Howell also joined)
• Madonna/Same Restaurant/5 (C'mon...it's Madonna, for crissakes)
• Gene Simmons/Melrose/4

I'll try to update this as more sightings occur or I get bored with it.

Max