Intelli Venice Again

Back in line like the regular people.

After too much to eat at 26 Beach, Anna wanted an affogato from Intelligentsia. It's times like these that I ponder how nice it is to have nice coffee shops to visit in your city - meaning, one that you don't own. Just cruise in, have a coffee and take off. No dealing with shop issues, customer issues, supply issues, etc. When you have your own coffee spot, you never, ever are able to come in, have a coffee and just "hang."

When traveling to coffee places, I prefer to remain incognito. I like being served like the regular customers and since I didn't notice my usual friends here today, I figured today would be a good day to remain inconspicuous.


Phil prepares our beverages.

Of course, when you're ordering three affogatos, a macchiato, cappuccino, iced mocha, a brewed coffee and taking pictures of them along the way, that kind of gives you away. Especially when our barista asked me if I was in the coffee business - what am I going to do? Lie?

How nice it is to stop in and just have a coffee.


Pouring my Serra do Bone capp.



Latte art for Kimmy and Bex.



Iced Mocha



Affogato



Nicole pours over an Escuela Vieja, Colombia



The Damage



Bob and Polly



Anna, Gerry and Christian



Baby you'll be famous, chase you down until you love me, Pappa-papparazzi.



Al and Polly

26 Beach

Gerry and the spicy bloody mary.

It's Saturday and our crew has gathered at one of our favorite restaurants, 26 Beach. The other day, another friend said he had grown "tired" of 26 Beach and urged us to try another restaurant instead. Sadly, the other restaurant proved to be pricey and bland in flavor. Maybe it's because I live on the other side of the country, but I'm hard-pressed to find a restaurant that is as eclectic, fun and adventurous as 26 Beach. The Chicken Curry Royal is killer and has been a "must eat" for years. But nothing here has disappointed - and the menu is quite large.


Chilaquiles Diablo


Bloody Mary Forest


Curry Chicken Royal - scrambled eggs with chicken, onions, snap peas, bean sprouts, coconut curry and brown rice.


Red Hot Chili Pepperzzz - scrambled eggs with ziti, chili, jalapeno, habanero and crushed red peppers, cheddar cheese and onions.


The Bob samples Chicken Curry Royal.


Panchetta & Eggs - eggs, pancetta, mozzarella, peas, tomatoes, linguini and red pepper.


Breakfast Sandwich - applewood smoked bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, avocado and mayo, with fries.


Steak & Eggs - choice ribeye grilled with scrambled eggs and rice.


Sides of Fries and Bacon.


Mendoncino Pear Salad - caramelized pears, chicken katsu, bacon, baby mix, blue cheese, tomatoes, candied pecans and pear vinaigrette.


Ian eats fries.


Anna and the Lemon Ricotta French Toast - fresh ricotta, mascarpone, honey & lemon zest with fresh blueberries and raspberry coulis.


In the sun


Huzzah!



26 Beach
3100 Washington Blvd.
Marina del Rey, CA 90291
310-823-7526
www.26beach.com

Morning Concha

La Favorita Concha and vintage 2007 Stumptown Ethiopia Hache.

The Quest for Concha (gotta love those double entendres) continues with one from La Favorita (again, so much complexity in meaning). Sweet and delicious, the texture is slightly coarse and grainy. Good, really good - but still not equal to Bondy in Mexico City.

Paired it with a 2007 Ethiopian Hache roasted by Stumptown that still had nice citrus and light berry notes. French pressed - just the way I like it. A nice way to recover from the previous night's festivities.

Life in the Lane Mas Rapido

Where the streets have no name

I want to run, I want to hide,
I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside.

After a week of living in L.A., I feel like I'm starting to get sucked in. It's a whole different way of thinking out here. Life is fast. Life is expensive. You want, no you need to have the toys.

Back in Baltimore, I'm perfectly happy with a modest GMC Sonoma pickup. Here you need to have, maybe an H1 Hummer - or at least some sort of BMW sedan. M5 would be nice. Tesla would be eco-friendly. The Aston would be classy. An F430 would be money.

Designer jeans, expensive t-shirts, Audemars Piaget watches, Louis Vuitton wallets, Thomas Pink shirts. Hmmm, that diamond encrusted Rolex that would be ostentatious back home seems about right on Sunset Blvd.

The need to impress through wealth is everywhere. Just last night, I watched amusedly as a guy was hitting on one of our girls, telling her that he's "successful" and started to list off the car he owns (BMW 335, not that impressive buddy) and dropping hints that he's wealthy this and successful that.

I wondered if this kind of shit works out here. I'm from a different school. If I had money, I certainly wouldn't talk about it (I don't, BTW - remember I drive a GMC Sonoma and don't have diamond encrusted Rolex watches). I would let them find out on their own. My mindset is that if you have to talk about it, then you probably don't have it. Because all the cats that I know who have serious click, never talk about what they have.

But living in L.A. is starting to make me think that perhaps I too need those same luxuries (trappings). A BMW M5 would be a nice start. Maybe a flat in West Hollywood or that little neighborhood between Fairfax and Beverly Center?

Add to that a girlfriend slash baby mommy - wife might be too much, plus I would lose half in a divorce. A true hottie. Into clothes, expensive Louis Vuitton bags, European cars, designer sunglasses et al - but a stellar hottie. Maybe I really don't like her but keep because she's that stellar looking. Maybe a nice blonde or Asian/White mix.

Ah, L.A. - maybe it's time to give you a go...

Hola Ruben

Rubens Tacos on Santa Monica.

After a night of one too many Sapphire Tonics and a bottle of Laphroaig, I need something to eat before we head back to the house. I was thinking Jack in the Box for a cheeseburger and taco (cheap food, si!) because we didn't want to drive all the way across town to Tommy Burger at Beverly and Rampart.

That's when she spied Ruben's parked on Santa Monica in West L.A. STOP!

A couple of tacos later, all is good in the world.



Carne Asada and Chorizo Tacos.

L.A. Two Three Five

With Jane at La Piazza in The Grove.

We're back on the town again where Jane has culled her girls for drinks at La Piazza at The Grove. I get there a little late and things are rolling along smoothly. A couple of perfect Sapphire Tonics later and things really are rolling smoothly. There's talk of late night drinking back at the house but I've got to meet up with the boys for a little business talk.

L.A. - they keep telling me the opportunity is here. It's late night talk about an on-going discussion and I think I'm starting to listen.


The Bob and Kim, who's got a show on Fox this season.



The Boys discuss.

Champurrado y Tamales

The Champurrado Lady

Just outside of La Favorita Bakery is a lady with a shopping cart. Inside the shopping cart is a cooler filled with chicken, pork and cheese tamales, and a large container of hot champurrado. How lovely.

It's what's missing in Baltimore. Street food. Comida Corrida. We need it. We must have it. But we don't, which is why I travel.


Champurrado y tamal de queso.

Who would have thought that the combination of sweet corn fortified spicy champurrado would pair so beautifully with a cheese tamal? The Mexicans evidently, who have probably been laughing at us gringos for generations.

But oooh, the tamal... delicately sweet, lovingly savory with just a hint of spicy trouble from the peppers and a little bit of salty goodness from the cheese. Pair that with the thick and hot champurrado and you've got yourself a winner.

That might have to be a fall menu item at Spro...


Close up of our tamal with cheese and pepper - rico!


A little street picnic.

La Favorita

The bakery called La Favorita.

Next door to Bruddah's is a Mexican Panaderia named La Favorita. Polly wanted Tres Leches cake and I, of course, wanted to see if their conchas compared to that of Bondy in Mexico City.

The concha is actually quite good. Sweet and delicate in flavor but the texture is slightly grainy and not the smooth luscious texture that is a Bondy concha. Good but not quite the same. But it would be delicious with a nice cup of coffee.


Our stash in need of coffee from Chiapas.

Bruddah's

Ahi Poke with Spicy Mayo

There are lots of Hawaiian joints outside of Hawaii, but few are as transcendental as Bruddah's in Gardena. Truth be told, the interior is nothing special and it's kinda like you walked into some average joint in Kalihi, but the food is stellar Hawaiian/Local food.

Like being back in Honolulu.


Fried Saimin


Braised Short Ribs


French Fries


Kalbi Plate


Ox Tail Soup


Our Spread


Properly prepared rice and mac salad, with Aloha Shoyu and Tabasco.

Bruddah's
1033 West Gardena Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90247
310-323-9112

Mitsuwa Matashitemo

Lucy at Mitsuwa

Gerry decided to rise from his slumber in Woodland Hills to make the trip down to Torrance for ramen and what better place to go than Santouku in Mitsuwa Marketplace. Since Polly and I were just here the other day, it afforded the opportunity to try other things in the food court.

I'm a big fan of Japanese food and I could literally have lunch here all week long and not run out of things to try. Today's choice was a tough one: katsu curry or katsu donburi? Very difficult and one should never be faced with such difficult choices. Do I use the Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe theory? Draw straws? Flip a coin? It's such a difficult choice and it would be foolhardy to chintz out and order both.


Katsu Curry with togarashi.

In the end, I went for the katsu curry with side salad, just because. I'm a big fan of Japanese curry. If you haven't tried it, it's very different than Thai or Indian curries. It's more mellow but oh so tasty. Nary can I pass a Japanese curry house and not stop in for a bite.


Gerry's pork belly shoyu ramen.


Polly went for the tonkatsu don.

Mystery Fail: An Update

Stephanie Jacobsen as Kendra Shaw with Apollo and Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica.

Okay, feel free to call me a geek because I finally figured out why that girl at Intelligentsia Venice Beach had me so intimidated the other day. She was the XO on the Battlestar Pegasus in Battlestar Galactica: Razor and her name is Stephanie Jacobsen.

I had been racking my brain all day long trying to figure out where I had seen her before and it wasn't until my 3am drive down the 110 Freeway that it hit me: "She's frakking Kendra Shaw!!!

God, I'm so lame.

After ten years in The Biz, it's very rare for me to get excited about an actress or celebrity. But ever since I saw her on BSG, I was a fan - not a very good one since I didn't recognize her straightaway, but a half-chinese, half-white girl with foreign accent? I'm in love and I'm intimidated enough not to approach her at a coffee shop, evidently.

Geek. Lame. Fail.

Morning Bakery

Ham and Cheese Croissant from Monmouth Bakery in Gardena.

There's something I always like about Japanese bakeries. They're kinda French but with a serious twist. One thing I cannot get enough of is Japanese style white bread. The fluffy interior and the crusty exterior. It's white bread perfection and when toasted to a nice crisp and slathered in butter, there is nothing finer.

Sadly, there isn't a Japanese bakery anywhere near Baltimore, which means that I'm left with having to travel to distant cities with sizable Japanese populations for my white bread fix. Not exactly a hardship, but not something I can have on a regular basis.


The insides


Honey Bread - one of my faves.

Strutting on Sunset

The Lapu Lapu - I have no idea what it is but two is not advisable.

After a night of drinking with Liz, a smart person would have immediately gone to bed. Sometimes, I'm not that smart.

Instead, I met up with the crew on Sunset at Tiki Ti. A little tiny joint that's the size of a living room (seriously) and serving up some serious tiki style drinks. This place is a throwback to an older era and the mixed concoctions are sweet, balanced and stiff - very stiff.

The Lapu Lapu literally tastes like Hawaiian Punch, but if you have more than one, be prepared to be punched.




The earlier part of the evening is already hazy and now it just gets surreal. After Tiki Ti, we head down Sunset to El Cid where a Morrissey/Smiths cover/tribute band is rocking out to a group of twenty-something Latinas. Evidently, Morrissey and the alternative 80s music is big with the Latino scene here in Los Angeles.

We're downstairs at El Cid and suddenly, it's like 1987 all over again. The styles are diverse but the crowd is decidedly Latino. Girls have that rockabilly or 1940s style to them. Latina with cool hair, cool clothes, lots of style and 80s alternative music? What more can I ask for in life? I've found my own little slice of heaven in Los Angeles.


At Tiki Ti with Joe, David, Brandy, Arlene, Allen and The Bob.

Truth be told, I was never a big Morrissey fan, but I do like stylish Latina girls, therefore I'm not complaining. I'm not that dumb.

I think at this point is where a fight broke out and somehow DJ Un-G stepped in and ended it. He's got some sort of mystical, martial arts master kind of power that he channeled to end the fight. One minute, some guy is on the ground getting pounded - hard. The next, Un-G is there with just a word that causes everyone to stop. Even with my dulled senses, it was amazing.


Checking out El Cid.

As we stood outside chatting with some of the girls, I wondered just how this scene developed. How does twenty-something Latinos get this into Morrissey? And mix it in with a little rockabilly and 1940s Chola style?

It's a scene that I plan on investigating more...


"I am human and I want to be loved... just like everybody else does..."