Is it just me, or is this whole Dine L.A thing also the source of this "oh no, I got to take advantage of this but where and when should I go" type of distress?
Take me for example, dining in most of the places mentioned is only something I daydream about endlessly, hoping to one day, by some crazy organization of instances, get to sample . So, of course, I jump on the whole bandwagon (not to mention $34 for me is still a hell of a lot; like food for 3 weeks!), but still...the ultimate question still remained: where and when?
So I make a reservation for one of the prime L.A restaurants at the moment: Grace. And for Wed. Jan. 30, 2008, without any specific time, I am 9th on the waiting list. Pheeew, at least I did something to try to "take advantage of this 'once-in-a-lifetime' event".
So Wednesday finally comes, and by some other crazy allotment of instances, my brothers friend (who is serving as my only VERY APPRECIATED sponsor for 'real restaurant' visits right now) wants to have late lunch. Crap, where to go!? So I rummage through every single participating dineLA place to see which one I was going to use this ultra-rare opportunity on. Where, where, where! But after getting unjustly violated by the law for riding my Vespa in an industrial district (long story involving misidentification and frisking), I am left even more uneasy and anxious than usual, and still can not think of a place to have lunch (as if there were any that were open after 2:00PM anyway)
Anyways, I end up seeking some comfort at Real Food Daily (I know, but since I leave to the carnivore capital of the world on Sunday, and never been to the NOHO location...). I end up finding that needed comfort in the last day of the monthly special 'loaf' of squishy, squashy lentils, barley, millet, butternut squash drowned in pan dripped gravy, oblique cuts of undercooked carrots, parsnips and one Brussel Sprout, Emerald Forest as it is called on the menu.
And after this filling meal, on the suffocatingly packed bus ride back home (suffering from post-traumatic scooter disorder), I get a phone call from Grace letting me know that a spot had opened up at 9:00PM..."Can I call you back to find out?" Hmmmm....take advantage, live up to my name (glutton it since I wasn't that hungry)? Finally sample one of the 'best', most talked, written, hyped about places in L.A? Spend all that dough without thinking about the future? Go all the way back to the other side of town again? By myself? Was King Salmon, Quinoa, Artichokes, Lobster Nage really worth it?
By the time I almost go insane thinking about it and call back: "Sorry, the table is no longer available"
Can someone please provide me with some sort of remorse-resolving solace?
Is this whole thing really worth it? (how about in Grace in particular?)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Just Another Day (my birthday, I guess...) FINALLY UPDATED!
Well, the day is coming closer, damn closer. Faster, faster than anything else i've seen or overcooked before. I'm already stressing over a new alias/blog name since, pretty soon...i'm going to...outgrow it. Yup, one more year 'till the big 2-0, ending my...hmmm....I don't know what to label it (teenage years).
Well, as the 'real world' continues to kick my ass, my birthday (both the early celebration on Sunday and today) actually went by pretty good...for the first time. It all started with my usual early sacrificing but sustaining visit to the Alhambra Sunday Farmers Market to peruse the endless varieties of unique asian greens, followed by my will-to-live restoring yoga session. This week I decided to try out some pretty Chrysanthemum leaves that go for about $5 a pound (I know, only got about a dollars worth). I don't know what I would do without food and yoga...
We somehow had enough money to have brunch at my favorite brunch place at the moment, Flore Cafe in Silver Lake. I don't usually use those cheesy words like 'heavenly' to describe the taste of food but for their Tofu Benediction Dish, I believe there is no other word. Think of it like a vegan take on Eggs Benedict: freshly baked toasted Batard Bread topped with tender slices of soft tofu, a generous handful of organic crispy kale, slices of ripe tomato and creamy Haas avocado. And that heavenly sauce...well, I'll just quote one of the waitress's there, "every day when the day is over, i'm always hoping that we'll have somehow have some left over so I can take it home and pour it over everything".
When I was already thinking about what I was going to have for dinner (go out to eat twice on the same day?! I wish...) My sister calls me all of a sudden to tell me that she will take us out for dinner!! I couldn't think of any other semi-affordable place so I decided to appreciate it and go all the way to one of my other favorite places at the moment, Au Lac, all the way in Fountain Valley. I wrote about this place earlier....simply, a one of kind type of restaurant, worth the drive from anywhere. And just when stuff was starting to go kind of bad (made the reservation kind of late so starving and snapping at each other, ran incredibly late and almost gave away our table), the wonderful Chef Ito, yet again, saved my day and changed my life. Not just for his tight welcoming hug that he gave and the glorious food that we shared, both cooked things like 5 spiced Soy Duck Noodle Soup so meaty, its scary and his raw creations like Jackfruit smoothies with a similar funk like Durian and Hot and Sour Soup with slippery coconut noodles and 4 different kinds of seaweed, but for his affection and charity.
Like I said earlier, the food here is really made with love, seriously. Right, when it looked like everyone on the table was finished eating, the lights suddenly start to fade out and Chef Ito and some of the crew come out. They start to sing "Happy Birthday" and are carrying a plate with some slices of that--whatever is above 'heavenly'--raw pies that he makes with a lit candle. It was something sincerely heartrending: "Happy Birthday Javier" handwritten above the vertically stacked pies with chocolate mint sauce, a rose made with tomato peel and mint leaves on the corner...i almost cried because everything was so beautiful.
I'm going against my no-photo policy so I can show you just how compassionate it was.
...I could eat this all day, really.
Thank you again Chef Ito for everything: the pies that I had again for my real birthday, taking those elixir shots with me, but most of all, gracing me with your kindness and making me happier.
The City of Alhambra Certified Farmer's Market
Every Sunday of the year (except Easter)
8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
the corner of Monterey Street and Bay State Street.
Flore Vegan Cuisine
3818 W. Sunset Blvd.
(323) 953-0611
Au Lac
16563 Brookhurst Street
Fountain Valley, California
714.418.0658
a one of kind type of place
Well, as the 'real world' continues to kick my ass, my birthday (both the early celebration on Sunday and today) actually went by pretty good...for the first time. It all started with my usual early sacrificing but sustaining visit to the Alhambra Sunday Farmers Market to peruse the endless varieties of unique asian greens, followed by my will-to-live restoring yoga session. This week I decided to try out some pretty Chrysanthemum leaves that go for about $5 a pound (I know, only got about a dollars worth). I don't know what I would do without food and yoga...
We somehow had enough money to have brunch at my favorite brunch place at the moment, Flore Cafe in Silver Lake. I don't usually use those cheesy words like 'heavenly' to describe the taste of food but for their Tofu Benediction Dish, I believe there is no other word. Think of it like a vegan take on Eggs Benedict: freshly baked toasted Batard Bread topped with tender slices of soft tofu, a generous handful of organic crispy kale, slices of ripe tomato and creamy Haas avocado. And that heavenly sauce...well, I'll just quote one of the waitress's there, "every day when the day is over, i'm always hoping that we'll have somehow have some left over so I can take it home and pour it over everything".
When I was already thinking about what I was going to have for dinner (go out to eat twice on the same day?! I wish...) My sister calls me all of a sudden to tell me that she will take us out for dinner!! I couldn't think of any other semi-affordable place so I decided to appreciate it and go all the way to one of my other favorite places at the moment, Au Lac, all the way in Fountain Valley. I wrote about this place earlier....simply, a one of kind type of restaurant, worth the drive from anywhere. And just when stuff was starting to go kind of bad (made the reservation kind of late so starving and snapping at each other, ran incredibly late and almost gave away our table), the wonderful Chef Ito, yet again, saved my day and changed my life. Not just for his tight welcoming hug that he gave and the glorious food that we shared, both cooked things like 5 spiced Soy Duck Noodle Soup so meaty, its scary and his raw creations like Jackfruit smoothies with a similar funk like Durian and Hot and Sour Soup with slippery coconut noodles and 4 different kinds of seaweed, but for his affection and charity.
Like I said earlier, the food here is really made with love, seriously. Right, when it looked like everyone on the table was finished eating, the lights suddenly start to fade out and Chef Ito and some of the crew come out. They start to sing "Happy Birthday" and are carrying a plate with some slices of that--whatever is above 'heavenly'--raw pies that he makes with a lit candle. It was something sincerely heartrending: "Happy Birthday Javier" handwritten above the vertically stacked pies with chocolate mint sauce, a rose made with tomato peel and mint leaves on the corner...i almost cried because everything was so beautiful.
I'm going against my no-photo policy so I can show you just how compassionate it was.
...I could eat this all day, really.
Thank you again Chef Ito for everything: the pies that I had again for my real birthday, taking those elixir shots with me, but most of all, gracing me with your kindness and making me happier.
The City of Alhambra Certified Farmer's Market
Every Sunday of the year (except Easter)
8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
the corner of Monterey Street and Bay State Street.
Flore Vegan Cuisine
3818 W. Sunset Blvd.
(323) 953-0611
Au Lac
16563 Brookhurst Street
Fountain Valley, California
714.418.0658
a one of kind type of place
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Oh, Trader Joes Girl
Ringing me up (not just the ton of stuff I always get...)
One ridiculously cheap thing after another:
Some rather slender Mexican-grown Baby Broccoli
A few Rustic looking and tasting Spelt Tortillas, and of course,
The fatal, recalled jar of Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Spread that I was half ways through with.
But even so, I couldn't take my eyes off you...
Stuttering on the pronunciation of my own last name,
Thinking if I would even be brave enough to confront you if ever saw you around,
Feeling stupid for always going in my "just going to trader joes" accoutrement oh,
and going with my mom.
I hope to see you again soon...
One ridiculously cheap thing after another:
Some rather slender Mexican-grown Baby Broccoli
A few Rustic looking and tasting Spelt Tortillas, and of course,
The fatal, recalled jar of Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Spread that I was half ways through with.
But even so, I couldn't take my eyes off you...
Stuttering on the pronunciation of my own last name,
Thinking if I would even be brave enough to confront you if ever saw you around,
Feeling stupid for always going in my "just going to trader joes" accoutrement oh,
and going with my mom.
I hope to see you again soon...
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