March 7, 2020 · 9:04 pm

Jon and vinnys (on fairfax), rodeo drive, larchmont village – Los Angeles

My brother has a knack for finding hidden gem restaurants in urban neighborhoods and I am pleased to see that this continues from his New York days into this latest Los Angeles chapter, which is how I ended up eating at a small hole-in-the-wall called Jon & Vinny’s in what we think is West Hollywood. I had to wait 45 minutes but it was worth it. I ended up sitting at a small counter facing the very busy chefs and the wood fired oven where all pizzas and other hearty fare were moved around.

I ended up getting a salad with a slightly spicy Calabrian dressing and toasted bread crumbs on each leaf…delicious and some perfectly grilled bread that had more flavor than I expected. I would love to return with companions so we could share a pasta, pizza, meatball or dessert. Next trip.

I also walked down Rodeo Drive, for the heck of it, since I hadn’t been to Beverly Hills in decades and then to the original farmers market (near Jon & Vinnys) and then to Larchmont Village for a quick walk around and some ice cream at salt & straw. Today we are lying low but made a quick visit to the farmers market in Burbank. It never gets old seeing fresh oranges, grapefruits, kale, avocados and artichokes this time of year. Also took my darling niece Lucy to the local Donut Prince – her choice – and was surprised to see Californians dining on donuts at 4 p.m. on a Sunday.

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March 6, 2020 · 3:05 pm

Out the door/Ferry building, ferry to Oakland, jack London Square , Teracotta warrior chinese – San Francisco

More glorious weather (which is not helping drought conditions…). Susan and I rode the MUNI (N Judah line) to Embarcadero and wandered around the food stalls at the Ferry Building. Ate the best Vietnamese food I’ve had since visiting Vietnam last fall at the take out counter for the famous Slanted Door restaurant. (Out the Door) where we got excellent noodles with big pieces of chewy bbqed pork and moist rice with goodies (egg, sausage, veg) inside wrapped in a banana leaf. We ate on a rustic bench overlooking the ferry docks.

We rode the ferry across the bay and under the Bay Bridge to Jack London Square in Oakland. Fantastic views of San Fran from the water. We wandered a bit around downtown Oakland…good used bookstore run by the public library, a few interesting shops and then ferried back. Dinner was at Terracotta Warrior, a few blocks from Susan and Eric in the sunset. Northern Chinese food with strange items (for Chinese food) including lamb, tomatoes and what seemed like spaetzle (small dumplings) in the soup but may have been pita. Ended the night in the hot tub. Perfect!

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March 5, 2020 · 6:13 pm

Java Beach Cafe, Mary’s consignment 24th Noe Valley, biked along Great Pacific highway past Lake Merced, a Mano/hays valley , Cable Car – San Francisco

Susan and I rode bikes along the ocean where the highway was conveniently closed due to drifting sand. Near Lake Merced we ended up stopping for lunch at laid back Java Beach Cafe, where it was a perfect day to eat outside.

Dinner was excellent at A Mano, a northern Italian place in Hays Valley. Excellent pasta (bucatini ametriana, with pancetta and cheese; puttanesca with shrimp) and chocolate mousse/pudding. I returned to hays valley today, wandered around on another spectacular to the mission, stopping for lunch at Tartine, then to the water which I realized I was craving. I wanted someplace distinctly San Fran. So I ended up on the cablecar from Fisherman’s Wharf, past Union Square and other places I haven’t been in years. Kind of pricey ($8 one way) but Great views and atmospherics.

In the eve, I went with Susan to her pottery class in a pretty old building in Golden Gate Park.

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March 2, 2020 · 6:00 am

San Tung/Chinese food, Harvey Milk terminal, marijuana dispensary, Lands End, Kishu mandarin oranges/farmers market— San Francisco

Always great to be back in San Francisco, which I have loved since my mother took me here for my 16th birthday (awhile ago). Newer reason to love it — my friend Susan has been here for decades. Her neighborhood, the Sunset, was hopping last night as we walked past Asian shops to a great neighborhood Chinese restaurant San Tung packed with big families and smaller clusters of young people lucky enough to live in this gorgeous city.

I grew up with Chinese food but rarely find it now, especially good Chinese food. My kids’ version of Chinese food is Thai or Vietnamese. This was very good Chinese good – crispy fried chicken wings (who knew?), fresh mu shu pork (which I haven’t had in years) and perfectly stir fried green beans) The place is also known for it fresh noodles, (next time)

I am sorry I can’t post photos (technical difficulties) especially of all the lush green vegetation and colorful flowers – purple, orange, red – here and there. Welcome change from brown muddy Iowa.

We stopped in at the neighborhood marijuana dispensary— the smell of pot lingers on the sidewalks , here and there. It’s very clinical looking, more like a sleek pharmacy then a head shop. Samples in antiseptic jars on shiny white counters and iPads with interactive displays that showcase products with cold soulless names. This is not your grandma’s Mary Jane, weed, pot. Kind of sucks the hippie character out of the act of getting high. Guess that’s the point. Make it professional, medicinal, acceptable.

I also was blown away by the new Harvey Milk Terminal that I stepped into after deplaning. Awe-inspiring, bright, airy, sleek, white, trendy furniture, bold art work and wall installation with what looks like wood bits of old barn, a poignant display of photos and texts about Harvey Milk, whose 1978 assignation I remember hearing on the news in college.

Sunday we went to a farmers market full of gorgeous fruit and veg and flowers. Discovery: tiny kishu mandarin oranges smaller than a satsuma and even sweeter.

We hiked along the coast on a spectacular afternoon with lush vegetation and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, thru the fancy sea cliff neighborhood, stopping to tour a $12 million house for sale (it was an open house so we walked right in…) we walked past baker beach and into the presidio and Richmond areas. A six mile walk, as it turns out.

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February 29, 2020 · 9:14 pm

Shake shack at the Las Vegas airport!

Well that was a nice surprise and dining option during a long layover. The Vegas shake shack opened last October, about the time we stumbled upon one just about to open at the Minneapolis airport. Apparently it’s a trend, with shake shacks at airports in Nyc (jfk and laguardia), Phoenix, Dallas and Los Angeles (LAX)!

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February 25, 2020 · 8:33 pm

Pho 515 – Des Moines

I worry that eating in Vietnam may forever have spoiled me and that no Vietnamese restaurant in the U.S. will have anything near the great food we had. So far, that’s been true. I’ve visited two Vietnamese restaurants in Des Moines and both fell far short of Vietnam. But maybe that’s too high a standard.

Pho 515 is in a corner of a huge Asian supermarket on Des Moines’ near north side and I’ve meant to go there for ages. Finally made it and at lunch the place was packed, mostly with Asian diners. My crispy pork with turned out to be large moist chunks of pork with an almost burnt orange crispy rind that was very crunchy. The dish itself was bland but the quality was good. A friend had a pho with supposed crab cakes but we never figured out if/what they were. It did have some tasty tofu. I’ll definitely give the place another try — there was a great selection of banh mi sandwiches. (Pho 515, bills itself as the “ONLY Artisan Style Banh Mi bakery in Iowa.”) I also want to do some wandering around the supermarket which looked full of interesting things!

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February 9, 2020 · 3:53 pm

Hotel Vetro, Rosanne Cash at Hancher, Pullman’s, Rapid Creek Cidery – Iowa City

Rapid Creek Cidery

We almost never stay at a hip hotel but  decided to bunk at The Hotel Vetro, a sleek high rise overlooking Iowa city’s ped mall (a mixed bag, we discovered) during a February trip here to see/hear Rosanne Cash at University of  Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium. (Nice to hear a female singer whose voice has held up as she’s gotten older.)

Although we decided to stay overnight because I was concerned about possible snow or ice-slicked roads common in February, the weather was actually fine. So we could have barreled home on Interstate 80 after the concert.  But it was nice not to have to. I  looked for our usual cheap Airbnb or old school bed & breakfast but the Hotel Vetro room ($144) was fairly comparable price wise so we went for it. It was fun to be right in the middle of the action downtown — except late at night when loud kids left the many bars. I could hear women’s piercing laughter and yelling in particular, especially near closing time at 2 a.m. (I developed a sudden intense cold so didn’t sleep most of the night, even without the drunk kids.)

We went to a few favorite shops – Textiles, Design Ranch, Active Endeavors,Iowa artisans…and made obligatory book purchases at Prairie Lights. Dinner at Pullman’s was excellent – crunchy slightly spicy fried chicken with soft biscuits and fresh honey, a burger sandwich with crispy fries and who knew they have homemade grapefruit for this sneezing customer?

Hancher is always a great. We love the new Caesar Pelli building, much more than the previous one destroyed by a flood. I’ve gotten to the age where I appreciate watching a band (in this case folk/Americana with five excellent musicians) from the comfort of a plush seat.  It felt very relaxing, civilized. Okay, I’m getting old (although I did sit in a patch of dirt on a hillside last summer for the Hinterland festival outside Des Moines, listening to  live music by Brandi Carlisle, Maggie Rogers, etc.)

Brunch was at the fabulous Rapid City Cidery, in an airy building made of old barn wood overlooking an apple orchard (Wilson’s) in the countryside just north of Iowa City.  Operated by the James Beard Foundation-nominated former chef/owner of the now-closed Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon, Iowa, the cidery’s food did not disappoint. My omelette had perfectly cooked fresh fancy mushrooms, olives and feta. Dirck’s more standard fare was all about fresh ingredients prepared well – two bright yellow fried eggs, long pieces of crunchy bacon, roasted potatoes, a biscuit served with homemade apple butter. We need to get back there some day for dinner. 

 

 

 

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January 25, 2020 · 7:41 pm

Adventures (I’d rather not have) on American Airlines but they did try to remedy

We didn’t have much luck with our flights to and fro on American Airlines between Austin-Des Moines. Our outbound flight was cancelled due to weather. That was somewhat expected. Our return flight was cancelled just as boarding began — due to mechanical problems. Which meant we had to stay overnight in Dallas. Not fun.

I get that planes sometimes have mechanical problems (although two flights in a row from Austin-Dallas had mechanical problems on the night we were traveling). My issue is more with the “customer service” reps whose mercy you are at. The reservation agent I got on the phone was snippy and not the least bit sympathetic. The gate counter agent in Austin was kinder. (She assured me that yes, we’d get a voucher to stay at a hotel once we got to Dallas at 9:30 p.m. The reservation agent on the phone made no such guarantee).

In Dallas, at the “customer service counter” I had a really nasty guy. He asked if I had my boarding passes for the next flight. I replied “yes.” Then he said “You told me ‘no.'” Then I countered “No, I told you ‘yes.'”

It was downhill from there. He booked us at a hotel for the night and gave us a voucher. It was 10:30 p.m. and the airport was shutting down. When I asked how we got to the hotel, he mentioned a shuttle. Where do we pick up the shuttle?  He wasn’t sure. The agent next to him chastised him and told him to call the hotel and arrange the shuttle and pickup spot for us, which he did begrudgingly. He also gave the shuttle driver our cell number. I asked how long it would take for the shuttle to arrive? He said 20 minutes.

Outside the terminal, in a dim garage area that I wouldn’t have enjoyed waiting in on my own (one poor older woman was waiting solo and she looked nervous), 20 minutes came and went. I called the “Country Inn.” The shuttle was coming, I was told.  Another 15 minutes came and went. By this time several other people were waiting. I called the hotel back. Oh, the woman at the hotel desk said, “the shuttle driver went home for the night. He couldn’t find you.” GRRRRR….It was now almost 11:30 p.m. We ended up getting an Uber with a young guy who was supposed to be in Florida early the next morning because his dad was having open heart surgery.  The next morning, we took an Uber — we missed the shuttle driver again.

I did get an email from American two days later, apologizing for the flight mishap and giving me 5,000 miles on my frequent flier account. Thanks. I emailed my account of  what followed the flight cancellation. Surely they can do better. They agreed, responding promptly with a personal email that included another apology and 5,000 additional flight miles. That was a pleasant surprise and made me feel they were listening. Maybe others won’t have the same bad experience…

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January 23, 2020 · 2:15 pm

Blanco, Luckinbach, Fredericksburg, Johnson City — Texas Hill Country

Finally got back here about 10 years after my first visit on a tour bus, visiting farms (a peach farm, lavender farm, winery) with some Iowa farmers. This time I had a rental car so I could zip off to fairly out of the way places on roads with names like Farm to Market, although not as many places as I wanted to hit. Need more than one day for that. Next trip I’d like to go to: Gruene, Comfort, Welfare, llano.

Blanco was almost my favorite because it seemed like a normal place almost, with more ranchers than tourists. I did stop at the gift shop next to the Rosebud Cafe where I found good local pottery to buy as gifts and expensive Mexican embroidery. The town square reminded me of Winterset, Iowa, with its limestone courthouse, but the Texas courthouse is smaller… It too has been a movie set (True Grit) as has the Winterset courthouse (Bridges of Madison County).

I kept making wrong turns to get to “downtown” Luckinbach but finally realized it was on “the Luckinbach Loop” and looked like a western movie set with a big parking lot and an old (authentic) post office. Inside the post office is a rustic gift shop and cozy bar in the back where two old guys with a hearty sense of humor were playing a mean guitar and banjo. Very versatile, they played “hillbilly disco” and even some bluegrass-ish Motown. They happily entertained a handful of people who had wandered in and sat on wooden benches in the little bar. The dance hall and beer garden, adjacent, looked like they’d be great fun for hearing live music. Love that there’s music all over Austin and environs (Austin bills itself as the live music capital…I guess Nashville and Memphis have other billing.) Also was live music at the airport now where we are sitting on mock bleachers in a mock food truck courtyard listening to a four piece band ( not the real Asleep at the Wheel, as the sign above them says.) (p.s. our flight ended up being cancelled just as we were boarding: mechanical issue. Now we have to stay overnight in Dallas. And leave for Dsm early. Hoping we get there tonight.)

Fredericksburg was too touristed and German for me, but there were lots of shops and German restaurants in old stone buildings along the long flat main drag. I ate a brat loaded with sauerkraut at the old German Bakery. I prefer the more grilled brats in Madison, Wisconsin.

I made a quick drive though the LBJ ranch in Stonewall and visited his reconstructed birthplace. His gravestone is across the road. The place is vast — 2000 acres. Unfortunately the Texas White House, LBJ’s House, is closed due to structural issues. That would have been cool. I really liked visiting Truman’s Winter White House in Key West.

I also drove past Johnson’s boyhood home in Johnson City, so named for generations of his ancestors that lived and ranched there.

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January 22, 2020 · 11:23 pm

Blanton Museum/Ellsworth Kelly chapel, micklethwait craft meats, Hotel Cecilia, Uber Airport Ride app pick-up – Austin

Rainy day in Austin, not the best day to experience Ellsworth Kelly’s chapel on the university of Texas campus, next to Blandon Art Museum. It is spectacular when the sun shines through…a docent showed me a photo. Oh well, pretty cool without sun too. This also wasn’t the day to eat at micklethwait craft meats which I didn’t realize is a food truck. But we weren’t going to miss what may have been our best meal of the trip. Superb bbq brisket and pork ribs and delicious sides – beans, slaw, potato salad. Fortunately we found a dry picnic table with a big tarp over it and it wasn’t too cold. We also walked over to a hipster convenience store…name was Pickin’ or some sort and had a killer sandwich list and beer selection and good fancy coffees.  The rain let up a little son we Ubered over to South Congress so Dirck could see it. We had fun wandering through Allen boots, even though we aren’t in the market for cowboy boots and we stopped st the Hotel San Jose where I loved staying six years ago and visited its sister hotel nearby, Hotel Cecilia, which looked as cool.Sad to leave Austin and return to cold snowy Iowa but feel lucky we made it here. P.S. Austin is trying out a new approach to Uber pickups at the airport. The pickup is a line akin to a taxi line, a specially designated ride app pickup area in the garage where the rental cars are, a short walk from the terminal. Worked well. You order an Uber and then stand in a fast moving line and get the next Uber in line, taxi style except an Uber attendant emails your driver enters your pin/reservation number. Beats landing at a chaotic airport arrival area and trying to figure out which car is your Uber.

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