February 25, 2018 · 10:36 pm

Huntington Garden — giftshop, Restaurant near Pasadena

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A break from shopping and strolling at The Huntington

We may have spent as much time indoors as outdoors at The Huntington this visit because it was a little chilly and the indoors includes a great gift shop (where we get a 20 percent discount thanks to my sister-in-law’s membership) and cheerful restaurant with many options including Mexican Street Food (all the rage or maybe near-passé here) and Poke.

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Huntington Fare

On a Thursday the gardens were just the right degree of busy (better than the crowds on the Chinese New Year, word has it.) we wandered through the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, with the mountains rising in the distance and long lush green lawns. It was too mice to spend too much time indoors so we didn’t visit the art Exhibits but we did watch a short and interesting film in the visitors center about the Huntington family.

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sadly true

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February 24, 2018 · 10:54 pm

High horse dinette/Basecamp in Burbank, Commerson in Miracle Mile, Trespassing in Pacific Palisades and Mouthful eatery in Thousand Oaks

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meal one of three at High Horse Dinette/Basecamp

Unseasonably cold in LA too but not as cold as New Mexico or….Iowa. Plus there is sunshine, green grass and red, purple and yellow flowers and trees with oranges and lemons so not complaining. We have eaten well twice at a great new neighborhood place in Burbank — the High Horse Dinette/basecamp for food and coffee. Excellent rare hamburger, salads, Cafe cortado, southwest chicken wrap and cheerful hip vibe with several outdoor picnic tables set up in the driveway upside small dining area at the end of a quiet residential street. Amazing what one little place can do to change (improve) the feel of a neighborhood.

Later we visited my sister at her cool new apartment on Detroit street in the miracle mile neighborhood, in a pretty 1920s Spanish style building with an entryway courtyard with a bubbling fountain. Dinner was a short stroll away at Commerand where we had another good meal— moist flavorful chicken, chicken liver mousse, a kale and Brussel sprouts chopped salad.

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Sisters hike, near Amir’s garden, Griffith Park

The next day we hiked in Griffith Park and then walked around the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which includes an odd mix of houses perched high above Pacific Highway 1, with stunning views of the O’Connor and LA in the distance.

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Pacific Palisades staircase to heaven

We were following a walk suggested in our guidebook that as promised always strenous, with lots of uphill steps through foliage and at one point a walk through a nearly washed out trail and worn out steps that left us on the wrong side of a “Private “ sign (that we then crawled under.)

Next stop: Camarillo, a pleasant LA suburb where dirck’s sister recently over. We had an excellent Peruvian meal at MOuthful Eatery in Thousand Oaks, eating lomo Saltwdo, chicken Aji stew, crispy yuca, cucumber mint lemonade and coconut flan while catching up,and occasionally watching the Olympic figure skaters on a big screen TV.

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a mouthful of Peruvian food in Thousand Oaks Eatery

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February 23, 2018 · 7:23 am

Tesuque Market, La Boca, SITE museum – snow and cold in Santa Fe

Tesuque Market

Way behind on my blogging since we left Albuquerque two days ago. There we woke up to a dusting of snow — enough for public schools to be delayed. We drove to Santa Fe where it was even colder and snowier which was pretty but made walking around outside not very enjoyable since we still were chilled even wearing borrowed warmer gear. Tuesday is not the best day to visit Santa Fe if you want to do indoor activities.

Tesuque Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two of the places we would have visited are closed on Tuesdays — the crazy George RR Martin installation, Meow Wolf, and SITE, the new contemporary art museum at the railyard district. We ended up having coffee at Tesuque Market, an alternative hangout (that has become sort of a touchstone for me) and later a good Spanish lunch at La Boca near the Plaza. Oddly this is restaurant week in Santa Fe, when restaurants have price  fixe (i.e. slightly more reasonably priced) meals…to lure people. Des Moines’ is in August. We drove back to ABQ on the always stunning turquoise trail (highway 14) through Cerillos and Madrid but the scenery was even more dramatic with the snow and the clouds dropping snow in the distance over the mountains and the sun streaming through at the same time.

Leah’s bumper sticker OMG GOP WTF

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February 21, 2018 · 2:12 pm

Acoma Pueblo, Bibo Bar, bow & arrow brew, chili addict — abq

Road trip Day #1 from Albuquerque! The theme was Pueblos. First stop the Pueblo Culural Center in Albuquerque, a pleasant southwest adobe building with interesting exhibits on the history, art and culture of the Pueblos, primarily in New Mexico. Good gift shop and nice looking restaurant too. Then we drove about an hour west through flat range country with giant buttes. mesas and other-worldly rock formations rising from the ground like strange abstract sculptures. Tumbleweeds blew, rather than tumbled, across Interstate 40. Unfortunately, Acoma Pueblo was not open to visitors when we arrived. Winter hours. But we could see a few adobe houses atop the Mesa where about 15 families still live. Off season was not a bad time to see it (from a distance, if not up close and personal) because you could get a sense of the isolation. It’s way out and up there. We drove on a two Lane highway up to an overlook atop a rock outcropping where a few native Americans were selling pottery from their car.

Then on to the small dusty town of Bibo and an old adobe building that has been a bar since 1913. As promised by a friend of Leah’s, the 1/2 pound burgers with cheese and green chilis were fantastic, served hot off the grill behind the bar where the woman who took our order also fried them up.

Back in Albuquerque, we met Wellington at the Bow &Arrow brewery, started recently by a Native American woman, we are told. Cool brew space and good beer, my husband reports.

I stopped at the Chili Addict, a small shopped packed with any kind of chili product imaginable (even x-rated chili, with racey illustrations on its labels, hidden behind a towel covering the shelf with an adults only sign. (I was an adult so I peeked in).I bought some packages of frozen green Chile’s to take home. (I brought an insulated lunch bag for transport.)

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February 19, 2018 · 3:53 pm

The Range Cafe (Menaul), Sandia Crest in the snow — ABQ

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February 11, 2018 · 4:08 am

Another Nepalese restaurant in DSM — A tale of two onion bhajis

Onion Bhajis At Kathmandu

Oddly, there is a second Nepalese/Indian restaurant now in Des Moines and this one is on the same street as the first — a workaday stretch of Southeast 14th Street. Everest looks spiffier than Kathmandu, a few blocks up the road. But the minute I saw the alleged onion bhajis at Everest, I thought “Nope.”  Those are onion rings, not bhajis, which are more like fritters.  Anyway, I know the real deal when I see it and Everest’s wasn’t it. The rest of the meal was passable but we will definitely be sticking with Kathmandu, which has better, more interesting, flavorful and authentic food, plus more endearing and competent service, even if it is a less spiffy place.

Onion bhajis (really onion rings) at Everest

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February 2, 2018 · 8:02 pm

Catalina State Park, Seis Kitchen, The Dutch, 5 Points Market, Bon Boutique— Tucson

Morning in Catalina State Park

A few old favorites and new finds this trip. Catalina State Park did not disappoint. I never feel like I am really in Tucson without walking the Canyon Loop Trail, which this time had no water anywhere. Word has it, no rain since September. We had good street tacos at Seis Kitchen on River Road (al pastor and avocado good in particular).

I met my friend Mary across the street from the U of Arizona (Professor Mary) at The Dutch, where we ate salads and caught up  at a pleasant outdoor table.

near the U of Arizona

Along S. Stone

I dropped by two places I wanted to try last trip— Bon Boutique, (beautiful, pricey French housewares) and 5 Points Market and Restaurant, which had a funky coffee house vibe and what looked like excellent sandwiches and pastries. Next time (if there is one). I drove down nearby Convent Street to see some lovely revived, brightly painted adobe houses.

This was my first time renting from Advantage, which cost as much as the Arizona Shuttle round trip to Tucson. (And gas was cheap – $3.17 compared to $3.6 3 here.) I ordered a compact car and ended up with a minivan. Not the newest or cleanest but it drove fine. Now trying Frontier Airlines direct Phoenix to Des Moines. So far so good (which is more than I can say for the last flight I tried to take on Frontier).  I bought water and a sandwich before boarding since there is no free anything on board. The seats are hard and thin with a tiny tray but not too cramped. I had to pay for my seat ($9, i.e. way in the rear) and carry-on bag ($35) but c’est  la vie. I flew out on Southwest (which I prefer for many reasons to Frontier) — one of the first new direct Des Moines to Phoenix flights, on what seemed like a brand new plane!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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January 15, 2018 · 9:06 pm

Julien Baker, S. Carey and more at Mission Creek Festival 2018 in Iowa City

At the new Hancher Auditorium

I’ve lately become obsessed with the music of young singer-songwriter Julien Baker, so I was delighted to see she’ll be in Iowa City during the six-day Mission Creek Festival in April (she’s playing at Gabe’s on April 7, from what I can tell.) Also see S. Carey is part of the festival too…which has me thinking I need to look into the festival itself! Here’s more information: http://missioncreekfestival.com/

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January 12, 2018 · 11:53 pm

Coming in from the cold – blues at the DSM Botanical Center, avocado fries at The Republic

Botanical blues

As we were driving toward the Greater Des Moines Botanical Center last Sunday, we started realizing that the road leading there was chock-a-block with parked cars. Sure enough, we weren’t the only people with cabin fever, eager to get out of the house albeit not into the bitter cold tundra that is Iowa right now.

The Botanical Center is smartly offering blues concerts every Sunday from Jan. 7 through March 25 and I heartily recommend. The music – by local favorite Bob Pace, who I’m told plays regularly at The Gas Lamp downtown, although not to as huge a crowd as provided last Sunday at the Botanical Center – was good, as was the people watching and the very welcome green and leafy tropical hothouse setting. What a joy to see growing and flowering plants, especially at this time of year. The sun poured through the center’s glass dome, reminding us what it felt to actually feel almost hot. It felt great.

Avocado fries and a view at The Republic

Afterwards, we stopped at The Republic on Grand, the very stylish but welcoming bar at the top of the six-story  AC Hotel  in Des Moines’ East Village  that I’d yet to visit, mainly because I don’t go to bars much. This one has great views of the city and was quiet and welcoming. We had some outstanding avocado fries (avocado slices dipped in what looked like chickpea batter and fried) — delicious!

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January 4, 2018 · 7:56 pm

A little bit of Brooklyn in Des Moines – St. Kilda Bakery and Cafe

The new St. Kilda Bakery & Cafe, tucked away in an emerging downtown neighborhood of old brick warehouses converted into lofts and newly constructed apartment buildings, grabbed my attention initially because its owner is London-born and Australian-raised and promised an “Australian-style cafe.” That’s new for Des Moines.  Then I learned from a friend – a Des Moines native who lives in Brooklyn’s stylish Prospect Heights neighborhood – that St. Kilda’s owner previously ran a bar/restaurant in her NYC neighborhood. (Apparently he’s married to a Des Moines native, hence the move here…)

Anyway, St. Kilda (named after the owner’s hometown near Melbourne) has an urban contemporary  vibe and “modern, healthy-style”  food, based on my first lunch there last month.  Located in the attractively renovated warehouse now known as the Harbach Lofts, south of MLKing Parway downtown (a few blocks northwest of Principal Park, home of Des Moines’ minor league baseball team, the Iowa Cubs), St. Kilda  is a small but  airy tan-grey-white space with pale hard wood, concrete and redbrick. My friend Denise and I shared the avocado toast (an entree that appears to be all the rage today) and a steak salad with a poached egg on top. Both were attractively presented with  clever ingredients (beyond smashed avocado, the toast included charred corn, feta, tomato salsa; the surprisingly light steak salad included figs, pears and a bacon vinaigrette) — so not as ordinary or easily-made-at-home as you might think.   I look forward to trying dinner there sometime soon. (Here’s DSM Mag’s take)

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