January 13, 2015 · 6:11 am

Exploring in and around San Diego: Leucadia, la Jolla, Ocean beach, carnitas snack shack

I drove myself silly today, heading north to La Jolla for breakfast at The Cottage (soy chorizo with scrambled eggs) then north to Leucadia where I found Beacon’s Beach, a near empty stretch of beach except for several surfers. perfect for a stroll once you wind Your way down a packed sand trail Carved  into the high sandy bluff. The bluff looked like

Sunset Ocean Beach Pier

Sunset Ocean Beach Pier

a giant version of a kids dripped sand castle and residents clearly were trying to shore up the bluff in spots. I had iced coffee at the charmingly funky Pannikin cafe on 101 Highway, then followed the scenic highway signs as often as I could find

Military cemetery, Point Lomo

Military cemetery, Point Lomo

them, all the way down to the Cabrillo National Monument, which offers a stunning view of the city. I was too cheap to pay the $5 fee to go to the end of the monument but I did linger nearby at a mesmerizing military graveyard, rows and rows of white tombstones on a bright green grassy slope leading down to the ocean.

I ended up at somewhat seedy Ocean Beach near sunset so I parked the car and walked down the very long concrete pier along with others. Tonight we had a terrific meal at the carnitas snack shack, which seems to be on everyone’s list of where to eat. It’s a little boxy building with a window where a very friendly guy took our order which was delivered to our table in the open air dining courtyard

pannekin coffee house, Leucadia

pannekin coffee house, Leucadia

behind the shack. The braised Duroc pork belly was a stand out!

 

 

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January 12, 2015 · 4:30 pm

Rainy drive to San Diego with stop in Rancho Santa Fe and Solana Beach

Oddly, the last time I drove from LA to San Diego, about 30 years ago, it was also raining as it was today. But California needs the rain (and hey, California rain bests Iowa deep freeze.) The drive was easy from Burbank to SD on Highway 5, with a detour to drive along historic 101 highway south from Oceanside to del Mar. I stopped in Rancho Sante Fe, an elegant area east of the coast at a spectacular private home filled with contemporary art where the owners were hosting a soirée. In Solana Beach I stopped to catch the last minutes of the Farmers Market in the design district (raspberries! Satsumas!) and caught a good sale at a nearby boutique.

Next stop the Marriott Marquis & Marina where I am in a room high over the water. The sun is coming out. Must get crackin.

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January 11, 2015 · 12:14 am

rainy day in LA : Daichan Japanese Restaurant, Theodore Payne Foundation

Theodore Payne foundation

Theodore Payne foundation

Lucy eats Japanese food

Lucy eats Japanese food

Rainy damp day here so we hibernated a bit then went out on the drizzle to so terrific Japanese restaurant in a nondescript Studio City strip center called Daichan which was packed with people warming up with miso soup and udon noodles with tempura. I had an excellent bowl of mixed poki, the Hawaiian raw fish dish I feel for on the Big Island. Other highlights were the seaweed wrapped quick fried tofu which was soft and fresh inside, lightly crispy on the outside with the slightly salty flavor of the seaweed.

Later Heather and I drove to Sunland, a suddenly rural area with horse ranches and old farmhouses and a nonprofit called Theodore Payne Foundation dedicated to native vegetation, perfect for the drought resistant front garden H is designing, after tearing up a suffering grass lawn.

 

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January 10, 2015 · 4:49 am

Los Feliz walk, Fred’s 62, Nickelodeon, and Portos…Los Angeles

Very Full day. We followed a walk in the excellent “Walking L.A.” Guide by Erin Mahoney through the Los Feliz neighborhood, walking up narrow winding roads near Griffith Park Observatory, lined with spectacular homes, culls of lush landscaping, amazing on-high views of downtown, with the occasional unfriendly dog, black Bentley, and signs warning of “armed security patrols.” A highlight is the amazing FLWright Ennis–Brown House. We also walked down and up several near-hidden pedestrian walkways that reminded us a bit of the hidden staircases between villages on the Amalfi coast.

We walked south on Vermont to a few interesting shops and restaurants south of Franklin, landing at Fred’s 66, a hipster diner, as advertised, with interesting salads, good burgers and sandwiches and breakfast. we drove awhile more around Laurel Canyon, marveling at yet another pocket of wealth, this one a different vibe than Los Feliz, more

Enjoying FLWright house in Los Feliz neighborhood of LA

Enjoying FLWright house in Los Feliz neighborhood of LA

rock star than studio exec neighborhood.

Next stop a visit to Nickelodeon headquarters in Burbank where my brother works on a new show Loud House (looked for it in about a year!) Cool place and glad my talented brother landed there. last stop a terrific Cuban bakery Portos, where the woman behind the counter didn’t just give us little samples but whole pastries to try. Delicious and it worked. we bought a bunch. We have loved our visit and slowly getting reacquainted with LA.

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January 9, 2015 · 5:00 am

LA Farmers Market for tacos, falafel, Brazilian BBQ, crepes and more

Loteria At the LA Farmers marketmakes some mean tacos, among our favs the shrimp and pork, also excellent black beans. My niece had a delicious Nutella crepe at a nearby stall and the Moishe’s falafel. The ambiance alone is great – an old fashioned food hall of sorts (the “farmers market” moniker is a bit misleading) with a series of little stalls around since the 1930s, each with a different ethnic or regional offering. The Brazilian BBQ had a strong following, as did the falafel place. Their is also a best French gourmet food and cooking ware store. All this is surrounded by a very upscale open air mall, sort of Disneyland-esque make believe world with fancy brand mpname outposts like anthropologie and top shop.

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January 8, 2015 · 6:08 pm

United gets us to LAX via competitor!

we didn’t realize United had fixed us up with an alternative flight to LA on a competing airline until we got to the airport in Des Moines. These airline mergers are hard to keep straight. But United merged with Continental and American with USAIR. We were supposed to fly United to Denver to LA but our flight was two hours late so we would miss our connection. I stayed calm and called United and soon we were flying us air to LA via Phoenix, out of frigid subzero Iowa to sunny warm LA. And here is my sweet breakfast companion in Burbank!

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December 30, 2014 · 7:10 pm

Kansas City – Cafe Trio

I’m always trying to remember the restaurants we eat at, particularly in a place like Kansas City (beyond the ones I’ll always remember like Gates, Stroud’s, Joes — formerly Oklahoma Joe’s, and Bryants.) So for the record we had a good meal with wonderful Uncle Kenneth at Trio, near the Plaza. I wasn’t that hungry, having had a big bowl of Bun at Saigon Cafe in Wichita a few hours earlier, so I just had a small plate – mainly grilled Brussels sprouts (a new favorite veg) well-seasoned with big pieces of lardon (bacon), little bits of pear and a small dab of orange-colored sweet potato (I think) puree. D had good crab cakes. N had salmon. K had chicken. The place was all decked out for the holiday, as of course was the Plaza, with its Spanish-style buildings lined with Christmas lights.

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December 26, 2014 · 11:48 pm

Dodge city dining– tacos Jalisco

imageNo visit to Wright, Kansas is complete without a visit to Tacos Jalisco in nearby Dodge City so we found ourselves here, yet again, on a suddenly snowy bleak day after Xmas. Good nothin fancy soft tacos (fried pork is my new fave) and carne asada and flan in a long open dining room with lots of murals of the old country. We also did a little antiquing at the dodge city antique mall near Hastings dept store and stopped at Dillons grocery for some Art and Mary jalapeño potato chips, a Kansas Classic (it was just arts when we lived in Wichita many years ago.)

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December 25, 2014 · 12:46 am

Eating en route to Dodge City: Liberty, Mo (Stroud’s chicken), Lawrence, ks (Wheatfields), Salina (cozy inn)

Fine dining en route to dodge city Kansas from Des Moines for Christmas:

– Stroud’s (“we choke our own chickens”) off I 35 north of Kansas City). We didn’t think we’d be able to stop here because there is usually a long wait but we drove right into a prime parking spot on a Tuesday night at 8:15 pm (albeit holiday date) and sat at the small bar rather than waiting  40 minutes for a table. Great pan fried chicken and what everyone needs after a chicken dinner – killer cinnamon rolls, buttery and warm. Perfect stop before picking our son up at the Kansas City airport.

– Wheatfields bakery in Lawrence where we learned we could avoid the long line for take out pastries and bread if we ordered breakfast as well at a counter with no line. And good grub too although I just had a small croissant (still recovering from Stroud’s.) Our waitress enthusiastically recommended another old tome bakery in town for its cream cheese donuts. Next time. (And there will be…)

– Cozy Inn, we took up three of the six seats at the counter in this shoe box of a burger joint, with a great view of the two tattooed guys cooking sliders on a griddle. Forgot how good those sliders are..small and mighty, slightly rare with grilled onions and pickles (no cheese or fries allowed) on a small moist white bun.

– Ad Astra, a hipster coffee shop around the block on Salina’s main drag where I had a good chai latte and found a great used book about Elizabeth “Grandma” Layton, a sweet older lady from small town Kansas who painted brilliantly wicked self portraits. (One of which hangs in our kitchen nook.) We met her in the late 1980’s when some friends and I were playing pool at a bar and met her nephew, or some such, who called her to see if she was receiving visitors. She was . So we went to her house and she served us lemonade and showed us around and let us buy signed posters of her work. Only in Kansas!! She died in 1993 I see from the book (which I had to buy!)

The sun is finally out with endless blue sky, bald brown hills, the occasional wind-whipped tree and lots of gleaming white whirling wind turbines. Life is good.

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December 18, 2014 · 4:36 pm

Dos Rios – I agree with the Datebook Diner’s review today

I had to agree with the Des Moines Register’s  review today about Dos Rios, a restaurant serving modern (aka Rick Bayles- style) Mexican fare on Court Avenue in Des Moines. I hadn’t been there in ages, after a few mediocre overpriced meals but was presently surprised after a recent lunch there (suggested by my friend Anne.) The taco special was good value and good food – I had the pork and steak tacos plus a hearty bowl of spicy tortilla soup with visible bits of chicken (and tortilla strips).

 

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