Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Roast To Go















Jury Duty Day 3. I'm now in the box and being interviewed. Today during lunch, I need Salt Peanut Cake from Nickel Diner (see May 2009 post). SPC has been so close, yet so far away these days downtown. I decided to swing by the Grand Central Market (see August 2009 post) and grab some grub first. A carnitas burrito from Roast To Go was the perfect solution! I did take it to go (to eat back at the Courthouse) and hustled over to The Nickel. SPC was packaged to go, also, for some delayed gratification when the day was done.

After a few more hours of interviewing, I was thanked and excused. Woohoo, and I'm out the door.



















Once home, this is the reward for completing my civic duty. SPC almost made it worthwhile. ALMOST!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Lenny G's











Day 2 of Jury Duty. I've been called to a case, and I'm potential juror #28. The drawn-out interviewing process begins...

Luckily, today for lunch there is a Farmer's Market at the Grand Park right by the Courthouse. (Have you seen that new park? Last time I did Jury Duty, this was all concrete and ugly. What a refreshing change!) Of all the choices, Lenny G's with fried catfish Po-Boys and peanut cole slaw called my name. Delish!! Lenny G's serves their Cajun and Creole dishes at several Farmer's Markets, so check them out when you get the craving!

Click here to go to Lenny G's Web site.

Click here to go to Grand Park's Web site.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Simply Salad














I'm downtown again for Jury Duty. I know, it does seem like I just did it! But, checking this very blog, my last service was October, 2010 (see posts on Lemonade and the Cathedral). ARGH!

Anyway, this is my lunch from Simply Salad. (Remember what I ate just yesterday on the Charles Phoenix tour? Salad is a very good idea!) They've jumped on the "make your own" craze with a huge variety of options to personalize a salad, while offering several "signature" choices. I went with the Thai it Up!, made of crunchy lettuce, grilled chicken, peanuts, carrots, wontons, bean sprouts and red peppers with Thai peanut dressing. What made it super-special was that they chop it up with the double-bladed curved knives. That meant it was really easy for me to eat with my braces. Woohoo!!

Click here for Simply Salad's Web site.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Charles Phoenix Downtown Disneyland Bus Tour











OK, so you should know by now that I'm a huge Charles Phoenix fan. The missing segment of my fandom has been joining in one of his Downtown Disneyland Bus Tours. Even though I've visited all of the planned places, today was the day to check something else off my bucket list. (Note that you don't have to be a Disney freak to get tons of history and humor from Charles and this tour.) We kicked the party off at Union Station (see April, 2009 post). If you haven't been, Union Station is deemed the last of the great railway stations and has remained virtually unchanged since its opening in 1939, well, except for the new plaza with some modern art and an aquarium (think submarine ride!).












From Union Station, we caught the Monorail/Gold Line to Chinatown, now referred to as Adventureland. This version of LA's Chinatown dates back to 1938. We were treated to an old-school egg roll at Hop Louie's (1941), plus firecrackers and a lion dance with drummers in the courtyard.




















From Chinatown, we jumped on a big yellow school bus for the drive to Olvera Street (see March, 2010 post), which is considered LA's birthplace in 1781. Frontierland, if you will. First stop was the Plaza Firehouse Museum and some history, then a stroll through the Avido Adobe (LA's oldest existing house from 1818), viewing a restored 1932 banned and painted over mural ("La America Tropical"), and scarfing down a sizzling hot taquito from Cileto Lindo.




















Next we took the short jaunt to Philippe's (see March, 2010 post) and the famous French Dip sandwiches. I went with my fave lamb dip, potato salad and orange soda. Delish!!




















Properly fueled up, we jumped on the bus for Tomorrowland via The Bradbury Building. The Bradbury, completed in 1893, was inspired by a science fiction novel set in the year 2000. Too bad that  didn't work out for us! For some bonus fun, Blade Runner, with key scenes shot at the Bradbury, was on the marquee at the Million Dollar Theater across the street.




















Next up was a short walk through the Grand Central Market (see August, 2009 post) and over to Angels Flight (see March, 2010 post) for the shorter ride to the top.














Then we walked to Disney Hall (see December, 2009 post), the castle of downtown if you will, for some modern architecture and a nod to Walt and the Disney family.



















Back on the bus, our next stop was Carroll Avenue, representing Main Street USA. Don't you wish you lived there?! Strolling the street, it was great to see so much grandeur, with a few in progress.

















Finally, we jumped on the bus to Bob Baker's Marionette Theater (see October, 2012 post), or Fantasyland. We saw a show with classic characters dating back to the 1940s. And, we can't forget the cake and ice cream in the party room. Woohoo!!

Six hours later, and we're back to Union Station, exhausted and inspired at the same time! Yes, I've been to all of these places before, and I've posted on most of them. But Charles put a wonderful new spin on things. Who wants to join me next time?!

Click here to go to Charles' Web site.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Visions of Oz at Heritage Square Museum

It's St. Patrick's Day, so what's this somewhat-Irish girl to do? Get my emeralds on at Visions of Oz: A Celebration of Art from Over the Rainbow at Heritage Square Museum (see October, 2009 post for permanent displays).

This exhibition, only up through March 31, showcases many kinds of Oz-inspired artwork, including paintings, drawings, models, jewelry, and toys, like this Lollipop Guild Munchkin.

Go see it before it disappears over the rainbow!

Click here for Heritage Square's Web site.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Harvelle's










I've been jonesing for some Harvelle's. See, when I lived in Venice, I went to Harvelle's all the time. One of my friends was dating a bouncer there. I won't say I got in free, but I will say I got regular up-close seating arrangements for lots of great shows. Since I don't have to work tomorrow, tonight's the night!

Blowin' Smoke Rhythm & Blues Band with their horn section, plus guitars, keyboard and drums backing up the trio of female vocalists rocked the house! It was like old times and just the kick in the pants to re-bluesify my life.

If you haven't been, Harvelle's Santa Monica location dates back to 1931, and it's the oldest live music venue on the Westside. The Long Beach location opened in 2011, and I'm looking forward to visiting it now, too. Who's getting their blues on with me?!

Click here for Harvelle's Web site.

Click here for Blowin' Smoke's Web site.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Morrison - Revisited













Where do I start with this monstrosity from The Morrison?! How about it has been more than seven months since I've had a burger and I'm really jonesing? Or, that I'm still dreeeammming about their Soft Scotch Eggs? Or, as I shared in my January post, I want to try everything on the menu? Yes, all of the above factored into the fantastic Morrison Fillet Burger.

What you see on the left if a fillet (filet, if you will), then cheese, then burger, and finally celeriac slaw stacked between a toasted English muffin. I wasn't expecting the standard fries when I ordered the cheesy fries topped with gravy and fried egg to share. The house-made pickles were stellar. Of course, I had to have another Scotch Egg, just to confirm the first one wasn't a fluke. This was all washed down with a ginger beer. Every morsel was delicious!

Have I now sold you on The Morrison?! Who's up for the next round?!

Click here to go to The Morrison's Web site.