Bay Cities Italian Deli and Bakery

I'm due for a beach getaway, my style. That means I purchase a Star, an Enquirer, and some food and settle in my beach chair under an umbrella with my tootsies wiggling in the sand and just chill out. You may remember my post from several years ago when Reel Inn topped off a similar beach day. Click here for that adventure. 

Today, I'm off to Zuma Beach after a stop at Bay Cities Italian Deli and Bakery for my sandwich fix. Oh my gosh, believe the accolades, peeps!! This is the Little Dom Lorenzo with parma proscuitto, water mozzarella, basil, roasted tomatoes, olive oil and pepper on the six-inch baguette. Wow!! I also selected blood orange bubbly water (in a cool message-in-a-bottle type of container - maybe next time!) and cucumber-tomato salad. Deeelish!! It's a fun mix of deli and grocery store, so spend some time wandering the aisles while there.

Belly is full, and I can just take this in!

Click here for Bay Cities' website.

Topanga Days/County Fair

I've wanted to check out the hippie-trippy Memorial Day scene at Topanga Days for quite some time. And you guessed it, today's the day. In case you don't know, Topanga Days is a fundraiser for the Topanga Community Club. It's basically a music festival with a pie-eating contest thrown in for good fun. Let it all hang out!!

Here you see local faves Venice rocking the crowd with an hour-plus of non-stop jams. From Prince to Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones, everyone was up dancing, singing and taking the "Magic Carpet Ride" around the party grounds. Too much fun! Watch out, as I would definitely stalk them again.

After the pie-eating contest, it was time for The English Beat and ska bouncing/dancing! More lost lyrics flooded my brain with "Tenderness" and "Save It For Later" to just name a few of the hits brought back to life.

And, yes, the audience was as diverse as these two bands. Tie-dye next to American flags, next to Ren Faire wear, next to leather jackets. People watching was half the fun! These are just a few of the characters in attendance. The gentleman in the tie-dye t-shirt above won the pie-eating contest for those of you keeping track. Mark your calendars for next year's Topanga Days. I guarantee it'll be worth the drive!

Click here for their website.

Another Broken Egg Cafe

It is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and I have the day off. Woohoo!! After some duo-piping in Griffith Park, my chum and I are off to breakfast. Normally, we would go to Billy's in Glendale, but we were both in the mood for something different. Another Broken Egg Cafe in Burbank was the perfect solution!

From my selections, you can tell I went with the Southern route: biscuits and sausage gravy plus blackberry grits. YUM!! Plates were almost licked clean! I just discovered grits in New Orleans, and I'm not sure why I've missed out on them for the majority of my adult life. I guess I'm making up for lost time! It was fun looking at the plates of other diners. Everything looked delicious!! ABE's staff was also very cool in letting us chit-chat at the table for almost two hours on the busy morning. Her husband is having serious health problems, and I let her vent. I'll remember that next time when I'm impatiently waiting for a table to become available.

Click here for Another Broken Egg Cafe's website.

The Dish Thai Fusion Cuisine

OK, so I know I may be sounding like a broken record, but I think The Dish is the best Thai food ever, at least for this week.

I spotted The Dish on my daily drive back-and-forth on Moorpark. Today was the day to give it a try. What makes them the best? How about a sample of the cream cheese wontons "for the wait" while my food was being prepared to go? The bar has been raised, all other Thai food places!

For starters (shown in the take-out box), I went with the 911 Salad. Wow!! Crunchy cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and lettuce with the grilled beef, all generously drizzled with their special spicy lime dressing. It made for a delicious adventure!

This is the Chicken Buddha Basil, with sautéed fresh green chili, garlic, and Thai basil. It was amazing! The aluminum foil wrap does not make for the best photo staging, but I'll assure you it was the best ever!!

I should note that I didn't mind the wait even before the wontons were delivered. The Dish was so serene, with two water features making the space extra calming.

The Dish is relatively new, and they don't yet have a website. Street address is 11717 Moorpark Street (at Fulton) in Studio City, Phone is 818-423-2188. 

Hercules vs Vampires

Just another night at the opera! Imagine this: a cheezy sandals-and-swords movie silently running behind a chorus of operatic voices and a live orchestra at the classy Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Seriously, I can't make this stuff up!

Our LA Opera pulled off Hercules vs Vampires in a most delightful way. Although no stuffy Italian librettos, it was great fun to see mythological good guys and evil villains on film with the performers singing the words to bring to life the re-imagined story. Can you tell it is still hard to describe what went down?!

It was a hoot, and a fantastic way to introduce a new generation to opera. Most of the audience was howling, laughing and clapping along; a few obviously didn't know what they were getting into. The movie had all the classic cheeze qualities: bad production values, improbable twists and turns, and my fave "us versus them" ending. The vampires were actually more zombie-like, but that just added to the appeal.

Go see it if you still can; the final showing is at 2 p.m. And be sure to let me know if you hear about any cheeze opportunities!

Click here for LA Opera's website.

Puchica!!! Guatemalan Food

Those exclamation points belong to them, not me. But I will say I'm pretty excited about the delicious fare at Puchica!!! This is the Chuleta de Puerco, which is a marinated, breaded and fried pork chop, served with beet salad, rice, beans and fried plantains, plus some cornmeal tortillas. It deserves three exclamation points! Since I loaded up on baskets of homemade chips and some amazing salsa beforehand, I had lots of extra food to take home for another meal. I imagine a little old lady in the back patting the tortillas with one hand and chopping up tomatoes and cilantro with the other. YUM!!

And their horchata is undeniably the best I've ever had. Who knew that sesame seeds could be added to the mixture? It was fabulous!

Puchica!!! is located on Sepulveda, just south of Ventura Boulevard. It is in the former location of the Indian place. Let's hope that Puchina!!! stays around for a very long time!

Click here for Puchica!!!'s website.

24 Hours in Ventura

After two prior wonderful getaways to Ventura (see trip 1 here, and trip 2 here), my Denver friend is "stranded" there over Passover/Easter weekend due to work deadlines. Being the good friend that I am - and having Passover off - I drove up after work on Friday and shared a fantastic 24 hours in Ventura with her.

Our first dinner came from Beach House Fish on the Pier. This is one of their specialities, Smoked Fish Fried Green Tomato Stacks, which is two FGTs topped with smoked salmon, lemon dill cream and chives, and two FGTs topped with smoked albacore spread, red onions and capers. Soooo fresh and tasty!!

Click here for Beach House Fish's website.

Of course we hit McConnell's for some ice cream afterward, but shockingly I have no pictures. You'll have to relive the decadence via the trip 2 link.

Saturday morning, we decided to head into the Old Town district for breakfast/brunch. I had an immediate good vibe about Paradise Pantry, even before I saw the menu. Upfront is my Purple Haze salad, with goat cheese, greens, apples, strawberries and walnuts. YUM! And behind is our shared Pantry Plate with four artisan cheeses, fresh and dried fruit, and nuts, plus the Meat Sampler with two salamis and a cured meat. Oh my goodness!! Such a score!! They will definitely get another visit next time I'm in town.

Click here for Paradise Pantry's website.

As a bonus, there is a little market attached selling all kinds of great cheese. Coconut milk cheese, anyone?!

I really like that whole Old Town area, and it was fun to shop and stroll once again! We hit the olive oil store, bounced between thrift stores and high-end boutiques, and really had a grand time.

Oh, and I can't forget my good friend Trufflehound's! It is Easter tomorrow, and I'm happy to celebrate with my dark chocolate caramels. Thanks, Easter Bunny, bwak bwak!!

Afterward, we hopped in the car to head to Oxnard in pursuit of fresh strawberries. When in Rome, yes?!

But more food was required before we successfully completed that mission. These mahi mahi tacos with fresh avocado and salsa sure hit the spot! We found them at Sea Fresh on the Channel Island Harbor. It was so relaxing to watch the boats glide by while devouring this meal!

Click here for Sea Fresh's website.

And, success! I don't know who the roadside vendor was, but these strawberries were off the chart! I won't be able to swallow a strawberry from a plastic grocery-store box ever again.

And, I'm happy to note, the strawberries stayed in the back seat on my drive home, or else I might've polished them off!!

Ventura, I'll look forward to seeing you in October for competition if not before. Definitely 'til we eat again!