The Coffee Table Bistro

I often overlook The Coffee Table Bistro on the stretch of Colorado in Eagle Rock. See, Coffee Table is right across the street from the Oinkster (see September 2009 post), and you know how fond I am of those Belgian frites.

On the frites front, here you see the Coffee Table's also awesome fries, sidled up to their Blacked Ahi Burger. Yes, that's a seared tuna filet on a whole wheat bun and all the standard burger toppings. (I know, it looks like a grilled PB & strawberry J sandwich!) The filet was huge and soooo delish!!

I've always liked the cool mosaic tiled tables - each one different - at the Coffee Table. I'll just have to remember to share the love a little more when choosing between these two fooding neighbors!

Click here to go to Coffee Table's Web site.

Mo's Foggybottom Burger

Last July, I wrote about Mo's Foggybottom burger, and how I had to earn one before I ate one. Well, today was finally the day!

After more than a year of salivating, my 2:44 clock time for the Los Angeles Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon was nothing! Well, it was something, but I knew the Foggybottom was waiting for me, so I tried to have a pep in the step. (For the non-runners out there, it's important to have protein after a long run to refuel your muscles and allow for recovery. Some people think this is an excuse to load up, but I'll leave that to you to decide.)

For clarification, the Foggybottom is a hearty burger to start with, then you are served little bowls with peanut butter and sour plum jam to spread as desired atop the burger. The flavor is awesome! You also get a run at their salad and toppings bar, where I took some tomatoes and pickles (not that they were going on the Foggybottom!), plus some really tasty slaw and potato salad. I definitely had some good vegetable products to balance the burger.

Dang, if I do the full LA Marathon in March, what will be my recovery meal? Hmm, something to think about on those long runs!

Click here to go to Mo's Web site.

Lemonade

Day three of Jury Duty. Yes, you are correct that I glazed right over day two. That's because one of the defendants passed out in the court room, and the paramedics showed up and took the accused away while handcuffed to the gurney. As you may guess, there wasn't going to be much court action following this, and we were released for the day.

Today, the case was settled out of court, and we were excused for good. I decided to make some lemonade out of the completely lame experience, and, luckily, there's a Lemonade location at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

Here you see my selected buttermilk chicken breast, sweet potatoes with pistachios, and brussel sprouts with parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette. YUM!! But the topper to the meal is definitely the zingy peach ginger lemonade. My taste buds are proclaiming that it's a lame day no more!

Their menu changes regularly depending on what's in season. So even if they don't have these dishes, I'm sure their replacements will be equally delish. They do have a few other locations in addition to MOCA, so I invite you to make some Lemonade in your neighborhood today!

Click here to go to Lemonade's Web site.

Monsters in the Movies

Back in May, I posted on two spectacular exhibits at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AKA, the Oscars). Tonight, I went back to The Academy for an awesome presentation with film clips on the evolution of movie monsters at Monsters in the Movies.

For instance, 1981's "American Werewolf in London" with David Naughton - who was there to give the audience some behind-the-scenes tidbits (note that he's still hot!) - was quite different technology-wise from 1941's "The Wolf Man," but both totally freaked out audiences in their days.

Jon Favreau talked about learning the monster ropes in 2005's "Zathura: A Space Adventure" so his later "Iron Man" movies could look fantastic.

It was fun to hear how many monsters are actually puppets or miniatures, and how stop motion transitioned into go motion as technology caught up. On the stop motion side, we got to see the masterful work of Ray Harryhausen in "One Million Years B.C." while hearing from Phil Tippett, the co-developer of go motion, a technique where the object is moved with the camera rolling. The artistry here is making the inanimate object move realistically. Tippett is no schlump; he developed go motion for "The Empire Strikes Back."

Today, most monsters are computer generated, so it will be great to see another program like this in a few years to learn the latest ways technology is making us believe in monsters.

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

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

I'm on Jury Duty downtown today. It's raining, and both places where I wanted to lunch are closed. (One for the day, one for good!) Off I wander in the rain for someplace, well, blogworthy.

Then I heard the bells at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. I knew they had a restaurant, and maybe I could get a pipe organ fix afterward!

While I was set to settle for a boring turkey sandwich, the Cathedral's Cafe Galero surprised me with this tasty BBQ chicken pizza and delish chicken pozole soup. I'm not a pozole expert by any stretch, but this one had cilantro, radishes, roasted peppers, corn, tomato, onion, cabbage, zucchini and tortilla strips and will be my new standard to measure other versions to. And the pizza, with the thin crust and roasted corn mingling with the usual suspects, raised the bar for other pizzerias.

As for the Cathedral itself - I just have to say it - that is not a pretty building. A concrete bunker and church just don't mix in my sensibilities. (Although I am remembering the heavenly sleep in the concrete Wigwam last month...) However, the pipe organ's sounds bouncing off those concrete walls was awesome!

So there you go. Did you score on anything blogworthy today?!

Click here to go to the Cathedral's Web site.

Pierce College Corn Maze

Last October, I posted on the Corn Maze at Forneris Farms in Mission Hills, near the intersection of the 405 and 5 freeways. In my efforts to cover ALL of Los Angeles, this year I ventured southwest to Woodland Hills and Pierce College's Corn Maze.

The set-up was the same: utilize your three-dimensional skills to recognize cutout patterns in the corn that correspond with the two-dimensional map illustration. Then you follow the path to find the "you are here" spots and answer questions about farms and agriculture in Los Angeles. This year, it took me just under an hour, and I found all of the eight question spots.

Here you get the idea that you can't see very far in the corn! And, this path may be an actual part of the pattern, or it could be a teaser route to confuse you. I don't remember because the corn stalks all end up looking the same. And, unless you're walking along the fence line, you really have no idea of north, south, east, west, which makes it challenging to follow the map. But, as you might expect, that's all part of the fun!

So, two Los Angeles corn mazes down. How many more can there be out there?! Definitely, let me know what I'm missing!

Click here to go to the Pierce College Corn Maze Web site.

Mijares Mexican Restaurant

I drive by Mijares Mexican Restaurant in Pasadena each morning on my way to work, their 90th Anniversary banner waving at me as I head toward the 134. Before it rolled into the 91st anniversary, I decided I needed to be part of their celebration.

Of all the enticing dishes on the menu, I was drawn to this one - Corky's Fabulous Garbage Burrito - primarily for the awesomeness of the name! It's stuffed with the usual burrito suspects, then you can personalize by adding sauce and cheese, and/or beans and rice, and/or carnitas or machaca. Very tasty, and huge! Thanks, Corky, for a tasty dinner and an equally tasty lunch the next day!

By the way, Mijares is also known for their margaritas. As I just say no, you'll have to let me know if the acclaim is deserved. In any event, let's all clink our glasses and cheer Mijares on for another 90 fabulous years!

Click here to go to Mijares Web site.

Rosti Tuscan Kitchen

Although Santa Monica is only about a marathon away, sometimes it seems like it is another country. When I head that direction, I usually double dip my activities, and tonight was a perfect example. I was invited to my friend's film screening at the Aero Theater, which just happens to be a few blocks from one of my favorite restaurants, Rosti Tuscan Kitchen. When I lived in Venice, I was at Rosti all the time. Here's the reason it's a fave: the gnocchi all' arrabbiata. I want to drink that firey sauce with a straw!

Knowing the potato-pillow gnocchi coma was virtually inevitable, I started with the arugula and fig salad to lay a base. And you know the salad is good when you actually finish it when the reason you're there is steaming on the table!

Laying the base was crucial, as this dish is just gnocchi, with spicy sauce and roasted cloves of garlic. Simplicity perfected!! And, maybe it's a good thing I need to do a marathon to get there now, as this kind of carb-loading could be addicting!

Click here to go to Rosti's Web site.

Fashioning Fashion at LACMA

Back in August, I posted about the Wizard of Bras. That experience laid a wonderful foundation for the Fashioning Fashion exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Fashioning Fashion showcases men's and women's actual clothing and accessories from 1700-1915 through four lenses: timeline, textiles, tailoring and trim. A major theme was the shifting proportion of women's figures over the two centuries. Where we use push-up bras and Spanx, they used corsets, whale bones and hoop skirts to reshape their bodies. I loved these bustles! As a girl who doesn't need any additional junk in the trunk, these were just amusing to me. The middle bustle actually folded up when the wearer sat down, providing a least a modicum of comfort, considering she had a metal frame attached to her behind!

There were some surprises from the men's camp as well: chest padding, the evolution of the three-piece suit, and some major bling on the shoe buckles were all quite remarkable.

The mannequins appeared in and around huge stylized packing crates, giving an impression that they were just discovered. And what a discovery it would be! The fabrics and garments are absolutely stunning, and I wanted to touch each one. I can't wrap my head around these clothes surviving hundreds of years in some cases, when I can't seem to drink a glass of water without leaving a stain.

And, a bonus note about the set-up - I knew the docent leading the tour, so I got some inside info - the mannequins were designed to fit the clothes, as opposed to the museum standard of fitting the clothes to the mannequin. That means that you get a real sense of the height and size of the original wearer, instead of a cookie-cutter figure sporting the clothes.

By the way, Fashioning Fashion is in the newly opened (just last week) Resnick Pavilion, with two other fantastic exhibitions. So get yourself dolled up and head over!

Click here to go to LACMA's Web site.

Doughboys Cafe and Bakery Restaurant

Oh yes, it is as good as it looks!! This, my friends, is the PBC&B from Doughboys Cafe and Bakery Restaurant on Third Street, just west of Crescent Heights.

PBC&B is a peanut butter, chocolate and banana sandwich dipped in egg batter and grilled, then sprinkled with powdered sugar. The red sauce behind is raspberry dipping sauce. What else can I say, besides can someone get me a glass of milk, fat free, of course!

Click here to go to Doughboy's Web site.