This, That, and The Other Thing

Where do I begin? My granddaughter’s first time in The City, and I wanted to show her everything. Luckily she had an agenda because we were only going to be there for five days.

Day One – Blank Street Coffee, Rockefeller Center, Museum of Broadway, Bryant Park Winter Village, and New York Central Library (for all you Sex and The City fans).

Lillie’s Victorian Establishment for Day One diner was definitely a highlight of our time in New York. The holiday decorations were magnificent. Reservations were booked for weeks ahead but we snagged a seat at the bar and were served a complete dinner there – also magnificent!

Day Two – Central Park, The Met (the original painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware is here – plus works by every famous master I ever wanted to see), Tavern on the Green for late lunch, and then Moulin Rouge at the Al Hirscfeld Theater on 45th Street.

Day Three – Subway to Tenement Museum, lunch at Veselka (great Ukranian restaurant with delicious borscht), subway to Harlem, Red Rooster for drinks and on to The Apollo for Amateur Night. What fun that was – we cheered for the good and booed for the not so good. It turned out that the winner for the adult contest was the mother of the winner in the children’s class. The audience actually determined the winners.

Day Four – Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast, subway to Central Park West and Cooper Hewitt Museum for the Smithsonian Design Triennial, then The Milton for dinner and George Balanchine’s Nutcracker in the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.

Day Five – Had some rain earlier in the week but it didn’t change any of our plans. We had a few snow flurries during our fifth day but woke up to snow on the ground. Breakfast at Carnegie Diner where you had to get into a line to wait in a line. When you order blueberry pancakes here, you get a week’s worth! Then on to Macys in Herald Square for their Christmas displays (not as elaborate as past years), Mood in the Garment District, an elegant dinner at Osteria LaBaia, then on the Our Town at the Barrymore Theater on 47th.

Snow outside our hotel on the day we left.

The Other Thing – According to my Fitbit, we walked 72,504 steps which equals 36.25 miles in five days. This Nana was exhausted. But every time with my granddaughter is such fun, it was worth the blisters.

This gift was from my kids for Mother’s Day, and what a gift it was – especially since they went with me. I have never seen a concert as exciting and entertaining as this! At Dodger Stadium, our seats were the equivalent to left field not far from third base. The only thing keeping them from being perfect is that we had to take photos through the foul screen. Not sure why Dodger ground crew didn’t take it down.

The staging was so colorful and fun, and the audience of 50,000 was full of excited anticipation. Guess who was the opening act?

She was terrific – hasn’t lost her edge. She sang for an hour. Her music was a great way to prepare us for the main attraction. P!NK started a half hour late, but no one ever starts on time! Boy was she worth waiting for.

She had several backup singers and a half dozen dancers who were amazing. Some of those dancers were on the cages with her doing their own acrobatics. P!NK was fearless – flying in the air, soaring into the crowd – she was her own Cirque de Soleil. She did all this while actually singing. She told us years ago and she would never lip-sync. That would be cheating her fans!

I bet the stage crew had that set broken down and loaded on the trucks before we got out of the Dodger Stadium parking lot (which surprisingly did not take that long).

The Other Thing – I’ve never had so much fun at a concert in my entire 50 plus years of concert going. Thank you to my kids for the best Mothers Day gift ever!

This place, in downtown Los Angeles in Old Chinatown by the train station, has been on my “eat at” list for quite a while. I would like to say that it was worth waiting.

Very casual, which is fine. But you ordered at the counter, and you picked up your food when your number called. Picnic tables and benches, paper plates and flatware – no table service and person at the order window would have rather been anywhere else but there. Menu was large but nothing sounded good. I was expecting more of a meal – mostly sandwiches they called “po-boys” but not to me – not what I had in New Orleans. I chose an catfish po-boy, and I will say the catfish was moist, flakey and pretty good, but the sauce and bun were not edible to me. My kids ordered other items on the menu and said they were OK. That word means so-so to me. The saving grace was the side order of red beans and rice. That was good. Food was not very photographical!

Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives was there a few years ago. He autographed this photo but he did mention the food. Maybe I know why.

The Other Thing – Sorry Little Jewel. Your website boasts that authenticity is paramount. Maybe it was in the food we didn’t taste.

Fresh, Friendly, Local – that’s what their sign says. They have been on Coast Highway in Newport Beach since 1982. Today was my first time. That was my friend Sylvia’s choice, and that choice was a good one. This place is full of nostalgia with beach-type murals painted on all the walls – inside and out.

The menu is extensive with all of the favorites – homestyle cooking at its best. Food was so good I forgot to take photos until we were well into the eating process. So I will need to explain what you see. That’s a patty melt on the left with sweet potato fries for Slyia. Pastrami melt for me with cole slaw. In the words of Food Network hostess, Rachel Ray, everything was “yummo”!

I hadn’t seen Sylvia is almost two years so we had fun catching up on all the family news, etc. We’ll have another food adventure soon. Here we are in all or glory. I can’t figure out why I always close my eyes. Maybe I know what’s coming, and it’s never good (lol).

The Other Thing – Cappy’s philosophy – “Our vibe is your vibe. Laid-Back and chill, just like it was the day we opened in 1982.”

I always stop to see Mike at Sheldrake first. When we get together, its never for a quick hello. We always have lots to talk about. It was a lovely sunshiny day for a walk.

From Sheldrake’s to Roe Seafood at 22nd and Bayshore…

Then from the Belmont Fire Station to Super Mex…

The Other Thing – I moved away from Belmont Shore in 2000. I still miss it!

This lazy Monday morning was a perfect time to lounge at The Camp. I hadn’t been there in quite a while. Had my chai at Vitaly. The major change for me is that Old Vine, one of my favorite restaurants, was no longer there. I had heard friends speak of how good Folks Pizza is, but I didn’t realize that it was at The Camp in the space that used to be Old Vine. I didn’t take a photo of it because it doesn’t open until 4pm and look pretty nondescript when closed – even the windows are blacked out.

pretty cool stuff here, so I renewed my acquaintance with this little “mini mall”.

The Other Thing – I miss Old Vine!

It’s a lovely day to eat outside, and Tantalum is the perfect place.

Located in the Marina Pacifica mall in Long Beach, Tantalum has a welcoming entry and a patio overlooking the marina.

Even a lifejacket-wearing dog gets to enjoy the water.

Julie introduced me to a (new to me) summer drink – a white wine spritzer with a splash of peach schnapps. It was very refreshing. We ordered nothing unusual but always favorites – mac and cheese and Kobe sliders. They were delicious.

The Other Thing – According to the dictionary, the word “tantalum” means “chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73 – named after a figure in Greek mythology”. Maybe that guy was a gastronome.

In order of appearance: Fish and Chips and generous mimosas at Wilma’s Patio on Balboa Island – Grilled shrimp appetizer at Evan’s Gourmet in Laguna Beach – birthday cheeseburger and dream sickle shake at Shake Shack in Crystal Cove – Scallops and birthday dessert at The Cannery in Newport Beach – charcuterie board at Lido Bottle Works in Lido Marina Village, Newport Beach.

The Other Thing – These are my favorites during the months of June and July. There is always more to come.

Debbie was in town on family business but had time to spend a day with her very dear friend – me. So I planned a full day of food and fun and lots of conversation. First stop would be Terrace By Mix Mix in South Coast Plaza where I was anxious to share my favorite dishes with her. Then it would be off to Rose’s Bakery Cafe in Corona del Mar for chai and pastries. This would be followed by a long leisurely drive down Pacific Coast Highway enjoying the sunshine and the ocean view. We would end in Del Mar to enjoy a delightful dinner at Jakes’s on the Beach, sitting at a table overlooking the ocean where the windows open up to the sand. We might be there in time to watch the sunset.

Here is what happened to my perfect plan. It started raining as soon as we got to South Coast Plaza. Terrace by Mix Mix had completely changed their menu. Gone were all my favorites. We settled for sharing Oven Steamed Mussels and small Albacore Tostadas.

It did stop raining by the time we got back to the car, but the day was cold and windy. On to Rose’s and the next roadblock to my perfect plan. It was closed for upgrade and only a small part of the patio was open. They did have chai for us, but the only pastry left was the very last donut – we split it.

OK, we were still together, and moved onward toward Del Mar. We followed PCH through San Clemente and then took the 5 South – much farther than we planned. We immediately encountered 3 lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic as far as the eyes could see. It was frustrating and infuriating because this was not part of the plan. We were stuck. We couldn’t get off – there was nowhere to go except forward, on and on for what seemed like hours. Finally, I suggested we pull off in Carlsbad, to do what, I wasn’t too sure. It took a while to find a place to park, and when we did, we had to pay the meter. Between us, we had one penny. Parking was free after 6pm so we waited in the car for 20 minutes or so to be on the safe side. Then we encountered another dilemma – It was Saturday, and apparently if you don’t have a dinner reservation in Carlsbad, you are simply out of luck. The first place we stopped in had a small (and I do mean small) table in the corner of the bar. It was so close to the people at the next table, we could have eaten off their plates. The menu had nothing on it for less than $20, so we quietly walked out. The hostess said, “Thank you, please come again”. We walked a couple more blocks looking for other possibilities. Then, a couple of blocks farther, look what we found…..

No reservations available at Hello Betty, but we spotted 2 empty barstools and quickly made them our own. They had 20 beers on tap, but cocktails were more our speed. My drink of choice right now is the Paloma (tequila, lime, agave, grapefruit, soda water). Debbie opted for the Seaside Sling (an interesting blend of gin, apricot brandy, benedictine, cherry, and spiced syrup). The fish and chips were surprisingly delicious. The tartar sauce thick and flavorful and the side of coleslaw had dressing with an Asian touch. All quite enjoyable. We could see the ocean but sunset wasn’t quite visible.

Debbie and I have made it a tradition to always have dessert – whether we need it or not. We shared the cinnamon ice cream brownie sundae that could probably have served four. A brief stop at the pier and back to the car.

It was dark on our way home. We didn’t make it anywhere near Del Mar, but we still enjoyed our day, even though it was not the “perfect”‘ plan.

The Other Thing – It is really not the doin’ that matters – it’s who you are doin’ it with!!