Paper Cranes & Song Lyrics

Someone gave the Elliot Smith wall an update featuring paper cranes and his song lyrics.  I noticed it along my run for AGoodRun.com and had to stop to take a picture.

Food Love

With the move to California, I was sure that I would never be able to find a place with Neapolitan pizza quite like the kind you find in New York (or, if lucky, in Europe).  I was proven wrong when I got the chance to try out Mother Dough's sausage pie.  A bit steep on the price range but totally worth the splurge.

Food Love

Lavender Duck Confit sandwich at Sweetsalt Food Shop in Toluca Lake.

Sweetsalt is a quick 5 minute drive from the office - and I could probably spend all day there, trying each and every one of their menu options.  Thankfully for the people in line behind me, I quickly decided upon duck confit (blame my time in France for my continued obsession) sandwich on my first visit.  Looking forward to going back now that I am done with marathon training and can be a little more adventurous with my food choices!

Localizing - Wolfpack Hustle Marathon Crash Race

26.2 miles blocked off for the LA Marathon. What better to do than crash it on your bike before dusk in whatever weather it may be with 900+ other people?

As someone more comfortable racing on her two feet than her bike, I partook in this year's Wolfpack Hustle Marathon Crash Race as a volunteer during the rego party and spectator at the finish.

Next year? I'll be braving the roads :)


SO many props to Roadblock, all the other members of Wolfpack Hustle and LA cycling community that make this event possible, LAPD etc for being [un]officially supportive...it was all truly amazing.

Localizing - LA Derby Dolls

When was the last time you were on roller-skates? Actual 2x2 roller-skates with the front break. For me, probably elementary school. Last Saturday, we went to go watch the LA vs SD jam at the LA Derby Dolls' Doll Factory - located in the Historic Filipinotown neighborhood. Two of us were able to score a sweet deal through Thrillist Rewards for a discount on general admission tickets plus one PBR.

The match itself was fast-paced, exciting and the packed house was just as entertaining as the teams competing - aside from the competition, there were a range of food trucks outside and several different vendors in the adjoining part of the factory. For us newbies that missed the rules video, it took a little while to understand the strategy, but we were able to catch on by the second half. We'll definitely be back again to watch another bout!

Localizing - Griffith Park

It only took me nine months, but I finally spent a day exploring the awesome backyard that is better known as Griffith Park. Using the awesome Secret Stairs book as a guide, my friends and I took Walk #29 straight from my apartment up to the observatory then made our way up Mount Hollywood and a few other peak trails. I'm definitely looking forward to making more treks in the park and checking out the rest of the secret stairs!

[Saturday, we also hiked Westridge Canyon over in Brentwood - you definitely want to save that hike for a slightly overcast day as there's no shade, but the 360 views and trails are awesome for walkers, runners & bikers.]

Three Things

Last month, I dropped by Artisinal LA's Holiday pop-up shop in Pasadena and sampled all sorts of great food and drinks from local vendors. Everyone was super nice, and by the time I finished circulating the different tables, I emerged with a foodie high and even bigger appreciation for the variety of local businesses in the community.

Creme Caramels from Creme Caramel LA

Candy bacon from Cast Iron Gourmet

Organic spirits from Greenbar Collective

Localizing - Props sans photos

Unfortunately for my blog's audience, sometimes my hands are too busy stuffing my face with the food I eat to capture good documentation prior to the plate/coffee-cup/glass being cleaned.

• Black Market Liquor Bar (Ventura & Carpenter) - Ricotta gnudi. Order it.
  
• Cafecito Organico (Hoover & Bellevue) - One visiting friend this weekend exclaimed, "I've never had a coffee kick in this quickly" after a long night out in Venice.
  
• Tacos Delta (Sunset & Lucille) - Quick service and some ridiculous magic salsa paired well with a great fish and shrimp tacos combo plate.
• Eveleigh (W Sunset & Sherbourne) - I normally don't do oysters. This dining experience changed that. Served with a crazy champagne & black pepper granita. Mind blown. My other favorites included their hangar steak, burrata & heirloom tomatoes and duck rillettes.
• The Village Bakery & Cafe (Los Feliz & Garden) - Lemon-Rosemary-Almond-Olive Oil Cake is heavenly.
  

Food Love (& Localizing!)

Braised short ribs and poached eggs from Rockwell VT

Localizing - Indian Summer

in·di·an sum·mer

Noun:

A period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn. A period of happiness or success occurring late in life.

(Thank you, Google definition search.)

It's supposed to be well over 90 today and tomorrow. Such a tease that we had temperatures drop into the 60s the other week, allowing me to break out the fall boots. I even got to break in the Hunter wellies with a full day of rain at one point.

Sigh.

Back they go to the waiting queue for another rainy day.




Sneak peek at next Tuesday's Three Things:

Localizing - Temescal Canyon

Food Love (& Localizing!)

Fresh squeezed peach juice, homemade sausage & homemade ricotta donuts with blackberry puree courtesy of the Gastrobus which comes weekly to the Los Feliz Farmers Market - only a few blocks from my apartment!

Food Love (& Localizing!)

Mint-lime (Vegan!) sorbet from Paradis Ice Cream

Food Love (& Localizing!)

Sapporo-battered soft-shell crab and chips with vinegar and tartar sauce from Papa's Place

I absolutely adore this family-run business which is a short walk away from my apartment. Allison and I stopped in on a hot sunny day and were treated with amazing service and given samples of their heavenly watermelon-strawberry-pineapple lemonade during our lunch.

Localizing - LA Weekly's Annual Pancake Breakfast

As mentioned in my Runyon Canyon entry, much enjoyable grubbing was done while Allison visited me last weekend. We introduced her to In & Out, Papa's Place, food trucks, Fred 62, House of Pies, Wahoo's fish tacos...

...but best of all, we attended LA Weekly's First Annual Pancake Breakfast. The event was held downtown at the Vibiana, a gorgeous event space that had been the city's first cathedral - and there was already a long line when we arrived a few minutes before the event start time of 11am. The doors open promptly and the line moved swiftly; once checked in, we were greeted with awesome coffee mugs and handy forks with curved edges to help cut through the pancakes that awaited us.

And what a crazy amount of pancakes (and coffee and breakfast cocktails) awaited us. As we got in line for our first tasting, we came up with a strategy to take on traditional breakfast-type options first and then circle back for the savory types. LA Mill's line for individual pour'ed-over iced or hot coffee seemed endless, so we grabbed free water bottles and set off.

To recap:

• Tried 15 out of 20 restaurants
• Original Pancake House was actually visited twice becausethey served their apple dutch baby pancakes then refilled with a round of Kijafa cherry crepes
• Favorite traditional breakfast-style pancake? Fig's lemon-ricotta pancakes topped with blueberry butter and almonds
• Favorite non-pancake? Nickel Diner's Irish carbomb donut hole
• Favorite savory pancake? Kobawoo House's seafood pancake
• Runner(s) up? Square One's pancake topped with bacon and bacon-infused carameland Tiara Cafe's milk pancake topped with a chilled lemon sabayon and Maldon salt

So. Well. Where was I?

The event recap. Right. Well, obviously it was an amazing opportunity and sure worth the $25 ticket cost considering the sheer (unlimited!) amount of quality foods and beverages.

Who's coming into town for the next Jonathan Gold/LA Weekly food event?!

Localizing - Runyon Canyon

My awesome former-track-teammate-roommate-forever-friend Allison visited over the past weekend. For her first time on the West Coast, we made sure to check off a few must-do & sees like stepping into the Pacific Ocean, driving through Rodeo Drive, eating In & Out and, well, lots of eating.

The eating will definitely get covered via Food Love Friday posts and a Localizing shoutout to the amazing Jonathan Gold and LA Weekly for putting on one heck of a pancake breakfast. I think I'm still dreaming about Fig's blueberry butter and Nickel Diner's irish carbomb and mable bacon donut holes.

But I digress. Back to the subject of this entry.

In between the grubbing, we bravely took on Runyon Canyon for a Saturday morning hike. Despite the heatwave, we made it up Route A to where it intersected Route B for a great 360 view of the city. No celebrity sightings but more than enough off-leash dogs to entertain us along the trek. At the end, we came across an outdoor yoga session - if only we weren't too tired to join in :)

Localizing - Hollywood Sign

Localizing - 6 Man Tournament

The Charlie Saikley Volleyball Tournament is one third Halloween, one third athletic competition and one third weekend-long party. Better known as "The 6 Man," it's an annual tournament that brings in crazy crowds of spectators and really talented volleyball players to the courts just south of Manhattan Beach's pier.

Part of a full weekend of South Bay's International Surf Festival events, the competition starts early Saturday morning. Alex and I headed out to witness the action from the start, and the games were well underway by the time we got to the courts around 930am. What a crazy sight - people dressed in theme with their team names dressed in kilts, as Golden Girls (above), wigs, tutus, capes...you name it.

At the very least, teams wore matching bathing suits or boardshorts. Some went all out - the WWE team had a portable wrestling ring that they would put up around their half of the court, and the Running of the Bulls team actually had a man dressed up in an inflated bull costume.

As someone who highly enjoys themed occasions (or as our friends across the oceans refer to it as "fancy dress"), Saturday was an amusing mix of sport and costume brainstorming. Looking forward to what the teams come up with next year!

Localizing - Show at Barre

Hands down, my favorite place within walking distance from my apartment has become Show at Barre. I was severely disappointed when the John Hughes edition of For the Record we had bought tickets for was canceled - but that did not stop us from checking out the Coen Brothers edition, which is running for the next few months.

For those unfamiliar with the setup, Vermont, Rockwell and Show at Barre are all owned by the 1714 group. Kyle and I met there early for a round of sangria, kobe sliders, hot & skinny fries and grilled cheese with charred tomato bisque, after which we were sufficiently energized for the show.

We transitioned over to Show at Barre, which is the cabaret-style bar area adjacent to Vermont and were promptly seated at a tiny table amidst more tiny tables and booths facing the stage whose backdrop is Vermont Street. Additional patrons started filling up every nook and cranny of the venue - the place was packed for opening night.

I don't want to give too much away for those looking to check out the show, but I will say that it ran a great gamut of songs and acts from the Coen Brothers movies - O Brother Where Art Thou?, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, etc. One of the best parts is how the show isn't contained to the stage. The cast utilized every possible open space amongst the audience, really engaging us into the performance. We were truly hooked, from the opening to the closing.

Naturally, we made plans to snag tickets to the monthly Hip Hipsteret which was scheduled for the following Wednesday. Once again, we were blown away. The larger ensemble covered music from Adele, Florence + the Machine, LCD Soundsystem and more - weaving it into an original cabaret performance.

As with the other shows, there was a two drink minimum, but the bar also provided a special selection in theme with the night's performance. They also allow patrons to order from a full menu of appetizer, entree and dessert items as well which is great - we can vouch for the skillet baked chocolate chip cookie and molten chocolate cake.

I cannot give enough kudos to the team that coordinate all of the various performances not to mention the culinary team behind the 1714 establishments, so you'll just have to go and plan an outing yourself to one of the shows. I know we already are scouting out the upcoming schedule for the new additions and the menu for our tastebuds' appeasing...see you there!