California Dreaming... It's All About The Food

When we travel, it always seems to be about the food. And the drinks, of course.

Friday night we had dinner at Ocean Avenue Seafood where a friend of SD's is a bartender, so we went early to have drinks at the bar with David. He made us all a drink that he invented called Purple Rain and was quite delicious. However, being the creatures of habit that we are, we went back to martinis once we were seated at our table. Honestly, David has such an infectious personality and he's a splendid bartender.

We had a lovely view of the ocean at sunset and the dinner was quite delicious.



Mr. Snoots had the Wild Oregon Sand Dabs and they weren't what any of us expected. They were very fishy tasting. Go figure. It was fish.




Our daughter chose the Sesame Crusted Wild Hawaiian Big Eye Tuna with pineapple rice, steamed vegetables and an Aisian Vinaigrette, which was excellent.




I decided I needed some beef, so I ordered the 8 oz. filet mignon served with sauteed wild mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes. It was cooked to perfection... the second time. The waiter didn't hear me right the first time and thought I said Medium Well instead of Medium Rare. I felt like *the mumbler* on that Seinfeld episode.




Really, we just loved the place, in spite of the way the food turned out. The manager came over to us to personally apologize, but it wasn't necessary. We all still had more than enough to eat and otherwise the service was again impeccable.




The next day, we went to breakfast at Jinky's again because I had to have the Eggs Benedict again. I wasn't disappointed.




Mr. Snoots wanted to stay in the room and watch college football on Saturday, so SD and I went to one of her favorite places, called Hamburger Mary's, for lunch. It reminded me of a lot of the places in Austin. I had a great appetizer for lunch of Spinach/Artichoke Dip with chips and I love that stuff (too much).




Afterward, we went to Loehman's to shop and I bought SD and I some lovely new things. Then, she took me to a place on the Third Street Promenade where I was able to buy $5 leggings, which thrilled me to death. Let me just say that we saved Mr. Snoots a ton of money. I sincerely hope that he can see it that way.

For the next stop, we had to scramble back to grab her things at the apartment so that we could get back to the hotel and she could change there. She took me on a quick sightseeing tour, which was so fast I was barely able to take a shot.SD's idea of sightseeing is basically at 30 to 40 MPH. Since it was Saturday night, we had reservations at Wolfgang Puck's Chinois on Main Street.




It turned out to be one of the best meals we had the entire trip. The service was also the best we received the entire trip. The strange thing was that we had read a great number of bad reviews, but we found it to be total perfection.




We started out with Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab served with  Fried Spinach and a Wasabi Sauce that was truly scrumptious.




Next, we shared the Moo Shu Shell With Pork Belly and Julienne Vegetables with a Hoisin Oolong Tea Sauce. I wasn't wild about the texture, but the flavor made up for that and was incredibly delicious.




Next, we shared the Chinois Chicken Salad, which was so good that I can't even begin to describe it.




We shared the Sczechuan Beef with Spicy Shallot Cilantro Sauce, which was quite delicious, as well as pleasing to the eye.


Last of all, we shared the Shanghai Lobster, which was amazing.



Once we were finished, SD had to run off to a party so we walked back to the room and watched a really funny movie called The Hangover on Pay-Per-View. If you like to laugh at the ridiculous situations people can often get themselves into, then you should definitely watch it.

To Be Continued....

A Troll Tried To Pop My Vacation Fantasy Bubble...

Yes, it's true. My bubble was popped when a thoughtful and considerate *anonymous* commenter informed me that Huey Lewis was, alas, in dear old Scotland, playing the links. That, of course, completely cancels out that particular *celebrity sighting* on our first evening out in Santa Monica, while dining at The Lobster on Santa Monica Pier. Okay. He/She was a spoilsport and completely stuck a sharp pin into my cozy little fantasy bubble. Meanie. I'm glad I'm not like that. I prefer to make people happy, but I guess it really does take all kinds, huh? I just cannot imagine doing or saying something like that and raining on someone's parade. However, I have heard of these things called airplanes that can transport someone between two destinations in amazingly short time. But, whatever.



Once we arrived at the Burbank airport and drove to the hotel in Santa Monica, we knew this trip was going to be a totally different experience than last time. However, we should have flown into LAX, which would have been so much closer. Unfortunately, I'm scared to death of LAX for some insane reason. Our hotel was *on the beach* which means you're like a block away from the huge beach at the Boardwalk at Santa Monica. Our room was very nice and well appointed, so we were happy there. I loved that they had robes for you... definitely not your typical Holiday Inn. The pool was nice enough, but it was getting too cold at night to allow daytime swimming, unless you're in the middle of hot flashing. Thankfully, I wasn't... for once.

We were starving upon arrival so we walked around the corner to Ivy-At-The-Shore, which I told you about in my last post. Totally wonderful. I think we both had the fried soft shell crab and it was as good as it gets. We had devoured every little morsel before I thought to take a picture. Duh.


Once we were finished with our late lunch, we drove into West Hollywood to meet up with SD at her office (cubicle, really) and meet a few of the folks she works with. Then, we followed her to her apartment (which we had not seen) and it's really cute. These three girls are all so savvy and their apartment reflects that. After that, we didn't use the car again until we went to Disneyland



That night, we dined at The Lobster which is located on the street side edge of the Santa Monica Pier and has fabulous views of the ocean, so we walked from the hotel. Their wait service and their food was impeccable. I had the lobster tail *house specialty* (which I forgot to take a picture of while in my star gazing mode) while Mr. Snoots and SD had the whole steamed lobster. SD's roommate had the Lobster and Manila Clam Chowder, which looked divine. And of course, they served delicious martinis. The martinis may or may have not had anything to do with my two celebrity sightings at The Lobster. Frankly, I can't say, for sure.









I think I've finally decided that it wasn't Helen Mirren that I saw. This picture should explain why. However, she and her husband have lived in the Hollywood Hills since 1986, so it made perfect sense at first. Go ahead and click on it. You know you want to... Wait a minute! Now that I look again, I think it really was her that I saw.




When I saw Jennifer Anniston, I said, "Honey, look! It's Jennifer Anniston!" Mr. Snooty's reply was, "Who's that?" Yes. It's true. She doesn't star in any 1940's or 1950's western flicks with Roy Rogers or Audie Murphy and I don't think she's ever been on the food network, so why would he know who she is? Obviously, no celebrity sighting validation there either.



The best part about Santa Monica is that you can walk everywhere and hopefully kill a few thousand fat cells or knock off a significant amount of calories consumed, in the process. I loved not having to get in the car every time we had to make a reservation. As much as I ate while there, I actually lost three pounds on the trip. Woot! Woot!


Anyhoo, we put Mr. Snoots to bed after dinner and then the girls and I walked to The Ivy for after dinner cognacs, which was fun. They had lovely little vases of fresh roses at every table in the bar and restaurant. By then, the girls had to put me to bed. I was a tired puppy after so much excitement in one day, for an *old phart*.



The next morning, Mr. Snoots and I found a lovely little breakfast spot on the Third Street Promenade called Jinky's, which we really liked, so we walked there several mornings in a row. I loved their Eggs Benedict and fresh fruit that much. We were also able to sit outside and *people watch*, which was a real hoot, trust me.







We met SD for lunch at a place called Blue Plate Oysterette, which is just down from The Ivy. We sat at the bar (or lunch counter) because the place was packed and were we ever thrilled that we did! We were able to watch the entire kitchen staff as they skillfully did their jobs, which was really quite exciting. The owner was there to oversee things and you could see that there was an amicable rapport among the staff. We started out with FRESH British Columbian oysters called Fanny Bay oysters, which were tiny and delicious, just how I like them, especially with the freshly grated horseradish. I had the Fish and Chips for my entree, made from scratch, and it was heavenly. Mr. Snoots had the Mussels in Garlic Sauce and SD had their delectable fish tacos. They also had a lovely selection of tap and bottled beers.



Also, our waitress was absolutely adorable and one of the best servers we've ever had. Wait staff in Santa Monica is as good as it gets, literally everywhere. It's probably the most competitive field out there, besides the TV or movie industry









Afterward,  we walked down to the Santa Monica Pier and looked around. SD took a picture of me in front of Bubba Gump's, where you can slide into Forest Gump's fake shoes while sitting next to his suitcase and box of chocolates. Do you see where my purse is? I actually got up and walked off without it. For maybe 40 seconds. When I turned around to go back, a nice man and his son were looking in my direction, holding my purse. Whew! Disaster avoided.








The whole Santa Monica Pier is very touristy so we didn't last too long. I did find a straw hat there that I really liked, so I bought it to wear to Disneyland. I actually made it home with the hat still in tact.

To Be Continued....