July 2008 – FrogBlog | Translating Los Angeles

R.I.P.

To give birth, to nourish,

to bear and not to own,

to act and not lay claim,

to lead and not to rule:

this is mysterious power.

(Lao Tzu)

A Hot Race

Look at this photo. Imagine approximately 130 F heat. Picture yourself running. How far would you be able to go?

Well, some people manage to run 135 miles.

Yes, the Badwater Ultramarathon is on (7/14 – 7/16/2008). Without questioning myself why one would want to run 135 miles in Death Valley and beyond, I must admit that to endure this race is … awesome. I have no other word for it.

Right now the first participants have reached the goal. The fastest time was 23:20:16. Anybody completing the race in under 60 hours receives a medal, those who need less than 48 hours a belt buckle. No prize money is awarded.

I’ve been to Death Valley and hiked through Zabriski Point. It was later in the year, with temperatures somewhat cooler (only approx. 115 F). Even with plenty of water and at a moderate hiking pace it was hard going, very hard, but in the end I felt proud and elated that I did make it.

I imagine that this it exactly the feeling one has after doing 135 miles – only a hundred times more so.

Oink!

What makes one want to go and find out about new places to eat? Sometimes it is just the name – or can anyone resist to check out an eatery called “The Oinkster?” I certainly can’t. Apart from the funny name the only other information was “great pulled pork sandwiches.” Right, with that name that somehow makes sense.

The Oinkster in Eagle Rock is hard to describe. A former Tastee Freeze, which then became a food joint, was taken over by a Los Angeles chef célèbre, Andre Guerrero, who turned it into a quick-service place for fast food prepared the slow way. That means applewood-smoked, house-cured pastrami and slow-roasted pork North Carolina-style, along with Angus beef burgers and rotisserie chicken.

I have had many styles of pastrami in and around Los Angeles; the kind at The Oinkster is yet another variation of a well-known theme. I am quite sure that it does not meet the approval of some pastrami-lovers, but I was quite, quite taken by it. The taste is different and interesting, but most important – the meat is very lean, with none of that greasiness one finds so often. I know that fat enhances the taste, but when my poor stomach reminds me hours later that I should have know better… lean and non-greasy is perfect for me. Additionally, the pickle was heavenly. I would gladly order just a plate of pickles, if they would let me.

The pulled pork was nice, too. I have never been very much into pork, but the meat was juicy and tender and delicately, though distinctly, flavored. The chili fries looked nice, though that is something I never touch. The significant other gives them a B.

The beer selection was another surprise. Red Hook, Arrogant Bastard, Stella Artois (on tap) and several others more, equally interesting. The wine – oh well – I hope they will work on that at bit. They should work on that a bit. Or not offer wine at all.

Overall – not only a funny name, but a place to go back to. Oink.

What Have They Been Smoking?

The architectural landscape of Los Angeles is extremely varied. One can find anything from buildings appreciated worldwide for their high aesthetic value or sheer boldness to areas with structures so boring in their uniformity that one feels driven to tears. These are the two ends of the spectrum; in between one can find anything from the divine to the ridiculous and the weird.

This clearly falls into the latter category:

Yes, I know that this mock-Tudorbethan style was very popular from the middle of the 1920s to the beginning of the 1930s. I also know that this little “village”, a tableau consisting of eight cottages, was built adjacent to the former Disney studios (long gone, now a Gelson supermarket sits on the site), therefore it is part of the film history of the city. Still, every time I pass this spot on Griffith Park Boulevard I have to blink and ask myself: “What did they smoke when they came up with that?”

The only redeeming fact about this architectural travesty (in my eyes at least) is that David Lynch used the cottages in his movie “Mulholland Drive.” They certainly do not appear as quaint or whimsical in this film – I doubt that Mr. Lynch is even aware that these words exist – but as a dark, disturbing and mysterious background to some scenes in one of his finest movies. An architectural nightmare turned into art, at least for a few scenes. That, too, is very L.A.