My Favorite New Kitchen Toy

I like cooking dinner. It is a transition period to glide from the working day into a pleasant work free evening; so cooking might be classified  as a hobby for me, soothing for the nerves and with a tasty result in the end.

As with every hobby, one needs toys. I finally found one I had craved for quite a while – a double-burner stove top grill pan.

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With this nice, sturdy, heavy-duty pan roasted vegetables are done in no time.

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Sprinkled with olive oil, lime juice, salt and fresh ground pepper, they can rest while some pork chops rubbed with basil are being grilled.

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Add a salad, some wine and a friend = a perfect meal for three with a preparation time of 30 minutes from start to finish.

As I said, cooking is a hobby. And I love my new toy.

They Do Not Fool Around

It’s the time of the year again when mockingbirds and starlings are checking out the most desirable spaces to start nesting and raise the brood. Mockingbirds move into lushly green trees, starlings into more barren spaces underneath eaves and rain gutters. Both camps seem to be of the opinion that they have a wing up over the other. “Living in a tree – how can one?” “A hole in a wall – those guys just don’t have taste!”

Anyway, when mockingbirds and starlings prepare to decorate their nests in preparation for starting yet another family, crows get interested in the area too. The idea of a fresh egg for breakfast or – even better a while later – a juicy fledgling has a certain allure for the average crow.

Needless to say, mockingbirds and starlings do not quite share this view towards their offspring. As pesky as the young may be, they are definitely not breakfast. And so the fight is on again; any crow hanging out too long in the neighborhood is chased away by mockingbirds. It is not a rare sight to see one crow winging it, being chased by two or three mockingbirds in hot pursuit. Starlings do not take part in those “keep the neighborhood clean” flights – no crow can invade a nest under a rain gutter or some eaves. “That’s why we live in a hole in the wall, silly!”

This morning this female Purple Finch and I were treated again to some amazing flight scenes.

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Those mockingbirds do not fool around. David against Goliath comes to mind every time. And just like way back then – smaller is smarter, faster and better.

I am quite sure that the three mockingbirds afterwards congratulated  each other on a job well done.

The Rose Is The Thorn

It took us nearly half a year after Desert Rose on Hillhurst opened to set foot in the place. Why? Well, how can one keep a straight face eating at a restaurant adorned with the tackiest 15 ft. glass rose ever in front? So, as I said, it took roughly six month before we decided that we might have seen that oddity often enough to get used to it and not burst out laughing just at the mere sight.

Now comes the surprise: The place is nice. The service is charming. The wine list is interesting. The food is good. One might even say, the food borders on being excellent. I am quite game to go back and investigate some more whether I can uphold that last impression.

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Baked Brie

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Tabbouleh Salad

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Linguine with Sirloin

Plus, they have an extensive variety of whiskeys; maybe one day  they’ll print out a list for the servers  to  read from, so that customers do no have to toddle up to the bar to check out the goodies themselves.

The biggest plus however is – no, they do not light up that rose thing out in front. At least not glaringly so. So I managed to keep a straight face and did not burst out laughing at the only thorn at the Desert Rose.

Not For The Faint Of Heart

There is nothing one cannot buy in Los Angeles. Well, maybe not quite – as far as I know “Rouladennadeln” are not available, but maybe they are, I just haven’t found that secret little store yet where they are on offer. But apart from that, everything is on sale in Los Angeles.

Let’s leave aside the more … hmmm… exotic merchandise and concentrate on groceries. I know a lot of people who have the same goal as I have – getting the best deals while having fun at the same time. So there are the supermarkets from regular to upscale. Nice, but not that much fun. Then there are the tiny stores, always interesting, but with a limited variety of goods. Farmer’s Markets – more like an alternative to a county fair. Now, who buys groceries at a county fair? But sometimes they do have petting zoos, so that is nice.

And then there is the Super King (2716 N San Fernando Rd).

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The Super King is big on wonderful fruit, vegetables, cheeses, meats, spices, wines and spirits, huge varieties of all things Middle Eastern, an even larger variety of things one does not know what it is / can’t find out what it is / finds out what it is and wishes one hadn’t. All at amazingly low prices. I mean, Amazingly! Low! The store is like the US equivalent of  a bazaar in Istanbul – big, big fun.

Of course a store like this has lots of lovers of all things good and inexpensive. Which means, crowds. Which means, always waiting to get a spot on the parking lot. Which means, long lines at the deli counter. Which means, shopping cart gridlock. Which means, all the things the average shopper dislikes one encounters here.

So, I would not suggest this store for the faint of heart. Those who prefer dainty trips through Gelson’s might feel a bit out of place. But lovers of perfect merchandise, with a sense for the adventurous and new will not find a better place to shop.

Another Survivor

Very high up on my list of magnificent buildings in Los Angeles one can find Bullocks on Wilshire, one of the first Art Deco structures built in the United States. Just by studying some of the details one realizes what a true piece of art this building was and is.

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With changing times and economies, the story of Bullocks became quite varied and in the end the building seemed to be poised for destruction. It had been damaged, looted of most of its fixtures and severely neglected. And then – in came the Southwestern Law School to acquire the property in 1994. The SWLAW needed space. It also had deep respect for the landmark treasures of Los Angeles and restored the building to its former glory, while remodeling it very carefully to suit academic needs.

The final wonderful and amusing irony is this: When Bullocks on Wilshire was built, this plaque was placed in the wall:

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Somehow the motto “To Build A Business That Will Never Know Completion” did really come true – even if not quite in the sense the original builders had intended.

Two Brothers, A Peace Treaty & Root Rot

Another example of history in our backyards:

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According to some this is the place where the history of modern California began – at Verdugo Adobe in present day Glendale.

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The preliminary talks to the actual peace treaty (signed two days later) which ended the war between the US and Mexico were held under an oak tree, later called “The Oak of Peace” or “El Roble de la Paz.” Interestingly enough two brothers were involved in those talks about surrender of the Mexicans to the U.S. forces under the command of John Fremont: Jesus Pico, acting on behalf of the U.S. government and Andres Pico, commander of the Mexican Army.

The tree itself isn’t there any longer – in 1987 it had to be taken down due to root rot.

Well, at least it did not get chopped down for firewood or to make room for an office building.