Zanzabelle is Cool

Zanzabelle in Silverlake

Yes, it was hot again in our fair city this Sunday. Our friends, Jacquie and Bob came to town from La Quinta to get out of the heat. Sorry Kids! Luckily, we were spared excessive heat on Saturday. I had J & B over for dinner with a few other folks. I only had one dish that required heat, so we were relatively comfortable. Dinner and guests were delightful. I tried one new dish, mozarella and tomato salad. One of my co-workers gave me this simple recipe. I bought some mozarella balls at Whole Foods, added some tiny grape tomatoes from Trader Joe's, a little fresh basil and some Girard's vinagrette dressing. It was a really good salad. In addition, we had poached salmon, vegies, corn casserole. I also baked a lemon cake in my rose-shaped bundt pan and topped it with fresh strawberries. Yum! I don't usually cook that much all at once, but we rarely get to see Jacquie and Bob, so it was a celebration!

On Sunday, we went to Charles Phoenix's book signing for his latest release, "Americana The Beautiful." The book is faboo....you must go right out and purchase a copy! Of course, Charles was resplendent and dazzling in his red and white striped ice-cream sport coat! It had to be the hottest and muggiest day of the year so far. The signing was held at a darling little ice-cream and curio shop called Zanzabelle in Silverlake. Thankfully, the shop was air-conditioned, but it was small, so only a handful of people at one time could be inside. Zanzabelle had ice-cream, sherbet and gelato available. I had a marvelous cup of grapefruit-flavored gelato...it was so refreshing. Everyone was there....Jeffrey and Brit (with her Vespa) from SnB, Amy Inouye (designer of Charles' book), Stuart, Esther, Perry, many members of the L.A. Conservancy and the Modern Committee, even the famous L.A. puppeteer, Bob Baker was in attendance.

After hanging out under the umbrellas at Zanzabelle, we felt like we needed to get inside for some more cool refreshment and sustenance. So, Larry, Bob, Jacquie and I motored from Silverlake down to Olympic Boulevard, just west of downtown to the Rodeo Mexican Grill (1721 W. Olympic Blvd.). I've posted about this place before. The food is really good (and cheap), they serve alcohol, smoothies and shakes. Bob and Jacquie have spent lots of time in Mexico, so they felt right at home. We ordered various dishes, including the carnitas plate and the mojarra frita (fresh fried tlapia). It was divine.

We had a great weekend and got to hang out with our favorite people, even though it was hot, hot, hot.