My Life is So Exciting

Meet Me @ 3rd & Fairfax

Last night at the Original Farmers Market we met up with our usual Wednesday night group of artists, raconteurs and L.A.-centric types for dinner. By around 8:30, one of us usually saunters over to Bob's Doughnuts and buys a couple to share.Last night, 3 people bought doughnuts. We had more doughnuts than one could possibly want! HOWEVER, the faboo histo-tainer, Charles Phoenix bought the prize doughnut of them all.

Charles Phoenix

Feast your eyes on the Divine Doughnut...it's positively huge!

Luckily, Cathy of California joined us last night and she whipped out her trusty tape measure to prove how big this familly-size doughnut was.

Bob's has an array of doughnuts for your dining pleasure, including their most faboo apple fritter. The best time to sample these morsels of magnificence is first thing in the morning, when they've just come out of the oven, hot and fresh.

Bear Claw

Kitty Doughnut

Decorated Doughnuts for Holidays

I realize this is a food post and not on my restaurant blog, but I don't consider a doughnut (even a gigantic one) a full meal.

Ellen & Cathy of California

Tito's Tacos

Today's post is here. Tito's is an L.A. landmark!

Inspiration

As an addendum to our visit to Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria on Saturday, I noticed that the square I was crocheting for my multi-granny looked suspiciously like the color theme at Clifton's Cafeteria! The yarn is Red Heart and is called "Woodsy." It's green, brown and a soft mustard color.

Synergy.

Clifton's Cafeteria

We had a marvelous time at the Southern California Restaurant Historical Society meeting yesterday at Clifton's Cafeteria. We arrived downtown early, around 9:20 am, so it wasn't too crowded. We found a $4 parking lot about a block away. The terrazo entrance to Clifton's is really beautiful. There are separate motifs embedded in the walkway of various iconic images of Los Angeles....the Griffith Park Observatory, the L.A. City Hall, a movie camera and more.

The Observatory and The City Hall in Terrazo

Walking into the Brookdale Clifton's is really a departure from the Broadway street noise. There's a waterfall, trees, soft music, mood lighting.

We walked down the side hallway to the cafeteria portion of the building and chose our breakfast. The array of food available is breath-taking. Of course, they show the desserts first (and last).

An Amazing Array of Jello Salads

I decided to have the spinach quiche, a side of sausage, orange juice and I just could not resist the flan. Larry had the waffle and grapefruit slices with coffee. There was an opportunity to have a freshly made omelet, but we wanted to sit down and eat quickly so we could go up to the third floor for the meeting/lecture. Christine called me on my cellphone while we were eating. She had arrived before us and saved us seats upstairs.

Christine

The third level of Clifton's is a departure from the wooded decor of the first two levels. Here, the furniture, wallcoverings and lighting have the look of San Francisco in the 1890's. The wallpaper is red flocked, the furniture dark and antique, the carpet is red and the light fixtures are bulbous. It's very well maintained. Our meeting was held in the back of this dining area. I found out later that if you want to have a private party, this dining room is where you can hold it. Clifton's will even bake you a special event cake!

We saw many friends from the Mod Com and other walks of life at the lecture. The first speaker was Charles Perry. He spoke about the history of cafeterias in Los Angeles. It seems that during the 20's and 30's there were at least 200 cafeterias in the L.A. area alone. It was a very popular way to serve the public "fast" food in those days.

Next, Chris Nichols spoke about his new biography, "The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister." Mr. McAllister helped design many restaurants in Southern California. Chris also showed slides of McAllister's work.

Third, D.J. Waldie spoke about growing up in the suburb of Lakewood, California and the food and restaurant offerings of the area during his youth. There was a long discussion about Hody's Restaurant (which coincidentally, Mr. McAllister had designed).

Roger Clinton, D.J. Waldie, Charles Perry

Roger Clinton, grandson of the original founder of Clifton's (Clifford Clinton) spoke and shared slides of Clifton's and other sites in L.A. with us. There was a question and answer period and then we all mingled and discussed our memories of restaurants in L.A. Larry Gordon wrote about the event in the L.A. Times on Sunday.

I was so happy to actually meet Pat Saperstein of Eating L.A, who also wrote about the meeting on her blog today. I've commented on Pat's great restaurant blog many times and we've e-mailed each other, but never met.

Many people stayed for lunch at Clifton's. We were tempted, but had other glamorous places to be....like our laundry room at home!

Notice how the pattern on Pat's dress matches the flocked wallpaper!

The Southern California Restaurant Historical Society is holding a Salute to Cafeterias this Saturday at Clifton's Cafeteria (648 S. Broadway) in Downtown Los Angeles at 10 AM. I've never had breakfast at Clifton's before, just numerous lunches and dinners. Mmmmm....green jello. When I was a kid there was a branch of Clifton's in the Century City Shopping Mall, right behind my high school. We used to go there after school for tapioca pudding. The Century City Clifton's architecture fit in with the 1960's design of the Mall. It was sleek, orange, gold and modern. The Brookdale Clifton's interior is really different!

vintage photos, courtesy of Clifton's

I've spent a lot of time at this "mountain" hideaway in the center of downtown L.A. The interior is a wooded fantasy with fake redwood trees, flowers, animals and birds. Here's the description from Clifton's website:

"As a youth, owner, Clifford Clinton spent his summers in the Santa Cruz mountains among the coastal redwoods, not far from the famous Brookdale Lodge. This mountain feeling was the theme Clifford wanted for his new location. Working with rock sculptor Francois Scotti, Clifford created a 20 foot waterfall cascading into a quiet stream that meanders through the dining room. Redwood trees were used to conceal steel columns and a renowned L.A. muralist, Einar Petersen, created a life size forest on canvas covering one wall. A Little Chapel (click link to hear "The Parable of the Redwoods") perched high amongst the crags fulfilled Clifford's desire to feed the soul as well as the body of depression weary Angelinos."

I personally like sitting in the mezzanine area. It makes me feel like I'm sitting in a treehouse, among the fake leaves, looking down at all the other "campers" getting their grub. Hardly anyone every eats on the THIRD level. The last time I was up there, it was decorated in a San Francisco 1890's motif, with flocked red wallpaper, bentwood chairs and lots of white filigree wrought iron....divine!

The special guests tomorrow are D.J. Waldie (Author: "Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir") on postwar dining in the suburb of Lakewood, Charles Perry (L.A. Times Food Writer and President, Culinary Historians of Southern California) on the origin the first cafeterias in Los Angeles, Chris Nichols (Los Angeles Magazine editor and author of "The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister") on the architect McAllister and his midcentury restaurants.; ALSO speaking will be special guest Robert Clinton, third generation owner of Clifton's Cafeteria.

Beautiful Terrazo Entrance on Broadway

I'm sure it will be a wonderful and delicious morning. I hope to see you there! Have a marvelous Memorial Day Weekend.....wooo hoooo...it's summer!
ADDENDUM: Yes, looking at your comments, I agree. Parking at Clifton's can be a bit of a challenge. We've usually been there for an early dinner....there's always meter parking available. We might have to park a few blocks south of the Cafeteria, or find a cheaper parking lot a few blocks away. Of course, the best possible answer would be to take the bus. I'm thinking, since this event starts at 10 am, street parking should be available. Well, we'll leave a little early, just in case. See you there!

Progress on the Multi-Granny

I've been working on my multi-hued, variegated granny afghan between my other gazillion projects. I've got two rows of the afghan completed. I like to crochet the squares together in long strips and then join the strips. I know that my color placement is sometimes wonky (similar color squares next to each other), but this entire project is a wonky one! However, the stash-busting aspect is outstanding!

Intersection, Art Installation

Resin Cakes by Jennifer Vanderpool @ Village Gourmet

On Saturday afternoon Larry and I visited "Intersection, An Art Installation" in Tujunga Village (Studio City). Our friend, Stuart was part of the block-long installation in shops along this adorable street. The event was sponsored by the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock and curated by artists, Barry Markowitz and Alison Goldberg.

IMHO, the best part of this little village within a village is Henry's Tacos on the corner of Moorpark and Tujunga...just outside the village limits. I've written about Henry's before. It's a perfect throwback to 1960's-style Mexican fast food in L.A.We had lunch at Henry's, then strolled down the street to see the artwork. Stuart's work is installed in the Gelato Bar...yum.

Cats and Birds by Stuart Rapeport

The gelato is delicious!

Machine Knit Hats @ Trinkets and Treasures, (See! This is a knitting post!)

Amy and Stuart

The Brain Optimization Institute

who couldn't use some 'a dat!

I heard that this tiny building is for sale for $1 million!!!

Travellin' in style in Larry's 1965 Ford Ranchero

Crocheted Coasters

This past weekend I was a Madge's house for a lovely, craftastic get-together. Many knitters and crocheters were there, stitchin' away. I didn't realize it, but this is a group called Asknitters. They meet once a month. Everyone brought a dish to share. Madge and her DH, Tom supplied us with barbecued chicken, burgers and drinks. We had some marvelous salads, casseroles, desserts. People were knitting and crocheting sweaters, kitty beds, afghans, hats, shawls, etc. It was really a great party.

I wanted to bring Madge a small hostess gift. I'd never been to her house before, so I searched her blog for photos that would give me a clue as to the colors of her house. I spied some cream, cranberry and burgundy drapes and a burgundy couch in the background of one of her photos. Aha! Now I have a color combo I can work with!

I decided to crochet Madge a little cotton basket that holds six cotton coasters. I used kitchen cotton and a size "G" crochet hook.

They turned out great. They're not really summery; the color scheme is kinda' winter, so they would be perfect for the holiday season! Thanks again, Madge for a marvelous party.

Miyako

Today's post is here.

Purse Epiphany

Last night, in my dreams, I had a PURSE EPIPHANY. We all love knitting and crocheting purses, it's assembling the pieces, lining a handbag and adding the zipper or closure that's a pain in the neck! I finished the crocheting of that darling granny square bag (above). I could have used bucram or plastic canvas to stiffen the bag, then picked out a cute fabric for lining, but at the end of the day, when I put something on the heavy side (like my wallet) in the bag, it would look all out-of-shape, bulky and wonky and the handles would stretch out. I remembered that I had a few totes that I'd purchased at Target last year. Hmmm? Maybe I could use those totes as the interior structure of my gorgeous crocheted and knitted creations? Eureka! Ephiphany! Light bulb glowing just over my head!

Now, I have to figure out how to attach the granny square bag to the store-bought bag. I'm thinking I just might hot-glue it at the edges and then get a leather sewing needle to stitch the top border. The Target bag already has a zippered closure, pockets inside and is sturdy and dependable.

Then, I remembered that I also had this mesh tote (also purchased last year at Target). Everyone is crocheting the squares for Interweave Crochet's "Larger Than Life Bag" designed by Cecily Keim.

Again, handmade bags just don't have the durability and structure for extended use (IMHO). I've made a few practice squares for this bag and they fit perfectly between the vinyl trim on this tote! I'm going to attach the squares directly to the tote!

Practice Squares

I'm going to use yarn in the bronze color family to match the trim on the tote. I have more of the Noro Kureyon pictured above. I think this will work with a few other colors.

If I need MORE YARN, I can always go back to Black Sheep Knittery tomorrow. The incredible sale continues!!! A few of my fellow crafters at the WeHo SnB last night brought bags of yarn booty to show that they purchased for 75% off retail price! It seems that the lease is up on the Yucca St. location of Black Sheep Knittery and the owner wants to move to another location in Hollywood with more parking and easier access. Sounds good to me. See you in Hollywood this weekend!

ANOTHER Mosaic House

Santa Monica Mosaic House

I really like mosaics. If you read my blog, you know that I like to feature them often. People have told me about this house, and today, on my lunchtime travels, I stumbled across it. This is a lovely mosaic house on the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue in Santa Monica. I love how they painted the curb under the low garden wall blue.The house appears to be of the post-war era with many remodels popping out on it's corners. The landscaping is lush and the mosaic has an aquatic theme.

Jumping Mosaic Porpoise

The stairs are made of stone mosaic!

close-up of low wall around property

I'm going to keep my eye on this house to see if they add more mosaic features.