OK, it seems that I've been concentrating on cooking quite a bit this summer. Of course, "Julie and Julia" may have had something to do with this. I always read Los Angeles Magazine. I even follow their Twitter posts. Last month's issue had the Best of L.A., including restaurants, spas, bakeries, dog groomers, tiki drinks, etc. Grub Restaurant in Hollywood won for best tuna melt in Los Angeles. L.A. Magazine then had an online contest for the best tuna melt recipe. I sent my recipe in and I won!!! Last night, Larry and I gorged ourselves with our $50 dinner coupon at Grub. It was divine.
Blueberry Lemonade
Interior
Fresh Spinach & Greens with Warm Goat Cheese, Roasted Shiitake Mushrooms & Sundried Tomatoes tossed in homemade Champagne-Lemon Vinaigrette. Topped with warm Walnut-crusted Goat Cheese
California Crab Cake. Crab mixed with Tarragon, Dill, and Lemon coated in Panko and cooked to golden, served with Citrus Cole Slaw and Ha Cha Cha Creamed Corn with Cheddar
Drunken Steak. Marinated in Stone Pale Ale, tender and delicious cooked to Medium-Rare with a Mushroom Onion Pan Sauce & served with Mashed Potatoes & sautéed Spinach
Grub is located in the heart of the old studio district of Hollywood on Seward St., just south of Santa Monica Blvd. It's in a transformed, side-by-side, Spanish Revival duplex with a large patio. It's a charming place and we plan to return to try their award-winning tuna melt. Thank you, Los Angeles Magazine for introducing us to this great Hollywood hideaway.
Oy! Alka-Seltzer, take me away! My birthday was one long food-extravaganza! I was taken out to breakfast, lunch and dinner by dear friends and family!! Only one more celebration on Sunday with my Yarny Grrlz..Woo Hoo! Yes, I do like to stretch out my birthday for as long as possible! See the slide show below for the foodie highlights! On Monday, Rhoda took me for dinner to Mezze, the new Mediterranean restaurant on La Cienega that S. Irene wrote about in the LA TImes Food section today! That Rhoda is soooo au courant! We had a dvine time eating flatbread with broccoli, feta and olives; divine chopped liver w/grapes and carmelized onions; zucchini with some sort of grain; for dessert poached pears and pistachio ice cream. Wow! Faboo! Tuesday, I met my sweet cousin Amie for lunch at Mendocino Farms in Marina del Rey. We both had the MOST divine salads! The place is a zoo at lunchtime, but we arrived early and snagged a table. Tuesday night, Joan and I had a late dinner at Grub in Hollywood. I do love this place. It's hidden away among the sound recording studios in Hollywood in a small converted house with a pleasant patio. We each had a cup of soup and then split a mushroom burger. Really delicious. After a morning and early afternoon of indulgent shopping, Larry and I zoomed downtown on Wednesday (my actual b-day) to check out the Grammy Museum at the L.A. Live complex. It's a beautiful museum, very well-done and full of interesting music info, photos, videos and memorabilia. Outside the Staples Center there was a group from PETA protesting the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus set to open soon. They were chanting and waving signs about all of those sad elephants!
THEN, we drove up to Union Station and had a fantastic dinner at Traxx, inside the train station. We sat on the patio and enjoyed perfect weather along with Caesar salad, crab cakes w/remoulade sauce and Alaskan cod on a bed of quinoa w/ asparagus and baby tomatoes in some sort of yummy sauce. We saw a group of L.A. Conservancy friends inside the dining room, enjoying a post-Last Remaining Seats supper.
When I have too many knit and crochet projects crowding my totebags and couch, I get kinda' crazy. I need to clear my head. I need to knit a dishcloth or two, or three.
I needed a little gift to go along with a larger one for Beth's b-day. I always try to hand-craft a little something for my friends' b-days. On Saturday, I knitted up a Ballband "Spa" Cloth and paired it with some Lemon/Verbena soap. We celebrated with a late lunch at Grub on Sunday and a visit to the Garden of Oz. It was hot, but we had a nice time.
When I got home from the celebration, I had that washcloth in my head. Of course, I forgot to take a photo of Beth's cloth, so I immediately looked through my cotton stash and picked out some half-skeins and started making another cloth. Now, I'm obsessed. I'm going to try and use up lots of my cotton odds and ends and make a few of these to have on hand. It's a very satisfying pattern.
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!
