Archive for July, 2010

Dancing Bears

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Fredde and Doreen

Doreen and I have known each other since high school but it took years until we found each other again.  And we have REALLY reconnected.   A lot of us on the “other side of the tracks” in Beverly Hills  (south of Wilshire) gravitated to each other.

Most kids I knew then had the perfect, or seemingly perfect nuclear family; a mother, usually stay-at-home, a father, and 2.5 children.  (Why they never had a complete third child, I don’t know.)  Doreen, though, was being raised by a working, single mother. No father in the picture at all.  She was a latchkey kid before there was a term for it, a girl who cooked her own dinner at a very early age, and who often called her mother when it was getting very late, well past dinnertime, to ask when she was coming home.  She had made a meal and wanted her mommy there to share it with her. (more…)

Prune, My Kinda Retro

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

The East Village is, was and always will be my hood in the big apple. Sure, I now stay on the Upper West Side and much to the dismay of my husband, I gravitate downtown. He will often say “downtown again?”
My friend Peggy always lived on the Lower East Side and she was my friend-to-stay-with in New York. It was really seedy and exciting then, the 70’s. It’s been totally gentri-yuppie-fied in recent years.
The Hells Angels owned the block — or maybe even blocks — around where Peg lived. And each day as I ventured out, one or another of them would ask me to fetch him something like matches perhaps -from the corner store. So I did. Who wouldn’t? It was always more of a command — and I was to obey.
One hot summer night when Peggy and I were feeling playful and fearless, I actually hopped on the back of Mike the Bike’s Harley for a quick spin around Alphabet City. She was on the bike of another Hells Angel whose name I cannot recall; I only remember his toothless grin and his notoriety from the Altamont infamy of some years earlier.
I am not the biggest adventurer — in fact, I’m not adventurous at all. But I describe myself as a person with the opposite of xenophobia. I love foreigners and strangers. In those days, I’d been known to see a street filled with Puerto Ricans, dancing to the beat of their segregated world, and I would jump in to dance wildly with them. But I also backed out quickly when I sensed danger (clearly, they were xenophobic).

Peggy and I, east village, early 80's

In the 80’s, I moved to New York with my newborn baby Oliver and the ex. Guess where? The East Village. Always fascinating, many other like-minded souls. And hookers in front of the building where we lived. Colorful and familiar. Saint Marks Place, just steps away, was my world and I still love it. Guess I should mention that my father grew up there so it has an even deeper meaning /history for me. (more…)

New Japanese Find For You and Me

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

What is wrong with me? Why do I drive past intriguing places and keep on driving? Or, why do I keep going to the same places because I know them, they are familiar and safe?
My friend, another foodie, Andrea, had made a plan with me last night to try a Japanese restaurant. Then, she kept reading reviews online that scared her straight. This new Japanese usually costs $100 per person. She called me ahead of time to warn me and then told me she really likes this other place on Sawtelle. So now we really have two choices. When I hopped in her car, she navigated her way around the city in such a way as to end up directly in front of the alternative restaurant and not the original terribly expensive restaurant. I still don’t know whether she did that on purpose, but I was hungry and said, lets just go in there. I had seen it before and it called to me. When she mentioned a place on Sawtelle I just thought it was Hide Sushi and I do already go there all the time. I like it but probably not as much as I love Hamasaku, which is my absolute favorite Japanese restaurant in all of Los Angeles. It too is a bit pricey and a bit show bizzy with all the rolls named after investors or regulars and those famous people are always scattered around the restaurant eating the very rolls that sport their name.
This new place that we walked into has a green wall surrounding it, my favorite green, a sort of an olive green. Already a good sign. Then you walk into a courtyard with a sushi/ish bar surrounding a fire pit. So cool. We opted to sit inside, what is up with this summer gloom? Andrea ordered for us at first. She asked what fresh sashimi they had. I have eternal mercury poisoning (yeah, yeah, another blog) so since most choices were tuna related we went for the Tazmanian salmon. I cannot even tell you how fresh and perfect the choice was. I mean I can tell you, I just did!
Then we ordered a few fried things. Popcorn shrimp with spicy mayonnaise. Fried oysters. Just as I was starting to feel a little fry- food -nervous, the adorable waitress with the quirky great sense of humor came over to say that since we really like FRIED FOOD!….we should order the special of the day, soft shell crabs. Then the waitress really laughed as she told us she was impressed with us for ordering so many fried dishes since most people in L.A. are so afraid of it. That only made me feel like I needed to balance this meal with vegetables so we got a seaweed salad.
Then I told the waitress I was completely in love with her and wanted her to date my son Oliver. She is just unique enough, like him. That’s not really true, first she said something about her boyfriend and then I said “oh, that’s too bad you have one because I was going to set you up with my son Oliver.”
Before asking for the check we noticed these small colorful almost Moroccan looking glasses that maybe they served Sake in. I asked to purchase a few. And yes, I have been known in the past to admire what a waitress is wearing and ask to buy the uniform and have it put on my bill. So, this was really nothing new to me and I now own a few of those special glasses. When I walked in with them last night, my daughter accused me of being a hoarder. Guilty, maybe.
The name of the restaurant is Bar Hayama. The address is 1803 Sawtelle Blvd. The name of the waitress is Yumi. In her own words, ” my name is Yumi, you know, like you and me”.
A few other things on the menu: Crispy Rice and Tuna with Balsamic Vinegar Sauce
Sauteed Lobster and Mushroom
Simmered Whole Onion with ground meat amber sauce
Poke Hawaii