los angeles

Day 66: Thoughtful

Fugetsu-Do peanut butter mochi

Fugetsu-Do peanut butter mochi

My stepdaughter was in town today, paying us a quick visit before heading back to school. Pictured above is a thoughtful gift she gave us: the sublime peanut butter mochi from Fugetsu-Do, a Japanese confectionery in Little Tokyo. I love the history of the store (the Kito family has owned it since 1903; yes, it’s a 112-years-old business) and even though I’m not the biggest mochi fan, their peanut butter mochi is one of my favorite desserts. My stepdaughter introduced me to this particular flavor and whenever we’re in the area, we’ll try to score a few packages.

My wife and I were excited to see her; it’s been almost two months since she was home. She arrived late last night and we all chatted until the early morning hours. Every time she comes back during her breaks from school, it’s like a new person is talking to us. She’s still the same person, obviously, but personality-wise she’s an adult now. Since I’ve known her, she’s been mature for her age, and the person she has become (and is still becoming) is intelligent, lovely, and a pleasure to know. Of course, I’m biased when I say she’s a cool kid, but I don’t care. She is.

I love hearing about her college experience, from the daily goings-on with her roommates to what she’s learning in her classes. I love discussing social justice with her and I’m so proud to see her committed to making positive changes in the world. It’s people like her that give me hope for the future and I know the world is in good hands with her around.

 

Day 60: Bradbury Building

The Bradbury Building

The Bradbury Building

Pictured above is one of the coolest buildings in Southern California: the Bradbury Building. It’s easy to miss as you’re admiring the architecture in this part of Los Angeles (read my Yelp review here). I love stopping here whenever I’m downtown; it’s free to gawk and take photos, but you can’t go past the second floor or ride the elevators. Movie fans will recognize the interior from Blade Runner and 500 Days of Summer.

Many moons ago I worked nearby and it’s nice seeing how they’ve revitalized the area; downtown is much cleaner and hipper these days. My favorite thing about the Bradbury Building? It’s right across the street from the Grand Central Market, where you’ll find a bevy of culinary treats, including the amazing carnitas at Las Morelianas.

Trust me on this one: checking out a historical landmark and and chowing down on pork tacos is an excellent way to spend a day date with your significant other.

Day 55: Family Celebration

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Gaviola family favorite Salo-Salo Grill was the site of another celebration tonight. Whenever we get together here, we tend to order too much food. It’s consistently excellent Filipino food, served in abundant portions. I call it The Place Where Diets Go To Die.

Clarissa Wei, one of my favorite food bloggers, recently posted this guide to Filipino food in Los Angeles. There are  some great spots listed; I’ve been to a few of them and others were new to me. I would’ve loved to have seen Salo-Salo on there, but it’s still a solid list. Newbies to Filipino food should start with her article; better yet, I’d point them to one of the Filipino-American restaurant icons of L.A.: Bernie’s Teriyaki.

Bernie’s has been serving inexpensive plates of Filipino barbecue for decades in the same location. Yes, the name suggests Japanese food, but that taste is undeniably Filipino. In fact, I prefer Bernie’s over Grill City, which was one of the places in Wei’s article. Unlike Grill City, Bernie’s doesn’t overdo it with the barbecue sauce and glaze; it’s a more subtle taste and there’s less fat on their pork sticks, which sets them apart from most Filipino barbecue.

In my family, we’re on generation three of the Bernie’s fan club.  The menu isn’t as Filipino-heavy or authentic as Salo-Salo’s menu, but those barbecue plates are deeply satisfying and inexpensive to boot. The location is ideal during baseball season: you can pick up a plate to go before making the short trek to Dodger Stadium.

Day 47: Links

Links at Terranea. Pacific Ocean in the background.

 

Spent the morning at the Links at Terranea, a 9-hole par-3 golf course in beautiful Ranchos Palos Verdes. My quest to break 100 on a golf course is on hold right now as I shake off my latest injury, this time to my elbow. But I couldn’t resist the chance to play with a good friend of mine, especially after he scored a deal on Groupon: $25 for the round, including a push cart, which was half off the regular rate.

When I drove there today, I passed the nearby Trump National golf course, which is out of my price range ($300+ for a round). Terranea offers an affordable alternative and even though the views weren’t as spectacular as Trump’s, it was still a gorgeous place to play golf (despite today’s marine layer that refused to burn off until after we had played). I wouldn’t recommend paying more than the $25 discounted rate we scored, though; the greens weren’t as good as some of the $10-and-under courses I’ve played (Los Feliz and Glen Oaks, to name just two).

Overall, though, I’d suggest playing here at least once for the views and links-style golf. It was my first experience with this type of golf, which requires lower-trajectory shots that won’t be affected as dramatically by the ocean winds. There were a few slight breezes today, but on the final hole, my playing partners and I all looked on as each of our tee shots was hung up in the winds and dropped short of the green. Lesson learned for my next visit here: club up, practice those stingers, and make sure Groupon has a deal.

Day 35: Galaxy

Go Galaxy!

Go Galaxy!

Two days ago the Los Angeles Galaxy visited the White House, where President Barack Obama honored my favorite soccer team for their 2014 MLS Cup win. It’s the third time in four years that the Galaxy have been to Washington, D.C.

My wife and I were at the Home Depot Center in December when the Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution to claim the Cup. We sat with the Angel City Brigade supporter group and were part of the passionate Section 121. It was a great day, watching legend Landon Donovan end his professional career with another title.

Of course, being at an L.A. sporting event means I can enjoy my beloved post-game bacon-wrapped hot dog. It’s not as exciting as meeting the President, but it’s a fine way to celebrate a championship.

Typical scene after an L.A. game.

Typical scene after an L.A. game.

Day 34: Annie Hall

Annie Hall

Annie Hall

(This is part of my ongoing series on my quest to watch all 100 of AFI’s Greatest American Films of All Time)

35. Annie Hall

I had mixed feelings about watching Annie Hall. I’m not a Woody Allen fan; the whole neurotic New Yorker schtick does nothing for me. Of course, his relationship with Soon-Yi doesn’t exactly endear me to him, either.

Still, I tried to keep an open mind about Annie Hall. Early on, it was all Woody and his neuroses; my eyes rolling in my head, looking at my watch. I was surprised at how often he broke the fourth wall; Frank Underwood would be proud. Allen’s character is a comedian and the film follows his exploits in love and his various relationships. There are a lot of clever lines and insights throughout the movie, but at times I felt like I was watching a stand-up act in the guise of a dramedy: people don’t actually talk like this, do they?

Fortunately, before I found myself questioning my cinematic quest, Diane Keaton shows up. She’s the perfect foil for Allen’s character; young, cute, and charming. Scenes appear to brighten up when she’s in them, offsetting the morose and miserable Allen. After watching and re-watching her in the Godfather series, I’d forgotten that she was more than the wife of Michael Corleone. Thanks to her role as Annie Hall (supposedly based on her true self), the film is bearable, even to a non-Woody-Allen-fan as myself.

Overall, I enjoyed Annie Hall. I loved the scenes of late ’70s New York and Los Angeles (Fatburger and Tail o’ the Pup!) and the cameos (Paul Simon, Jeff Goldblum, Carol Kane, Shelley Duvall, and Christopher Walken). For the most part it’s entertaining, if a bit grating at times, due to Allen’s presence. Not sure I’d include it in my Top 100 list, but I can see why it’s well-regarded. Just not by me.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Day 31: Fresh Air

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Roosevelt Hole No. 8

I’ve written about my love of golf here. Every golfer knows, though, that the love of the game comes with equal parts of hate. Or frustration. Or both.

For every drive that splits the fairway, every approach that sticks the green, and every putt that finds the bottom of the cup, there’s the drive that goes out of bounds, the approach that lands in a bunker, and the putt that hangs on lip of the cup.

So yesterday’s round at Roosevelt Golf Course featured a little bit of everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I won’t recap every shot here, since nothing is more boring than a golfer/poker player/fisherman talking about the missed putt/bad beat/one that got away. Instead, I’ll share two things I took away from my round, which I try to do after every time I play: 1. The exercise is good (especially at Roosevelt, where golf carts aren’t available for its hilly course) and 2. The view is relaxing, as pictured above.

It’s a lot easier focusing on these two things once I’ve thrown out my scorecard. Exercise and a view: I love golf!

Day 20: Oink Oink

The Oinkster, Pho Ha

The Oinkster, Pho Ha

Just one of the many reasons why I love living in Southern California: dinner can be a pastrami burger one night and a bowl of pho the next. It’s exactly what my wife and I had yesterday and today, as seen above.

After sitting out traffic last night, we made it to The Oinkster for a late dinner. It’s one of our favorite spots in the area and even after being hyped on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives a few years ago, the restaurant consistently delivers amazing food. Kudos to Chef/Owner Andre Guerrero for maintaining such high standards. Last night I finally tried The Royale, which is a chili cheeseburger with bacon and several slices of The Oinkster’s famous house-cured pastrami. I typically get a pastrami sandwich, but after being in the car for much of the day, I was famished. The Royale was enormous and bursting with flavors and ingredients. Served with crispy Belgian fries, the burger nearly put me in a food coma before we could get back on the road.

Tonight, neither of us felt like cooking and the day turned out to be colder than we thought, so we decided to get a bowl of pho. It’s been great seeing so many pho joints open in the Inland Empire, since most are good and it saves us a trip to the San Gabriel Valley (my personal Mecca of Asian food in Southern California). Tonight we went to Pho Ha in Rancho Cucamonga. It’s always busy here and the service is meh, but the pho is always hot and delicious.

No plans yet for tomorrow’s dinner, but living in Southern California I know we’ll have plenty of options.

Day 14: Bucket List

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I don’t have an actual, physical Bucket List, but I do have one in my head that I like to update now and then. Last year I was able to scratch two things off at once: I saw the Big Rubber Duck and the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

My wife and I made our way down to the Port of Los Angeles. We’d scored free passes to the Tall Ships Festival from Yelp and we made the trek to see the ships, but mostly to see the Big Rubber Duck. It’s nothing but truth-in-advertising: it’s a big rubber duck. Everybody loved it and we were just two of the many people taking pictures with this large-size piece of silliness.

What we didn’t expect was the Weinermobile. I’d always hoped to see it on the freeway, but this was even better. After a few photos, we were satisfied with our two-for-one brush with over-sized novelty objects and called it a day.

Silly? Yes. Fun? Yes. Could I have lived a full life without ever seeing either? Of course. But it felt good to take two items off my Bucket List, nonetheless.

Not exactly the coolest pose, but I'm not sure how to look cool in front of a hot dog on wheels.

Not exactly the coolest pose, but I’m not sure how to look cool in front of a hot dog on wheels.