Well folks, today was interesting. After I had finished my delicious lunch, my banana decided to take on a life of its own. It was completely unexpected turn of events. Usually I just eat my banana and go on with my day. Today Mr. Banana pleaded for his delicious life. The following played out in real time between 12:30PM and 2PM. Names, events, and locations are reflected as accurately as possible.
12:30PM
Nearing the end of my nutritious lunch, I began to eyeball my banana with a deliciously murderous intent. As I contemplated my plan of attack, Mr. Banana promptly pleaded for his life. He has a wife and baby son who live in my fridge and wants to see them grow up big and strong. Since I’m a reasonable fellow, and mostly full from the rest of my lunch, I decided to delay the decision on his fate until 2PM.
The Introduction of Mr. Banana
1:30PM
Now I’ve given Mr. Banana a solid hour to plead his case while I digest the rest of my lunch. He really doesn’t have anything more to add other than wanting to see his kid grow up and something about there will be consequences if he is killed. Just when I am about to provide him a stay on his execution guess who shows up? None other that Nutella. If you are not familiar, Nutella is a scrumptious badass. Basically he jumps on almost any food and makes it even better. He likes his job. He’s good at his job. When someone questions eating something he gets rather upset.
Well friends, Nutella pulls out a knife and puts it up to Mr. Banana’s throat and says: “If you don’t kill this banana, I will.” That sounded pretty serious and tasty to me.
Nutella rolls up onto the scene and threatens Mr. Banana
1:45PM
At this point, Mr. Banana had to know it was not going to end well. He had a terrible start to his day when he got into my lunch bag and then watched as I devoured a PB&J sandwich, 20 baby carrots, and some crackers. Nutella and I prepared his execution William Wallace-style. Blindfolded, Mr. Banana makes one last plea for his life:
Mr. Banana makes a William Wallace-style final plea
2:00PM
I’m not going to lie. He was delicious and full of potassium. Mr. Nutella added a little extra sweetness to the story as well. I am afraid however that there will be consequences to my actions. As he lay split open on my desk he let out his death rattle:
The bell tolls for thee, Mr. Banana.
I fear the worst that tomorrow I will encounter his kin looking to avenge his death. Will Nutella and I be up for the challenge? Stay tuned to find out!
Did you miss me? I have now lived in DC for nearly a year and I have to say I am really enjoying it so far. Over the past several months I have been acclimating myself to my surroundings. There are many great concert venues, restaurants, bars, and museums in the area that can keep one quite busy. I have found that there are also several blogs in DC that relate to local color so, I’m not quite sure what to do just yet. In the meantime, I’ll keep you up to date on what I think is fun and exciting in this city.
This brings me to the happenings this week. Beer Week anyone? What is now becoming an annual tradition, or so I’m told, DC hosts a beer week each summer. Several brewers and restaurants participate to offer a wide selection of beers to sample throughout the week along with food pairings. Some events are free while others cost a few sheckles. I kick off the week’s activities with a visit to Cafe St. Ex for the Brooklyn Brewery tasting for Beer Week.
Unfortunately, my schedule is quite packed this week already so I won’t make it to too many other events. Brew at the Zoo, I will miss thee. Perhaps I can booze with the Orangutans on Halloween? Perhaps. I will however be able to tell you much more about DC tourism by week’s end. Monuments and museums here I come.
In the past 5 months life has taken some drastic turns. Basically I’ve been transferred by my work to Washington, DC. I’ve got a new city to explore and a new niche to carve for myself. I hope to be able to report back soon with some great new music and other things on the East Coast.
As Los Angeles eating institutions go, Father’s Office has the hamburger market cornered. What can be so special about a hamburger you say? Well then you have never had one at Father’s Office.
There is a reason why there are no substitutions or modifications to their menu items. Simply put, the items are perfectly crafted to maximize flavor. Now you may read some reviews that the burger is sub-par. People who complain about the burger quote In ‘n’ Out as having a superior burger. Well if you want all beef patties with special sauce served with lettuce and tomato on a sesame seed bun, I’ll direct you to the nearest fast food establishment. This place is not for you. If your palate is sophisticated enough to handle caramelized onions, arugula, sirloin, and bleu cheese, step up to the bar.
One of the down sides of the Santa Monica location is that it is tiny and gets very crowded. Chances are you will wait in a line to get in, stand around to wait for a table (first come first serve), then after figuring out there are no waiters, order at the bar. The new location in Culver City (on Helms Ave.) has a patio that has more seating than the entire Santa Monica location alone. All ordering still takes place at the bar and tables are on a first come first serve basis. Overall the Culver City location maintains all the unique charms of the Santa Monica location but alleviates the crammed nature.
The sweet potato french fries are still served in a miniature shopping cart with a side of their special sauce. Don’t even think of asking for ketchup. Remember no substitutions.
Having around 36 beers on tap Father’s Office has one of the better selections in LA. What is also great about the bartenders is that they actually know something about what they are serving. Tell them what you are in the mood for or what you are eating and they’ll have a couple of recommendations for you in a snap. Don’t be afraid to ask for a sample tasting either. They are more than happy to oblige your request.
The burger is anything but average. Served on a baguette style bread (flaky and chewing but still soft) topped with caramelized onions, bleu cheese, and arugula. I like my meat on the medium rare side (as pictured) but they will take orders up to ‘well’. If you want something more juicy take it on the rarer side. Nothing is worse than dry meat.
If you are looking for ordinary this place won’t be for you. If you are interested in a great selection of beers, friendly bartenders, and original cuisine, head over to Father’s Office. Just keep your head on a swivel to grab a prime table.
With the official start of Summer kicking off last weekend one could not think of a more appropriate place to spend it than the Hollywood Bowl. KCRW began their annual World Music Festival on a rather warm evening with a selection of artists from South America.
One of the fun parts of the World Music festival is that the Bowl allows you to bring in your own food and drinks. This is good for two reasons. One; you save money ($8 for one beer versus a 6-pack at the store) and two; you can eat/drink exactly what you want. The Shih and I decided on Sushi and Guinness but our other friends were dining on mini panini and wine. To each their own. One negative side effect is people often over drink leading to beverage spillage on cherished items or being accidentally smacked firmly in the head by an overzealous liquor enthusiast. All in all though the pros beat the cons.
One of the aims of the World Music Festival is to introduce the masses to a more diverse music scene than MTV can provide. Bebel Gilberto and Los Amigos Invisibles were artists that I was not familiar with but afterward left me wanting more. While Bebel could have benefited from a smaller venue she still played a memorable set as dusk arrived.
Thievery Corporation took the stage immediately following Bebel Gilberto. One interesting feature the Bowl used this year was a revolving stage. Almost like a trap door. This way there were no gaps in the performances and each artist cold build on the momentum of the previous performance.
What seemed like an endless stream of guest performers (nearly a dozen in all), Thievery Corp got the Bowl grooving and moving for the better part of 90 minutes. Below is a snippet from one their more well known songs “Lebanese Blonde”.
With some sweet parking luck we were able to escape the madness of the Hollywood Bowl easily and head back to the Westside. The first night of the Summer came to a close, however; I am looking forward to many more evenings at the Bowl over the next few months.
Jack Johnson will be making four stops in the Southern California Area coming up in late August.
Wednesday, August 27th – Harder Stadium @ UCSB – Santa Barbara, CA
Friday, August 29th – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Irvine, CA (KROQ Sponsored)
Saturday, August 30th – Cricket Wireless Amphitheater – Chula Vista, CA
Sunday, August 31st – UCLA Intramural Field – Los Angeles, CA (KROQ Sponsored)
Tickets go on sale to the general public for these shows on Saturday, June 21st at 10AM. For the KROQ sponsored events you can get your tickets now using the presale password: KROQALLATONCE
I’ll keep my ear to the ground for the other shows to find the presale password. I’ll update this post if anything should surface. Click the image to go to ticketmaster’s listing for Jack Johnson.
As Ferris Bueller once said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around once in a while you might miss it”, I intend to kick it into a lower gear for the next few weeks and get back to being Bobby G. Since the last time I posted I’ve been enjoying Los Angeles very much. So much in fact I haven’t had much time to write or do pretty much anything else. I have gathered some good stories and been to some wonderful places in the past few weeks so we’ll start with The Stone Brewery.
Located in sleepy Escondido, California, the Stone Brewery is home to some of the best Pale Ale’s available in the good old USA. Premium Shih and I decided to head down there a couple of weeks ago to check out the operation, sample some beers, and learn a little more about brewing. Above you can see the wonderful beer cooler located in their company store (I apologize if the pictures are a little blurry….we had been drinking after all).
Not only is Stone Brewery home to their brewing operation but they also have a bistro on site with a great selection of food and beverages. After signing up at the company store for our tour we headed into the bistro to grab a couple of pints and grab a snack. One of the great things about the bistro is that they have a wide selection of beers from around the world. It was very nice surprise to see that they embraced beer outside of their own. Each beer on the menu was accompanied by the location it was brewed at as well as the percent alcohol by volume. We sampled the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale and a barley wine to get a little bit of bang for our buck.
After enjoying our pints and grubbing on some beer battered mashed potatoes we headed into our tour.
Going in, I did not expect this to be a ‘mom and pop’ type of brewery, however; I was surprised at the magnitude of their facility. If my memory serves me correct (which it probably does not) at full capacity they can produce around 500,000 barrels of beer each year although they currently run at about half of that.
Our excellent tour guide gave us the quick and dirty lesson of brewing. Basically boil some water, add some barley and hops, and you got yourself some beer. I’ll spare you the whole story but it was very informative and a lot of fun.
Bourbon Casks Holding Delicious Anniversary Ale
Keg Maker
At the end of our tour we were taken back into the company store for our free tasting. We received 4 samples of beer (Pale Ale, Smoked Porter, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard Ale) as well as a 5th of our choice as a special treat. Premium Shih was not feeling the bitter beers so I got to do A LOT of tasting. Afterwards we each picked up a growler and headed back to Los Angeles.
I had been wanting to take the tour for a long time and it was well worth the wait. The tour is free and so is the tasting. You basically get a free pint of beer just for walking in the door. I recommend getting there a couple of hours before your tour, sign up right away, and head into the bistro to have lunch and a couple of beers before your tour. They have a fun and laid back atmosphere in the bistro so killing a couple of hours was no problem.
In the next week or two I’ll give you a review of the new Father’s Office, located in Culver City, and bring you a review of my first night of the Summer at the Hollywood Bowl with Thievery Corporation. Until then I’ll be enjoying the start of the Summer!
I See Horrible Food. I Hear Loud Music. I Think I Am Going to Vomit.
Winnie and I headed to Las Vegas to get out of Los Angeles for the weekend for a little R&R. I wasn’t planning on writing anything about the weekend since our plan was to basically do nothing but, with a meal like this I feel a certain responsibility to post a little something something.
We had a confirmed 8:30PM reservation at Koi – Las Vegas which is located in the newly renovated Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino (formerly the Aladdin). We had also requested to be seated in the Fountain Room which I am told has a great view of the Belliago fountain (if you have never seen it, you must). We never got to see it from that angle as when we arrived we were told the room was full. They were very kind about it and offered us the option to wait a few minutes at the bar for a table to open up. We chose to wait although after a few minutes the hostess came by and said it would be longer than expected. Fine. Take us to our table.
A calm washed over me as the hostess escorted us to a nice side booth in the main dining room. For the record, Koi has very nice decor, friendly wait-staff, and generally plays good music (more on that later though). Winnie described it as something out of the swinging 60s but with a darker color scheme. We were generally pleased so far and were really looking forward to the sushi.
When we sat down we were told the sushi menu was located on the back of the main menu. This should have been our first tip they had something to hide. While I won’t go into great detail on every single item I’ll throw you the lowlights:
The waiter did not ask to take our drink orders and we had to flag him down to get sake.
The edamame was overcooked and appeared to not be fresh (almost mushy and brownish).
The rice was undercooked (not sticky enough).
All the fish tasted like it was at least two days old.
The moment we knew we were in real trouble came by the way of the most disgusting sea urchin I have ever had. You know when you have something that is so bad it feels like something is crawling up your back? Yeah. The sea urchin gave me that feeling. This gave way to the most awful morning mouth and breath combo.
Right about when the gag reflex kicked in the restaurant turned into more of a lounge type scene. The music changed from classic rock hits to more or less club music. The bass was so loud that it rattled our dinner glasses and now made it almost impossible to talk to each other.
At this moment, still very hungry, we decided that ordering more sushi would possibly lead to vomit so we opted instead to order off the ‘hot’ menu (I use quotation marks here for a reason). We requested Roasted Duck Breast which I assumed would be tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Well basically it was like eating warm rubber. I can only assume they cooked it in a microwave and then threw it under a broiler to darken the skin.
I chose this place because it had gotten good reviews online, had a good reputation in Los Angeles, and was frequented by celebrities (they know what they are doing right?). Winnie was kind enough to remind me that just because people are famous does not mean they have good taste. She was so right.
For the price we would have been better off eating at Sushi Roku or rather, skipping it altogether. Save yourself the time and effort and head over to Sushi Roku if you really want sushi in the City of Sin.
If you are interested in attending either Feist or Thievery Corporation at the Hollywood Bowl the presale password is BOWL. Same as Beck.
Both artists are partaking in KCRW’s World Music Festival. If you are not familiar, six Sunday evenings each Summer KCRW brings great music to the bowl from around the globe. You can also bring in your own food and wine/beer and enjoy it at your seats while enjoying the show.
Thievery Corporation will be headlining June 22, 2008 and Feist on July 20, 2008. Just click the images above and it will take you to Ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.
****UPDATE 6/21/08****
If you are trying to score the $20 KCRW Member seats use the password ‘kcrw’.
You can imagine with a lineup such as this that tickets may be hard to come by. Behold! The presale starts at 12PM tomorrow and the password is BOWL. Also, if you are a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic you can buy tickets even before the presale (like myself).
Come on out and enjoy a late summer evening at the Hollywood Bowl. You will not be disappointed!
“I’m a full grown man but I’m not afraid to cry.” – Beck
