Nothing hits the spot after a long drive from Nor Cal like a great meal. It has been too long (a few years) since I last graced the Pampas Brazilian BBQ joint in the Original Farmers Market @ Fairfax & Third. Time to remedy that problem.
Oh glorious picanha, alcatra, etc. I forgot how much I missed eating this stuff (though I'm sure my waistline and overall health could excuse not eating this regularly). Just like old times...loading up with at least 75% meaty goodness! I recall that I used to be able to eat this size of a plate on my own, but alas I shared it this time around.
How else would we expect to also have room to ingest/digest this tasty nutella & banana crepe? Yummmy! Thank you Farmers Market; I hope it won't be too long before we see each other again!
After we got up for a morning run around the UCLA campus (yeah, that horrible place), why not indulge with a bit more food? Roaming around "Little Osaka" in West LA, we came upon this newly opened restaurant called Miyata Menji, which served only two items on the menu: tsukemen as seen above has the noodle & broth served separately. You dip the noodles bite by bite into the thick, gravy-like broth. Quite a new, tasty experience. I liked it, but not as much as I like my traditional favourite...
The good, old tonkotsu (i.e. pork broth) ramen. Very salty and tasty as a good ramen should be. I liked it and would eat again.
Sufficiently full of food, we decided why not spend the afternoon meandering through the LACMA. Unfortunately, the meandering turned into a little bit of a quicker than desired pace due to time constraints. Anyhow, one of the coolest things I saw that day: Metropolis II by Chris Burden. Quite a sight to see with 100,000 or so hot wheel cars zipping around a dense urban centre.
On this very same day, my weather app showed rain happening in Nor Cal. I don't like a lot about So Cal, but I do like this beautiful, warm weather. You can't read it, but the Hollywood sign was visible (it's at the very center of the image).
Me reflected in Jeff Koons' Cracked Egg.
Another Koons work: Caterpillar Ladder.
Inspired by Jumping in Art Museums, Mari and I do our jump in front of Koons' Balloon Dog.
Robert Therrien's Untitled (Snowman) has apparently grown an extra head.
In my continuing efforts to seek out and share art from Oceania, I wanted to post this image of a Maori wooden sculpture. Cool eh?
If you haven't heard about the upcoming installation Levitated Mass by Michael Heizer, basically they just moved a 340 ton boulder and will be building a 456 foot trench underneath it for viewers to walk under and experience. The effort to move the boulder alone generated a lot of interest and attention. You can find more information here. Do check out the video at the link of them moving the boulder through the streets of LA. Anyhow, they haven't finished the installation, but I caught a peak of the infamous boulder outside a window. I actually am very interested in seeing this when it finally opens for viewing.
I had the privilege of seeing a great many friends who I hadn't seen in a long time during this trip. Dinner with Traci, Erik, Ryan and Uzor at an old favorite, Shaab in Old Town Pasadena. Then, dessert with my old flatmate Jen (OTAGO!) in Sherman Oaks. I'm glad I got to see you all during this trip, even if we only got to catch up for a little bit.
Also part of the agenda was a detour to Orange County to hang out with Claudia. This included breakfast at Bruxie, known for their waffle sandwiches (this one had goat cheese, mushrooms, basil, arugula and a balsamic reduction). Thanks for taking a bit of time out of your trip prep to catch up Claudia!
Continuing south to San Diego, we met up with Brad and had "lunch" at Huapangos where I ordered the above Huevos a la Mexicana (Mexican eggs with carnitas). They served their tortilla chips with this warm white cheese dip that tasted pretty damn good. Apparently you can buy that sauce on its own by the pint (which Brad briefly considered).
We had a little wander through Balboa Park (including a visit to the San Diego Art Museum), which Greg joined us for. After parting company with Greg, we had some Pinkberry fro-yo as an afternoon snack before the rain came down (fiercely joining the wild wind which had been whipping around since that morning). With the foul weather, we decided to watch the new Muppets movie (excellent film if I may say so) before grabbing dinner from Lolita's and watching the old classic Super Troopers (meow). Dinner was the delicious San Diego special, California burrito (carne asada with French fries wrapped in a tortilla).
We left San Diego the next day, stopping in LA briefly to gas up (Costco gas w00t!) and have a nice lunch with Grant at Paul Martin's American Bistro. Salmon fish tacos for the win. Delish.
Finally, on the long drive back up to Nor Cal, the last of our fig bars (from Sigonas market...just as good as the Berkeley Bowl ones). A great snack for the road (or whenever).
So quite an exciting weekend filled with a lot of activity and a nice break away from the Bay Area. Thanks so much to Lauren (in LA) and Brad (in SD) for providing some shelter and to everyone else who came out. Always a lot of fun visiting you folks down south. Until next time...
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1 comment:
waffle sandwiches..must try.
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