Los Angeles – Page 2

LA on Foot

photo by Douglas Morgenstern

Me, I’m lucky. I live in an amazing, centrally located LA neighborhood called “Miracle Mile”. In this famed place of miracles, I have everything I need just 5 to 10 blocks from my home. There’s a movie theater, a museum, a library, a newly opened wine store, more than a handful of restaurants, three grocery stores, a farmer’s market and a laundromat. For years I’ve done most of my local shopping on foot. And though I live in a rather populated area, I’ve been a lonely walker in the city, never quite sure why my neighbors haven’t caught on to the ease (and financial return) of walking. Until now.

With record high heat and the nation’s highest gas prices (my corner gas station sells the “cheap” gas at $4.69 a gallon), the city sidewalks are finally being used by people other than myself, tourists and the homeless. In what may be the first time in decades, many of Los Angeles residents are enjoying their weekend plans on foot.

Though doing errands on foot may not be a novel idea for city residents outside of southern California, the sprawling city of Los Angeles county covers a total area of about 500 miles, making driving to destination almost a necessity.

Change afoot

People all over the city are noticing there’s a change afoot. Residents that usually take weekend trips to the beach are walking to the local grocers to buy enough food to fill one or two reusable canvas bags so they can BBQ in the back yard. Couples skip the gym and walk a mile to the movie theater. Instead of rushing off to drink ice coffee in their car, money-conscious consumers are enjoying free air conditioning and reading the paper.

Suddenly, the streets are filled with smiling faces, people with canvas shopping bags and paper umbrellas to shade them from the sun. Of course, this goes against the popular Los Angeles tradition of driving half a block to get a cup of coffee as satirized in the popular Steve Martin movie “LA Story”.
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Finally residents are leaving the car at home and walking.

Though the prices at the gas pump are unbearable, it’s good to see a major shift in the way people think about local transportation. If everyone spent more time on foot, perhaps we could see a dramatic shift in the state of the environment as well. Regardless, it’s nice to see people out of their cars and walking in the neighborhood.

Here’s to positive change.

April 18

Friendly Advice: Great cheap date restaurant

Los Balcones del Peru
1360 Vine St. (between De Longpre Ave. and Afton Place)
LA, CA 90028
323 871 9600

The friend: David, Sommelier/Manager

The advice: “If you want to save some money and have a great dinner, you’ve got to go to Los Balcones Del Peru and order the ceviche and steak.”

Were it not for the striped, brown awnings and the exact street address scrawled on a piece of paper, one might easily pass by the hidden Peruvian restaurant, Los Balcones del Peru. Just one block south of the bustling corner of Sunset and Vine, Los Balcones del Peru is a perfect pre- or post-movie meal at the Arclight Theater.

The dining room is disarmingly simple for a culture known for its brightly colored textiles and golden Incan gods. The space is sparsely decorated (a couple of carved-wood candle boxes hang from a wall) and black, pin-cushion styled booths found often in retro diners, line the perimeter of the dining room.

The food here is fresh, full of flavor and is incredibly appealing for meat and seafood lovers alike. Familiar flavors of garlic, cilantro and lime are present in many of the dishes, along with unfamiliar tastes like potato-like yucca and meaty Peruvian Corn.

Lime-soaked seafood ceviches are a popular starter at Los Balcones. We tried the Camarones a La Piedra ($12.75), a sunshiny-yellow shrimp “ceviche” that came out warm. The dish had a generous helping of moist shrimp served with the tails on, swimming in a lime juice and a slightly spicy aji amarillo sauce with Yuca, moist Peruvian corn and an impossible to stop eating lime-marinated julienne of red onion.

The warm southern California weather inspired us to order the Choclo Con Quezo , an ancient breed of Peruvian corn that has oversized kernels (the size of marbles) and are filled with a fascinatingly dense, semi-sweet corn meal. The dish is served with a delicious side of dipping sauce made from cilantro, lime and garlic and cubes of a South American style of feta.

We shared an entrée of Tacu-tacu Con Bisteck a La Parrilla ($11.50), a deliciously earthy, charbroiled steak served with the tasty lime soaked red onion julienne and a dense and comforting mash of re-fried Peruvian beans mixed with rice. Reminiscent of a skirt steak fresh off the bbq, the tacu tacu begged for a good dousing of the garlicy green sauce and a crisp Peruvian beer.

Los Balcones del Peru has a number of delicious beverage options, including crisp, Peruvian beers (all $4.00).

Cristal is a light and fresh beer and Cusqeña is a light, smoky-sweet malt lager. The non-alcoholic Chicha Morada ($2.00), is a deliciously sweet and floral drink made from an infusion of red Peruvian corn, fruit juices and spices.

The first of many visits, Los Balcones del Peru is the perfect spot for Arclight movie goers and hungry, Hollywood Farmers Market fanatics alike.

February 19July 1

Get Out of Dodge

Four years ago, back when Hans and I started courting (and WAY before the movie Sideways popularized wine tasting in Santa Ynez), we began a tradition of spur of the moment weekend getaways to Santa Barbara. We’d gas up the car, fill the trunk with a stack of New Yorkers and a weekend bag filled with casual clothes, grab a couple of latte’s to-go, and get on the 101 north before 10 AM. Once we make it the 1.5 to 2 hours up north, the specifics of the weekend are usually improvised. One necessary stop, however, never changes.

First stop, Superica

La Superica Taco
622 Milpas Street Santa Barbara
Cash only

Named by Julia Child as a required stop in Santa Barbara, Superica is probably one of the best taco stands in America. Simple and unpretentious, this tiny white and sea green shack serves the freshest meat and bean tacos this side of Mexico to lines of dedicated customers that are, more often than not, lined up from the door to halfway down the block. No matter what day of the week or time of day.

Guests sit at picnic tables in a tented “dining room” while they wait for their number to be called. For anyone interested in good food, the wait is worth it. The ingredients are fresh, the combinations classic, and the soft, spongy tacos are made to order by hand.
The kitchen is just large enough to hold the cashier, the tortilla maker that forms each round of dough in her hands and presses them in an ancient looking press, and two grill men that flip fresh onions, chorizo and steak with a huge metal spatula on the flat top.

In some ways, the long line of customers out the door is a good thing. By the time we get to the order window, more than enough time has elapsed for us to discuss our order, memorized our selections (each menu item has a number) and organized by number in descending order. Hans and I definitely have some favorites on the menu, but we always try to order at least one new plate in hopes of finding a new Superica gem.

With our living room floor under the final stages of re-construction, we were forced to leave town for a day in order to allow our newly stained floors 24 hours to dry. Happy to take a trip north, Hans and I left our apartment in the morning and were at Superica by Noon.

With our stomachs growling and ready for food, we carefully planned our meal. We ordered some classics:

The #11: Lomito Suiza:

Grilled chorizo and melted cheese served between two tortillas.
A gorgeous sandwich of pork and cheese.

the #13: Queso de Cazuela,

a bowl of melted cheese flavored with tomatoes and spices and served with warm tortillas. It’s a warm comforting dish that, despite having nothing to do with artichoke, strangely tastes of one.

The #16 The Superica Especial:

Roasted chile pasilla stuffed with cheese and marinated pork. I usually have to fight to get a couple of bites before Hans polishes it off in mere seconds.

The #18 Guacamole:

Another dish I have to fight to get my share of. Straight forward and supremely fresh, this guacamole is all about ripe avocado, a squeeze of lime and a hint of tomato. Perfect on its own, or revelatory when paired with other dishes.

This trip we tried a few new dishes:

The #1 Tacos de Bistec.

Strips of grilled steak served on tacos, this dish was a little disappointing to look at, but once doctored up with a little guacamole and a touch of cheese from the Queso de Cazuela, I was in heaven.

The special of the day: Tamal de Veracruz.

Truly a life-changing tamale. Soft, moist and undeniable elegant, this tamale was unlike any of the dense (almost dry) corn tamales I’ve eaten at the Hollywood and Larchmont farmer’s markets, Superica’s Tamale de Veracruz is a love letter to the delicacy of corn with its juicy corn kernels, zucchini and onion in a fluffy bed of corn masa. I was surprised by how light the cream sauce was and how balanced all the ingredients of this dish was.

After a fully satisfying meal at Superica, we headed north to Santa Ynez for some wine tasting. Big fans of the tasting room at Melville, we decided to mix things up and taste the wines of two unfamiliar producers.

First stop was the tasting room for Longoria.
Longoria Wine Tasting Room
2935 Grand Ave. Los Olivos

Established in 1982, Longoria is a family run wine business located in Santa Barbara county. The tasting room is small and intimate, located in a tiny room in one of the oldest buildings in he
art of the village of Los Olivos. The tasting fee was $10 and unfortunately, the woman helping us had no personality and dribbled something like a half an ounce of wine into our glass–barely enough wine to swirl or to properly taste.

We were impressed by the acidity and complexity of 2004 Syrah (chewy, spicy and had great acidity) and bought a bottle despite hating the woman that sold it to us.

Our next and last stop on our mini-wine tasting tour was Bridlewood Winery.
Bridlewood Winery
3555 Roblar Avenue, Santa Ynez

A much more impressive tasting room, we were greeted by a knowledgeable and skilled employee. With a $10 tasting fee we were pleased by the reasonable pour (a generous ounce) and the quality of the wine. Balanced and true to the varietal, the Bridlewood portfolio surprised us both with their delicately nuanced flavors. For someone that tends to stay away from palate punching Zinfandels, I found theirs to be quite pretty and actually surprisingly light–especially for a California producer.

We purchased the 2004 Six Gun Syrah—a silky red with nice tannin, a hint of spice and bright cherry with balanced acidity and minimal oak.

We drove back to Santa Barbara and checked into our favorite cheap motel, The Presidio.

Still under the final stages of a year long remodel, the Presidio has all the charm of a boutique hotel without a high price tag. The young couple that runs the place are charming and for under $100 ($89 to be exact) we stayed in a clean room with charming details.

We promptly hopped into bed, watched an hour’s worth of bad TV and took an epic nap before we headed out to town again for dinner.

The Hungry Cat, is, without a doubt, one of my favorite LA restaurants. Stripped of any fancy details, the Hungry Cat is dedicated to serving East coast inspired dishes (Maryland seafood is where it’s at), amazing wines, and incredible handmade cocktails. Now that Hungry Cat has a location in Santa Barbara, there really isn’t any other place we’ll go to. The cocktails are gorgeous, the food is fresh (we ate sea urchin so fresh and off the boat it practically walked on its spines across the table) and downright inspiring.

Thanks to the friendly staff and passionate kitchen staff, Hans and I had a memorable meal of off-the-boat oysters served with freshly grated horseradish and sea salt, Oyster chowder full of silky oysters and chunky potatoes, Tuscan Monkfish stew, a mind-blowing cheese plate and the I-can’t-believe-I’m-scraping-the-sides-of-this-dish-to-get-at-every-last-morsel chocolate bread pudding.

After a day of gorging and lazy napping, Hans and I return to the buzzing world of Los Angeles. I can’t wait for our next Get Out of Dodge.