One foggy morning, before the club goers and night owls brushed off the glitter from the night before, Laleanne and I began our ascent on the trail that would test us in both agility and speed – not really, but that was fun to say. Known in LA as the “hike” to see and be seen, those literally ‘running’ Runyon don gear with the appearance of neither trying too hard and that of actual fitness gurus. The hike provides various options for so called hikers, with trails ranging in length from about three to six miles respectively.
Parking can be a bit of a challenge, but since one is there for some exercise, parking further away shouldn’t be an issue for anyone. There are three ways to enter Runyon Canyon, at Fuller or Vista on the south side of the canyon or Mulholland to the north. Laleanne and I chose the southern Fuller entrance, and trotted by the free yoga in the park which is organized a few times a day, seven days a week. In typical LA fashion, it’s littered with models and waiters, those with copious amounts of midweek afternoon free time. Nope, no bitterness from me, its pure jealousy – hell, I’d love to be able to find peace every afternoon in the park, who wouldn’t?
We decided to take the three mile loop going clockwise around the canyon, we’d later find the climb down was a treacherous descend of steep steps and windy slopes. As hair raising as it was, the thought of climbing up them, made me a bit nauseous!
A word of caution for anyone hiking Runyon, you must be dog friendly. The canyon has a very liberal off-leash policy for dogs, 90 of the 160 acres are considered off-leash zones. Dogs of all kinds grace the dusty trails with the presence, in more ways than one. Lucky for us, dodging the inevitable was not much of a problem that morning; I guess most patrons had picked up after their dogs – much appreciated! English Bulldogs, Cocker Spaniels, Teacup Chihuahuas, Border Collies – canines great and small, happily raced up and down the trails, their owners in tow. I did manage to get knocked into by an overzealous Weimaraner puppy careening down the steeps, limbs flailing out of control.
The vantage points along the hike offer an impressive panaromic view of the city, stretching across Los Angeles proper – on the clear day, we weren’t so fortunate, this would be a great place to bring out of towners for some monumental photo opps.
We made our way back to the car, by this time, the walk of shamers had made their way home and the dedicated were trudging up Fuller with the goal of sweating out last nights bad decisions.
After running a few errands, we were on the verge of not being able to withstand our tummy grumbles much longer – it was LUNCHTIME.
After our morning of heart pumping exercise, we decided a healthier lunch option was our best bet – bring on the traditional Japanese hotpot extravaganza, Shabu-Shabu. Thinly sliced meats and veggies are cooked DIY style in boiling broth, slim on fat but not on flavor, this was gonna be fun. We ordered two types of beef, buttery Angus Rib Eye and juicy Chuck Top Blade ruby red and melt-in-your-mouth marbled.
Our waitress set out two types of broth, one fragrant and aromatic, the other fiery, red and spicy. Once they reached a rolling boil it was time to Shabu – in went Napa cabbage, bok choy, carrots, tofu, udon noodles, and spring onions.
Now here’s the trick, hold the beef in your chopsticks and swish the meat through the boiling broth, in the time it takes to say Shabu Shabu Shabu, the meat is cooked. Plunge it into ponzu seasoned with grated radish and green onions or the decadently creamy peanut sauce. We continued swishing and dipping, combining slivers of cabbage, noodles and beef into perfect bites.
From time to time we ladled the spicy broth over our bowls of steamed rice and drizzled it with sesame oil. By the end of the meal, we had annihilated everything in sight – satisfied but not weighed down and gross-feeling we agreed that Shabu had been the perfect way to dine post hike. We pulled away from Khan Shabu Shabu on Western, content in our day’s decisions but destined to do some damage at a later date – let’s not forget chicken and waffles is still in our future!
The Day’s Damage = (2) Shabu Shabu lunch specials $20 + tax/tip = $25
Items 9 & 33: Check
