Sin City

Las Vegas is sort of like how God would do it if he had money. ~Steve Wynn

And of course, what happens here, stays here......

The List: Revised

Clearly we haven't been as consistent with our list and blogging as we would like to, BUT with the New Year we decided to make this a bit more achievable.
We present you with our new list... revived from hiatus.

The List

It all started with a conversation. Turned into a list. Now it’s a challenge.

In a quest to fully see and know the soul of Los Angeles, we’ve put together our list of 50 experiences that will bring us closer to becoming a true Angeleno.

Beverly Hills
1. Brunch at Barney Greengrass in BH
2. Window shop at Rodeo Drive

South Bay
3. Fish soup at Pacific Fish Center in Redondo
4. Hangar 18 for rock climbing
5. Explore San Pedro

Hollywood & Melrose
6. Hike up to Hollywood sign
7. Magic Castle
8. Roscoe’s chicken and waffles
9. Hike Runyon canyon

Culver City & Venice
10. Walk Venice Beach

Santa Monica
11. Typhoon Restaurant

La Cienega & West Hollywood
12. Pink’s Hot Dogs
13. Campanile – Thursday Grilled Cheese Night
14. Price is Right
15. The Bazaar

Downtown & MidCity
16. Edison - Wednesday
17. Great Los Angeles Walk Great Urban Race
18. Find the best Chinese restaurant in Chinatown
19. Pastrami Sandwich from Langers Delicatessen
20. Drinks at Trader Vics
21. Downtown Art Walk
22. Visit LA fashion district
23. See a movie at the Million Dollar Theatre Cinespia
24. An evening in K-Town to do Karaoke
25. French Dip sandwich at Coles Downtown
26. Lunch at Grand Central Market
27. Walt Disney Concert hall
28. Go to an LA Derby dolls match
29. Parks BBQ
30. Drinks at the Bona Vista lounge at the Bonaventure Hotel
31. $45 Omakase at Toshi Sushi

Westwood & West LA
32. Go to the Museum of Tolerance Ride the Ferris Wheel at the Santa Monica Pier
33. Shabu Shabu

Los Feliz & Echo Park
34. Visit Historic Filipinotown KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas

Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank & San Gabriel Valley
35. Picnic at Griffith Park and visit Griffith Observatory
36. Pizza at Casa Bianca El Puerto Escondido for dodgy oysters

Beyond the Zone & Location TBD
37. A day at Del Mar Race Track Bingo Night at Hamburger Mary's
38. Tequila Tasting
39. Pub Crawl
40. Morning at the East Los Angeles Farmers Market Rose Bowl Flea Market
41. Midweek sample sale Steel Panther at House of Blues
42. Eat at 5 food trucks in one day
43. Go fruit and vegetable picking Randy's Donuts
44. Attend an LA Food Festival
45. Spur of the moment Vegas trip
46. Half Marathon
47. Sign up for a Flying lesson Richard Simmons Workout Class
48. Learn to drive stick shift Trapeze Lesson
49. One Foot reflexology experience
50. Compare the top 3 LA Burger institutions
a. Apple Pan
b. Pie & Burger
c. Cassel’s Burger

21st Annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas: Night 2

5 minutes to noon on a random Wednesday in November, I sat at my desk and my palms started to sweat as I anxiously watched the clock.  At exactly 12pm tickets to Night 2 of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas would go on sale and 2 tickets were destined to be mine. 

I'm not a typical concert goer.  I wish I was, but frankly, I'd much rather spend my money on food and clothes than paying 2 weeks worth of groceries for one night of watching bands that I can hear during my commute at higher quality.  Not that I don't appreciate live music, I do... I just love food, clothes, and my money a lot more. 

But this time was different.  My new found love for The Black Keys had driven me to a sense of madness when I discovered that they didn't have any stops in LA for the rest of their tour.  That all changed when I found out that they were gracing Los Angeles with their presence as part of the lineup at KROQ'S AAC. 


After 13 minutes and a barrage of friends helping to secure tickets, I had the tickets waiting in my inbox.  A hipster's dream come true--or in my case, a hipster-poser's dream come true.

The lineup:
Phoenix
Vampire Weekend
Brandon Flowers
The Black Keys
The Temper Trap
Neon Trees
Florence &The Machine
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Broken Bells

The result: 4 1/2 hours of eargasms (give or take a few songs), a rotating stage, Patrick Carney banging the life out of his Ludwigs, Florence's voice box entrancing all lost souls in the greater LA area,  Phoneix's psychedelic laser light show, 5000+ people, and the occasional puffed cloud of kush that would waft past our seats. 



My mental state of mind: Musical Bliss.

Foot Reflexology

When you see a sign while out on your lunch break that says "SPECIAL: $20 for 60 minute massage" you say YES!  And that's what we did.


We both had never had a foot reflexology experience so this was going to be first to check off the list.  The sign on the window said "Foot Ralascology".  I'm pretty sure that's a typo, but that didn't stop us from booking our appointments.

 

They brought us into a dark, window and doorless room where they had us lay down onto pillow .  Sounds creepy, but we could hear an asian grandma gossiping in the back so we figured it was safe.

So when you think of foot reflexology you'd imagine that they'd be spending an hour on your feet.  That's not the case.  They massage your shoulders, back, hands, arms, and do this little scrapping thing on your fingertips and toes.  It's pretty unconventional, but after an hour, messy hair and all, I was definitely relaxed.  All of that for $25 including tip.  Count me in.  It's no spa experience, but if you need some relaxation in the middle of the day-- this is your spot.

The Bazaar

Omakase at Toshi

To put one’s faith in a chef and ultimately one’s dining experience may seem to some, like you’re losing control. And this precisely is what it is - Omakase – from the Japanese, simply means “to entrust.” You hand over your apprehensions, food phobias, and general pickiness and allow the chef to create a dining experience that he feels is the best given the quality of ingredients he has that day. In true Japanese form, here is our meal, plain and simple – artfully composed and deftly balanced.

1. Seaweed Salad, Homemade Tofu, Lemon, Sesame, Yuzu



2. Oyster, Scallion, Lemon
3. Octopus, Yuzu
4. Squid, Ink, Soy



5. Sardine, Tuna, Amberjack



6. Black Cod, Miso, Radish



7. Kobe Beef, Ponzu, Ice
8. Scallop, Bone Marrow
9. Salmon Two Ways
10. Sardine, Ponzu
11. Tuna Roll



12. Shrimp Head



13. Sweet Shrimp, Mackeral, Seared Tuna, Konpachi, Albacore, Urchin, Salmon Roe, Tamago



14. Miso, Clams, Radish Sprouts



15. Green Tea Ice Cream

The Day's Damage: (2) Omakase Sushi Dinners $45 = $90
Item 31: Check

Runyon Canyon & Shabu Shabu

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