My mother used to tell me she would drive to Malibu several times a week. She wouldn't stop there, just drive there and back. To relax…to write in her head...to figure things out. She doesn't do it anymore, because of the price of gas, it's wasteful...but every once in awhile I'll wake up early and do the drive myself...watching the coastline as I speed by...I'd pay more for a movie...
When my parents first split up they weren't exactly on the best of terms. My time was divided. I spent way more of it with my Mom, and distinct brackets with my dad. My Mom and I had an easier time hanging out, satisfied with doing nothing. One Wednesday, in the middle of the day, she drove me along the coast. 'Where are we going,' I thought to myself, but I didn't dare ask, for one because she wouldn't have told me if I had, but also because she probably didn't know herself. She stopped at one point and we got out of the car. She disappeared up a small trail you would barely notice, and I followed her up the mountain.
After watching Ludo Lefebvre on Top Chef Masters I knew I wanted try
out his food. Around the same time his episode aired he opened up a
“pop-up” restaurant at Bread Bar on 3rd St. On Tuesday night a bunch of
my friends and I went. Simply put the meal was amazing. It’s really a
mixture of classical french food and molecular gastronomy. Onto the
food.
When I originally conceived of taking a self-led tour of the LA food
trucks with some friends it was to see who was trying to capitalize on
the success of Kogi BBQ, the crossover Mexican-Korean taco truck, and
their use of Twitter to let people know their current
location. Supposedly Kogi is the originator of the hip and cool LA
food truck and, as some have told me, has the best food of all the taco
trucks. My plan was to find trucks that had just rolled out, are newly
popular, or ones that I know nothing about and see if Kogi would hold
up against the rest.
There’s a new cake in town. Actually, it’s a whole boutique full of cake and it’s here to stay! Lady M, the glorious cake boutique with three locations in New York City opened in LA last August, quietly without much fanfare but with a line out the door. It seems word spread fast among cake connoisseurs.
Longtime Santa Monica Pier staple, SM Pier Seafood, has officially re-launched as The Albright. After 35 years, the family-owned and operated restaurant has passed down from mother to daughter and has undergone a complete revamp - including an updated menu that reflects the new owner's commitment to using fresh, locally sourced food - and the addition of an extensive craft beer & California wine program. The restaurant is now run by Yunnie Kim Morena, whose parents opened the original location in 1977 upon emigrating to the U.S. from Korea.