Yesterday we did a full tour of the Westside, starting with a visit to my first L.A. apartment (on the notorious South Bundy Drive) followed by stops in Santa Monica, Venice — Muscle Beach is still hopping and we ate lunch at the most fantastic Italian joint to prepare us for a tour of the canals(!) — before driving up to Malibu in time for the sunset.
I then planned to dazzle Damian with the drive along Sunset Boulevard back from Pacific Coast Highway to WeHo only to be jolted by the sight of the lingering devastation through the Palisades, where burned-out houses and empty lots abound.
Eventually we reached (the) Beverly Hills (Hotels) where things remain one percent status quo, just in time to valet the car at the Sunset Marquis and race down to Largo in time to meet my good friend and former roommate James for the Susanna Hoffs concert -- more HERE -- where one of her special guests was Conan O'Brien, who used the crowd to try out some material for his upcoming gig hosting the Academy Awards. (Sue apparently has a monthly residency at the Coronet and yesterday she was experimenting with covers of the Beatles' "Help!" album.)
Afterward we grabbed a bite at Canter's Deli — no kugel but terrific as always — and cruised Melrose a bit before collapsing into bed.
I surprisingly woke up at a reasonable hour so took a stroll over to Book Soup and Sunset Plaza to get coffee at the Butcher, the Baker and the Cappuccino Maker, where I am writing this now. (And wait'll you see my new Ron Dorff shirt!)
Tonight we eat with friends at my beloved (and newly reopened) Marix (where I celebrated my 25th birthday) and then see "The Mismatch Game" and then we head back to NYC tomorrow.
Kudos to the City of Angels for reminding me what I was missing — and that I really blew it by not being born bicoastal!
What an itinerary! I need a nap just reading it.
ReplyDeleteYes, folks in the Palisades still have not recovered. And we should not forget that the Black community of Altadena was also devastated by the fires. I just hope people keep their lots and rebuild. We don’t need greedy developers moving in.
I lived in LA for a year—West 64th Street and South La Brea. Our side of the street was Los Angeles and the other side was Inglewood.
I loved going to Book Soup.
I really welcomed the diversity in LA. There is a lot of rich history. But the traffic—my goodness. I rarely got on the freeways, and if I did it was only for a short stretch. The residential streets could be just as bad. It could take forever to travel a short distance.
I even had to research why so many LA apartments didn’t have refrigerators. It turns out that as the city was modernizing and creating housing policies back in the day, a refrigerator wasn’t considered a necessity. So you get the classic “fridge hustle,” with people moving their own refrigerator from apartment to apartment. A lot of the newer or remodeled apartments now come with one.
And I loved the food scene in LA. There are so many great choices from every nationality.
Remember, if you go north of Book Soup you’ll be in what LA calls the Bird Streets—a nice little pocket of homes away from the hustle and bustle. RuPaul used to live up there.
Let me close out. I hope you have a good time with your friends at Marix Tex Mex Cafe—great menu—and enjoy the “Mismatch Game.”
Travel safe.