Like any city, Los Angeles has a wealth of cultural and culinary diversions, and we were able to take in some of all of those yesterday. Oh yes, I assume you figured out that I am in Los Angeles! We arrived Thursday night in time for bed, staying at the Sportmen’s Lodge, a very reasonably priced, historic hotel in Studio City, one favored by musicians who wish to preserve their anonymity (which, of course, doesn’t include me, as I need no help with anonymity). Located at the junction of Ventura Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon, it’s pretty convenient to everything except the beaches.
Friday we visited the LA Farmer’s Market, an incredible place full of not only produce but small, modestly priced restaurants with about every cuisine imaginable. We were in search of Kokomo Cafe and its pumpkin pancakes, something I remembered favorably from an earlier visit. It wasn’t there! So we had breakfast at Johnny Rockets, visitted the campus of UCLA, and ate at the greatest burger joint in town, In ‘N Out (the original one in Westwood). That night we joined some friends for the Hollywood Bowl concert with Brian Wilson and the LA Philharmonic. (See my earlier post.)
Yesterday, we found Kokomo Cafe and went there with our friends for breakfast. The pancakes were just as good as I remembered. They had moved into different and better quarters a few blocks from the Farmer’s Market, more a neighborhood breakfast spot. After packing our things at the hotel, we drove to Griffith Park, a beautiful natural area within the city of LA. We drove up to Griffith Observatory, which reopened in 2006 after being closed for four years for renovation and expansion. It’s perched on top of the Hollywood Hills with a great view of LA and the “Hollywood” sign. Inside, we viewed a show about the history of the museum (a gift, like the park, from mining magnate Griffith Griffith [that’s right, his first name is the same as his last name]), as well as the planetarium show. It’s a fascinating structure, an engineering marvel, and well worth a visit.
After the planetarium show, we raced to the car and made our way to the Geffen Playhouse, a newly renovated small theatre adjacent to UCLA. There was a matinee performance of “Beethoven, As I Knew Him,” a one-man by Hersey Felger. We knew that tickets were on sale for 1/2 price 1/2 hour before the performance, and we made it to the theatre with 25 minutes to spare and bought great seats in the second row of the mezzanine. What a great show! It was educational, entertaining, and of course, very musical. At the end of the evening, Felger came out and took questions from the audience and, depending on the question, answering them as Beethoven or as himself. It was far better than I imagined.
Leaving Geffen, we made our way back to Santa Monica Boulevard, headed for a favorite Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica called El Cholo. It’s an incredible local favorite, modestly priced and with great service. The blue corn chicken enchiladas are the best Mexican dish I have ever had. After dinner we had some time so we cruised Pacific Avenue, past the amusement rides on the Santa Monica pier, throngs of people on each side of the road, the windows open to the smell of the Pacific Ocean. Reluctantly we headed south for the short drive to LAX and a red eye flight home. It was a great long weekend away and definitely a trip I’d like to do again.
