Strip malls

After spending any time in Los Angeles and its greater la area it isn't hard to believe that the Strip Mall was invented in California. Sometimes when you are standing on street corners you are surrounded by them. Nail places, sushi, dry cleaning, cell phone carriers, mom and pop falafel joints. The best strip mall concentration is on La Cienega between 3rd and Beverly.

I don't frequent them. They look rundown, dirty and generally unclean. Something about being served food in a strip mall gives me the general heebs. I know I shouldn't feel that way and have heard that there are some excellent restaurants like Lou that resides in a strip mall and there is always a line outside of Mario's Peruvian Seafood on Rossmore. (which is by far the dirtiest looking strip mall I have seen. They should just bulldoze the Popeye's and Radio Shack and just put in a Mario's restaurant)

Many Californians laugh at my strip mall phobia, but is it Californian to love something so Californian?

Related exhibit: Urban Panoramas at the Getty Center
You will notice that one of the strip malls in Opie's portion of the show has recently been torn down, possibly to add more lofts to Loftopolis located along Wilshire in the Miracle mile.

My Minnesota counterpart: Dumpy Strip Malls

music

I learned a lot about music today did you?

Thank you to Excavated Shellac for teaching me about early recorded music from around the world.

Until next year.

If I were you-Sunday 3/28

If I were you this Sunday, I would march myself to Barnsdall Park and see the events for actions, conversations and intersections

I don't think that there is a better way to spend your Sunday than to be outdoors, view photography, gazing at the Hollyhock House and discovering music .

It is oh so economical too.

What's a girl to do

I encourage you to break up with things like I did Umami. It is not a giving over to anger, but a way to release your feelings of being unheard.

Like breaking up with:

The 10 because it is always late or
Pinkberry for getting rid of their green tea flavor or
that one place that is always closed for some reason when you go or
that dry cleaner who you think is taking extra long because you think that the daughter is wearing your clothes

Write it, get it out there and send it to me.

What's A Girl To Do? - Bat For...

drop me a line

I have an email address if you want to write me and tell me I am full of crap or otherwise. You will notice it on your right or by clicking here kcattaraugus@gmail.com

Burger Nazi?

Everyone in my immediate circle knows that I have a love/hate relationship with Umami Burger. The mere mention of its name makes my face furrow with distain and scorn.

The first time I tried the Umami burger it was very much like burger love. Perfection between two pieces of lettuce (I am gluten free) The juicy stewed tomato, the crispy Parmesan disk and slimy mushroom, heaven for anyone who marvels in food texture as much as layering of flavor. Umami, I recommend you to many friends and visitors, but now we have to break up because you are just too much work.

Umami burger is like that episode of Seinfield, you know the one, with the Soup Nazi. I must stand here when I order, I must order exactly this way, I must not make eye contact, I must have exact change. I have to go through similar lengths when ordering a to go order from Umami

Case study one:
I had just moved into my new apartment and was celebrating my move and turned to my roommate and said:

"oh my god, have you tried Umami burger, it is fan-fucking-tastic"

She said no.

So we walked there and decided to take food to the bar down the street. We decided to share two burgers, the Umami and the Truffle burger.

"Can we have it without buns, wrapped in lettuce?"
"Umami doesn't wrap in lettuce'
"I've had it before" I replied and his side kick at the counter confirmed that Umami did in fact wrap in lettuce.
"Can we have it cut in half?"
"Umami doesn't cut in half"
"Oh, can you put paper plates in the bag?"

You probably know what they said next....

Case study 2:
We were meeting friends at a bar on a Thursday night and decided again to order from Umami and pick up. Running late we decided to call ahead, like most restaurant will let you do. I called, I ordered and as he was repeating my order I hear whispering and then...

"We are not taking phone orders right now"
"but I just put in my order"
"We will not be taking orders for another 20 minutes"

So I waited 20 minutes and called as we were walking out the door.

"Umami will not be taking phone orders for 45 minutes"
"I'll be there in 5 minutes" was my reply.

So we ordered, were then immediately ordered to stand outside, so we left went to the bar, waited went back to pick up our burgers and went back to the bar.

At this point I have begun to make fun of the Umami snobbery. "Umami won't do this, Umami won't do that, Umami only refers to itself in the 3rd person, if they were to re-make LA Story Umami Burger would be the snobby restaurant that the main character cannot get into and of course NO BURGER FOR YOU!!

Case study 3:
I was helping friends move last weekend. They were helping me find an option to gluteny pizza and I had asked if they had ever tried Umami burger since they were now living so close. The way I described it made their mouth water, but I also warned that they are snobs, but the burger is worth the pain.

So after running a post move Target run we went to pick up pizza for the men and were going to order meat for the ladies. We ordered the pizza and I called to order our burgers.

"Umami doesn't take phone orders on the weekends"

This time I actually hung up on them.

So we drove from La Brea and Beverly to La Brea and 9th.
I marched in there and said:"Is Umami taking to go orders if I am right in front of you?"
"Yes, but we do not take phone orders on the weekend"
I ordered
Drove back to pick up the pizzas on Beverly
Picked up Umami and drove two blocks to my friend's new apartment.

Such a waste of time and so much work, plus they gave my pregnant friend the raw burger and mine was well done. At least if you are going to be snobby, get it right.

Umami, it is over between us and....

Its not me it's you.

How are things on the west coast?

I hope you have been enjoying the beautiful March weather and not sitting at home reading my blog.

shaky, shaky

Did you feel the earthquake?

Debra

I love that in LA you can go to your local bar put a dime in the juke box and half of the bar will sing this song along with you:

Bus blog-things are not always as they seem

Riding down Hollywood Boulevard is always an interesting experience, as any of you know who have ever visited this area as a tourist or native. This day in particular I was riding the 212 or the 217, I can't remember, from the heart of touristville on Hollywood and Highland. I was listening to my ipod but bookless this time. (I like to have both usually, because crazy people are attracted to me. I had someone come up to me once that was convinced that I was Dulcinea del Toboso ) When I am sans book, I like to watch the people who come and go, as I am sure most people do. Especially in this area because you never quite know which character (literally) will join the bus riders.

Somewhere on Sunset a young mother, with a baby bjorn strapped to her chest, got on the bus. What attracted me to this young mother out of all of the other hundreds of young mothers that ride the bus daily, was that she was dressed very much like Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez(In the aint 2 proud 2 beg days), even down to the pacifier on a string around her neck, now a functioning piece of jewelery for the wee one she was carrying. What kept me drawn to her was how loudly she was fussing over her baby, almost like she was showing off her new motherhood to everyone who was within listening distance. I noticed how the mother and daughter had the same hat, how cute. I was realizing that I was obviously staring and looked away, but thought about how throughout the entire coo-fest that the baby never made a sound, not a squeal, laugh or anything which is odd.

I turned back to look at the mother and child and saw that the baby had blond hair and as I looked closer she didn't even have the same skin color as her mother and as the mother rocked back and forth, I realized that the baby was in fact a doll.

two museums two days

This is what you see when you lay down in my childhood room in Northern Minnesota. Winter time was always my favorite to lay and bed and watch these branches break up the sky. I had forgotten I had taken this picture to gaze at when I get homesick until I went to the Luisa Lambri exhibit at the Hammer Museum.

These pictures remind me of home.

This was my first Hammer visit and due to impending weather, I pretty much had the place to myself.

Day 2:
Pouring rain and the last hour of viewing, or rather 45 minutes because the want you out early. I only had the chance to appreciate the swirling loopy rusted metal sculpture in the ground floor of BCAM. Its labyrinth reminds me of a futuristic sci-fy movie, like Logan's Run. The Art of the Pacific (Even back then men felt that they were better endowed than they actually were) and the German Impressionists, who I feel have more daring senses of color than their French counterparts.

I need to go back and see the Renoir and American Stories exhibits, but at a steep $20 a pop, I needed much more than 45 minutes.

Minnesota Nice

The worst thing a Minnesotan can say to you is:

"That's interesting"

You may think that they mean that what you have created, said or done is interest provoking or maybe something that hasn't been tried before. You may find it to be a compliment, but what it really means is:

"I really hate it, but I don't want to hurt your feelings so what I am going to say is very vague so I don't make you feel bad"

Blog I heart-Hidden LA

One of the blogs/websites I heart is Hidden LA.

Why? Because it reveals the secrets of your favorite places and soon to be favorite places. If you are new here and looking for a great Pho place, feeling nostalgic for familiar angeleno pop culture face, desiring a get together with foodies and talk demi-glace this blog is all......ace...s.


Hidden LA

I was very bummed that I didn't make it to the foodie page get together at the HMS Bounty. Oh well next time.

hidden in LA

The thing that constantly surprises me about LA is that you can find nature in the craziest places. Like the snails that welcome me home every night after a good hard rain, and the turtle pond hidden behind a building on Wilshire.

Venice

Venice Beach is like post-apocalyptic California. It is like the extras of mad max were set loose on the beach and left to their own devices.

If you want an example of a place that exemplifies the beautifully sad Venice Beach is that place.

Where else can you see....

...a man with a sandwich board who thinks that circumcision can kill you while the other side calls for the end of the Church of Scientology.
... a doctor with the last name Kush. (How coincidental to have that last name)

...tweeked out rag people walking sickly dogs

... a 6'5" angel on roller skates

... dead stares of tribal drum dancers calling to you like sirens on a Sunday afternoon

... tourists from the midwest

This is not to say that I hate Venice Beach, it is just to say that this place leaves you with a duplicitous feeling. One that can't be explained, that the only option is to go there and experience.

But always .....