For Jeremy

I just had a realization that I should probably start documenting my gourmet dining experiences better. The photos that I have for this place is minimal and I'm wishing I had more visual aides. I didn't take any pictures of the cocktails we drank nor did I get any images of the fantastic food we consumed. I think was too distracted and hungry to make a quality documentation of the experience. Whoops! Anyhoo...

This entry is specifically for my dear friend, Jeremy, whom I've successfully managed to see at least once a year. Last year I went up to San Jose to see him, this year he came down here. He had a business meeting down here which was the initial reason why he was in LA. He had a victory - something to do with a script, which I would feel he'd rather tell the details, but while down here he made a stop to see me. Yay!

Our agenda this past Monday was:
1. Day at the beach
2. Dinner at Campanile

For those who are foodies, Campanile is a restaurant owned by Mark Peel and is housed in a building that was specifically built for Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was never able to use the building because he lost it in a divorce to his second wife, but the architecture and remodel is gorgeous! You can find out more info on the restaurant's website. You can also see a photo of the building in it's original form. The restaurant sits in what used to be the courtyard of the original building and a skylight has been built over it, presumably to preserve it. So on the website you can see what I didn't capture with my camera, which will be pretty much every thing but the skylight ceiling.

Jeremy hates having his picture taken, but he's in the lower right corner of this photo!

This is one of their VIP rooms.

Dinner was fabulous!
Appetizer: Clams and muscles with sorpressata, tomato confit, grilled bread, and aioli
Entrees: Jeremy had Pan-Roasted Hanger Steak with roasted red onion, mustard mashed potato, horseradish crème fraîche. I had Ricotta & Summer Squash Ravioli. It came with brown butter, pine nuts, currants, sage, parmesan cheese. The sweetness of the currents was a surprising compliment to the saltiness of the ricotta.
Dessert: Jeremy ordered a Peach Tarte Tatin (I think this is what we ordered. It's no longer on the menu online so I couldn't confirm) and I ordered the flourless Chocolate cake. Heaven!

All in all, it was a wonderful day! The only weird thing that happened was that I drank a really strong cocktail at dinner. It was definitely stronger than I thought because I went to bed at 2am feeling absolutely fine! Then woke up at 7am with a pounding headache and was drunk as a skunk! I, personally am not interested in replicating that experience, but if you'd like to try it, here's the drink:

Violet Beauregarde
polish vodka, triple sec, fresh lemon juice, muddled fresh blueberries, served up in a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass

It's a very tasty cocktail, but dangerous!!!

Rudy's Visit!

Ahhh ... the Brooklyn Bridge ...

I believe that my favorite place out of all places in New York City is the Brooklyn Bridge. Perhaps it's because it's around water which reminds me of California, or perhaps it's because it allows me look at Manhattan from afar - where the city lights give the aura that dreams can come true on that island ... It's probably both. But it's the one place in this city where I truly feel uplifted and for a few minutes, happy to be where I am. Plus, Grimaldi's is just on the other side of the bridge so the whole area is bubbling with positivity! Whether or not you agree that Grimaldi's has the best pizza in NYC, you can't deny that it's pretty damn good! Just ask Rudy. I took him there!

Ah yes, Mr. Rudy Martinez. Two thirds (because we're missing Roz) of the South Pasadena High School "Drama Shorties" were together in New York City for a week. Hooray for being 5' 1" or under! It's odd how our high school counselors said that our high school friends would be some of the best friends we'd ever have. At the time I thought it was a little premature for anyone to say that, but for now, it's looking to be true.

Rudy came out here for only one reason: Vacation! He left last Sunday afternoon. I have to say that I'm a little jealous. I wish I could come out to NYC for a vacation. Manhattan is a wonderful playground, but not so great of a place to live in. But I keep telling myself that I've only got two more months to go! (Eeps! That's really soon!) It's somewhat of a tradition of mine, to take my visitors for a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to Grimaldi's on the last night of their visit. On this this night, there was a happy surprise! 

Article: Olafur Eliasson's "New York City Waterfalls"

And I managed to find the locations of all four waterfalls!

Manhattan

Governor's Island

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Tower at the Brooklyn Bridge

For those of you who read the article before looking at my pictures, you may have noticed that this last photograph is from the newspaper article. Okay, okay, I admit it!!! I couldn't find the last one. I had to go home and read the article to find out where it was. But hey, cut me some slack! No wonder I couldn't find the last one because it was directly underneath and literally on the bridge we were walking on!!! But finding 3 out of 4 ain't too shabby, if I might say so myself.

In fact, it seemed that the entire bridge was being decorated by art exhibits:

This was hung onto the belly of the bridge. In my excitement, I forgot to see if there was anything explaining what was going on here. So I have no idea what this is.

One of the inside jokes that Rudy and I have is that we have romantic chemistry every where, except in reality. I chalk it up to the fact that we're approximately the same size. We have more of a brother-sister relationship. So yes, when we had to play a romantic couple in our high school production of Once Upon a Mattress (he played "Dauntless", I was "Winifred"), it felt a little incestuous. Indeed, we put up with the "you guys are so cute together" comments with good humor, but the fact that so many years have passed and we still can't seem to take a picture without us looking like a couple is a little annoying! 

To me, this looks like we're honeymooners or something. *sigh* 

I'm not too pleased with my photo shopping skills. There isn't enough light at this location for a good picture. However, it's one of the best places to get a good view of the NYC skyline. Oh well. I guess what's more important is the memory that this photos represents rather than the actual quality of the picture. While I may not love New York City, I will definitely look back fondly on the memories I have.