Here fishy fishy

I was driving by and noticed a new place right in my own neighborhood. Well since I was hungry I flipped a U-eee and found a spot at Best Fish Taco in Ensenada which apparantly just moved up from a brief initial opening in Atwater. No frills, no thrills order fish or shrimp taco and you get fish or shrimp on a tortilla. You dress it to please and repeat. Order one at a time and don't try to take em out. Plenty of fresh salsa, cabbage and relish to do it right. Good find in Los Feliz

1650 Hillhurst
Tues-Sun 11-8

Black Betty in Brooklyn was the spot I met an old friend from back home last Tuesday night. His buddy's band Hype Of The States played a late set. Both the band and club rocked as the drinks were stiff and cheap and half the band could have been cover models for fashion mags.

Simply Unparralleled

Monday nights are the slowest nights for bars and restaurants. Employees Only last week would be the exception to that rule of thumb. This joint was hopping! I can only imagine what it's like on a Saturday night. It was not over packed but almost full. Our seats were in the elevated middle dining area past the long bar before the patio.

The place was simply amazing. Extremely well crafted drinks and menu items make pub grub seem like an unfair label for classification. I could have stopped with just the Ginger Mash cocktail and Trout Salad which in my opinion were the two top creations. But the exuberant, namesake staff insisted I try garlicky, pork Balkan Burger. Which I tried but had to save most of for later in order to have room for the tangerine bread pudding. The dessert came at the insistence of the patron seated next to me in the booth, good call and thanks again.

The gang at EO is opening a new place that will focus more on the food and less on the drink (EO is a bar first) so keep an eye out.

The last stop of the night was the Spotted Pig which was slightly abuzz with Led Zeppelin rocking out on the bars system and Live in London.

Torrid

After a killer meal at Paley's Place. I realized Tori Amos was playing the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall across the street from my hotel. I was on my way home for the night when I noticed the throngs of fans in front of the marquee. When I exited the hotel parking I was a block from the Theater so I strolled right in, no ticket no guards, no hassle. I walked up towards the front of the room and found an empty seat. The ethereal natrure of her music was quite soothing and pleasant. Not surprisingly the crowd was mostly women so I decided to hit the Virginia Cafe for a night cap. Got to love a place that you can still light up at.

Moist Cake Twins

The happy hour dinner at Serratto was about as good as it gets. The burger would have been $20 in L.A. and there would have been a line out the door and around the corner for it.. Everything looked so good we ordered all 10 items. The bartender seemed taken aback but we reassured him we were hungry. Our eyes were indeed larger than our stomachs but we did a pretty good job of almost finishing.

After dinner we sat in the rain at a very sold out cake show wher I scalped my friend and I in to a the extremely packed Crystal Ballroom. Cake rocked as we had anticipated. We had a good time with the crowd which was fairly tame. Another no smoking city goes down in flames.

The best part of the show by far was when a girl came up to my buddy crying and sobbing and seemingly in dire straits. She had lost her friend. Well we were able to calm her down and get down to some serious dancing. When her friend showed up it was obvious why she had come over to us. The Viking twins were hilarious and as usual the fine folks of Portland continue to thrive in what was a torrential rain and flood.

It's not going to suck itself.

Things started off well enough that fateful Sunday at the Orange Table in Scottsdale, AZ. We were able to laugh off the incredible night that had ended only a few hours earlier. The color was right for the Browns vs. Cardinals game. Arizona's insistance on disobeyeing daylight savings came in handy with an extra hour from the typical 1pm game.

The Bloody Mary I had just didn't do it for me like those espresso martini's. I can't remember the last time a drink agreed with me more. The food was on point as well. Hardy breakfasts were served all the way around. The Yankee Hash won best of meal, banana nut pancakes couldn't be finished despite their appeal. I had some type of eggs and mexican dish that desperately needed chorizo. The service again rocked and our wanabe server Alexis was a sweetheart.

We were able to make it to the Stadium which was about 30 minutes outside of Phoenix. Parking was free and remarkable easy and close to the gates. The stadium has a retractable dome which I supose has a purpose in the middle of the desert but I'm not sure what it is. It looks cool, like a big space ship in the middle of the arid landscape. The game actually lived up to our expectation and was quite good. Arizona had come off a hard loss the week earlier when Kurt Warner coughed up the ball in the end zone for a 49er's win. The Browns had just had a last minute contoversial field goal call the week before with Baltimore. So when Kellen Winslow scored a touchdown in the final play of the game and the ref decided to not make the call and as you can imagine not many people sympathized with the Browns who were robbed.

The fans were crazy fun and those three stooges had the best custom Jersey's I've ever seen. Too bad I missed the profile shot, WOW! We retreated for the evening for awesome home made machaca at Karsen's the die hard Clevelander owned pub and grill back in Scottsdale.

Scottsdale Saturday

Friday night was so anti climactic that Saturday was bound to be the quiet before the storm that would the the Browns/Cardinals game on Sunday. The night started out at Dos Gringos which is Scottsdales answer to: Where can I see a bunch of frat boys and bachlorettes drinking rot gut tequila and corona lights? The cadillac marg was horrilbe and the nachos were down right criminal. The taco I had was extremely tasty however and I guess that is what they are known for (hence the pic of empty taco basket). That being said we all had fun for a bit and it was just the first place.

Then it was off to Mickey's hangover. Not the best palce I've been to, pretty much another meathead hangout but not as bad as Dos Gringos. The girl who grabbed my beer at the bar and chug-a-lugged it spilling it all over herself was nice. And I was more than glad to take the phone number she was giving me to meet up later but apparently her husband would have rather fought me so we left rather quickly.

The best part of the night was the ride to the next bar. There were about 10 of us and so what to do? Three cabs would have sucked, but along came Art with Kosh Transportation. His suburban was fully stocked with beer, he only wanted $10 for the ride and we were encouraged to smoke in the car. I highly recommend this car service while you're in town.

The last stop was at the Rusty Spur Saloon where we got our boot scooting boogie on with the blue hair set. They had a live band covering mostly Rolling Stones and Southern rock tunes. Pretty cool decor (lots of dollars) that are taken off the walls once an year and donated to charity.

Almost Paradise

Somewhere in this wild world lies a perfect spot where at just the right moment all key elements align to create the unforgettable night. An evening where vivid fantasies of individuals, ambiance, food and drink come together in harmonic bliss. Welp pardner Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale, AZ were dang close last Friday night I'll tell you.

You're darn tootin we started off with the tastiest salad this side of the Alamo, then they rustled up some buffalo carpacio which was my fav and the scallops were nice. My bbq rib entree was my least fav of the night, a bit too fatty for my liking. The Duck on the other hand was the best I've ever had. Wine list is over 100 pages with 3500 wines but we just took their suggestion and were extremely satisfied.

Best of all was the service and the people we met. Actually ended up hanging out with the patrons and staff all weekend. We went to the wine bar next door afterward for a night cap to end a night of near perfection.

Little Next More

Getting East siders and West siders together can be challenging. Meeting in the middle is a splendid compromise and Little Next Door was the perfect choice. Located just West of LaCienega on the South side of W. 3rd, this fresh French market and bistro sits adjacent to it's fine dining cousin Little Door. I got there first and chose a seat on the sidewalk patio closest to the street. Good vantage for the pics but not the quietest seat in the house. There are indoor seats as well but the patio was busiest. The menu was quite extensive for bistro fare and there is a charming market counter inside with prepared foods, bakery and pastries. We ordered 5 of the six cheeses and it came with grapes, bread and fresh preserves. Alas it was the Proseccos that were the star of the late afternoon. First is was the white peach, then the passionfruit, then the mandarin then the lychee and THEN..the hibiscus rose, which was my favorite, my friend preferred the passion fruit. We also found room to split a Greek salad that despite lacking cucs had arugala, pine nuts, lots of sun dried tomatoes and chevre.

Daily Hours 9 AM - 6 PM

8142 West 3rd Street, LA CA 90048
(next door to The Little Door)

Tel: 323.951.1010
Fax: 323.951.0487

Gasless Ghetto Gourmet

Well sort of anyway, no gas was used in the cooking of this meal. But I definitely jumped into my carbon emitting four banger and booked over to Mar Vista with no concern for fuel economy. I arrived an hour late but just in time for film maker Chris Paine introduce his acclaimed film Who Killed The Electric Car. Everyone ate the killer squash soup, salmon and desert while watching this murder mystery styled documentary regarding GM's burial of its EVI electric car program. I had seen the movie before and loved it. Fascinating stuff what a few people can do when they get together and refuse to go away. When I first saw the movie I came away feeling as if the filmakers had deliverd a devastating blow to the mammoth General Motors Company. But after meeting and speaking with the film makers and players it was not that simple. These folks were on the GM bandwagon! Touting the promises and efforts GM has made since the subsequent embarassement that was realized by the film.


All in all it was another great night by Jeremy at The Ghetto Gourmet. They should be returning to LA again in about a month, be sure not to miss out on what will assuredly be another astounding effort.

Barfly

When this is the view you have at the bar or patio seat, you're sipping beverages and nibbling on free apps it's hard to complain about a little noise. Proud bird restaurant/aircraft museum and banquet facility lays adjacent LAX's runway. I'd noticed the old airplanes in front of the place a number of times passing it on Aviation just North of the 105. Open from 11pm to 10am daily, happy hour 4-7 M-F discount drinks and free apps. $14.95 lunch buffet seemed like the best deal and what most were ordering.

Ghetto Ghet

It seems that most of the time when I have heightened expectations from an event, or movie or person I am disappointed. Maybe it's all the hype that binds disappointment to the never satisfied. Either way I thought that the Ghetto Gourmet was going to be the raddest dining experience of my life, this gave me cautious trepidation. Every other time I'd set up big expectations I'd actually set my self up for a let down. Well, the Ghet did not disappoint, as a matter of fact it exceeded expecations. I brought cold sake and champagne after being emailed the menu last minute.

Rice Paper Wrapped Tiger Prawn with Ginger and Garlic

Tuna Tower with Shiso and Uni Sauce

Fresh Veggie Spring Roll

Lobster Bisque Shot with a Corn Fritter

Tomato Consumme with Roast Pumpkin Dumpling

Mini Chocolate, Banana & Macadamia Nut Pies

It looked like a good sized menu but left me wanting twice the portions of each course. But far and away the best part of the night was the group. Billed as the dinner in the dark we were drenched in candlelight to enjoy each others exuberence. What a great crowd and night. Do not miss a chance to dine like this.

Not Nearly Nordic Nough

You have to call the Irish Consulate in San Francisco to attain the application for an Irsih passport. Passports are to anyone with a parent born there. Apparantly there's a lot of Irish in San Francisco and when I went to Dropkick Murphey's last weekend the passport wouldn't have gotten a bushmills neat and guiness back to save your life. It was Social Distortion meets my Tribe loving, nightmare of a redsox fandom, hooligan mob looking as if they wanted to kill a man. My friend and I with antique related back ailments scuttled to the back of the crowd hoping not to get clobbered by the thug crowd. Interesting thing was everyone got on stage and thrashed at the ending and it was pretty impressive, it served as quite the bonding experience. Went to dive bar downtown THE 101 and the Missions CASANOVA to round out the perfect night out in the city.

Bite ein bit

So next time you're in Milpitas Sheraton don't bother asking for the EU's best selling beer. They have the handles and all but the beer is en route. Fat Tire works fine as I try and get my way into Oracle, and I'm not talking software. Silicon Valley is a bit desolate these days and It's my first time time there so I guess I missed the HAYday, which is surprisingly more like agra Sac than close to the city tech center, lots of vacant commercial space.

Happy Hour Halloween

Lucys 51 Halloween served as best bet in town for fast food served with flair on steps from the WORLDS BEST trick-or-teating (Toluca Lake). I was hungry and was able to cordon off an entire section of the bar/eatery for myself. They were prepared for the all hallows eve revelers with hanging ghosts and cobwebs. The happy hour menu was great, seared ahi, fried ravioli and sweet potato fries balanced out the pumpkin martini just fine. I scarfed it and went trick or treating. Thats right 38 and trick or treating and I have finally found the top targets, where they serve up full on haunted houses, mansion after mansion and have full candy stores set up at the end of gated driveways. Yes Toluca Lake, Burbanks attached alienhead sister city has a new purpose.

Now What Mother Echo Parker?

Short Stop. It's been a staple for seductive flossies and make out artists of all kinds. Echo Parks best bar is now part of a three in a row barhopper special. El Compadre, The Short Stop and Little Joy. If you've not experience this trio of delight and debaucerhy you oughta. Start off with strolling Mariachi's and Margaritas at El Compadre, the sister spot to the Rock Walks urban legend. Then saunter 50 feet to the right to The Short Stop, LA's BARHOPPERS pick as #1 hook up bar on the East side. Then stumble into Little Joy, only another bleeding 30 meters to the punkest bar we know of. Total chaos mass confusion, and a great jukeox. Tell Joe at Little Joy and Mario at El Compadre and Justice at The Short Stop that LA BARHOPPER sent you may get our hook up.

Rusty Scupper

Down on the Santa Monica Pier, by the famous ferris wheel, along the wood plank boardwalk sits an adventitiously poised all American bar. Rusty's Surf Ranch may serve less than adequate food but it's the best thing going the way of bars on the pier. It has a pool table and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Live music on the weekends would be it's other main draw. Usually closed by midnight.