Unhipster's Hangout: Johnnie's French Dip Pastrami

Are you sometimes tired of all those hipster locale's such as Abbott Kinney Blvd., Highland and York Blvd.? Silverlake and Echo Park . . . .? Do you sometimes feel like you don't belong in those places because you are not dressed hip enough to be seen there? Do you get sick of the $5 lattes, and cappucinos, $15 glasses of wine, $18 small plates and $45 entrees in those oh so chic places? And do you sometimes notice that when you go to those places, the clientele are the white folks and Asian folks and wonder where does the rest of Los Angeles go? Well I do. Sometimes it's just nice to walk into an unpretentious place with good food, reasonable prices, a diverse clientele, and friendly staff, and walk out feeling like you've just been to some place real good.

For those of you who feel "unhip" occasionally, or all the time, I'm going to write about some down home places I like called Unhipster's Hangout. The first of these places I'm going to talk about is Johnnie's Patrami Restaurant in Culver City which has been around since 1952. Situated on the corner of Washington Blvd. and Sepulveda, Johnnie's is a throwback to the Americana of the olden days. (Not that I know exactly what the olden days look like since I didn't come to the US until 1978). It's a diner that serves fried chicken, hamburgers, pickles, coleslaw and the world's best pastrami sandwich. There are three kinds of seating: stools around the counter,  booth with high back bench seating, or outdoors on picnic style tables around a fire pit. On the counter and tables, there are little juke boxes where you can queue up songs from selections such as "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Monday Monday", "Gloria", and many more oldies and not so oldies but goodies.

The wait staffs seem to be from another era: Surly and no nonsense elderly ladies who look kind of unfriendly, although our waitress tonight was a young woman who is awfully nice and polite. (I just checked their website and what do you know? Some of the waitresses are originals! How cool is that!) When you look around, you don't see any hipsters, just downright unhip older folks like me who've probably been coming here forever for the famous pastrami sandwich and chili fries. There tonight were older African Americans couples,  older white folks, an old Asian/caucasian couple, and some African American young men. The pastrami sandwich isn't exactly cheap at $12.75, but it's huge and enough for two people. I like mine with melted Swiss cheese. The cup of joe is not espresso, but has unlimited refill. By the time I walked out of Johnnie's, I felt as if I've rediscovered a treasure, and hoped that hipsters don't swarm here any time soon.

A Sunday at the Los Angeles Central Library With free Street Parking

The Los Angeles Central Library is an architectural gem and the pride of Los Angeles. I hardly ever go there because I usually go to my neighborhood branch library which has ample parking while I can never find parking at the Central Library. You can park at its garage with validation, but it still costs money. I have a thing against having to pay for an experience that should be free, like going to the public library!

After years of budget cuts, Through some bond measure that we all had to pay for, Los Angeles finally restored the weekend hours at the library. I was downtown this weekend and decided to drop by the library to walk about. I circled the library a couple of times and found a parking spot right in front of the side entrance. Street parking was free on a Sunday in Los Angeles, so that suited me very well.

My destination was the map room in the history section and the Chinese books section, so I was in the newer part of the library and taking the escalator up and down. The atrium in this part of the library is so grand with hanging sculptures everywhere.The book collection here is also so much better than the local branches. I borrowed some books that I wouldn't have been able to find in my local branch, so that was good. 

WARNING: While walking through the 4th level history section of the library, I smelled stale urine. Someone must have peed on the carpet. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE in a public space that belongs to all of us. Library staff, please clean it up thoroughly. If it's the homeless peeing in the library, they should be directed to the restrooms! I guess homeless people using the library for not just book browsing happens everywhere. I remember when we went to visit what was a brand new Seattle Public Library a few years ago, we were told that the restrooms were painted a horrible puke green to discourage the homeless from loitering there. Libraries should be for book browsing and reading. However, I guess one cannot prevent the homeless from using this beautiful facility as well since it is public space. This is an urban problem that probably cannot be avoided. But still we must try. Otherwise who will visit the library?

A taste of Egg Slut... Finally

Heard about Egg Slut for quite some time. Been to the Grand Central Market several times but the line for Egg Slut was always so long that I've always opted for the other food stands there rather than wait in line. By the way, the soft tacos stand giving out free samples of its carnitas tacos is delicious, and its jamaica (hibiscus) drink for a dollar is the best I've had.

This past weekend, my daughter and I braved the long line and waited to finally get a taste of the Egg Slut. Wow! It is good. An egg on a bed of buttery mashed potatoes, slowly poached, or "coddled" to perfection in a small glass jar was absolutely heavenly. But at $9.00 a pop, it's a bit expensive considering the ingredients probably cost no more than 50 cents. Now I'm going to try making it at home and save a few bucks.

Restaurant Review: HOME in Los Feliz. Could Have Been Better.

I hope this was just a one off experience. 

We went to Home for the first time on a Sunday evening to pick up my daughter from a play date in Los Feliz. Los Feliz is in a charming part of Los Angeles, but we don't usually go there only because living on the Westside, it's a bit hard to get to on a regular basis. Not knowing what to eat around there, I searched on Open Table for restaurants in Los Feliz, and Home was one of the choices. I checked out the website for the restaurant and it looked beautiful. There was an image of its Lemon Chicken Piccata that just looked mouth watering. I then booked through Open Table to get 100 dining points. 

Chicken Piccata Promo picture on Home Website.

 When we got there, the restaurant was expecting us. They have a nice corner table on the outdoor patio waiting for us. Beautiful lanterns hung from the arching trees in the patio. We were charmed. I ordered the chicken piccata from the photo. My husband ordered the chicken Tuscany.My daughter just wanted fried calamari. My chicken piccata tasted good, but a few pieces of the accompanying roasted vegetables were still frozen. That was a bit sloppy in execution, but I didn't ask them to take it back or anything. My husband's chicken Tuscany arrived with the bed of pasta and no chicken. When he asked the waitress if he was supposed to get chicken with his dish, she goes "whoops, looks like you got the Tuscany without the chicken!" That was kind of humorous, and we laughed. She apologized and had the kitchen later bring a side plate of the chopped chicken breast for my husband to toss into his by now cold bed of Tuscany penne pasta, and offered to give us a free dessert. That was nice. 

Well, when it was time to order the dessert, we ordered the cheesecake. Our waitress said it was her favorite. But when she came back, she informed us that they were out of the cheesecake. This was around 8:15 pm. Okay, so we ordered the flan. When the bill came, they charged us for the dessert anyway. Forget about the offer of complimentary dessert. Despite the chicken dishes mishap, my husband was too chicken to point this out and paid the bill in full. I didn't want to leave much of a tip, but he didn't like to make a point the way I felt he should, and decided to tip 12% as a compromise as opposed to his normal 20%. 

The location and ambience of Home with dining under the trees was really nice and magical. It's just that the shoddy execution of the chicken dishes left a fowl taste in my mouth.

Mien Nghia, a Great Noodle Restaurant

There was this place, Mien Nghia, in Chinatown, that served the best Southeast Asian/ Cantonese noodles. A friend of mine from Vietnam introduced me to it a few years back and I would go there every time I'm in Chinatown. However, a couple of years ago, much to my disappointment, when I went back to that hole in the wall, it was closed. I mentioned this to that friend of mine and was told that Mien Nghia actually has another restaurant in Rosemead, on Garvey. So I went there with my daughter last week.

Mien Nghia San Gabriel Valley is not a hole in the wall, but a full on restaurant with ample parking. There is no ambience to speak of, but the food still has the same deliciousness: Noodle in different broths with different kind of toppings. You can choose to have the egg noodles, or the rice noodles, thick noodles, or thin, or a combination. I chose a combo thin egg and rice noodles with fish slices and pork kidney. It was quite satisfying.

I found out from the manager there that Mien Nghia has been around for 30 years, first in Chinatown, and then they opened a second restaurant here in Rosemead around 15 years ago. The one in Chinatown closed due to increased rent there.

I like all kinds of soup noodles: Chinese style beef noodle soup, Japanese ramen, Vietnamese Pho or Hu Thieu, and Cambodian glass noodles. I'm not sure what  kind of cuisine Mien Nghia is, but probably something inspired by southern Asian cuisine. Another kind of taste, but delicious.

Try it!

Mien Nghia Noodle Express
7755 E. Garvey Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770

Grow Native Nursery in the Veterans Garden

Ever since I got rid of my lawn, I've been looking into various drought tolerant plants to grow in my front yard instead. I've fallen in love with the Ceonothus, or the California lilac, which can grow up to a majestic 20 feet tall, depending on the species.The tree bears beautiful purple blooms which, when rubbed in water, generates suds and hence are also called soap flowers.

Not many commercial nurseries carry the ceonothus, but I found that Grow Native Nursery in the Veterans Garden in Westwood has them. This nursery is a branch of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont, a wonderful garden that features native flora in all its glorious manifestations.  It's branch nursery in the Westwood Veterans Garden sells California native plants from the RSA Botanica Gardens. Bryce, the young man who works at the nursery is the most helpful and knowledgeable person who can give you great ideas on how to grow native plants in your garden.

So far, I've purchased several ceonothus plants over the summer, but they've all died on me, I think because of the unseasonably hot southern California summer this year. (It's imcomprehensible since these plants are supposedly native to California, drought tolerant, and should be used to this weather, but whatever). I just bought two more ($9.50 for a one gallon plant) because I'm determined to have a ceonothus tree survive in my yard. Wish me luck.

By the way, Grow Native Nursery is a non-profit that works with the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System to maximize veterans’ opportunities in the sustainable horticulture industry. Go visit the nursery for great plants and to support a great cause. It only opens Wednesday through Sunday, so make sure to go on those days.

Grow Native Nursery at the Veteran's Garden
100 Davis Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90049

Grand Central Market.

The downtown LA Grand Central Market is in the midst of transforming into a more upscale food market. It is currently a mix of foodie hangouts such as Eggslut, Wexler's Deli, C and G Cafe, and many ethnic, been there forever food stands. Hope it stays that way. You don't want the upscale yuppy foods to drive out the traditional Chinese, Salvadoran, or Mexican stands. 

Apple Picking in Oak Glen, California

When I was living in the East Coast, I loved eating apples.  Over the years though, especially after moving to California, I've lost my taste for this fruit.. The supermarket bought apples tasted dry, the texture isn't as crisp as I remembered, the skin is waxy, and the apple flavor is just not quite there.

When I decided to go apple picking with Chloe at Riley's Farm, one of the few places that allow U-Pick apples in Southern California, I wasn't expecting much. I just thought it would be fun getting out of the city for a bit. It took us about an hour and a half to get to Oak Glen, near Yucaipa, across the hot, charmless expanse of San Bernardino County and the 10 Freeway. But when we turned onto Oak Glen Rd to go up the mountain, the landscape all of a sudden turned lusher. Riley's Farm in Oak Glen was bustling with activities. It has a full on New England theme with a "publick house" called "Hawk's Head" that serves food that surprisingly tasty, a fruit shack, guys dressed in minutemen costume, and women in old New England garb. School groups were there, as were lots of families and young couples. The place reeks of tourist trap, of course, but it was fun nonetheless.

 

The apple trees at Riley's Farm were loaded down with lots of apples. So much apples in fact, that tons have ripened and fallen onto the ground to rot and get eaten by bees and squirrels. The apple varieties included red delicious, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Senshu apples as well as Bartlett pears. The sizes of the apples were not big, but they were delicious. The apples were bursting with flavor and we couldn't help eating them while we picked. I think I liked the Senshu apples the best, but all were tasty. We picked two large bags of apples and pears for $18 each. Not cheap, but well worth the price and effort.

Apple picking is in season right now. Go to Riley's Farm for some luscious fruit and pumpkins.

Riley's Farm
12261 S. Oak Glen Road
Oak Glen, California 92399


909-797-7534

Jesus in LA

The other day, while driving to the Hollywood Bowl for a girls' night out, we saw this character walking down the street.  All of us shouted "JESUS" in unison and started snapping photographs. It's amazing that this certain image of Jesus is so ingrained in people's minds such that when a lanky white dude with long brown hair, a beard, and sporting a long shapeless robe, people instantly identify him as Jesus. I'm not even a Christian of any sort, but decades of visiting museums and looking at art by Europeans are enough to imprint the Europeans' image of Jesus in just about anyone.

A few days later, I saw on TV news that this Jesus character had been spotted all over Los Angeles, at LACMA, and other locations.  Apparently, "Jesus" is a man by the name of Kevin Lee Light who dons his Jesus garb regularly and roams the streets of LA and makes appearances in various events just to be spotted by unsuspecting people like myself. He even has a web site dedicated to photos people snap of him. http://www.isawjesusinla.com/. He is seen at the gay pride parade, at the hot dog stand, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and just mingling with regular folks, as you know who also did.

Since no one in his or her right mind would really think Mr. Light is the real Jesus, sometimes, I truly wonder what drives people like him to do what they do. Does he even have a day job? I wonder. Maybe he's a carpenter by trade. At least he gives people something to talk about.Only in LA.

Awesome Ceviche in the Ungentrified Hood

Our neighbors Bill and Martha were planning to go to have ceviche the other night and invited us to join them. They say they found this place called La Cevicheria on Pico, just off Crenshaw Boulevard and it's really good. They added that it's also kid friendly, knowing we have a teenager with us. We took them up on the invitation, along with our fifteen year old daughter. Along the way, we picked up a bottle of chilled white wine from Vons because the restaurant does not have a liquor license.

Bill drove all of us there. The restaurant is definitely in the ungentrified part of town, in what people call "Arlington Heights", sandwiched between a couple of makeshift storefront Latino evangelical churches with congregations singing away during evening worship. La Cevicheria is a hole in the wall with maybe eight tables in all. 

Martha is Mexican by heritage, so she ordered for us: The bloody clams ceviche, aguas chile shrimp, siete mares soup, mussels in butter sauce, and a seafood stew.  The food is heavenly. The bloody clams ceviche is marinated in lime juice with a  hint of mint and worcestershire sauce. Aguachile de cameron is shrimp in lime juice, with a perfectly blended sauce of pureed chiles and garlic. The stew has fish, clams, octopus, scallops, shrimp with side of rice to put in the stew. I am not sure what is in the stew, but it is simply divine. Siete mares soup is good, although the garlic butter mussels is just a tad over done.

Photogrid composition of my photos

We met the chef Carolina. She says the restaurant has been around for 12 years. She and her husband are the chefs, and she prepares the sauces every day.  The food is a combination of Guatemalan cuisine and some Vera Cruz. I am surprised that the restaurant hasn't expanded to Santa Monica or Malibu, or enjoyed the reputation of other tony seafood places on the Westside. It definitely tastes better than any Mexican seafood restaurant I've been to, other than the seafood shack on Careyitos beach in Costa Alegre, Mexico.

Perhaps its the location that scares some people off.  Perhaps it's because the restaurant is just too small. However, I prefer the unpretentious atmosphere and gourmet cuisine of La Cevicheria. I will definitely come back to try their fish tacos and other fish plates next time. They were out of fish the night we visited. Can you imagine?

La Cevicheria

3809 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90019

323-732-1253

Using Discount Coupons to Try New Restaurants: Bronzed Aussie

I joined Amazon Local and bought an $11 certificate for $22 worth of food from a restaurant called Bronzed Aussie in downtown Los Angeles. The restaurant specializes in small meat and vegetarian pies, and I was craving a pot pie, so we decided to try it.

Bronzed Aussie is located near the fashion district in DTLA. In a courtyard surrounded by new lofts, the restaurant location is a quiet contrast to the hustle and bustle of the fashion district. Unfortunately, one hour of street parking costs $4, which added to the overall cost, making it less of a deal than anticipated. But it's good to try something new right?

The restaurant decor is spare with a few tables, a counter, and a glass cabinet that displayed the kinds of food available. When we walked in, there was only one couple ahead of us and no one was eating at the restaurant. I was thinking that this place is probably relatively undiscovered, hence the willingness to give out half off coupons. After we ordered the ground beef pie, the chunky beef pie, lattes, an apple pie, and fish and chips, we sat down to wait for our food. Next thing I know, customers trickled in one after another, and soon there was a steady line of customers placing orders and the two ladies working the counter and register got their hands full taking orders and serving food. Luckily, the pies were already made and sitting in the oven. It didn't take long to serve the food.

The meat pies were very tasty. The fillings were savory and the pie crust was flaky. They hit a spot for sure, and I felt guilty because I am sure I ruined my diet by eating this comfort food. We didn't try the vegetarian pies although I heard other customers praising the chicken mushroom pie and the Thai curry pie. The lattes were good and strong too.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend braving the horrible traffic to the fashion district, pay an exorbitant parking fee just to eat here, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood already, picking up a pie here is highly recommended. It's even better with an Amazon Local coupon.

Bronzed Aussie 
714a S Los Angeles St, Los Angeles, CA, 
1.213.243.0770

Listening to Audio Books While Driving around Los Angeles

I started listening to audio books mainly because with age, I have a hard time reading words on pages without my reading glasses, so spontaneous reading just doesn't happen anymore as it used to. I have to say though, I enjoy audio books tremendously.

I binge read/listened to five books over two weeks recently. 

A couple of weeks ago, I read In the Woods by Irish writer Tana French.  I was hooked enough that I wanted to get a hold of Tana French's four other novels. I found that Los Angeles Public Library didn't have all the books available to borrow on Overdrive e-Media. But, I did find two of French's books: The Likeness and Faithful Place available on Audible.com.  Audible is now a service provided by Amazon. However, the monthly subscription to it is $14.95 and I can only download one free book per month.  Additional books cost extra. This is a bit too steep especially if I am willing to wait for the audio books to be available for borrowing through the public library for free. However, Audible currently has a promotion that allows me to sign up, download two free audio books and cancel within one month and not be charged the monthly subscription fee if I choose. I wanted to check out Audible, so I downloaded the two free audiobooks onto my Samsung Galaxy Player. You can download it onto your tablets, ipad, or ipods, or smart phones.

Overdrive allows me to connect to many public libraries I am a member of and borrow from their extensive e-media catalog.  The drawback is that the public libraries have limited licenses to lend out the downloadable audiobooks, and I sometimes have to place a popular book on hold and wait in queue until someone returns his or her borrowed copy.  When available, I am notified by email that I can download the audio book. For the most part, this is not a problem because I can always find an available book to listen to while I put a hold on a book I want and wait patiently in queue. Once downloaded, I have three weeks to listen to the book. When the three weeks is up, the book is automatically returned to the library via the internet. I never have to worry about late fees.

Audible requires that I download an app to listen to my downloaded books. That was easy enough.  I used Playstore to download the app onto my Samsung Player. The experience was similar to Overdrive Media, quite pleasant. I own the books I downloaded and as far as I know, I don't have to return them. This makes sense: the $14.95 subscription fee allows me to own the books I download.

I did find the fourth book in the series: Broken Harbor, available as a hard back in the LA Public Library, so I read it the old fashioned way, turning the pages, with my reading glasses on. Just when I finished reading Broken Harbor, the final and most recent book by French, Secret Place, became available on Overdrive Audiobooks through the LA Public Library.

After finishing all five books, I came to the conclusion that I may like Audiobooks over reading hard copies of books, or reading e-books. The reasons? 1. I don't have to worry about not seeing the words if I don't have my reading glasses with me. 2. I can listen to the audio books anywhere: while driving, while eating lunch, while cooking, etc. 3. While I might miss some nuances during the readings if I am distracted, for the most part, I am forced to listen to every word and can get the descriptive details the author intended so much more. It is hard to jump ahead with the app not knowing what I am missing. When reading a real book though, I get so engrossed in the plot and would often skip descriptive lines or paragraphs and jump ahead just to find out what's next in the plot.

In my book, these are great reasons to listen to audio books.

Open Past Midnight: Side Show Books

After "A Letter to Momo" at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles, it was close to midnight. We walked out of the theatre into the dark side street where our car was parked.  A few steps away, a quaint stand alone building was lit up in the darkness with welcoming strands of mini light bulbs.  A display stand outside the open door ways announces: "SideShow Rare Remarkable Books, Art and Curiosities".

photo by Boffinart

The store that was open at midnight conjures up images of bookstores from literature such as Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, or the toy/curio store from The Invention of Hugo Cabret, where one might find books or objects that open up a new world. Here at Side Show Books, we founds old movie posters, matchbooks, old scripts, signed art books, paintings, original pulp fiction, comic books, music scores, and much more.

My daughter bought a copy of Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger for $3.  Hubby couldn't resist ponying up $150 for an old movie poster of "The Cincinnati Kid" with Steve McQueen.

Well, there weren't any real magical occurrences there or even a mysteriously ancient bookseller. Yet the fact that the store was just there, open past midnight and beckoning to the night owls, was a treat in itself.

Sideshow Books: 11323 Idaho Ave Los Angeles, CA 90025‎(310) 428-4631

Treasures of the Norton Simon Museum

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena is one of those gems in Southern California that makes museum going fun to do with the family. Being a medium sized museum, it's not too time consuming to walk through and it has a fantastic collection to boot.

Located in Pasadena, The Norton Simon Museum was originally designed in 1964 by Thornton Ladd and John KelseyArchitects. Since then, it has been modified and added onto by artist Edith Heath, architects Craig Ellwood, Frank Gehry, and Gensler and Associates.

The Museum houses and amazing permanent art collection by well known artists, and has rotating exhibits of artwork from other museums' collections. Last year, we saw a wonderful collection of Hokusai's wood block prints from Japan. Currently, Lessons of the Cherry Blossom: Japanese Woodblock Prints is on exhibit until September 3, 2012. Among others, it features prints by Utagawa Hiroshige, Totoya Hokkei and Chōbunsai Eishi.

Another exhibit on display is Significant Objects: The Spell of Still Life. Drawing on the Norton Simon Museum's own collections, the exhibition "explores the wealth of aesthetic and conceptual artistic strategies that challenge the shortsighted view of still life as simply an art of imitation." On display are works by Picasso, Chardin, Cezanne, and many others. The artistry of these still life paintings are just mind boggling.

Then, there is the garden of the Norton Simon Museum. Serene and intimate, the lush grounds have sculptures dotted throughout and a water feature running through the garden. It takes about 10 minutes to walk through, but you feel transported to a different world.

This is one of the most beautify and intimate museums in Southern California with a world class collection of artwork. Treat yourself and go visit the Norton Simon Museum this year.

The Norton Simon Museum
411 West Colorado Boulevard
Pasadena, CA 91105-1825

Imagined Worlds: Donald Evans' World of Stamps

A while ago, my friend Julia lent me a copy of "The World of Donald Evans" by Willy Eisenhart. I liked it so much, I kept it for a couple of  years, and finally returned the book to her last year.  Because the book is so unique, I went and bought a copy of it for myself.

Donald Evans was an American artist who painted postage stamps and cataloged them in a compilation called "Catalogue of the World". The stamps are of fictitious countries with their own history, geography, climate, currency and customs.

Displayed on the pages of The World of Donald Evans are exquisitely drawn postage stamps of imagined countries in imagined worlds. Evan's attention to details can be seen in his taxonomic elaborations of his invented stamp collections. Plants, fruits and objects of one imagined country, quilt designs of another, all demonstrate the research and detail Evans placed in his art.

Stamps from the republic of Banana

Stamps of quilts from the Tropides Islands.

Check it out. One can't help but be mesmerized at the wild imagination of a non-existent yet orderly world and at the same time, be impressed with the artistry of Evans' work.

Sam Johnson's Bookshop

On Venice Boulevard, there is a used, or out-of-print book store that's been around for a while.  It's not the kind of book store that you'd think of visiting to get the newest bestseller.  Nothing there is new.  In fact, even the people who work there, or who own the store, are old folks who just seem to love old books and are having a good time hanging out at the store.

I don't know if they make money, because during the Christmas holidays when I visited, I was the only customer there at 7:00 p.m.  The owner came in and asked the cashier how much they made that day.  The lady behind the counter said that they made about $100 that day.  My purchase added another $50 to that amount, but still, that's not much. I vaguely remember that years ago, when I first visited Sam Johnson's, the owner told me that he purchased the property where the store stood so that he didn't have to deal with the cost of ever increasing rent.  So, maybe they are doing okay.

A decade ago, we were all lamenting that independent bookshops are being pushed out of business by all-in-one mega stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders with the the packaged gifts and the coffee shops. But considering that a decade later, in my neighborhood of West Los Angeles, both Barnes and Noble at the Westside Pavilion and Borders Books on Westwood Boulevard shut down, it's a wonder that the small indy stores like Sam Johnson's and another gem, Children's Book World still remains.  Maybe there is hope for independent book stores after all 

At Sam Johnson's, there are lots of out of print, or first edition books in every category.  I like the arts and  architecture sections.  I found an out of print book about the Los Angeles Union Station for $15, and a book of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture signed by the photographer who took the architectural photos in the book for $20.  Both were great Christmas gifts for my brothers in law, one a train buff, another an architect.

My greatest find at Sam Johnson's were the 1973 Herge Archives of the Tintin comic books, published by Casterman, covering Herge's work from 1929 to 1940.  The Archives are of the original black and white drawings and are in French.  Unfortunately, I only got volumes 1, 3 and 4.  Sam Johnson's didn't have Volume 2.

 

Sam Johnsons: 12310 Venice Boulevard    Los Angeles, California  90066 (310) 391-5047 

When I Crave Childhood Comfort Food.

In my case, childhood cuisine means Taiwanese or Chinese style food. Even though I've only lived in Taiwan for about a year and have never been to China, I've visited Taiwan several times, and mom cooks Chinese food, so I consider Chinese style food my comfort food.

 When I have a craving for cuisine I grew up with, I head out to the San Gabriel Valley, a hotbed of all kinds of Asian cuisine.  Yesterday, I had a craving for Chinese dumplings, so we went to the Mandarin Noodle House on 701 W Garvey Ave, an establishment that has been around for decades. The food there may not be up to the standards of the new expensive foodie craze sweeping over California, but it is basic northern Chinese food that hits a spot.

We ordered boiled pork dumplings with leek, fish dumplings, and pot stickers with pork and cabbage.
For sides dishes, we had marinated cubumbers, julienned seaweed, beancurd strips, and tofu with preserved eggs - all comfort food that we haven't had for quite a while.

After lunch, we had shave ice at Shau May Restaurant at 104 N Garfield Ave. in Monterey Park. We ordered one to share because even the 3 items combo shave ice is quite large. We had the combination of red beans, mochi balls and grass jelly topped with shave ice and condensed milk. Fantastic way to cool off on a hot summer day.

Neighborhood Discovery: Angelino Heights

I took a class in Land Use law and learned about the Historic Preservation Overlay Zone ordinance in Los Angeles. The HPOZ ordinance designates certain Los Angeles neighborhoods as "Historic" and provide for review of proposed exterior alterations and additions to historic properties within designated districts. Los Angeles adopted the HPOZ ordinance in 1979, and designated the neighborhood of Angelino Heights the first HPOZ.

Angelino Heights was planned as Victorian style neighborhood in the late 19th century. it contains some of the best remaining examples of Victorian-era architectural styles in Los Angeles, as well as later examples of Craftsman and Mission Revival styles. The 1300 block of Carroll Avenue is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and contains the highest concentration of 19th century Victorian homes in Los Angeles

It's a symptom of the sprawling and balkanized nature of Los Angeles that while I've known about Angelino Heights for 25 years, I've never been to that neighborhood . . . until yesterday: I got lost driving in downtown LA, and next thing I know, I was on Carroll Avenue. I immediately noticed the unmistakable Victorian buildings there. The cute and elegant gingerbread homes are so recognizable which is probably why this neighborhood was designated as historic and worth preserving in the first place.  I got out of my car and took a stroll.

While there are beautiful and well preserved homes in Angelino Heights, the fact that I noticed some dangerously dilapidated historic homes makes me wonder whether the code mandated up-keep is expensive. It must be a pain to have to obtain a permit every time some maintenance work needs to be done on one's home.

Anyway, Angelino Heights is extremely quiet and charming, and definitely worth a visit. I hear that Christmas lights there are incredible too.

Arcana Books on the Arts: A New Book Store on the Westside

Coffee table book about Chinese junks

Not too long ago, I discovered this new book store in Culver City: Arcana Books on the Arts. http://www.arcanabooks.com/. This independent book store carries everything you can imagine about art. While browing the shelve: If there is a trend in art, there's an art book documenting it, and you can find it at Arcana.

Ever since the big chain book stores such as Barnes and Noble, Borders, Brentano's, and Crown Books left my neighborhood, it seems like only the small and specialty book stores are still hanging in there. Sam Johnsons Book Shop, which is a used book store, Children's Book World, catering to kids, and now, Arcana.

Tattoo of 1970s Tokyo

I miss the feeling of being able to browse a book store's physical books, flip through the pages, and read the covers to sample the content. It's just different browsing on line.  I have to admit, too often I end up going on the internet to buy books at a much cheaper price than at book stores. Sometimes, I just go to the library to borrow books. I admit, this habit of chasing less expensive books are probably what contributed to the demise of brick and mortar book stores. But then again, who wants to over pay for something that most don't have the space to keep and will donate or toss after they're done reading it? I used to think that any book is worth keeping. I don't think that anymore.

But Arcana found a niche: While most of its books are brand new and can probably be found cheaper on the internet, some of the art books are probably out of print already and are just so gorgeous too look at that you can't help but make an impulsive purchase. The beautify art work depicted is just too irresistible to browse over and over again, and I would think twice before tossing them, knowing they are probably hard to find elsewhere.  (I have to admit though, no matter how great the photography is of original art work, it can't compete with the original art objects hanging on walls, or wherever they come from).

This Christmas, I will make a special effort to support my neighborhood book stores and purchase Christmas presents from them lest they disappear from my neighborhood too.

Buy a book as a gift this holiday season!