Reflections on Los Angeles

While I was trekking through the city of Los Angeles one thing I noticed was how spread out everything was, especially in comparison to Boston. It was vital in owning a car if you wanted to go anywhere. From what I gathered the public transit system is pretty subpar. Besides the urban sprawl I also noticed the use of space. Notice in the picture above where you can see how the walls have been covered in artwork. As I travelled through different neighborhoods in LA I noticed that there was artwork everywhere. This was something that was very different from back home. However, I'm not sure what was a legitimate use of space versus graffiti. But, the point I'm getting at here is that what I saw really added life and color to the surrounding environment. I wish we had more designated spaces for creativity like this back home. The only space I could think of was the alley way by Central Kitchen in Central Square in the city of Cambridge where different artists come and paint the alleyway every few months.

On a different note I got to spend a few days with the little guy pictured above. Over the past few years I haven't had any interest in having a dog, or cat, or any other kind of pet for that matter. But, after hanging out and playing with this little monster I started to reconsider. While he fetched his favorite rope toy around the house and in the yard I thought about when I was a kid, and about the pets I had. It definitely brought me back to feeling like a kid again so much so I might actually look into getting myself a dog in the not so distant future.

I wanted to post this pic up of Mike and I to prove that I was actually in Los Angeles (thanks Annie), and although neither of us look to ecstatic it's only because we hadn't had any coffee yet. One of the things I wish I had done more of before I left home was to snap pictures with family and friends.

I have one more thing to reflect on that crossed my mind. Not to far from my friend's place is an elementary school. Now being an outsider I didn't know much about the school or the community. However, a few mornings when I woke up I observed the parents walking their children to school, and I would say that 99.9% of them were of Latino/Latina descent. Yet, the dynamics of the neighborhood seemed to reflect something very different in comparison. From what I noticed, and as Mike put it; "the neighborhood is mostly white girls who wear Lululemon." I'm not judging or making any assumptions, but I'm curious to know if that in fact the neighborhood is made up this way, and if so how far are these parents and children traveling to come to school. Why is it that way? I wish I had more time to learn and explore the dynamics of the area, but unfortunately I only had time to catch a brief glimpse.

Last Day In LA

This Saturday morning was bittersweet since I know that after breakfast Mike and Annie will be driving me to the LAX. But, I really can't complain because my trip has simply been absolutely amazing from the moment I decided to take this risk. My stay with my friends has been fantastic. They were great hosts, and I always love catching up with them. So once we were all up and looking pretty we rolled out to one of their favorite breakfast spots called Kitchen 24 where I ordered this massive plate pictured above. Everything was spot on! Hash browns were lightly seasoned, crispy, and not greasy. Eggs were sunny side up, and the pancakes were so perfect so much so that even aunt Jemima would be proud. The sausage was actually chicken sausage and really good, but it wasn't quite my thing. Nonetheless it was probably better for my arteries.

Earlier in the week a discussion between Annie and myself arose about the new Lays Sriracha flavored chips versus the Doritos Tapatío chips. Well she went out and brought me some evidence to examine in regards to that, and Im proud to say that the Tapatío Doritos are hands down the one. For those of you who like spicy grab a bag!

Los Angeles Day 3

Day three of course involved more food. There was early morning coffee followed by a trip to Fatburger once our hunger kicked in. I debated about taking on their XXXL burger challenge, but I had plans in the evening and I wasn't looking to induce cardiac arrest just yet. I went with a medium sized burger  (lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese & a fried egg) and a side a fries. In my opinion their burger beats the infamous In & Out. It was raining outside so I spent most of the daylight hours indoors catching up on emails, and working on a few other things I needed to finish for work. Then later on that evening it was off for some Korean BBQ with my homie Grace! She does great illustration and design work. Click here to check out some of her stuff!

I met up with Grace for a good old catch up session. We hit this all you can eat Korean BBQ spot in Downtown LA / Little Tokyo called Manna BBQ. I hadn't been to Korean BBQ in a long time so I let Grace take the lead on what to order (she's also Korean American and seemed very familiar with everything so therefore when in Rome...). She was no stranger and got to working the propane powered grill at our table like a pro! Before doing anything she began greasing the grill with a cube of fat (you can see it in the pic above), and the next thing I knew she was slicing & dicing everything up! Once we were finished and I thought I couldn't eat another thing she decides to take me to this pastry puff spot called Beard Papa. I some how made room to take down one of those cream puffs. I ordered a vanilla cream puff, which was filled on order. Wow! This was serious! The cream wasn't heavy like a boston creme pie custard, it was just right. I even picked up a few to bring back to the house.

It should be no surprise at how much I love food; whether its an old fashioned American classic like a cheese burger, or trying something new like chicken feet. As I reflected back on my experience that night not only did I really enjoy catching up with Grace, but something else really stood out at me. That I really appreciate how food brings people together. How it acts as a centerpiece and starting point for conversation. Through my own personal history food has played such an important role to me for as long as I can remember.

Los Angeles Day 2

I was definitely feeling the jet-lag my second morning in Los Angeles. I was up around 5am and wide-awake so I pulled out my laptop and jumped online to check my email and catch up on a few things. While it was going to be sunny and 60 degrees here on the west coast I found out that back home my friends and family had been greeted with about 2ft of snow. Not going to lie, I was pretty happy I missed out on shoveling!

Once I was dressed and ready to roll we headed around the corner to grab a bite at this spot called the 101 Coffee Shop. I ordered the "Rush Hour Special" for $6.25, which was perfect for the money. It was a no nonsense breakfast that seriously filled me up. The eggs were eggs, the pancakes were on point, and the sausage patties were really thin, which I was digging. Overall, for 6 bucks you can't really beat it. Plus the inside is where they filmed a scene from the movie Swingers.

1st Day in LA

My first morning in Los Angeles was pleasant. I wasn't too jet-lagged either waking up around 6:30am after crashing out at about 10:30pm the night before. Now that the crazy hustle and bustle of tying up all my loose ends back home was just about done I was ready to take some time to decompress. I didn't have specific plans once I got into LA except to connect with a few friends who lived in town. So after showering and good cup of coffee I rode along with Mike while he ran a few errands near downtown. After that we rolled into this spot called Wurstküche, which served up some serious sausage links!

My apologies for the pic above being a little blurry. I only had my iphone on me and I was a bit overwhelmed by the selection. I ended up ordering the Filipino Maharlika, which was a sweet pork sausage. I got it with spicy peppers and caramelized onions. I was thoroughly impressed, and debated about ordering another! We split an order of their Belgian fries, which came with an amazing curry ketchup, and blue cheese walnut and bacon dipping sauce! If you're in the area I highly recommend stopping in for a bite!

Taking Flight

I boarded my flight at Logan airport this evening around 5:15pm, and arrived at Los Angeles LAX airport around 9pm Pacific time. I walked outside and felt the cool evening air on my face. My old friend Mike pulled up along the curb to pick me up. Everything was almost surreal up until when I boarded the plane a few hours earlier, but now it was different. Although I was quite exhausted from running around the past few weeks and enduring a 6 hour flight I felt ecstatic inside. From the moment I began preparing for this journey I never once doubted what I was doing.