LA Trip Fantastique! The "Other California"

Funky Friday, and guess what.  I have been traveling!  (Yes, I did have surgery Monday and was traveling through a cloud of pain pill filled bliss, but that is another story for another day).  All better today and ready to tell my tale.

My oldest turned 13 last Sunday and I decided it was time to cement our Mommy/Daughter relationship in all things good before she decided I was the enemy and wouldn't tell me anything important.  We took off last Wednesday and headed for LA.  Thursday was spent at Disneyland, (nothing new to tell here, so will skip this part).  That night we headed over to the beach to stay at Santa Monica.  This is where the true adventure began.  Checked in at beachfront hotel, and ventured out.  We took a drive through historic Santa Monica to look at the beautiful homes.   There are some really, beautiful, historical homes in Santa Monica and I highly recommend the drive.  Lucky for me, child number one is a fabulous traveling companion and loves to gaze at interesting homes and architecture as much as her mum.

Dinner:  FABULOUS!  After all, traveling for me is all about the food.  After much research, ended up at counter service/divey place called "Cha Cha Chicken".

http://www.chachachicken.com/
Amazing little "shack" off the beach.  Decor is all Caribean and food transports you to an island locale.  I had Jerk Chicken Quesadillas and Ali had Coconut Chicken.  We both had the amazing black beans and rice, but the lucky 13 year old got a side of fried plaintains with her dish!  We both had amazing "housemade" fruit drinks.  Mine, Watermelon, Ali's, Mango.  Not too sweet, just right.

For dessert, we sashayed over to the chichi 3rd Street Promenade where we sampled "Pink Berry" Yogurt for the 1st time.  I had only heard of this legendary chain, it didn't disappoint.

Vendredi: (Friday)

Headed on into the "city" for a day of playing tourist.  1st stop:  Breakfast.  Hollywood dive and hotspot (aren't they one in the same?)  "The Griddle Cafe"

http://www.thegriddlecafe.com

This place is legendary.  The lines are legendary.  The food is ginormous.  If there weren't 30 people lined up to get into this dive at any given time, you would drive right past it.  Lucky for us, we aren't bad looking, which put us in good standing with the host (male) and seated us promptly at the kitchen counter (hey, it never hurts to be use one's femininity to get a seat!)   If you like to people watch, The Griddle Cafe is prime.  Everyone from movie stars to musicians to just plain moms like me flock to this place.  The Pancakes, French Toast and Omelettes are each big enough to feed a family of four for a week.  Here is mine.  I ate 1/4 of it and held up the white flag.

 

I had Pumpkin Pancakes and Ali had Nutella Stuffed French Toast.  Basically, we could have just saved ourselves the trouble and hooked an IV of sugar right into our veins.  Eating it was better than being poked with a needle though.

Everyone in this joint looked like they had some kind of "get-up" on, even if they were trying to achieve the "just rolled out of bed" look.  Next time I am in LA land, I am definitely braving the traffic of West Hollywood and making a stop here again.  Ali was fascinated with the "look" of people.  No, were definitely not in Kansas anymore, or any nameless American Suburb.

WALK OF SHAME

Next on our tour was the Hollywood walk of fame.  YAWN!  Had to do it just to say we were there.  Not worth the trouble.  A major tourist trap and surrounding area is yukky.  Skip it is my advice.

BEVERLY HILLS AGAGA.  

I have made the trip from Hollywood to BH a few times and each time I am AMAZED at how when you cross that city line you are transformed into a world of money and manicured lawns.  Ali's favorite part of the trip by far was the house gazing in BH.  We spent a lot of time driving round the canyons of the beautiful BH's, oohing and ahhing at the mini mansions of the rich and famous.   Alison even thought she spotted a real live stalker, a mysterious looking man was found peering over a high wall of a coustle (house/castle) and poking around in bushes.  We drove past him several times to see what he was looking at.  Turns out he was an arborist.  (Good cover for a stalker I say!  Funny, his friends had the same disguises on!)

RODEO DRIVE

Fun to just walk down.  No real shopping can be done here, only gazing.  Of course we did have to pop into the "Juicy Couture" store.  Mecca of all teen girls.  Also, a major plus on the people watching scale.  All types from all over the world can be found on the famous Rodeo Drive of shopping.

LA GRANDE FINALE

DINNER!

 Pizzeria Mozza

 

http://www.mozza-la.com/pizzeria

Oh where to begin.  The people, the service, the food, the bliss!  Wait, back up.  We very much underestimated the distance from BH to the downtown LA "Pizzeria Mozza".  Not to worry, after a nail-biting 10 minute wait on hold (driving while talking, a no-no in CA, but this was an emergency), I finally got the hostess on the line who reassured me she would hold our "resers" until we arrived.  We were about 1/2 hour late.  I was so relieved, I almost cried.  True Story.

Upon arrival, we were ushered into the uber loser dining room.  The Wine cellar, where there was no people watching to be done.  I kindly asked if we could be seated at the counter, which lucky for the food obsessed me had a direct view of the open kitchen.  After seeing the desperation in my eyes, they kindly obliged and the adventure began.  We ordered three courses.  Fresh Mozzarrella with Prociutto, another fresh house made cheese with Pesto and a Pizza Margherita.  As we waited for our food, I began to explain to Ali what the Sous Chef was doing.  He noticed our interest and took a liking to us.  It pays to be interested.  Let me repeat, if you want free food, act really interested in what the chef is serving. (This trick, um interest, has worked to get me freebies sailing forth from the kitchen on several occasions).  The free food began descending upon us like Manna from Heaven.  Out of nowhere, a kitchen man appeared with a plate of yummy house made cheese and roasted tomatoes and tells us "compliments" of the chef.  Well, we of course we were flattered.  Not two minutes later, another course arrives, "gratis".  This one?  Grilled house made bread dredged in the best Olive Oil and Garlic, Heaven in dough form.  But, wait, that's not all!  Next came out a plate of the freshest Asparagus and Grilled Procciutto!  All this was on the house!  I was practically doing a jig in my seat.  As we finished up our meal, the kitchen quieted down and Mr. Sous chatted us up.  When he learned we were from out of town and traveling the next day, he made a plate of "Pasilla Peppers" stuffed with "Herb infused Cheese" for us to "snack" on for the trip home.  I thought he meant, trip home to the hotel, because as full as I was.  I ate one on the way home to Santa Monica.  It was amazing.  

All in all, I think Ali enjoyed the richey rich atmosphere of the crowd more than the food.  It was not easy to get a reservation, and even harder to keep it, but oh I will never forget it!

AU REVOIR!

We couldn't leave LA without a nice stroll down the beach.  Unlucky for us, the weather was not fantastic.  But it didn't dampen our spirits.  We trudged on, traveling soldiers that we are.  Took a trip down to see the weirdos (I mean sights) in Venice.  

Everyone pretty much look like this, but with more clothes on because it was cold.

Alison found her favorite store's namesake:

And then we bid Adieu to the beach!  

All good things have a sweet ending.

  

I know it is over played, but we just had to stop by Sprinkles for a cupcake fix.  The original BH location is far better than their Newport counterpart.  (Yes, I have done the taste test comparison)

http://www.sprinkles.com

The visit was worth the trip.  I partook of Red Velvet while Ali enjoyed Chocolate Peanut Butter.  Of course, we loaded up for the poor souls at home who didn't accompany us on our adventure.  It was a sweet farewewell to a fabulous trip.  

EN CONCLUSION

If you are heading south only to get to D-land, you are really missing out on some fun cultural experiences.  We didn't even scratch the surface of things to do in the LA area, but I think we had a good start.  Next time you hop on the I-5, do yourself a favor (or flavor in my case) and venture into the city of Angels.  It is worth the hassle of traffic.  (Did I mention the traffic????)