sha in LA

nice way to spend a lazy sunday evening...

As viewed from 5th and Los Angeles last Sunday evening:

That's not big pigeons on top of the Rosslyn Hotel sign, it's 3 chicks.  As in girls.  They climbed the sign and proceeded to pass the hooch between them.

The blond in the middle walked on the ledge of a 6 story building about a half hour prior.  Me thinks she was a gymnast many years ago.

Other views from the evening in my flickr set.

x

p.s.  i just checked out Angel's flickr pics and found a great one of the the little birdies, I mean girlies, on the sign. 

shake, rattle and roll

...that's what my office did at approximately 11:42am today in Burbank.

All is fine here and I'm sure that Frankie is at my apartment hiding under the covers...

x

R.I.P. Tofu Festival

Usually around this time of year I get giddy with excitement at the thought of attending the Tofu Festival which coincides with Nisei Week in Little Tokyo.  However it looks like the festival has run its course on the L.A. landscape.  The good people at the Little Tokyo Service Center have decided to call it quits after a stunning 12 year run.

I've attended the Tofu Festival for the past 4 years and always had a great time trying new and innovative dishes involving the loving little bean curd.  My least favorite part of the experience was walking around on hot asphalt and sweating profusely in the brutal August sun, but that never steered me, nor thousands of others, away.  However after last year's event, which had to find a new home due to construction in the parking lot they had previously held the festival, one could sense that the end was near.

To that end, I was going to share with everyone my beloved official recipe for Tofu Tostadas from the Church of Perfect Liberty but in looking for the recipe just now I realized that I lost it in the fire.  Very sad.  And a brief online search for it yielded nothing as well, so here it goes from memory and how I normally make them:

1 block of firm tofu
green pepper
yellow pepper
tomato
green onion
chopped cilantro
lime juice
minced fresh garlic
salt & pepper

Chop up veggies and put in a large bowl with the cilantro, lime juice, garlic and S&P.  Cube the tofu and add into the veggie mix.  Toss gently and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes for the flavors to absorb into the tofu.  Dish a heaping spoonful onto a hard tostada shell and enjoy!

Obviously you can alter this recipe to suit your tastes, so get creative and have some fun.

Me and my tofu bunny are now going to have a moment of silence for the Tofu Festival.

x

well orange you just delicious!

Trader Joe's Soy Creamy Orange Vanilla Bars

The most delicious thing EVER.

Enjoy, and think of me.

x

good morning 7:15 saturday morning

Construction crews have arrived.  On a Saturday no less.  Guess there's been a push to get the building finished sooner rather than later.

I shouldn't complain.

However...I was at the theatre last night,  in tech for the new show.  I left the theatre at 12:45am.  Came home and worked on my prompt book a bit and fell into bed at 2:15am.   As I was drifting off to sleep I thought, "Gee hope construction crews don't come tomorrow....nah, it's a Saturday..." 

5 minutes later I was out.

5 hours later I was awoken (is that a word) by the pounding and shuffling-about of constructions crews.

My apartment is in direct contact with every portion of the building being fixed so I hear it the most.  It's kinda like they are all around me hammering.

I haven't been able to keep up with the updated pictures on how far they've come in the past 2 weeks but there is definite, marked progress.  So much so that the below pic was from June 25th and is already nulll and void as the stucco guys were here last week:

So here's what I'm gonna do now.  I'm gonna march back into my bedroom and attempt to go back to sleep but that probably won't happen.  So after Spin class I will take some snaps and post another update in the coming days.  And yeah, it may be a boring read for some but for me and my neighbors it will be a nice documented journey on our past 10 months.

x

p.s. ...why sleep was so important for me today...I'm at the theatre again, from 2-10

Banquette's Sunday Supper

Banquette, a quaint little cafe located near the corner of 4th & Main in Downtown, recently began hosting a Sunday Supper which consists of an “informal family style 3 course meal” for $15 per person.  I had the pleasure of attending one of these dinners back on June 22^nd and LOVED it.  Seating is at 7pm and diners are paired up intuitively with tables ranging in size from 2 – 6 people.  I made a single reservation and they sat me with Bert Green (and 4 others) after finding out that I was a blogger and we were most likely friends.  It’s a great way to meet fellow like minded individuals who enjoy great food in a great city!!

 

I ate every single bite of our delicious meal which consisted of the menu below:

 

Beet, Cucumber & Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

Salmon with Fennel, Basil and Tomato

Summer String Beans with New Potatoes
Polenta Pound Cake with Berries

 

This Sunday they are having another Supper and I’d go again in a heartbeat if I didn’t already have Independent Shakespeare reservations for Henry IV at Barnsdall Park.

 

All the information you need, including the drink specials, is listed below.  You MUST RSVP if you are planning on attending as seating is very limited.  And if you can’t make it this week then keep an eye here as I will link future menus as they are offered.

 

x

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Hey Everyone,

This Sunday is on again for another Supper at Banquette.

And we have a special treat - our friend Luca Loffredo, former chef of
Prego in San Francisco and Cheebo here in LA is cooking!

We don't know how long we'll be doing these, so come, eat good food,
drink great wine and hang out with your neighbors on the Main St. Cote d'Azur!

Once again we invite you join us this Sunday, July 13
for an informal family style three course meal.

--------- Luca's Menu-----------

Frisee Salad with Potato, Olive and Tomato

Roasted Pork Loin in Lemon and Thyme

Caponata (Sicilian Eggplant Relish, so good with pork!)

Orzo Pasta with Summer Vegetables

Frozen Zabaglione with Marinated Balsamic Berries

-------------------------

$15 per person

We are offering this menu only

No meat substitutions - Pasta and Caponata are Vegetarian

Pitchers of sangria $12
Featured wine 10% off
Regular wine and beer available too!

Food served from 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Bar open till 10pm

Seating is limited.

RSVP at Banquette or call 213-626-2768 with your name and phone number
e-mail to [email protected]

Banquette Cafe
400 S. Main Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013
(at the corner of 4th and Main, next to Pete's)

 

7 Redneck Cheerleaders returns!!!

Big News!!  Or maybe not so much big news considering the fact that I truly am a work-a-holic at heart.  It looks like I will be emerging from my “retirement” from the theatre.  I guess I should have originally called it a hiatus as that’s what it turned out to be.

And why have I decided to go back?  Well the main draw is that my theatre company is bringing back one of our highly successful (not to mention hilarious) shows ever, 7 Redneck Cheerleaders.  And I am reprising my original role of Shannon the Sassy Stage Manager.  There is one catch though, I’m only doing it part-time and I’m sharing duties with another just-as-sassy stage manager, Kimmy.

If you’re not familiar with 7RC it’s a raucous comedy about directing a play in Los Angeles…and trust me when I saw it’s pretty darn close to the truth.  OK, well maybe we did take a few liberties for that comedic effect but the end result is a wild and fun ride that will leave you cheering for more.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist that pun.

Somewhere in Hollywood, near Santa Monica Boulevard and Vine, lines between reality and fiction, art and life, are crossed again and again as a playwright directs his autobiographical play in a Hollywood 99-seat theatre. In 7 REDNECK CHEERLEADERS, watch what happens as actors play actors playing rednecks, and see who transforms the most. It's a little congregation of misfits ready to become someone else and tell the story of small-town boy who is willing to be a cheerleader for love.

For more information on how to purchase tickets, including ½ price specials, see the following link from plays411.com and use Promo Code 008.

In preparation for our upcoming show, a few members of my theatre company (and one or two non-members) gathered together on the 4^th of July to toast America, Redneck style.  We finally took the time to assemble a rather large inflatable pool that was purchased last summer (yeah, we’re a proactive bunch) and sat in the pool drinkin beer (“beer is soooo delicious!’) and eatin’ burgers and dogs.  The one-liners were firing off at a rapid pace and it was truly the most fun I’ve had on a 4^th in a reeeally long time.

Select pics to follow – or if you wish, a full flickr set here.

The Blow-Up

The Set-Up

A View From the Curb

Group Shot

We are a good lookin' bunch, no?  (please don't answer that - I prefer to live in my own little dream world...)

Hope to see y'all at the theeeeater this summer!!!

x