Free Saturday in the East Coast

Living in LA, I don't have a free day except for Sunday- which is why, as a bad Catholic, I gave up church- and I occasionally visit the East Coast for a period of time. This is when I do absolutely nothing and stay indoor all day except for times I really feel like going out, in which case I'll take the short bus trip into the city of New York. Today I wasn't quite feeling the desire to go out, especially since my in-law had just come back from an overseas business trip and I wanted to spend a good part of the day with the entire family, so I stayed home all day. Staying home will turn out to be a painstakingly boring and headache-inducing, but it didn't start out so.

For one thing, my sister had this awesome idea of baking lasagna cupcakes for lunch- something I just couldn't afford from the HeirloomLA truck (for the price for the amount.)

I watched her build about twenty cupcakes, and it looked surprisingly easy. I mean you have to cook the meat prior to building the lasagna, but that's just an extra step. She also included three kinds of cheeses, so that looked like it was an extra thing that would have to be done as well... you see, I'm so lazy that I can't grab three cheese from the dairy area... lol. Anyhow, she had already made tomato sauce for another recipe, so she layered wonton wrapper-meat-cheese-sauce (repeat) topped with more cheese and baked for twenty minutes or so... Meanwhile I took the liberty of walking the babe in a stroller to a nearby Tous les Jours- a Korean café- for some lattes to go with the much expected lunch. 

this I took in the evening one night... hence the dark skies

After hours of chilling- playing with the kids, watching whatever kids' program is on Netflix (it was Phineas and Ferb today) and someone in this household napping (wasn't me)- the family left for an outing, leaving me alone in an empty house.

I popped in the Workaholics Season Three DVD I'd checked out from the library with two days of past due fee (oops, sorry!) and cackled for about three hours until I realized, I was getting pretty bored of having my butt stuck on the couch all day long... and needed fresh air. 

an eery night!

So I went out. It was pretty scary out because, as it happens, I was walking away from some fireworks at a nearby event at a park, and I thought it was a thunderstorm coming. I'm not afraid of thunder, but man, I do not wanna get wet. I finished a quick stroll around the block, and within minutes, the family returns home. So I'm not bored and I'm not scared. 

Today was a good free Saturday, it's a day that I usually get on a Sunday and having to wish there was another Sunday the day after... but this time, there is a Sunday coming up tomorrow! Planning to go to a spa with the sis tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully I can take care of this crazy back pain I've been having. 

Lessons of the day: 1. Get some fresh air, 2. I don't know if I could live alone, 3. Time together is as good as time apart. 

CHVRCHES

I literally just found the Scottish band Chvrches on NPR First Listen.

I don't remember when I first heard of them, but I really took a liking to the incredibly adorable singer Lauren Mayberry... so when I saw that they'd be at the Fonda Theater in LA, I jumped on the opportunity. Took the Gold Line to the Red Line to get to Hollywood, my first time at this venue was pretty impressive. 

I think this venue was perfect for Chvrches: small-ish, cozy, yet pretty damn fancy once inside. It's located couple blocks away from the Pantages Theatre, in what seemed to me like a "dark alleyway" sort of a block (compared to the size of the Pantages, yes) but super nice and welcoming inside. And easy to get to by public transit. 

I gradually moved from the front to the back of the house, and the picture of the stage is, well, a picture of the stage... nothing more, nothing less. But it's clear that Chvrches is full of energy both physically and musically. 

I love their song "Gun," its hard beats and Mayberry's sweet voice strangely compliment each other. I'm so happy to preview their entire album (yet to be released) on NPR Music, and I hope they visit LA again very soon. Hopefully then, I'll be able to buy a concert souvenir. 

Aimless in New York City

I woke up early on Saturday morning to join my sister's family on their trip to the Bronx Zoo. They have a membership that allows their family of four plus a guest, so I was happy to join them on their day out. It was a good day to get some fresh air as we'd been blessed with a gorgeous weather and also a free Saturday is pretty much a novelty for me.

what a gorgeous day out!

  

So here we are, that blue dot, heading into Bronx- my second time ever!

I didn't "get" to see as many animals as one would expect to see at a zoo, but I was there to have fun with the family... I'd been to zoos a plenty and seen as much! But here was something that I'd never seen before: a nyala.

a grazing nyala. It came up pretty close to me, so thanks for the great pic!

My brother-in-law and nephew enjoyed what seemed to be a split-second camelback ride! 

camel parade!

We went on a Dinosaur Safari Ride, and the kids got scared at these dino figures! So adorable!

                                      

The kids were not so scared of this foot model though, and the nephew insisted I take a shot at this.

At around 2pm, I got dropped off in midtown Manhattan and took the subway to this beautiful neighborhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn. I debated on attending Smorgasburg in Williamsburg or the flea market in Fort Greene, and I ended up here. The flea market was outdoors, and my phone (camera source) died so I don't have any pictures. I stood at this one vendor's stand for about half an hour- he sold wooden panel signs and pictures- and debated between a Brooklyn sign and a Williamsburg sign... until realizing I don't even know what I'd do with such a thing... a Brooklyn sign in the middle of my room in LA? it's okay. Didn't want to play tourist in my own home.

Fort Greene is so green and beautiful. 

So I left the flea and headed back to the Lafayette station to head to SoHo.

This was the view opposite the entrance to the subway station, and I just love it so much. Picture-Perfect!

Lafayette station has so much character

Once I got to SoHo, I had to find a Starbucks to charge my phone. Luckily, the one I went to was right next to the bakery I'd been meaning to visit for their cronut fame: Dominique Ansel Bakery.

on Spring Street in SoHo, it's smaller than I'd expected.

Salted Caramel eclair- Raspberry Beer Cherry Religieuse- Paris New York

Though I didn't find anything worth talking about here, I did see these three pastries from which I got the salted caramel eclair. It was definitely good, but not worth the $5.50+tax. 

the view of the menu. So much to read and so little time.

Then, it got pretty chilly... and I wanted a hot drink- so I went to one of my favorite cafes: Aroma Espresso Bar. My first time in Aroma was in a NJ mall, and I was so delighted to see one in Manhattan last time I visited. Got my favorite drink here, a chai latte with the most generous spoonful of cinnamon on top with their complimentary piece of chocolate, and kept heading up back towards midtown.

a cup of warm Chai Latte from Aroma Espresso Bar is so the best way to beat the cold.

As I didn't have any plans for the day besides being dropped off in the city, I improvised my dinner and looked for places to eat. I walked so much from SoHo to East Village- found the line at the restaurant I set my mind on to be way too long- headed back to a subway station, took the N train and debated on getting off at 42nd and just going home or passing it to get off at 49th to walk to 52nd.... and I got off at 49th. Now by this time I was hungry, tired, and been wasting my time and money just riding the subway. And of course, the line at this other restaurant is longer than the last one! 

My bus back home is now scheduled to leave in about twenty minutes. I walk baaaack to 50th and hop on a subway (another $2.50 for a single stop) get to 42nd, run for my life to Port Authority, run yet again to second floor, run up the crazy long and slow escalator to the gate, and am safe to board the bus back home that arrives about ten minutes into my arrival. 

I like aimlessly wandering the city, but what I learned from this particular day was... I don't like aimlessly wandering the city on an empty stomach filling it with cold and hot drinks and sugar. Also, always carry a hand sanitizer: I got so sick from being on so many different subways- when I got home, I skipped dinner altogether and slept for 12 hours with the aid of NyQuil. 

What started out as a successful day- turned into a major FAIL. From

Bronx to Brooklyn to Manhattan, at least I got my exercise in... 

Battle of brands (Coconut Water)

I'm not a huge fan of coconut. I don't like Almond Joy, and I don't like coconut curry; what I especially do not like is coconut water. Despite my distaste for coconut, I've decided to try coconut water once more (at my own risk) since my best friend had acquired a new love for it after disliking it for quite some time. I couldn't eat tacos up until I graduated high school and had grown to love them afterwards, so I figured why not. 

Afraid to try a "natural" coconut water, my first choice was O.N.E.'s pink guava flavor. I figured okay, I like pink guava, and if anything, it'll taste like pink guava. 

Not bad... though my first impression was: where is my straw? I think I was meant to just peel back the silver foil part and drink without a straw. Damn. 

This was 33 cents at the 99 cent store- the place my best friend got her crazy 1L Zico branded chocolate flavored (eew) coconut water for 99 cents. Good buy. :) 

My second choice was Naked brand. I like Naked in general, their fruit juices are super delicious, and once again, why not. So this one was two for a dollar, so I got it at 50 cents. If I wasn't going to like it, I would like to think that I didn't completely waste my money. So this was a good buy. 

My friend from Trader Joe's walked by just as I was about to open this up, and suggested that I store it in the freezer so it would get crazy cold. I followed her suggestion as this was the "natural" flavor and didn't want to be completely put off by the nastiness again. (Apologies to all the coconut and coconut-water lovers out there. I just don't like it... and can't describe it any other way) 

Two hours of chilling in the freezer later...

...and... I'm still totally put off. it's like... a stranger's backwash who drank too much milk... or just super watered down milk. it just isn't tasty! but could it have anything at all to do with the "no sugar added" part? I dunno, but I can definitely say that I'm still not the biggest coconut fan. I'm gonna finish this though! I'm gonna savor (the least I could do is try!) every sip of this "good-for-you" drink. yeah. Let me just say that I won't be buying a natural flavored one again. 

The pink guava flavored one was delicious compared to the natural one, but I'll just stick to good old H2O. 

What started out as a battle of brands turned out to be a lesson in sticking to what you know is better than trying something new. Lol. Fail.

Copa Vida (Pasadena)

A while back, I was walking on Green St. in Pasadena on my way to Old Town, and noticed that a familar establishment had disappeared. Since I had never been a patron, I couldn't remember until one day when I went to the Food Truck block party thing on a Thursday in front of Zona Rosa (El Molino St.) where that establishment had moved to. In place of that now vacant spot in Old Town came, JUST LAST WEEK, a new coffee boutique called Copa Vida. Can we please stop making such a big deal about coffee and do something new already? We already have Intelligentsia on Colorado and Jones Coffee on Raymond, not to mention Zona Rosa on El Molino and Jameson Brown on Allen... HA! I'm just kidding, I love coffee! And I love trying new places, especially when they're so close to home that I don't even have to get on a freeway.

So my best friend and I worked up the courage (and found the time) to try this new place out. We were slightly intimidated by the massive crowd that was there on the day it opened, expecting the same amount of traffic as it is a "brand new" place. But when we got there around 9:20pm, the place was pretty chill and there weren't too many people there.

exterior

I like their simplistic deco

Really simple menu

"condiment" bar- syrup, agave, honey, cream, utensils...

My friend and I stood at the counter for a while deciding our menu... I had my heart set on iced chai latte, but they were unfortunately out of it. Boohoo! My friend's preferred drink was also unavailable, so we both had to choose something else... I got the iced sweetened latte and she got this white tea I don't remember the name of. After we placed our order, we went into this other room that was quieter and had more decorations to look at.



view of the "slow bar"

"slow bar"

 

a very eye-popping brick wall design...

 

 My friend's order came in this really cute tea set, and her pastry looked pretty darn good as well.

 

 

I read somewhere that they get their pastries from a place called Cake Monkey.

some blueberry something crumble something...

 

My fricking latte was way overpriced at $5.18, but it was fricking delicious... The inside smells a lot like a museum gallery (we think because the paint on the wall still needs to set) but the atmosphere is wonderful. I wouldn't come here during daylight hours, but this place looks like a good place to wind down and catch up with friends once in a while. I'm just happy to see a new cafe is here for good in my town.

oops on the flash

Copa Vida
70 South Raymond Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 213-3952
copa-vida.com

Sunday Funday (Silver Lake)

I have always admired the neighborhood of Silver Lake: it houses the first small live music venue that I went to (for my friends from Oregon, the Parson Redheads) and it's also the home of the beautiful Silver Lake Reservoir that glistens under the sun. I've spent my fair share of time in Silverlake, using it as a way to get to Koreatown mostly. One day last year, I wanted to escape the routines of jogging at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, so I drove all the way out to Silverlake in order to jog around the reservoir. The change of scenery and the occasional inclines and declines were refreshing to both mind and the body. After the jog, I walked over to Lamill Coffee, and that's where I noticed that there were more to be appreciated in this neighborhood than just the reservoir and the convenience of getting to Koreatown.

Recently, I've gotten to know more about Silver Lake- like how my favorite model from Canada/ New York, who also makes music, comes here to record, and that Norah Jones stayed in Silver Lake for her session for her newest album. But that doesn't concern me as much as the fact that there are some really delicious restaurants around here, namely a ramen place, very conveniently called Silver Lake Ramen.

Located on Sunset Blvd., just past Silver Lake Blvd., the exterior is not so fancy... so much so that I actually didn't take a pic of it. But be assured, it's not the Bar Method building, the exterior of which is, in fact, super fancy. I used to come here all the time for Silver Lake Lounge, actually, and coming here brought back some good memories.

My sister and I came here on Sunday, with the kids in the care of their grandparents, for some quality sister-bonding time. Street parking was free on Sundays, but there is also a small lot right adjacent to the restaurant itself. The walk from the car to the restaurant was horrible only because there was a strong odor of trash. AND there were people eating outside from neighboring restaurants! How could you eat outside whilst smelling all that funky trash?
Anyway, the inside was nice and cozy, and that's all that really mattered... We were seated promptly by a really friendly waitress and given this simple menu to look at.

 

 

Though it wasn't necessary, we ordered an appetizer just because I really wanted to try this marinated chicken karage. It was a mixture of just enough amount of crispiness on the outside and moist on the inside. The sauce kind of killed the flavor though. 

karage

tonkastu spicy ramen\

 



the broth is extremely flavorful, but my sister's regular tonkatsu ramen tasted better.
the pork belly topping is a killer: super moist and melts in your mouth.

I'll definitely have to come back for a Sunday lunch. I like the atmosphere, and I don't have to drive all the way to Little Tokyo for a bowl of ramen anymore. Plus, I can get a really yummy cup of joe afterwards at Lamill and do a bit of shopping next door at LAMerch and at Yolk.



Silver Lake Ramen
2927 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
http://silverlakeramen.com/

Four Cafe, Eagle Rock CA

I love restaurants with seasonal ingredients; that means the food is guaranteed fresh and as tasty as possible, and the menu changes each season so there will always be something new. Whenever I need a really good salad-fix, Four Cafe in Eagle Rock always comes to mind. It's not always my first option though because their portions, even the half-portions, are humongous... and to me, this place is so "gourmet" that it's best left as a treat than a regular thing.

So today my sister and I treated ourselves with the summer salads of Four Cafe while the kids played at Peekaboo Playland just up the block.

half-portion Picado Salad with half-portion of Tofu (choice of protein)

(substituted cucumber and cherry tomatoes - mixed - with black beans)

 

 

half-portion Miso Chopped Salad with half-portion Organic Free-Range Chicken



I got these two salads and two iced passionberry black tea to share, but my sister ended up with the Picado and I ended up with the Miso. They were both super delicious, the Picado with fuller flavors than the Miso, due to the rather light vinaigrette dressing. But there were bits of what seemed like deep-fried onion (?) that added sweetness to the possibly-bland salad. The chopped greens was a good choice for the vinaigrette to thoroughly mix in, with flavors in every bite. The Picado's dressing was creamy and delicious; the tofu seemed to have been tossed in soy sauce and was surprisingly good (not a big tofu fan here.) I think I'll go with the Picado next time, while my sister tries the chimichurri burger.

Four Cafe
2122 Colorado Blvd  
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(they just recently opened up a new location)

Four Cafe- Fairfax

519 South Fairfax
Los Angeles CA 90036

 

fourcafe.net