Friday, April 15, 2005
Went to see the Fab Four at the Canyon Club tonight. They were pretty awesome (as far as cover bands go). They changed costumes a few times and played probably two dozen Beatles songs. They weren’t the Red Elvises or anything, but it was a good show and a lot of fun.
There’s not much else to do in Agoura Hills on a Friday night.
The place was packed, but I got the feeling that there wasn’t much else to do in Agoura Hills on a Friday night. If you go to a show at the Canyon Club, eat first. The very few items on the menu all started over $20. I went for the rib-eye and was severely disappointed. I don’t cry about spending $30+ for a good steak, and the one I got was huge, but it was mostly gristle and fat.
I should add something about the fact that Budweiser Select is actually a very good beer and not a new-fangled low-carb diet beer, but since I didn’t try it for two months because that’s what I assumed it was, I’ll keep my mouth shut until their marketing department gets a clue.
Monday, March 28, 2005
I had a great Easter weekend.
- Dinner at La Loggia’s Friday night. (Inexplicably sans web site for linking. A great restaurant in Studio City. Don’t sit in the patio area if you can help it.)
- A fairly uneventful but relaxing Saturday topped off by The Upside of Anger. (A wonderful flick, I loved it.)
- Fell asleep watching Pierce Brosnan’s stint on Inside the Actors Studio.
- Up at 6 for a long-overdue 3.2 mi run on Sunday.
- Mass at Church and then dinner with the gf’s ‘rents followed by The Incredibles. (What a terrific movie! I can’t believe I waited so long to see it!)
- I also started reading The Promise of a Lie by Howard Roughan. (Only about 150 pages so far, but it has me hooked enough to continue.)
- Using the magic that is TiVo, a co-worker of mine recorded Green Day’s performance on Last Call with Carson Daly and we managed to rip it to DVD and then mp3, so for the hell of it, I uploaded for you an awesome live version of Jesus of Suburbia from American Idiot.
- For the grand finale I organized the rest of my ‘04 receipts and bank statements while listening to classic late 80s hair bands.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Another Thursday night, another becky show at the Roxy. This was — if I remember correctly — the tenth Thursday in a row (excluding St. Patrick’s) that I’ve been there. This time I experienced Los Angeles parking nirvana when I got there. Not only did I get a meter right across the street, but it was broken. (I’ve since been told that parking at a broken meter is against the law, but I didn’t know that last night and I didn’t get a ticket, so the parking gods were smiling on me.) Another dinner at Rainbow Room and then just a terrific performance next door; becky’s been really going over the top lately. They threw in a few brand new songs, including a cover of the Beatles‘ Rain. After the show it was back to the Rainbow Room for a few hours of pizza and Grolsch with the band.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Yesterday I cut out of work a bit early, hopped on a Hawker 800 with my girlfriend and her family, and flew to Las Vegas to catch Cirque Du Soleil’s “O” at the Bellagio. Except for a quick trip to the Green Valley Ranch last year, this was actually my first trip to Vegas since I moved to LA. (We ate at Michael Mina’s — I had the lobster pot pie; it was incredible.) We goofed, though … dinner ran until almost 8 so we missed “O” — we thought it started at 8 but it really started at 7:30. Rather than cry over spilled milk, we decided to make the most of it and just played in the casino for a few hours. Then we jumped on a Citation XL and got home by 11:30. I had a great time; Vegas is pretty cool. Someday I’m going to have to go for a long weekend or something.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Sometimes it’s ultra-cool to live in Los Angeles. My girlfriend’s little sister is in town, so we went to Mr. Chow for dinner tonight. (It’s only the best restaurant in the universe, so if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend it. Sly Stallone and Burt Reynolds were sitting together at the next table, which was pretty nifty.) Then when I got home, suprise, there’s my buddy Rob guest-starring on CSI: Miami. (Yes, believe it or not it’s filmed here in LA.) And — hell — I forgot to mention that just the other weekend right on my street I bumped into and subsequently had Sunday brunch with Bill Caco.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Forget what you may have heard elsewhere — the best breakfast in San Francisco is served at Caffe Delucchi Italian Resaurant. And if you’re trying to find a good steak in the city by the bay, look no further than MacArthur Park. I had a mouth-watering NY Strip that forced me to go into the kitchen and compliment the chef. You can’t go wrong at either of these establishments.
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
I must admit that yes, I did ask him when he was leaving. And yes, I did ask him why he was here. I’m ashamed and downtrodden. He paid for breakfast though, and it was quite good - even if Cantor’s, in general, is a Jerry’s Deli-esque sludgehole that, IMHO, is not even on par with any random House du Waffle in Florida. Where was I? Oh yes. In California. Just incredible. Sometimes, like the man says, I look around and just think, “Wow. I live here.”
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
On the side of a Jack in the Box bag:
Everything in here tastes amazing.
Except the napkins.
Tuesday, May 28, 2002
The Daily Grill is one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles. It’s a bit pricey, but the portions are huge, the service is great, and the food is delicious. The night before I left for Ryan’s wedding, I visited the Studio City Daily Grill with my girlfriend and family.
It was refreshing to see such a display of good customer service.
It was the first night of their new “Summer Menu” and I bravely ordered the Chicken in a Bucket. I had eaten most of my mashed potatoes (a DG favorite), my cornbread, and my salad and was well into my third piece of fried chicken when I noticed something just wasn’t kosher. I was engaged in a fairly animated conversation and hadn’t been paying close attention to my food, but something tasted very strange. I inspected my chicken breast a bit more closely and realized it was raw!
I’m not talkin’ “a little undercooked”. I mean it was bloody! Gah! So of course we called the manager to our table and complained and such. I was quite scared that I would be knocked out with food poisoning the night before I was supposed to get on a plane to be the Best Man! The manager, Charlye Martin, was painfully apologetic and polite. He took my address and was honestly concerned; he made sure that I knew they were sorry and handled the situation very gracefully.
A few days ago I received a tremendously nice, personal letter from Charlye and the Daily Grill expressing their regret. He enclosed $35 worth of gift certificates, took full responsibility for the mistake, and in no way tried to make excuses. It was refreshing to see such a display of good customer service and I just wanted to make a note of it here.
Wednesday, March 6, 2002
The premier of Jesus Christ Superstar was last weekend. If you didn’t make it, you still have four more chances. Eight o’clock the next two Fridays and Saturdays at the Madrid Theatre. I have the dubious honor of being “Soldier #2″ in the show. I only have one line, “Someone Christ, King of the Jews,” but I sing it with flair. I also am the one doing the 39 lashes. Who would have guessed that I’d get to whip the Son of God to a bloody pulp on stage?
After the first show a bunch of us went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. That’s where I met grillboy. And look at that - now he’s got a blog.
Sunday, February 10, 2002
So I’m going to be on national television again. I’ll be on Wednesday’s episode of The Other Half. My girlfriend and I are in a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar and one of the cast members got us on the show. There is going to be a “tickle expert” there to teach us how to - I assume - tickle one another. The producers told us that our feet would be seen, so we went and got pedicures yesterday. My toenails are now a lovely shade of blue. I have been told that my feet are “fugly” so hopefully the blue will distract viewers.
After that we went to a cool restaurant - Gordon Biersch - in Burbank. We ran into my girlfriend’s best friend’s little sister there, which was pretty random. I had an excellent New York strip with surprisingly good garlic french fries. (I’m pretty sure our waiter was high.)
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
I went to Jack in the Box last night and ordered a Sourdough Combo. (Yes, I wanted a free holiday ball.)
“And can I get a small fry on the side?” … A modest request, right?
“I’m sorry, there is no small. Would you like a medium fry?”
<pause>
“Fine.”
Make simplicity a selling point.
Y’know … it really irks me that almost all of the fast food chains have eliminated the “small”. Am I the only one that doesn’t want a SIXTY-FOUR OUNCE soda? I remember when I could get a “small” order of fries for 79¢. Now I get the same thing, but it’s called a “medium” and it costs $1.09. Do they think that I’m deceived? Man. It’s not like everyone would have stopped buying “smalls” if the price had been raised to $1.09. All they managed to do was insult me.
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Saturday, November 10, 2001
Text Anomalies and the Waiters’ Characters, an essay on “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Nathan Kotas
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