I spent a long weekend in LA recently with one of my dearest of friends. We had a fantastic time checking out the city, eating AMAZING food and wandering around like tourists. He lives there, so I made him a tourist in his own town 🙂 I am falling madly in love with Los Angeles, and every time I have to come home it gets that much harder. The greenery, the ocean, the art, the food, the vibe. Everything is so me there. Laid back, but fast paced. Stark AND bohemian. Organic ocean, sleek high-rises. Hipster, gangster, left, right and center. Perfect for an Aquarius like me!
We went to a fantastic dinner at the restaurant Crossroads on Sunday night. Oh, man. It’s an upscale vegan place, and because we had a party of seven, we were seated in a private room and chose dishes from the five course tasting menu. So.Incredibly.Delicious. Honestly, the only part of the experience I didn’t like was my third course (rapini, which was just too lemon-y). I’m not complaining, though. The atmosphere, staff and excellent company kept me perfectly content, even through my third course pucker face.
My Course Selections:
1st course: Kale Caeser – SUPER yummy, tangy and just a hint of spicy.
2nd course: Cauliflower Sautee – Nom, nom, nom! I loved the olives and the almonds together.
3rd course: Rapini – see above!
4th course: Scaloppini – holy goodness, Batman! It was creamy and full of flavor. I really loved this dish.
5th course: Banana Rum Pudding – this was a tough pick for me; I’m not a fan of cooked bananas and don’t like carrot cake at all. But I devoured the bread pudding portion of the desert and it was just banana-y enough without turning me off.
We had olives while we were waiting for guests to arrive at the start of the night, and they were served warm. The black Greek-style olives were uncured, so it was definitely a little different to eat warm, un-salty olives, but it totally worked!
guess who got the only cucumber in the water carafe?
my amazing host for the weekend and me, enjoying our Crossroads experience
We also toured the USC campus, which BTW is straight out of a fairy tale. Lush, green, fountains, statues, chirping birds, gardens, flowering trees. Seriously? It is straight up gorgeous.
Of course we hit the beach too…
sweet Daphne loves the beach
Zuma beach in southern California
We toured Abbot Kinney Boulevard and ended up finding a seat to people watch. LA has some of the most interesting, beautiful people I’ve ever seen! We also walked around a gorgeous rose garden, where I saw some super crazy plant life (note the tree of thorns, above). Oh yea, and a couple of territorial squirrels that really enthralled Daphne! We attempted Griffith Park Observatory, but it is closed on Mondays. Seriously, though? The shops, the street art, the fantastic weather. Oy. I am smitten with Southern California.
For my other California trip posts and photos, click here and here.
Here are a couple of pictures to leave with you. I was pretty heavy on the color and light editing, but that was the point 🙂 Let me know what you think!
