Tales from the Road

What can I possibly say that will sum up my recent trip to Los Angeles? Sometimes, it is hard to put an experience in to words.

You know what I mean? I guess the one word that captures my trip is fun. Good, clean, solid fun. First of all, I should tell you that Linda from ButterSugarFlour is the sweetest, craziest, most lovable girl around. I swear, if could, I’d steal her away. Unfortunately, her family and friends probably want her in Australia. I will have to be content with the week we spent running around Los Angeles.

First of all, everyone says it but, LA traffic is the worst. It can’t be compared to anything else in this world. I don’t know how you Angelenos deal with it. I would go mad! No matter the time, there is always traffic. But you endure it because the Los Angeles is a city meant to be explored in the car. And explore we did. We visited practically every neighborhood in Los Angeles, with some minor exceptions. My favorite area has to be Venice because of its lowkey vibe and cute shops. But we spent most of our time in Santa Monica and West Hollywood where we ate to our hearts content.

We both fell in love with Huckleberry Café located in Santa Monica. Bright and busy, the café boasts a menu for all eaters. Their pastries are fresh and gorgeous while their savory egg dishes leave you completely satisfied. I’m a big people-watcher and this café is the perfect venue for that.

Another place we enjoyed was Joan’s on Third in Mid-City. It reminds me of a smaller version of the famed Dean and Deluca markets. Fresh salads, gourmet sandwiches, and eye-catching desserts. We tried the Vanilla and Raspberry Cupcake, Broiled Lemon Tart, and Snickers cake. The Snickers cake was by far the best thing I have had in a while. Layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse with a crunchy nut topping. Seriously, it was heavenly. I’d like to recreate it sometime soon. Also, the lemon tart was tart and sweet in the best way. Their tart dough was light and salty and the lemon filling tasted like pure lemon. The vanilla cupcake wasn’t dry (thank god) and the frosting was exactly how I like it. Not too buttery, sweet, and light.

For dinner, we enjoyed Pizzeria Mozza, a casual restaurant owned by Mario Batali. The menu has a plethora of pizza choices that will please everyone. We had the Fennel Sausage pizza, and while the toppings were divine, it was the pizza dough that won me over. Crispy, thin, and melt-in-your-mouth good.

We also had the pleasure of meeting two fine ladies: Joy and Terilyn. They are both as sweet as can be and I’m glad we were all able to talk for a bit. (By the way, Teri is a lovely photographer and her portfolio is worth checking out.)

Before Linda departed, I introduced her to some of our most “tasty” American foods. She had some Cheezits, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, Hostess cupcakes, ding-dongs, and ho-hos. Also, we had an ice-cream tasting test of the finest ice cream we could fine: Ben & Jerrys Chunky Monkey, Half-Baked, Triple Caramel Chunk. Suffice to say, we saluted our spoons to friendship and the crazy world of the internet for bringing us together.

I’m a little bummed that my partner-in-crime has left me but I know that our paths will cross soon. Till then, I can always look back at these pictures and recall our crazy outings.