A Day at the Office

Just a couple more details about the trip to Los Angeles. I had heard of this place, Father's Office, in Santa Monica, that was supposed to be home to one of the best burgers in the nation. It is a very small, unassuming looking place that is known to have a line of people waiting to get in to eat. I headed over one evening after class around 6 pm and was able to get a seat pretty quickly. This is great because Father's Office only has open seating, i.e. first come first served, and as such there are lots of people standing inside waiting for a table even after they waited to get inside. Anyway, I went for the Office Burger and some sweet potato fries. I am known from time to time to speak hyperbolically, but I really mean it, these were the best burger and fries I have ever tasted. The burger was a revelation, juicier than a burger has a right to be, featuring perfectly complimentary flavors of arugula, bacon, blue cheese, and what I imagine is several different cuts of beef. The fries were great too, the right combination of crunch and potatoey goodness served with a blue cheese aioli. If you've never had sweet potato fries before you've got to give them a try. Again, I was too self-conscious to bust out my camera in the middle of a hip restaurant, but just like with Pizzeria Mozza, there are some really great pictures and videos here.

On the last day of my trip our class got done early so I spent some time driving around in the mountains on Mulholland Drive. It was really beautiful, LA is unique in that it is one of the only cities in the world bisected by mountains. Anyway here are a couple of the better pictures I took from Runyon Canyon Park.

The last night I checked into a hotel closer to LAX so I hit a couple of places that I had heard about (yes, I ate two dinners). First was Santouka Ramen (click for pics, not mine), located in a Japanese supermarket food court in Venice. I had always wanted to try the real food that those cheap, MSG-laden noodle soups that I ate as a college student were based on. I wasn't disappointed, I got the shio ramen with chashu, basically salt ramen with pork. The broth, made from pork bones, would be enough to bring me back, but the beautiful slices of fatty pork were the real star of the show. My second dinner was Tito's Tacos, a LA landmark and very popular place to stand in line for cheap tacos. The food was good, but I'll remember it more for being my last meal in LA and for the friendly Angelenos I talked to that night.


Ok, back to regular scheduled programming. I promise.

Bon Appetito

So the trip to Los Angeles was really good. My class, although more general than technical, provided some good information that should help my company be better positioned to capture future business. But enough about that boring stuff. The UCLA campus was absolutely beautiful. The hotel that I stayed at was really nice. And best of all, I was able to eat some really delicious food.

I only had a little less than an hour for lunch everyday, so I was pretty much relegated to eating in Westwood Village. This is far from a bad thing as there was a huge array of options. For lunch I ate burgers, thai, jewish delicatessen fare, and asian fusion. All of it was pretty good if somewhat unremarkable.

Dinner on the other hand, I had been planning for weeks. Ever since reading Heat I have had a huge amount of respect for Mario Batali and I knew that if had an opportunity to go to one of his restaurants I would jump at it. Turns out Mario and some partners opened a pair of restaurants in Los Angeles last year, Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza. Osteria Mozza I knew would be out of my price range, even on an expense account, so I focused on Pizzeria Mozza. But everything I had read indicated that even a spot at the bar would be a tough get. However, I discovered that traveling alone does have some advantages. I showed up on Monday night and was seated at the bar within five minutes while others waited for hours. Everything on the menu looked great, so I allowed my waitress to offer some advice. I ended up getting the roasted olives and the salame, mozzarella, tomato & fresno chiles pizza. Absolutely the best pizza I have ever had. The crust was perfection, and the chiles added just the right amount of kick. I was too self-conscious to bring my camera into the restaurant, but some pictures (and video!) can be found here.

That's enough for one post. I leave you with the view of Westwood Village from my hotel room balcony.

California Love

This past weekend I was finally able to get out and have a good, enjoyable ride. I didn't go very far due to time constraints but I made it to the end of the Murdoch trail before I turned around. I am so ready for some singletrack. I still haven't taken my new bike on a real trail ride yet that didn't feature frozen ground or ice and snow. I am thinking that opportunity should be just around the corner.

In other news, after spending all of last week at home, I am again on travel for work. This week I am learning about composite airframe structure design at UCLA. I have to admit, I've said a lot of bad things about Los Angeles in the past, but this part of the city is beautiful. Its hard not to be caught up in the glitz and glamour of it all.

Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am making eating well a priority this week. Expect posts in the coming days with some details. I have found some great inspiration in this area, and its time to get out and eat...and learn a new technical skill.

Sick and Tired

Got back from Burlington, Vermont yesterday afternoon. I had a good time, but short trips like that can feel sort of wasted. Two days of travel for one day of training is not real efficient. I did get to catch up with an engineer who used to work in Lincoln, and that was fun.

I also ate some great food; the best entree was from Tilley's Cafe: Pan Seared Duck w/hawaiian sea salt, roasted beet risotto, black currant sauce, grilled leeks. I'm not a chef, like a certain other local cyclist, but I thought it was real good. I also had a great fresh bagel sandwich that was unbelievable. I will never look at a typical bagel the same way again.

Anyway, I am back, having brought with me cold weather and a cold. I am so behind on my training. This first race is going to be a disaster.

I leave you with these pictures of the view from my hotel room across Lake Champlain toward New York. I took these right after I checked into the hotel, and it was the only time I saw the sun the whole time I was there.

Eastward

We finally have some good weather this week and I have the misfortune of heading to Vermont for some training for work. I have to leave 60s and sun for 30s and snow, and according to the weekend forecast I will be bringing that weather back to Nebraska with me.

Sorry guys.