Boiling Crab on Wilshire

I once went to a Boiling Crab on the westside but it has since closed and I really enjoyed it that one time. I was very happy to hear from my co-worker Erina Hong, that there was one on Wilshire so off my daughter and I went. Erina did mention that if you get there during dinner time, be prepared to wait and mann was she not kidding. We waited for 90 minutes. We took a little walk across the street, saw a memorial for Robert Kennedy, shopped at Big Five and walked down the street. Luckily, they had a HD TV in the window of the Boiling Crab, so my daughter and I along with sixty + others who were waiting for their table inside, watched the Laker's beat the Celtics. Without that second half, we may have left for another restaurant. Once we were in, the place was crazy energy. We ordered crab and spicy cooked corn. You choose what spices and level of hotness you want with the crab as well as the corn. They shake it in a plastic bag and then you eat it with your hands, from the bag, pouring the content and shells onto the wax paper table cloth. It was delicious. Was it worth 90 minutes? I am not sure. Try to get there before the dinner rush. Mind you, this was Friday night, so we were in the thick of it.

La Maison de Pain on Pico

Photographer, Elon Schoenholz recommended La Maison de Pain, 5373 W Pico Blvd, LA CA 90019, 323-934-5858, a French Bakery near my house. Well, we were celebrating my son's 20th birthday and he does not like cake or pie so I opted for a French tart. The 12" Mixed Fruit Tart is about 3x the cost of a birthday cake. That's a lot but dare I say it? It was worth it. We also sampled the potato & cheese quiche, all vegetable quiche, chocolate croissant and mini fruit tart. All fabulous and extremely well made. I wish I could afford to eat here once a week but not on my income. The servers appear to be family and are very attentive and sweet. I really loved the baked goods here. It's an exceptional place.

Dewars in Bakersfield

I first learned about Dewars when I ordered a banana split at Mickey's Fountain in Hollywood. They have this amazing whip cream topping that is like a sugary cream foam that hovers over the ice cream like a wave frozen in time. OOOhhhh. So recently, my daughter's team made it to the CA regional playoffs and we had to drive to Porterville CA. Bakersfield is along the way so I made sure I had enough time to find and eat at Dewars, 1120 Eye St Bakresfield CA. The banana split became my dinner. It had that infamous whip cream but the ice cream was very understated. On one hand, it framed the whip cream,bringing it to the forefront but on the other hand, in the end, all you really have is the ice cream and the subtleness of it makes for a strange home stretch. However, Dewar's is a must visit and I was very happy to finally have made it there. Lastly, I do appreciate the server giving me extra crushed almonds. That was awesome.

Beachwood in Long Beach

Another Bike Crew ride, this time we were back on the LA River Bike Path to the LBC. 8 riders this time, nice! By the time we got to the East Village, we started losing our center balance and one by one each place we went to was either closed, had a huge waiting list or just didn't seem appetizing. We found ourselves closer to downtown LBC and bumped into Shea of Open Bookstore who recommended Beachwood at the same time one of our Bike Crew, photographer Elon said "Beachwood". Elon's inlaws coincidentally live across the street to the owners. The first one is in Seal Beach and this is the second store. Amazing beer selection. AMAZING!!! five house brews. I tried their very own Knucklehead Red Ale. I like the term Knucklehead. Artist Johnny Coleman used to refer to kids as knuckleheads. It also reminds me of Carrol O'Connor's character in the 70's sitcom All In The Family. After a 23 mile ride from LA's Little Tokyo, this beer was angelic. I also ordered the Buffalo Sloppy Joe with fries. The food here is excellent and with tons of beers to choose from, it's the perfect place to end a bike ride.

Pescado Mojado near MacArthur Park/Westlake

Pescado Mojado near MacArthur Park/Westlake, 610 S Rampart Bl LA CA 90057. I was hungry and wanted a soup so I just happened to be in the area and thought I should try this place out. It's in a mini mall and this is a chain. When I walked in, this slightly creepy woman dressed up like a 40's era actress, though I'm pretty sure it was a guy, was sitting in the corner and staring at people, including me. I didn't want to make eye contact so I ordered and sat on the opposite side of the place. She wore a lot of make up and the wig was sort of Marilyn Monroe like. She kind of looked like if Warhol and Sedgewick had a kid, this would be her/he. I was in a seen of Factory Girl Part II. I downed my Levante Lazaro (fish and shrimp soup) pretty quickly and lefty briskly. Gotta love it.

Tender Greens in Culver City

I had never been to this place so my daughter and I decided to go. She'd actually had been there and went straight for the roast beef and caesar combo. I was actually not that hungry so I ordered this mushroom tart or pie. It was absolutely delicious with fresh shrooms and a fantastic pie crust. The buttery-ness really filled me up. Tender Greens is all over the place and this one is located at 9523 Culver Blvd Culver City CA 90232

Jersey Mike's In Norco

I was really skeptical. I mean, this is a chain, in a mall, with a Chipotle. By the time I arrived, the team, coaches and parents were already eating their orders. The menu is fairly extensive for a deli. I couldn't resist ordering the Jersey Mike's Famous Philly. I figured, if they went to the trouble of calling it "famous", we might as well chop wood with the biggest axe. I was very surprised. Other than the cheese not being Velveta, the onions and thin cut meat was very similar to the one I had in Philly but what really made it for me was the bread. That crusty on the outside and warm and tender in the inside was very nice. The only thing missing was some PA IPA.