Fab Hot Dogs

I think I'm in love with Fab Hot Dogs. And as with all obsessions, I don't think I'll be able to rest until I've tried every single item on the menu. Thus far, I've only tried two: their famous The Bald Eagle and their Polish Firecracker dog.

The Bald Eagle is a ripper smothered with Fab Hot Dogs' homemade mustard relish. A ripper, I've come to understand, is a deep-fried hot dog. What more do you need to know to start salivating? And it isn't at all greasy or OTT. What you get is a very hot, crunchy, juicy hot dog. And Fab's mustard relish is, well -- fab. I can't imagine eating the ripper without it.

The Polish Firecracker is an extremely spicy polish sausage. I had mine with sauerkraut and it was delicious. They also have a non-spicy polish sausage, which I'm sure is just as good.

As much as I love the hot dogs, what I'm really looking forward to getting on my next visit is their tater tots. The table next door had a heaping serving -- it looked just like the tots of my dreams: small, crunchy, roly-poly, golden brown. So why don't more places serve tater tots?*

BTW, Fab also has hamburgers.

Here's their address.

6747 Tampa Ave.
Reseda

*Had the tater tots. OMG. Soooooo goooood......!

More Java

Just wanted to add one last item to the cafe landscape. In the SGV, you can find Vietnamese cafes which have an atmosphere all their own. The clientele is almost exclusively Vietnamese and male. You'll find people playing cards and mahjong. Lots of TV and computer screens, mostly for online gambling. Cigarette smoke. At each table, you'll find forms to play lotto. The bathrooms aren't as clean as you'd like. And you can order really good Vietnamese iced coffee.

The Java Dance

Coming to LA, I was a little surprised that it was mostly a land of Starbucks and The Coffee Bean. If you want to get a good cup of coffee, you kinda have to work at it. Here's some of the places we like.

Intelligentsia
3922 West Sunset Boulevard

Located in Silver Lake, it's one of our favorite places. It would be our favorite place if it wasn't a twenty minute drive. If the parking situation wasn't pretty bad. If they weren't always so crowded. If they didn't close so early. What we do like is that the coffee is individually made in a Clover machine. I'd pass on the teas, though. And I didn't really like their hot chocolate, either. But you can pick up a cute t-shirt here.

There's also a great cheese shop next door that has sandwiches, so you can get a bite, sit outside Intelligentsia with a cup, and enjoy a sunny day.

LA Mill
1636 Silver Lake Boulevard

Also in Silver Lake. Great coffee. I actually had a cup with no sugar, no milk. Only, it's really a restaurant and no one can figure out if you can sit down with just a cuppa. (The food is okay but pricey.) The atmosphere is a wee bit formal and at least one person has told me they're too intimidated to go in. They do have their own parking.

Groundwork
Several locations: we always go to the one at 1501 N. Cahuenga Boulevard

For us, a Sunday morning isn't a Sunday morning without a trip to the Hollywood farmers market and then a relaxing cup of coffee at Groundwork. The atmosphere isn't much, the service can be slow and frustrated, but the coffee is good and very cheap. Unfortunately, if you get just the regular coffee, it's not individually brewed. There's a table with a selection of coffees in big containers that you choose from. In the mornings, that's okay. The coffee is fresh. But in the late afternoons, the coffee isn't so fresh... The selections are nice though. I like the Angel blend, which is organic, and the Viennese Melange.

(I guess Groundwork is a little upset about Clover being bought out by Starbucks because they threw out all their Clover machines and now they have a drip system for their more expensive coffees. They even had a sign on their drip station that read something like, "This is our new Clover!" Only, I think it was something a bit more angrier.)

Aroma Coffee
4360 Tujunga Ave (Studio City)

One of our favorite cafes. Staff is friendly, good food, lovely outdoor place, good coffee, iced tea, lemonade. Just a great place to hang out. We'd love to make this our local. Oh -- if you go, check out the Portrait of a Bookstore which is right next door. Great books and great gifts. I got a bag made totally from buttons there. Buttons.



Now the thing about most coffee shops and cafes is that the atmosphere is pretty blah. If you want atmosphere, we're finding you have to go to Koreatown. Yup, Koreatown. Of course they make you pay for the atmosphere: mediocre coffees and overly sweet teas cost around $6.00 - $7.00. But where else can you have coffee in a building that looks like a ship? I'm talking about Cafe Jack.

Coffee, tea, live music, waiting staff in sailors' uniforms. Hey!

Another Koreatown cafe we liked was Cake Salon Bosco. Totally different to Cafe Jack. Stylish and quiet, they offer good fluffy confections like the scrumptious sweet potato cake.

And we also liked Heyri, mostly because of their outdoor space, which is pretty big for L.A. Large tables, pretty lights, palm trees, and on cold nights, wood-burning stoves dotted everywhere. They even provide red blankets if the stoves and heat lamps don't do it for you. We had hazelnut latte and a strawberry cake, both pretty good. One thing I found unusual for a late-night Koreatown joint was the median age of their clientele. There were just as many older Koreans, both women and men, as young high school kids.


Cafe Jack
508 S Western Ave

Cake Salon Bosco
3465 W 6th St Ste 80

Heyri
755 S Hobart Blvd

More Zany Observations

Women aren't afraid to show their bosoms before noon while shopping at Ralph's.

You can run a successful business without knowing a word of English.

The Santa Anas are scary.

The Target underground parking in Hollywood is Hell Mouth Central. Other branches: the Whole Foods parking lot in West Hollywood and the Whole Foods parking lot near the Farmer's Market. Actually, any Whole Foods parking lot in LA.

Johnny Rockets can run out of hamburger buns.

There's a casino in Torrance.

Fichus trees are creepy -- I hear them weeping. Wasn't at all surprised to find out that their roots do battle with the underground plumbing.

The UCLA dental clinic has a great supply of recent New Yorkers.

Every time I see Johnie's Coffee Shop on Wilshire, so empty and forlorn, I get sad ... please, someone buy it and restore it into a groovy, kick-ass place with great coffee. And pastrami. And corn dogs. And macaroni and cheese. And chocolate phosphates. And ...

Gardens and Martinis

Yesterday GD and I decided to finally visit the Getty Center. Wow do they have a big underground parking garage. Wow does it become an inferno. We paid $8 to park and it took us something like ten minutes to find parking (admission to the actual center is free though!!!). It was Saturday. I'm surprised we didn't get into an accident. The corners around the lot are tight, and people don't drive so well. Especially people in very large SUVs. After we parked, we were automatically channeled into a line for the tram that goes from the parking garage to the actual center. The line was huge so we decided to walk. Uphill. In the heat. Only advisable for people who like to hike. It took us about fifteen minutes. I have a lame foot and was not really prepared. I imagine most people can do it in less than ten. Great views though!

It was such a nice day, we decided to skip the museum and just roam the gardens. The gardens were smaller than we'd expected, but not at all disappointing. We really liked it. Especially having visited so many English gardens, we appreciated all the little jokes, like the miniature central maze you can't enter. At first I thought -- Saturday! -- not such a good day to go with mobs of people! But it actually enhanced the Central Garden experience, which is so contrary to the usual museum experience. The Central Garden is a series of concentric circles. To get to the center, you have to walk around, the paths sort of crisscrossing. From a vantage point, you see the constant stream of people being used as part of a moving garden sculpture. Pretty cool! The actual plants and their arrangements were pretty cool too! Sadly, the maze wasn't in flower, but that gives us a good excuse to go back.

There's also a cactus garden, which can't be missed. Sadly, again, you can't go in.

We ended our day across town at Musso & Frank for martinis. Our idea of the perfect end to a perfect day. Musso & Frank in Hollywood is, of course, legendary, for having once been THE place for movie stars to dine. Movie stars like Gable and Stanwyck. Since it was our first time, we sat at the bar, which we decided we'd always do because it's just so much fun. I was surprised by how many regulars they had -- that's just so nice for such a legendary institution. I thought there'd be an atmosphere of dust and decay, with most of the customers being curious tourists, but not so! There's still quite a bit of life there. I'd also heard that the staff can be mean, but I found the staff really nice. Well, one more reason to stay in L.A.! I actually like living in the Hollywood area, except for the crazy traffic and all the noise!

BTW, the Musso & Frank martinis are just as good as they say. I really like the fact that they deliver the martinis in a little bottle with ice. That keeps the drink nice and cold! Why don't more bars do that? Our waiter, Manny (sp?), served the drinks with such flourish, it was worth the price of admission! Not that it was expensive. The cocktails were all reasonably priced, the martinis at $8.50. (Food is a lot more.) Try getting even a decent martini in London for that price! We also had a Welsh rarebit. Very different from the British variety. The Musso & Frank's rarebit was a cheese sauce served over toast points, with a garnish of very crispy bacon. $15.00. In Britain, a rarebit is almost like a souffle. There's eggs and cheese (usually blue cheese), sometimes port, poured over bread and baked in the oven until the whole thing gets nice and crispy. You'd think the LA version would be the OTT one!

The People

Since coming to LA, I've slowly been getting to know the people. What are they like?

Pros

For the most part, they're very friendly. Especially in Pasadena. Actually, it's scary how friendly they are in Pasadena. Don't go into The Container Store in Old Town unless you want an hour chat with the staff. In the Northeast, no one talks to you unless they know you. Here, everyone is your best friend. Like you're standing in line to buy some rotisserie chicken -- suddenly you and the girl next to you are chatting maniacally about Cyndie Lauper. You haven't talked about Cyndie Lauper in years. Why are you even talking about Cyndie Lauper? You're being fumigated with the smell of rotisserie chicken. Get out of there! But you can't because you've got your new best friend. I guess standing in line in LA is sort of like face-to-face online chatting. Easy come, easy go.

Cons

People in SoCal talk loud. Real loud. And they're standing right next to each other. They also don't seem to have a good understanding about boundaries. Like private property boundaries. You'll find old women spreading out the contents of their purses on your car. Your landlord pops up anytime of the day, unannounced, usually while you're eating, wanting to talk about taking pics of caulking. Yes, caulking.

"You have a camera? Great. Come and take the picture now."

Who cares that you're right in the middle of lunch. He had his -- what does he care about you?

He even pops over with a friend, scaring the daylights out of you as you work outside on the secluded back porch, just so he can show his friend how cute the porch is.

You couldn't have knocked?

"Don't worry, dear. We won't bother you at all."

You're bothering me now!

You begin to think of him as The Creep Man. You're even thinking of putting him in your graphic novel. He'd be the perfect poster child of the Pain-in-the-Ass Guild.

Then there's the neighbor who lets her dog wander in and out of other people's backyard. Including yours, which the dog likes because the dog was once a stray that used to hang out near your house. So it lingers and lingers and lingers. The dog wondering if the owners who dumped it near your house will ever come back. I miss you. (Whine! Whine!) And you wonder if that's the dog who was responsible for the dried up shit you found the other day near the car. Which is better than fresh.

Addendum

About Pasadena being so friendly? The exception is the Gamble House. Totally different creatures there.

Renting in Los Angeles: Just the facts, Ma'am

Since August is just around the corner, here's a warning. August is probably the worst time to look for a rental in LA. I speak from experience. August is bad because that's the time families move to be closer to their children's schools. August is bad because that's the time hoards of university kids come to look for fall housing, usually with parents who are more than happy to pay $3000 a month for their children's comfort. This means rents are at their highest. Around December, I noticed similar houses were being listed for several hundred dollars less.

Going online with Craigslist and Westside Rentals seems to be the most popular way to look for a place. Craigslist is free and anyone can use their listings. Westside Rentals isn't free and not nearly so accessible: you have to be a member, and the basic membership plan is $60.00 for 60 days. A lot of the rentals will be listed on both sites since Westside Rentals doesn't charge people to list their rentals. We tried both and we couldn't find a clear advantage to either. So you might as well try the free one first.

I love the fact that even the shabbiest place in LA has a provenance. The Fleetwood Mac couple lived in ours -- and they didn't have a happy marriage -- I swear I can still hear their arguments. Be careful. There are a lot of strange rental situations around, people living under you, beside you, in a corner, down a cavity -- all sharing your washing machine. And landlords are never just landlords. Ours is an ex-graphic artist, ex-magician. And they can have a real inflated ego when it comes to their rental properties, usually because they've invested a part of themselves in the air conditioning unit they've picked or the new taps they've put in. Sometimes you just want to say, "Hey, it isn't all that!" But don't. Smile, be courteous, show up to appointments on time, look interested, and find something nice to say about what you're looking at. Remember -- they're selling their apartments but you're selling yourself. It's just like a job interview.

If you've never been to LA, keep in mind that LA isn't like most cities. You don't have good neighborhoods and bad. You have good streets and bad. And often, they're right next to each other. Sometimes, the good and bad are split right through the middle of the street. Sometimes, the good and bad alternate house by house. So unless you really know LA, you have to visit each building, each neighborhood to see what you're getting into.

Here's a not-very-thorough rundown of some of the neighborhoods.

Downtown: I'm mentioning it first because it's in the middle of being revitalized and getting continual buzz. I'm not sure if the buzz is justified or if it's just a media campaign by people who need to make their money back. But anyway, if you like urban living and would rather live in NYC, Downtown is for you. To get more of a feel for the Downtown lifestyle, try going to Angelenic or blogdowntown.

Silver Lake/Echo Park: It's an interesting mix of wealthy executives, artists, musicians, and hipsters. The only location of Intelligentsia is here and it's becoming the Grand Central station of Silver Lake. Echo Park used to be a working-class, Hispanic neighborhood. Sadly, many of the old residents are being moved out as more and more streets are becoming gentrified. But you'll still find gang activity. A really nice feature of Echo Park is the park with the large lake and man-made water geysers that shoot up high into the air.

Westwood: UCLA, frats, Stan's Corner Donut Shoppe. What more is there to say?

North Hollywood: Not anywhere near Hollywood. It's actually in the San Fernando Valley, where it's hot. Really, really hot. Like 100 degrees in the summer. In 1997, NoHo (as it's known) was the scene of an infamous bank heist. There's also the Arts District with more than 20 professional theaters. In generally, we find the area a little dull. Sorry, NoHo.

Studio City: Also in San Fernando Valley. At its heart, it's a huge strip mall, but a fun one with lots of little stores along Ventura, like the Big Sugar Bakeshop. Nice suburban streets full of nice, comfy houses, too.

San Gabriel Valley: Where most of the Chinese seem to live! Great Chinese and Vietnamese food here, and at great prices! Eat well and prosper.

Santa Monica: You'll find a lot of the alternative health industry here. And the homeless. It's also generally several degrees cooler in the summer.

Venice Beach: There's the beach, which is fun for people watching, and there's Abbot Kinney, a street lined with expensive boutiques.

Here's a list of websites that will give you a good feel about moving here.

LA Weekly
LA Curbed
LA Racked

Good luck!