Restaurants
It’s a crisp, fresh morning on Olde Highway 80. I’m aboard the MTS’s 838 truck/bus heading east, looking for somewhere to break fast. “Mary Etta’s is a morning eatery,” says this lady sitting across from …
Little India. Black Mountain Road. Looking for an Indian grocery outlet. Gotta find my new favorite flavor to swipe on bread. Marmite. Surprise for my friend Annie. She’s Scottish. She let me try some of …
‘Are you sure?” “Piece of cake. We’ll get right back into it. They’ll want us in Cirque du Soleil.” With my friend Annie again. ’Cause she’s usually up for anything. Went for a winter swim …
“Good wine needs no bush,” says Annie. We’re standing at a Mobil gas station, on the corner of 3rd and L in southern Chula Vista. “Say again?” I say. I know I know this phrase. …
We came here for fish, but not this sort of fish. Hank brought his rod to this totally cute little pond surrounded by houses. The lake that gives Eastlake its name, he says. But what …
Crack o’ dawn. Brand new day! Toughest task of new year — to start getting up early — accomplished! On the other hand, not totally together yet. I look up along deserted Sixth Avenue. Right …
First order of the day: Do. Not. Look. In. The. Mirror. Bit too much celebrating lately. So, second order of the day: belly up for a cup of real French coffee at Madeleine’s. Because, well, …
I blame my friend Annie for this. I mean I’ve been around, but she zips about in dizzying circles, social circles, the kind you read about in the glossy magazines. This day, I just had …
I sip my Kyoto Summer. I look down. A steamed burger? It comes out blanched, like a ghostly version of America’s favorite sandwich, but stuffed with a golden-crumbed chicken slab, Swiss cheese, and kimchi, and …
What’s missing? I keep looking at this thing. But nothing’s amiss. It is a complete burger, with slab of meat, slab of red onion, slab of cheese melting over the patty like a Salvador Dali …
The kid stands mesmerized. He watches as Louie picks up his piece of pizza, starts picking off the colorful bits like tomato and cilantro, then crunches at the edges of the crust. Louie’s an Eclectus …
‘I’m from the Northwest,” says Lu Hong. She means Northwest China. “In Xinjiang, people like their food spicy and hot. Same like Szechuan. But this food here is from South-East China. More like Shanghai, where …
Rosemarie is heads-down in her book, Sex, Lies, and Serious Money, by “NYT #1 best-selling author” Stuart Woods. (“Reads like a remake of Family Jewels,” says the dust jacket). She can do what she wants …
What is the difference? I’m sitting here trying to figure it out. Across Park Boulevard, there are two cafes, both smart, cool, new, and library-quiet, except for the piped music. Everyone in the modern building …
Mr. Peabody’s gets right to the point. “Please: No Assholes. No Hookers. No Tweekers.” It’s on signs behind the bar. It’s on the backs of tee shirts the bar crew wear. But up here in …