Restaurants
“The whole ramen thing again?” says my friend Annie. We’re on the phone. “No. This is like the original, and IMHO the best,” I say. “Come on down! Sun’s got two fists to go!” Up …
Tom Wolfe! Too freakin’ much! Here? And the pump house gang? Where the heck are they? Tom, John, Nealy, Artie, Pam, Liz, Vicki, Jacki Haddad, Kit, and hey, Jack MacPherson, the crazy instigator of the …
It’s that super-chilly Monday last week. The sun has just set and temps have dropped with a clang. Knife-edge breeze. At the corner of Upas and 30th, I’m standing trying to decide where to chow …
Maggie’s regretting ever opening her mouth. She stands back from where this guy is throwing his into the mic. “You and I are just two leaves in the wind,” he croons. The crowd at his …
“Welcome to Caballero’s Homey Jammmm!” scribbles this gal on a piece of paper. Music’s too loud for talking. We’re sitting right in front of this group of jamming Latin jazz players, playing live to maybe …
“I’ve just signed a lease for another 10 years,” says Carmen. “I’m 71. We’re in the middle of a pandemic. People say I’m crazy.” This is 8:30 in the morning, in the Golden Hill Cafe, …
She looks down on you as you come in. Sophia. Sophia Loren, that is. Her portrait is on the wall here, lit up like a Mona Lisa. We’re in a very cool-looking building with a …
Teagan (“Think ‘Reagan’” she says) saws away at her violin right by the entrance. She’s playing Arianna Grande’s “34+35.” Sounds really cool. Actually, this whole scene is hard to beat. Saturday morning, sunshine, cool breeze …
I have this noodle idea in my noodle. Korean noodles. I was up here on Convoy looking for the kind of “glass noodles” that my friend Clive, who was stationed in Korea, says are i) …
Just been hearing about the baguettes of the Paris Bakery. (“Golden Dreams” 1/7/21) And when I coupled that with Reader reader Wink Sajack hauling me over the coals about the cost of some of the …
“Konnichiwa!” I love how all the crew in some Japanese eateries stop everything when customers arrive or leave and shout out “Konnichiwa!” Kind of “Hello!” “Good bye!” “Thank you!” “Good day!” I don’t know about …
I used to have a conscience about this: eating at a place that I knew was kind of working the system. I felt, ‘What about all the others who are staying closed down, playing by …
“It’s pandemic Armageddon, downtown,” says Jess. She’s the general manager here. She’s just brought out my poutine. “We’re hanging on by our fingernails.” Armageddon? She’s talking about the number of homeless people who come by, …
“I’ve got a hundred bucks that says we celebrate!” I say. “Uh huh,” says Annie. “Now, on this braw, bricht, moonlicht nicht?” It’s like five o’clock. Dark already. We’re just starting out along the Imperial …
David hunches over the ocean, elbows on rail, playing his harmonica. He holds long notes. “See? They like it,” he says. “See? See?” And wow. I’m looking below, and two dolphin fins come knifing through …