Rendevouz At The Roosevelt or It's Too Late For Sharon Tate

May 19 2017

So as it turns out this week is 'screening season' in Los Angeles.  It's when the studios and networks screen all of their latest offerings to international buyers and acquisition types.

One of those types is old mate EG who I worked with for a few years at Fox Studios in Sydney and is now ponying up as an exec in Old Blighty.  (That's England in case you didn't know).  Well to be more specific in this case, London.

After a few days of back and forth we finally managed to meet up at the Roosevelt Hotel where she's staying.  What a great night.  First we started off at one of the many, many bars at the Roosevelt, a swanky hotel with a very rich Hollywood history.  It's also named after the guy they named the Teddy Bear after.  Doesn't get much cooler, really.

It was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style in 1926, and was bankrolled by none other than a group helmed by Louis B. Mayer, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Sid Grauman.  It's the longest running hotel in Los Angeles and its ballroom was also the site of the very first Academy Awards.   Here's a shot of Pickford, Fairbanks and Grauman across the road, getting cement under their fingernails at some famous theater LOL.  Look vaguely familiar?

EG and I were hardly wetting our hands in the cement, but what a great place to start our catch up, in what turned out to be a night studded with pop culture references and ye olde glamour.  We were in what I think was called the Library Bar.  Being a tee-totaller that would usually put me in the wrong place, at the right time, but our barkeep made a homemade Ginger Beer that was metaphorically to die for.

We snuck out to a local drugstore to get cigs and couldn't help but snap a nice little shot with the old fashioned neon liquor sign in the background.  And a few palm trees to boot.  Funny, surrounded by all that glamour and I manage to selfie next to blocks of cement and chicken wire.  Go figure....

It had been so long between 'drinks' and there was a lot of stuff to catch up on since we'd last seen each other.  I'll always make time for my Elvis-lovin' old bean!

After meeting with a few of her friends in the bar, they've gotta take off, so we're left to our own devices for dinner.

I've got the perfect spot.

El Coyote in Fairfax is a Mexican restaurant which has been running since 1931.  It always seems full, which is a good sign.  The kookiest part of this place is it's the last place that Sharon Tate ate a meal, before she met her gruesome end at the hands of the acid-riddled psycho-giggling murder gaggle otherwise known as The Manson Family.

"We HAVE to eat there" .. EG proclaims.

I've got no problem with that either ... WE'RE IN!!

After waiting for ages, then struggling to take a photo under the neon light (you know, that thing where the camera wants to focus on the light, and not on you?) we end up getting an outside table.

We were never going to get the Tate booth, they just don't take bookings for less than 6 people, as I found out earlier that night.  Bugger.

Still, the waiter was super attentive and helpful.  The food was brilliant and it was just a super fun night from start to end.

Before we get stuck into El Coyote's brilliant dishes I find out that EG's never had Poppers (deep fried crumbed jalapenos filled with cream cheese) before.  It might be too late for Sharon Tate, but not for us. (Couldn't resist, sorry).  Neither of us are chilli fans but there's no way we're leaving until she's tried one!   Soooo GOOOOODDD!!!!

I escort EG back to her hotel.  Before I let her split back into her room for another gruelling day of screenings we've just got to check out the pool bar.  It's apparently a 'happening thing'.  There's a David Hockney mural on the bottom of the pool floor but just couldn't get it without a selfie stick (and at this point I'm too cool to take that route).

One of the best nights I've had in ages, with a super awesome girl.  Now I'm hanging out until the next screening season! 

#california #losangeles #sabbatical #hotelroosevelt #sharontate #marypickford #douglasfairbanksjr #sydgrauman #graumanschinesetheatre #drugstore #gingerbeer #elcoyote #sharontate #themansonfamily #friendship

PUPUSAS!!

May 16 2017

PUPUSAS!!  If you have never heard of these, you're missing out!  They're a delicious doughy meal that originated in El Salvador.  It's like a meat and or cheese filled tortilla.  They're served with a bit of a watery chilli salad that perfectly complements the texture of this tasty treat.

My airbnb host recommended this excellent restaurant even though there were closer ones to the house.  I dragged old mate VR down there with me to check it out. 

He doesn't like plantains but I do.  So I ate the whole plate by myself.

I'll be back!

Standing outside the Faultline enjoying some Out-Standing food

May 15 2017

I've been in los angeles two months now and there's no sign of me getting sick of eating Mexican food.  I haven't even started.  The food trucks are everywhere, sometimes they're not even a truck.  They're just loaded up on the pavement with a generator (or an open coal fire) and they're just doing what they do best.

I'd been at the faultline for a few drinks .. non alcoholic of course!  I was ready to head  home then I saw these crunchy deep fried quesadillas and I couldn't help myself.

So I'm just parked up on the street eating one of the items on the far right of the above picture.  Then the owner of the stall kind of gets in front of me and starts spouting something in Spanish.  I can only pick up pieces of what he's saying but he seems kind of upset.  He's standing right in front of me and talking to the other people at the stall.  I guess he's complaining that I'm just sitting there eating the food and not making eye contact. Or something?  Go figure.  Just let me eat my goddamn quesadilla mister.  It's not like I didn't pay for it.

Anway I'm just looking at the ground trying to mind my own business and I'm totally consumed by how amazing this food is.

When I'm done I go to the lady that served me and gushed enthusiastically about how great the food was and what a great job they're doing.  That guy that was going a little crazy seemed very sheepish all of a sudden.  So I guess I'm doing better at translating Spanish than I'd previously guessed.  But boy, I've got a long way to go.

Now for a gratuitous condiment shot.

And just for the record, here's the grill these streetside stalls make their food on.  To die for.  Plus, couldn't resist getting that flattened out Coke box on the ground in the shot!

The Eagle's New Old Re-Design

May 14 2017

So my favourite watering hole in LA is Silver Lake's Eagle LA.  Great bar, but it's no secret why I picked this spot.  Yup, it has an outdoor smoking area.  And hardly a twink in sight.

Usually you have to enter through the carpark-y entrance to the side, but tonight the bar is actually accessible through the front door.  WT???  That door's never open!

So as it turns out there's some plumbing issues going on behind the circular bar and they're doing a no-design re-design.  That is, they're just replacing the plumbing then putting a new bar in which is identical to the old bar.  I guess the more things change the more they stay the same!

Here's me in the unused part of the bar with Charlie, one of the co-owners and general all round great guy:

So what's particularly cool about this bar while it's being remodelled is that the little bar to the side is still open, and I love that, all of a sudden it feels like one of those bars popularised in 'Cheers'.

What's even cooler is that the DJ is still spinning his tunes in the old bar, which seems so very surreal.  Seeing as there's nobody in the bar!  The DJs here are always great, sometimes playing some very obscure but cool tracks, so I thought I'd give props to the DJ playing in the 'other room'.  Good job, mister.

Yep, those are flames licking up at the DJ booth.

So in as much as the new design will completely replicate the old design, I'm happy with that.  Some would say that this was a great opportunity to add a new flavour to the bar, but if it aint broken, don't fix it!

#california #losangeles #eaglela #redesignolddesign #propstothedj