3 posts tagged “california”
Show us something you love but everyone else hates.
Submitted by AKA Vasquez.
I really don't care that everyone thinks SPAM is gross. It's like a Filipino treat. When you go to the Philippines one of the things to bring as pasalubong (gifts) is SPAM. I love it!
Last week, Miss F and I were talking about Hawaii and I was telling her about how now they serve spam at the Burger Kings there. We were in Manhattan Beach taking our early morning walk and it was also the 2nd session of surf camp. We saw JK there and he's the man with the answers. I asked him about a good breakfast joint in Manhattan Beach and without skipping a beat he says, "The Beach Hut."
The Beach Hut is located on Highland and Rosecrans. It's a Hawaiian restaurant that serves really great breakfast and delicious teriyaki chicken bowls and other good stuff. It's a local spot and usually gets pretty crowded during the weekends.
We went to check it out because JK knows these things and I trust him. After talking about Hawaii with Miss F, it was perfect. I also told Miss F about the spam musubi and how in 7/11 in Hawaii, you can just pick one up and are pretty much good for the day at the beach. Anyway, so, my craving for some spam and rice was in full effect. Miss F commented that since it was a Hawaiian restaurant it would be cool if they had some spam on the menu. To my delight and surprise, there is was - the Spam Special - 2 pieces of spam, rice, eggs and fruit or sweet bread/roll. You know what I ordered! That's right give me that spam special - extra crispy spam please!!! Miss F ordered the krab omelette. They were both excellent. Even if you do not like spam, there are definitely other items on the menu to satisfy your craving for some Hawaiian food.
I highly recommend it. Nothing really compares to having rice with breakfast.
I just had some of the best fried chicken in Los Angeles. I usually go to Roscoe's. Jason wanted some fried chicken that was near by so I did a little search and Dinah's Fried Chicken was the one that came up numerous times with 5 stars. Someone wrote that it was featured in Little Miss Sunshine so you know, that is always a plus.
It is located at 4106 San Fernando Road in Glendale and has a southern feel with the checkered table cloths. The menu is really small and basic in the dining room. I was pleasantly surprised that you could order fried fish. Of course, for me, I need some rice with my fried fish so I stuck to the fried chicken. They have the basic side dishes like mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, but I love that you can actually order corn on the cob. They also have a pretty interesting to-go menu. You can order a GIANT BARREL of chicken - 36 pieces! I was like "giant barrel"? That was pretty serious.
The chicken was not super greasy and was not masked by an overabundance of spices. It just tasted like good fried chicken. I really liked that mashed potatoes and gravy and I had some of Jason's mac & cheese, which was pretty excellent. Real cheese!
I think I liked it better than Roscoe's. And you know everybody loves Roscoe's. But maybe they are a whole separate take on fried chicken.
If you are looking for some good fried chicken and you do not want to trek over to Hollywood or Pasadena, well, you should definitely try Dinah's.
We just got back from Disneyland (courtesy of Mister JT - who deserves many schmoopies and thanks by the way) I am exhausted and don't have a way to upload pictures since my hard-drive died a month ago.
As we were driving there, the car was pretty much non-stop laughter, at which point I say, "You guys are really funny" and Jason says, "Going to Disneyland is really fun." We just have those moments where we are thinking similar thoughts and then we say them at the same time. I told him, I just wouldn't talk for the rest of the day because he's a mind reader.
It was really incredibly fun, We rode 11 or 12 rides and I got to do stuff that I had not done before.
The whole trip was filled with highlights but, since I am going to choose right now...the best was writing the Soaring over California ride. The entrance is like entering an Aerospace Museum that focuses on planes. That part was interesting but also emotional. They had pictures of important aviators with captions describing the persons contribution to flight along with a soundtrack. The soundtrack was really a bit too much for me. They play that track in almost every military movie - Jason gave all the reenactments - montage playing and cutting to a veteran saluting in a cemetery ; men storming the beach in whatever country ; etc. I was reading one and the music in the background, the black & white enlarged photograph and the words just about made me break down. I had to stop reading. It really was too much.
However, once we got on the ride, it was the most amazing experience. You are suspended and the screen seems to surround you. You begin soaring over all these different parts of California - vineyards in San Francisco, Napa Valley, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Malibu, San Diego, Los Angeles - all the while going over familiar spots. For example, in San Diego, you go over a carrier and see the downtown skyline and for Los Angeles, you go over the 10/101 interchange in the evening with the familiar unending line of red brake lights. I walked out with a perma-grin. It made me so happy to be in California. I know I am lucky and I try to not take it for granted but sometimes, its moments like these that remind you that this is one of the most beautiful States in the nation. We have it all bustling cities and gorgeous open spaces. I tell everyone I know that I know I am spoiled living here. It really does have it all.
