This is how our day ended. Read on to find out how this happened.
We decided to stay over one more day in Los Angeles, so we could see our cousins again tonight. We woke up at Birmingham RV Resort and just relaxed until it was time to meet our friends, Joe and Miguel, at THE SPORTSMEN’S LODGE on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.
Miguel and Joe at The Sportsmen's Lodge:
We were a little late (due to traffic – what else?) and Joe and Miguel were already waiting for us on the Patio. We had a lovely table outside, but there was actually a heater above my head, which kept me toasty warm even though we were in the shade. I had a salad with grilled salmon. Eric had a Cajun chicken sandwich. Joe had an omelet and Miguel had a Baja salad. The portions were so huge, I kept digging into my salad and felt like I was making headway, but it never seemed to get smaller!
We hung around talking and reminiscing. Joe and I went to college together and did shows together. He’s a great actor and has been living in LA for a long time. He’s done tons of work on TV and some movies, too. He’s also a playwright and director and Eric and I saw his play, when it was produced in Brooklyn last year. I always tell Joe I'm his biggest fan.
We could have stayed there all day, talking and laughing. Eric and Miguel are both mountain bikers, so they talked a lot about trails they’ve ridden and their favorite places to ride.
The area where we sat had pictures of famous cowboys of TV and the silver screen:
After lunch, we decided to go to JERRY’S RESTAURANT & DELI, just a couple of blocks down Ventura Boulevard. Joe and Miguel piled into the RV with us and we gave them the 3-minute tour and then took them for a little ride a couple of blocks to Jerry’s for dessert. I had a red velvet cupcake, which was almost as delicious as the piece of red velvet cake I had in Memphis, when we went to Graceland. Remember – it was Elvis’s favorite dessert!
We then piled back into the RV and took them back to their car at The Sportsmen’s Lodge. We thought we had parted ways, and Eric and I got on 101 South to go to my cousin, Ilene’s house, when my phone rang. It was Joe. He and Miguel were in their truck, right behind us! I ran to the back window and waved at them, and they waved back. It was so funny!
We went to Ilene and Kyle’s and they drove us (in the silver Mercedes that Ilene won in a radio contest) to THE STINKING ROSE. We had been to the one in San Francisco with our friend, Jimmy, and I told Eric I wanted to try to go to the one in Beverly Hills, because it was so delicious. This place was a little fancier, but we sat in “Dracula’s Grotto” which was a lot of fun.
We didn’t think we’d be hungry, since we were just finishing dessert with Miguel and Joe at 4:00pm, but the food is SO good at THE STINKING ROSE that you just HAVE to eat! We started with the Bagna Calda, (Garlic soaking in a hot tub): “Garlic cloves, oven-roasted extra virgin olive oil and butter with a hint of anchovy. A wonderful treat for spreading on our house-baked focaccia bread. Served at your table in an iron skillet.” It was just as good as we remembered!
A scary chair in the Ladies' Room. In case you can't read the sign, it says, "If This Chair is Comfortable -- You're Pregnant!" I wanted to go back with Ilene, so we could both try it, but we never did!
Then, we ordered a small tureen of garlic-steamed clams and lightly breaded asparagus. Yum!
For the entrée, I ordered Smoked Salmon-filled Ravioli with lemon butter caper sauce. I was surprised when it arrived to see that the ravioli was black, but it tasted exactly the same as regular ravioli – FANTASTIC!
This picture hung above our table. It's a Chagall with a "garlic twist." They have many famous paintings, like the Mona Lisa, and Botticellis' Birth of Venus, but with garlic added to the portraits. Very clever!
Eric had a half rack of the Garlic Encrusted Baby Back Ribs. Ilene had the Garlic Braised Boneless Short Rib. Kyle had the Forty Clove Garlic Chicken roasted on the bone. Everyone agreed that the food at this place is just first rate.
We decided to go someplace else for dessert, but first we wanted to visit the Beverly Hills Police Department, where Ilene works. The building is SO fancy, it looks more like a palace than a place of business! It’s really gorgeous with blue tile work and other interesting architectural details.
Eric stands by the posters from BEVERLY HILLS COP I, II, and III:
We saw the office where she works, met a lot of her co-workers, and went on a tour of the different floors and different departments.
Ilene with a life-size photo of a police officer:
Ilene stands beside part of a huge collection of police patches from all over the world. There are many, many more on display in the station.
We went to central booking and we got to see where people who are arrested are fingerprinted, get to make their phone call, and the cells where they are detained.
It was all interesting, and a little scary!
Eric sees it's not much fun in a holding cell!
That’s how Eric ended up in a cell and having his mug shot taken (and what a mug!).
Ilene and her co-worker, Cora:
After that, we went to IL CONO GELATERIA for some gelato (what else?). We decided to bring home a bunch of flavors, because Karen and Mark were going to meet us back at Ilene and Kyle’s house.
We got back to their house and Karen and Mark arrived soon after. We ate the gelato, and Ilene made Oatmeal Cookies (what a girl!). We hung out for about an hour, and then we parted ways and came back to the campground. It was so great to see them all over the past 3 days. I'm so happy to know we will be seeing a lot more of each other.
We are finally leaving L.A. tomorrow, and heading to Murietta, which is not far from San Diego, to meet Robyn and Sal. They were friends of my niece, Melissa, and her husband, David, back in New York. They made the same move from New York to California in April, and recommended MAYFLOWER movers, which we used for our move. We’ve been talking on the phone and emailing for months and will finally meet tomorrow. I can’t wait! I just feel sorry for them both, because Eric and I are going to STINK of garlic!!!!