So here I go, off to Comic Con…  and I am a Comic Con Virgin… but I will be going with two Geekalicious Ladies who live for Geekdom..  and hopefully we won’t be trampled by a slew of Iron Men in the process…  I am both excited and freaked out. Continue Reading

Food Trucks Have Gone Gourmet in L.A. and We Love It!

If you live anywhere in Los Angeles, you have no doubt eaten off a “Taco Truck” in the past for a quick lunch or a late night grab after clubbing or working late, but chances are before 2010, you didn’t follow your Taco Truck on Twitter, Track who was eating there on Foursquare or FAN it on Facebook. With the invention of these new tools and the resurgence of Street Food Integrity, Food Trucks are making a huge comeback and lines are around the block!

As a kid I remember seeing the trucks parked in the neighborhood, silver or white usually with a name hand painted across the sides. They were usually surrounded by Men mostly; ordering food, eating. laughing, standing around. When I entered the work-force, the trucks were a lunchtime inevitability, people joked about grabbing a burrito or taco off the “Roach Coach” which left an indellible image in my mind that I needed to overcome to enjoy the new level of Street Food available now. This is not your Father’s Food Truck. Continue Reading

Tonight I visited an old stand by for dinner, a little place called “In N Out Burger”. If you aren’t from the West Coast and you have not been to Vegas, you are probably not familiar with the Classic Double-Double, Fries Animal Style, Ice Cream Shakes in those cute little palm tree cups and drive thru lines that wind through parking lots and out into traffic, so let me give you the low-down on this local gem for the next time you are in town!

Number One! You DO want to visit this place if you are in California for any reason and you enjoy an honest-to-goodness burger! (no tofu, chemical meat or pre-frozen stuff here!) everything they make is created from fresh ingredients and prepared in a glass side kitchen for you to watch. I love seeing them cut the fries, actually! :p Continue Reading

• As you may know from my last blog, I took a little jaunt down to San Diego last month to meet some friends from out of state at a Conference.  Well, I discovered some new favorite hang outs, hotels, restaurants and bars and of course my stand by favorite – NOBU! YAY!

One of my friends was staying at The U.S. Grant, so I popped over to join him for lunch at the GG Lounge, which was absolutely adorable with a mixture of old world grandeur and modern flair. I especially loved the lighting. I had Caesar Salad and a glass of Rose’ and it was delish followed by a yummy cappuccino with plenty of foam.

The hotel is rather pricey, but it is gorgeous! Huge chandeliers in the lobby and a plethora of lush seating make it a charming space to spend time in if you happen to have to wait for someone who is perpetually late, like my friend DJ, who kept me waiting while he shopped at the Louis Vuitton store across the street!

After lunch, I took a peek at the guest rooms and learned that they all feature original artwork, large bathrooms and duvets – not that I saw them all, but I asked. Duvets are a must must must anywhere I sleep, by the way… Anyway, the rooms were luxurious and well appointed.. well worth the high price tag.

but I wasn’t staying there, so after lunch I headed over to meet my other pal where we were staying, The Ivy! Another really cool hotel with a total eclectic and modern décor and a signature scent known as Ebony… no, you cannot buy it.. (as the kind’ve rude concierge let me know) The lobby features Viao laptops for guests and modern- almost too modern recliners (you feel a little like you are a the dentists office, LOL) but they do have some super hot bars, one with over 300 wines by the glass, this feat is achieved using the new wine station technology that is all the rage at wine stores.

YUM! A nightclub that is open from Thur-Sat. I didnt get to go to that sadly, it looked pretty fun though.. very “look at me” kinda place, so if you are in San Diego and want to dress up and show off, ENVY might be a good place to hang out…

If you are more like me these days though, you want to have a cocktail and chill on sofas with friends while taking in a view, so that is what we did at the IVY ROOF TOP -

It has a modern firepit.. lots of comfortable seating, couches, divans, and of course heat lamps over large outdoor beds.. my friends and I bogarted a bed with a great view and hung out with some wine and talked under the stars, it was a nice relaxing time and I recommend it to those of you who dont like to have to scream over pounding techno to be heard by your friends (well, not all the time anyway) – During the day the rooftop has a great dipping pool (3 feet all around) with cabanas and lots of poshness.. if you are at leisure, it has a great view of the city and the marina… lay around, get tan in the most perfect weather on the planet and the best thing, they have pool side bar service by a great staff.. say hi to Nick! This location is really is worth a look even if you are not staying at The Ivy..

As for the rooms and the stay.. I am of two opinions.. it is really unique and fun… Sexy views, loft style with lots of woods and glass.. a unique ambiance, very modern and edgy. At the same time, the room I had was a little oddly laid out.. as cute as it was, I kept running into this glass panel that separated the sink area and the bedroom because there was an odd angle to the way the door was in relation to the panel and the bed.. it was like you had to make a sharp turn to get in – the shower had a limited sort of shower head and you had to reach in through a glass cut out to turn it on with out getting wet.. as adorable as it is, if you are into functionality and convenienceversus sexy and design heavy, you wouldnt like this location for a stay.. however, if you are looking for a place to impress a lover.. perhaps this is the one :LOL..

The restaurant in the hotel is called The Quarter Kitchen and carries over the modern style of the hotel in a much more functional style with very comfortable chairs – everything is rather square and low – allowing lots of light and a good view across the room. I had the Turkey Club and Truffle Fries (TRUFFLE FRIES I SAID! YUMMMMY – here is a recipe for Truffle French Fries in-case you want to make me some!) quite a lovely little place and if you have a seat by the window, you can watch the city activity which I love, a bit slow on service, but the server was very cute… so I forgave him.

The hotel does provide an Escalade to drive you here and there, which my friend and I made good use of to get down to Seaport Village where we enjoyed a walk along the marina and some coffee and cookies from a little cookie shop, I have been to the seaport before and recommend the Harbor House for yummy dinner and a pretty view or Busters for something more sports barish.. wings and a beer. We were flirted with by the Irish horse carriage driver and spent some time just enjoying the view. A nice place to relax, shop, hang out.. etc…

Now the best time of all was at one of my favorite places to eat when I have the funds or someone to treat me (which was the case this time) NOBU! I have eaten in the NoBu’s in Malibu, Beverly Hills, Hawaii and Las Vegas – my dream (one of many) is to eat at the one in Japan. Some things to try when you want to be WOWed:

• NoBu Ceviche Tacos

• Yellowfin Tuna With Spicy Miso Chips

• Yellow Tail Sashimi with Jalapeno

Some locations have this Kobe thing that you sizzle on the rock.. totally yummy…

I love it with Conundrum, a light blend of white varietals that are crisp and a tad sweet…

Recently, I had to get to San Diego from Los Angeles for a conference and to visit some very good friends who were in from the East Coast for the same event. I considered the drive, about 2 hours on freeways that will probably be bumper to bumper traffic… getting there tired and irritated from the road rage in time to go to the events… hmmm.. NO. Next I considered the puddle jumper (small aircraft) from LAX to SD Airport and thought about the hassle of getting a ride to the airport or having to deal with airport parking, getting through security, possibly having to check my bag, all for a 30 minute cramped flight that leaves me at the SD airport where I have to collect my stuff and find a cab line… hmmm NO. So finally I took a look at the train. Trains are steeped in mystery and charm, so many movies and books have been written about experiences on trains, granted they have usually been sleeper trains in other Europe, but there was something to the idea.

I looked further and found the Pacific SurfLiner by Amtrak.

It is a train that runs along the California coast from Los Angeles Union Station to San Diego’s historic district in 2 hours with stops in Fullerton, Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana, San Juan Capistrano, and Solana Beach… I looked at the route online and noticed that it ran along beachfront for quite a spell beyond SJC, I was intrigued. The cost to upgrade from Coach to Business Class was only 14.00– it included snacks, drinks (wine, soft-drinks, coffee and tea) and conference tables, big windows, lots of leg room, foot rests, outlets for your lap top and phone to charge and curtains on the window in case you are weird and don’t like to see the ocean, you can close it up and sleep. The total ticket roundtrip was about 80.00 with the upgrades.

You can buy your tickets online at www.amtrak.com and pick them up at the station using the QUIKTICKET option, and you don’t have to check your bag, unless you want to.

No crazy security process, you get to the station about 30 mins early, grab a coffee.. I recommend taking a look around Union Station if you have never been there, it will remind you of why classic Los Angeles is so amazing.
It has gorgeous Mission style accents and even as old as it is and though it houses a lot of homeless people and hippie types now and then, you can still see the hey days in the details.

You watch for your track number on the monitor or line up at the roped area – then head to the train platform and pop aboard. Sitting upstairs is best, you get a great view, also make sure you are on the Pacific side of the train and get a window seat for sure!

Be aware that if it is a full train (on weekends this is more likely) they reserve downstairs for handicap and conference table four seats for groups of 3 or more, so avoid those until after the train has taken off and you can see how full it will be. That way you can move as you choose. Remember the direction you are going in and don’t sit in seats facing backward if you get motion sickness, some people can’t deal with going backwards, it doesn’t bother me. The conductor will take your ticket, have you sign it and sometimes checks ID randomly and off you go!

From Los Angeles to San Juan Capistrano is pretty standard. You see building, fields, backyards, warehouses etc… so if you have work to do on your laptop or calls to make, do it during that part of the trip, but as soon as you take off from the SJC station (pictured here, with its cute old time stop)

, put away your work and get out your camera or get comfy and be prepared to enjoy the ocean views. Some parts of the route actually put you so close to the waves that you can smell the salt and see the faces of the surfers, compared to watching the back of someone elses car as you inch along on the 5 or looking out a tiny window down and the oddly black waves cramped in a tiny plane, this is a pure luxury. People enjoying themselves out in the waves and along the shores and playgrounds will wave at you as you roll by, something about trains brings out the kid in many people and they will stop and watch.

Here are some of the photos I took THROUGH THE WINDOW! YES, I WAS PRACTICALLY ON THE BEACH WHILE SITTING IN MY SEAT WITH A CUP OF COFFEE! I LOVED IT!

As you pass the beach houses, and state parks, you will feel like you cannot take photos fast enough, it really is a lovely view, but remember to enjoy it live and not spend too much time loading the photos onto twitter and facebook.

The ride down to San Diego is a bit of a better route than the ride back it seemed to me, but they are both nice and have many lovely ocean views. I had a great trip both ways and arrived in San Diego feeling refreshed and inspired instead of tired and aggravated.
If you go with a group, it is probably even more fun. I have driven up PCH from Los Angeles to San Francisco and that is also a gorgeous trip, but that is a whole other blog entry!

For more information about the North Bound or South Bound Surfliner, go to the Amtrak website link here:BOOK IT!

Enjoy and make sure to send me your train story! I plan to do more train trips in the future, if you know an awesome route, let me know!