I’ll Drink to That!

We feared the worst and got the best! It was a deja vu of the 1984 Olympics with LA stepping up and staying off the roads and freeways. The only heavy traffic was seen by local businesses as Angelenos strove to keep their driving to a minimum. The other benefit - great excuse for a party and we did lots of that this weekend.

Friday, we welcomed home friends that had been abroad with a home cooked steak dinner and a yummy wine picked up at the local BevMo 5 cent sale. Ceibo is a 70% Malbec/30% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mendoza area of Argentina. This 2010 vintage was good to go - full bodied, soft tannins and good structure. We spent the evening listening to their stories of visits to exotic locales in Greece and Turkey and finished our meal with Sette Erbe del Monte Fileremo, a liqueur from Greece that they had brought home for us to try. This bright green libation tasted of Rosemary and smelled like eucalyptus and mouthwash.  We tried - just couldn’t wrap our palates around that one.

Saturday, while demolition crews were running ahead of schedule and with the biggest “incident” being some guy who thought it would be cool to skateboard on the closed 405, our friends gathered for a “car-meggedon” pot luck. Tri tip on the grill, asian noodle salad, Caprese stacks, scalloped corn casserole and plenty of wine.

Tri tip

Asian Peanut Noodle Salad and Caprese Stacks

Scalloped Corn Casserole

We started with what is now my new favorite chardonnay from Lioco. The 2009 Sonoma Coast is a blend of fruit from vineyards in the Alexander Valley, Carneros, Dry Creek and Mendocino areas. Totally fermented in stainless steel, this full bodied, well balanced wine features lemon in the nose and palate. Creamy mouthfeel and lingering finish make this a wine I’m going to want to get more of.

Lioco 2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

The best of the reds on this night was a standout from Rosenthal - the Malibu Estate. The 2006 “Block” M single vineyard Cabernet from Malibu Newton Canyon is a knock out wine! Deeply colored, the wine has aromas of oak and cedar, with cassis, black fruit, anise and spice on the palate. Beautifully balanced with soft tannins, this was a great way to end the evening.

Rosenthal 2006 "M" Block Cabernet Sauvignon

Today, the 405 opened at 11am, 17 hours ahead of schedule! And tomorrow traffic will revert  to its prior madness. We spent the morning watching the Womens’ World Cup, drowning our disappointment in the US loss in Bloody Mary’s. Here’s to car-meggedon! Can we do it again next month?

I’ll Drink to That!

Tomorrow Prince William and his new bride Catherine Middleton, the future of the English Monarchy,  will arrive in California with stops in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. And once again the stately Victorian homes perched atop a hill in Angelino Heights will bear witness to another historical moment in time. These ornate homes, modeled after the architectural styles popular in England during Queen Victoria’s reign and based largely on Baroque and Gothic styles,  were located about a mile northwest of the city center, offering stunning views and convenient transportation. Only a few of these precious homes remain and are burdened with the responsibility of telling their story…..

Because of streetcar transportation to the nearby downtown business district, “The Hill” quickly became an affluent neighborhood of bankers, merchants and real estate developers in the late 1880’s. Many of these new residents from the East coast brought with them their taste for the Victorian and began to build their massive Queen Anne and Eastlake style homes . Exemplified by lavish ornamentation, vibrant colors, multiple stories, wraparound porches, bay windows and towers or turrets, these homes embraced eclecticism and grandeur at the same time. Detail and nuance were the focus of great labor with features such as intricate woodwork, colored art glass, lace curtains, and ornate lighting fixtures.

While so many of these beautiful homes were destroyed in the name of progress and expansion, the 1300 block of Carroll Avenue formed the Carroll Avenue Restoration Foundation to help preserve and restore these precious gems and today boasts the highest concentration of Victorian homes in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Conservancy offers a 2 hour walking tour where you are guided back in time to visit this historical area, view the homes, step inside and experience the splendor of an era gone by. An era where craftsmanship and beauty prevailed…where the creak of a floorboard was comforting - where the hydrangeas bloomed beneath the shade of  massive fig trees, and where the soft glow of the 3-globe Llewellyns lit your way home….

The Phillips House - Built in 1887

This home’s first owner was Aaron Phillips, an Iowa hardware merchant who came to LA in 1887 with his wife and daughter, Grace. She lived in the home until 1942 when it was subsequently sold to the Morales family, members of which still live there today.

3 globe Llewellyn street light

An interior balustrade

The Foy House

Dating from 1872, this house is the oldest in Angelino Heights. Originally located downtown at the corner of Seventh and Figueroa Streets, this was home to Mary Foy, Los Angeles’ first female chief librarian, a founder of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. This home was the design of Ezra Kysor, architect of the former Cathedral of St Vibiana, today being used as an event venue. (Also a beautiful place to visit)

The Haskins House

Constructed in 1894 for real estate developer Charles C. Haskins, this was the last Victorian built on Carroll Avenue. Notice the unusual balustrade used on the porch and the very ornate spindle columns.

After our walk and as our minds were still mired in the cobwebs of the past, we headed downtown, just a 5 minute drive to an area nicknamed “the nickel” by the skid row residents near Main and 5th Streets. On Main, just a couple of blocks from the Vibiana is a new restaurant paying homage to the past. “The Nickel Diner”, offers delicious versions of diner food including fresh baked goods including their famous bacon crumble dipped glazed doughnuts. You really just need to try this - it’s crazy different. Even though the line outside looks like the line outside Dupar’s on a Sunday morning, the wait was just a few minutes, prices are right, and the food is homey and inventive with a lean towards the south with bacon and cornmeal showing up in multiple forms. All good!

Wall mural inside the Nickel Diner

New twists on old favorites from the Nickel Diner

Red Velvet Cake with a Chocolate crunch filling, S’Mores Cake, Peanut Butter Crunch Cake - just to name of few of the incredible dessert offerings at the Nickel Diner.