Michele G.'s Profile

What kind of mother am I? I'm the kind that gets taken out to a pub called Prohibition for Mother's day. I'm the beer-guzzling, burger-eating kind of mother that doesn't give a crap about roses.

About Prohibition:
The bartender recommended a delicious beer, Maudite. Then he recommended the apple burger (caramelized apple, bacon and brie on a burger). Delicious! My husband had the Al Capone burger. He love that., too. Then we were given a delicious warm apple tart a la mode.

We were smitten with Prohibition. And we'll be back!

(Written while still tipsy from the Maudite... hence the word smitten, which makes me giggle.)

After one too many attempts to try and choke down mall food, and finding salads of seemingly petrified chicken tossed into wilted lettuce, I finally found the Nordstrom E-bar. What a relief.

Not only do they have really good coffee drinks, but they have tasty and fresh salads (my favorite is the Waldorf salad). Plus, the staff is extremely friendly.

"Besame, besame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez...." The lyrics still linger in my mind, much as the two flaming margaritas I had still linger in my slightly throbbing temples.

Yes, I always enjoy El Compadre. The lively crowds, the wonderful live music, the flaming margaritas and the plentiful portions of tasty Mexican food make this a long time favorite place to sip margaritas while trying to avoid burnt lips (since they're flaming).

This is my favorite Trader Joe's. I've shopped at a few, but the staff here is exceptional. For instance, I love Howie the Wine Whiz; he has a knack for recommending wines and pointing out his favorites, known as Howie's Zowies. Every TJ's should have a Howie.

I usually walk out smiling because the staff is so friendly. And they play such great music (some cool old '70s funk, etc.), I often find myself grooving and singing as I shop.

The wonderful employees there make up for some of the iffy TJ's products -bagged squash that smells like the inside of Aunt Tillie's closet; gamey and chewy stir fry steak with broccoli, and inedible, mushy and tasteless frozen chicken skewers so bad, I tossed the box after one bite.

On the other hand, I do love their salsas, affordable avocados, eggs at $1.49 a dozen, wines (Trellis and Vingt are delicious and reasonably priced), beer (they have Arrogant Bastard and a pretty good TJ's brand IPA), breads (the artisanal multi-grain loaf) and dessert (lemon tarts and Ginger-Roos), to name a few personal favorites. Oh, and the frozen chile relleno is pretty tasty.

But, the only reason I made an effort to review this particular Trader Joe's is due to the stellar staff, like Howie the Wine Whiz and all the others who make this place feel like a community store versus a chain.

Yoko, thank you so much for helping to make my evening so wonderful.

For my birthday dinner, my husband and I wanted to get sushi rolls. After reading reviews and looking over menus, I decided to make a reservation at Matsuda.

We got there and the place was packed. But Yoko let us add one more person to our party, when my daughter found out at the last minute she didn't have to work and could join us. Yoko greeted us warmly, introducing herself with a huge smile, and kindly complimented me by saying I looked too young to be my 22-year-old daughter's mother. We could have stopped the evening right there, because Yoko had me floating on a cloud with her kindness.

But then came the lobster roll, the spicy tuna roll and the crunch roll. Yum! All reasonably priced.

After, Yoko and some of the waitresses brought over a scoop of green tea ice cream with a candle and sang happy birthday. I guess my daughter must've let Yoko know when I wasn't looking.

What a tasty and fun dinner! Thanks, Yoko.

Not only do I love Roscoe's Carol C (waffle and a chicken breast) with a side of smothered potatoes, but Roscoe's entwined in my marriage.

Way back in '87, Roscoe's founder Herb Hudson catered the wrap party for now-cult-classic John Cusak and Tim Robbins' film, "Tapeheads." At the party, I had one bite of Mr. Hudson's chicken with waffle soaked in maple syrup and told him: "You need to open a restaurant." What a dork I am! Little did I know he already had a restaurant: Roscoe's.

That same evening, King Cotton, lead singer of the Bonedaddy's, who played a character named Roscoe in "Tapeheads," introduced me to my husband.

Here's King doing the Roscoe chicken and waffles rap: http://youtu.be/o9dBiw...

My husband produced some of the Bonedaddy's music for the movie. We bonded over Roscoe's food at the party. Then Mr. Hudson would personally bring his chicken and waffles to the studio where my husband produced music with Bo Diddley and the Bonedaddys, and I would go visit while recording. So it was only natural we would go to Roscoe's on quite a few of our dates.

Last night, we took a client from Australia to Roscoe's for chicken and waffles. It was just as tasty as ever.

My husband and I have now been together about 25 years and brought our daughter up on Roscoe's. So Roscoe's is part of our life, I guess you could say.

And how many other places serve Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers? One sip of those, one whiff of the chicken and waffles and I'm back to 1987.

What a great escape! We went to see a friend's band from Australia, called R.A.I. Not only did the band groove,but Piano Bar's a nice intimate venue. I didn't feel like I was in LA. This place - dimly lit, brick walls and dark wood - has a New York sort of vibe. Loved it.

I'm so inspired and impressed by Laura Howe. My friend and I were drooling over dresses in Matrushka Construction, and I didn't even notice Laura behind her sewing machine, working away.

My friend asked, "Do you design and make these dresses?"

Laura kept sewing but said, "Yes, I do."

Wow!

Some of the gowns were like flowing liquid, molten silver in '30s style simplicity... so Jean Harlow-esque, they screamed glamor. Absolutely stunning! Others were wonderful and eclectic prints of cotton in flattering styles.

I must have one of her dresses!!

Okay, so Crazy Harry told me himself he's not able to make their amazing burgers for a while (due to a dispute with the kitchen they were using next door). But they do cater in Johnny Pacific's delicous empanadas, skewers, salads, fries, etc.

And Crazy Harry still has his amazing beer selection!

I was pleasantly surprised! My friend and I stopped here after shopping, so I figured it would be simply adequate food to revive us after a long afternoon. The waiter mentioned we'd get free pizza if we ordered beer. I think I laughed out loud, as in.... "Really, well then it must be crap! But bring it on, if it's free."

But it wasn't crap. The cheese pizza was actually one of the better pizzas I've had in LA, recently. The crust was the way I like it, nicely bubbly and browned. The tomato sauce had spice. Quite tasty! And it went great with my beer and spinach salad.

I'm glad we left Johnny Rocket's for Melgard Pub's beer.... 'cuz with beer you get pizza! And it's damned good!