Long Beach by night

I spent the past 2 nights at the Hyatt next to the Long Beach, CA, convention center.  It's in the heart of the Long Beach entertainment disctirct, surrouned by restaurants, bars, an aquarium, and the Queen Mary.
And the heart is in desperate need of a bypass.

There are few thing sadder than the restaurants desperately in need of customers.  I walked into an Irish Pub and there were just a few tables quietly occupied, yet the room was filled with a desperate vibe and gloom.  I walked back out (which probably didn't help with the desperation and darkness).  Many restaurants were like that.

The piano bar had the biggest crowd, but that's not saying much.  The sing along pianist desperately tried to get the crowd excited about Wham!  He enthusiastically belted out a chipper, "Wake me up"  and pointed to the crowd for their response.

"before you go go"

It sounded like a group of 8th graders forced into saying "Good Morning," by the teach before starting a math test.

I felt bad for the guy.

I went across the street to find a restaurant that wasn't creepily uncrowded.  There was a growing crowd of youths dressed in black and bursting out in dance at vasious intervals.  There was no music.

My whole walk seemed like some sort of dream.  I kept expecting to find a spatula in my hand and a flower telling me to save the day by turning over the purple.

Instead I sought refuge in the familiar.  And that's why I like having chain restaurants around.  When the sad/bizarre needle is gliding into the red, there's nothing like the fake Australian ambiance and average steaks of Outback.

Hitchcock tryouts

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Who owns this pier in SoCal?

The US Government?
The State of California?
The County of Los Angeles?
The City of Redondo Beach?
The local fishermen?

No.

It's clearly this guy.

I certainly wouldn't want to take his fish.

And here are his associates.

Indian food in Irvine

A couple years ago I wrote about my favorite sushi place in Southern California -- Sushi Wasabi. I still go there everytime I come to Irvine, and even though I'm only in town once a month or so, they recognize me there.

But I have a new restaurant to visit when I don't feel like eel -- Saagar Fine Indian Cuisine.

It's just a few blocks from the John Wayne Airport (SNA) and is easily within walking distance of the SNA Hilton.

When I was there Monday night, the place was fairly empty. There was one other table of customers. But their party room was filled with the beat of exotic music and people in brightly colored outfits.

The food was excellent. I had the Paneer Pakora (basically Indian cheese sticks), Lamb Saag (lamb cooked in creamed spinach), and Garlic Nan (a roasted flatbread). The Paneer Pakora was very good. It was a nice way to start the meal, but wasn't overwhelming.

The Lamb Saag and Garlic Nan were fantastic, though. The flavors were rich and complex. The spices had some heat but weren't smacking me in the face with fire.

The service was quick, but I felt it was too attentive. Dinner was served in serving dishes and I really didn't need the servers to come over to my table everytime I almost emptied my plate so they could scoop more rice and lamb on to it. I can handle that myself. Despite that concern, the staff was pleasant.

I will be going back here again on some future trip.

If you are craving Indian food, check it out. Or if you just want something other than generic hotel food in SNA area, give Saagar a try.

Followup:

I just went back on 2008-04-21, and this time I brought a group of people. It was still awesome.

Where the Streets have old names

This week’s travels took me to Palm Springs. It’s in the Southern California desert. One thing I learned this summer is that 103 degrees in Palm Springs, CA is much nicer than 103 degrees in Richmond, VA.

Most major streets in Palm Spring are named after celebrities. I rolled in to town on Bob Hope Drive and crossed Gerald Ford Drive and Dinah Shore Road. It’s near Fred Waring Drive.

On my way to the airport, I crossed Frank Sinatra drive on CA-111. They airport itself is at the intersection of Gene Autry Trail and Kirk Douglas Way.

But they saved the big names for the airport. The main concourse, with a restaurant, coffee shop, news stand, golf shop and souvenir store is named for Sonny Bono.

Is there a friendlier way to greet travelers than with these teeth? I don’t think so.

I Don't Like LAX

I really dislike LAX (Los Angeles Airport). It's crowded, outdated, and just a pain to navigate. Everything about it annoys me -- from the lousy shuttle bus configuration to the freaky color changing pillars at the entrance. So I avoid it whenever I can.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other options for flying in to SoCal -- SNA (Orange County), ONT (Ontario), LGB (Long Beach), and BUR (Burbank). SAN (San Diego) is even an option depending on where you need to be.

Today, I flew into BUR. BUR (AKA Bob Hope Airport) has the worst airport website I've seen in ages. It looks like they hired a high school student to put it together in 1996 and haven't changed it since. I'm sure if I look hard enough, I'll find a BLINK tag somewhere on the page.

But that's not the point.

I flew into BUR and had to rent a car from Budget instead of Hertz. When I rent form Hertz, I step out of the terminal and am in my car in 3 or 4 minutes. With Budget, I had to do extra paperwork. Then I had to catch a shuttle. I missed the first shuttle and had to wait another 20 minutes for it to come back. Then it took them awhile to find the keys to my Ford Taurus rental (I have now driven 86% of all the Ford Taurii registered in the state of CA).

Next I headed out to my hotel on the rush hour freeways of CA. My 24 mile drive took about an hour. And where was my hotel?

Three blocks from LAX.

From the time the plane landed to the time I got to my hotel was about 2.5 hours.

And for all the hassle -- it still beats flying through LAX.

The Best Sushi in SoCal

I have a new favorite Sushi place in SoCal. Ok, I've only been to two Sushi places in SoCal, and the other one was great, too, but that's beside the point.

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=pm9cr255twv2&style=o&lvl=2&scene=2179181

Sushi Wasabi
20651 Lake Forest Dr
Lake Forest, CA 92630-7745
(949) 454-0888

When I walked in, one person greeted me, and the entire stopped what they were doing and greeted me. I jumped a little.

The Miso had this amazing aroma and the soup had such rich flavor, I wanted to swim in it. The Sushi was fantastic. The flavors, textures, and presentation were amazing. I ate way too much, but it was worth it.

The service was great - prompt and friendly. I was reading my book (Island of the Sequined Love Nun, by Christopher Moore). The server stopped by to ask about it and to talk about books. She asked about the DaVinci Code.

When I left, the entire staff shouted a farewell.

The food, the people, and the atmosphere were all great. At about 1.2 miles from my hotel, I'll be walking there next trip.