dinner and a show

I told you that there would be more to come this week, and here we are!  A report out on a nice evening.  Ready?  Let's go!

A while back I saw an ad pop up on my Instagram feed for a production of La Cage aux Folles at the Pasadena Playhouse.  Now, I should explain:  I'm not much for live theatre.  Never gotten into it.  Oh, we saw Ron earlier this year.  And I have been to the Playhouse before.  Twice.  Twice only in a dozen years, and the first time was a musical production of Sleepless in Seattle that was pretty terrible.  I did enjoy seeing Fun Home a handful of years ago at the Ahmanson, but we're still at fewer than one time a year going to see a play or musical.  It's just the way we're wired, perhaps.

Anyway, I suggested to Conrad and Van that we go to the play for a change of pace, and the response was ambivalent at best.  So I set it aside and didn't think about it again.  And then Van and I went to Bar Chelou one night last month, and that visit coincided with the opening of La Cage, and boy, was it a big hoopla.  Actual celebrities there.  A big, gay crowd.  That set me to thinking maybe we should reconsider, and the guys were amenable.  I bought us tickets.

A show at the playhouse meant a dinner opportunity for the three of us at the restaurant that shares the complex:  Bar Chelou.  Conrad had not been there before, so it was a great opportunity to bring him there.  Van booked us early seats at the bar,

and we were able to have a leisurely meal.  Cocktails to start

- a Gibson for me that I vacillated between enjoying and finding too sweet. 

And then on to an array of food that we all shared:

• Crispy potatoes - so soft inside, they were like fried gnocchi
  
  
  
• Breakfast radishes with fromage blanc - these came with some toasted bread and made a nice, light bite
  
  
  
• Carrots - a dish they have become known for, a little peanut-y, the best carrot salad I have had because it goes savoury rather than embrace the sweet
  
  
  
• Sprouting cauliflower - served with a sauce that I still want atop a nice steak
  
  
  
• Pork chop with cabbage - simple and good, but perhaps my least favourite of the night, which sounds critical but isn't meant to be
  
  
  

Conrad was still a bit hungry, and we agreed, so we ordered a bit more

• Burrata toast with ham - the pickled peppers were piquant, he says, alliteratively
  
  
  
• Duck leg with couscous - so glad we tried this, and one I want to have again
  
  
  

And, of course, we had to have dessert!  We shared the caramelized banana bar and enjoyed it a great deal.

From there it was across the courtyard to the theatre

and our seats. 

No, no photos of the performance, of course not.  Not allowed.  And that's fine!  It's good to enjoy something.  We did enjoy it, for sure.  It's funny, I've been reading the reviews of La Cage aux Folles this morning, and they are decidedly mixed.  The LA Times gave it a generally good review, including praise for Cheyenne Jackson, one of the leads.  Another online publication said that Jackson (who is 49) is too young to play a papa and too beefcake-y.  Jeff Kahoon, who played the other lead, comes in for some praise but more criticism for not nailing the roll and the singing as previous actors have.  The young couple whose engagement sets off the conflict are praised for their performances.  And the drag queen troupe gets mixed reviews.

Not our experience.  We loved Jackson and Kahoon, we thought that the young couple were the weak spot in the production, and we delighted in the drag queens.  But I will concede a point a read, that the production is more fun than emotionally relatable.  And that's fine!  Conrad asked me this morning how much tickets were ($44 each), and we agreed that we very much got a lot for that.  A show we all enjoyed, one we left the theatre feeling great about.

A Wednesday night dinner and show, not our usual midweek night.  And a long night, too!  Totally worth it.

Bar Chelou

Conrad is in Chicago, and Van and I have a handful of days together here, so we went out on a dinner date last night.  Destination?  Bar Chelou!

Van had been there at least a couple of times, but it was a first for me.  The restaurant has had good buzz in its relatively short lifespan, garnering a mention last year in the LA Times top 101 list.  And good for it!  I'm glad that there was Pasadena representation on that list, and I think - based on our experience - that the mention was merited.

We settled in the lounge

to wait for our table on arrival, but we were soon seated.  A Sazerac for Van,

something spirit forward and fragrant with thyme called the Coquette for me. 

We shared four savoury dishes and two desserts, and I would be hard-pressed to pick favourites.  The carrots were a surprise, not just because I expected a roasted preparation but also because I kept finding new flavours in them. 

The sprouted cauliflower came in a delicious sauce that I would have happily had with a steak. 

The heritage tomato pan tomate was one of the best iterations of that simple Spanish classic that I have ever enjoyed.  The lamb ribs were meaty and satisfying. 

I loved the combination of lemon and chamomile in the semi-freddo,

and the buttery crumble with the roasted peach sorbet was excellent.

Other things I liked:  very friendly service, the fact that we had a table tucked in a back corner that gave us a somewhat quieter setting for dining and talking (Conrad would love the food, but as with many restaurants, the din among the hard surfaces would make hearing conversation difficult).

Meanwhile, the Pasadena Playhouse, whose structure is the home to Bar Chelou, was having a big evening.  The red carpet opening of a production of La Cage aux Folles starring Cheyenne Jackson and including a queen I recognized from Drag Race.  Fun.  We might consider going to it before it closes.  But when Van and I left the restaurant, it was intermission, and Van spotted among the gatherees outside my erstwhile twin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.  A rare celebrity spotting in the wild!  I hope he enjoyed the show.  Van and I certainly enjoyed our date!