three meals in the desert

Two dinners and a lunch for us to talk about.  Here we go.

Wally's Desert Turtle.  Our favourite place to get to.  Yes, there is better, more adventuresome food in the desert.  And, honestly, service was kind of lacking this time.  But we love it there.  My streak continued:  so far as I can recall, I have had liver and onions every time I have eaten there, and this time was no different. 

Yum!  Also, chocolate souffle shared for dessert. 

What a nice evening it was, service glitches aside.  So happy to be back.  Conrad was able to chat with the owner about a possible big birthday dinner for himself later in the year, too.  You know that made him happy.

King's Highway.  Brunch and an opportunity to catch up with Kent for the first time since he and Geoff moved to France, split up, moved back to the desert.  Nice to see him, and a nice choice for brunch.  A diner, but a few cuts above.  I had a mocktail to sip,

then a substantial breakfast burrito because I was in a breakfast-y mood. 

I stole fries from Van, yum.  I'd be happy to go back.

Bar Issi.  The other restaurant at our hotel.  Van and I had been there the year before, but it was nice to get Conrad there with us.  We had a table outside, and the temperature, while warm, was entirely pleasant.  We had cocktails and then dug into a few courses.  A tomato salad that was just dressed, thick slices of heirloom tomatoes - simple and good.  Puccia bread with butters, piping hot and delicious. 

Zucchini blossoms, a nice little treat. 

Two pizzas, one pepperoni and one with chicken and asparagus. 

We ate our fill and took the rest back to the room.  A very nice night, but Van and I did think that some of the little service issues we experienced last year hadn't yet been fully fixed.  Ah well.

All in all, good dining in the desert.  And there are yet new places to try next visit as well as old faves to return to.

first Sunday of 2026

Our last day of the recent rains, as it turns out - I woke this morning not to the rain that had been in the forecast but to skies that were clearing and surfaces that were drying.  Ah well.  Good to get the rain we had.  So yes, yesterday was the last day of the rains, and I spent almost the full day inside.

Conrad had told me that we could go for a walk before the rains resumed when I first woke up, but he wanted to get a bit more sleep.  So I let him sleep, and sleep he did.  It was quite a while before he got up, and rather than walk without him, I caught up on things online before eventually deciding to get into the kitchen.  When he came downstairs at last, I was well into making the filling for what turned out to be pot pie. 

I'd had some leftover meats from making brodo weeks before (I'd frozen the meat), and I added in some Christmas ham and some veggies, making a gravy to bind them and a shortcrust pastry to go over top.  Not my best effort, I admit, but it was a way to use up some stuff in the freezer and have meals for the week ahead ready to go.

The day otherwise was pretty easy.  Coffee and some reading, a nap.  I wish I had been more active, but ah well.  I've had a more active day today instead.

Yesterday evening we joined Conrad's colleague and friend Rick and his wife Jacque for dinner.  We've been socializing more with them in the past couple of years, and I'm happy that Conrad has a peer his age at the Pasadena office, one whom he's become friendly with.  They are lovely people, and they like a good meal and beverage.  The five of us decided to go to Smitty's Grill, over on Lake.  That was my suggestion, and it was deliberate.  You see, the first weekend of every month, Smitty's has liver as a special.  Van and I are both big fans, and you can bet that was my meal last night.  I did ask about it when I sat down, and the server told us that they had run out.  But then she came back from the kitchen and corrected what she had previously said.  Enough for the table, but only Van and I had it.  Tasty! 

We had a nice meal together, hearing about the holidays, and I capped it with a chocolate martini that I let everyone try (and that Conrad probably had 1/3 of).

After we got home, I was in bed and asleep earlier than I had been for days.  A good way to end the first Sunday of the year. 

Herb Alpert, plus dinner out

Last night was a special enough evening that, rather than lump it all into one weekend update, I want to talk about it on its own.  Dinner and a concert.  Ah, but so much more.

Conrad and I headed to Van's late afternoon, dressed up a little pretty.  We said our hellos and goodbyes to Olive,

then we were off to Hollywood in the rain.  We parked at the concert venue then walked along Hollywood Boulevard to Musso & Frank Grill.

OK, so here is what you need to know:  Musso & Frank is truly an institution.  The oldest restaurant in Hollywood, it dates back to 1919 and has had a family line of ownership since 1927.  It is proudly old school - waiters in red velvet tuxedo jackets, for one thing.  The menu is a thing of beauty. 

Consomme?  Chilled consomme?  Grilled lamb kidneys (next time, I swear)?  Not a hint of fusion on the menu.  Famous for its martinis.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE places like this.  Bonus points if the food is good.

Friends, the food was good.  Also, generous.  Oh, the cup of clam chowder I started with us very average, could have been, well, more clam-y.  But it was fine.  The martinis - we each had one, made with Nolet's - were good and came with side cars so that much of your cocktail could remain chilled until you were ready to pour it. 

Awesome!  And best of all?  Liver and onions! 

I unapologetically love liver and onions, as does Van (Conrad does not).  Van and I each had an order, and we really could have shared one order.  Wow, that was substantial.  No, I could not finish it.  Conrad had a petit filet mignon, and even that was big.  We dined heartily, loading us up for the rainy two-block walk back to the Dolby Theater.

The walk was cool.  Hollywood is tacky as all get-out, truly, though there are little glimpses of show biz and glamour. 

Still, it is cool to see the stars as you walk even if it's bloody slippery in the rain. 

Umbrellas definitely needed this weekend! 

We headed into the complex where the theater (which is the site of the Oscars) was located, past an ice cream shop advertising New Zealand style ice cream, which left us with questions, for sure. 

And then on into the theater and to our seats. 

A little wait, drinking in the sights of the auditorium around us,

and the show began.

A crack ensemble - the current iteration of The Tijuana Brass - took their positions on stage, and then the man himself, Herb Alpert, came out. 

90 years old.  Toting his trumpet.  The crowd roared its approval.  And then we were off.  Alpert was great.  He had good stories and stage banter.  He had sage advice.  He can still blow a horn.  He and his band went through a number of hits, and I realized that even if I knew the names of only a couple of songs, I was familiar with a lot more of the music than I would have guessed.  He brought out his wife, and she sang a medley.  There was vintage footage interspersed and showing during the songs.  It was two hours without intermission, and it was a damn fine show.

That makes the second of three Fridays in a row of going to see live music, and wow, was I glad we did this one.  And I definitely want to go back to Musso & Frank, concert or no concert.  All that, plus much needed rain.  A highlight of the month, for sure. 

and then we went to NYC...

The trip to the east coast saw the three of us come together in Philadelphia before heading up to NYC for a few days of being tourists.  And when I saw being tourists, I don't mean jamming our days full of stuff to see and do.  Not our style, as you'll already know and will see in the posts to come.  Nope.  Easy days, and the trip up to there set the tone for that.  First class on the Acela, a high speed train and some comforts for us. 

Food and beverage! 

Before we knew it, we were at Penn Station,

and from there it was a short distance (but a cab, considering the heat, humidity, and our luggage) to our hotel, the Hotel AKA NoMad.

Ah, Van.  The king of finding good accommodations for us.  I have never stayed in a Manhattan hotel that was so comfortable.  Oh, I know that there is real luxury to be had in NYC, but that's too rich for us.  But no, Van found us a great two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite

with a nice patio

that had good views

(hello there, Empire State Building two or so blocks away). 

How nice to settle into that for a few days.

We didn't settle long, though.  Unpacking, freshening up, then on to meet Van's friends Bill and Gene at Frankie and Johnnie's for a pre-show dinner.  It was nice to meet them!  I've heard a lot about them.  Dinner was fine - a good cocktail, some oysters,

and then liver and onions with bacon. 

Not the best liver I've had, I admit, but it was alright.

The show, though?  Holy doodle, that was good.  Orville Peck and Eva Noblezada starring in a production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.  No photos of that, of course, but it blew me away.  I had seen the movie some 25 years ago, but the stage musical differs significantly.  We went so that we could see Orville, and that man did not disappoint.  His physicality was perfect for the role of the Emcee.  Nobelzada was great as well, truly.  And some applause for Ellen Harvey as Fraulein Schneider.  She was a real force as well.  The staging was in the round, and we had good seats, albeit on what seemed to be the back side.  Still, we hardly suffered.

Back to the hotel after that where we found that the hotel bar was already closed.  The desk staff recommended Wine:30 around the corner on 30th, and so we popped over for late cocktails at the bar. 

Terrific little place, and Marco took good care of us.  You'll see me blog them again before I'm done with the NYC posts.

To bed after that.  And rather late!  No matter.  We had no schedule for the next day save for dinner in Connecticut.  We would easily be up in time for that.  The Empire State Building was lit up for Canada Day (truly, it was - we checked!), and that was a great cap to the night.