Passing Strange - Plus Supper

This past Tuesday night my pal Sandra and I enjoyed a riveting theatrical experience -- from a Broadway musical no less.

No, no, I'm not talking about the latest "Disney comes to Broadway" extravaganza.

The hybrid musical, concert, performance art that is the new Broadway show Passing Strange -- the story of a black man's journey from South Central Los Angeles to the red light district of Amsterdam to the artist colonies of Berlin and back to South Central once again -- is an energetic, thoughtful and soulful good time.

As the ladies of the Haddasah theater groups from Long Island would say: This show is something to kvell about!

But after the curtain came down, Sandra and I were lost. Where to go next? What dinner could possibly match, or even augment, the evening's entertainment?

Is there such a thing as South Central LA cuisine?

Next thought was an ode to Amsterdam. That was a toughy. There isn't a Dutch restaurant in Manhattan.

Hmmm...We could pay tribute to Berlin. Hallo Berlin wasn't too far from the theater.

Then we walked outside.

The cold air didn't just bite, it slapped. It slapped hard.

Forget, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Berlin. We were in New York and New York was damn cold. Frigid. Freakin' freezing! All we could muster was a two block walk to the middling Havana Central for food that only barely reminded us of the tropics.

Then again, they do have palm trees in South Central, don't they? And, the word "Central" is in the name of the restaurant.

Loose connections at best, but after a show that enthralling, neither Sandra nor I needed more than mediocre rice and beans to complete the evening.

But if anyone wants to venture a guess on what constitutes South Central LA cuisine, I'm all ears.

Comments

[Ron Hogan]

For what it's worth, my favorite restaurant in South Central was Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles.

I'm so jealous that you saw this: Stew is one of my models for what it's like to realize your creative life.