La-La Land

Well, I kinda misled you with my last posting. Yes indeed, I did visit Camelback Mountain, as indicated by the old-timey postcard of the desert landmark. But before venturing into the Arizona spa and resort zone, I paid call on my pal Cynthia in Los Angeles.

Alright. I'm misleading you again with the photo above of the Hollywood sign. I actually spent most of my time with Cynthia and her family in majestic San Fernando Valley. That's right, folks. I was right near the Galleria mall.

Oooh. Aaaah.

And yet, Vamp that I am, I did end up enjoying a mighty Machaca Burrito at a down-and-dirty Mexican joint called La Fogata, as well as a fine "ladies who lunch" lunch at Pinot Bistro in Studio City, featuring a tasty Nicoise Salad with perfectly seared Ahi tuna to compliment the gal chatter. Also took in a dreamy panorama of the City of Angels at nightfall, perched up high in the Hollywood Hills at Yamashiro for sugary-sweet Chocolate Martinis (I stuck to wine) and more girl chatter. (Dang it, if we can't talk up a storm!)

As for culture, I made sure to swing by the Getty, where the views and architecture were spectacular, the monorail almost made me feel at home, and the exhibits weren't as bad as I had expected. (The special collections of Weegee and historic Associated Press photographs were actually quite impressive, so let's drop that New York art scene snobbery, okay? Alright. Never mind. A couple of those high-falutin Big Apple artsy fartsy types are close friends. Viva la NYC art snob!)

My one major complaint about Los Angeles - besides the smog and traffic - was the abysmal cocktail scene. In fact, that was only underscored by the even more abysmal liquor selection in the city. For goodness sake, most Los Angelenos end up buying their spirits at Ralph's or some other major supermarket, so liquor stores themselves are sad little shops stocking a modicum of spirits alongside convenience mart offerings. Toothpaste and scotch. Yick!

How can I make that sweeping generalization? Folks, I tried to find Maraschino liquor and Chartreuse in LA for an entire afternoon. Almost came up empty, but I finally was able to procure a bottle of Chartreuse along with a few other sundry items and eventually introduced a few Valley die-hards to honest-to-goodness pre-Prohibition era cocktails on New Year's Eve. And, here is the recipe that kept me successfully shaking and pouring that evening, my variation on the classic Cloister:

Cloister in the Valley

2 oz gin
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
2 oz ruby red grapefruit juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp simple syrup

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

They were strong and smooth. Just the way I like them. And, they were just the way to close 2005 - avec a Rosemary-Dijon Rack of Lamb, Potatoes Boucher, Greek-style Stewed Green Beans with Oregano, and BIttersweet Chocolate Pots de Creme.

Yes. That's right. I cooked too. Couldn't help myself. Besides, who wants to fork over all that crazy moolah necessary to eat out on NYE? I had better things to do with my moolah - like invest it in sun-drenched spa treatments. For tomorrow was New Year's Day - and in the a.m. I would be off to an Arizona resort, where I hoped to start 2006 off with rest, relaxation and mmm-mmm-good massage.

Mmmmm... I could almost feel those soothing hands on me already... Mmmmm... Midnight already?... Mmmmm... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Comments

[BunnyFace]

Yea, glad you are back. You were missed!

[The Vamp]

Thanks!