Thursday, February 28, 2008

Monday, February 18, 2008

Harbor View House - San Pedro

Harbor View House - San PedroHarbor View House - San Pedro

Formerly the Army & Navy Y.M.C.A. Now used as temporary housing for the homeless mentally ill.

Harbor View House - San Pedro Chamber

Harbor View House - Hospital Data

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Boardners - Classic Hollywood Bar

Boardners - Classic Hollywood BarBoardners - Classic Hollywood BarBoardners - Classic Hollywood BarBoardners - Classic Hollywood Bar

Boardners was once a typical Hollywood bar with phones at every booth and a menu to rival The Brown Derby. Then as time marched by, the place became a joint. Writer and crew members hid out from the deadly Hollywood heat inside this cozy, air conditioned delight. The phones were disconnected, but remained as props between the booths. There remained an old fashioned telephone booth for those who really needed to use the phone. The menu still looked like the menu of a fancy supper club, but served the lunch demands of working class Hollywood and the dinner requirements of the ubiquitous drunken wannabe.

In the summer of 1980, I was doing a play across the street on one of the upper floors of the Hollywood Center Building and one night I took a look out the window. I saw a drunk lying across the front trunk of my car. As co-producer, I had two of the company's spear carriers walk the old bastard home.

The night of my bachelor party in August 1987, my friends and me started the evening at Musso & Franks where we tossed back several excellent martinis. Once we closed Mussos, we crossed the street and closed Boardners a few hours later. The martinis were cheaper, but we didn't get that lovely sidecar that Mussos offered.

Sometime in the 90s, the place expanded into the store next door. They got rid of the old telephone booth and the old disconnected telephones. They started having Goth nights.

In the 21st century, the lunch menu was discarded along with the out of work actors and writers. The yuppies were entrenched and the new Hollywood had arrived and the prices have shot up. The old Hollywood kitsch has mostly disappeared, but the joint is still a good place to get a drink. But these days, I'd rather go to Mussos. If you want to experience a classic Hollywood bar, I suggest going to the Coach & Horses on Sunset.

Boardners - Website

Boardners - My Space

My Visit to Coach & Horses - L.A. Kompany

Coach & Horses - My Space

Musso & Frank Grill - wiki

Monday, February 11, 2008

Callender's Grill - Los Angeles

Callender's Grill - Los Angeles

I found myself at the Bridge waiting for an afternoon screening of I AM LEGEND in the IMAX theatre. I was still weak from the end of a cold and I really just wanted a deli for some more chicken soup. Callender's had some barley concoction that didn't appeal. I chose the Rasberry-Chipotle Chicken to go with a couple of Stella's.

I like rasberries. I was recently disappointed to learn that Trader Joe's had discontinued the production of their All Rasberry Juice. I used to be big on blueberries. For years I heard stories of my New England cousins going out to pick blueberries and returning with several coffee cans filled with free fresh fruit. I also enjoy the blackberry and the boysenberry. I spent many days over the course of my youth at Knotts Berry Farm and I'm hip to the whole history about Knott inventing the boysenberry and all that. But I now worship the rasberry.

Chipotle sauce has been all the rage for too long now and, while I enjoy it, I don't particularly look for it in a menu. But seeing it on the this menu combined with rasberries, that grabbed my attention. I enjoy many chili sauces and salsas. I've been a lifelong devote of the Pepperoncini and freely devour both the bitter Italian versions and the sweet Greek versions as well. But for years now my favorite chili has been the Serrano pepper. Clean out the seeds and chop it up. You can taste the pepper instead of the heat. It goes in everything. The rasberries and chipotle went together splendidly and the dabs of goat cheese were a guilty pleasure.

Char-Broiled Raspberry-Chipotle Chicken:
spicy smoked chipotle-raspberry glaze, jasmine rice, marinated char-roasted vegetables, goat cheese

Marie Callender's Grill - Official Site