What Makes a Great Restaurant?

Last night my husband had an almost unheard of Tuesday night dinner date night. It felt very decadent like it was five years ago and we were childless because we never ever go out during the week these days unless Hank tags along. We went to our absolute favorite restaurant Osteria Mozza.While we were there we talked about what makes a great restaurant. Yes, there are a ton of amazing restaurants in Los Angeles - dazzling over the top places like Providence or Ink where many of the dishes are mind blowing while others fall a little flat perhaps because the are trying to reach such a high level, there are also wonderful ethnic restaurants that amaze, and even other great Italian restaurants like Angelini Osteria or Georgio Baldi but none of them are quite like Osteria.  Every single time we eat here it is just as delicious as the first time. They are so consistent and we fall in love with the dishes all over again. We have tried lots of things on the menu but we almost always get the same things. We basically never order entrees. We share a salad and the to die for grilled octopus and then we get some pastas. 

 I cannot go here and not get the orrechiette with fennel sausage. This is definitely my death row last meal request. Last night I asked my husband why don't they know us and love us at Mozza yet. We come a lot for us but this isn't an inexpensive restaurant so we aren't here every day. The truth is we are not alone in our love for this place. It's so so so good. If you live in Los Angeles and have not been here you need to go immediately. If you are planning on visiting Los Angeles do not miss this place. Last night we sat next to a family with a serious midwestern twang that warmed my heart. I am pretty sure that they too fell in love.

Capturing Moments

I struggle often with the idea of when to capture moments with Hank. I want to archive as much of this time as possible so that I can remember the bits and details. He is on the brink of really talking but so much of what he says is only understood by him. I want to make sure I have evidence of this lovely time period but at the same time I don't want to be the parent who has her head constantly in their phone or camera, capturing moments but not really being present in the moment. Between facebook and instagram  much of what I see on these sights are beautiful moments of people's kids. I often wonder how did they steal those moments and manage to be present at the same time. I think it's easier when your kids are babies. They don't notice your head in a phone. My son is obsessed with the Iphone so if he sees it when we are outside enjoying the day he immediately gets distracted. I think I am pretty good about taking photos but I often forget to take videos which are important to capture the moments and personality of every stage. This weekend I tried to take some videos. I took two, neither are all that full of action but I guess they capture the spirit of where Hank is at right now. P.s. I am not just working on when to capture moments but my skills in taking pictures and videos. It's a work in progress.

Weekend

This weekend we are going to celebrate Father's day one week late since I was away last weekend. I think the greatest gift to give a parent of a little one is sleep and lots of it. My husband is a bit of a sleep connoisseur. I will have to resist my tendency to say, "hey it's 7:00" or "hey it's 8:00." No one wants to hear that on their special day. There will probably be breakfast in bed and a delicious dinner as well. Maybe this?  I am also looking forward to enjoying fun Los Angeles stuff with Hank. We live right next to Griffith Park so we check out the trains there almost every weekend. 

Speaking of Griffith Park my husband plays tennis there every weekend with a group of guys. They have done this every weekend since they've moved to Los Angeles. The courts they plan on are sun kissed and surrounded by hills and hikers. I think it's pretty amazing that he has kept this tradition going for over eight years now. I wish I had something like that myself. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. 

Rompers for boys?

Confession, before I knew that Hank was indeed a boy I made my Mom go to Target in Chicago and buy several Liberty of London rompers, ruffly bloomers and things of that nature. They were all the rage that summer. I couldn't quite bring myself to purchase them in LA because there may have been a stampede (people were going crazy for this stuff) and I didn't want to scare my husband (I was not that far along yet). Of course I ended up having a boy. Unfortunately rompers and bloomers are not available yet for baby boys. I suppose I could start a trend but I think my son is just old enough that this might be too much? I love having a boy more than anything in the world but if I had a girl I would be stocking up on these sorts of things for the summer. Alas, Liberty of London at Target is long gone but these versions from Rikshaw Design are pretty amazing:

Amanda Peet's House

Amanda Peet's house was one of my all time favorites ever featured in my long lost Domino Magazine (yes they came out with a special edition recently but I have to say it didn't quite have the soul of the original). I was so excited when I found her home once again featured in a magazine, this time on the pages of Vogue. I actually went  to the Vogue website several times to see if they had photos yet of the house tour so I could post them and pin them, but they didn't. After a while I gave up and forgot about it. Thank goodness today I somehow remembered how much I love every inch of this house and eureka, it is finally on-line. I felt compelled to share it here in case you didn't see it. It's very California and boy are her two daughters cute. I've seen her out and about and she is lovely in person as well.

Summer Food Inspiration

It is officially summer now which means some of my favorite fruits and veggies are finally here: fresh corn, stone fruits, green beans, avocados (we are spoiled in California and get them all year round but they are especially delicious of late), and tomatoes. We are currently trying to grow tomatoes and shisito peppers in our little garden. They are doing OK but aren't yet yielding much of anything. Cross your fingers on that one. In more positive backyard growing news, the fig tree and a peach tree that we planted last summer are doing great!. The fig tree is a dream come true for me. They are so good just plucked from the tree or with a good cheese. Last summer we got some figs so I am not surprised we are getting a bunch more but I never dreamed we would get peaches so soon. They aren't quite ripe yet but as we prepare for the abundance of summer I am looking for inspiration from this place.

Ottolenghi 

Several years ago I spent nearly two months in London for work. For the bulk of the time I stayed near the High Street Kensington tube stop in West London. This was an amazing location because of it's proximity to the park and the lovely shops nearby. One of my favorite places was Ottolenghi. I would go here far too often (because it was not cheap especially when you are still being paid in dollars) to score different combinations of amazing fresh salads and veggies. Now there is a cookbook. 

If you haven't seen "Plenty" yet I highly recommend it. It's a lovely cookbook and everything looks amazing in it. There are tons of recipes for summer fruit and vegetable inspiration. It is serious eye candy that I have spent more than one quiet afternoon perusing. 

Rebecca the Musical?

Another favorite film genre of mine is just a good old Hollywood classic film (does this count as a genre? I realize it's a bit sweeping). For me this could mean screwball comedies, sprawling musicals, and of course a suspense film by Alfred Hitchcock. My parents showed me lots of these movies growing up. One of my favorites was "Rebecca." It has a really different feel than many of Hitchcock's famous later films like "Rear Window" or "North by Northwest." The movie begins in glamorous Monte Carlo. The awkward Joan Fontaine somehow manages to land the wealthy and glamorous Laurence Olivier. They return to Olivier's English mansion, Manderley, where they are haunted by the past, his past. It's a great movie, and one that I truly found frightening when I was little. That is why I am a bit surprised that this movie is going to become a Broadway musical? What? I mean I guess there is stranger material out there that is now a show, but it seems an odd choice. Whether or not you take in the musical it's worth checking out the movie if you haven't seen it.