“Our Los Angeles Anniversary Excursion”

“Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she thinks of him a year afterward and you will have the truth about him.”

(H.L. Mencken, A Book of Burlesques, 1916)

Bella and I are celebrating our 3-year anniversary and have decided to return to our old stomping grounds. We begin our trip by making our way to our new Sonic Drive-in in Lake Forest. A breakfast burrito, a beverage and we’re on our way to L.A.

We arrive at The Grove (A: 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036. P: 323-900-8080. W: thegrovela.com). Bella and I shop at Bath and Body Works and browse a few clothing stores before heading next door to the Farmer’s Market (A: 6333 W. 3^rd Street, LA, CA 90036. P: 323-993-9211. W: farmersmarketla.com).

The Grove: Elfie

The original Farmer’s Market enters its 76^th year and features fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, candy, deli meats, restaurants, gourmet groceries etc. We browse various vendor shops before entering a French bistro, Monsieur Marcel (A: 6333 W. 3^rd Street, LA, CA 90036. P: 323-939-7792. W: mrmarcel.com). Bella and I each order a mushroom bisque soup (variety of wild mushrooms) and we share a freshly grilled artichoke with homemade aioli. Both are outstanding. I enjoy a glass of acceptable 2002 Solsticio Malbec wine from Argentina. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A.

After lunch I buy a slice of pumpkin pie from a vendor. Bella picks up a Coke float from Gill’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream (A: 6333 W. 3^rd Street, Suite 416, LA, CA 90036. P: 323-936-7986). My pie is pretty good and Bella is very into her ice cream beverage.

Farmer’s Market

We drive to Paseo Colorado (A: 280 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101. P: 626-795-8891. W: paseocoloradopasadena.com). Bella and I had our first date (2004) at the Starbuck’s in this plaza and later we dined around the corner at Thai Dishes.

Our Very 1st Date: “Thai Dishes”

We peruse some stores before crossing the street to Thai Dishes. We aren’t eating here but tomorrow night we will be dining at a phenomenal Thai restaurant nearby. We traverse to our hotel, The Langham Huntington (A: 1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91106. P: 626-568-3900. W: http://pasadena.langhamhotels.com/en/).

The Langham was formerly a Ritz Carlton (I’ve utilized their spa). The neighborhood has some of the most stunning homes in Pasadena. The highlights of our room are the rich marble throughout the bathroom and the view from our window. We relax and watch some college bowl games.

We drive to Café Bizou (A: 91 N. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91103. P: 626-792-9923. W: cafebizou.com) in “Old Town Pasadena”. I start with a passable glass of low-end Rosemount Estates Shiraz. Bella opens her meal with the lobster bisque which is creamy, has plenty of lobster meat, and is light on sherry. I choose the green salad with candied walnuts, blue cheese, tomatoes, honey mustard dressing.

For my entrée I select the beef short ribs in a burgundy wine sauce with steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. I had much better short ribs in Carmel but these were solid. Bella goes with the Chilean sea bass and adds a side of garlic spinach.

I close my meal with tiramisu and Bella opts for flourless chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream. The tiramisu is above average but lacks the liquor kick that is present in remarkable tiramisus. Bella’s cake is similar to a lava cake (liquid chocolate inside) and her dessert is the hands-down winner. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A-.

After dinner we browse shops in Old Town Pasadena before returning to the hotel. In the morning we drive to a Cuban bakery, Porto’s Bakery & Café (A: 315 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203. P: 818-956-5996. W: portosbakery.com). We eat a brunch assortment including cheese rolls, almond danish, a tuna melt on a croissant and coffee drinks. I recommend choosing a latte or cappuccino versus regular coffee. Yum! Yum! Yum! My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A-.

After brunch we drive to The Arboretum: Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden (A: 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91007. P: 626-821-3222. W: arboretum.org). Bella and I visited here while dating on Thanksgiving weekends to feed and photograph ducks and walk the grounds.

At the Tule Pond we feed and photograph Mandarin ducks, wood ducks, mallard ducks, Canadian geese and black-crowned night heron’s. In addition we photographed the Meyberg Waterfall and the Queen Anne Cottage (built in 1885/1886). We wrap up our visit by going to Baldwin Lake and photographing squirrels and a black-crowned night heron “playing” with his food (fish) before eating it.

Squirrel in Tree

Mandarin Duck

Our dinner spot is President Thai Restaurant (A: 498 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107. P: 626-578-9814. W: president-thai.com). We order fried calamari with a plum dipping sauce and silver noodle soup (shrimp, ground chicken, black mushrooms and green onions). For shared entrees we choose green curry with shrimp (in coconut milk with bell peppers, zucchini, green beans and basil leaves), ong choy (a.k.a. “hollow heart”), sea bass in lemon, and brown rice. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A+.