Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Weekend Wrap-up

I can't believe it's already Wednesday and I'm just catching up on the weekend's activities! What can I say? It's been a busy week.

I started off Saturday morning by visiting my aesthetician Marina at Faces Salon. It took me two years and a few painful experiences before I found her three years ago, but ever since my first visit I've been a loyal client. It's a bit of a trek for me, so I usually try to make a day of it when I head out there. Often I end up shopping at The Grove, but this past Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Weezermonkey, Insomniac and CBB for brunch at BLD. I ordered brioche french toast with creme fraiche and a berry compote. Look at the adorable log cabin inspired tin my syrup came in:

Yes, that tasted as good as it looked. I had also ordered a side of chicken merguez sausage. As Weezermonkey noted, it was tasty but a bit dry and crumbly. Since I had never had merguez sausage before I wondered if that texture was the norm. Nothing I subsequently read mentioned dryness, but almost everything I read mentioned that merguez is traditionally made from either beef or lamb. I'm thinking that chicken, while healthier, didn't provide enough fat to properly bind the sausage.

Brunch was so much fun. My cheeks were tired from all the laughter. And as if my immediate company weren't enough, I had my first celebrity sighting after six years of living in SoCal! Oscar winner Forest Whitaker was seated at a table nearby.

On the way home I snapped this picture of the Mel's Drive-In on Highland Avenue. Can you read that line of script underneath the Mel's logo? It says "celebrity bar". Although it's likely outdated (when was the last time you heard of a Lohan sighting at Mel's?), I thought it was a cute nod to that particular diner's location since I've never seen that designation on any other Mel's Drive-In.

Later the same evening Eddie and I headed out to OC to visit our friends and their baby boy. Is this a glimpse of the future?!

Sunday was quite the lazy day. I stayed in pajamas until about 5 o'clock. There isn't a new recipe to post for this week because Eddie and I went to the IMAX theater to watch this:

I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, so all I'll say is that it was freakin' AWESOME. I usually get antsy during long movies, but the 2-1/2 hours flew by. I didn't want it to end. I never say that about action movies, but then again I think The Dark Knight is so much more than an action movie. The characters were so complex and the story delved into themes of good, evil, hope, mistrust and what it means to be a hero. Heath Ledger was phenomenal as the most twisted and disturbing Joker I have ever seen. I couldn't believe it was the same guy who was in 10 Things I Hate About You. It is such a shame that he left us so young, with so much talent he had yet to share.

1 comment:

weezermonkey said...

Merguez should be deliciously juicy -- the sausage in my usual omelet at Angelique Cafe is stuffed with it, and it's great!

I think you're probably right about the chicken being the culprit.

Can't wait to do it again!