California Mishegoss #14:Heavenly Mexican Food, LA Waterfalls, Death by Cocktail

Plus a Frozen Banana for Dessert

Mar 11, 2023

Good Morning Friends!

Hope everyone is doing well. This storm like the others is causing trouble throughout the state and around trhe country so please be careful out there.

Please take care and stay safe.

Be Well!

Mark & Patti

March, 11, 2023

When thinking of Mexican Food, do you think Heavenly? Maybe you should!

As a host guides you to your table at Casa Madera, the new restaurant inside the Mondrian hotel on the Sunset Strip, she weaves through a dense crowd and a bevy of musicians dressed in white. “The healer is in tonight,” she says, motioning toward a woman dressed in a white tunic and swinging an incense censer necklace as if to hypnotize each guest. Throughout the meal, servers glide by with trays of cocktails, many of which are lit on fire tableside or poured with a misty fog of liquid nitrogen.

here’s the rest from LA Mag

When I think of a slice of NY Pizza, San Francisco doesn’t come to mind. Although?

San Francisco is not a pizza-slice city.

Yes, there is very good pizza in the city and throughout the Bay Area. We have a plethora of different styles, from crunchy, cheesy Detroit-style square slices at Square Pie Guys to the soft, chewy, Neapolitan-style pie at Del Popolo — and Arinell’s was the best New York-style slice shop in the city before it shuttered last year. But we don’t compare to the Big Apple when it comes to grabbing a slice on the way home, for a quick lunch or late at night.

P.S. If any reader does try this spot, please let me know.

Maybe some Kosher Mexicali food is on your menu?

When Leonardo Nourafchan was 3 years old, he learned how to cook his first dish: polenta.

In his multicultural Persian-Italian-Jewish home in Los Angeles, he was always surrounded by food. His Persian grandmother would make things like gondi, chicken or ground lamb meatballs she served on Shabbat, or tahdig, a pan-fried, crispy white rice traditionally coupled with Iranian stew. When Nourafchan’s Italian grandmother would cook, she’d make pasta and roasted chicken and potatoes. He loved it all.

here’s more fromLenny’s Casita & LA Mag

When it’s time to drink, it’s time to drink.

Since my parents moved to the desert about 15 years ago, I’ve spent plenty of time in downtown Palm Springs. So when I heard about a speakeasy inside a wine store there, I had no choice but to drive home to pay a visit. Especially when I found out that said speakeasy is sort of “in” an airplane.

Death by Cocktail in LA

The cocktail bar Death & Co is well suited to the oddball charm of the Arts District with its crooked streets, mysterious unmarked buildings, and sidewalks pulsing with evening energy. Past the doorman, going down the stairs, through the black velvet curtain into the darkness of Death & Co is a flashback to past nights dancing and making out in illegal basement clubs. LA’s outpost of NYC’s original Death & Co is nearly a carbon copy of the famous Lower East Side cocktail bar—the same dim lighting, a mix of hipsters, blowouts and It purses for the ladies and finance guys, as well as the justly renowned cocktails.

Harrington’s Bar & Grill in San Francisco on a Comeback

After 85 years in San Francisco's Financial District, Harrington's Bar and Grill was one of many storied businesses to close in 2020. But now, the possibility of a comeback is on the horizon, reported the San Francisco Business Times.

Last week, Ed Kim, who currently has a three-week lease ending April 1 for the Irish pub, launched a $250,000 fundraiser for renovations and a new liquor license. Kim has rented office space above the bar for more than a decade and also owns an event business and an advertising agency.

here’s more on the comeback

Do you enjoy a great waterfall?

Recent storms have transformed Southern California's usually bone-dry wildlands into brilliant green landscapes, snow-capped mountains and something even more breathtaking: seldom-seen waterfalls.

After heavy storm systems brought rain and snow to Angeles National Forest, drivers along Highway 39, north of Azusa, were gifted with the rare sight of temporary waterfalls cascading down the rocky cliffs.

How about frozen bananas for dessert?

“THERE’S ALWAYS MONEY IN THE banana stand!” Many people remember Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand from Arrested Development, but few realize that the show took inspiration from a real-life location in Newport Beach. In fact, it took inspiration from two of them.

That’s right, Balboa Island is home to not one, but two frozen banana stands. Located only a few doors down from each other, Dad’s Donut & Bakery Shop and Sugar ‘n Spice both claim to be the home of the “original” frozen banana.

One Last Thing…

We hope you enjoyed this week's California Mishegoss, even though it was calorie-laden. Maybe it's what the good doctor ordered; then, maybe not.

Either way, enjoy your weekend and the week ahead.

Check out our food newsletter DelPaggio's Cucina, if you have a moment. It's full of some great homemade recipes you may enjoy!