Last week, a visitor at ISI convinced several of us to join him for dinner at a restaurant called Melisse in Santa Monica. This guy is a serious foodie, and he informed us that Melisse is one of only three restaurants in Los Angeles to garner a two-star Michelin rating (which means nothing to me, but apparently indicates that Melisse is a world-class elite restaurant). And by virtue of his infectious enthusiasm, he also convinced us to do it in style. Our table agreed to do a 13-course Tasting Menu of the chef's personal selections. Yes, that's thirteen courses! Each course was very small (hence the name tasting menu), but suffice it to say that it was helluva lot of damn good food.
This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience, or close to it. The word "experience" is the operative word. Some of the food items were exquisitely delicious, and a few were (in all honesty) foods that I hope to never eat again. But mostly the food was a true culinary experience, with unusual combinations of tastes and flavors that exercised taste buds I didn't even know I had. And each plate was a work of art, prompting me to sheepishly ask my colleagues if they would be embarrassed if I photographed my food. To my relief, two others at the table quickly said "Hey, that's a good idea!" and whipped out their cameras as well. So we all acted like culinary tourists and photographed our plates (undoubtedly to the chagrin of the high-society LA socialites dining nearby who winced every time our flashes went off :). The main entree courses included a playful take on Fish and Chips, a California Squab Breast, and a Sonoma Veal plate. Some of the individual courses were themselves a mini-tasting menu, as illustrated by the veal sampler which included bites of veal prepared in 4 different ways.
The grand finale was a Chocolate Dessert course, which arrived with a chocolate-filled syringe in the middle of the plate. A waiter then circled our table and, for each of us, injected the liquid chocolate into our chocolate souffle. (And unfortunately took the syringes away, so I wasn't able to get a picture of mine.) When the meal ended, the waiter gave each of us a copy of the menu to take home as a souvenir.
I'm not sure that I appreciate fine food enough to justify doing this again, but it was a lot of fun and I'm glad that I did it once!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Santa Monica Farmer's Market
Normally I wouldn't consider a farmer's market to be blog worthy, but any event that has valet bicycle parking deserves proper recognition. Yes, that's right, valet bike parking. I guess this was an inevitable pairing of two omnipresent features of Los Angeles: valet parking (which is absolutely everywhere!) and bicycles.
The Sunday edition of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market felt more like a street fair than a traditional farmer's market with a band playing live music, pony rides for kids, vendors selling beautiful flowers, and lots of people having impromptu picnics. My ISI colleague Rahul even found a coconut to complete his super-cool touristy outfit. (The irony here being that Rahul was one of the few non-visitor CA residents in our group!) I was tempted to buy some worm poop, because, well, I don't have any worm poop and The Worm Wrangler nearly convinced me that worm poop is a remedy for nearly all gardening woes. But then it occurred to me that if worm poop is so powerful, just imagine what cat poop can do, and I can get plenty of that for free.
Afterwards, we went to the popular Omelette Parlor which, like all self-respecting California restaurants, kowtows to the local surfer crowd and allows you to order anything and everything with a side of avocado.
The Sunday edition of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market felt more like a street fair than a traditional farmer's market with a band playing live music, pony rides for kids, vendors selling beautiful flowers, and lots of people having impromptu picnics. My ISI colleague Rahul even found a coconut to complete his super-cool touristy outfit. (The irony here being that Rahul was one of the few non-visitor CA residents in our group!) I was tempted to buy some worm poop, because, well, I don't have any worm poop and The Worm Wrangler nearly convinced me that worm poop is a remedy for nearly all gardening woes. But then it occurred to me that if worm poop is so powerful, just imagine what cat poop can do, and I can get plenty of that for free.
Afterwards, we went to the popular Omelette Parlor which, like all self-respecting California restaurants, kowtows to the local surfer crowd and allows you to order anything and everything with a side of avocado.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Joshua Tree National Park
I visited Joshua Tree National Park this past weekend, which was a sublime experience! The park is a desert paradise that encompasses two different desert ecosystems: the northern part of the park is Mojave desert and the southern part is Colorado desert, which is a subregion of Sonoran desert that is supposedly the hottest and driest desert in North America.
Joshua Tree is filled with wondrous things, including its namesake, those magnificent and freakishly Seussian Joshua trees, enormous granite rock formations, and palm spring oases. The oases are amazing - in the middle of a seemingly endless desert there suddenly appears a small patch of lush palm trees. The palm trees live off a small amount of water that collects in a certain spot, often underground. The cluster of palm trees provides shade for animals and for other plants to grow below them, creating the appearance of a tiny tropical island in the middle of the arid desert.
And then there were the wildflowers! Since it is spring, many of the desert plants were blooming. The landscape wasn't blanketed in color, like I've seen in pictures of other places; in fact, from a quick glance the desert appeared to be as dry and barren as ever. But upon closer inspection, you began to notice pockets of vibrant color everywhere. Tiny purple flowers carpeting the ground, wild dandelions showing off their bright yellow color, delicate orange flowers growing between rocks, and brilliant red and pink flowers blossoming on cacti. Not to mention the light green buds and beautiful white flowers atop the Joshua trees, and the absolutely enormous cream-colored flowers blooming on the yuccas that are ubiquitous throughout the park.
But I have yet to mention the true highlight of my visit. The most exciting thing of all was that I succeeded in finding, and photographing, three different wild chuckwallas!!! (My investment in a camera with a good optical zoom really paid off!) Joshua Tree National Park is chuckwalla heaven, replete with numerous basking rocks, comforting crevices, and tasty creosote bushes -- everything that chucks dream about. :)
A ridiculously large collection of photos can be found here.
Joshua Tree is filled with wondrous things, including its namesake, those magnificent and freakishly Seussian Joshua trees, enormous granite rock formations, and palm spring oases. The oases are amazing - in the middle of a seemingly endless desert there suddenly appears a small patch of lush palm trees. The palm trees live off a small amount of water that collects in a certain spot, often underground. The cluster of palm trees provides shade for animals and for other plants to grow below them, creating the appearance of a tiny tropical island in the middle of the arid desert.
And then there were the wildflowers! Since it is spring, many of the desert plants were blooming. The landscape wasn't blanketed in color, like I've seen in pictures of other places; in fact, from a quick glance the desert appeared to be as dry and barren as ever. But upon closer inspection, you began to notice pockets of vibrant color everywhere. Tiny purple flowers carpeting the ground, wild dandelions showing off their bright yellow color, delicate orange flowers growing between rocks, and brilliant red and pink flowers blossoming on cacti. Not to mention the light green buds and beautiful white flowers atop the Joshua trees, and the absolutely enormous cream-colored flowers blooming on the yuccas that are ubiquitous throughout the park.
But I have yet to mention the true highlight of my visit. The most exciting thing of all was that I succeeded in finding, and photographing, three different wild chuckwallas!!! (My investment in a camera with a good optical zoom really paid off!) Joshua Tree National Park is chuckwalla heaven, replete with numerous basking rocks, comforting crevices, and tasty creosote bushes -- everything that chucks dream about. :)
A ridiculously large collection of photos can be found here.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Trifecta: Aquarium, Tidepools, Whale
In my continuing quest to explore every inch of the Southern California coastline, I visited the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. The aquarium was surprisingly good for a smallish local aquarium, with interesting creatures such as gigantic fuzzy seastars, nearly foot-long Pacific seahorses, and a (preserved) Football Fish, which is hands down the weirdest fish I have ever seen! And I learned another whale-related factoid: toothed whales have one blowhole (think dolphin), while baleen whales have two (like nostrils).
The aquarium is next to Cabrillo Beach and the busy Port of Los Angeles, and yet literally around the corner is Point Fermin State Marine Park, which is a 1/2-mile long area of protected tidepools. This place was amazing - a huge expanse of large rocks and raised parcels of land where you can stand while waves wash up around you and leave pools of water in their wake. There were green sea anemones and sea snails everywhere. I also spotted a few sea urchins, which were much bigger than the ones in Malibu, and an unidentified large orange mollusk that was on its back and struggling to right itself. On the rocks, I collected two new (empty) shells for my rapidly expanding Sabbatical Seashell Collection, including a perfect Kellet's whelk!
On the way home, I stopped at (where else?) Palos Verdes to spend the last few hours of daylight looking for whales. At ~6pm, the official whale observers started to pack their bags, lamenting the fact that no whales had passed by since morning. Just then, I thought I saw a blow way in the distance. I figured I was hallucinating, so kept quiet. Then I saw it again. Hmmm. Nah, can't be. Then I saw it again, and this time I saw a black body come out of the water (way in the distance). I alerted the whale observers, who gratefully confirmed that it was indeed a whale! We watched it for another ~20 minutes. They couldn't identify the species definitively, but they classified it in their official records as a "probable humpback" because of the tall blow and the fact that the whale repeatedly rose out of the water (humpbacks are known for this). I was pretty jazzed that I spotted the whale on my own, and that I most likely saw my first CA humpback whale! Like, totally radical, for sure.
The aquarium is next to Cabrillo Beach and the busy Port of Los Angeles, and yet literally around the corner is Point Fermin State Marine Park, which is a 1/2-mile long area of protected tidepools. This place was amazing - a huge expanse of large rocks and raised parcels of land where you can stand while waves wash up around you and leave pools of water in their wake. There were green sea anemones and sea snails everywhere. I also spotted a few sea urchins, which were much bigger than the ones in Malibu, and an unidentified large orange mollusk that was on its back and struggling to right itself. On the rocks, I collected two new (empty) shells for my rapidly expanding Sabbatical Seashell Collection, including a perfect Kellet's whelk!
On the way home, I stopped at (where else?) Palos Verdes to spend the last few hours of daylight looking for whales. At ~6pm, the official whale observers started to pack their bags, lamenting the fact that no whales had passed by since morning. Just then, I thought I saw a blow way in the distance. I figured I was hallucinating, so kept quiet. Then I saw it again. Hmmm. Nah, can't be. Then I saw it again, and this time I saw a black body come out of the water (way in the distance). I alerted the whale observers, who gratefully confirmed that it was indeed a whale! We watched it for another ~20 minutes. They couldn't identify the species definitively, but they classified it in their official records as a "probable humpback" because of the tall blow and the fact that the whale repeatedly rose out of the water (humpbacks are known for this). I was pretty jazzed that I spotted the whale on my own, and that I most likely saw my first CA humpback whale! Like, totally radical, for sure.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Doubly Unexpected
Today was my best whale-watching day so far! But it was completely unexpected.
On the one hand, the gray whale migration is a remarkably orderly affair. Each season has 4 distinct phases. Phase 1: all the whales swim south to Mexico. Phase 2: a lull in the migration while the whales are busy creating (breeding) and producing (giving birth to) new whales in the Mexican lagoons. Phase 3: the males and juveniles swim back north to Alaska. Phase 4: the females and newborn calves swim back north to Alaska. The females stay in Mexico longer to allow the calves to grow bigger and strong enough for the long journey home. If you follow the gray whale sightings reported by the American Cetacean Society (ACS) each day, it is striking to see that nearly 100% of the whales follow the rules. (Of course, there is the occasional whale who swims in the "wrong" direction, but this is extremely rare.)
On the other hand, on a daily basis you never know what you're going to see. On 2 of my last 3 trips to Palos Verdes, I saw no whales at all, partly due to uncooperative weather conditions and partly due to the fact that the whales were just beginning Phase 3. As I tracked the ACS web site the next week, I noticed the numbers increasing to nearly 20 whales a day - a sure sign that Phase 3 was now in full swing. And then I couldn't believe my eyes one day when the web site reported that 45 whales had been seen that day! Yes, forty-five whales in one day!!! With visions of cetaceans dancing in my head, I excitedly drove down to Palos Verdes the next morning with high hopes of seeing a lot of whales. But alas, I saw just a few whales that day, and even those weren't good sightings. Mostly I just saw small blows from a few low-profile whales (i.e., their backs barely broke the water line), and some were quite far away. Very disappointing.
Today, I almost didn't go whale-watching because the weather was hazy and ACS was reporting that the whale traffic had slowed considerably during the past week to just 5-6 whales per day (perhaps entering the mini-lull period between Phases 3 and 4?). But being the addict that I am, I needed my weekly whale fix, so I went anyway. And lo and behold, I saw EIGHT (8) whales! But more important than the number, they were great sightings. Several whales fluked repeatedly, and close to shore, and I saw 3 different pairs of whales traveling together. Seeing 2 whales traveling together is exhilarating. First there's the thrill of discovering that you're seeing 2 whales when you were plenty happy to see just one. Second is the magical and majestic sight of watching two whales swimming side by side. In an instant, two shiny, enormous gray/black bodies rise out of the water just a few feet apart, parallel to each other. And if you're really lucky, as I was today, both whales surface at the same time and spout simultaneously. And if you're extra lucky, as I was today, both whales dive back down at the same time and fluke simultaneously. At one point, we were tracking 5 whales at once: 2 different pairs and a solo whale were all blowing in a round-robin fashion in different parts of the ocean. Seeing multiple whales at the same time, and especially whales traveling together, is a different experience from seeing solo whales pass by occasionally. The ocean seems so vibrant, so joyful, so alive.
And to think, I almost didn't go whale-watching today...
On the one hand, the gray whale migration is a remarkably orderly affair. Each season has 4 distinct phases. Phase 1: all the whales swim south to Mexico. Phase 2: a lull in the migration while the whales are busy creating (breeding) and producing (giving birth to) new whales in the Mexican lagoons. Phase 3: the males and juveniles swim back north to Alaska. Phase 4: the females and newborn calves swim back north to Alaska. The females stay in Mexico longer to allow the calves to grow bigger and strong enough for the long journey home. If you follow the gray whale sightings reported by the American Cetacean Society (ACS) each day, it is striking to see that nearly 100% of the whales follow the rules. (Of course, there is the occasional whale who swims in the "wrong" direction, but this is extremely rare.)
On the other hand, on a daily basis you never know what you're going to see. On 2 of my last 3 trips to Palos Verdes, I saw no whales at all, partly due to uncooperative weather conditions and partly due to the fact that the whales were just beginning Phase 3. As I tracked the ACS web site the next week, I noticed the numbers increasing to nearly 20 whales a day - a sure sign that Phase 3 was now in full swing. And then I couldn't believe my eyes one day when the web site reported that 45 whales had been seen that day! Yes, forty-five whales in one day!!! With visions of cetaceans dancing in my head, I excitedly drove down to Palos Verdes the next morning with high hopes of seeing a lot of whales. But alas, I saw just a few whales that day, and even those weren't good sightings. Mostly I just saw small blows from a few low-profile whales (i.e., their backs barely broke the water line), and some were quite far away. Very disappointing.
Today, I almost didn't go whale-watching because the weather was hazy and ACS was reporting that the whale traffic had slowed considerably during the past week to just 5-6 whales per day (perhaps entering the mini-lull period between Phases 3 and 4?). But being the addict that I am, I needed my weekly whale fix, so I went anyway. And lo and behold, I saw EIGHT (8) whales! But more important than the number, they were great sightings. Several whales fluked repeatedly, and close to shore, and I saw 3 different pairs of whales traveling together. Seeing 2 whales traveling together is exhilarating. First there's the thrill of discovering that you're seeing 2 whales when you were plenty happy to see just one. Second is the magical and majestic sight of watching two whales swimming side by side. In an instant, two shiny, enormous gray/black bodies rise out of the water just a few feet apart, parallel to each other. And if you're really lucky, as I was today, both whales surface at the same time and spout simultaneously. And if you're extra lucky, as I was today, both whales dive back down at the same time and fluke simultaneously. At one point, we were tracking 5 whales at once: 2 different pairs and a solo whale were all blowing in a round-robin fashion in different parts of the ocean. Seeing multiple whales at the same time, and especially whales traveling together, is a different experience from seeing solo whales pass by occasionally. The ocean seems so vibrant, so joyful, so alive.
And to think, I almost didn't go whale-watching today...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Dinosaurs in Santa Monica
I may be the least observant person on the planet. When I'm trying to be observant (e.g., whale watching!), then I do just fine. But when I'm not actively looking for something, I could walk right past an alien spaceship with blinking neon lights and not notice it.
Case in point: I've walked around Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade several times before, but only this past weekend did I finally notice the gigantic dinosaur topiaries in the middle of the promenade. One is a friendly-looking dinosaur, and the other is a toothy TRex-like dinosaur. Very cool!
Failing to notice giant topiaries is par for the course for me, but failing to notice giant reptilian topiaries is worrying! Maybe I've been getting too much sun lately... :)
Case in point: I've walked around Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade several times before, but only this past weekend did I finally notice the gigantic dinosaur topiaries in the middle of the promenade. One is a friendly-looking dinosaur, and the other is a toothy TRex-like dinosaur. Very cool!
Failing to notice giant topiaries is par for the course for me, but failing to notice giant reptilian topiaries is worrying! Maybe I've been getting too much sun lately... :)
Tidepooling
I've been eager to try my hand at tidepooling, so I drove to Malibu to follow up on a tip that there are some easily accessible tide pools near the Malibu Pier. Tide pools exist in areas along the beach that have rocky outcrops where the waves continuously flow over and then recede from the rocks. The pockets between the rocks remain filled with water even when the tide is out, and these tide pools are often teeming with life. During periods of low tide, curious landlubbers like me can walk along the beach and search for marine life in the pools between the rocks. I'd heard that it's possible to see starfish, sea urchins, sea anemone, and even an occasional octopus!
Due to a profound lack of planning, I went during a period of high tide and most of the rocks were underwater and inaccessible, but even so I managed to find a few creatures! I discovered several sea urchins, including this sea urchin sitting in a clam shell, and I think I found a sea anemone (the larger creature on the left side of the photo - on the right side is another sea urchin). And I saw 2 crabs scuttle by (too quickly for me to snap a photo) - one was a medium-sized red crab and the other was a small hermit crab (I think). Along the path to the tide pools, I saw a stunningly beautiful hummingbird, who was kind enough to stay still for a photo session. Unfortunately, though, his beauty didn't come across on camera. His feathers were gray and black, but in direct sunlight his neck shimmered a sparkly red and his belly shimmered an iridescent green. There were also a ton of white birds, which I think are egrets, along the Malibu beach. And, of course, surfers.
More tidepooling is definitely in my future!
Due to a profound lack of planning, I went during a period of high tide and most of the rocks were underwater and inaccessible, but even so I managed to find a few creatures! I discovered several sea urchins, including this sea urchin sitting in a clam shell, and I think I found a sea anemone (the larger creature on the left side of the photo - on the right side is another sea urchin). And I saw 2 crabs scuttle by (too quickly for me to snap a photo) - one was a medium-sized red crab and the other was a small hermit crab (I think). Along the path to the tide pools, I saw a stunningly beautiful hummingbird, who was kind enough to stay still for a photo session. Unfortunately, though, his beauty didn't come across on camera. His feathers were gray and black, but in direct sunlight his neck shimmered a sparkly red and his belly shimmered an iridescent green. There were also a ton of white birds, which I think are egrets, along the Malibu beach. And, of course, surfers.
More tidepooling is definitely in my future!
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