Into the Woods

so my next foray into weirdness was with sarah. she gave me an appropriate weeklong notice. and i usually can never turn down the promise of food with friends. that is one of my weaknesses no doubt. I picked a french cafe with a follow up cafe that looked good too. it was a warm evening and i was still wearing my woolish trousers- think mistake. think sweaty hot pressure cooker. and my cute new shoes. . . we walked. cafe flore closed at 5. we walked. cafe meet me was no more. we walked and walked. stopped. and walked some more. cafe delice's umbrellas were folded in sleep. and we walked and walked. hang in there feet. and walked. and i began to sigh as we passed coco's, jack 'n box, that burger joint on the corner, papa johns, 5 sushi restaurants and one thai house... but that's when things got interesting. (the little dishes below i was convinced we'd get charged for if we ate them... what is it with foreign countries serving you things you did not order and then charging you for them if you eat them... bcs that's what happened to us in turkey...it's like false advertising or something)

the last cafe on the list of cafes to try, was on pico past robertson blvd. deep in the heart of west LA. beverly hills adjacent. and as i said on the phone the 'pit of la'... the nice part i said... to my mom who can never hear me... for we wandered into a strictly jewish neighborhood. having just read 'girl meets god'- about a woman who converted to strict jewish orthodoxy to christianity, their culture was more fresh in mind... i know we have lots of jewish people in LA but i can't say that i know many, if any even as friends, and i never go where they are if that makes sense, having my home in the barrio, that surrounds me for miles. seeing signs in spanish is a much more common occurance than hebrew as far as the eye can see. the girls getting food to go at the cafe were wearing plain clothing, skirts down to the ankles, sleeves to the wrists and eyeing us askance and the servers barely glanced our way as we looked over the menu. i thought- this place is definitely better approached by day...

i voted for the mediterranean restaurant we'd passed a few blocks down. (above a really tasty pita with grilled chicken)... she said, okay and all our cafe dreams went floating up into ether. on the way back we saw the guys wearing white shirts and hats with the curls, then less, then guys with the little circle hats on top, then less, but still lots of hebrew and it seemed barely one non-jewish person around, not those clubtypes, those up and comer LA types....not a one. and the phrase 'set apart' popped into my head alot. and exclusivity. culture. difference. different country. being a tourist in your own town... and spying a place called 'the nut house'... we really wanted to go to, to get dessert. the mediterranean place while slightly less hostile had the air of being overseas, a sign for something about shabbot services in the window, everyone looking vaguely like one big family but you. the waitresses all scowled except for one who smiled a lot and seemed pleased when i said the food was really good. they did not give us refills on water. they did not seem to appreciate that we'd never been there before but despite all that the food was AMAZING. and i smiled as talvuk shnitzel was on the menu (a fav dish in turkey. totally going back for it) and lots of things involving eggplant and i felt properly in another country... so we walked back, my legs stiffening. my shoes beginning to rebel after the 3mile break in session... a slight limp developing in my left foot... but we shuffled on. and left having had a really good time. thanks sarah! it was completely memorable! i recommend it to anyone... bring a friend, some good shoes, and walk on thru to places you've never been. Worth everypenny and possibly a blister or two.