Salivating as I type!

Yes, I've joined the bandwagon -- Umami Burger is the greatest burger joint in Los Angeles. All the hip foodies are raving about this 10 table, trendy eaterie on the corner of 9th and La Brea -- a mere 3 blocks from my apartment (which I don't live in - humpf). And the word is out -- there is almost always a line outside.

Umami is used to describe the 'fifth basic taste' along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Some say the literal Japanese translation is "pleasant savory taste" or "delicious flavor" and in any case, this restaurant's name is no misnomer.

Everything is made fresh on site, except for the ice cream sandwiches which they get from MILK, Poppie's favorite lunch spot that I mentioned here.



But back to Umami -- the selection of burgers offers many garnishing toppers, such as manchego, stilton, truffles and bacon. Slather the homemade condiments -- ketchup and aioli were the most notable -- on top of an ambrosial, perfectly cooked patty. And the bun, oh that bun. Soft, flavorful and sturdy. It was that kind of experience where you take the first bite, groan at your taste buds delight, continue to hold on to the burger, make wide, satisfied eyes to your dining companion and take another massive bite before swallowing the first because it is just too damn good to be true.

I was so fascinated with the burger that I ate it without pause. Thus AFTER,I sampled the tremendous beer battered onion rings and the (always preferred) Mexi-coke. Yes folks, this is a rave review.

What must be said is that the service is pretty lousy. It was over 100 degrees the day I went, which can make anyone cranky, but buddy, don't take it out on your customers. And if you are going to be such a tight-ass about pulling up an extra chair, at least stick to the rules of good service like not forgetting to bring me my water, my side sauce, my fork. . .

However, let me guarantee that the food entirely outshines any service hiccups. You must go.

Mom's Visit

Photo of my Mom in Turkey

Life seems to make more sense when I'm spending time with my Mom. She is in Los Angeles on business this week, thus we are so fortunate to spend our non-working hours together. A rarity and delight!

My Mom has this marvelous peacefulness to her, blend that with her worldly wisdom and unique Asian-American female perspective and it makes those around her, especially me, feel really comfortable.

On the other side, her petite 5'1" frame has also been nicknamed "Large and In Charge" because she is straight forward and can be a smidge stubborn -- especially when she thinks it is in my best interest. Therefore I am sharing this amusing interaction we had in the movie parking lot this afternoon:

"Lotus, do you want to use my sweatshirt in the movies?"
"No thanks, I brought my scarf."
"It is the white one with the brown stripes."
"No, I'm okay. Thanks though."
"Are you sure? It has a hood."
"No, I won't need it."
"It's right behind you."
"OKAY, I'LL TAKE IT."
I used my scarf.

Bless her!

I Still Care For You

Heard this Ray LaMontagne song on Morning Becomes Eclectic while driving to work today. Such a beautiful, creepy, desperate sound. It makes me very emotional. Each time I hear it, I become filled with overwhelming love and sappiness. The lyrics are vague and my interpretation waivers between whether Ray's sentiments are sung to me or is it my feelings being expressed through his voice, but either way, this tune will forever be one of my all time favorites.

Dodgers vs Cubs

I googled "Baseball America's Pastime" and found this answer:

Baseball is America's Past-Time because it is probably the only sport that has been played for as long as this country and its people have been here. The game is a variation of a British game called "rounders" and, like other things such as politics and religion, the sport was "Americanized" and made better.

Ouch! Anyhow, none of the above occurred to me when Reagan called last Sunday morning asking if I wanted to go to see his Chicago team play the LA home team. The predominant factor pulling me away from the pool (aside from the great company, of course!) was the belovedDodger Dog. So off we went on a spectacular sunny afternoon to Dodger Stadium, positioned ourselves in our killer seats behind 3rd base, and rejoiced at how fortunate we were.



In the below pic, you can see how thrilled the Alexander brothers were about the Cubs win! As I am sure was fellow Chicago guy and attendee, Vince Vaughn. My joy came from the ballpark peanuts, pretzel dipped in nacho cheese and *most* of the Dodger Dog. I say *most* because a large portion of the mustard and relish missed my mouth and landed on my dress. Can't take me anywhere!!

Sexy Times

Now that Alexis is a big skating super star, when we went to dinner, SHE PAID! Woweee! Here's the proof of our Ita Cho bill. Hope this is the first of many! And soon, when Linsday gets the news that she has passed the Connecticut bar, maybe my fancy lawyer sister will take me out too!



After dinner, Alexis and I hit up the Booby Trap in Silver Lake. Great music, fun ladies, fantastic night.



The next evening, I went to a "family dinner" at Lawry's with Alexis & Vanessa, Olanna, Poppie & Amos. I used my Lawry's points, so even better. Here's Poppie and her beautiful belly -- as of today, only 10 days until the due date! Hurry up, little baby!!



And one of Sexy and Vanessa playing with the water sculpture near the valet. Young girls still young at heart.

Hooray Olanna!!

Happy Birthday to Olanna today!

Another poll

I've been bouncing back and forth from my apartment to the house, and although I have a supply of toiletries in both places, yesterday I ran out of body wash in the shower. My only option was a large tube of foot scrub. So I ask this question of you:

No More Obesity

Yet another reason to stay healthy.

According to the International Journal of Epidemiology:

1.1 Billion Tons = the savings in transportation-related carbon emissions if a population of 1 billion people went from being obese to being lean. How? Planes, trains and automobiles that carry heavier cargo burn more fuel.

Depeche Mode

Shawn & Austin and Sean are huge Depeche Mode fans and so we went to see them perform at the Hollywood Bowl. Along with the rest of the majorly gay male audience, those three knew every word to every song. With their excitement and enthusiasm, plus the edgy lighting and visuals, and the great sound, it was a night to remember. And the Garden Box Seats pushed it to extra fab!

Soundscan's New Artists

In addition to the hottest digital songs, here's a list of what will be the hottest tracks soon enough. Click on some of the videos so you'll be in the know!

This girl is Natasha Kahn, the lead singer of #11, Bat For Lashes. I posted What's A Girl To Do because I like the video, but her newer, bigger songs are Daniel and Pearl's Dream.

Alternative New Artists:

1. Airborne Toxic Event -- Wishing WellThese guys are amazing. I've been loving them since I mentioned them here in January.
2. Between The Trees -- The Way She Feels
3. Matt & Kim -- Daylight
4. Carolina Liar -- Show Me What I'm Looking For Powerful and anthemic song that you may have heard already as it was used on Fox Sports tv commercials for MLB.
5. Showbread -- Mouth Like a Magazine
6. Early Hours -- Come Take My Hand
7. Julian Planti -- Games For Days Cool, yet dark and edgy video. Dig the concept.
8. SafetySuit -- Stay
9. Band of Skulls -- I Know What I Am Featured live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on June 5th.
10. Hey Monday -- Homecoming
11. Bat For Lashes -- What's A Girl To Do?Check out the awesome bicycle riders in this video.

Soundscan is back!

This Week's Top Digital Songs

1. Myley Cyrus -- Party In The USA
2. Black Eyed Peas -- I Gotta Feeling **Purposely no link**
3. Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West -- Run This Town
4. Jay Sean Feat. Lil Wayne -- Down
5. Kings of Leon -- Use Somebody **My Favorite**
6. Cobra Starship Feat. Leighton -- Good Girls Go Bad
7. Taylor Swift -- You Belong With Me **My Inner Tween's Fave**
8. Shakira -- She Wolf **HOT, HOT, HOT video -- a must see**
9. Friends For Change -- Send It On
10. Pitbull -- Hotel Room Service

Need Your Best Wishes!

My Dad's Mom, my Grammy, had a fall last week and broke her hip. Through it all, she's kept her good spirits and has been so kind and thankful to the hospital staff and our family. She is now recuperating from hip replacement surgery at a rehabilitation center, so I hope she is back to her energetic, independent self very soon. Please say a prayer, think good thoughts, visualize her recovery and/or do whatever you do! THANKS!

Composting

It's unusual how guilt works. Being raised with a "tie" to Catholicism, guilt in certain circumstances is one of the things I have held on to. Eating veal, driving a non-hybrid car and having a second martini don't make me feel bad, nor deter me from doing them as often as I please. However, throwing items in the garbage makes my brain bounce around my skull. I recycle plastics, paper, cardboard and glass, but is that enough? Thus for my birthday, one of my favorite presents was from my Dad and Terry. My very own spinning composter!

Every day, I toss in rotten veggies, wilted flowers, and various rinds and non-animal skins. Why is this important?

Landfills are a global issue and worsening with a rise in the population. They take up space and destroy natural habitats. Toxins seep down and infect ground water. Further, while the items in landfills breakdown, they emit greenhouse gases that are bad for the planet. Carbon dioxide and methane gas are a huge problem and heat up the earth. Now although my composter will emit the same gases, composting is the most environmentally conscious food waste disposal technique. In about a month, my garbage will turn into a usable product, a nutrient rich soil that some call "black gold" that will enrich my garden and reduce a need for fertilizer. And it's so easy. Shouldn't you get one too? Click here.

Anyhow, on my first week, I was a vigilant composter, siphoning off leftovers from my guests plates and even going as far as to pick things out of my garbage bin that my cleaning lady threw away. I thought to myself, one week down, a mere three to go! And so, one evening after work, I noticed my salad spinach had wilted and off prancing I went to the composter. Do you know what I saw? An empty, perfectly cleaned, washed out composter! My cleaning lady was being helpful -- oh no!

Well, I've printed out the rules of composting in Spanish and we are underway again. Black gold, organic potting soil soon!

Side note: if you really want to do your part to save the earth, don't waste at all. Buy only what you need and finish eating everything while it is fresh.

Photoshoot

Last week, I went to a spectacular $18 million dollar home at the very top of Doheny Drive for a photoshoot with big deal photographer, Mark Seliger. It had floor to ceiling windows offering breath-taking views of Los Angeles. Plus, the design was that grey, black and white, clean-lined, modern motif that people love so dearly.

Here's a picture of Mark at work with my Artiste. Mark's fast moving, talented, professional team realized that putting a light behind a cloudy bathroom door can give a really cool diffused light effect.



I had to block the face of the Artiste (and his reflection in the mirror) until the photos are revealed on the album package due in stores October 27th!

Margaret and Lucas's

Lucas and I have been friends for over a decade and I have adored Margaret from the moment we met. And I'll never show her enough appreciation for inviting me to Sanrio's major bash for Hello Kitty's 30th Birthday. (That happened before blogging days or else there would be a link here that connects you to how I almost lost my mind with sheer joy.) So it is obvious that I thoroughly cherish hanging at their home catching up with them and playing with Ellington and August. (Even though August threw up on me last time, but that was more exciting than harmful!)



Toss in Kim and Andrew and our casual bite to eat turned into over five hours of happiness. Look below and you can see two beautiful girls with that special, rare curly hair!

Summer Jam

Aside from a loving my city, how fun is this song? I think it is my new summer anthem. Doesn't it remind you of Randy Newman's song "I Love LA"? That chorus part has the same sounding melody, but Ya Boy & Dr. Hollywood's version has a dash of hip and a pinch of hop! (Ew, that was bad. Okay, my writing skills are rusty -- need to practice more on the blog!) Anyhow, hope my East Coast, hometown people will like this one too!

Mayzie Sitting

Carly is out of town for 10 days, so I get the pleasure of spending that time with Mayzie. I've been bringing the cutie pie to work and I think she's pretty comfortable. We share a chair while I'm on the computer and she naps the day away.



This snap is mid-snooze with snores. She almost opened her eyes, but it was just too exhausting! Look at that adorable face. The girls in my office have been smothering her with kisses.