KO and I decide to supplement this trip with a four day visit to L.A. I am an avid movie buff, viewing an average of two to three movies a week. One of my favorite pastimes is playing movie talk with my sister, Joan, a writer who is just as excited about movies as I am. We often rush to the phone to chat for hours about movies and stars, past and present, character motivation, writing styles, and what we are seeing that week and, although as we age we have to fill in the names and dates for each other( lol), we both savor these movie connections. Often I see the current movies with my weekly buddy, Kelly, who is just as in love with movies as I am. KO is new to movies, having not gone to them growing up, but he is catching up with all of us as I show old classics in my monthly movie group. So, all of this serves as a prelude to the importance of attending a movie tour and checking out the sites of new and old Hollywood. We peruse all the choices and finally decide on the one called Legends of Hollywood which will take place today after a yummy visit to the famous L.A. Farmers Market.
Yesterday we arrived mid day, and with KO's list of fourteen vegan macrobiotic friendly restaurants, we headed to Venice and Seed Kitchen, owned by our macrobiotic friends Eric and Sanae.
Surrounded by a 70's vibe of tie dye, skate boarders, whiffs of Mary Jane, and the usual "Boardwalk" style chachkies, Venice by the Pacific is quite unique. Seed Kitchen sits a block back from all the crowds and action and is a welcome site for us with its macrobiotic friendly menu.
I choose to recharge with a bowl comprised of brown rice, black beans, carrot daikon salad, marinated Shitake mushrooms and pickled wakame.
Now you non macros out there may not think this sounds too appetizing, but the building blocks of this dish cleanse your liver, remove toxins from your body, help prevent cardiovascular disease, boost your immune system, provide magnesium, potassium and iodine and provide many other amazing health benefits! It is also quite delicious. We complement the meal with Carrot Dill Soup, and a lovely Coconut Pudding made from cashews.
Revived from our travels, we meander through Santa Monica and up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, home to the rich and famous. By chance, we stumble upon a walking trail up and down the Tuscan like hills to a possible waterfall which doesn't actually appear.
We are treated along the way to some mega homes, complete with private tennis courts and adorned with colorful orchid bougainvillea, pink Hibiscus, purple Morning Glory and greens of every tone. Jane Seymour, Medicine woman, dwells in one of these lovely homes. You can see the shoreline and all the dwellings tucked high up into the hills, protected by cameras, barking dogs and iron gates. I guess this is the price you pay for privacy when you are famous.
Our next stop is a visit to Erewhon Organic Grocer and Cafe, Nowhere spelled backwards. Erewhon started in Boston as a tiny macrobiotic store at a time when you could not even buy brown rice in the U.S. Michio and Aveline went directly to farmers and growers to insure a steady source of organically grown grains and produce. They pioneered the natural foods industry and Whole Foods and all the others sprouted from Erewhon. ( History of Erewhon, Natural Food Pioneers in the U.S. by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi). This enormous store is brimming with colorful organic vegetables, all lined up in neat rows, bags of Goldmine grains, a wall of seaweeds, prepackaged sides of cooked burdock and Kinpura, a hot bar and juice bar, vegan pizza and other goodies.
It is heaven to us east coast macro junkies as there is nothing like it in our neck of the woods. The checker shares that he saw Cher, popular rockers(System of a Down) and othe celebs come into the store just this week. We buy some provisions of steel cut oats and kale salad for our breakfast and mosey on down the road.
The traffic around L.A. is legendary so it takes a while to get to Hermosa Beach and The Spot. The Spot is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in L.A. with a Mexican leaning menu. As my tummy is a bit turbulent I opt for some settling peppermint tea and some umeboshi balls I always pack for the first day of travel with its yang plane ride and changes from my usual routine. KO orders the Blue Plate Special, a " meatloaf" made out of a veggie burger patty, mashed potatoes, colorful carrots and a mushroom gravy.
He says it is vegan comfort food and licks his plate clean. Nice to know some of the oldie but goodie vegan places still remain standing.
Finally we drive back to our hotel in Inglewood for some well needed rest. I still woke up at 6:30 this morning as I do every day, excited for our Hollywood adventure. Keep posted for some more of my ramblings as we tour Tinseltown L.A. and try some more vegan macro taste experiences......
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