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Thursday, October 11. 2007

The Bad Idea Bears would kick the Care Bears collective asses!

For those of you who always thought there was more going on at Sesame Street than you saw on tv... you were right, but to be fair, it was actually happening around the corner on Avenue Q.

Last weekend we finally saw Avenue Q at the Ahmanson Theatre after missing our last chance in Vegas. These are some funny puppets! It might hit a little closer to home if you are just out of school (and ready to go back), but I think we all remember how that felt, or still feels for some of you.

I myself don't particularly care for most musicals, but this one makes for a VERY fun night out. Accept that Bert and Ernie are more than just "roommates" and go see Avenue Q!

Posted by Matthew in Los Angeles at 18:17 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday, September 11. 2007

Country Crock Homestyle Mashed Potatoes

I know my mashed potatoes and these things are freaking amazing. They are honestly as good as homemade and just require 5 minutes in the microwave. Thanks to Derek and Anna Liza for introducing them to our, uh, diet.

Early Thanksgiving tip: you can get 2-3 adult-sized servings per tub. Don't do the math with the serving sizes listed on the nutrition label to figure out what this means for your fat intake. Just eat and enjoy and maybe take an extra walk.

Posted by Susan in food at 22:15 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, September 3. 2007

By Air and by Earth; Not by Sea... Maybe by Land

This past Friday night was our second outing to El Toro Cantina; the mexican restaurant attached to Busby's on Wilshire Blvd. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Busby's bills itself as "The Ultimate Sport's Bar and Nightclub." I can't exactly agree with any part of it being the "ultimate," but the statement is accurate in that it is a Sport's Bar.*

Anyway, El Toro Cantina is a pretty good spot for some tacos and margaritas, especially being that it is within walking distance for us. It's not cheap, but we got full and a little tipsy for about $55 (plus gratuity). Overall the service has been very friendly, accommodating, and helpful (suggesting we go with the make your own taco combo to save a little money and end up with a little more food). The tacos are divided by categories: Air (chicken/duck); Earth (veggie); Land (meat); and Sea (fish). The chicken, potato, and veggie tacos have been good, some I'd call great... the fish; not so much. Neither of us really eat meat so I can't comment on that, and we haven't tried the other items. Oh... they do give you plenty of chips and some real tasty salsa.

All in all I like El Toro cantina and will go again. There tends to be a lot of dopes there, but if you are careful with your eavesdropping, you should be fine.

*A "Sport's Bar" really shouldn't allow small children to run around without shoes when we are having an early bite with my brother and his wife, even if they are allowed in with their parents before a certain time. Then again, perhaps that was poor parenting and not completely the fault of the restaurant.

Posted by Matthew in restaurants at 12:30 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)

Sunday, August 26. 2007

Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz was really funny. I was jetlagged when we watched this on DVD last night, so my brain didn't keep pace with some of the jokes, but even so, there were several laugh-out-loud moments. It seems like the sound editors for this movie had a lot of fun with it too, because the bass was ridiculously loud, especially during the shooting sequences.

The key question of course is: Was it better than Shaun of the Dead? I would say Hot Fuzz is as good or better. They seemed to have a much bigger budget for this one, so it's a little hard to compare. But I would gladly rewatch either title, and I usually don't like to rewatch movies.

Posted by Susan in movies at 18:22 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (4)

Wednesday, August 15. 2007

Olvera Street

Image of Olvera Street taken by David Moore on December 17, 2005.

Olvera Street is a relatively short strip of "Mexican" shops and restaurants near Union Station. Despite it being one of the top tourist destinations in downtown Los Angeles, I was unaware of its existence until a couple of years ago. I never went there until tonight, when we met Dave at Union Station and wanted to walk somewhere for a quick dinner. It fit the bill perfectly as far as that goes. However, if I were a tourist and had to deal with finding the place and fighting traffic and parking, I would be pretty disappointed.

The area originated as a tourist trap in the 1920s, when some do-gooder civic leader lady wanted to clean up the seediness in the area (read the wiki), so it's a little more interesting if you think of it as a pre-Disney "disneyfication." Who knows, maybe it even inspired Disney.

Posted by Susan in Los Angeles at 21:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday, August 14. 2007

The Transformers

I have to say that this was a pretty fun afternoon out; especially since it got me out of going to the gym. With the exception of the less than spectacular attempts at comic relief (would Optimus Prime really say "my bad"?), the movie moves a long at a good pace and the special effects are Bay-tacular*! The best part about it though is that Susan keeps pointing out vehicles that she thinks may be Autobots or Decepticons.

*© 2007 Michael Bay.

Posted by Matthew in movies at 12:16 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, August 6. 2007

Ca' Brea... Meh' Brea.

This past Friday night we went out for dinner at Ca' Brea (346 S. La Brea Ave.). The salad was good; otherwise I think we would have done just as well at the Olive Garden. It's not that the food wasn't good, it just wasn't anything special. I was kind of disappointed, especially since it was my choice.

Posted by Matthew in restaurants at 15:59 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Sunday, August 5. 2007

Yiddish Policemen's Union

Yiddish Policemen's Union is latest book by Michael Chabon. It was very good, but Kavalier and Clay was better.

YPU was very absorbing, creating a wholly believable alternate universe where Sitka, Alaska is the latest stop for the diaspora, a.k.a., "The Frozen Chosen." It would be a great novel for a vacation or long plane flight. My biggest complaint is that the whodunnit took a little too long to resolve, and by the time it did, I had forgotten about the character referred to in the last line. Not a satisfying conclusion. One other pet peeve is that the main character, a detective named Landsman, is a HEAVY smoker, yet he has the most acute sense of smell ever. I just don't think a man who smokes so much he gets winded walking DOWN a hill could really discern that something smells, for example, like "water that had been used to boil noodles the day before." Bonus spoiler review after the jump...

Continue reading "Yiddish Policemen's Union"

Posted by Susan in books at 15:18 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Welcome!

Our blog begins today. It is my hope that this will become a place for my brothers, my girl, and hopefully our friends to post reviews of whatever it is we happen to watch, read, play, and eat. The reviews will be short, sweet, and to the point.

This morning I tried to watch "Californication: Season 1: Preview." I turned it off after 23 minutes. It was dumb... I felt like I was watching the people in front of me at the Grove on any given weekend. I'm not going to worry that I don't have Showtime.

Posted by Matthew at 14:45 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

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