My trip to LA was pretty uneventful…other than the fact that I somehow was originally assigned a seat near the back of the plane. Now this might sound really stupid or petty, but I hate sitting near the back of the plane. First, its near the rear bathroom, and I can’t really handle that. And second, there are many people who act like they have never had to form a calm, straight line. It takes 87 thousand years to get off a plane if you are near the back. And there are often people who act like they don’t know how to form a nice, straight line, and politely exit the plane. There are also the morons who get on the plane 2.5 seconds before the plane door closes, then they have to put their massive sized carry-on, in the back of the plane. Their seat however is near the front, and they naturally insist on trying to get to the back to get their luggage before everyone else gets off.
Ugh. Enough of my rambling. Anyhow, I was lucky enough to be able to swap to a seat in row 8. Rows 5 or 6 (depending on how big first class is) through 10 are ideal for me. Too bad my favorite airline is now going to be charging extra for the bulkhead seats and exit rows, because I didn’t mind sitting in either place.
Once I got to the hotel, I didn’t really do much. The hotel was near the airport, so there was nothing in walking distance, and I was kind of tired, so I stayed in, ate some mediocre fish tacos at the hotel restaurant, and went to bed early.
My second day was February 25th. I had training for work (yeah, the actual reason I was in LA). Once we ended for the day, I bought a $3 ticket for the trolley to Manhattan Beach.
It was a neat little seaside town. Apparently it’s all man-made beach, but I didn’t care. It was cute. I took a few photos of the beach, the ocean and some surfers. The evening was overcast, so the photos don’t quite show the actual beauty.
After walking around in the sand in my tennis shoes (pretty difficult I might add) I decided to walk back up to the main street and look for something to eat. I checked out the menus on several restaurant’s doors, but ultimately decided on a place called Darren’s. I made a very good choice.
And luckily it was happy hour, so some of the menu items were half price. While I sipped a glass of Zinfandel, I decided on Lobster Chowder and Shrimp Ravioli.
The Lobster Chowder was AMAZING! It was so different from any chowder I’ve ever had before. Lobster knuckles, corn, shiitake mushrooms, purple potato, and sweet potato in a coconut milk broth….mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. There was just enough spice to it, and the coconut milk was so unexpected, but really made the dish. I did not get a photo, it was gone that fast.
Then the Shrimp Ravioli came out. Again, so delicious. The ravioli was made with goat cheese and pine nuts, rock shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and white truffle oil. I got a picture this time, but it doesn’t do the dish one bit of justice. You’ll just have to trust how me on how yummy it was.
I really ought to have stopped after the ravioli, and my second glass of Zin, but when the manager brought me a sample of his signature drink, the frisky pear, I decided I wanted to see the dessert menu.
After a bit of contemplation, I decided on the Chocolate Nutella souffle. Who can pass up Nutella and chocolate together??? Not me.
I couldn’t eat the whole thing, but the crispy outer crust and gooey center really hit the spot. It was served with a small scoop of vanilla bean gelato that perfectly complimented it. The photo I got also doesn’t do it justice.
The owner of the restaurant, Darren, was in there that night with his wife. And the bartender/manager was really nice. The restaurant was really cool and cozy, and I seriously contemplated going back the next night, even though I didn’t ultimately end up back at Manhattan Beach.
Stay tuned for my LA tour bus adventure and my stay in Long Beach.
Andrea Unplugged 
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