We took the metro downtown; I was glad to have Mera there to show me the ropes. We began our quest at Philippe's (founded in 1908).
The atmosphere felt a bit like a middle school cafeteria on the first day of school (lots of lines, noise and some confusion). Or you could say it felt like a cattle pen. There was sawdust on the ground, after all. But, we managed to get our sandwich and a seat. Since you watched the video in the link above, you already know this....but I'll repeat: Philippe's take on the French Dip includes dipping the bread in Au jus and serving the sandwich alone. No Au jus or anything to dip on the side.
The sandwich was delicious! The meat had great flavor, and the sandwich was just big enough for us to share. But, we found that our bread got soggy towards the end of the meal. Though the meat tasted divine, it was a little dry due to the fact that we couldn't submerge it in Au jus as needed.
Satisfied, Mary and I continued our journey.
We walked through the Spanish-themed Olvera Street.
We stopped at Grand Park for some people watching, regrouping, and to dip our feet in the fountain pool.
It was hot!
There's some great architecture and historic buildings to see.
Next stop: Cole's (Also founded in 1908).
The atmosphere here felt very 1930's Prohibition era to me: Dim lighting, rich colors, booths, and a waiter dressed in a black suit vest.
Though portions were smaller (we split a sandwich here, like we did at Philippe's), this sandwich was a mighty tasty couple of bites. The meat was lean, there was Au jus on the side, and the spicy mustard was a fun, optional addition. And don't get me started on the garlic fries! Cole's offered a great end to our quest. It was quiet, cool and even a historic experience.
Both restaurants were winners. You can't go wrong with either place. But, the winner of our French Dip contest was Cole's. It was a unanimous vote!
Glad I got to spend a fun day with Mera! Can't wait for our next adventure!
Strawberry Cupcakes
Today, I had another little food adventure of my own. On Thursday, I picked up three pints of bright red California strawberries at the Farmer's Market. Since then, I've been planning something delicious to do with them. (That means I spent too much time on Pinterest these past couple days.) Today, while Zach was in class, I used one pint to make strawberry cupcakes.
They taste great! They'll make a fine little dessert while we watch The Aviator tonight.
In other Stratton news...
Zach is about to finish the first section of his film program. After some thought and prayer, he wasn't sure if he wanted/could afford to attend the next section. But, he was recently offered the chance to attend the next part of the program for free, if he will act as the program assistant during the courses. Thanks be to God. His intervention has been present in these past 2.5 months. In many different ways. Zach is looking for a job either part or full time - and holding out for something in the industry. We are praying expectantly that the right opportunity will come up at the right time.
Watch these movies!
Since I've known my husband, the film guru, critic, enthusiast, (you name it), I've become a pretty well-rounded movie watcher. But, even I have had my own influence on Zach's movie repertoire and appreciation. We just enjoy watching good, thought-provoking, challenging and entertaining movies. Who doesn't? Maybe it has something to do with being in LA (or having a spouse in film school), but we've been watching some great movies lately! Some we've watched before (usually, Zach has seen them, not me), others are new to us. I've decided to add a little section to my blog posts that tells you what movies we've watched recently that we highly recommend to our friends and family.
We're also re-watching this great series:
Life is too short to watch bad movies. So, put one (or all) of these in first position on your Netflix queue. Let us know what you think!
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