Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego. Show all posts

Monday, February 22, 2016

Two Long Beach Eateries
You Don't Want to Miss

(Nomad Asian Bistro and Catalano's Pizza)

 

Nomad Asian Bistro

My parents wanted to take me to their new favorite restaurant, Nomad Asian Bistro, located at 6563 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA, 90803.

This is a Halal Chinese restaurant that is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11a.m. to 9:30 p.m. They serve Asian cuisine you would find in any Chinese restaurant along with Hui specialties.

The Hui are a Chinese ethnic tribe who originate from regions along the historic Silk Road. This results in a unique blend of traditional Chinese food with Mediterranean influences introduced by Persian and Middle Eastern travelers along the trading route.


Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns

My parents have brought all their friends here and told me they could eat at Nomad at least five days a week. The restaurant is located in an outside mall that also has a movie theater. The outside of the restaurant is very pleasant, with beautiful fencing and succulents growing around the patio. There is plenty of outdoor seating.


Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns

Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns


The inside of the restaurant is not nearly as welcoming as the outside, but the service and food make up for that tenfold.

Pictured above is my parent's favorite waitress at Nomad, Mary. She knows just what they want and treats them like honored guests. She will have the kitchen make the dishes however you specify and you can also specify heat levels in the dishes. We started with their unique sesame flatbread. It was wonderful, warm and chewy and covered in sesame seeds. There are eight large pieces for one order! The three ingredient soup bowl was more than plenty for the three of us and Mary served it expertly using chopsticks.


Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns

Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns

Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns


I ordered a chow mein with homemade soft noodles (they did not call this dish a low mein, even though it had soft noodles in it.) They make all their noodles from scratch. The meal was huge and had lots of veggies and noodles. If I ordered it again, I would ask for more spice as I like my food spicy. We all ate the chow mein and there was plenty left over for another meal.


Nomad Asian Bistro by Stacey Kuhns


The menu is extensive and there is so much to try. It is a place you want to return to again and again.

Catalano's Pizza

One of the days in Long Beach, my friend, my parents and I were craving pizza. We did not want just any pizza, but wanted something special. My mom remembered a place near them, Catalano's Pizza, located at 1178 E. Carson Street, Long Beach, CA, 90807.

Don't let the shopping center fool you or make you turn away because you will miss some of the best pizza on the planet! They are open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. They offer delivery in a limited area with a $15 minimum.


Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns

Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


This is a very small place, but I recommend you pick an off-time and eat in.


Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


The owner, Christine, was so welcoming and friendly. The restaurant has been opened since 1993 and Christine took it over in 2011. She works with her two sons and some amazing employees.


Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


Their dough is made daily from scratch with the finest flour (and their pizza crust is a marvel.) Their cheese is top quality whole milk mozzarella and they do not skimp on any ingredients. They prepare their Italian sausage fresh and chop it by hand. Their marinara is to die for (I asked for a taste of it since it was not on the pizza I ordered. Christine happily obliged then came by the table to see what we thought of it. We all loved it.) I wanted to take a bucket of it home!

Each pizza is hand rolled and tossed to order. Christine believes in using the best quality and freshest ingredients and she chops every ingredient by hand. I decided to take a chance on a pizza invented by her son. The girl working the register assured me it was amazing. My pizza came out first and everyone tried a piece. I think they were sorry they did not also order it. It sounds crazy but was the best pizza I have ever had.

It was called the Pastrami Pizza. The pizza has mustard, pickles, mozzarella and the finest pastrami. Christine said it took many tries before they found the perfect pastrami for this pizza and it definitely tastes like the work they put into it. The crust was not too thin and not too thick, just right (although you can order the crust the way you like it; thin or regular).

The pizzas come in 8", 12", 15", 18", and 24". The love and care and quality ingredients that go into these pizzas make the bit extra you pay for them well worth it. This is definitely NOT Domino's, Pizza Hut, or any of the other tasteless pizzas you can get for a cheap price. This is quality unleashed!

My friend and my parents got the Meta Lover's Pizza. I tried a piece and it was also amazing.


Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


There are plenty of toppings in every bite. Catalano's also has seven different kinds of salads, spaghetti, lasagna (with or without meat), hot and cold sandwiches and several desserts, including cannoli’s. They also do catering. You can make your own pizza or choose between 10 specialty pizzas.

Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


One of the pizzas offered is wonderful if you want to try four different kinds. It is the Sampler Pizza and is 1/4 Cheese, 1/4 Pepperoni, 1/4 Sausage, and 1/4 Canadian Bacon and Pineapple.

Cute sign in the bathroom:


Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


The pizza boxes were even high quality and had Catalano's menu and information taped to the top of each box.


Catalano's Pizza by Stacey Kuhns


Christine came over to our table and told us the history of Catalano's and her philosophy on making delicious food with the best quality ingredients. She works long days and pours her heart and soul into Catalano's and man oh man, can we tell. A MUST if you are in Long Beach.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

A Day in West Los Angeles
(Places to go and a place to avoid)

by Stacey Kuhns

 

Laemmle Royal Theater - Cafe 50's - Emil's Swiss Bakery

On Saturday, February 13, 2016, my parents, my friend, and I headed to West Los Angeles. Our plan was to see two independent films at a small theater, find a cool place to have lunch, and possibly dessert.

We headed to the Laemmle Royal Theater  located at 11523 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90025. The Laemmle Theaters were established in 1938. They are the premiere art house theater chain in Los Angeles. They are a family owned business spanning three generations.

There are seven locations: Claremont, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, West L.A., Encino, and North Hollywood. I recommend leaving early if you are going to the Royal as the freeway is always a nightmare and parking is less than plentiful. Most is metered parking so bring lots of quarters.

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)


The Royal is a small theater. There are three theaters inside. You enter from the street into a small "waiting room" type area. You turn to the right and there is a counter to purchase tickets.

You then walk up the stairs or ramp to the concession stand. The walls are lined with pictures of the Laemmle family and history. The concessions seem to have larger candy bags than the standard everyday theaters, including a box of dark Godiva chocolates.

The concession prices were considerably cheaper than the Regals, United Artists, Edwards, and all the big theaters. If you are a senior citizen, you can get a box full of popcorn and a drink for $5! They also do not check bags (just saying.)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

The staff are very friendly and eager to help. The clientele seemed to be mostly older folks. Each theater is small, maybe six rows of seats and some extra handicapped areas.

There are no stairs as everything is one level, but slanted down so no one blocks your view when they sit in front of you. The theater was recently redone. The seats were the most comfortable movie seats I had ever sat in. Thickly padded and almost better than Cineopolis luxury seats. Only complaint we all had was the lack of leg room.

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

We saw an early afternoon showing of "Rams." This movie was a winner at Cannes and also won Best Narrative at the Hamptons International Film Festival. It is about two brothers who live in a valley in Iceland and tend to their sheep and rams. They have not spoken to each other in 40 years. They have a dog that takes messages back and forth between them. The story is what happens when a lethal disease infects one of the brother's sheep; how the brothers and the town handle the crisis.

The theater gave out little postcards that told about the movie (below picture).

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

I found the movie plot interesting but felt the movie was long and drawn out. My friend fell asleep. My parents loved the movie. So, it is just a matter of opinion, as all these things are.

After the first movie, we walked down the street to eat lunch at Cafe 50's, located at 11623 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles. They are open 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. daily. This was a fun place to go.

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

When you walk in, there is a soda counter on the right where you can sit and eat. Everything looks like you stepped back into the 50's. There is another room with additional booths. Each booth has a jukebox that takes quarters. We listened to some Fats Domino.

The menu is extensive and includes all that you would expect and a large variety of shakes. There are decorations and movie posters covering every wall and ceiling, which makes the time pass quickly as you are so absorbed in reading everything.

There is even a public phone booth. In the back is a set of lockers that have games piled on top of them.

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)


I was amazed by some of the things I was reading:

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

The food was good. I had a turkey sandwich. The others in my group had burgers, a chocolate shake, corned beef sandwich, fries and onion rings. The fries and onion rings were awesome. Everyone loved their meal and we all enjoyed the ambiance of the place. We like fun!

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

There are old fashioned candy and cigarette machines around the area. They do not work but you can purchase candy, such as bubble gum cigarettes (who doesn't remember those?!)

(I apologize about the fuzziness in the following pictures. They were taken with a phone instead of my camera.)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

There is also a public phone booth near the front counter. I know some kids who would not know what that is. All in all a worthwhile stop if you are in West L.A.

After lunch, we had some time to kill before the second movie at Laemmle. We decided to stop into a bakery I saw on the way to Cafe 50's. Emil's Swiss Bakery is located at 11551 Santa Monica Blvd #3 in West L.A. They are closed Mondays. Tues through Saturday, they are opened 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (I did not take an outside photo as it was a strip mall looking place with no distinguishing features outside.

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

There is plenty of places to sit and enjoy coffee, tea, Italian flavored sodas, or other beverages. The pastries looked gorgeous.

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)

A Day in West Los Angeles by Stacey Kuhns (Places to go and a place to avoid)



Emil's does catering, bakes fresh breads daily, serves lunch, dinner, and other assorted items. They also have a few shelves of items such as jams, beets, pickles, and coffees for sale. We decided to try the large brownie, chocolate chip scone and Florentine cookies. My parents each had a cup of decaf coffee. They said it was the best decaf they had ever had anywhere. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the coffee and it is not listed on their website. They did have it for sale in a greenish can, but it was over $11 for 8 ounces!

The cookies were delish. The brownie was so dry you had to chisel it with your fork and crumbs were flying everywhere. I thought it tasted like sawdust and could not get past the dry consistency. The scone was the same. Huge disappointment for sure. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

So, we returned to the Laemmle for our final movie of the day, "Son of Saul." This is a 2015 Hungarian film about two days in the life of Saul Auslander, a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando (work camp units made up of German Nazi death camp prisoners).

This film won Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.

The story is told through the eyes of Saul. One of his jobs in Auschwitz is to clear the gas chamber of bodies and to sort through the clothing of the prisoners. He also spends some time shoveling the ashes of the prisoners burned in the crematorium ovens. There is not a lot of visible violence or scenes. It is all perceived through knowledge of what is taking place as the background is blurred quite often in the movie.

I found the movie to be emotional for me for personal reasons, but I thought it was very good and suspenseful. My friend also liked it. My parents did not like it at all and felt the story was implausible and the actors looked too "Hollywood" so again, a matter of opinion.

For anyone who likes movies that are not mainstream and who wants to support independent movies, I urge you to find a local art theater and see some of these jewels.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Marine Mammal Lovers Take Note

by Stacey Kuhns 

 

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

I recently visited the Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) at Fort MacArthur with my mom and a friend. The MMCC is located at 3601 S. Gaffey Street, San Pedro, CA, 90731. They are opened daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is a small center that is open to the public. They do not ask for donations or an entrance fee to the facility.

When I say it is small, I mean it is small; but if you are with children there are plenty of places within minutes to visit such as the Korean Friendship Bell. The Bell area offers lots of grassy areas for kids to run, have picnics, or fly kites and it offers an ocean view which is dynamite for sunsets. It is the same address as the MMCC but the next driveway up.

The MMCC was opened in 1992. It is authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Their goal is to rehabilitate federally protected seals and sea lions that strand in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. (Note: I was taking pictures through double sets of rubberized chain link fencing which can be seen in some of the pics).

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns


Several hundred marine mammals are treated here each year and then released back into their natural environment. Most are youngsters suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, heavy parasite loads, and bacterial or viral infections. Others are victims of human interaction, such as being caught in fishing lines, abuse, gunshot wounds, etc.

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns


MMCC treats a variety of seals and sea lions. During my visit, they had Guadalupe Fur Seals, Harbor Seals, and Northern Fur Seals, to name just a few.

Little is known about the Guadalupe Fur Seals as they were hunted almost to extinction before researchers were able to study them. They are members of the otariid family (sea lions) and have external ear flaps and long front and hind flippers.

They are slightly smaller than Northern Fur Seals. Males reach 6 feet and 300 pounds and the females reach 4 feet and 100 pounds. In 1925, they became extinct in California waters. Today, the only breeding colony is off Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico, but increasing numbers have been seen off California's Channel Islands.

Some have stranded on the central California coast and it is not known if this is from El Nino conditions or if it is a sign they are returning to their former range. Let's hope they are returning to us.

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns


The Pacific Harbor Seals have spotted coats that come in a variety of shades. Males reach 5-6 feet and weigh up to 300 pounds and the females are slightly smaller. The Harbor seal is a true crawling species. They have no external ear flaps, small flippers and move by flopping along on their bellies.

They are found North of the Equator in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. They can range from Alaska to Baja California and Mexico.

Northern Fur Seals are named for their thick fur which has 300,000 hairs per square inch! They were first named "sea bears." Males are much larger than females, even at birth. Male pups weigh 12 pounds and can grow up to 385-605 pounds and 7 feet in length. Female pups weigh 10 pounds and grow to 66-110 pounds and 4.5 feet in length.

They range throughout the Pacific Rim from Japan to the Channel Islands of California. These seals are pelagic (living almost all of the time in the open ocean.) They come ashore for breeding and pupping. They are almost never seen on beaches unless they are sick. They can live to about 26 years, but death rates are high.

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

I found my visit to MMCC fascinating. The enclosures were immaculate and made of more expensive materials than I am used to seeing in marine mammal pens. They are kept far enough away from the public so they are not disturbed. There are hired and volunteer staff with plenty of employees around. They were working very hard cleaning, taking notes, and constantly checking the animals.

I observed feeding sessions. Two staff hold a large board in front of their feet and enter the enclosure. This prevents the seals from knowing where the food comes from. Each animal has a number shaved into it for identification. As two staff put out fish for the seals, another staff is on the opposite side of the enclosure taking notes on which seals are eating, how many fish they ate, and which ones are eating on the substrate of the enclosure or are eating inside the pool (each enclosure has a pool area). I attempted getting pictures of the seals eating but they were too fast for me.

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns


I was so impressed with how well the animals are cared for. Their welfare seems to be the top priority. Aside from the enclosures, there is a small gift shop that offers a variety of items. The MMCC shirts were only $12 and no tax which was awesome.

Parking is free and plentiful during the week (not sure about weekends.) Across from MMCC is a marine bird rescue center but it was closed to the public due to the birds getting overly stressed and traumatized when visitors are allowed inside.

I encourage anyone who has an interest in marine mammals and their welfare, and are in the San Pedro area, to stop by and visit MMCC.

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns

This happy little guy gets to see another day due to the diligence of MMCC and their staff. Good vibes.

Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) by Stacey Kuhns