hunter::gathering

i like this dirndl 4J847469
Originally uploaded by wgp_cwd3.

spent the new year's eve weekend in los angeles this year. a refreshing (and warm) change to spending it in the usual chilly and empty san francisco. i have to say, each time i'm down there the little voice inside my head gets a little louder in calling me southward. granted, the disparity between sf and la to begin with was great, so i'm not packing my bags quite yet. that being said, here were some discoveries to me, old standbys for some of you.

• red lion tavern - across from the oh-so-hip cha cha bar on glendale blvd in silverlake, the red lion tavern proved to be much cooler in its "we haven't changed this place up since 1962" stylings. a german pub and restaurant, the red lion features waitresses in bavarian beermaid "wench" garb, a roland-rockin' one-man lounge act, and a spacious beergarden.  good thing the line at the cha cha was too long, or i would've missed out on the red lion experience.

• rambutan thai - above average thai food in an intimate and modern setting. like everywhere in la, silverlake's rambutan takes thai dining up a notch. with hottie waitstaff, a downtempo dj, and ultramodern decor, rambutan made its decent thai food taste much much better than it really was. i'm not gonna knock the san francisco family run joints and their homey flava, but…

• $15 foot massage - one of the pleasures of china and hong kong was the cheap and accessible foot massage joints everywhere. before you make any racist/sexist assumptions about the nature of these, know that reflexology is considered one of the primary components of a preventative health regiment. for anywhere from $8 to $25 for 1-2 hours, we made the foot massage an almost daily routine. lo and behold, like all things asian, the trend has migrated westward and settled in my san gabriel valley. a cruise through alhambra on my way home one one finds the little foot symbol everywhere. the best thing? $15 for an hour. the one we hit was on del mar south of valley on the east side of the street. hey frisco, time to get on the bandwagon, i want my foot massage and i want it now.

overall a very good weekend in la.  there's a different level of authenticity and kitsch and fuck-it-all attitude that doesn't exist as much here in san francisco.  that comes with some downside as well, but it also makes for very fun weekend getaways…