A Glorious Return! Hudson House Has Re-opened!

Hudson House, 514 PCH. Redondo Beach

If you are as curious about "creative drinks" as you are about food, they proudly present nine of them.  Since the ingredients are listed, it might pay to pop in for a couple and if you fall in love, with the ingredients listed, you can make your own at home where you are unlikely to get busted for DUI.   Thus if an ingredient calls for some exotic  thing - dusted with powdered butterfly wings ...it's still cheaper than in a bar.    Take a little pocket notebook and a pen.

Actually, just read the drink menu at their site.  

With summer coming, it should be said that they have really tricked out a spacious "backyard" or patio to comply with California's dining out laws.  Patios popped up all over the beach towns and now, these restaurants which were going "glub glub glub" as they circled the drain, are well positioned now with dandy new patios  for the summer.

Hudson House has a thick Astro-Turf "floor" 10+ heat lamps and both tables for 2 to 6, and varnished oak picnic benches and tables.   Alert!  You have to walk through the interior of the restaurant to get out there.  It's worth it.  

We both ordered an old favorite - Brown Sugar Ribs.  but they weren't our old fav because they changed the sauce .  And not for the better.  This sounds interesting though - Toasted Edamame with Shishito peppers, garlic, soy and honey $8  Garlic, soy and honey sound inviting on their own.  Waffle anybody?

Mac and Goat cheese?  Errr  Still got room?  Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with whipped cream and caramel drizzle.   

Mah Fellow Colander-Hat Wearers

Ah am addressing you as this Wuhan Scandal/Chinese Virus wends it way along.   I thought from the very first time it hit the news that it was an enemy attack.  My reasoning and bite your damned old tongue and hear me out.  I can, too, reason.

1.  The Chinese hate us.

2.  Wuhan, the local where the drama apparently took place would appear to an entire island of drug labs.

3.  What if they created this virus; infected some 20 or 30 lab workers and put them onto planes to - Italy, London, then Paris ,- and finally the US -  you can see the momentum building here

4.  Now they announce an absolute cure for this disease and will willingly sell said cure to any and all takers - for $1million per shot.  You don't think China wouldn't do a land boom business?   

Suckers all over the world have had The Shot of God knows what with what long-term side effects.  And the media and the pols push the shot.  With $1million lotteries for those (and only those) who get the jab as our Brit friends refer to The Shot.

We live in strange times.  Keep your guard up.  Rattle your colander hat and hope for the best.

Food Somewhat Far Away

But both are well worth the outing. Richie surprised me day before yesterday by asking if I'd like to go to the New York Deli yesterday for lunch.   I'm always up for a meal "out."  I'm funny that way.

"Opportunistic" many might say.  Hell, I know damned well I am and so do readers that have been reading this on any kind of consistent basis.  "Where's she off to now?  Doesn't she know where their kitchen is?"

To which I reply, "None of your business."  

NYDeli is located in a little strip mall of uninteresting shops/services and not much of every thing.  

But the interior has one truly remarkable décor item.  It's a big room, divided by a sort of wall of trees that look exactly like Jacarandas that have been electrified like Christmas trees and there are multitudes of them.

We ordered onion rings to nibble while our food got fixed. Richie ordered a hot pastrami - me a hot corned beef  - sandwich; he ordered the pasta salad; I the cole slaw  and  we both got water although they have and serve beer and wine.   It wasn't a day for a mid-day drink.  

The food portion was generous to say the least. Positively a mountain of  meat in the sandwiches and heaps of the sides.   The pastrami and corned beef were top quality and the servings so generous, so big that we had a sandwich half each left over for our dinners.  Lunch for two plus dinner is very economical - $34.    NY Deli, 2424 Sepulveda, Torrance

As good as all of this was there was a gigantic bonus.  We re-found Ted's Place. Ted is the Reigning King of corned beef hash.  Ted's is on the corner of Sepulveda and Normandy.  Parking lot is on Normandy. 

Why am advocating a humble dish like corned beef hash?  Because it's perfect.  A good-sized platter arrives in front of you with only three things on it - cut your imaginary platter in thirds - 1/3 hash browns, perfectly grilled; add three fried eggs spread over 1/3 platter  of (again) perfectly fried hash-brown corn beef.   Even more economical - $5 per platter for pure ambrosia.  If the coffee wasn't free I'd be surprised.  

Ted is back; I have a reason to live; life is positively rotund with good things.  And - as if more was needed - the sun is gingerly kicking the cloud's ass away.

Would You Have the Nerve?

Book Review - "Everything Beautiful in Its Time" by Jenna Hager Bush   and her twin sister Barbara Bush, daughters of George H W Bush and his wife  Laura.  The twins were theirs.  

The girls seem to have turned writing about family members into a cottage industry.  And each twin married and had children.  Thus 8 grandparents.  Her side; his side x 2.

All of whom seem to have been given similar nicknames.  George and Barbara Bush were known as Gamma and Gampy.  Can you imagine addressing the President of the United States as a baby name as that?

Walker's Point, in Kennebunkport was the tribe's favorite place to be.  Barbara welcomed guests - the Texas upbringing made them hospitable.  But don't think to come visit if you ignored Barbara's Rules to Visit on a previous trip.  Short and sweet - Don't track in sand, hang up your towel, Tell us if you'll be eating out and finally, make your bed.   

And I think of reports of other Presidents who took full advantage of the White House help.  It's an engaging enough book but not much of a beach read.  End of a tepid review.  

 

The Accidental Covid Shot

 Now don't misunderstand me .. Richie and I fully intended to get The Shot; we were just going to do it in our own time.  It seemed to me that as they're pulling the needle out, there was a headline about a new strain "It is unclear if this virus (fill in name ) can deter this new virus.  Or  the announcement of a new lethal side affect.  Teenagers develop heart problems; adults throw blood clots left and right. 

So, "Later, gator" and onward we went.

Until yesterday.  Richie had a Rx at CVS to pick-up and I had a couple of other minerals to pick up.  The knee specialist suggested them (rather forcefully) for the hairline fracture on my left  patella (knee cap to us peasants.) At our second appt. the x-ray showed the fracture was well enough that he told me I could ditch the brace.   YIPPEE!

I'm trying to explain what we were doing in CVS.  Richie went up to the Talk to the Pharmacist window and asked if they were dispensing The  Anti-Virus?  He'd read that CVS was  and could he make an appt. for us if this CVS was doing it?   (Pier and PCH next door to Vons))

"Raffish" our adopted nephew, a medical doctor,  had told me that Moderna, he had found,  was the most promising and that's what he had gotten.  

He did say that with several of the viruses, any side effects present themselves  after the 2nd shot of the mandated program.   The first shot had no affect on us at all so far.  Richie  did whine a little about the  place where the needle went in - he felllt it.   Otherwise we're both fine.  I plan to, uh, forget about the 2nd shot.  June 21st is the scheduled 2nd shot.  (As if ) 

She said they were giving the shots; they weren't busy now and could do it and Richie responded, "No time like the present.  Let's do it."  So the chief pharmacist came from behind the counter and next thing you know, we were in the car, driving away rubbing our upper arms, left arm.  There are more right-handed people than left so bang-o!  Shot to left arm.  

Masks?  Supermarkets and bars.  Then out in the fresh air; ditch the mask. 

Tidbits and Oddities

 What follows is a sample of things I run into in daily trips around cyberspace (I think that's what it's called.)

The $7,000 Tojo toilet from Japan.  It's  special feature?  It takes a picture of fecal matter apparently exiting your body and sends this picture to your doctor.  This kind of non-invasive bowel examination is said (by Toto probably) to be just as good as a colonoscopy.  

The cheapest toilet is nearly $900 - Polaroid? shot?

French dogs can attend sniff/saliva  school in Paris.  There they are taught how to sniff a Covid sample and indicate to the owner Covid or not.  And this is 97 accurate Same for saliva which is said to be 91% accurate.

I like this idea because you don't get a yard-long swab up your  nose.  It tickles.  Who knew the brain could sense ticklish? I know this  because many people will tell you that this test does go up to your brain! Certainly it feels like it.

Today's boredpanda.com has witty signs from a gas station.  I recommend panda this morning.  A sample or two - I wish I was as thin as my patience.  Two silk worms got in a fight; it ended in a tie.

Saturdays

In the midWest anyhow, the weekly schedule ran like this:

Monday - do the wash;  Tuesday iron what's clean (pause for us all to scream with laughter at the very thought of getting out the tools and then Wed. on through the week until Saturday, doing what you do for a living that, if nothing else will pay for more starch to finish ironing.  Okay.  But no law says you can't have fun through your week.  As unlikely as it may be that you could.  Have fun that is.  Readers Digest to the rescue. 

Yes I believe in science - that's how the jelly gets in the donuts.   I buy seedless grapes only; leave the wine-making to the professionals.  I had a prune joke, but it's dated.  I have a Star Wars joke but it's forced.

I have a nihilist joke but (shrug) who cares?   I have a joke about cows but I don't want to milk it.

I have a joke about a broken clock, but it's not the right time.

And...Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini and the bartender asks "Olive or twist?" 

 Rene Des Cartes walks into a bar.  "You want a beer,?" asks the bartender  "I think not," says DesCartes, and then he disappears.   I don't get that; if you do, have a nice snicker at me and put the punch line in a Comment.