the slack daily

What's a Girl Like Me Doin' in a Place Like This? Club 33

It starts with finding the door.

A few weeks ago, Will scored a reservation to Disneyland's uber-exclusive Club 33. At first I thought it was a joke. I wrote for a hit series for the Disney Channel and even though we begged and pleaded, we couldn't get in. Flash forward ten years and my husband and I are weaving through the throngs of tourists to do our "test run."

You see, Club 33 has rules. A dress code. And they expect you to be on time.

We found the door in New Orleans Square, tucked next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant.

Test run.

A few hours later we were back, dressed in our finery. Here's the thing: you don't see a lot of finery in Disneyland. We received more than a few raised eyebrows as we wandered through the park (me in my flip-flops and dress, as I tucked my fancy shoes in my purse. So it wasn't as fine as it could have been.)

When we returned, a couple of tourists were taking a picture in front of the sign. We waited until they were done, then stepped forward. They grabbed each other and gasped

THEY'RE GOING INSIDE!

Except that we weren't going inside, not just yet. Because we were at least ten minutes early. So we took a photo instead.

Goin' to the Show.

By this time, a small crowd had assembled, all whispering they're going to ring the bell! He's going to ring the bell! I wondered if they were going to break into a musical song-and-dance number, and if that was part of the Club 33 experience.

(It wasn't.)

Will rang the bell and the door opened. He gave his name. The door closed.

A hush fell over the crowd.

The door opened again, a tiny bit wider.

Welcome to Club 33, the voice said.

I have been lucky enough in my life (and my career) to attend events and activities that many people do not. But I was never so excited as I was walking into Club 33. The dark wood, the clink of glassware, the servers who don't blink twice as you gawk at everything around you.

Is this your first time? our server asked.

How could you tell? I responded.

We started off with a cocktail (a Manhattan for Will, a Kir Royale for me) and then ordered the tasting menu (with the wine pairing, natch.) The food was good. It wasn't the best meal I've ever had, but you understood it was all about the experience...

I didn't take photos for most of the meal, preferring to just live in the moment rather than document it.

But I did take a picture of the toilet on request. Because I'm classy like that.

Two hours later we finished up with some espresso and looked out the window, realizing we were going ot have to return to earth with the mere mortals.

It's going to suck to be a regular person again, Will said.

But it was sure fun while it lasted.

The Cake Whisperer.

Saturday night, 8:32pm
(After a day of doing nothing but sitting on the couch and watching The Wire, Season 2.)

Will: I want cake.

Me: But you have to leave to get cake.

Will: There needs to be a cake delivery service.

Me: But until then...there's no cake.

<pause>

Will: That's it. I'm getting cake.

Me: Now that I think of it, we're going to Jay's birthday party tomorrow. There'll be cake there.

Will: But that's not now.

Me: But we're cake-adjacent.

Will: Yeah, but when it gets dark, we don't sit in the around complaining how dark it is. We turn on a goddamned light.

Note: We did not get cake. But we did get it the next day. It was magic.

Like Chocolate in your Peanut Butter.

Me & Will.

The cast of LAGenX. (Jason, Gina & Jeff!)

Nutcase 101.

ALL IN ONE PLACE!

LISTEN to LAGenX tomorrow - Saturday, May 29 at 11am PST at LaGenX.com (click on "Listen Live!)

Then as the show is wrapping up, get in your conveyance device and get THEE TO:

Laurel Tavern
11938 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604

Laurel Tavern opens at noon...so we'll get there at (or around) noon.

See you there...?

The Future is Now.

Some people say the future is about making the impossible, possible.

If that's the case, the Future is Now.

A wine has been created that I refuse to drink:

Ed Hardy Wine! The severed horse head of gifts.

Casey McKinnon wonders if it tastes like douche?

Perhaps. With a hint of date rape and notes of Jon Gosselin's hair gel. 

Speaking of booze...BetheMarriage LIVE! (On Ice!) is live today at 5pm EST/8p EST on uStream. Log in if you want to chat, or pull up a chair and a drink and just watch us make fools of ourselves.

If you've never seen an episode, you can expect a little something like this:

Slackmistress is Cookin': Thanksgiving.

It's been awhile since I've seen the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, so I don't recall how we evolved from Pilgrims breaking bread with the Native Americans to stuffing our faces with poultry. As a naturally curious human being, I could probably investigate this more but my family didn't come here until well into the 20th century.

But I can't argue with a day that reminds us that we have much to be thankful for, even if it's relegated to a few spare moments between football games. This year found me in a bizarre situation: I had a job. Like a real job. (although my contract was up December 1st. So hire me? Please?)

My real job meant that a) I had money but b) not a whole lotta time. So this year I did something unthinkable:

I outsourced part of Thanksgiving.

Most specifically, the bird. I don't mind cooking turkey, but when you have a midget fridge, wood countertops and no dishwasher, not poisoning your guests becomes a game of Russian Roulette or damning the environment as you chase your salmonella footsteps with a can of Lysol that you carry on your belt like a hammer.

So the turkey, gravy, and biscuits (I'm a sucker for decent bread) were courtesy of Grace Restaurant. There are cheaper places to buy your bird, but the deep-fried turkey was sheer perfection. Crispy skin, juicy meat, and a slightly smoky flavor that complemented the thyme-truffle gravy (which I also purchased, as I wouldn't have any pan drippings to make gravy with.)

To paraphrase Tracy Morgan, I wanted to take this turkey behind the high school and get it pregnant.

Picking the bird up the day before I was worried that it might be dry, but even SlackDad, who doesn't taste the difference between Hungry-Man TV Dinner turkey and a heritage bird had a second helping.

Also, in your instruction manual on how to reheat all of your goodies? Chef Neal Fraser's cell phone number, in case you run into any problems. That's service, people. We considered drunk dialing him, but we didn't. 'Cause we're classy that way. (Although not classy enough to not at least consider it.)

See the rest of Thanksgiving after the jump...

A Valley of the Dolls Thanksgiving...

I swear, the pills are Daisy's. (The drink is mine.)

My Thanksgiving wrap-up...this week.

(Note: My counters aren't dirty. They're painted wood. Feel my pain.)

Stefan's at LA Farm

I love food. I love talking about food. I love making food. I love eating food.

But it's always better when it's free.

When I received an invite to a preview of Stefan's LA Farm, I did the thing any self-respecting writer would do.

I asked if the booze was free, too.

(It was.)

Stefan is the same Stefan from Top Chef Season 5. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Stefan. His food? Absolutely. His attitude, however, seemed to err on the side of cocky, and I don't like to patronize the Douchebag Economy.

But did I mention the free booze?

LA Farm is tucked away in the Lantana Office Complex, which is home to many production offices - including mine. While the restaurant is convenient for those of us who work there to grab lunch, I wondered if Stefan's touch would be enough to create a destination dining experience.

 

The red carpet.

A tent was set up outside with wine and beer in case we needed a libation to get us from our office to the front door. A stroll down the red carpet with a glass of chardonnay (not what I normally drink, but it was hot) was an excellent touch.

Once inside, I discovered the restaurant was a mix of comfy couches build around small fire pits, upscale but comfortable dining, a casual bar area with smooth leather banquettes, and servers everywhere plying us with food. Oh, the food. Raw oysters with absinthe jelly = love.

The staff was friendly and encouraged me to try one of their specialty cocktails - the pomegranate margarita.

 

I didn't need much encouraging.

It was light and tart with a hint of sweetness. (Kind of like me.)

But you could tell if you spent too much time with this cocktail, it would punch you in the balls.

(Kind of like me.)

I spotted a server walking through the crowd with a can delicately balanced on her tray. A blue and red can. Of Milwaukee's Best.

Who the hell is drinking the Beast? I wondered.

And then I spotted him.

 

Stefan with the Beast.

You could tell that he was the same Stefan, but he wasn't a douchebag at all - he was actually pretty charming. Maybe you have to be more than a little bit cocky to open a restaurant. When I asked him if he had tried Old Style, he said that he could only import it in bottles, so what was the point?

That was the moment I became a fan of Stefan.

The cocktails and food were delish, the vibe was low-key, the staff was friendly and charming. I am intrigued enough not only to go back, but to actually pay for my food and booze this time.

(Unless Stefan wants to buy me a drink. )

 

Me & Stefan. 

 

Stefan's at LA Farm
310.449.4000
3000 W. Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica,CA 90404

Blogger Prom Wrap-Up.

I went stag to my Senior Prom:

Posing with Older SlackBrother J. 1990

I went married to my Blogger Prom:

With Will, last Thursday. Photo by Lisa.

Last Thursday was Blogger Prom, held on the rooftop of the West Hollywood Andaz Hotel. It was an amazing evening, and I don't say that just because there was delicious food, free specialty cocktails, cheap valet parking and the fact that we won the best raffle prize in the Universe.

Will & I win the Edison booze raffle prize.
(The spot on my arm is my stamp to get in and out of the party.)

The thing I love about meeting bloggers IRL is that at the core of it, we're all dorks. I know that for some, the name of the game is monetizing and SEO and branding, and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's always the person - and personality - behind the blog.  And bloggers have big personalities (or is that just me?)

I recently heard someone complain about a "cool kids" clique in the blogging world, because a group of bloggers "got more hits" than they did.

To which I respond: being popular on the Internet may be awesome. But it's also dorky. 

Let's just embrace our awesome dorkiness, people.

Outside of my most favorite person (Will) I had a chance to hang out some of my favorite people I had already been lucky enough to hang our with before: Lisa, Kim, David, Travis, Joz, Mary, Andy, but I also got to finally meet some of the people I have been virtually stalking for ages: Julia, Lucinda Michele, Mike, Caroline, Lindsay, Laurie Percival, AVFLox, as well as meeting some new bloggers: Hot Pink Manolos, LetMeEatCake, GreenLAGirl and Foodwolf.

(I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, mea culpa!)

We may be a bunch of dorks, but we're hot, funny dorks. And the women in this community make me want to form some sort of amazonian cotton-panty pillowfighting army.

Let me know if you want to sign up.

I do know that some bloggers were upset that they were not invited to the Prom, but the Prom Committee did put out the word on Twitter a good six weeks before invites went out. Space was limited, and I could see why because from the second we walked in to the moment we left with our swag bags, it was a night to remember. The Prom Committee worked their butts off.

THANK YOU PROM COMMITTEE!

2009 Blogger Prom Committee
Caroline of Caroline on Crack
Esther of e*starLA
H.C. of LA and OC Foodventures
Lindsay of LAist
Marni of Happy Go Marni
Maya of Shop Eat Sleep
Natalie of The Liquid Muse
Tara of When Tara Met Blog

My Blogger Prom photos can be found here, and everyone's photos in the Blogger Prom Flickr Pool.

Where You'll Find Me This Week...

...aka a Love Letter To Those Who Would Like to Stalk Me.

Having a lack of slackmistress panic attack?  This is where you'll find me this week:

At Blogger Prom on Wednesday, with my husband.  Trust me when I say you will know exactly who I am.

At 8oz Burger Bar, celebrating one of their One Year Anniversary deals which they will announce on Twitter!

It's not like I go there a lot...

Spicy Bloody Mary


Cherry Vodka Sour


Invisible Margarita

TBA: I may be live-tweeting from the set of Electric Farm Entertainment's "Woke Up Dead," starring Jon Heder, Josh Gad and Krysten Ritter. (Full disclosure: I wrote on WUD and currently work at EFE. If you want to follow along, make sure to follow me on Twitter!)

If you're looking for insta-slack, check out the podcast of the "Blogger Takeover" of Saturday's edition of LAGenX.com radio or Saturday night's BetheMarriage archive!

Tonight! (And cookin' with gas...)

Yes, we're live tonight!

(Click the image to get to the show.)

Also, make sure to check out friend-o-Slack LisaPotato's new blog "Lisa Cooks." What? Another food blog?" you ask (not that there's anything wrong with that!)  But it's not just another food blog, it's a blog that incorporates food and family and history, with some Armenian delicacies thrown in. Add it to your blogreader, now.


Speaking of blogreaders, that list to the side is getting a wee bit unmanageable. I'm working on a fix, so if I haven't added you to my blogroll please do not fret. I'm trying to figure out a way to include everyone I read while taming the beast.


See you tonight!