Wifey's Birthday!!

I've known Meggan since college at Winona State University.  She was also involved in Theater and we got cast as a lesbian couple in "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told."  It was one of the best acting experiences of my life and our friendship is a result of that wonderful show that brought our entire cast together.

Stout Burger.  Need it now.

Meggan lives in Portland with her boyfriend, Nick, who is from Los Angeles.  Meggan lived here in LA for a few years, we caused some trouble and had a lot of fun together and a couple years ago they picked up and moved to Portland.  They do come down for visits and decided her Birthday weekend would be one of them.  I missed her the last time she was in town so there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity!

Meggan & I at her Birthday Party!

We made plans to have Lunch at Stout in Santa Monica.  It was so exciting to see my 'Wife' and just catch up with her and Nick.  He's got his own bar in Portland, The Richmond Bar, that's causing quite a stir with it's awesomeness!  The Burger was amazing but the company was better.  We all walked around Santa Monica for a little bit but Nick went to run some errands so she could get a manicure and we could have girl time.  Since I was reading in Church and then had work so I didn't think I was going to be able to make her actual Birthday Party and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

Lucky for me, I swapped things around and was able to surprise her at the party.  The party had a Mariachi Band, two bars, were serving food that was catered from Gjelina, and was at this beautiful home in Venice.  I think the kids at this party were wearing clothes that cost more than my rent ;)  I even talked to Emmanuelle Chriqui for a minute!  All the boys in college had a huge crush on her during her "Entourage" days so I was even having a moment.  Meggan's cousin also lives in LA and brought his guitar so later on we all gathered in a Tee-Pee (yes, there was a Tee Pee at this party) and he played some acoustic music for us.  It was so cool!

I was glad to be able to catch up and spend the day with her while she was here in LA for a short amount of time.  Even if we don't talk all that often, we never miss a beat and are right on track with each other.  She will always be my 'Wifey' and I'll always love her <3  Miss you already!!

Last Month's NEW Restaurants!

Part of my New Year's Resolution was to hit up new Happy Hour or Restaurants at least once a month to branch out from the ordinary and my favorites.  I was actually really pleased with each of the restaurants and they were both very different from each other.

I started the month of March with a visit to Stout in Studio City with Neil.  It's a burger and craft beer restaurant and similar to Father's Office, there are no substitutions.  We started with a giant Pretzel that came with four different sauces:  A pesto that was my favorite, a chipotle that was Neil's favorite, a lemon basil aioli, and thick mustard.  After checking their menu it looks like they recently changed it because I couldn't find my burger on it anymore (or the pretzel); it was a Truffle Burger with Mushrooms and a white cheese.  It was good but I actually preferred Neil's Stout Burger that had Blue Cheese, Gruyere, Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Horseradish Cream.  I chose a beer called Chocolate Indulgence which is from the Ommegang Brewery and a Belgian Stout.  It had just the right amount of sweetness to compliment the bitterness, and I enjoyed it so much I had a second one.  We sat at the bar and the bartender was polite but had a big group of her friends that were sitting at the bar who were actually obnoxious.  I was surprised the manager hadn't told them to leave because it was disruptive to other diners.  It was also a little spendy for burgers and beer but I would definitely go back and try something else!  And definitely get that pretzel again :)

At the end of March, my new roommate, Anthony, moved in and took me out to the Blind Barber in Culver City which is actually a Barber Shop during the day and Speakeasy at night.  I was sold as soon as I saw their menu consisted mostly of Grilled Cheese.  The place was packed for a Monday night but there were some tables open so we grabbed a drink at the bar and ordered our food.  They have a Cocktail Menu as well as a Seasonal Drink Menu and since it's April, it has already changed so I can't name the first drink I had but the second was the Batman with Gin, St. Germain, Peychaud's Bitters, Lemon Juice, and Mint.  The drinks were good but I prefer something a little sweeter and there were still a few more I would gladly try.  I picked out an all White Grilled Cheese that was $8 and came with a Kale salad that was actually really good.  I was so happy with my Grilled Cheese; it was delicious!  I'm definitely going back to try out more of their menu and I love that you get a dipping sauce with it so of course I picked out the Truffle aioli.  The DJ was great, the crowd seemed cool but not douchey and the Bartenders were helpful.  I can't wait to go back!

A Dinner of amazing Grilled Cheese is served at Blind Barber in Culver City!

I'm surprised I haven't been to either of these spots before but I really look forward to going back and trying more off of their menu's.  There are three Stout's throughout Los Angeles and Blind Barber is just down the street.  So far, this New Year's Resolution has been very successful!