I had the perfect summer night last night. Its nice when an evening comes together pretty much effortlessly. Rob and I started out having dinner at Larkins.
http://www.larkinsjoint.com/ Which has finally opened. The renovation of the craftsman house where it is located is very cute and the space is small but comfortable. The menu is small but all of the plates coming out of the kitchen looked yummy. They do not have a liquor license but you can BYOB for a $5 corkage. It was funny though when I asked our waiter about wine he looked at Rob and I then said, "You look like cool cats. We do have a "paperclip" available for $25. We have red or white paperclips." I asked if you didnt finish your "paperclip" could you take it with you and said yes. Since Rob doesnt drink and I wasnt about to swill an entire bottle in one sitting. Not that it hasnt happened before but that is another blog.
http://seeks-same.blogspot.com/ So I indicated that I would like a white "paperclip" but then they were suddenly out of white and they only had red. Well, the red "paperclip" turned out to be a nice french syrah. Its funny though because I watched and saw that the "paperclip" deal was not offered to everyone. Just certain people. Hmmmm.... We finished up our meal. I had salmon cakes with red beans and rice. Rob had corn on the cob and a salad. Both very tasty. Good lemonade and homemade fruit punch. Yumm.
The next stop on our summer night was the Alhambra Jubilee. Odd as it sounds, the city of Alhambra has a summer concert series and last night Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played! We were late getting there and Joan was completely soaked in sweat already but she ROCKED!
Rob and I were talking about it and came to the realization that she is 48!!! Man, she must hit the weights. Decked out in leather pants and a pleather top, no wonder so was drenched.
She played the hits, including my favorite "Crimson and Clover". The show was packed with bewildered Latino grannies and young teens rockin out, then getting kicked out. We had a good time and it was free!!
Once Joan wrapped it up with "Thank you Alhambra!!!" which sounded funny to me, we headed back to the center of the valley but decided to stop for a drink since it was still early. I had been wanting to check out Skinny's on Lankershim.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yruvwRTdtSmTaoDu8HfPBwThis place used to be a hard core gay bar but it has undergone a face lift and lifestyle change. The funny part is that I think the new owners forgot to tell some of the previous clients. Trannies rubbing elbows with NoHo clubbies. Very funny. Why are all tranny wigs so bad??? Cant they buy that Jessica Simpson hair?? Anyway. Its a nice enough place. The new interior is sort of cliche. Amber backlit panels, curtained off nooks etc, you get my drift. We spent most of the night chatting with our bartender Matt, who shared great stories about east coast punk in NYC circa early nineties. Very funny. Finally, we threw in the towel and headed home. We were still home before 12. What a couple of old farts!!
