Jack and B

Jack celebrates his second birthday with his friends Miller, Alexis, and Beatrice

Beatrice and Jack

From Summer St. Pierre's blog - and Summer has a real knack for getting great baby photos, too.

Beatrice, Month Nine

Congratulations, Beatrice - you're nine months old!

This month Beatrice has spent every spare moment pulling herself up to standing and then trying to walk. She is also crawling at an incredible pace, racing up and down the hallways chasing the dogs. She's very, very physically active, refusing to be held still for a moment - she's even taken to "swimming" in the bathtub.

To work through some of her excess energy we've been taking her to a lot of indoor playgrounds, children's museums, carousels, petting zoos, and science centers (it's hard to let B crawl freely at outdoor parks because the first thing she does when put down is to eat a large handful of the available ground cover: sand, woodchips, grass, or leaves).


Here she is having the time of her life on a carousel (click to enlarge and see the delirious look on B's face). I might add that she sat on a real horse that exhibited the full range of carousel motion, not one of those stationary benches for infants and cowards.

Dancing to Panjabi MC

This month Aunt Gillian came down to visit while Dev was out of town, then we took a road trip up to the Bay Area to visit her grandparents in Oakland. While we were there, we took Beatrice to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito - by the far the nicest children's museum I have ever been to, and highly recommended if you are ever in the area.

When not catching fish at the museum, Beatrice spent her time chasing our cats Odin and Andromache back and forth across my parents' house.

Beatrice continues to love trying any and all new foods, and she's moving on to more "adult" foods (Dev and I typically refer to them as "human" foods) like hard-boiled eggs, cheese, rice, tofu, dhal, cooked vegetables, and soup. For a treat we took her to IKEA to play with all the toys and eat macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was a huge hit. She also tried her first pickle at Aunt Mina's house and loved it.

"I ruined brunch."

Eating her first pickle.

Beatrice has been teething for months now, but still does not have a single tooth. Every morning I peer into her mouth, waiting. Every morning there's nothing there.

And my proudest moment this month: Beatrice vs. the Roomba. Beatrice was crawling around when she accidentally started the Roomba, causing it to roll over her fingers and (painlessly) vacuum them. She reared back, let out a whimper, and for the first time I saw a look of real fear cross her face. She retreated. But then, moments later, she charged it, chasing it back and forth across the dining room. Fear = mastered!

As always, you can find many more photos on Facebook or Flickr.

While in Los Angeles

In honor of a friend's arrival in Los Angeles, I have undertaken to list of a few of my favorite L.A. places.

This list is by no means exhaustive or definitive but it can be a nice start for new arrivals. I've skipped those places that, while excellent, are also so well-known as not to bear repeating (places like LACMA, MOCA, and the Getty) except where I wanted to point out specific events hosted at those institutions. I've also largely skipped writing reviews ("excellent coffee," "delicious pizza," and all that). Two years as a food critic was long enough. Suffice it to say: these are all great places, just go try them and see.

I am also compiling a separate list of things to do in Los Angeles with babies and young children – coming soon.

SANTA MONICA
Glow. An annual summer arts festival. For twenty four hours, the pier and surrounding beaches are given over to art installations and performance pieces.
Santa Monica Pier, www.glowsantamonica.org.

Literati Café. Coffee and free wireless, a nice place to work.
12081 Wilshire Boulevard, www.literaticafe.com.

Musha. Japanese fusion.
424 Wilshire Boulevard, http://musha.us/.

Snug Harbor. Brunch, excellent biscuits. Another good brunch place, Bread and Porridge, is next door.
2323 Wilshire Boulevard and 2315 Wilshire Boulevard

Warszawa. Polish food.
1414 Lincoln Boulevard, www.warszawarestaurant.com.

MALIBU
Getty Villa. Regular staged readings and full performances of classical Greek plays in the summer.
17985 Pacific Coast Highway, www.getty.edu.

WEST L.A.
Guelaguetza. Oaxacan food.
3014 West Olympic Boulevard, www.guelaguetzarestaurante.com.

John O' Groats. Brunch, particularly known for their pancakes.
10516 West Pico Boulevard, www.ogroatsrestaurant.com.

Mr. Cecil's. Barbecue ribs with assorted sides and cakes.
12244 West Pico Boulevard, www.mrcecilscaliforniaribs.com.

CULVER CITY
The Actor's Gang. Affordable, innovative theater specializing in classics. (Also, the Summer Family Theater Program is great for kids – see my other list.)
9070 Venice Boulevard, www.theactorsgang.com.

Art Walk. There's a large concentration of art galleries along Washington and La Cienega streets in Culver City. Once a year (usually in May or June) they do an Art Walk, a free open house for all the area galleries and museums. (Dozens of other L.A. neighborhoods also have art walks throughout the year.)

Bottle Rock. Wine bar. (A second location is in downtown L.A.)
3847 Main Street, www.bottlerock.net.

Center for Land Use Interpretation. Small, quirky museum.
9331 Venice Boulevard, www.clui.org.

Father's Office. In the old Helm's Bakery building. One of the best burgers in L.A. Across the street is Let's Be Frank, hot dogs– they also have a mobile truck.
3229 Helms Avenue, www.fathersoffice.com and www.letsbefrankdogs.com.

La Dijonaise. Café. Also in the old Helm's Bakery building. French café food, excellent lemon bars. 8703 Washington Boulevard, www.ladijonaise.com.

Museum of Jurassic Technology. The best place in L.A. Don't read about it, just go there. It's best to go when it's very uncrowded, maybe a weekday afternoon. (They also have shows, concerts, and films; pick up an event schedule.)
9341 Venice Boulevard, http://mjt.org/.

WEST HOLLYWOOD
Canter's. 24-hour deli. Lousy food and ill-tempered service, but still an L.A. institution.
419 North Fairfax Avenue, www.cantersdeli.com.

New Beverly Cinema. Excellent revival theater with $7 double features every night.
7165 W. Beverly Boulevard, www.newbevcinema.com.

Pacific Design Center. Art and design events on the third Thursday of every month. Also see the website for their lecture series.
8687 Melrose Avenue, www.pacificdesigncenter.com.

Silent Theater. Eclectic, eccentric movie theater with nightly programming including the Five-Minute Game (wherein the audience is shown the first five minutes of 15 different obscure movies and then votes on the one they want to see in its entirety). Also runs original silent pictures with organ accompaniment. Down the street from Canter's.
611 North Fairfax Avenue, cinefamily.org.

MID-WILSHIRE
Campanile. Try their Thursday night grilled cheese specials or their Wednesday night soup kitchen.
624 South La Brea Avenue, www.campanilerestaurant.com.

Csardas. Excellent Hungarian food – heavy but perfect for our few cold days a year.
5820 Melrose Avenue.

Lou. Wine bar and restaurant, try the "pig candy."
724 Vine Street, www.louonvine.com.

Village Pizzeria. Started by transplanted Brooklynites, maybe the closest thing to real New York-style pizza in L.A. A good newsstand is across the street.
131 N Larchmont Boulevard, www.villagepizzeria.net.

HOLLYWOOD
Bourgeois Pig. Comfortable coffee place next door to a good newsstand.
5931 Franklin Avenue.

The Hollywood Farmer's Market. Every neighborhood has their own farmer's market, but one of the best is in Hollywood on Sunday mornings.
1600 Ivar Avenue, http://farmernet.com/.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Classic movie screenings in the cemetery all summer long. Bring a picnic and folding chairs and be sure to arrive early.
6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, http://cinespia.org/.

Palms Thai. Los Angeles has the nation's best Thai food and Palms a good representative of it.
5900 Hollywood Boulevard.

Sacred Fools. Independent theater, featuring the comedy series Magnum Opus on Friday nights – staged readings of some of the city's worst screenplays. In a district filled with other small theaters. (See also the North Hollywood theater district.)
660 North Heliotrope Drive, www.sacredfools.org.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Improv comedy with free shows on Sunday evening. Next door is the Bourgeouis Pig.
5919 Franklin Avenue, www.ucbtheatre.com.

Yai. More great Thai.
5757 Hollywood Boulevard.

Arclight. First-run, independent, and classic movies, film festivals.
Several locations, the nicest at 6360 W. Sunset Boulevard, www.arclightcinemas.com/.

DOWNTOWN
The Brewery. Artists' residence in the converted Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery. With a theater, galleries, cooking classes, and a bar and restaurant. They also host open-house art walks twice a year.
600 Moulton Avenue, www.thebrewery.net/.

The Edison. Maybe the most beautiful bar in L.A. 35 cent cocktails and burlesque shows on Thursdays, grilled cheese and tomato soup on Fridays.
108 W. 2nd Street #101, www.edisondowntown.com/.

Grand Central Market. Fresh chiles, spices, tamales, pupusas, Central and South American foods, and much more.
317 South Broadway.

Grand Performances. Free summer concert, film, and performance series. Bring wine and a picnic – there's also a nice grocery store onsite. (With some child-specific shows, see other list.)
California Plaza, 300-350 S. Grand Avenue, http://grandperformances.org/.

Langer's. Widely considered by critics to be the best pastrami in the country.
704 South Alvarado Street, www.langersdeli.com/.

Mama's Hot Tamales. Tamales with recipes from Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Peru.
2124 West 7th Street.

Mindshare. The third Thursday of every month, a party featuring art installations and guest lectures by local academics, artists, and various experts. Held in various locations downtown.
www.mindshare.la/.

Museum of Natural History, First Fridays. The first Friday of every month local university professors give scientific lectures and lead tours followed by cocktails and live music.
900 Exposition Boulevard, www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/first-fridays.

The Redwood Room. Kitschy but charming pirate-themed bar.
316 W. 2nd Street, www.theredwoodbar.com/.

Seven Grand. A menu of 271 whiskeys and whiskey-based cocktails.
515 West 7th Street, www.sevengrand.la/.

SOUTH LOS ANGELES
The Velaslavasay Panorama. A magical little gallery featuring a 360-degree panorama painting. Frequent live performances and events.
1122 W 24th Street, www.panoramaonview.org.

LOS FELIZ
The Alcove. Comfortable, relaxing lunch and brunch spot.
1929 Hillhurst Avenue, www.alcovecafe.com/.

Fred 62. Diner with excellent French toast.
1850 N. Vermont Avenue, www.fred62.com/.

Home. Another diner with a wonderfully comfortable outdoor patio. Half-off specials on rainy days.
1760 Hillhurst Avenue, www.homelosfeliz.com/.

Psychobabble. Coffee place and local watering hole.
1866 N Vermont Avenue, www.psychobabblecafe.com/.

Skylight Books. Independent book store, frequent readings.
1818 N Vermont Avenue, www.skylightbooks.com/.

Steve Allen Theater. Live theater, film, lectures, and much more. Drive-in horror movies during the month or two before Halloween.
4773 Hollywood Boulevard, www.steveallentheater.com/.

ECHO PARK/SILVERLAKE
826 Los Angeles (The Echo Park Time Travel Mart). Los Angeles installment of 826 Valencia's non-profit. Offers readings, classes, and volunteer opportunities for writers.
1714 W Sunset Boulevard, www.826la.org/.

Intelligentsia. Coffee.
3922 W Sunset Boulevard.

Machine Project. One of L.A.'s best arts and science venues. Weird, wonderful performance art and classes.
1200 N Alvarado St., www.machineproject.com/.

Sew L.A. Fabric store and sewing classes for all levels.
1637-1/2 Silver Lake Boulevard, 2nd floor, www.sew-la.com/.

Taco Zone. One of the best taco trucks in L.A. parks at night next to the Vons at 1342 North Alvarado Street, near Sunset. Ask for the suadero.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD
A large and growing live theater district.

EAT. Brunch; try the huevos del sur.
11108 Magnolia Boulevard, www.eatnoho.com/.

Pitfire Pizza. Pizza, wine by the glass, and an outdoor eating area with a fire pit. (A few other locations throughout the city.)
5211 Lankershim Boulevard, www.pitfirepizza.com/.

BURBANK
Thrift Stores. There is a great run of thrift and antique stores down Magnolia Avenue roughly between Burbank Boulevard and Verdugo Avenue. Many sell old studio props and costumes. Particularly good for Halloween. Also a good place for vintage and reproduction clothing and furniture.

Urban Eats. Stop in while shopping.
3501 W. Magnolia Boulevard, www.urban-eats.com/.

EAGLE ROCK
Casa Bianca. Classic family red-sauce Italian.
1650 Colorado Boulevard, www.casabiancapizza.com/.

The Coffee Table. Free wireless, a nice place to work.
1958 Colorado Boulevard, www.coffeetablebistro.com/.

Oinksters. Barbecue specializing in pulled pork sandwiches.
2005 Colorado Boulevard, www.theoinkster.com/.

Senor Fish No.2. Mexican seafood; try the scallop tacos. (A second location is downtown.)
4803 Eagle Rock Boulevard, www.senorfishonline.com/.

Swork. Coffee, free wireless, a great place to work. (Also features a kids' play area, see other list.) 2160 Colorado Boulevard, www.swork.com/.

ON THE ROAD
Follow Kogi, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Coolhaus, Sweets Truck, Buttermilk, and other Twittering mobile food trucks. See LAist for a complete list.

ON THE INTERNET
Some good sites to keep up with what's happening in L.A. (and there are a few more specifically tailored to those with young children):

LAist
Culture Monster at L.A. Times
Eater L.A.
Jonathan Gold at L.A. Weekly
Art Slant L.A.
L.A. Observed

And now I realize I forgot about tiki bars, not to mention all the food in the San Gabriel Valley - well, more soon...

Happy birthday Jack!

On Sunday Beatrice's best friend Jack celebrated his second birthday, and today he invited Beatrice, Miller, and Alexis over to celebrate with him.

Photos coming soon...

great greens

I just made greens tonight with a recipe from the back of the Trader Joe's mixed cooking greens bag and they were really wonderful. The mix is collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and spinach.

The (slightly modified) recipe:

1 lb. of mixed cooking greens
1 white onion, chopped
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup V8 juice (the original recipe called for tomato juice)
1 cup chicken broth (the original recipe called for vegetable broth)
salt, pepper, and marjoram to taste

1. Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the V8 juice and broth, bring to a boil.
3. Add the greens and simmer, covered, for about 30 mins.

That's it! Very easy and very, very good. I've rarely been this excited about mustard greens.

Just one more...

I know I just posted "Beatrice, Month Eight" - but my good friend Amy Robb just posted a photo on her blog too cute to pass up. This is Beatrice with her friend Miller while Amy and Evan were very kindly babysitting for us the other night.

Beatrice, Month Eight

The eighth month was a big one. Beatrice is now standing up (with the aid of a piece of furniture). She stood up for the first time at Summer St. Pierre's house and has been perfecting her stance since - though since Beatrice can't walk yet, she will instead stand still for five or ten minutes while looking around with a "what next?" look on her face.

Beatrice has been spending a lot of her time lately with Summer and Summer's adorable almost-two-year-old Jack - they've been entertaining Beatrice twice a week while I work on writing. And Jack adores Beatrice - he calls her "my baby" and runs to bring her her favorite toys when she comes over. Beatrice loves Jack, too, and she doesn't mind being occasionally bowled over by his affections - in fact, the other day she managed to catch him off balance and knock him over. She always leaves Summer's house in a great mood (even if she often has too much fun to nap while she's there).

Beatrice is also perfecting her sitting, including sitting in the bath - and especially her crawling. She is crawling basically every moment she's awake. Unfortunately, she refuses to stop moving for anything, including nursing and diaper changes -even at night, she crawls back and forth in her crib until finally exhaustion takes her.

This month we started B on more finger foods, including Cheerios, cereal puffs, crackers, and yogurt drops, as well as non-traditional finger foods like cottage cheese and egg yolks. Egg yolks make more mess than you can ever imagine. Still - nothing occupies a baby like finger food. Mina and I enjoyed a leisurely brunch with all three babies recently while Beatrice was perfectly engrossed in eating five Saltine crackers in slow succession.

Beatrice encounters a cracker for the first time.

Beatrice and cottage cheese.

This month B also discovered a newfound love of swings. As you can see, she's perfectly fearless (though I'm not - I made Dev stop pushing her so high, I was sure she was going to fall out).

And now that she's older, she's beginning to appreciate things like the Zimmer Children's Museum, where she explored the water table and the "toddler bounce room," or the Cabrillo Aquarium where she sat in a fish tube.

Fish tube.

Beatrice plays with the water table.

Beatrice poses with some kosher play food at the Zimmer Museum.

Find more month eight photos on Flickr or Facebook.

Congratulations Stephanie and Paul!

Last Saturday Stephanie and Paul got married in one of the loveliest weddings I've been to - every element was totally personal and unique. Sadly I didn't have my camera but you can catch a few pictures on Summer's blog - with many more to follow.