#37: The Grilled Cheese Truck

Everyone has their own comfort food. Regardless of the weather or how bad the day has been, there is always that one meal that can make everything better. For me, that food has always been a grilled cheese sandwich. Not the healthiest or most balanced meal, but paired with some tomato soup, a cozy blanket and a chick flick, it has always been able to cure even my sourest moods. So when I heard that there was a food truck specifically dedicated to my comfort food, I had to track it down.

Little did I know, that the Grilled Cheese Truck is like the food truck of the moment in Los Angeles. If I could even find a time when the truck was in my area, I could then count on there being an hour-long line at the least. But luckily for me, three amazing things happened all at once to make my trip to the Grilled Cheese Truck possible. 1) a gas station near work recently was converted into a parking lot for lunch-time food trucks, 2) no one knows about it yet so there aren't many crowds and 3), the Grilled Cheese Truck decided to stop there one day during my lunch break.

My coworker Brett and I headed over to, as they now call it "the Truck Stop" (aka the old Valero gas station on La Brea and Beverly) for some amazing grilled cheese. I pored over the menu beforehand, and decided that I was going to deviate from my classic favorite (cheddar on wheat) for something more exciting: jabanero jack on french bread with a savory bbq pork addition. If it hadn't been the middle of August and hot and sunny, I would have added a cup of tomato soup.

The wait was only about 10 minutes, but it was downright agonizing when surrounded by the smell of various grilled cheese creations. When I finally got my sandwich, I felt like I had a hot treasure in my hands (and it weighed about as much as a brick of gold, too). I had to wait another agonizing 10 more minutes before we drove back to work, to eat our sandwiches since the Truck Stop has yet to install tables. But oh man, it was worth the wait!

The jabanero jack was spicy (but not too spicy for a weakling like me), the bread was soft but crunchy on the outside, and the bbq pork was a perfect addition. I may have gained 2 pounds, and the $8 price tag was a bit steep, but the experience was well worth it. I really hope the Grilled Cheese truck stops by again soon, because I have heard amazing things about their cheesy mac & rib sandwich, s'mores sandwich (yes!), as well as pretty much ALL their different cheeses- fresh mozzarella, gruyere, and double cream brie. O. M. G.

I highly recommend the Grilled Cheese Truck, ideally if you can find it in your area without an hour-long wait!

Luckily it was a short line when we got there!

The menu, adorned with the awesome "truck-stop girl" logos on the bottom.

Cheesy, melty, deliciousness.

#17: Screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

I've been wanting to go to a screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for years now, but only finally got around to going a few weeks ago. I've always felt that it is just such a "Hollywood" thing to do. Like Hollywood has gotten soooo bored of standard theaters, and has now moved on to more "alternative" venues like cemeteries. Apparently, I'm not the only one who likes the idea, because the screenings of late have been drawing crowds of up to 10,000 people. I had almost written it off completely when I drove by during the Ghostbusters screening in early July and saw what a massive crowd it was. But I figured, it's on the list, I might as well go through with it. I found a night that worked in my schedule (that is, where I could dedicate 3 hours beforehand for waiting, parking, and picnicking) and it happened to be a great classic movie - Breakfast at Tiffany's.

My ever-adventurous friend Barbara came with me, and there we met up with some of my favorite friends - Joey, Josh, Tracy, Stacy, and my roommate Jannine. Luckily, we bought our tickets online ahead of time, so we didn't have to wait in line for that (whiched ended up being doubly a good thing, because the screening eventually sold out and lots of people got turned away). Also, luckily Tracy and Stacy got there super early, and were able to carve out a sweet central spot for us to all picnic on. There is a huge lawn in the middle of the cemetery, where everyone sits for the film. We weren't on graves or near any either, which helped with the creepiness factor. We all brought picnic foods like cheese, crackers, grapes, chocolate, and lots of wine, but some of the people around us put us to shame! There were people with entire picnic sets, complete with low tables and scented candles. The ambiance was great - the sun was setting, and there were DJs playing the most absolutely hipster music imaginable (think completely obscure mixed in with classical).

As the sun set it got quite a bit cooler, but luckily we all came armed with layers and lots of blankets (not to mention a slight wine buzz). As long as we made sure to change sitting positions every half an hour or so, sitting on the grass wasn't so bad. As soon as the sun set and it was dark enough, the movie started. I had never seen Breakfast at Tiffany's before, and had to remind myself that looking at a 50-year-old movie with modern eyes isn't really fair. Yes movies in the 60's were fairly shallow and very over-acted, but I definitely enjoyed watchingAudrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly- one of cinema's most iconic characters. We laughed, we cried, we sang Moon River, and only once I had to get up to go to the bathroom, which meant hopping and leaping over other people's picnic blankets since we were in the dead center.

Overall, it was a really fun experience. The best part was spending time with so many good friends, and seeing classic movies is always fun. But truthfully, I don't think I will be going to many more cemetery screenings, simply because there are so many people there. Getting in and out of the cemetery was a total pain, and having to act like Frogger to go to the bathroom was a bit ridiculous.

Though many people might think the idea of sitting in a large cemetery and watching a movie projected onto a mausoleum wall is creepy to say the least, I actually think it's pretty clever. As my friend Josh said "you know, if I was buried here, I wouldn't mind the company every Saturday night."

The crowd and their hard-core picnicking before the show.

Sunset in the cemetery (with a few thousand friends).

The iconic opening shot- eating pastries outside the window of Tiffany's.

#14: The Griffith Observatory

For as long as I can remember, my engineer/pilot dad has dragged my entire family to air & space museums, observatories, and other points of scientific interest all over the country. Seeing as I grew up an hour away from LA, I'm actually pretty surprised we've never made a family trip up to the Griffith Observatory. I figured I would make Dad proud and spend a Saturday afternoon getting my learn on at the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park.

Barbara, Regina and I headed up to the Observatory on a stiflingly hot day in August. We thought it would be a nice reprieve from the heat, but unfortunately we weren't the only people with that idea! The parking lot was full, but luckily we were able to easily find parking along the road for free. After a short (and sweaty) trek up the rest of the hill to the observatory, we rushed to the line to catch the "Centered in the Universe" planetarium show. Entrance to the observatory is free for everyone, everyday, but the planetarium shows cost $7 for adults ($5 with your student ID!). We were able to get tickets to the show we wanted, and immediately headed over the blessedly air-conditioned Samuel Oschin Planetarium.

After settling into our incredibly comfortable reclining chairs in the planetarium, the narrator's almost comically soothing voice came on, and guided us through a map of the stars and the history of theories of the universe, starting with Copernicus to Galileo all the way to current theories about how the universe is expanding. It was fascinating, relaxing, and of course educational.

After the show ended, we started exploring the rest of the observatory. We quickly walked through exhibits on the moon phases, eclipses, and sun spots. Hands down, the best attraction on the main floor is the Foucault Pendulum, located in the Central Rotunda. The exhibit illustrates how the Earth rotates, featuring a 240-pound brass sphere swinging on a 40-foot cable. The pendulum is constantly swinging back and forth, propelled by magnets in the ceiling. So basically, the pendulum swings constantly in the same direction, even though every 10 minutes the pendulum seems to move slightly and knock over a peg. But it's actually illustrating that the Earth is rotating around the pendulum. So cool.

The main floor was super crowded, so we headed downstairs. We walked down the "Cosmic Connection" corridor, which pretty much blew my mind. I like to consider myself somewhat creative, and the display over over 2,200 pieces of cellestial-themed jewelry to illustrate the history of the universe was one of the most amazing museum exhibits I've ever seen. The exhibit not only told the story of the universe's history, but also shows how connected humans are to the sky, and how we are attracted to star, moon, and sun-themed jewelry. Barb and Regina made fun of me for nerding out, but I honestly loved this exhibit and can't wait to take my mom to see it (she would totally love it even more than me).

On our way to the gift store, we passed an exhibit about meteors and meteorites, and a friendly docent approached me and asked if I wanted to hold "the oldest thing on Earth." Hell yes I did! He then handed me a rock, about the size of a softball, but probably weighed around 30 pounds. It was a small piece of one of the largest known meteorites on Earth, the one that created the famous Canyon Diablo Crater, more popularly known as "Meteor Crater" in Northern Arizona (you better believe my Dad took us there years ago).

Afterwards, we headed outside to explore the two telescopes. One was closed at the time, but we learned from a docent that both telescopes are used for observation (haha, at a observatory, duh) and not for research. Both telescopes have 12-inch lenses, and are open every night for the public to look through. The Coelostat Telescope (the one that was closed) on the west end of the observatory is a solar telescope, and was currently focused on the sun. The Zeiss Telescope, on the east end, was going to be focusing on Saturn that night. Fun fact: more people have looked through the Zeiss Telescope than any other telescope in the world.

We spent about 3 hours at the observatory, including the 30-minute planetarium show. But even in that amount of time, we probably saw less than half of what the observatory had to offer. I highly recommend the Griffith Observatory, and all of Griffith Park in general. People complain that there aren't enough parks and green space in LA, but little do they know that Griffith Park is one of the largest public parks in the country (my douchey New Yorker coworker made a bet with me that it was smaller than Central Park... it's actually five times larger). I can't wait to go back to the Observatory sometime in the fall or winter when it's a little less crowded, and I'll be sure to go at night this time so I can look through the telescopes!!

Driving up Vermont Canyon Road, which dead-ends at the Observatory.

A professional picture courtesy of the Griffith Observatory website. The building and its location are absolutely stunning!

The cosmic connection's illustration of the Big Bang.

Holding a piece of the Canyon Diablo Crater Meteorite.

The helicopter over Barbara's shoulder is so LA.

The view alone is worth a trip!

#38: The Hollywood Museum at the Max Factor Building

Though I usually try to avoid the tourist trap that is Hollywood, there are actually a few gems that are worth seeing for locals. If you dig really really deep underneath all the "fake for tourists" Hollywood glitz, you can find a few real, fascinating treasures. One of them is the Hollywood Museum, located at the tourist epicenter of Hollywood & Highland.

The museum boasts tens of thousands of different movie artifacts, props, costumes and other memorabilia, displayed over 4 floors and 35,000 square feet. The collections span from silent film posters to the costumes worn in the latest Twilight movie. My friends Barbara, Regina and I took almost 2 hours to go through the whole museum, and walked out with our brains full of old Hollywood trivia.

The entire second floor is currently dedicated to Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy displays, since 2011 would have been Lucille's 100th birthday. It was pretty special, since we (on accident), went to the museum on August 6th, which was her actual birthday. I was never a huge I Love Lucy fan, but it was pretty cool to see literally thousands of artifacts from her life and incredibly influential career. Fun trivia fact that I learned: in 1933, she was playing a bit part in the movie Roman Scandals, which required her to shave her eyebrows. They never grew back (!!!) and had to be drawn on for the rest of her career. Can you imagine?!

The basement featured more horror-centric items, like Hannibal Lector's cell from Silence of the Lambs, and costumes from Bride of Frankenstein (trivia: the basement of this building was a speakeasy during prohibition!). The top floor had the more current displays, like Glee, Twilight, Baywatch (see below!), Moulin Rouge and Dreamgirls (I still don't know how they got the gold Cadillac inside the building). There is also a section dedicated to Jean Harlow, whose 100th birthday is also this year. I never knew much about her, but learned that the terms "platinum blonde" and "blonde bombshell" were both coined to describe her.

But the real (and only) reason I would recommend anyone pay the $15 entrance fee, is for the first floor. The museum is housed inside the old Max Factor building, and the first floor contains his makeup rooms, where he actually used to work, restored to their original grandeur. There are four separate rooms, each dedicated to blondes, brunettes, brownettes (his term for light-brown hair) and red-heads. Each room is painted and has lighting considered most favorable to people of those hair colors and complexions, and he would only do a woman's makeup in her appropriate environment. Let me tell you, the light blue walls and yellow-ish lighting in the blonde room were most favorable!

Each room had photographs and memorabilia dedicated to that hair color's most famous sirens, all of whom Max Factor actually worked with directly. For the blonde room, of course Marylin Monroe and Jean Harlow were featured. For the brunette room, Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Taylor; for the brownette room, Judy Garland, complete with a pair of original ruby slippers (though I do doubt their authenticity, since another pair are in the Smithsonian???). The red-head room was dedicated to Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball, and on the vanity was a display of Lucille's personal Max Factor brand makeup collection.

Not only was this guy a makeup artist; he actually single-handedly invented the makeup and cosmetics industries as we know it today. As we learned from the short film showing on a loop: as the film industry itself was evolving (from silent film to black-and-white to color films) he had to invent new products and looks to make the women continuously look perfect on-screen (trivia: in black-and-white movies, the women actually wore bright pink rouge and dark brown lipstick, which translated to a natural blush and red lips on film. But apparently in real-life they looked horrifying!) I could go on and on about his genius, but I learned that Mr. Factor invented lipstick, mascara, blush, lip gloss, fake eyelashes, compacts for powder, not even to mention completely revolutionized the cosmetics industry to make it possible for the everyday woman to buy and wear makeup. I'm not going to lie, my mind was a bit blown by the magnitude of how influential he was and still is on almost every single woman in this country (I won't even get into how he also invented the idea of the celebrity endorsement... it's just too much!!)

If this museum had only been the first floor, I would have still felt like I got my money's worth. Yes it was cool to see fancy costumes from Moulin Rouge and Planet of the Apes, but the truly fascinating insight into Old Hollywood Glamour that I learned from the Max Factor exhibits was much more interesting. I nerded out in a big way and LOVED it, and would highly recommend this museum to anyone who is actually interested in the real history of Hollywood and its original leading ladies.

Regina and me outside the museum

One of the original Baywatch swimsuits. The boobs were soooo big!

Moulin Rouge costumes

The peach-themed "brownette" room is most flattering to girls with light brown hair.

For Blondes only!

Though he never starred in a movie, he was given an honorary Academy Award in 1929 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1981 for his unparalleled contributions to the film industry.

#27: The Huntington Gardens

At my old job I used to get bored a lot, and one week I found myself voraciously reading about the history of Los Angeles on Wikipedia (I know, nerd alert). I read about the history of South Central, Hollywood, Long Beach, Santa Monica, and all the old rich neighborhoods like West Adams, Hancock Park, and Pasadena. There is so much fascinating history about each of these different neighborhoods, not to mention important cultural influences that are still seen today. But that's besides the point. What really matters here is that reading about the histories of these neighborhoods really made me want to explore them. I'll save South Central for another day, but at the top of my list was Pasadena, and with it, the Huntington Gardens.

The Huntington Gardens (full name: The Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens) is in one of the oldest, richest neighborhoods of South Pasadena. The land and buildings were actually donated by the Huntington family estate, and the main museum (that houses locally well-known paintings such as Pinkie and Blue Boy) was the family home. And by home I mean ridiculous 1800s old-money mansion. There is also an impressive research library, which counts a Gutenberg Bible and manuscript of The Canterbury Tales among its six million titles. Not to mention the 14 different botanical gardens on its grounds.

My friend Barbara and I headed over to Pasadena on a lovely Sunday during LA's "Carmageddon" weekend (aka the weekend they closed part of the 405 freeway and everyone thought there would be Earth-ending hellish traffic, when in fact, there were NO cars on the road) and it was the easiest drive to Pasadena I could have imagined. We paid the $10 entrance fee (it's $20 on weekends for adults but I showed my student ID to get the discount, don't judge) and began exploring. We started out walking the grounds around the main house, which included a huge lawn lined with statues, and shaded winding paths through different orchards. We stopped by the Japanese garden, which was unfortunately under construction and mostly blocked off. We then visited the Chinese garden, complete with pagodas, lily ponds and thousands of native Chinese plants. We walked through the Desert garden, the Camellia garden, and the Herb garden. They were all absolutely stunning, peaceful, colorful.... everything you'd expect from a botanical garden.

Then we headed over to the Rose garden, which was breathtaking, to say the least. Row after row, trellis after trellis of the most vibrant, pungent and creatively-named roses I've ever seen. There were roses of every color of the rainbow (and even others - like grey!) with awesome names like "Rainbow Knock-out," "Class Act," "Passionate Kisses" and "Playboy." I've been to botanical gardens before, but I've never seen a rose garden of this magnitude. It was like something out of a storybook!

After a thoroughly enjoyable (and long) stroll through the extensive rose garden, we went over to the rose garden tea room for a high-tea lunch. We completely stuffed ourselves with fresh scones (with clotted cream and jam!), tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, fancy crackers and even fancier cheeses, and various pastry treats all topped with pink lemonade. It was absolutely delicious and the perfect compliment to a lovely day in the garden. Plus, the air conditioning was amazing.

After we snuck a few scones into our purses, we headed over to the art museum to avoid the now sweltering heat outside. I especially wanted to see the view out of the back terrace, which has a magnificent view of greenery and mountains and you would never guess you were in LA! We saw all the paintings, artifacts, stained glass windows, and spent the remainder of the afternoon lounging on the shaded terrace. We leaned back in rattan chairs and looked out over all the surrounding gardens and greenery. It was absolutely lovely.

After a quick trip to the gift shop (which was stock-full of History of LA books.. I die!) we headed home, full of romantic dreams of what it must have been like to be insanely rich in Pasadena in the 1800s. I am so glad that Barbara showed me this gem of a place. It was so beautiful and romantic and relaxing and interesting and the absolute perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I highly, highly recommend a visit here (and make sure to bring your student ID!)

Pagoda in the Chinese Garden

Roses in the rose garden

The back veranda of the main house that overlooks all of South Pasadena

The shaded east terrace

Our amazing high tea meal!

Barbara and me rocking our sundresses in the rose garden

#1: Dodgers Game Behind Home Plate

My brother has inspired me to make it a life goal to see every baseball stadium in the country. I have been to 8 so far (out of 30) and they are all beautiful and unique in their own way. But the one that I will always love most is of course, Dodgers Stadium. It may not have a marina view like AT&T Park in San Francisco, you may not feel the ocean breeze like you do at Petco Park in San Diego, and it certainly doesn't have the old-time nostalgia of Wrigley Field in Chicago. But it is the stadium of my home-town team, and therefore will always be my favorite.

I have been to Dodgers Stadium dozens of times, and almost exclusively sit in the cheap seats. When I'm not in the outfield, I'm in the nosebleeds. I'm not complaining, and am actually grateful for the low ticket prices. But for years I have wanted to splurge and get the best seats in the house. When I decided to make my 2011 List, this was the very first thing I thought of, and is one of the items I was most determined to cross off.

I was trying to figure out which game I wanted to go to (truthfully, I was looking for games against an unpopular team because tickets would be cheaper, and the Dodgers might actually have a chance of winning). I started to worry that I still wouldn't be able to afford tickets, and that there would be no way I could convince a friend to spend that kind of money to go with me. But luckily for me, my boyfriend is an avid baseball fan too, and surprised me with behind-home-plate tickets to the July 4th game (complete with fireworks!) for our anniversary. True love people, I'm telling you.

After eating an amazing meal at Philippe's, we went to the stadium early. I've never gotten to the stadium in time for batting practice (typical Angeleno, I usually show up in the 3rd inning) so seeing the whole team practice was a treat. We even went onto the field with the hope of getting autographs, but all the players were too busy to sign. Oh well! It was burning hot, so we cooled ourselves down with beer and ice cream. Mmm.

The game was great. I literally felt like I was watching the game on TV, our seats were so close. But of course it was better because I could smell the grass and watch the sunset. The Dodgers played well, and my favorite player, Matt Kemp, scored twice. During the 7th Inning Stretch, I showed Ronny one of my favorite Dodgers Stadium traditions by singing the song twice instead of once (he thought it was excessive). After the game, they had a pretty fantastic fireworks show, complete with all the popular patriotic songs. There are few things I love more in life than 4th of July Fireworks, and watching them from the MVP Box at Dodgers Stadium with my boyfriend was pretty special.

If only I had had some apple pie, I just might have just died of pure patriotic happiness.

Our fancy expensive tickets!

Wearing my sweet new white-on-white hat (also part of my present!)

Opening pitch

I borrowed this picture from the Dodgers Facebook page. During the National Anthem, dozens of soldiers went out onto the field and unfolded a ridiculously large American flag. For once, a scene best seen from the nosebleeds, not field level.

Beautiful sunset over the ravine

PS- Yes, I am completely ignoring the fact that the Dodgers lost the game. That part doesn't even matter.

#23: Philippe's The Original French Dip

Originally, #23 on my list was to rent a paddle boat on Echo Park Lake. I think I was inspired by that one scene in 10 Things I Hate About You, even though that was supposed to be set in Seattle. Anyway. As I was doing a bit of research on boat fees, I found out that not only has the Echo Park boathouse been closed down, but the entire lake had been fenced off for a complete remodel and won't reopen until 2012. So much for that!

Later that week, my boyfriend told me about a restaurant he had heard about on one of his favorite travel channel shows, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, called Philippe's Original. I had heard of it, but had never been there. It is one of those classic LA restaurants. Not one of those "hot right now" places, but a place that has been in downtown LA for over 100 years, and has a legitimate claim to having invented the French-dip sandwich. I do love a French-dip, and decided it needed to be on my list.

Ronny and I ventured downtown on the 4th of July, on our way to a Dodgers game. We walked into Philippe's full of high expectations, because after all, when Anthony Bourdain raves, Ronny listens. And Philippe's did not disappoint. Much to Ronny's delight, Philippe's is located near Chinatown, and it seems to be far away from all the hipster-cool downtown-chic places. Here was a restaurant with no pretentiousness, no airs, and was simply about delicious French-dip sandwiches. The menu was limited, with only I think 5 different sandwiches to order, along with deli style potato salads and coleslaws. Hanging above the counter was a sign that said "Lemonade, $0.75" and I thought it was one of those cute vintage tin signs. No, the lemonade actually cost 75 cents! I ordered the beef dip with potato salad, Ronny ordered the lamb dip with cole slaw, and we each got a lemonade. Total bill was just over $20. I have ordered cocktails that (with tip) cost as much!

Touristy as ever, I started to take pictures of our sandwiches, but was abruptly stopped by Ronny. "Really Suz, could you please stop? This is kind of a private moment." Though Ronny may have been more serious about it, I have to agree that the sandwiches really were that good. He has already asked me twice when we can go back.

Behind the counter

All the goods... Ronny's hands in the background ready to pounce!

Yaaay!!

If a restaurant can exist for over 100 years in Los Angeles, it's legit in my eyes!