Business travel, by its very nature, is sometimes an in-and-out proposition. Go, get the work done, get back home. Not much time, if any, for sightseeing or R and R. More and more Steve and I are finding this to be true of our trips this year. Still, I love traveling, so I always try to look for even the smallest moments that help make a trip special and memorable. I got some practice doing just that on a recent two-night stay in Los Angeles.
I find that these “memorable moments” are often food-related and such was the case with both moments on this trip. The first came from our dinner decision the first night we were in town. Hungry but tired, convenience was as important to us as food, and from the window in our hotel room, we spotted three restaurants within walking distance: McDonald’s, Sizzler, and Pars Persian Cuisine. When Steve and I travel, we like to get away from chain restaurants, preferring to check out local favorites, like a family-run diner, a popular sports bar, or the burger joint where everyone gathers for lunch. We’re not foodies, so we tend to gravitate to foods in our comfort zone. We eat a lot of pizza (for me) and barbecue (for Steve).
Between the three close-by restaurants, the safe bet on where we’d end up would have been Sizzler (even though it’s a chain) for a comfort-zone-friendly steak and baked potato. But you know what? We passed right by the familiar and waltzed into the Persian restaurant, two madcap gourmands in search of strange and new culinary delights! And then we settled down, came to our senses, and remembered that we’re neither “madcap” nor “gourmands.” We chose the safest item on the menu, and decided to split: Beef shish kabobs — chunks of marinated beef, bell peppers and onions — and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
Of course, now I felt guilty. I came in to try something new and I chickened out. I decided to remedy the situation by going all-in on dessert. One item on the menu jumped out: “The Famous Saffron & Rose Ice Cream.” Despite the description — “Heavenly blend of Golden Saffron, rosewater, and toasted pistachio” — and the promise — “this ice cream captures every heart that tastes it” — it sounded perfectly horrible to me. I had to google “saffron,” as I had no idea what it was, and although the word “sweet” was associated with it, so were words like “hay” and “earthy” and “grassy” — not attributes I typically look for in a dessert. And rosewater? I appreciate the beauty of roses, of course, but I had never given any thought to their taste. And now that I was thinking about it, I didn’t like what I was thinking. But I was determined to taste some authentic Persian cuisine, and this was my last shot. I confidently placed my order, whereupon our waiter announced that this dessert wasn’t available that particular night. In fact, the two desserts that were available were coconut mango gelato and chocolate gelato “with a heart of raspberry sorbet.” Chocolate? Sold! A part of me was disappointed that I was denied the chance to share with others how much I surprisingly loved (or expectedly hated) saffron and rosewater ice cream, but a much larger part was thrilled to be eating some genuinely tasty chocolate gelato.
We created a second memorable moment on the trip the next evening when we (appropriate to our in-and-out business trip) dined at In-N-Out Burger. This is a burger chain, but we never have qualms about forgoing our “no chains” policy if it’s a chain that we’ve never eaten at before, as was the case here. In-N-Out is famously loved by the famous, and had also been recommended to me by a good friend, so Steve and I were both up for giving it a try. It was located adjacent to the airport (so close, in fact, that I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a plane land in the parking lot at any moment) and across the street from a small park. We didn’t spot any celebs, but the entire Kardashian clan could have been dining in, and we wouldn’t have spotted them in the crowd; the place was jam-packed. So, here’s the important question: Was the food any good? We loved our burgers and fries! If there were an In-N-Out anywhere near us, we’d be in and out of there all the time.
We spent a couple of nights in LA, and we had a couple of memorable meals. We almost had an authentic Persian dessert. All in all, not a bad trip.
Next week: Double (better yet, triple!) lock your hotel room door.
