Cali Chronicles: Take 5

The Foundation Room is AWESOME. Easily one of the best meals I've ever had. I didn't take any pictures, as it seemed odd to take pictures in such a nice place. Then it became dusk, and they don't really turn up the lights in the restaurant when it gets dark out, so we ate in a somewhat dark atmosphere. I wasn't sure which direction to go in, to get a bunch of tapas and share or to get an entree. We went with a couple of tapas and I got an entree. We got Lobster Tacos and Braised Rib for the tapas. I'm not sure I have the words for how good they were. The lobster tacos had fresh Maine lobster in a slightly spicy sauce topped with guacamole served on mini corn tortillas. I could've eaten about 20 of them. The braised rib were chunks of braised rib with sauteed garlic spinach and a Gorgonzola fondant. The meat literally just melted away when you put your fork to it, and the Gorgonzola fondant was amazing. I just wanted to spoon feed it to myself. Then, I got my filet with horseradish butter, served over grilled asparagus and parsnip puree. There was also some type of magical sauce on top. I was wary about the parsnip puree, I've never actually had parsnip (til now). The parsnip and sauce mixed together well and the filet was perfect. I ate every last thing on my plate, which I haven't done in quite some time. The portions are obviously a bit smaller when you order something like filet, so I had a little room for dessert. I didn't finish my dessert, but I got the orange cranberry cheesecake. It was a cheesecake with a chocolate crust, topped with a raspberry coulis and orange slices, then drizzled with mango puree. It was served with a dollop vanilla bean ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream on the side.

Too bad The Foundation Room is a private club....I want to go back.

After dinner, we went down to the show, which was a Spanish rock band. We watched the opener, the Green Almighty (or something like that), who were weird and all about pot. I also met my first quasi-enemy in L.A. As we're waiting between acts, some random guy turns to me and strikes up a conversation. It went as follows:

Guy: How's it going?
Me: Going good.
Guy: (extends hand) I'm Tony.
Me: Hi Tony, I'm Sarah.
Guy: Are you from around here?
Me: Nope. Visiting.
Guy: From?
Me: Boston.
Guy: (pause) Oh. Sorry.
Me: And what exactly are you sorry about?
Guy: I've never been to Boston, but I've seen all of Ben Affleck's movies.
Me: That's an excellent way to make your judgement.
Guy: I've seen The Town, Gone Baby Gone, and The Departed.
Me: That's exactly what Boston is like.
Guy: Are you being sarcastic?
Me: I've seen Clueless one hundred times. I know exactly what the Valley is like.
Guy: That doesn't make sense.
Me: Where are you from?
Guy: Minnesota
Me: This all makes perfect sense now.
Guy: Who are you here with?
Me: My brother and friends. (points to brother and friends)
Guy: You know who you sound like?
Me: I can only imagine.
Guy: That SNL girl, Rachel Dratch.
Me: I stare blankly.

Tony then proceeds to move on to them and have similar conversations. He falls in love with Doug when Doug tells him he's from Iowa, because Tony lived in Des Moines once! He goes through his Boston spiel with Bryan as Doug and Claire move away and stand in another area...thanks guys!

Tony, turns to me once again and begins referring to me as "Boston". Upon asking him if he remembered my name, he said no. I reminded him that it was Melanie, and he remembered that for the next 20 minutes until we left.

So, this is Melanie from Boston, saying see you next time.