such a hard life... not!

This weekend passed by so fast. Unsure exactly what I did!

Friday evening we had planned on seeing The Wrestler. However we ended up having a longer than expected dinner at La Palapa del Mar in Long Beach. I had the pollo en rollado (Pan seared chicken breast rolled with prosciutto, spinach, red peppers & blue cheese, with mashed potatoes & grilled asparagus. Served with an apple raspberry reduction), it was pure deliciousness. All the flavors worked so well with each other. I'm not a big blue cheese fan either, but it worked. :) My boyfriend (BF) had the salmon (Served with grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes, lemon garlic butter sauce), he said his was good as well. I give their margaritas two thumbs up as well. Quite the kick, but not overpowering in tequila flavor either. Service was good. Our waiter was a bit odd though. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but my BF straight out said he didn't like him. lol They also have various musicians. When we were there they had an Andean band playing. It may have been Andes Trance, which is listed on their website. He was good... When he played Andean music. However, when he he crossed over to flamenco (or rumba catalana) which he did a few times, he didn't seem to have the right sound. He sang a few Gipsy Kings songs, but he didn't do them justice. Friday night was topped off with a new quiet beach walk. :)

Aren't weekends lovely when you can sleep in? At the same time, you lose half of your day doing that.

Saturday night we met my BF's cousin that was in town for a conference. We (I, BF and BF's mom) picked her up at her hotel in LA and drove over to The Stinking Rose. This was my second time to this restaurant and the bagna calda was a good as I remember it being. Bagna calda is their special appetizer. It's basically garlic cloves, oven roasted in olive oil and a bit of butter, with a hint of anchovy. They serve it with their focaccia bread. For dinner I had the gnocchetti. It was ok, not bad, but not outstanding either. The first time I was there I had the sea bass which was excellent. BF had the Forty Clover Garlic Chicken, but he made sure to ask if they actually used 40 cloves. Which they don't. His cousin had the meatloaf, she said it was good. His mom had the Baked Portobello Mushroom, she said it was quite delicious. We also shared a bottle of Mac Murray Pinot Noir, tasty. :) For dessert, we shared a wild strawberry cheesecake à la mode. And on the way back, I got a good dose of reminders to be thankful for what I have. We drove through the skid row area.

Sunday was another low-key day. We slept in. :) Decided to go for a ride on his bike, but unfortunately his back tire was flat. So we stayed in, watched more Charmed, slept some more, then made dinner. Excruciatingly difficult day, huh? To top it off, my BF prepared dinner for Monday night as well. :) Such a hard life I lead. :)