Totally Scarfing All-the-time

Got back from Hawaii at 11:30 last night and couldn't find our house key. Crap! After a lot of digging around through our luggage--literally airing out dirty laundry for the world to see--we found the Beard Papa keychain and proceeded to get some late-night food at the Astro Family Restaurant. Nothing fancy, but a true Silver Lake landmark (if not actually a place you eat at) that's open 24 hours.


Our last meal on Kauai was at Kapaa's hippie epicenter, Blossoming Lotus. (You can't read the sign in the picture above because the aura is too bright, so you'll just have to trust me.) The place was packed with eco-tourists and locals in tie-dye and Tevas, and we had to wait for about 45 minutes. We walked around the corner for some window shopping, ducked under an awning during a short tropical downpour, and checked out the adjacent New Age art gallery (carved dolphins, waterfall paintings, and homemade incense) before ordering our mushroom udon platter and seared tofu dish.

The food wasn't bad--and the "world music" band inside was tolerable, especially since we ate outside--but the meal further reinforced my opinion that 40-odd years of hippies making meatless dishes just can't compete with thousands of years of mock meat recipes gently nudged along by Chinese monks.

A perfect reason to leave Kapaa and return to L.A. It looks like we're going to Au Lac tomorrow with some out-of -town friends...