vacation pt 2

If I didn't live where I do I'd miss the hell out of Hermosa Beach.
If I were coming from the central valley, or god forbid the midwest, it would seem like paradise on earth.

But head to head there's isn't much to choose- they have perfect weather, we have perfect weather. They have great beaches, we have great beaches. Their Walk score is 89, our walk score is 92.

And we've got the advantage of being able to drive five minutes in any direction to get out of town. Bobo's trip home took an hour and a half, navigating solid city the whole way.

But novelty has its own charm.
Someone else's beach, someone else's restaurants, someone else's neighborhood, it's an interesting change(this is one of the things I hate about the corporoatization of the country- chains generic everything they touch). Even a predictable-holic like me can relax and enjoy the occasional shift of gears.

Fortunately there were still plenty of niche businesses to explore in Hermosa.

Our fave eatery was La Playita Cafe, a little Mexican joint literally across the street from our balcony. The menu was standard issue with a happy emphasis on breakfasts. The house specialty was their mole sauce, which was savory, complex and joyously lacking the cloying sweetness of most restaurant mole.
Foodie aside: an excellent recipe that doesn't take 100 years to make & tastes fantastic can be found in Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless, my go-to guy for all things south of the border down Mexico way.
For a brain-blastingly authentic and labor intensive take (schedule a few days of prep time), Diana Kennedy has your back.

The dining area was tiny, but they had a great plant-lined patio with a nice beach view. If I lived there it's the kind of place I'd probably hit twice a week.

(to be continued)