New Adventures Bring New Blogs

Jolly Rancher shots, courtesy of bartender Rick

The other night, my girl Erica and I braved a little thing called "Speed Dating" through a company called Hurry Date. Have any of you ever tried it? It's quite the experience. You sit around and have five minutes to chat with someone of the opposite sex. Everyone has a number and after your "date" is over you fill out this score card, noting whether you like the person or not. When you get home, you log onto the Hurry Date website and enter all your info and find out whether or not you have any matches. E and I gave the five or six weiners we met a big fat NO, but fortunately had a rockin' bartender (and each other) to chat with. Really, I shouldn't be allowed to speed date. I'm just too critical and a wee bit judgmental and I no-ed these fools before they even sat down. Oh, and one of the guys definitely prefered men over women. That's just not nice at a straight event. Please, boy, don't deny it after you talk about "Sex and the City" during three of the five minutes we're together. The event was at the Vine Bar, just south of Fountain on Vine. Our bartender's name was Rick and he was awesome. Just a genuinely nice guy who takes pride in the bar he owns. He gave us a tour of the bar and made us these Jolly Rancher shots that were all lit up and oh-so-tasty. We also saw the drummer from RATT, an 80's Hair Band. The Vine spins house music and fills up Wednesday through Saturday nights.  Free parking at the dry cleaners across the street or free meters after 6pm.  

Friday night, finally, I tried the ever-so-popular Katsuya in Studio City (original location). There are various locations throughout the valley and city, but Studio City is its first. The sushi was delicious, although we didn't try as many adventurous dishes as I would have liked. Even though Katsuya is known for its creativity on presentations, my date and I stuck to the basics. I didn't want to frighten the poor guy with my eating capabilities during our first encounter. We did try the Robert roll, though, and that was delicious. It's a cut version of the Honey roll, with Avocado on top and some yummy creamy sauce. I can't remember what types of fish are in the middle (blame it on the wine). My date's soft shell crab roll was delicious - fresh and meaty (that's what she said!). Katsuya doesn't accept reservations and don't expect anything less than an hour wait. The dishes are pricey and you get more bang for your buck (and bigger pieces of fish) at places like Sushi Dan (Studio City and West Hollywood) and Sushi Omi (West Hollywood). I would go back to Katsuya with someone like my brother or one of my girlfriends, where I wouldn't have to worry about shoving my face and paying for it. Oh, and don't expect to say "Kat-See-Ya" without seeing a famous face. I saw Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Cacee Cobb, and even met Donald and Cacee because my date knew them. Even though I'm from the land of celebs, I still plotz every time I see one. Okay, okay, so you're wondering about the date, huh? Great success! And I'll leave it at that.

Saturday night I tried Delancey for the second time. It's a sibling to the Bowery and very east coast in style. Last time I went for appetizers and drinks, this time for dinner. I had the butternut squash ravioli, which was so yummy! Very sweet. Although when you give me only six ravioli pillows (is that what they're called?), I'm not going to be full. So don't fault me for snagging a grilled cheese and fries at Astro Burger at 2am. Delancey also has a great wine selection. Try the Pinot Gris - delicious. Another celebrity sighting here: this time it was Robert Costanzo, a famous character actor who I recognized from "Friends" and is currently working on a play in Hollywood. I actually shot the shit with this guy, schmoozing over wine with him and his friend Lenny about careers and whatnot. Not too shabby. No need for reservations here. If anything, it should only be a short wait. Not too pricey and a nice place to grab dinner with friends.