Well, dear readers, we had the first of our final three performances last night and it went pretty well. Vocal energy was a bit low with a few, but it played very well and it zipped right along. We were told we had about half a house two days ago, but as always that was completely erroneous as we had almost a full house, just about six seats shy of that. Tonight was supposedly even lighter, but I’m guessing it will be pretty full and tomorrow is already sold out with a waiting list. I sat with Sami and her mom, but knew a few other people in attendance, too. It was an older crowd. Peyton Kirkner was thrilled Sami was there – Peyton’s favorite musical is Welcome to My World and she is in awe of Sami’s performance on the CD. Sami really liked her.
Prior to all that, I got eight hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, laid low, and thankfully avoided drama and even had a couple of nice things happen, too. At some point, I went and shipped a package and picked up no packages or mail, and then I came right home. I did stuff on the computer, relaxed, listened to some music, thought about the new book, and finally got ready for the early belated birthday dinner with Sami and mom (it was mom’s birthday, too, a week or so ago). They wanted to go to a trendy little place right here in the Oaks of Sherman – Petit Trois. I never heard of it, even though it’s like two blocks from the home environment. There’s one in Hollywood, I’m told, and it too is trendy.
I’d already looked over the menu online – very expensive and not much that appealed to me, but they’re known for some burger thing called a Big Mec – two thin patties (not even a quarter of a pound) with melted cheese, fois gras, and some kind of sauce over it. So, that’s what I ordered. I believe the cost of said burger is twenty-five bucks. The appetizers are hugely expensive. Sami and her mom split what they said was very good onion soup – fifteen bucks. I was thinking about a shrimp cocktail but at twenty-four bucks it seemed rather an inane idea. Sami and her mom also had the nine-dollar fries.
The jernt itself is nice – trendy-looking in that today way – but loud music playing, like rap music – and of course even at five-thirty the jernt was filled with the trendy and entitled. The burger thing arrived and although it took a few bites to get used to the sauce and the flavor of it, and eating it with a knife and fork (no way to pick this thing up), I enjoyed it for what it was although I’m not sure what that might have been. Sami had the chicken cordon bleu, which she liked, and mom had some other chicken dish that she didn’t love. This is one of those places that automatically adds an 18% gratuity – that doesn’t really bother me since I’m a 20% person. All in all, it’s not a jernt I never need to go to again. Here, if you must have it, is an actual photograph of the very burger I ate prior to eating it.
Once upon a time, LA and the Valley were filled with amazing French restaurants – real French restaurants with authentic French food, not this nouveau crap. Maison Gerard was a favorite, L’Orangerie was another, and there was a great one on Ventura Blvd. close to Sepulveda. I used to love going there and having classic duck a l’orange. But every single one of those jernts are gone now and I’m not at all sure there’s a single classic French restaurant left save for Taix on Sunset Blvd. near downtown.
I headed over to the theater and got there at seven and attended to a few things, then Sami and mom got there at seven-thirty. The rest you know.
After the show, I stopped at Ralph’s for some Tide for she of the Evil Eye, who will be here all too soon, and then I came home and made a small sandwich since the burger wasn’t really enough food for the day, and then I polished off the Cherry Loaf.
Today, she of the Evil Eye will be here bright and early and I’ll go have a very light breakfast, do some banking, lay low and hopefully avoid drama, perhaps put some gas in the motor car, and then come home, make two batches of tuna pasta salad whilst relaxing, and then I’ll mosey on over to the theater to see our show. First I’ll sup with the Wechters at a nearby restaurant.
Tomorrow we play our final show, then there’s a cast partay at Doug’s – that’s where one batch of tuna pasta salad will go, and I’m sure that will be fun. Monday I relax and then we have our Annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash, where we have the best partay in all the land – safe and fun and filled with merriment and mirth and laughter and legs. At eleven-thirty I do my yearly contemplation thing, and then we watch our balls drop and ring in the New Year and I’ll have my annual one sip of champagne. And then Tuesday morning I arise and begin a new book.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, eat a light breakfast, bank, hopefully pick up packages, make tuna pasta salad, sup with the Wechters, and then see our second to last show. Today’s topic of discussion: Favorite burgers. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, as we move along to our final two performances and a New Year.