YAVT: Going from San Diego to eastern LA. Rent car or take train?

[Jeff7]

lots of great italian in LA now. Not NY red sauce italian either.

Dare I ask then...what is "not NY red sauce Italian"?



I also think I'm having real whipped cream for the first time, rather than something like Cool Whip or the spray-can stuff. (I ordered a creme caramel: "Italian flan with caramel sauce and whipped cream.")

I don't think I'll be having any more Italian flan again. It's.....not comparable to anything else in flavor, at least not that I've had. Maybe something like a rubbery cheesecake with less sugar?
The whipped cream is also a bit odd in flavor. I can taste the milk distinctly, and there's certainly some sugar added to it, but I can't identify the other flavors. The caramel was also very unlike any other caramel I've ever known.
No, I'm not going to get that again. -$8. :\

Should have driven up and stay the night.

Yeah, probably. I pretty well suck at planning travel that's more complex than "Go from point A to destination B, then come back after a few days."

I still need to get to San Francisco for Monday and Tuesday though. That'd mean either a flight out of an airport around LA (traffic OMGWTF), or else a long drive to SF.
Google's current estimate for a drive direct from the gardens to the airport gives an average speed through the city of 41.5mph, though it is currently 9pm.

Oh hell, I'm going to rationalize it this way: As nice as it would have been to have two days at the gardens, having today "off" worked nice to give my feet a break. They used to be tougher, back when I worked retail. Not so much anymore.
Tomorrow at the gardens, Sunday airport, Monday & Tuesday back on my feet all day.

 

[Ns1]

Dare I ask then...what is "not NY red sauce Italian"?

one example

PRANZO
INSALATE LUNCH
Seasonal Mixed Salad 8
Gorgonzola & Pear Mixed Baby Greens 16
Radicchio & Cannellini Red Onions 10
Insalata di Pollo Toasted Pistachios, Orange Vinaigrette 18

PIADINA LUNCH
Prosciutto Mozzarella, Arugula 18
Porchetta Stuffed Tomato, Eggplant 16
Burrata Arugula 16

PRIMI LUNCH
Tagliolini Limone Lemon, Cream, Parmigiano Reggiano, Basil 18
Penne all' Arrabbiata Garlic, Parsley, Spicy Tomato Sauce 16
Homemade Ravioli Burroro Swiss Chard, Ricotta 20
Spaghetti Mancini alla Carbonara 20
Trofie Riviera Short Spirals, Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Spinach 24
"Nonna Elvira's" Lasagna Verde Beef, Veal Ragu 16

SECONDI - LUNCH
Grilled Branzino Mixed Baby Greens 28
Wood Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Potatoes 18
Veal Filet String Beans, Parmigiano Reggiano Sauce 30
Pork Chop Milanese Breaded, Fritto di Zucchini & Eggplant 20

DINNER ANTIPASTI
DI VERDURE
Chopped salad, cannellini beans, cucumber, avocado, pistachio, Parmigiano Reggiano 16
Tricolore, endive, radicchio, shaved Parmigiano Reggiano 16
Caprese, tomatoes, burrata 16
Gorgonzola & pear, mixed baby greens 16

DI PESCE
Sautéed scallops, mushrooms, aged balsamico 20
Shrimp salad, celery, tomatoes, oregano, bottarga 18
Fresh anchovies, mixed baby greens, red onions, red beets 16
Ahi tuna tartar, crostino, arugula, pistachios 18
Lobster salad, apples, pomegranate, mixed baby greens 24

DI CARNE
Affetati misti, mixed Italian cold cuts, burrata 18
Sweet Italian sausage, cannellini beans, basil oil 16
Trippa, warm tripe, tomatoes, cuttlefish 16
Fegatini, chicken liver green beans, traditional balsamico 14
Grilled quail, guanciale, mixed baby greens, saba sauce 16
Beef carpaccio, arugula, shaved Parmigiano Reggiano 20

PRIMI
Pasta e fagioli, maltagliati pasta, borlotti beans 12
Tagliolini al limone, cream, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil 18
Tortelli di zucca, pumpkin squash, butter, sage, asparagus 20
Spaghetti Mancini alla Norma, eggplant, tomato, basil, dried ricotta 19
Trofie alla Riviera, short spiral pasta, shrimp, cherry tomatoes, spinach 24
Risotto Acquerello, mixed seafood 26
Agnolotti di ossobuco, Parmigiano Reggiano sauce 28
Lasagna verde "Omaggio Nonna Elvira", spinach pasta, besciamella, beef & veal ragu' 16
Bombolotti Mancini al' amatriciana, guanciale, tomatoes, peperoncino 20

SECONDI

DI PESCE
Whole branzino, roasted in sea salt, aromatic herbs, sauteed mixed vegetables 35
Dover Sole Romagnola, wood oven finished, breaded, garlic, parsley, mixed greens 42
Grilled swordfish, rapini ripassati, sun dried tomato 32

DI CARNE
Organic Half Chicken Diavola, roasted potates 26
Farm Raised Liberty Breast of Duck, spinach, aged balsamic vinegar 34
Veal Chop Milanese, breaded, fritto di zucchini & eggplant 40
Harvey Gus Bistecca Fiorentina,wood oven finished, grilled radicchio, roasted potatoes, "for two" 95
Grilled Colorado Baby Lamb Chops Scottadito, arugula 39

SPECIALI DELLA SETTIMANA
SUNDAY Saltimbocca alla Romana veal, Prosciutto di Parma, sage, white wine 29
TUESDAY Rognoni Trifolati veal kidney, white wine, onion 22
WEDNESDAY Coda alla Vaccinara oxtail, vegetables 26
THURSDAY Fegato alla Veneziana veal liver, white wine, onions 24
FRIDAY Stinco di Agnello wood oven stewed lamb shank 29
SATURDAY Porchetta wood oven roasted leg of pork 25


I NOSTRI CONTORNI
Rapini ripassati 8
Sauteed spinach 7
Mixed mushrooms 10
Eggplant al funghetto 8
Sauteed mixed vegetables 9
Roasted rosemary potatoes 6
Mashed potatoes 6
Tagliolini al pomodoro 10

 

[manly]

I've driven from L.A. to the Bay Area (or vice versa) numerous times and if you have the option of flying, it's not worth driving. The bulk of the drive is going 80mph on I-5 with farmland all around you, and I'm not aware of any must-stop places along the way.

 

[Jeff7]

one example
...

Ok...there are numerous words in that list that I don't recognize. They sure sound Italian though, yup.

This is the place: Bencotto.

I've driven from L.A. to the Bay Area (or vice versa) numerous times and if you have the option of flying, it's not worth driving. The bulk of the drive is going 80mph on I-5 with farmland all around you, and I'm not aware of any must-stop places along the way.

I'm watching the road anyway when driving, especially with so damn many cars all over the place, so 80mph past farmland is fine with me. (I remember seeing mountains, two nuclear reactor containment vessels by I-5, a few CHPs, and a lot of cars.)

Flying from SD to LA: Wouldn't all the time in the airports make for a long trip anyway?



...

The trip didn't go quite as planned.
- I either slept through the alarms on my phone, or else the $10 LG Tracfone thing decided not to ring. -2hrs.

- Either Google Maps or I got mixed up, and I started walking to the airport, thinking the rental place was there at the terminal. Nope. I had to walk around the airport. I thought of the Enterprise "We'll pick you up" thing. They don't pick up their phones though. I gave up after walking about 1.3 miles while on hold. Maybe I should have stayed on the line to see if I could find the line I was holding on once I got there. -0.75hrs

- Traffic. Good god. A "highway" for me is 2 lanes in each direction. That's insanity. Maybe a train ride to a urine-scented train station next to a prison wouldn't have been such a bad thing.


- I-15 on the way there: Moderate traffic, with a few slowdowns.
My GPS routed me around some traffic on the way back, and I got plopped right on I-5. The traffic there was a lot faster than I-15.

Rain: It did rain very sporadically during the drives, and every time, traffic suddenly slowed by 15-20mph, as if the roads were suddenly freezing over. I guess it has been a hell of a drought here.



Time for a nap before my sadistically-early flight tomorrow morning.




Edit: Ah yes, San Francisco, where pedestrians shall receive right-of-way, and where crosswalk signs are actually used.
I just can't get used to it.
I'm accustomed to Pennsylvania's rural areas or suburbs:
- Cross wherever you want, because there probably isn't a crosswalk sign anywhere to be seen.
- There isn't likely to be much traffic anyway. Look both ways and cross.
- Cars don't usually slow down for or yield to pedestrians, especially if trying to make a left turn from a stop sign. See previous bullets.