Several months ago, somebody (Trenton and Laura?) told me about groupons. I signed up, just for kicks, and started getting a daily email. Most of the time I delete the daily deal without even looking at it, but sometimes I check them out, even though the majority are for young singles or those with lots of time and money. (Not exactly stuff geared toward the stay-at-home mom.) But when I saw a groupon one day for 50% off this restaurant, I just knew I had to take Brandon on a surprise date. Not only is Japanese food his absolute favorite, but he's really into Japanese architecture too. (Kind of a mutual interest since we met there.)
I'm never too crazy about going into Hollywood. Every time I do, I end up sitting in traffic. This time proved to be no different. Turns out, this restaurant is in the same general area as the Hollywood Bowl (so close they do shuttles to concerts from the restaurant) and THE EAGLES were playing tonight. The exit for the concert and the restaurant were one and the same, so we sat for AN HOUR AND A HALF in concert traffic even though this restaurant was 17 miles from our house. At one point we even considered just getting some scalper tickets and going to the concert, but it was actually nice to just sit and talk uninterrupted, so we didn't really mind the wait.
Traffic and one of a million guys selling Eagles t-shirts.
The view from our table. I had the shoyu (soy sauce) glazed black cod with mushrooms and greens. Oh, man . . . yumaliciousness.
Look at that cod! I've got some work to do before summer hits, that's for darn sure.
The garden court in the center of the restaurant. (Open air above.)
The front of the restaurant.
Turn around and there's the view! There were some stairs that led down to a little path which led to a garden area and also an area where they have a farmers market I think. I read a little about it online, but at night I couldn't get a really good feel for the grounds outside. It's seven acres in the Hollywood hills! The history is fascinating.
More view with a cool, old tree.
Can't resist those downtown shots.
It's always nice to get away and get a little glam in my life now and then.
This is what I came back to at 10:30pm. Reality check. Brandon is on call this weekend and got several pages during dinner, so as soon as we got home he took off for the hospital and I was left to deal with this. I'll take this. (She is pretty fiesty, but still irresistible. See the lipstick kisses all over her face? She came to the door in her diaper and head gear saying, "Mommy, I missed you!" as if I'd been gone for two years.)
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