Flore vegan restaurant

I like to experience different kind of food but sometime I get shy to walk into a restaurant if the menu seems a little too different from what I know or from what I like. It's what happened with "Flore Vegan Restaurant" in Silverlake on Sunset. David and I looked at the menu posted on their front window many times and every time decided to go somewhere else. We both like bacon, sausages and rich food so the vegan menu always seemed boring to us. So I asked my friend Sheva if she tried "Flore" and as the hip vegan girl that she is, she did had few meals there and highly recommended few dishes from the menu.
So last Sunday David and I decided to be brave and just walk thru the door and have the vegan experience.
So here I am reading the menu and being completely indecisive and of course I cannot remember one dish that Sheva recommended so I am on my own.
The first item that caught my interest was the list of juices. I picked the carrot, ginger and apple juice called "Refresh". Let me tell you that this was a tasty juice.
I also picked the potato/fennel soup and avocado/cheese sandwich. For dessert we had the vanilla and chocolate cupcake and the strawberry shortcake.
David had the quinoa tabouli wrap that was big in size and taste. In the middle of eating it David looked at me and said:" I wish I could add a slice of bacon in it"
Well, I am glad I faced my fear of vegan restaurants. The food was good and tasty. Our waitress was fast and nice, that is a rare combination in L.A.
The decor is not what I actually call a decor, it's some stuff that someone with questionable taste put on the walls. I am not sure why there is so many mirrors. Do they want their clients to feel good about the way they look and keep checking themselves.
" Mirror, oh mirror on the wall who is the skinniest of Los Angeles county?"
Thank you Sheva for recommending the place. It is at a walking distance from David's so on the top of eating healthy we had a nice walk back home.
I recommend the place and will go back soon to try all the scary healthy vegan food on the menu.

Farmers Market and ratatouille

I recently rediscovered the pleasure of going to the Farmers Market in LA. I usually go to the one in Larchmont Village on Sunday Morning or the one in Plummer Park on Mondays. I also like the one in Silverlake on Sunset Blvd on Saturdays. I like to go early in the morning because it is less crowded and people are still waking up and more melo.
The Saturday morning farmers market in Silverlake is small with only few vendors that makes it perfect for an in and out shopping and make it easy to compare quality of the products and prices.

I like to cook ratatouille because it's a mix of different vegetables and I can change the recipe depending of what I find at the market. Last time I found some baby eggplants that were really flavorful and gave a great flavor to the dish.

Ratatouille :
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Eggplants cut in 1/2 inch chunks
Zucchinis cut in 1/2 inch chunks
Tomatoes or cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2 inch chunks
Herbes de Provence
Salt and pepper

In olive oil cook onion and garlic then add the zucchinis and eggplants. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes depending on how much ratatouille you are preparing.
Add the tomatoes. I like the cherry tomatoes better but that's just a personal taste. Add the Herbes de Provence, cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
You can add some peppers if you like.

Serve with grilled chicken or a nice juicy grilled steak.
Yummy.

David Pascucci: "Imitation Of Life"

After 3 years of hard work and dedication my boyfriend David Pascucci just released his new album: "Imitation of Life".
It was definitely worth the wait, it is a great, professionally done album.

David is a perfectionist, he pays attention to details and has a passion for music that he got from his father who was a music teacher. It's why he chose to be accompanied by a 13 piece orchestra conducted by Tim Gill, a harp player and a String Quartet.
The choice of the orchestra was wise as it highlights David's voice and talent.

The album has a happy, life is worth living feeling.
The mix of French and English, low key and upbeat songs creates a nice flow and will make you want to listen to them again and again.
David wrote the music and lyrics of the song "On The Horizon" that is about his experience with his dad in his final days.

The 32 page booklet looks great with pictures taken by Olivier Riquelme who likes to play with lights and a strong color palette, definitely have a close look at it.

I am having a hard time deciding which one of the 18 songs is my favorite. I think I am leaning toward " Chere Amie".

When someone is passionate about what he does as David is and focusing on quality, the result is a well put together, timeless album. So make some room on your iPod and enjoy the ride.

David will have a CD release party at The Other Side in Silverlake on September 26th from 8:30PM to midnight. Come and join us for a well deserved celebration.

Miku Hatsune

Miku Hatsune is a new Japanese Pop Star, a new phenomena.

Miku is related to the Yamaha family she is only 16 YO 5"4 with extra long pigtails. Miku changes outfits at the  speed of light in a cloud of smoke

Britney, Paris and others of the same caliber be very careful because this little Japanese girl is going to kick your ass.

Unlike you girls she has no addiction, doesn't drink and drive, doesn't go to jail or rehab and doesn't make sex tapes, she is a role model.

I totally love the way her hair moves when she dances. I wasn't so sure about a Disney character voice but I got used to it and it is part of who she is. Miku doesn't try to be what she is not. Maybe it's why her concert sold out all over Japan and also in Singapore and Los Angeles where she was in concert at the Nokia Theater on July 2, 2011.

She seems so perfect because she is not an actual person but a Singing Synthesizer Application developed by Crypton Future Media with a Yamaha software.

Because she is a 3D virtual image I am a little disappointed that she doesn't metamorphoses herself into a colorful butterfly or fly over the crowd. But maybe the fact that she stays as human as possible makes her more approachable.

In the video, notice our the Japanese crowd is reacting: Always respectful, listening to the songs, sited and waving glow sticks.

Miku is not the first virtual singer, in the U.S there is Gorillaz, in France there is Bebe Lilly and Rene La Taupe. The 2 French ones are targeting a very young audience. Miku is more teenagers oriented.

Is this the future of music? If yes I hope for more creativity. Anyway how real are our idols today? They are mostly created and molded into a mold that most of them don't fit into. The mold is way too tight. No wonder a lot of celebrities become addicted to some sort of numbing drugs.

It seems like the normal way things progress. In 500 year from now or even less all our idols will be Holograms and we will be able to change its voice and appearance at our likings. And a music producer will have the revolutionary idea to have an actual human being singing with his own voice. Crazy!

There is nothing more beautiful than a real voice singing with some imperfections and quacks. That's what makes it real, beautiful and unique.

Smoothies

On a recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii David and I discovered the best smoothies ever.

I read about this fruit stand that is a must stop on the way to the volcano.

So we stopped by to check it out. The fruit selection was great: mangos, papayas, pineapples, apple-bananas, leeches and more. It was going to be a long drive from the fruit stand to the volcano so we ordered smoothies to go.

Well, let me tell you that these smoothies were so delicious that we are now making them at home.

They are simple to make and have the consistency of creamy soft ice cream.

The secret: NO ICE

But instead use frozen bananas.

You can freeze all the fruits that you are going to use for the smoothie or use some frozen and some fresh ones.

It is almost the end of summer so hurry to try your favorites fruits in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup of frozen papaya chunks

1 cup of frozen banana chunks

6 oz of blueberry yogurt

3/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

Put all ingredients in blender and pulse for 30 seconds. Add more juice if you like until you reach the consistency you want.

Serve and enjoy.

Use any fruit and juice combination you like. You can also add peanut butter if you want or even a shot of vodka.

Enjoy!! Yummy!!

Let's start......

It's been over a month that I want to create a blog and everyday I change my mind. I wake up in the morning thinking: " Tonight I'll do it". Comes the evening and I am not sure anymore why I want to do it and find every excuse I can why I shouldn't do it.

So it seems like I found enough courage to do it.

Like the title reads I am French but unlike it reads I am not angry. At least not all the time. No, in fact I am kind of a happy guy until someone steps on my toes. I am pretty straight forward and not really diplomatic. Very French in fact. Yes with the cigarette.
I have been living in L.A for 12 years now I moved here from Hong-Kong where I lived for 5 years.

I like living in Los Angeles it's the Angeleno's I have issues with. Not all of them of course. I don't like to generalize. Angeleno's are so rude lately and I do my best to be understanding and to adapt myself as much as I can but sometime too much is too much especially that clueless woman ( I've been polite here ) in the left lane on the 5 freeway driving at 55 MPH blocking everybody behind her: a double coffee Mocha with extra whip cream in one hand and texting with the other one, her skirt pulled up to enable her to spread her legs to hold the wheel with her knees.

It's always interesting to move to a new city especially in a new country. I expected Americans to be like French. Well let me tell you that this is not the case. What was I thinking?
It's fascinating to discover a new culture with different behaviors. With differences like holding silverware, cutting cheeses, when the salad is served at dinner and so many more.

I want to share my point of view of this fascinating city that is Los Angeles with I hope humor. After living for a while in a city I keep going to the same places. So this will help me getting up from my couch and explore.
I'll talk about food, music, fashion, art and whatever I want.....
I hope it will be as fun for you to read as it is going to be for me to write.

One more thing because I am French I might make some mistakes, please be forgiving and feel free to point them out I always want to learn and to perfect my English.