Adventures in the World of Mobile Knowledge Workers

La Conversation Cafe - Doheny Drive at Nemo St.

What better place to have French conversation than at La Conversation Cafe? My dear friend and I were going to meet there to give me some French practice. I speak the language, but don't have much chance to use it these days. He is French and fascinating.

I arrived a bit early and selected our table. I decided to sit directly across from the pastry case. When you enter La Conversation Cafe, you feel that you have stumbled into Old France (maybe circa Napoleon Bonaparte).

Food Lab - Santa Monica Blvd between Gardner & Sierra Bonita

As I approach Food Lab's door, a little Cindy Lou Who look-alike runs up to door. She presses her face against the glass. It becomes a pinkish blob studded with two bright blue eyes. She laughs, I laugh. Her parents aren't as amused as we are.

Play time over, I enter the cafe. Food Lab is tiny and filled with the smell of baked goods. I'm hungry. I've just finished driving on the freeway in a heavy rain. I'm exhausted by the effort of being a defensive driver, as all around me acted as though we were competing in the Indy 500, with the added fillip of slick roads and poor visibility.

I look at the menu board on the wall and settle upon the Cuban sandwich. My frazzled nerves need to be soothed by something sweet. I choose a container of financiers. I splash out on a double espresso. While I'm waiting for the coffee, I notice a man standing just to the side of the servers, behind the counter.

Larchmont Bungalow - Larchmont between Beverly and 1st

I caught a hint of lemon or maybe verbena as I walked through the doors of the Larchmont Bungalow. My second impression was that I had walked into a light and airy general store in the midst of an upscale village.

There was a line, so I had time to run to the restroom first. The walls were covered with images from old newspapers. My attention was grabbed by a front page headline of the July 22, 1947 edition of the Los Angeles Times. "The kidnapper didn't think to look under the bed" it proclaimed. Apparently a mother hid her daughters underneath a bed, thus thwarting the erstwhile kidnapper's efforts. I wanted to know more but didn't want to spend ages in Larchmont Bungalow's bathroom. Even 60 years ago, media was driven by sensational stories.

Back at the line. My advice to you is to look at the menu while you are waiting because the menu is  extensive. The four guys at the front of the line had spread themselves along the counter, blocking my view of the menu stand (to the left). I spent my time looking around and daydreaming.

Suddenly I had a menu in my hand and was in front of the server.