I somehow failed to find this earlier when I was searching for it, but believe it or not, Canter’s does have a Twitter account! Hey, @CantersDeli, I just Tweeted at you!

Well, the drunks and people dressed up for goin’ out are starting to trickle in (our server seems entertained by them) and Queequeeg has arrived, so I must bid you adieu for the evening. But don’t forget, we are still here until noon, so if you happen to stop by for some breakfast or brunch, be sure to drop some cash or foodstuffs in our donation box while you’re here!

So I forgot to take a picture of my food until it was halfway eaten, but you get the general idea:

My chocolate milk came in the fanciest little glass. I’m actually going to get one of those Jell-O cups Julia blogged about earlier next.

The crowd has quieted down a little bit since I got here; it’s not much emptier, there’s just fewer rowdy tables. And maybe it’s just cause I am still waiting for my “second wind” to kick in and I’m projecting my sleepiness onto everyone else. But you wouldn’t guess it by how excited I (and Lucinda) were to take a picture with the prom kids!!!

The best is the girl sporting the classic “Date’s Tuxedo Jacket Over Prom Dress” look.

… so let’s see how much more cash-money and food we can get in our donation box before it’s all over (mission: Food Bank plug – achieved!)!!

The service here is really fast! I actually had my Mac & Cheese in front of me before I finished writing that last post. They’ve got tons of employees working right now – which I guess should be expected, this place is a late-night eating mainstay, after all. The Mac & Cheese is pretty good, and so is the chocolate milk, even though it came from syrup.

All the staff is also extra-helpful now that over a dozen prom-goers just wandered in for a bite!! And so did Lucinda and Travis, who of course couldn’t resist sneaking up on the teenagers for a photo op (seen below with spoons on their noses). Some kids were also slow dancing to the live music coming from the other room.

Oh, and P.S. these Mi-Fi thingies are about 1/4 the size of what I expected them to be. They are almost credit card-sized. I now see why Lucinda called them “cute” earlier.

So, I’m sitting alone at the counter at Canter’s at 12:40 a.m. with a computer in front of me, fixing my makeup. I’ve had weirder nights.

It’s been a looong while since I’ve visited this joint, and I was too distracted by the ridiculous traffic on Hollywood Blvd. a half hour ago to give one thought to what I wanted to order. This menu is so huge it’s quite intimidating. It took me nearly 20 minutes just to pick something out.

After being tempted by the smell of the meat being cut just a few feet away from my seat, I decided to do something different (OK, not that different for me) and order the Macaroni & Cheese. With a chocolate milk (hey! at least I didn’t order the Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich – which is a kinda ridiculous $4.25 on the big kid’s menu).

I must really be harking back to childhood diner food experiences, since it’s taking a lot not to devour everything in those delightful miniature cereal boxes sitting right in front of me, teasing me. And my eye was also drawn to one of the kid’s coloring book drawings posted on the wall behind the counter, of “Canter the Dog”.

In addition to being a just plain fun movie and tribute to so many classic hand-drawn cartoon characters (Disney characters! Warner Bros. characters! and Fleischer characters! All together!), Who Framed Roger Rabbit is also a tribute to the Hollywood of yesteryear – when Hollywood the industry actually existed in Hollywood the place, and the Hollywood sign was still a big advertisement for the “Hollywoodland” real estate development (Fun fact: a Hollywoodland poster makes a cameo in the film, but when you see the sign and Cahuenga Peak in the background outside Eddie Valiant’s office, it only says “Hollywood” – it wasn’t actually changed until two years after the film takes place. Yes I am a nerd.). I love that it’s all about the real Los Angeles, where it was founded – what’s inland a bit, surrounding the river (the Glendale-Hyperion bridge does make an appearance!), not just palm trees and beaches like those shown in far too many films.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DO5HzEWSkM[/youtube]

Oh, and apparently back then people said things like, “Who needs a car in LA? We’ve got the best public transportation system in the world!” Yea, that’s about when I started laughing/crying/exclaiming about how now they’re just picking on me, a car-free transit geek. It had been a few years since I’ve seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit, so I got caught off guard and a little emotional. But at first it was wonderful, when just a few minutes in one of those Big Red Cars with “Sunset Blvd” splayed across the top pulled into frame, and I was transported into some magical version of Los Angeles where the public transportation vehicles and the automobiles co-existed in happiness along our city’s major thoroughfares (I get so sad every time I remember that the big median down Eagle Rock Blvd. is just covering up where the Red Car tracks used to be!).

Continue reading LA Plays Itself in the Movies: Who Framed Roger Rabbit →

My friend Jimmy and I headed out early to Universal City today (we are the last two people in America who haven’t seen Avatar, and we wanted to hit up the IMAX at City Walk), but it wasn’t just to beat the rain-induced traffic headaches. I also wanted to check out the scene where supporters of embattled late-night TV host Conan O’Brien are rallying against NBC (organized through the “I’m With Coco” Facebook group).

Despite the rain, and despite widespread reports that even after all the negative fan and media reaction to NBC’s late-night time slot shuffle O’Brien’s show will still be ending this week, people still showed up, many clad in orange ponchos to show their support for their ginger-haired hero. As of about 1:30, I estimated there were about 150 people on the curb at the studio entrance across the street from the Red Line station, hollering, waving signs and encouraging drivers to honk. Quite a bit shy of the 1,500 signed up on the Facebook event, but still a pretty good turnout considering the harsh weather. And of course there was a media presence – roving TV cameras interviewing those in the crowd, as well as a sight I cannot wait to see played out on The Tonight Show: a car towing Tonight Show band member La Bamba out to the crowd, inside a giant glass box (to protect him from the rain? Jimmy said it looked like a Popemobile).

Word on the street is our beloved USC football head coach Pete Carroll is leaving for a job coaching the NFL’s Seattle Seahwaks (as of this writing I haven’t heard anything official from Carroll or USC). Now, I’m completely unqualified to report on whether or not that’s true, but as a person with internet access, I am totally qualified to give you my opinion on the situation and its impact on the USC football program.

First off, I’m supportive of Carroll’s decision, no matter what he does. I may only be a fan, not a player, but he’s still my coach, and a man whose perspective and philosophy on life I highly respect. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing in his position. The Trojans men’s basketball team recently suffered self-imposed punishment (following recruiting violations a couple years ago) that includes a ban on post-season play this year, and the football team is under investigation for multiple incidents where players, including Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, allegedly received illegal gifts from sports marketers and agents. All the while, instead of taking the fall or any responsibility at all for the infractions that have gone on under his watch, Athletic Director Mike Garrett has either blamed coaches (basketball coach Tim Floyd was fired last year) or simply remained mute, leaving those like Carroll to fend for themselves.

So I completely understand where Carroll is coming from, wanting to jump from the sinking ship that is the USC Athletic Department before it takes him down with it. He’s clearly got his priorities straight and is putting his own well-being, reputation and sanity ahead of his job, and not putting up with a boss so willing to throw him under the bus in a time of crisis.

Continue reading If A Coach Resigns In the Forest and Nobody Really Cares, Does He Make a Sound? →