{ Los Angeles | Day 2 }

we found this hidden (although seemed well known to locals in the know) diner via yelp, named

Ronnie's Diner. i loved their classic LA diner looks (so different from NYC diner feel), and the clean

west coast style food. m got eggs, sausage and grits, which were excellent, especially the gritty grits.

i wanted to get something lighter and more californian, so got this eggs over grilled tomatoes with 

avocados, rice and beans. coffee was good, food was good, it was a very satisfying morning.

then later, we headed out to the sawtelle area to meet up with an old friend/coworker of mine, Pat.

at first we were going to have coffee, but she suggested we try the shaved ice next door, at a joint

named Blockheads. that isn't noodles up there.

and omg what a life-changing experience!! i've been eating shaved ice all my life (korean patbingsoo, taiwanese bao-bing, hawaiian shave ice, etc) but never have i tasted anything like this before! 

pat got the "original flavor" shaved ice (milky) with custard pudding and almond jelly - a classic combination. i got a huge bowl (these are so huge) of black sesame flavored ice, with lychee, sweet red

beans, and mochi. both bowls were drizzled with condensed milk (although they had a slew of other 

flavors to sprinkle on). the difference is in the ice shavings - not made from water base, but from milky

creamy base of some kind of magic!!! it was so creamy and delicious - something in between ice cream

and ice. it was a hot day, so this really helped us cool down.

then later in the evening, we met up with other artists and our gallerists at another art show, a solo show of new works by Jen Stark at martha otero gallery. we went across the street after for some pizza at pitfire. it was a table full of food but m and i shared some chopped salad and "the bur rata pie" (with burrata cheese, arugula, pesto, hazelnut, caramelized onion over tomato sauce). so glad we went with this pizza since we almost went with the regular margherita - it was a very unusual combination of flavors but so good together.

mmm so so good~! who knew LA had such good pizza!