Tag Archives: Aroma Cafe

Here there be $2 tacos AND bottles of wine.

Wednesday started off the way every day should: with two breakfasts.

wednesday breakfast

Nisha and I walked a few blocks down Tujunga and stopped at a little taco stand that Google Maps tells me is called Cactus Taqueria #3. I had chorizo and Nisha had vegetarian and they were flippin’ delicious. After that wonderful appetizer we crossed the street to take in Aroma Cafe for the first time. (The fractured narrative of this blog may cause some confusion, but this was, in fact, my first visit to Aroma.)

If I recall correctly, my breakfast sandwich involved bacon and brie while Nisha ordered some sort of vegan plate which she claimed was delicious (and I took her word for it despite the fact that I’m gravely suspicious about anything involving fake cheese).

We enjoyed our breakfast on the patio, trying to make celebrities out of our dining companions. (Is that guy from The Eagles? *googles* Nope.) (Although I did definitely see an actor. But I don’t know his name and can’t remember anything he’s been in and then I went and IMDbed That Guy… movie and I can’t even remember the original guy’s face because all the guys from That Guy… have now blended into my memory.)

After our second breakfast at Aroma we waddled home to catch up on TV. (Sherlock OMFG!!! Amirite, guys?!) As well as New Girl, Mindy, HIMYM, Modern, and our weekly hate-watch of Super Fun Night. Then somehow we managed to extract ourselves from Narnia* and walk to the grocery store.

cacti walkAlong the L.A. River.

Have I mentioned that Hayley and Ryan live right beside the Los Angeles River? (I think of Chinatown every time I walk over it.) It’s dusty and kind of hideous, but it’s nicer than walking along the road. So after Nisha and I traded our money with the hard working people at Trader Joe’s for food and alcohol, we walked home along the river. Then we made Indian food.

riverSee, look: pretty and ugly at the same time.

Actually, Nisha made Indian food. I probably blogged read Vulture. Just as she was putting the finishing touches on the Saag Paneer Mozzarella and Butter Chicken Chickpeas, Hayley and Ryan returned home, followed by their friend, Dave, and Ryan’s brother, Matthew. We dug into the feast, chatted, and played Cards Against Humanity. It was really awesome to meet Dave and even awesome-r to catch up with Matt. Much beer and wine was consumed and even more laughs were had.

California, your people are great.   

* The oversized couch. Keep up, will you?

Tuesday at the Studio

Oh boy, do I ever love to eavesdrop. I’m back at Aroma Cafe; this place is amazing. Aside from the ludicrous display of baked temptations (today it’s a sticky bun), and the menu, packed bottom to top with savoury lunch and breakfast items, the true draw is the wraparound back patio. Wicker chairs, large wooden umbrellas with deep red covers, palm fronds*, antique lanterns and faux chandeliers, and every second person deserving of a double-take, “Wait. Do I know you from somewhere?”

To my left is a middle-aged woman bragging about how well the Universe is treating her these days; (I’ve gathered that it has something to do with her donating all of her shoes.) At my ten o’clock is a five o’clock-shadowed writer, complete with ball cap, v-neck, and cheap, worn down shoes. (He’s actually just reading a screenplay and not writing one, so the writer assumption is based purely on appearance.)

But enough about this place, let’s talk about Day 5!

So last year I graduated from the Writing for Film & Television program at VFS. (Yes, I realize this has been established; stay with me.) The head of that program is one Michael Baser. Now, Mr. Baser is married to a lovely woman named Barbara Stoll. Barbara happens to live and work in L.A. at Sony Pictures Studios as a line producer and was kind enough to invite Nisha and I to join her for lunch.

We left the house by 9 a.m. ensuring that we wouldn’t be late for lunch. (Actual travel time: 1 hour 40.) Thankfully Hayley and Ryan live quite close to a metro stop so we were able to hop on that and transfer to a second line, taking us all the way to Culver City. We were a little early so we popped into Trader Joe’s so Nisha could experience all its otherworldly glory. After some free samples, we walked a few more blocks, checked in, and walked onto the Sony lot.

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I can understand how someone might get jaded quickly, but walking onto that lot for the first time was pretty damn cool. Everything is polished and manicured and a giant wooden rainbow streaks across the sky and the buildings are labelled with names like Garbo, Hepburn, Gable, and Crawford.

Barbara was kind enough to invite a VFS writing alumni to join us for lunch and answer some questions. Richard has been living in L.A. for three years and has been extremely successful working his way up as a sitcom writer. He reiterated that people want to read original scripts as opposed to spec episodes and seemed to attribute a lot of his success to being aggressive. (Maybe I’m misremembering here, but a theme that’s been standing out to me lately is BE AGGRESSIVE — more on this later.) We took a tour around the lot and Barbara let us peek our heads into the sets of Men at Work (TBS) and her pilot, The McCarthys. Then, our most wonderful host arranged for Nisha and I to sit in on a rehearsal of Men at Work; (and drove us to said rehearsal in a golf car. Highlight of the week!)

tv-men-at-work01

I’ve been lucky enough to sit in on a multi-cam rehearsal once before (Some Assembly Required in Burnaby, B.C.) but this was Nisha’s first experience. (Let’s be honest, though, still just as cool the second time; especially when Michael Cassidy is wandering around.) The sole voyeurs in the bleachers, we moved back and forth as the cast and crew went from scene to scene. Neither of us had seen the show before (it actually doesn’t even air in Canada) but it was a lot of fun to watch, particularly seeing Danny Masterson (Hyde from That 70s Show), Kelen Coleman (The Mindy Project, The Newsroom, and recently cast in The McCarthys), and the aforementioned Michael Cassidy (Zac from The OC). Also, to our confusion, we spotted Breckin Meyer on the floor, standing around, not acting. Turns out he actually created the show. Who knew! It’s always really cool to get a peek behind the scenes and we even got to chat a bit with one of the writers afterward.

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View from the Universal City metro stop.

We then said goodbye to Barbara and hopped back on the metro. After a long journey, we arrived home, popped several bottles of wine, and had a lovely dinner with Ryan and Hayley.

* I literally have no idea what a palm frond is or if those two words accurately represent the foliage on the back patio, but it really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Say it: palm frond. Ahh, yes, like a tropical ocean breeze.