I complain a lot. But it’s mostly about one thing: my commute. If you already know me, then you know this to be a fact, and if you ever meet me, the subject will most definitely come up. I think I’m entitled, though, since I endure the dreaded Los Angeles east to west commute everyday.
Festering in traffic 2-plus hours a day is harrowing enough, but doing the math makes it worse: 12 hours wasted on a weekly basis. That’s why I rarely venture any further than Lincoln Heights on the weekends and compulsively dream of a job Downtown.
This being my lot, I relish the rare opportunities I get to work from home. Avoiding the drive is a treat, but even sweeter is the chance to lunch in the eastern hemisphere of LA…on a weekday! Just last week week, such an opportunity arose and I found myself at Forage in Silver Lake.
It was kind of thrilling to be so far east of Santa Monica at 1 o’clock in the afternoon on a Thursday. So thrilling, in fact that I got a little out of hand and ordered the ham and cheddar bread pudding. Though a little salty for my tastes, every rich and savory bite was joyous. The slab they piled on my plate was remarkably moist inside (is there egg in that thing?), with a crispy baked top crust and thinly sliced ham pieces with a nicely seared texture—no flimsy, soggy pork here.
To squeeze in a bit of nutrition, I chose kale salad and beet and citrus salad as my sides. However, seeing as the kale salad had a parmesan bread crumb topping (a perfect texture contrast for the kale) and the beets had more cheese, I barely fooled myself.
But, I was celebrating my freedom from the 10 freeway so…
—Valentina
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Girl, you know how to celebrate! I thank God everyday that I get to walk to work. Hallelujah!
You are so lucky. Someday, I’ll be able to work from home! Until then, I have to party with bread pudding.
Oh man, I hear you on the east to west commute! I used to do the WeHo to Santa Monica commute every day too! It wasn’t quite as bad as yours, but there were still days where it would take me over an hour to get home. MISERY.
Wish I had known you were working in SaMo too when I was there! We could have grabbed lunch on that side of town!
@Diana–No, that’s a rough commute too because the streets are so clogged. My friend at work lives in WeHo, and sometimes it takes her an hour to get home. Ridiculous!
1 day at a time… That’s how I deal with traffic. Although, I think you’d look FABULOUS in this rice cooker helmet http://lettersfromtaiwan.tumblr.com/post/6379908711/rice-cooker-style-helmet while you scoot around on Vespa…
I still haven’t had dinner @ Forage, but if a woman demands massive portions of dessert, this is our default place.
@sinosoul: It would be a real time saver to cook rice during my commute, however, i don’t think it’s safe to ride a scooter on the 10…le sigh.
oh man, i hear you on the commute. I go from glassell park to santa monica every day and it drives me crazy. Someday, I will work downtown and ride a vespa. Until then I look at the bright side…..4 entire CD’s worth of music on my ride to work.
Courtney, we are sisters of the commute. It’s such torture, but I just try to deal with a little music and good energy.
Man, that commute is bad and I feel for you. I used to drive from Alhambra and Downtown L.A. to UCLA and I wanted to kill myself! Too often I would fall asleep at the wheel and would have to pull over and take a nap :/ I’m sure you don’t have that problem. Forage is pretty delicious for lunch and I usually end up spending $20 because I order a latte too. Your plate looks pretty delicious – I do love me some salt!
@Natalie, commuting is the curse of the devil and so are Forage’s prices.