Skeddie Sauce and other Delights

California Dreamin' part 4 - Union Station

The original plan was that after meeting with Gail, I would have time grab a quick drink with George, who lives very close to Union Station, before I would get on the train to Orange County. But because the visit with Gail was canceled, that allowed me more time at Union Station to just take it easy and not rush. Plus it also gave us time to actually go to one of Georges' favorite restaurants for lunch. Here now are photos of George and I enjoying face to face conversation for the first time in 3 years. We have been texting back and forth nearly every day in all that time. The station has 3 beautiful gardens. 2 were open and the 3rd was under reconstruction.

Here is a link to the website. If you have never been here but you think it looks familiar, it's because you have seen it in a number of Hollywood movies. It's a beautiful station and in my opinion, way more attractive than the more well-known Central Station in NYC.

After lunch (see the next blog) George and I say adieu until Thursday.

Did you notice that I changed shirts?

See the next blog to find out why.

California Dreamin' part 5 - Som Yong Hung Gai

So for a few years now, George has been sending me pix of his fav Chinese restaurant near China town. It's a real greasy spoon but the food is fabulous - or so he says. The restaurant has been there for years but the corona virus was about to change history for the restaurant. Like most places, closing up for good was a real possibility for this wing wong shop. But the owners out smarted the virus and the mandates. They put a hole in the wall and opened up a walk-up window. Because of that, the business picked up as it was one of the few restaurants you could go to for take out. Next thing I know, George is sending me photos of long lines of people waiting for dim sum.

George wanted to take me there when I arrived at Union Station after visiting Gail and before getting onto the Orange County train. I told George I would love too but I just hope we have enough time for a beer. If you have been following the other blogs before this, then you know that the visit with Gail was canceled and it ended up giving us the time we needed to grab a lunch at Won Kok Hung Low - or whatever the name of it was. I kind of cringed when I saw the place but I knew it had to be ok as George eats there all the time and there were lots of late comers. We had just missed the lunch crowed as ALL of the table still had dirty dishes on them. We walked in and sat down at a table for 10. George ordered enough for all the people who didn't show up. He wanted me to have a taste of everything. It really was delicious but waaaaaay too much food for 2 people.

So, I grab my bags and we leave Union Station and head on out to the restaurant. It's a half mile/800 meters to the restaurant. On the way, we passed this beautiful post office annex terminal building.

Built in 1939 - 1940 to process all mail going in and out of Los Angeles.

And just past the post office terminal annex we come to Philippe. We used to eat here when we were kids. Even then the restaurant was old. It was established in 1908. Every "French dipped sandwich" was delicious. It looks almost exactly as I remember from when I was an 8 year old kid.

The restaurant has quite a history and it's rather interesting. You can read about it here.

After Philippe we continue our walk to Som Ting Wong for lunch. Just off to the side of Philippe restaurant is this cherry tree in bloom and it really is Wow !

California Dreamin' part 6 - Perez, Party of 10

George Perez - Party of 10 - your table is ready. It was so funny because the waiter/busboy/cook came to our table and said: You wan food.

George says: Yes, I want this and I want this and this and this and 2 of these and I wa..........

Suddenly the waiter/busboy/cook interrupted George and said: OK - that's enough. And then he just left.

I thought it was hysterical. The whole scene was really quite comical. A Mexican guy ordering Chinese food from a guy with a serious accent for another Mexican who doesn't speak Spanish but speaks Danish and lives in Scandinavia and the waiter says that's enough already.

One thing is for sure - it was more than enough. It was enough food for 10 people. My only regret is that my stomach is too small. The flavors were amazing.

I thought this was an attractive truck and it reminded me of good times in my off-roader days.

I got a kick out of who some of the patrons were. There came a gang of Harley-Davidson riders with tattoo's and leather everything. Very loud bikes in the parking lot. I don't know about you but for me, Chinese food is on the dainty side. My judgmental side says they ought to be eating big side of Brontosaurs spare ribs.

Tak for mad, George. It was delicious.

California Dreamin' part 7 - Me Love You Long Time

OK - that line is actually from a film about the Vietnam war. But the line is far enough East for me to fit it in with this New Chinatown in the west.

After lunch, George and I walked into the heart of China Town. In the early 1860's, thousands of Chinese men, most of them originating from Guangdong province in southern China, were hired by the Central Pacific Railroad Company to work on the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad. Many of the men settled in Los Angeles. The original Chinatown was developed in the 1880's to1933 and then was demolished to make way for the new and coming Union Station. In 1938, the new Chinatown opened to where it is now.

Jackfruit - not to be confused with Just Jack.

So now there is an even newer part of Chinatown with modern buildings and a metro station built to fit in with the surrounding area. George brought me some surprises; shirts and shorts among other things. He gave me this very nice looking Hawaiian shirt.