Our college-student kids joined us for a couple of days in Los Angeles, and food is always top of mind. Lunch one day was at the Grand Central Market from Prawn and Press Brothers Juicery before heading to Santa Monica to see the ocean. A late dinner after a work-related reception for John took us to Karl Strauss Brewing Co. but the dining highlight with the kids had to be dinner at Toca Madera, which just opened a restaurant in Scottsdale and hired our daughter as a hostess. Guacamole was served with plantain and tortilla chips. I had street tacos that were served in a warm wood box with tiny bowls of condiments on top. I pulled out the drawer and to find tiny individually wrapped corn tortillas blanketing grilled shrimp and ready to customize with salsas, chopped onion and cilantro. The dark dining areas twinkle with candles and lanterns. Service was excellent. All of us enjoyed our meals, which included veggie tacos, sautéed scallops and shrimp fajitas.

But food wasn’t the only attraction, and Sarah and I got to spend time exploring the Museum of Contemporary Art and shopping in the Fashion District. We walked about 8 miles that day.

We put the kids into a cab Saturday morning so they could get to the airport and back to their campuses in other states, packed ourselves and then met a former student of John’s who’s now on the faculty at California State-Fullerton. She and her husband took us out for dim sum at Din Tai Fung and it was pretty phenomenal. We shared woodear mushrooms in vinegar, soy noodle salad and spicy noodles with pork, sautéed spinach and bok choy, and numerous dumplings filled with combinations of shrimp, crab, mushrooms, pork and all shaped into beautiful little bundles. It was great fun working our ways through the steamer baskets that arrived 2-3 at a time and stacked up in the center of the table. This massive midday meal was all we needed to fuel our trip back home.