SAN GABRIEL, California, November 19, 2017 — Colleen and I love Italian food. Her mother’s family hails from Sicily, and, as for me, I get into the club because my dad whipped up a killer spaghetti sauce at least once a week. Given our heritage, there isn’t an Italian pasta we don’t like. Spaghetti, Fusilli, […]
More Sunday Drive Stories
THE SUNDAY DRIVE: Boot Yourself Over to the Eagle Rock Bakery & Deli for an Authentic Taste of Italy
EAGLE ROCK, California, October 21, 2017 — Colleen and I made a mid-morning dash across the 210 freeway to Eagle Rock’s famous Eagle Rock Bakery & Deli, which has been an institution in that city since 1949. We wanted to buy to some authentic Italian sausages, subs and cookies (pine nut, pistachio, and chocolate hazelnut […]
The reason most of us continue living in Southern California, paying exorbitant mortgages and leases, is so we can be on the ground floor for whatever is trending next. As L.A. goes, so goes the nation. So when we hear about something new or edgy in the LA metropolis, even if neither turns out to […]
It was as if everyone in the San Gabriel Valley had received the same memo: Spring has sprung, so hit the road and enjoy the great outdoors. And we did on Saturday (March 23, 2013) After packing a picnic lunch, my wife Colleen, my three sons Brett, Roger and Ryan, Ryanâs fiancĂ©, Shannon, and I […]
Usually, I donât like the word âclammyâ as a description, unless youâre referring to Pismo Beach, a great California coastal getaway that once billed itself as the âClam Capital of the World. While the clams — once so abundant that plows harvested them on the beach — are largely gone, the Splash CafĂ© still makes […]
If you donât want to shell out for a room at the Waldorf-Astoria-owned La Quinta Resort in La Quinta, Calif., consider dropping in for dinner or happy hour at the Adobe Grill on the well manicured grounds of this special desert oasis.  For about $25, you can enjoy a couple of tamales and a signature […]
I have a confession to make. My favorite place to grab breakfast is a short freeway hop on the 210 to Maryâs Market and Canyon CafĂ© in Sierra Madre. I used to go there regularly more than a decade ago when I was the managing editor of Sierra Madre-based American Bungalow magazine, but sadly, Mary […]
While the recession lingers, you may not be flush with dollars, but thatâs no excuse to deprive yourself culturally, historically, artistically, scientifically, or musically. Los Angelesâ myriad museums offer free monthly or weekly visits. And some are free to visitors year-round. Â Â Â Â LaVerneOnline provides a list below, but please check websites just […]
Iâve always love cities with rivers, and our state capital has two of the best in the American (east-west) and Sacramento (north-south). While Iâve floated down or walked or driven over the American many times, I had not paid the same affections to the Sacramento River until this week. Upon leaving our state capital, I […]
Sunday Drive: Destination Healdsburg, California. Although I hardly hew to a set agenda when I travel, I did have a destination in my mind, Healdsburg, Calif., Russian River country on the Redwood Highway (101), about 65 miles of San Francisco. Instead of taking the scenic or logical route out of Los Angeles, I humped it […]