November 22nd, 2015 - (Phil's Choice)
I played tennis with Greg again today. It was a MASSIVE improvement. Instead of losing the one set we played 6-0, I lost it 6-3. Baby steps, right? Soon we'll get to the point where we don't have to warm up for 30 minutes to play, and I can lose a full match to him! I'm so excited!
Regular defeat at the hands of Greg Heaton can be a humbling experience. And in these truly humbling tennis times it is very nice to have supportive friends to talk to. Enter Christy Stowell and Codie Beck.
This brunch, my worlds collided in a wonderful way. Christy is an old friend from my touring days - and member of Generation Y, who went through the tech revolution with my generation. Codie is a millennial who I met when I first moved here - she loves professional wrestling and is engaged to Bill, a man who is built like a praying mantis. Both are amazing people. And neither of them commented on the fact that I had not showered for two days. (Thank you)
What better place to meet up than Vivian's Millenium Cafe?
Vivian's Millennium Cafe - Inside the building, there are six tables in a space the size of a closet. Out on the patio there are five hundred tables spanning a distance of two square kilometers.
Seating outside is mostly under a closed-top canopy, and the gathering of ferns and bushes around the area gives the patio an outdoorsy jungle feeling. Service is quick, and the coffee NEVER STOPS COMING. You can tell how good, prompt and non-intrusive the service is if you don't notice that you've had too much coffee until your hands are shaking and you are talking like the Micro Machines guy.
Christy had the veggie omelet (added cheese). There is something about eggs and vegetables that, in my opinion, is just never wrong. After the meal she commented that she "could have eaten half and been fine, but she ate the whole thing and now must be rolled out to her car." Look at that omelet! It's MASSIVE!
Codie had Vivian's 2x2x2, and her pancakes had bananas cooked into them! Hash browns or home fries come with just about everything here. You know you're getting good bang for your buck when your order takes three plates. To be fair, they could have put the hash browns on the plate with the eggs and the bacon - but three plates looks badass.
She ate about half of the pancakes, but made a good showing on the rest of it. Must have been that chocolate milk she ordered weighing the rest of it down.
I had the Crew's Scramble, but instead of turkey, I had them put spinach in it. I must confess that I am a sucker for an english muffin. Something about always having them in the morning when I was a kid, I think. But even more than the english muffin, I am a TRUE sucker for avocado. Fifteen seconds after this picture was taken, that avocado disappeared. I had NO PROBLEM finishing my plates, and could have had more. However, the portioning was quite right. And the veggies in my scramble did felt just right - not overdone, and not crunchy.
We spent three hours there talking and drinking coffee or water. At no point were we rushed, and the waitress had already split the check into our separate orders. Genius! My order, with tip, ended up being $19.00, which I would say was a real steal for the amount of food and then quality.
As my worlds melded wonderfully before my eyes - and we traded stories from the road and shows we've been in - I could not help but feel a sense of intimacy and isolation at our table. Sometimes I felt as though we were the only people on the patio, which speaks to the wonderful environment and the arrangement of space. It was also sometimes embarrassing when I blurted out something crass, then realize that two tables down the three old women having ladies' brunch had just stopped mid-bite to raise their eyebrows at me.
Studio City has some real gems in it. And those gems are very much worth the price of admission. Parking is always a nightmare, but that comes with the territory of the L.A. area. This particular gem is certainly worth a look or two. And is very much worth the 15 minute search for parking that you will need to make to be here. I know that I'll likely be going back.
From left to right: Christy "No Yoga, No Shower" Stowell, Phillip "Two Days of Sweaty Hair" Meyer, and Codie "I Showered and You Didn't" Beck
www.eatatvivianscafe.com/
I played tennis with Greg again today. It was a MASSIVE improvement. Instead of losing the one set we played 6-0, I lost it 6-3. Baby steps, right? Soon we'll get to the point where we don't have to warm up for 30 minutes to play, and I can lose a full match to him! I'm so excited!
Regular defeat at the hands of Greg Heaton can be a humbling experience. And in these truly humbling tennis times it is very nice to have supportive friends to talk to. Enter Christy Stowell and Codie Beck.
This brunch, my worlds collided in a wonderful way. Christy is an old friend from my touring days - and member of Generation Y, who went through the tech revolution with my generation. Codie is a millennial who I met when I first moved here - she loves professional wrestling and is engaged to Bill, a man who is built like a praying mantis. Both are amazing people. And neither of them commented on the fact that I had not showered for two days. (Thank you)
What better place to meet up than Vivian's Millenium Cafe?
Vivian's Millennium Cafe - Inside the building, there are six tables in a space the size of a closet. Out on the patio there are five hundred tables spanning a distance of two square kilometers.
Seating outside is mostly under a closed-top canopy, and the gathering of ferns and bushes around the area gives the patio an outdoorsy jungle feeling. Service is quick, and the coffee NEVER STOPS COMING. You can tell how good, prompt and non-intrusive the service is if you don't notice that you've had too much coffee until your hands are shaking and you are talking like the Micro Machines guy.
Christy had the veggie omelet (added cheese). There is something about eggs and vegetables that, in my opinion, is just never wrong. After the meal she commented that she "could have eaten half and been fine, but she ate the whole thing and now must be rolled out to her car." Look at that omelet! It's MASSIVE!
Codie had Vivian's 2x2x2, and her pancakes had bananas cooked into them! Hash browns or home fries come with just about everything here. You know you're getting good bang for your buck when your order takes three plates. To be fair, they could have put the hash browns on the plate with the eggs and the bacon - but three plates looks badass.
She ate about half of the pancakes, but made a good showing on the rest of it. Must have been that chocolate milk she ordered weighing the rest of it down.
I had the Crew's Scramble, but instead of turkey, I had them put spinach in it. I must confess that I am a sucker for an english muffin. Something about always having them in the morning when I was a kid, I think. But even more than the english muffin, I am a TRUE sucker for avocado. Fifteen seconds after this picture was taken, that avocado disappeared. I had NO PROBLEM finishing my plates, and could have had more. However, the portioning was quite right. And the veggies in my scramble did felt just right - not overdone, and not crunchy.
We spent three hours there talking and drinking coffee or water. At no point were we rushed, and the waitress had already split the check into our separate orders. Genius! My order, with tip, ended up being $19.00, which I would say was a real steal for the amount of food and then quality.
As my worlds melded wonderfully before my eyes - and we traded stories from the road and shows we've been in - I could not help but feel a sense of intimacy and isolation at our table. Sometimes I felt as though we were the only people on the patio, which speaks to the wonderful environment and the arrangement of space. It was also sometimes embarrassing when I blurted out something crass, then realize that two tables down the three old women having ladies' brunch had just stopped mid-bite to raise their eyebrows at me.
Studio City has some real gems in it. And those gems are very much worth the price of admission. Parking is always a nightmare, but that comes with the territory of the L.A. area. This particular gem is certainly worth a look or two. And is very much worth the 15 minute search for parking that you will need to make to be here. I know that I'll likely be going back.
From left to right: Christy "No Yoga, No Shower" Stowell, Phillip "Two Days of Sweaty Hair" Meyer, and Codie "I Showered and You Didn't" Beck
www.eatatvivianscafe.com/
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