Meltdown is the Soup Nazi of the West and Kevin Arnold Comes to Visit

This picture is not really appetizing, but I assure you, this Spicy Black Bean soup of the day from Meltdown Etc. was outstanding. I was expecting your typical pureed fare, but what I got was a peppery mix of veggies and beans which makes this the twentieth or so amazingly tasty soup I've had from Meltdown. I am dying for them to publish a soup cookbook. I would buy it in an instant and open up my own little stand in my kitchen where friends could come over and try everything from chowders to bisques. Meltdown really is like the Soup Nazi outpost of the west coast, although they are insanely nice there so they are more like the Soup Teddy Bear.

Perhaps the more interesting part of my day, however, was when this dude totally trespassed on stage. I was the only one down there as almost everyone was on set when I saw this guy and girl walk up to the stage. I assumed they were just passing by, but then they turned and walked right through the elephant door. They proceeded to walk right past me and into a dressing room. I just kinda sat there stupefied for a second and then followed them and asked what the hell they were doing busting on to our stage without asking! Wellllllll truth be told I just said, "hello?"

The guy then proceeds to remove his sunglasses, revealing himself to be the one and only Fred Savage a.k.a. Kevin Arnold.

It turns out, The Wonder Years was filmed on our stages and Fred was showing his girlfriend his old dressing room. Later, Stage Manager Dave showed me where the powerbox still has Fred's name on it:

Fred/Kevin was very nice--apparently he is a director on the show that shoots at the stage across from us--and said he is a big fan of our show.

So basically, Kevin Arnold gave me a compliment. Between that and my awesome lunch, Friday was a pretty sweet little day! Also, when I was looking for that pic of Kevbo, I came across this fun blog by a chick who "stalks" movie locations, and she has a picture of her in front of the Wonder Years house which is just over the hill in Burbank!

One question remains: What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?


Meltdown Etc.
9739 Culver Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-MELT

Tomato Pesto Delight

Work is pretty slow today, as our shooting crew is on a week long hiatus for the 4th, so by 10 o'clock we already had our lunch plans in order. Off to Cooks Double Dutch we would go! They hit a total home run yet again with their soup of the day which was this tomato pesto delight. They said it was technically less of a soup and more just a bunch of tomatoes blended up but whatever it was, I licked the bowl clean. My guess is that they also threw some onions, garlic, and vegan stock into the mix. I liked it even more than Meltdown Etc's vegan tomato soup, which is saying a lot because that stuff is damn good.


Cooks Double Dutch
9806 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232

I <3 Dashi

The episode we're shooting right now takes place in the desert, so our shooting crew is on location in Joshua Tree for the week. With the company being so far away, work was a little slow, which meant we got to venture out of our little Culver City bubble for lunch. Friday we ordered in from Mishima where I got this big bowl of Steamed Japanese Mountain Veggies and Soba Noodles in Dashi broth.

I am totally baffled by how few restaurants use Dashi. It's this soup made with kelp and shitake mushrooms that rocks my face off everytime. Fred 62 makes a killer noodle bowl with it, but does anyone know where else they serve it? It's completely vegan and very flavorful so you'd think it would be on more menus. Whatevs, I'll just keep going back to Mishima!


Mishima
8474 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048