Dateline>City of Angels

Atwater Village Newbie blogs about getting banned from the Burbank Circuit City. He doesn’t say exactly what he did or said to make the manager so hostile, but I can identify with the Newbie’s complaints about the chain’s idea of “customer service.” I had my own negative shopping experience at the Glendale store a year ago this holiday season. I haven’t stepped foot in a Circuit City since. In fact, the whole affair inspired an opinion piece in the trade publication I was editing at the time. Here’s the link to the editorial, complete with my goonish mugshot.

Here’s an oddity that recently turned up on a nearby Elysian Heights street corner. My only guess is that, with the 2007 Holiday Season upon us, someone decided it was finally time to clear their living room for a fresh tree. (And you thought people who leave their Christmas lights up year round were tacky…) Anyway, I’m all for that time-honored saying, “Out with the old and in with the new.” I just wish people would stop dumping all their old junk here in Echo Park.

They really are ugly creatures, aren’t they? And yet they’re amazingly delicious when cooked just right.

My annual tradition is to slowly roast the sucker for about 3-4 hours on the ol’ Webber grill for a nice, crispy browning and smoky flavor. Over the years, I’ve found the only drawback is the white meat’s tendency to dry, despite regular basting. Then about three years ago I discovered brining, and that’s made all the difference in the world. Read more