Whenever I’m away from LA for more than a week, I start to dream about burritos. Literally. Often on my way home from LAX, I’ll stop at Lucy’s, the 24-hour Mexican to-go place on Pico and La Brea to get a chile relleno burrito. They usually last me two meals.
But the first morning I’m home, I always have a yen for the huevos Mexicanos at CJ’s Cafe. CJ’s is a simple diner with a menu of Mexican and soul food items. It’s a homey place, and the plate of scrambled eggs mixed with onion, tomato, jalapeño, and cilantro with rice and beans always makes me feel like I’m home. I just wish they used better tortillas than Guerrero.
A plate of huevos a la Mexicana at CJ’s Cafe is a welcome-back-to-LA breakfast. Photo by Evan Kleiman.
Then invariably I want sushi. It’s probably the hit of lean protein I’m craving after 25 hours of travel. This time I treated myself and some friends to a handroll kit from The Joint, the fish butcher that specializes in dry aging their fish. The hand roll kit is pretty fabulous, and my friends were delighted as we each customized our roll from the extensive fish and condiments supplied.
Yes, there are vegetables wherever one travels, but for me, nothing fills the craving for salad like going to Mixt and pointing at whatever I want to fill my salad bowl. It changes based on a whim, but I do love a good cobb, no chicken.
Then one has to go to the market. Often the experience of going to a grocery store while still having the out-of-body experience of jet lag leads me to either over-buy, or buy strange items that languish in the fridge. But always there are carrots to fill in until I get the good ones from the farmers market and broccoli I can just steam and eat with my hands or turn into soup. If I’m craving crunch and chew, I’ll get a celery root to turn into a salad. Then I always get some kind of chicken I can cook into a broth for soup. Chicken soup is the universal panacea.
After a few days of familiar food, the jet lag abates and I’m firing on all cylinders.