January 2, 2011 Breakfast – Burrito at Luigi Ortega Lunch at LACMA and Dinner – Bombay Palace

January 2, 2011  Breakfast – Burrito at Luigi Ortega Lunch at LACMA and Dinner – Bombay Palace

The Dharma Damamas got up at 5:00 a.m. to go to a flea market and so we got up when they left and got ready to go to the Rose Bowl Parade.

We returned to the Pasadena Community College where we had been the day before, but when we tried to park in the covered parking lot, we were turned away for lacking a parking pass.  Suzette noticed a parking space at the curb just a few feet in front of the turn to the parking garage, so we took it.  As it turned out the seats we reserved were also just in fro not where the flea market had been the day before also.  We were early, arriving at our bleacher seating area at around 7:30 am, so we started looking around for some food for breakfast.  People were walking and riding bikes on

Colorado Ave.

, which is the parade route, so we walked down the street a few feet until we saw a restaurant I think was named Luigi Ortega’s in the 1600 block of

Colorado Blvd.

that was open for breakfast.  When we entered it seemed to have an extensive menu of Mexican dishes, but we were informed that it was only selling breakfast burritos.  So we split a delicious breakfast burrito and I had a Pelligrino Leminato soda and Suzette had coffee.  It was cool outside and there were tens of thousands of people so a quiet table and warm food and drink and a clean bathroom were very welcome surprises.  Shortly before 8:00 we re-crossed the street and took our seats on row U about 40 above the Parade route and immediately behind the curb.

We enjoyed the parade and after the parade we took a slow crowded mass of cars and buses back toward downtown and on to the Los Angeles County Museum, arriving at around 11:00 am.  We toured the Museum until about 1:30 when we went to the Café to see what kind of food.was available.  We both liked the look of the make your own salad bar and I immediately noticed that a whole hot lunch was one of the better values at $11.50, so I ordered roast beef. a white bean and tomato stew and a vegetable medley with zucchini, green bell peppers, and white and green cauliflower.  We thought about wine but ruled it out when all they had were half-bottles of Kendall Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon for $21.00.  After seeing all the exhibits in the Museum, including a wonderful functional art exhibition created as part of the Pacific Standard Time around 5:00 p.m. we drove back to the Damamas and we all went to their favorite Indian restaurant,

I have an easy rule when I go to a new restaurant that I think will be a new best restaurant.  It is to order my long time favorite dishes.  In the case of Indian food the two dishes are lamb saag and naam culcha.  When the dishes arrived the culcha was delicious but not memorable.  The Lamb Saag was a different story.  It was flavored with a delicious combination of spices that gave it a flavor that reverberated with spices that was vigrantly alive with flavor.  The best ever.

Bon Appetit