Oh My

We spent our one and only 25 th anniversary at Asia De Cuba on Sunset, in West Hollywood.

The restaurant is located inside of the Mondrian Hotel, one of the top celebrity sightings locations on the strip. We arrived amidst a crowd of people, young & beautiful, hip, intercontinental and way too cool to be cordial enough to make room for me to escort my wife through their gauntlet.

So, being the brawny brotha I am, I had to bogard a bit just to get inside. The lobby is tight, long white flowing fabric is suspended from the ceiling down to the white hardwood floor. The decor is minimalist chic, a complete LA thing. You know when the hallway to the bathroom looks designed, the joint is supposed to be coooooool.

We breeze through the lobby of more hip folks and seek out the entrance to the spot. We had reviewed it all online via OpenTable.com (you gotta check that out). The entrance is in the back along a long row of poppin' little meeting spots along the way -- casual, flavorful and filled with self-indulged young uber homo sapiens.

So we make it to the door, whew. As we are greeted by a gorgeous host, escorted to our manicured table next to 7 ft clay pots with 30 ft trees sprouting upward. Nice. We sit, do the napkin thing, the menu thing and then begin to scope the place -- Wow. Amazing lighting, dramatic candle displays, multiple levels, cosmopolitan people, a flowing atmosphere and very settling vibe. The courses came at a smooth languid pace. We had been adventurous in our orders and had almost no idea what we would be getting each time.

The professional waitstaff and hostess brought delicate appetizers wrapped in banana leaves, water was poured into long stemmed goblets, scallops sizzled as unrecognizable vegetables excited our tongues as we were reminiscent about our quarter century together. As dishes passed by us, we made mental notes of what we would get upon return to this new ultra spot.

As the main courses arrived, we were simply astounded. My whole Chilean Seabass filled with more seafood and veggies and sprigs of this and that. Her glistening duck creation was designed for pictures and tasted even better. (you know I had to get taste) The fish whispered which section to partake of first, she even shared what juxtaposition of flavors and aromas had been fused together inside of her to explode in my mouth. Whoa.

We had great conversation, the custom designed West Coast sunset that we witnessed at dinner and then the dessert. Oh my, the dessert. We went back and forth about what to get or not to try, but we settled on a flan. The description was incredible, but only teased about what actually arrived on a pineapple vision with tropical leaves and smiles.

The first taste invasion causes one to lean back, close your eyes and experience the intoxicating assault on your taste buds. Oh my. My jaws tightened, my back arched, my brain began to smile and moan. Oh my. All of the cruises, new cars, homes, joys, money, loving and dreams we have had together since our youth was infused with this amazing taste/flavor/moment of love. Oh my.

Needless to say that the flan was gone, gone, GONE. So, I had to keep something a bit crazy from the evening. The picture of my friend above, Octavia, is my personal image of the memory -- a little crusty, exotic, adventurous and . . . fun.

Oh my.