The most delicious meal I’ve eaten in LA

I have to tell you about the best meal I’ve eaten yet since we’ve been here in LA.

On this trip, we’ve eaten out a few times, with varying degrees of success. Touristy, Americanized Mexican joint? Not so great. Cute French bistro tucked into the middle of San Pedro? Yum! Artsy restaurant with homemade pottery, right around the corner? Rad.

But honestly? The other night we whipped up a meal in our motel room, and it was actually sublime. It made my day. It was soooooo good!

(Psst: if you do not know me, here is a fact: I love food! I love making it, eating it, writing about it, taking photos of it, and sharing it. Yum, yum, yum.)

The makings of a motel meal

Here’s how it went down: we started with rice. You see, the night before, we had gotten butter chicken from the Indian food truck that’s permanently parked in front of the motel we’re staying at. The owner gave us more rice than we needed, so we stashed a box for later.

When we were heading home from the bird centre the next day and figuring out what to make for dinner, we went through our limited inventory (both food and cookware): leftover rice and a sleeve of tostadas. Microwave. lol. “That’s it?” you might be asking yourself. What could one possibly make with two ingredients and a microwave? Oh, ye of little faith!

Eva was also in the mood to make a salad. It had been a while since we’d had anything fresh and crisp.

A meal started to take shape: how about makeshift tacos (with the tostadas) and a salad?

Seeking provisions

To the grocery store we went, to load up on provisions. Our motel is a five-minute walk from a small but has-what-you-need place, and indeed, we found what we needed: bell pepper, flat-leaf parsley, avocado, olive oil, and refried beans. Superior Grocer also carries fresh salsa that looks to be made in-house; into the basket it went.

When we got back, Eva whipped up a pepper salad, seasoned with fresh parsley, olive oil, and salt from a tiny vial she always travels with (tip: one should always travel with salt, or with a friend who travels with salt). Meanwhile, I warmed up the rice and refried beans in our very loud (and slightly frightening) microwave. (Will it explode? Nobody knows!)

How to eat without plates or a table

Luckily, we had saved the containers from our Indian food takeout, meaning we had perfect bento boxes for our meal. In one slot went the pepper salad; in another slot, the rice, beans, and salsa. A few lumps of avocado in the last slot, and a few tostadas balanced on top.

We enjoyed the meal sitting cross-legged on our beds.

Friends, this is living. Yes – French bistros are cute. Sure – artsy, home-spun pottery will never not be sweet and lovely. But I tell you, a meal you’ve cobbled together from grocery-store finds, shared in a strange little motel room with a pal…it’s simply the best. 🌮