Sweet Collard Lunch

In deference to the sensibilities of my squeamish reader from Down Under, I didn't pierce the poached egg and allow the brilliant yellow yolk to run over the bed of slow-cooked sweet collard greens, pan fried slices of Yukon Gold potato and criss-crossed rashers of bacon until after I had taken the picture. You'll just have to use your imagination.

This was lunch at Axe in Venice, California, which began life as a funky little beach town but has become quietly gentrified so the mix of surfers, body builders, musicians and assorted strange agents is now anchored with some yuppie types as well. In response to the yuppies' money, some pretty nice restaurants have emerged to jostle for space with the coffee, surfboard, book and chi-chi clothing stores. Los Angeles has never been famous for its food but we managed to find some pretty tasty meals while we were down south.

We were in Venice to link up with our Michigan friends, Wenirs and Ray, and their two grown children, one of whom flew in from Baltimore, plus two local friends of their son's. We had lovely weather and lots of time to enjoy the Venice/Santa Monica areas while catching up with some of our favorite people on earth.

We ate lunch on a beautiful Saturday and then moved up to the Getty Center to admire the architecture, the gardens and the pristine view of the whole Los Angeles basin stretched out below us. The infamous LA smog was washed away by recent rains and we could see clear down to Long Beach and beyond. The mountains that ring the city were clearly visible and distinct in the distance, with their alluvial fans spreading at their bases. In fact, it was all so lovely outside that we never did venture in to view the art work - we'll save that for a smoggy visit. Instead, we walked all over the Center until our feet were tired, then took up residence in chairs at one of the coffee shops on the plaza and basked in the dangerous ultraviolet rays of Southern California, contented as lizards on warm stones.