Btw, somewhere along the line, I got in the habit of taking pictures of the beach before wading in. I can be superstitious about things, so now I can't seem to stop. I have to do it or something bad may happen. Just like Sam has to say "surf safe" before I go, or we're really asking for trouble.
That being said, it was a pretty good day. Conditions were pretty mellow, and I got up on a couple of small waves, with some assistance. See, sometimes I surf alone, and sometimes I surf with a buddy who's an amazingly great surfer. This dude makes it all look so simple, and there's an ease and grace to how he catches and rides waves that's just ridiculously awesome. Yeah, I've seen him wipe out, but he seems to do that with style too. By watching -- and more important by listening -- I have slowly been on the road to knowledge. And to be honest, listening is really not my strong suit. I can be a headstrong. I can sometimes feel like I know all the answers, even if I'm really just clueless. Also, there's this: I come form a family long on lawyers, and even though I didn't follow that path, I really like to argue. So, you might tell me something I'm doing wrong, for instance, and I might try to present an argument as to why I did it wrong. Or I might argue as a way of justifying the wrong (and/or stupid) thing I did. As if that will make it right.
Also, I've gotten this from just about everybody who has watched me surf, including random surfers in the line-up who happen to catch me as I paddle by. "You're getting up too soon!" they'll say, or "Dude, be patient." Unfortunately, patience is not my strong suit. It never has been. I told my surf buddy that once I found a whole bunch of papers my parents had saved from when I was a kid. Included were report cards. Teachers always wrote something along the lines of "Jason rushes through his assignments. He needs to SLOW DOWN!"
It's the same with surfing. I'm either over-anticipating, or I'm just really nervous, or I'm afraid I'm going to nosedive (not fun) so I'm rushing the pop-up and it's something I'm really working on.
What's this got to do with food? Well, if you can find any sort of mentor, and said mentor is providing much needed assistance, it's good to feed him or her. As I mentioned, surfers get hungry, and most surfers I've come across really like to eat, so the truth is you probably won't find any of them turning down something if it looks delicious. Today's surf session fell somewhere between breakfast and lunch, and so I knew I'd need a snack. So I figured I'd make two of what I was having, so I could pass one along.
The day's snack was bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted bagel and you don't really need a recipe for that, do you? I mean I just toasted the bagel, fried the bacon (it was Nueske) and fried the egg, then laid the cheese down first so it got a little melty. But what might be good to know is that the bagel was from this place:
This is the Brooklyn Bagel Company, which is on Beverly Boulevard in between Echo Park and downtown. Here's an inside shot:
It's delightfully and unapologetically old school at this place (they've been around since 1953) and they really do have the best bagels in town. They're not those awful giant ones you get in supermarkets. They're pretty small, just the right size a bagel should be if you want my opinion. In fact I once saw Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten do a piece on bagels and she had what I thought was a great tip at the time -- she took one of those apparently ginormous supermarket bagels and cut it into about six thinner slices. It is a good tip, but it got me thinking that one shouldn't really be able to feed two or maybe even three people off one bagel. Bagels should be a nice individual size that doesn't make you feel weighed down! Or you shouldn't have to scoop out a ton of dough like you have to with some bagels. These Brooklyn Bagel company bagels are perfect in size. Indeed they supply a lot of restaurants and delis, and the storefront is more like a factory outlet. This is not the place to sit with a fancy latte and your macbook! You just go in here, and buy a lot of bagels and then boogie. Here's a tip: they freeze really well too, if you wrap each bagel carefully in plastic. Then just pull them from the freezer, let them defrost on the counter top and they're almost as good as new. If you want more info about the Brooklyn Bagel Company here you go: www.brooklynbagella.com
Okay, lates!
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