Category Archives: Baja Fresh

Urbane Cafe and The Olive Vineyard!

     Yesterday I had the opportunity to try out a new restaurant in Agoura Hills called Urbane Cafe. By “opportunity” I mean I was in the area and my roommate treated me to a sammich. I’m still waiting for my invitations to delicious restaurants, free of charge *hint hint*. 
ANYWAY, Urbane Cafe prides themselves on using fresh ingredients, freshly baked bread, and homemade sauces and dressings.
The art out front isn’t too shabby either!
The setting and service inside is very Baja Fresh-style. You order at the counter and then pick up the food when your pages goes off. My favorite part about this? NO TIPPING
It’s always nice to save money when you’re a starving writer/actor.
They have a good-sized menu. Plenty of choices, but not too overwhelming.
I asked for the cashier’s recommendation and ordered the So-Cal Sandwich – grilled chicken, avocado, pepper jack cheese, tomatillo salsa, green leaf lettuce and chipotle mayo.
It wound up being solely a chipotle mayo sammich – not that I was complaining! I love me some fatty foods, I just prefer to taste other ingredients at the same time.
I used about five billion napkins while consuming the mayo sammich.
I love exposed brick! If I ever am forced to move into LA, I’ll only concede if my house or apartment has an exposed brick wall.
Next door to the restaurant is The Olive Vineyard – an olive oil and balsamic vinegar TASTING ROOM aka Heaven!
So many wonderful tanks! Almost as good as beer barrels!
My roommate and I tasted tons of different balsamic vinegars – honey and ginger, tahitian vanilla, 18-year aged, dark chocolate, jalapeno and our personal favorite which we bought: cinnamon and pear!
Their olive oils are all organic (they’re still waiting for their certification on a few), and include flavors like Tuscan herb, wild mushroom and sage, Persian lime and butter – no flavors added (so they say – it’s hard to believe that olive oil can naturally taste and smell EXACTLY like butter)!

It was a good day.

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Filed under Agoura Hills, Baja Fresh, beer, chipotle-mayo sammich, everyday, exposed brick, Redemption, sammich, starving actor, tasting room, The Olive Vineyard, Urbane Cafe

Welcome to 1958!

     Happy Sunday! I love Sundays: they always mean a morning at church followed by a day of rest and relaxation, family time and lots of reading. Oh wait, that’s not true for me. Normally I’m sucked into the vortex of retail every single Sunday, but today was a nice change: I got to go to set and get paid to do something I love! What a concept!

It’s nice to wake up before the sun once in a while. This picture made the exhaustion even more worth it!
     
     I pulled out the Vitamix and threw together a Monsta with 5 cups of spinach, 1/2 cup of soymilk, 1 frozen banana, 1 lemon and 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries. I pulled on some fuzzy socks, arm warmers and a baggy sweatshirt and headed to location with a hot mug of tea.
     When I arrived at set, I got into wardrobe for the first scene. This shoot is b-roll for a commercial that takes place in 1958. My first outfit was high-waisted capris with a button-down frilly sleeveless top and pink converse-style shoes that laced around the ankles. It was pretty hideous – I’ll spare you the picture because I’m awful and forgot to take one!
So. Much. Wool!
Getting my hair styled involved lots of hairspray, headbands, teasing and shellacking. Also pretty awful.
I got off easy with makeup. I only had to get base, blush and mascara. Two of the girls were filming a prom scene and had to get the works! The last time I saw so much blue eyeshadow was on Mimi from The Drew Carey Show.
     The first scene I filmed took place at a piano. I was assigned a boyfriend (Hi, Tom!) and we basically sat at the piano playing a duet and kissing “1958” style, which basically means long, soft pecks. Too much? Sorry. The next scene was a party scene. The director started the turntable and we had some painfully awkward slow dancing (“Stop laughing! Look like you love each other! And kiss!”). 
     Next came my favorite part: LUNCH!
Chicken tacos from Baja Fresh! No, I didn’t partake – I asked for vegetarian and vegetarian is what I got!
(I think I might be able to keep up this vegetarian thing full-time!)
Here we have a horribly plated vegetarian burrito that had black beans, lettuce, grilled bell peppers and cheese inside, with a side of salad, guacamole and a few chips.
     You know what works really well after eating a big lunch? SWIMSUITS! Um, yeah, not. We donned some 50’s bathing wardrobe and spent an hour freezing our asses off outside by the pool, hula hooping, attempting to dance “The Twist” and playing volleyball with a beach ball. These were the only pictures I got of me in wardrobe: Prepare yourselves.
Haha, love Rye-Bread posing in the background.
Please, no snide comments – I blame the shellacked hair. This was like wearing a corset but who needed to breathe in 1958 anyway?
Vintage!
     The final scene took place at a school. All ten of us spent the time prancing around in the most tight “casual” clothes I’ve ever worn. I had to cram my feet into size 6 shoes (my feet are size 7.5-8 normally) and I got some gnarly cuts on my ankles from the backs slicing into them. I’m a trouper :-D. 
     We wrapped after seven and a half hours, far less than the twelve that they predicted, and we still got paid for the full time! Hooray! I drove home through the mist, rinsed the shellack out of my hair and the mascara out of my eyelashes and made a big Kitchen Sink Salad.
Yeah, that should balance out the cheesy goodness from the burrito.
OoOoH! I’m gonna go make more bread pudding!

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Filed under 1958, Baja Fresh, bathing suit, Bikini, bread pudding makes me happy, commercial, filming, The Twist, vegetarian