Check one off the LA List

I have a loose list of things I want to do in LA before I get-too-old/have-kids/leave-LA/etc. For N's birthday I got to do one: Eat Dinner at Spagos.  For those who don't know about Spagos, it is Wolfgang Puck's First Restaurant.  It still has a rotating menu and is known as "the place" for really special occasions and to see a celebrities.
The decor is whimsical.  I now know where Cheesecake Factory got their decore.  There weren't any celebrities we recognized but that's fine.  I find they tend to distract from your own experience.  However there were some impeccably well coiffed people there.  Most people looked like we did - dressed up for a special occasion.  These people looked like they were established regulars.  They looked like they fit.
Well, let's start with the wine list.  I don't think there was a bottle under $80.  The cheapest glass of wine was $17.  However the Pinot I got was very nice.  Then they came by with a bread tray and seemed strangely insistent we take something.  Once again delicious.  I ordered the Bass with seafood and got exactly that.  No side of potato or rice or vegetable.  And the food was not in large portions - ah, that's why they wanted us to take bread.  That being said, I don't think I can describe the food in a couple of sentences and give it justice.  However I also don't want to take up an hour giving it the justice it deserves so I will just say it was exquisite.  You could taste every single flavor instead of only 1-2 dominant ones. 
Dessert was difficult.  N is allergic to nuts and all their normal desserts is made with nut oil.  however their serve proved as impeccable as their food.  They got N an ice cream dish with raspberries and wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate sauce.

So, in short:
Food - Smaller portion, but you will be comfortably full
Wine - Not cheap but very good
Service - Excellent
Repeat Business: For a very special event, absolutely

Now I need to work on that afternoon at the Getty...

Melekalikimaka...

... is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day!  On Dec 23 N and I successfully boarded a plane to visit my dad in Hawaii.  There is some moderate drama with the airline, but I'll save that for another post.  We are staying at my dad's new condo and it has a spectacular view.  You can see Magic Island, the main part of the park and Ala Moana Harbor all in one breathtaking view.  I have pictures which I will prob. post after I'm back on the mainland.  The weather is 80 pretty much all the time unless it's raining, then it drops to 74.  The humidity, unfortunately, is obscenely high.  And while the view from the southwest facing windows is awesome, it makes being in the condo from 1-5 in teh afternoon pretty impossible.  I know, anyone not in Hawaii who reads this is like "cry me a river" - but it's like a friggin' kiln in hte afternoon.  At morning and after sunset is when it's a great place to be.

Christmas Day: I got some really cool presents from N (a Fluke(tm) IR thermal reader and a kitchen scale with automatic turn off.  The first is really fun and the second will save me money on 9 volt batteries - rock!  I love my N.  He liked his gifts too.  Christmas day was good and simple.  N and my dad watched sports all day and night long and ordered pizza for dinner.  So a good, uneventful, fairly lazy Christmas day with family.