I’ve been sitting for five hours straight—unbelievable.
I looked at the screen of my laptop and contemplated just how much work adapting “Stan Lerner’s Criminal” into a movie was turning out to be. My new blog The Adventures Of Downtown Oliver Brown, which I post on blogdowntown.com had turned out to be a pleasant distraction, but a distraction none-the-less. I’m addicted to writing, so something else to write for me is like giving a coke addict some heroin to try out.
I looked down at my Iphone. The text from Eric the founding editor of blogdowntown read “Any chance you want to deviate from Oliver Brown and attend a wine bar preview for me at 2? It’s Bottle Rock, at 11th /Hope.
I thought about it. Wine, cheese, and maybe some food?
I text back, “Sure!”
The following blog is what happens when you send a fiction writer to cover a wine bar preview that’s being run by a very attractive blond publicist name Sarah and the food is provided by a top chef that is nothing less than a smoldering, brunette beauty. And an accommodating general manager that at a glance surmised that I was not the average journalist, but rather the author some of the most explicit sex scenes ever written.
The highly anticipated Bottle Rock wine bar is finally close to opening at 11th and Hope at the base of the Met Lofts Building. Today, press was given a tour by the Bottle Rock team, which included a very nice sampling of what promises to be great things to come in late January 2009.
Concept Chef Sherie Farah, graduate of the prestigious Johnson and Wales University Culinary Arts Program, fed the intimate gathering an assortment of finger sandwiches and artisan cheeses that were more than worth skipping lunch for. General Manager George Skorka, formerly of the Hotel Bel-Air, was sure to make sure no glass was dry. The sparkling wine from New Mexico was a pleasant surprise and the red from Malibu was still better.
Bottle Rock Downtown is a larger version of the first Bottle Rock, which opened in Culver City in 2006. Like it’s Culver City predecessor Bottle Rock Downtown will offer more than 700 wines by both the bottle and glass. Founder Fred Hakin, has spent the last thirty years succeeding in the wine business and seems to be just two months away from adding what he calls, “an egalitarian approach to wine” to his admirable list of accomplishments.
Now of course wine, food, and pretty girls will always get a good write up from this reporter, who’s not really a reporter, but I just wish I could have added a real touch of Stan to this blog. That would have involved inviting Sarah and Sherie back to my place and completely compromising my journalistic integrity. Well, back to fiction for me. I mean seriously me a journalist?
After I filed my blog I dealt with my creative conflict at Wokcano’s Happy Hour. Luckily I ran into Lee, Marcus, and Michael. Marcus and Michael are the brothers that own Wokcano and Lee owns the Out Back in Burbank.
“Stan, you’re coming to the Kings’ game with us!” said Lee a few drinks ahead of me.
“Yes I am!” I answered, never one to turn down hanging with my friends.
“I’ve got all thirteen King Girls lined up for later…” Lee said, his arm now tugging at my neck.
I smiled. I felt like a fiction writer again.
