I had a bit of trip down memory lane this last month.
My daughter, Katie, and her 10-month-old son, James – my grandson! – came visiting from Chicago.
Katie grew up in Brentwood and wanted to see some of her favorite haunts.
We had thoughts of cooking dinner at home, but when I suggested rotisserie chicken over at the Country Mart, that turned into an immediate “yes!”
Little James, who still has no teeth, just kind of “gummed” his chicken for the longest time and it was clear he was a fan. He liked the French Fries, too.
A dog at Barrington dog park says hello to James.
As we were leaving, I offered to take them out for an ice cream cone at Sweet Rose Creamery, but Katie said James had a bad reaction to dairy and couldn’t.
We popped our heads in anyway, and, as it turns out, Sweet Rose has some non-dairy options as well. So James liked that place, too.
Katie also had a dog, “Sprout,” in tow, so we hit the dog park circuit.
We spent some time at the Barrington dog park, just south of the Post Office. The place was quite dusty but the dogs were friendly and all wanted to say hello to James and Sprout.
On another day we went up to Crestwood Hills Park. I hadn’t been there in a long time. My kids went to pre-school there and we spent countless hours playing in the park.
There is now a cute “CRESTWOOD” sign above the pre-school, clearly made in the fashion of L.A.’s world-famous HOLLYWOOD sign.
There’s a dog park there as well, and once again, everyone was very friendly, including the dogs.
There was a young girl at the park, 12, who told us she went to Wildwood School – the same place my daughter went when she was that age. She looked almost exactly as Katie had looked when she was 12.
Every time Katie visits, which isn’t that often, I tell her of yet another Brentwood business that is no more.
Last time it was Early World – my kids loved that place – this time it was Marck’s newsstand near Whole Foods.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s all closed up now. But there’s always something new coming along.
Tom Safran’s new building which is quickly coming to life at the corner of Montana and San Vicente. It looks like it should be done pretty soon.
Katie met up with a friend she grew up with here in Brentwood, Nicolette Mishkan, at Alfred’s, a coffee place that was new to Katie.
Nicolette is a fashion designer now, which is no surprise. I remember she used to sew little outfits for the Beanie Babies she and my kids so adored.
Next time James visits Brentwood, he’ll be walking and talking. And he’ll be wolfing down his Reddi Chick, I’m sure.
He’s so darned cute.
Think it’s too early to go find him an agent?
