Last night, we went out with Rick’s childhood best friend, and his wife, who is ALSO Rick’s friend from early on. I just think it’s so cool that two people on Rick’s path found one another and have been married for 25 years. They have two adult sons, Harry and Liam.
They bought tickets for us to see Bruce Hornsby at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. They made a reservation at a bistro half a block from the venue. CouCou was the name of the restaurant. When we walked up, I was like WOAH, this is the life I remember lol. (I used to live in West Hollywood with a very bougie ex and we would frequent the cafes on this street for brunch on the weekend. Like 8 or 9 years ago.)
If you are a watcher of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Vanderpump Rules or the Valley on Bravo, this is the type of place they film in.
I instantly worried that this was way too expensive, but Rick said that Dave told him it was their treat. In these situations, I usually let the host take the lead on ordering, and Dave certainly knows what he’s doing. Dave made suggestions, and cocktails were first on the list. I got an espresso martini, Dave and Jenny ordered dirty martinis, and Rick ordered a vesper. Dave ordered small plates for the table, and I thought appetizers were a perfect idea. Then he suggested adding entrees and I kinda groaned to myself.
I hate choosing things. And when I am the guest of someone else, I automatically look for the least expensive thing on the menu. It was a limited menu, and even side dishes were over thirteen dollars. The entrée selections were priced between thirty and eighty. NOPE. The waitress came by and I asked if there was a salad available. There was something called “Bib Lettuce” on the appetizer menu, but no explanation. Server said, “Yeah, that’s our only salad.” Okay cool, I’ll take it. Eighteen dollars. Rick and Dave ordered the hamburger which was almost FORTY dollars and did not come with fries. Jenny ordered the vegan French dip.
Dave and Jenny are easy to hang out with. Dave has an extroverted personality, and can be loud and funny. Always has a kind way about him. Jenny is a total hippie, lol. We had a great time snacking on lamb stuffed fried olives, truffle fries, and they had zucchini beignets (looked gross, no thank you). Our food came out and everything looked really good. Rick and Dave both said that the burger was the best burger ever.
My salad consisted of five leaves of Bibb lettuce, a tiny portion of goat’s cheese, three slices of pickled onion, and a vinaigrette that leaned heavily into the vinegar. I will never understand the cost of salads being so freaking high.
I tried a bite of Rick’s burger and he was right, it was THE best burger. I think there are probably pretty good options out there that don’t come close to this hefty price point. IF I had bougie dinner money, I would come back. Service was really good. One complaint- they did not have coffee. Dave told the server that that seemed really silly. Like walk across the street and get a to go carafe from Starbucks, lol.
The manager then came by our table and apologized and offered us ice cream. Dave brought up that Rick’s birthday was on Monday, and my birthday is Tuesday. The manager was like, ok, be right back. He brings back a small sundae bowl with about 7 or 8 inches of soft serve, and three small condiment cups of chopped almonds, chocolate sauce, and some kind of berry compote. Rick poured everything over the soft serve chaotically and we all dug in. I had a couple of bites, but I left the majority for everyone else.
We paid the bill and walked the short distance to the venue. There was a long line waiting for the doors to open, but Rick went to a woman at the door who looked like she was in charge, and explained that we had reserved ADA seating, and she ushered myself, Rick, Dave and Jenny past all of the people waiting, and into the club and pointed to the upstairs area where our seats were.
Yes… ADA seating UPSTAIRS. So I made good use of my cane getting up the steps, but once there, security lead us to a taped off area of long wooden benches with ledges at the front for your drinks, purses, snacks, etc. Rick had called ahead and got the reservation, THANK GOD. There were so many people flooding the upstairs area looking for seats.
The VIP section was a part of the ADA seating area, and it was intriguing to see what fans and groupies, and wives and friends of an artist from the 80’s looked like, and I was not let down, lol. Painted leather jackets, lots of rhinestones, too much makeup and plastic surgery.
A balding guy in a tie dye shirt, who was balding, and wore a headband, sat just in front of me. Something told me he was going to be trouble, and I was correct! It’s getting to be show time, and this guy is pulling some kind of “don’t you know who I am” shit with others, including security, who just seemed annoyed to even be there.
By the time the show started, it was wall to wall people EVERYWHERE. Having a cane literally in your lap does not dissuade people from asking you to get out of your seat, try to squeeze between people crowded in the aisles to make room for the person, just for them to do it like four more times.
The show itself was great. Bruce Hornsby is a fantastic musician. He sounds as good live as he does recorded. It was such a treat to see him still going strong. Still making remarkable, relevant music into his 70’s
Mr. Don’t You Know Who I Am hippie dude made a point of standing up out of his seat, moving into the crowded aisle, and danced very dramatically, taking up way more space than needed. When someone in his row went to the bathroom, he REFUSED to allow her to pass in front of him to go back to her seat. He gave her some arbitrary rule that you cannot pass in front while a song is being played. He made it PHYSICALLY impossible for her to get back in her seat. She came up again a few minutes later as the song ended and he moved the goal post and came up with a new rule that he simply didn’t have to move. It was absolutely asinine. About a half hour later, her husband was coming back from the bar with drinks in his hands, and Hippie Dude again, refused to let him by. This dude wasn’t taking shit though and DEMANDED that the hippie move. He wouldn’t, so the guy squeezed past him. Hippie dude starts talking crazy shit. He literally said, “Don’t you know who I am!?”
Mind you, this is happening like a foot and a half from my face. I looked at Rick and said loud enough for hippie to hear, and in a mocking tone, “DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM!!!???” People around I broke up the fight, which was dangerously close to getting physical and I did not need to see no geriatric brawl. I looked at hippie dude and said, “FUCKING RIDICULOUS.”
The show ended shortly after, and we headed back to Dave and Jenny’s to get our car. We chatted with them for a bit, before heading home after midnight. They really are good people. Insanely fun people and I am so glad to have them in our lives.
Today has been a bit rough. I am not feeling well, but that is par for the course when I have a busy, active day. I pay for it for two days after. C’est la vie.
I had therapy at 5 today, instead of yesterday morning. It was much needed.
I am going to make dinner, get a little stoned and watch Star Trek, which seems to be my thing. My dad would’ve loved my turning into a Trekkie.
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