June 16. Gjelina Take-away breakfast sandwich. Lattes. Moonrise Kingdom. Little Saigon. The Rockin' Crawfish.. Plum Tart.

Birthday celebrations begin.  I meet Lisa at Gjelina Take-Away  for breakfast on blue plastic milk cartons on the street.  It didn't occur to me at the time, but these cartons are close cousins to the little plastic chairs we sat on in front of noodle and spring roll shops in Hanoi not that long ago.  I had the breakfast sandwich--fried egg, bacon, kale on a muffin and a latte.  Lisa had a ham and cheese panini. We were quite happy sitting on our blue plastic cartons--before returning to their house where Gar made us more lattes yet. And as a bonus, I took myself to both Rite-Aid and the 99¢ Store--two long over-due errands.   An excellent start to the day.

Randi and Linda G. picked me up at noon for the next stage of celebrations.  First stop--Moonrise Kingdom at the El Segundo multi-multiplex.   We knew it was the latest Wes Anderson but little more--it was a hit for all of us.  From there, as planned, we made the long drive to Westminster's Little Saigon.  Months before, in pursuit of a visa to Vietnam,  I'd spotted a restaurant -- Rockin' Crawfish. a Vietnamese run, New Orleans crawfish emporium--one of many such places, it turned out, in Westminster and Garden Grove.  I made up a story that Vietnamese, displaced from the Gulf Coast by Katrina, joined their countrymen in Orange County, bringing the foods of New Orleans.   We decided on Rockin' Crawfish, probably because we liked the name.  We arrived at Happy Hour--which meant oysters (from the Gulf) were $1 each and the crawfish were reduced as well.  We got six oysters, a crab spring roll (that the was the Vietnamese touch), and two pounds of crawfish.  The crawfish are served in big plastic bags with a few pieces of corn on the cob and sausage links and lots of sauce.   It's plunked down on the paper covered table--no plates, no utensils.  You just dig in, cracking the shells and excavating the edible morsels.   It's fabulously messy and lots of work.    Plastic bibs and huge piles of napkins are supplied.

Crawfish Debris 

Crawfish Debris (Detail) 

At the end our meal, as we headed off to wash our hands,   we noted that the three Vietnamese women next to us had donned plastic surgical gloves as well.  We were bare handed.  Of course, with all the excitement, forgot to take pictures before we ate--but did remember to capture our shell and napkin strewn table.  On returning home, I found this article, which offers what I have to assume is the correct history of these restaurants (though it calls them crayfish, not crawfish).  It turns out (at least according to this text, that the first Cajun style crawfish restaurant --the Boiling Crab--was opened in 2004 (before Katrina) by a Vietnamese couple who had moved from Arlington, Texas.  Oh--the intersections of wars, migrations and culinary adventures.
We did a little food sight-seeing--a stop in a neighboring bakery and in the enormous Vietnamese super-market with incredible prices on seafood and  produce and a full array of exotic ingredients.
Then, 40 miles north on the 405 for a dessert of plum tart and ice cream (chocolate, coffee and vanilla) here at home.  My Thai Basil has been sprouting fine roots, little hostess plants for my birthday hostess guests.