KOI

Eric writes:
Friday.
Koi was fun on Friday night.
The celeb spotting was out of control.
We saw:
Tom Hanks
Tom Ford (and Domenico/Dominique De Sole? - google couldn't help with this one)
Tricky
a mustachioed David Spade
Usher
Ben Kingsley
Paul Anka
and um, some football player (a huge sports fan I am not, unless it involves teams of 3 soccer players affixed to a stick I spin)

You see celebrities in L.A. all the time, but there's something funny about seeing them at Koi, a decent restaurant (sushi on toasted rice, albacore with crispy onions, various Nobu ripoff dishes, all pretty good) chock full of people who wish they were celebrities. Why actual celebrities go to Koi is beyond me. Then, there's a lot about Los Angeles I don't understand (Why are there so many donut shops? Why don't people use turn signals in this town? Why at restaurants are you asked if you've been there before and if not, comforted by your server that they'll walk you through the menu? (It's a menu. If I don't know what something is, I'll either ask or I won't order it(I don't know why I'm bitter about this and also don't know why I'm tempted to in response, ask questions like "What is tomato?"))) In any case, Koi remains the sort of restaurant that represents L.A. at its most silly, pathetic and wonderful; an issue of US Weekly come to life. Out by the valet (Valet Parking Attendants at Koi stole 40 bucks from Alex's car, by the way. Next time we're parking on the street. Less terrible but related: One time, I had all the quarters stolen from my center console at a restaurant I like too much to mention. In any case, the criminal masterminds were nice enough to fill the console with pennies and nickels, which unfortunately don't go as far in a meter.)... As I was saying, Out by the valet, there was a group of women who were pretty much Plastic Surgery On Parade. But the paparazzi were more interested in getting photos of Ben Kingsley with some younger lady. Gandhi didn't seem to like this and retreated back into the kingdom of Koi. Paul Anka drives an black E55. And he's mega-tan. And while I'm still blah-blahing about Koi: In the men's room, Alex stood next to Usher. Apparently, no friendly urinal banter.

In any case, the night moved on to the Smog Cutter. I'm no karaoke superstar, but the performances we saw were weak. However, the beer was cheap, and I had a great time with K&J. Alex was the driver on Friday night, and as I had a few beers and was pretty tired, can't say I remember much except for some drunk guy messing up "Between a rock and a hard place" and turning it into a wacked-out jam that was a free-form explosion of grunts, moans, and nonsensical phrases.

The work week was over. And the weekend was off to a great start, Eric

P.S. Hopefully Alex can fill in the missing pieces...