Cool cars, yummy recipes and ‘Spin the Bottle’

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By Chris Erskine / July 2, 2025

The gleaming oak bar at Farmhouse, the new restaurant at Descanso Gardens, is made from Descanso’s fallen trees. (photo courtesy of Farmhouse at Descanso Gardens)

Random thoughts while pouring warm butterscotch over half-melted vanilla ice cream:

My mind is an ocean of summer cravings.
Root beer. Dodger Dogs. Dill pickles. Pie.
Yep, I eat like a pregnant woman. So?
If I ever open a steak house, it’ll be called “Grill Marks.”
If I ever open a bar, it’ll be called “Spin the Bottle.”
Passion is nothing to laugh at. Yet, what’s funnier?
Best coach in sports: Dave Roberts.
Most fun summer board game: Chronology.
Best summer supplement? Vitamin sea.
Long as I live, I’ll never understand all my Apple charges.
Nothing is prettier than a simple bowl of fresh plums.
Unless it’s a horse track.
Unless it’s a steamy bowl of chili (yes, even in July).
In summer, I can’t go a day without a ballgame or a book.
My dream date: a 1952 Porsche 1500.
If he’s not careful, Dave Roberts will wind up as baseball commissioner.
Good for baseball; bad for Dave.
Who isn’t happier in a dugout?
“Good eye, good eye, good eye, good eye…” – every youth baseball coach ever
Where is Shohei Ohtani’s new house? I know but I’m not telling (unlike the lame Japanese media).
A terrific beach read: “Perfect Eloquence,” essays on the great Vin Scully.
“I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” – Albert Einstein
Right again, Mister Einstein.
FYI, if you invested $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway when Warren Buffett started it in 1965, it’d be worth $55 million today (the Wall Street Journal).
Strength is money. So is patience.
Spotted lunching at Farmhouse, Descanso Gardens’ lovely new restaurant: Mookie Betts.
Best thing on the menu: Herb-crusted jidori chicken.
Their secret? Chef Adam Cherney brines it.
FYI, the magnificent bar top was crafted from the garden’s fallen oaks.
Trivia time: Why does Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman wear sleeves, no matter the weather?
More summer cravings: Kabobs. Sno-cones. Freckles. Naps.
Best therapy in the world: a belly laugh.
Best thing to plant in your garden: a hammock.
I would’ve bought TikTok. But I have my eye on Switzerland instead.
Rough times should soften our hearts, not harden them.
World’s worst noise: a sick baby.
Second-worst noise: a chainsaw.
Anyone seen my golf ball?
Tip: It’s a Titleist 3 with a little barbecue sauce on it.
To me, Burbank can’t open its new airport terminal soon enough.
Estimated opening: Oct. 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, the penal system could use LAX as punishment.
Tell me, what’s a synonym for synonym?
What’s another word for thesaurus?
Having memory lapses? Try walnuts.
FYI, the worst roads in L.A. are the Dodger parking lots.
Thanks, Frank McCourt!
Prayers for Billy Joel on his battle with a rare brain disorder.
FYI, the Executive Room bar on Wilshire, site of Joel’s “Piano Man,” was torn down years ago to build a strip mall.
Developers do more damage in L.A. than termites.
“At 18, our convictions are hills from which we look; at 45, they are caves in which we hide.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hey, did I mention walnuts?

ª RIP, Marge Simpson (even if your death was a flash-forward stunt).

34% of Americans feel most people can be trusted, Pew reports.
In 1972, that number was 46%.
“I wanted to glorify the average man, not the guy at the top … just the ordinary guy whose strength I admire, whose survivability I admire.” – director Frank Capra
Amen to that.
Would baseball be better as a seven-inning game? Probably.
And I wouldn’t mind if hockey was two periods, not three.
Less is more (more or less).
It’s not really summer till you accidentally snort a gnat.
Or burn your bare feet on the driveway.
If Bob Dylan can win a Nobel Prize, Paul Simon should win two.
Birthdays in July: Margot Robbie, 35, Tom Hanks, 69; Harrison Ford, 83; United States of America, 249.
Did you know Harrison Ford was born in Chicago? I didn’t.
Trivia answer: Freeman wears sleeves as an homage to his mother, who died of skin cancer.
Favorite things about a steakhouse: 1) the sides 2) the martinis.
Jeffrey’s dressing from the iconic Palms steakhouse: 2 tablespoons Dijon, 4 teaspoons balsamic, 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Colman’s dry mustard, 3 cloves garlic (pressed), ¾ cup olive oil. Whisk, let stand at room temp for an hour.
Warren Buffett was the Harry Truman of finance.
I’m the Donald Duck of finance.
Why was Secretariat the greatest ever? His heart was three times the size of a typical racehorse. And he covered 20% more ground with every stride.
Final summer cravings: Banana splits. Tan lines. Fresh rhubarb. Little deuce coupes.
“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” – Russell Baker