Brunch @ Bel Air Hotel

We had brunch today at the Bel Air Hotel in Beverly Hills.

To get there we drove up in the woody hills of this posh community. The streets were beautifully lined on both sides with big trees that created a canopy against the sun. Not only was it beautiful, but it was 10 degrees cooler there as well.

Telepathically Uwe and I were both sending each other the same thought... "this would be the perfect place to raise a family." If we win the lottery it will definitely be on the top of our list.

It's interesting how your view of "the neighborhood" changes once you become a parent. Pre-kid it's all about how "cool" the neighborhood is and you want to be with other "young," hip people. When you see kids living there you think "oh no...noise." Post-kid you start thinking in terms of your kid riding her bicycle down the street (flat, not too much traffic, safe) and wanting to be near other couples with young children. When you see kids living there you think, "oh how sweet...children in the neighborhood." I'm beginning to understand the urge to move to suburbia. But don't get me wrong, I have no desire to morph into a Stepford wife and throw tupperware parties at my house or anything. But I do see the lure.

As to the restaurant...

You approach the restaurant by walking across an arching stone bridge, over a stream and pond filled with white swans, along a pink brick path lined with sycamore trees, bougainvilla, and flowering gardens.

Ambiance - thumbs up. Food - thumbs down.

The food was very disappointing. What tasted okay was underwhelming, and my pancakes were awful. From a 5 star hotel you don't expect better pancakes at Denny's. I think we both had high expectations but cie la vie. The dessert Uwe chose was comically outlined in the menu. It's called a snowball, made with vanilla ice cream rolled in coconut with a chocolate sauce. The funny part is that it was noted it was a Ronald Reagan favorite. That made us look around to see how many Republicans were surrounding us.

As you can see the refreshments included: mimosa, champagne, iced tea, and formula.

Astrid got to wear her pretty white dress with the pink bows (a gift from our friends Mary and Jeff). She definitely looks like Uwe's daughter.

Astrid did well at the restaurant. After she was fed she was okay sitting on either mommy or daddy's lap, and then she fell asleep in her new stroller.

Driving away from the restaurant we got to drive underneath that beautiful tree canopy again while daydreaming about Astrid riding her bike down the street.