Reliving the wonder years

Jeanne and I went to Jim's Famous Burgers this afternoon for lunch. It's where I always go when I come back to LA. There are things about this town where I grew up that I always sort of long for--Vietnamese pho, an In-n-Out animal-style burger, and fried zucchini from Jim's. A strange amalgam, but representative of life here.

We ordered a turkey club with avocado (EZ mayo) with fries, half-n-half of onion rings and fried zucchini, and a large Coke. Mmmm...greasy goodness. The man who shouted out our order number was the same man who called me "Smiley" on one of my last visits (I can't figure out if I should be offended or if I'm really all that smiley to warrant such a name). The turkey club was stacked high with avocado, lettuce, bacon, tomatoes, and turkey. It was a just-okay sandwich despite its impressive demeanor. The turkey was a bit dry--even for turkey--and the avocado was not quite ripe enough. The mayo, however, was spread on EZ, just as the name suggested. The onion rings were just okay too. Sure, they were made of real onions and real batter--none of that frozen concoction--but they lacked something. An extra bit of cruch. An extra touch of salt. Something.

But, the fried zucchini never lets me down. So hot at the first bite that almost always I nearly burn my tongue. That crunchy, just salty enough batter is the perfect encasement for the soft yellow and green flesh of the zucchini. A little bath in the ranch dressing (yes, ranch again) cools the hot zucchini down enough so that its heat is manageable. And, of course, the hotter the zucchini, the more ranch dressing.

Not a bad way to spend a little part of my afternoon back in this strange southern California town.