"Maybe LA was a Big Mistake" -- The Jamie Oliver / CTown Story

What can I say peeps?  I've been keeping so busy these past few weeks I haven't even been able to take 5 minutes out of my schedule to update you all on my amazing 2011 goal progress and activities and things!  That or... nothing has happened I feel is worth writing about.  Guess what - it's the latter.

But that stops THIS WEEK because as I scrolled Hulu recently uploaded TV episodes over the weekend I came across the season premiere of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution season 2... an episode aptly titled "Maybe LA was a Big Mistake."

Now those of you who know me well know that when I make mistakes I lovingly refer to them as "HUGE mistakes" (aka "epic fails") so when I read this it caught my attention.  Wasn't it just - oh, 8 months ago - when I was asking myself if "Maybe L.A. was a huge mistake?"  And this got me thinking about the ties Jamie Oliver has had in my life since my West Coast move ... and that is what I will be sharing with you all this week if you'll allow me the pleasure (note: I have no idea where this is going but if you bear with me you'll see how it ties into me making my AMAZING iphone 4 purchase this afternoon and as far as weekly events go, everything pales in comparison to the joy this phone is giving me).

Flashback to moving into our new LA office last year ... memories.  The office is on Sunset Blvd so we are surrounded by people "in the industry."  Sadly, snooping has gotten me as far as an awkward fbook friendship with a guy who works in a cube outside our office and that's about it (other than the juicy tidbit that Jason Bateman works on the top floor of the building).  I did however notice a huge Jamie Oliver poster in one of the offices by ours while exploring  (see pic to the left) so since move-in I've been wondering about the imagined abc-honcho working in said office. The poster also kept Jamie Oliver top-of-mind in the months to follow (the office it's in is right by the coffee machine) so much so that when I heard Jamie was filming season 2 in LA I knew I HAD to participate!

Ryan Seacrest kept promoting the Food Revolution on his radio show (not that I listen to it *SHUDDER* - I'm a Joel McHale fan - ...Travis, my partner in crime, listens) but it never seemed to work for the two of us to head out to support Jamie.  Seriously - first Travis and I could never get out to Jamie's Kitchen in Westwood and then I got stuck in traffic in Santa Monica with a co-worker last year for hours only to find out AFTER the fact that the traffic was being caused by a massive cook-off Jamie was hosting on 3rd street promenade.  HOW could I keep epicly failing at supporting the food revolution??

Jamie working the drive-thru

That's why when Travis told me Jamie was taking over operations of a fast food joint in the boonies of Los Angeles in February I was determined to go- and go we did! 40+ min out of our way later, we arrived at Patra's to taste Jamie's fare!  Travis and I signed our release forms and chowed down on two "Revolution burgers" (extra spice on Travis').  They were AMAZING!  Not to mention Jamie chatted us up as we were sitting at the bar and called Travis his "brother" in true Jamie Oliver fashion - novelty!!  And while Ryan Seacrest did not end up making an appearance that evening much to Travis' dismay, the two of us still cling to the hope that footage of us will be used as B-roll in upcoming food revolution episodes LOOKOUT - I'm famous!!


So you see, quite honestly..Jamie inspired an amazing LA excursion I shared with Travis pre-blog and so to see him associating LA with a mistake just doesn't sit right with me!  Granted...I haven't been fully honest with you.  Last year when Travis first told me Jamie was in LA and he wanted me to track Jamie down with him I may have asked Travis if it was for Food Revolution and he denied it... prompting me to threaten that if Jamie WAS in fact here for Food Revolution tapings and Travis and I inadvertantly landed on TV in filler footage as a narrator spouted off depressing facts about the obesity epidemic in LA that I would actually kill him.  Ha ha that's the truth.  But see I came around and since then have met Jamie, signed the food revolution petition (read about it and sign for yourself HERE!!), and excitedly downloaded and watched his AMAZING 20 minute meals app on my new iphone 4.  Seriously...this app is amazing AND on sale this month.

So I'll end this post with a quote by Jamie seeming especially relevant given the nature of these ramblings:

"... all I ever wanted to do was to make food accessible to everyone; to show that you can make mistakes - I do all the time - but it doesn't matter."

CTOWN OUT!