I should have put a soup can up this morning but I didn't know then how busy today would get.
I mentioned back here that my third-favorite place to eat Italian food in Los Angeles is Maggiano's, a chain restaurant that's better than any other chain restaurant I've been in that serves pasta 'n' such. The one I frequented was in The Grove, a shopping center over next to CBS Television City. And did you notice that I changed to the past tense? That Maggiano's, I was unhappy to learn, suddenly closed last week. A few months back, another favorite restaurant right next to it — The Wood Ranch Grill — moved out so both huge restaurant structures are vacant.
The Grove is a 575,000-square-foot…well, they don't call it a mall. They call it a "Shopping Xanadu" and it's owned by Rick Caruso, a local businessman who is currently running for Mayor of Los Angeles. The Internet Chatter is that Mr. Caruso wanted those two restaurants out because he has plans for the real estate they occupied. I don't know if that Internet Chatter is true. If it is, then I might be a little happier with the fact that I already filled-out and sent off my mail-in ballot on which I voted for Caruso's opponent, Karen Bass.
The recorded announcement when you phone that Maggiano's just tells you they've closed but you're invited to patronize the Maggiano's in Woodland Hills or the one in Costa Mesa. The one in Woodland Hills is 25.3 miles away and the one in Costa Mesa is 48. Their food is good but not 25.3 miles good.