From D-List to A-List

I met starlily313, cheapbeachbride, and insomniac at bld yesterday for brunch.

Upon arriving, I was excited to spot a lesser-known actor, Nicholas Cage's dorky sidekick in the National Treasure movies. Despite having lived in Los Angeles for the past seven years, I still get incredibly starstruck. To my credit, I am very polite and never take photos unless I'm far enough away not to disturb.

Sadly, my cohorts did not recognize the not-so-famous Mr. Bartha and were not as excited. They did get more excited about the food, though.

starlily and I got a mimosa and fresh-squeezed orange juice, respectively.

insomniac chose the Eggs as You Like Them ($10). She liked her eggs scrambled and accompanied by thick cut bacon.

starlily's brioche french toast ($12) came with fresh berry compote, creme fraiche, and maple syrup. The few bites I had were quite tasty, although I was hoping the brioche would be a bit fluffier.

Check out that maple syrup container!

starlily also had a side of merguez chicken sausage ($4.50). It was well-seasoned, but the bite I had was a tad crumbly and dry. Maybe it was because it was an end-cut.

cheapbeachbride's braised pork shank and poached eggs with citrus hollandaise and grilled country bread ($14) was delicious. I savored my little taste.

I ordered the Spanish frittata with chorizo, smoked paprika, fingerling potatoes, roasted piquillo peppers, and manchego cheese ($14). Muy sabroso! I was pleased.

The cream cheese and chive biscuit that came with my meal was awesome. The chives really made it special. Love.

We ended with a nectarine blueberry crisp with nut crumble and vanilla ice cream ($7). Perfect combination of hot, cold, sweetness, and tang.

During brunch, we all admired insomniac's new hard-earned iPhone.

It turns out that insomniac is a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, as evidenced by her texting with her friend. This made cheapbeachbride, starlily, and me laugh quite heartily. Twilight is all the rage and obsession of a number of our cyberfriends.

Toward the end of our meal, my dear little D-list actor left, and someone much bigger sat down -- Oscar winner Forest Whitaker! He dined just five or six feet away from us.

I love L.A.