How far will I walk ... for a glass of wine?

[Pleiades, Milo and Olive, Santa Monica]

If I don't drive to dinner, that sometimes means a dilemma. How far am I prepared to walk?

A couple of years ago I had a pleasant hours walk (and back) for a glass of wine - and this year I'm thinking of a 45 minute walk for a cheeseburger. On one hand, this is no run-of-the-mill burger, but on the other, this is a long walk in an area I'm not at all sure of. But first, let me tell you about the wine ...

A Texan friend of mine introduced me to the wines of Sean Thackrey, and I was smitten - not just with the wine, but with whole story behind this eccentric wine maker. Watch this Youtube video about what happened when Oz and James met him for their TV show about American wine to see what I mean.

So I was determined to try some when I was in California, but I didn't want to stump up for a whole bottle. Drinking expensive wine alone in a cheap motel room, well, I'm not there quite yet.

[Oh and wine came with pizza too!]

So, through the magic of Google I found Milo and Olive, a neighbourhood pizzeria on Wilshire Blvd that served it by the glass (I do note they no longer do, but I would still recommend a visit).

Although it was an hour from my motel near the beach, I fondly remember my stroll along Third Street (and the beach on the way home), a balmy evening with a lovely sea breeze. I also remember getting lost on a corner of a buzzy communal table, and the waitress continually topping my glass by way of apology for (in her eyes) the poor service. Given I'd come for the wine, I cared not one jot!

So sometimes it pays not to drive - I had a lovely walk and I certainly wouldn't have been safe to drive afterwards anyway. But that's enough rambling about wine, I hear you cry - tell us about the burger. Why the internal debate about a 45 minute walk? Well, the problem is, this is in Texas, not California, and the Texans have a completely different attitude to walking ... I'll explain all in my next post ...