Gjelina from Venice, CA — 5 stars all the way.

I’m a restaurant addict…

I love everything about going out to dinner with food being first and foremost, “vibe” second, and of course, killer cocktails are a plus. I am willing to wait for a table, if there are no reservations and I’m a repeat customer if I absolutely love a restaurant. When I travel, I cross-reference restaurant recommendations and keep lists from places I have visited. At Gjelina, in LA, (which is one of my top 5 LA spots) my husband mistakenly gave his name upon arrival because when I went to check on the table, the hostess said, “Oh, he’s with you? He should always give your name— you have 5 stars.” I’m officially a five star eater.  It’s a reverse restaurant rating system.  

Last night, after a Lucille Ball type meltdown, (which included ordering in Chinese because “it was dark, and I was already comfy”), I sat down for a whopping 15 minutes, allowed Ricky to watch just a few minutes of a Jason Bourne rerun and claimed, I need to get out of the house. I made Ricky shut off the TV, change into dinner clothes, and take me out to dinner. “Chinese always makes good leftovers” was my way out of this pickle. 

As I was getting dressed for dinner, I evaluated exactly what is A) warm for outdoor dining, B) comfortable for outdoor dining, C) easy to layer for outdoor dining. Final result? I pulled out a faux fur navy vest, which I have had for many years. We went out. I was totally warm and had full use of my arms. I had my AHA!-COVID-dining-fashion moment of the week. I didn’t exactly look fashion forward, but I made it work with cute shoes and good jeans. So…. what is the point? The point is we are in for patio dining for the foreseeable future – straight through winter – and you will not find me burning things in my oven or struggling with a recipe. I’m not giving in. After grabbing no less than three types of jackets last week for a dinner al fresco, trying them all on, and eventually ditching them for a scarf and hat - because let’s face it - using a fork and knife and raising a glass to my mouth requires full range of arm/ hand motion.

I have landed on the COMPLETE resurrection of “The Vest.” It just so happens knit vests are a thing again, and I’m pretty sure you have an old furry or down Uniqlo vest in your closet. PULL THEM OUT!  There are some other advantages of a vest as your outer layer. 

-One is that you ditched the cold shoulder (this is a good thing) for the BOLD shoulder top or sweater and only a vest can layer over that. 

-Another advantage is you can wear a warm sweater underneath, and the vest still fits nicely. 

-Lastly, vests are easy to sit in and often come to your hips. You don’t get all bunchy when you are sitting in the car or at the table.