"SO THERE..AGAIN"

Last week I got a call in the late afternoon from one of my dearest friends whom I met in college, RY. Now a lawyer, he was in Westwood for a meeting and had a flashback of our days at UCLA - but more specifically of the many happy hours spent at Acapulco on Glendon Ave. RY grew up in West LA and used to commute, so when he became friends with those of us starving students who survived on loans, grants, scholarships and part-time jobs to buy books and pay rent, we introduced him to "happy hour" at Acapulco's. For a mere dollar or two - you got a drink and access to an amazing happy-hour spread of endless baskets of hot chips and salsa, mini tostadas, and what can best be described as deep fried burrito-ettes (now known as the chimichanga). It was standard practice that we went to Acapulco's a few times a week to "fine dine" for a buck or two - but when RY was introduced to this fabulously free dining experience he was beyond delighted and as he'd put it, "I'm so there" when word spread on when we'd all be meeting up on any given day.

So for nostalgia sake, tonight we braved the CROWDS of undergrads in trendy summerwear and even a table full of blue- scrubbed med students and attended "Margarita Monday." Happy Hour is no longer "free eats" but it's still cheap with $1 tacos and 1/2 price maggies.
The landscape in Westwood has evolved dramatically over the years. The Westward Ho Market is a Bristol Farms, All American Burger is a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Arby's is a Denny's, and oddly enough, the old BofA is now a Rite Aid. But most poignantly missing for me is the absence of used indie record shop-turned-label - Rhino Records.

The decibel level in the bar was high, but the $1 tacos were delicious and we washed them down merrily with our 1/2-priced drinks. After RY entertained me with war stories of his ill-begotten gig on 4th of July in the front yard of a house in the hood' where he literally ducked live amo and explosives between and during sets - we retired for the night, our stomachs full with pico de gallo and nostalgic glee:

RY: Where did you park?
Me: Across the street for $7.
RY: Me too... wait - wouldn't that make our $1 tacos $8 tacos?
Me:...