Happy Father's Day!

The late, great Andrew (Andy) De La O

Happy Father's Day to all the dads taking care of business! Enjoy your day! There is nothing in this world that means more to me than my family. I do believe that being a dad is what I do best, mistakes and all!!

I'll be remembering me own father today and I know that many of you will be doing the same. Enjoy those sweet memories!!

Lunch with the familia at Casa Jimenez today!

"That's All Right Mama" (Elvis Cover) by Andrew De La O

Jagerhaus Authentic German Restaurant

My wife Jeri and I went to Jagerhaus, in Anaheim, yesterday, on the recommendation of some acquaintances. We went for an early dinner.  I had been searching for a good German restaurant in the local area and was anxious to give it a try.

A soon a we walked in it was like jumping back in time, with it's somewhat kitschy 60's and 70's old school décor. Mug, plates and other German paraphernalia on the wall. It was all good though. There  was a very comfortable feeling about the place. I was a little concerned  when I saw the place was almost empty. There was one large crowd there but other than that it was empty. To be fair it was about 2:45 pm, so were were between lunch and dinner crowd.

When we first walked in I didn't think anyone had seen us. We waited for a few moments but still no one showed up to the front. I was considering leaving when I saw an old cast iron bell and I assumed it was a “ring for service” bell. It wasn't. It was extraordinarily loud. The maitre'd/waiter came running and shot me a look. “Sorry but nobody came and I thought I was supposed to ring the bell”.  He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like “I knew you were here”. I just shrugged my shoulders.

He sat us in a comfortable corner near a window and gave us our menus.  We went through the menu made our choices and we were ready by the time the waiter came back to take our order. He was a lot friendlier this time around. Jeri ordered the saurbraten  (a German pot roast) and I ordered the German combo, which consisted of a polish sausage, a bratwurst sausage, a knockwurst sausage and a (small boneless smoked pork chop. The dinner came with two sides. Jeri and I both chose mashed potatoes with gravy and creamed spinach.

At $18.95 I had high expectations for the German combo. I was envisioning handmade sausages and a fairly good sized pork chop. The saurbraten, at $16.95 also seemed a little steep but again, we had high expectations so I didn't mind. Good food is always worth the price. We ordered shrimp stuffed appetizers  to start off our meal. These were absolutely delicious with a very earthy taste. The dinner rolls were also very good, hot, soft and tasty.

German Combo; Knockwurst, Bratwurst and polish sausages , and a boneless smoked pork chop. Served with mashed potatoes and gravy and creamed spinach.

Saurbraten (German Pot roast), served with mashed potatoes and gravy and creamed spinach

 A while later the waiter brought us our food – by this time he was in a smiling mood, the bell incident forgiven and forgotten -  and as soon as I saw my plate I was disappointed. Three sausages that looked liked they could have been bought at the corner supermarket. The same with the smoked pork chop. It was served with some good grainy mustard, which I'm assuming was a German mustard. The mashed potatoes and gravy were good but the one saving grace in my meal was the creamed spinach. It was excellent. I'm a big fan of creamed spinach and this one was done right. Overall, it was a good meal but certainly nowhere near worth the price. Later I regretted not ordering the braised rabbit or the weinersnitzel plate, something more ethnically German. Especially considering that I'm really watching what I'm eating now and it's going to be a while before I can eat like this again. Live and learn.

Jeri, on the other hand, enjoyed her saurbraten, along with the mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. She mentioned that it was a little bland but it was more of an observation than a complaint.

After dinner, we ordered desert. I had the bread pudding  with vanilla sauce  and Jeri ordered the apple strudel. I was happy with mine, Jeri not so much.

Will I go back? I might but I'll order something else and If I'm left standing too long when I get there I'm going to ring the bell again, only louder.

Jagerhaus Menu

Jagehaus is located at:

2525 East Ball Road at 57 Fwy
Anaheim, CA 92806

714-520-9500
Fax 714-520-9597


View Larger Map

Student of the Month

Speaking of granddaughters, my granddaughter Maddie was student of the month at Sorenson for the month of May. I'm amazed at how much they all love school, considering how much I disliked it..

Graduation Day

Me, daughter Deedee, granddaughter McKayla, Jeri and my son in law Richard Lopez

Jeri and I drove up to the high desert last Thursday to see our granddaughter McKayla graduate from the 8th grade at Sitting Bull Academy in Apple Valley.. She'll be entering high school later this year. McKayla is an amazing kid (all my grandkids are amazing). She has a definitive goal. She wants to be a writer. Her goal is to be a published author. She is very focused. I'm posting a link to the site she writes on. Check it out. http://www.wattpad.com/user/Explosivewafflez

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Turner Classic Movies (TMC) has been showing classic WWII movies all day in honor of Memorial Day. This is one of the best.

The Best Years of Our Lives.......

The Best Years of Our Lives is one my favorite movies. It is a classic romantic drama in the truest sense of the word, and to say that they don't make them like this anymore would be an understatement. It has a solid cast, that includes; Myrna Loy, Fredrick March, Dana Andrews (one of my favorites), Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Russell.

The story begins with three returning WWII veterans (March, Andrews, Russell) who meet on the flight back to their hometown, and centers around their difficulty returning back to their former lives. March's character returns to find his children have grown, and he and his wife must get reacquainted with each other all over again. Andrews returns to an unhappy and failing marriage and finds himself no longer in love with his wife. Perhaps the most heartbreaking role in the movie belongs to Harold Russell's character, who returns home from the war without his hands, made all the more tragic because this paralleled Russell's personal experience in the war.

The Best Years of our Lives won nine Oscars in 1947, including; Best Picture, Best Actor (Fredrick March), Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), and also Directing, Film Editing, Musical Score, Sound Recording, Writing, and a special award to Harold Russell "For Bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives", which, indecently was the only time in the Academy's history that two awards were given to any actor for the same role. See the movie and you'll see that he deserved it.

Happy Memorial Day

Out thanks to all those in every branch of the military who paid the ultimate price. We should all know such courage!

Anita Osuna De La O

A more recent photo of my mother from last Christmas. Enjoying a bowl of homemade Pozole. Happy Birthday Ma!

Happy Birthday to my Mother Anita De La O

Today is my mother Anita's birthday. She is 84 years young. I say young because if there is anyone that has defied age, both physically and in physical appearance, it is my mother. It has been her youthful and positive outlook on life that has brought her this far. That and her faith in God. We are all proud of her and love her more than we can say. We cherish each and every day with her. She is the family matriarch.

Happy Birthday Mom and thank you for all you have done for all of us through the years and for all that you continue to do for your family! God bless you and we love you!

My parents, Andrew and Anita De La O, on their first date at the Avadon Ballroom in downtown Los Angeles - 1947. My mother was 17 at the time. Happy Birthday Ma!

Rough Week...

Immediately following the biopsy

What started as a headache on Saturday April 20, ended up as a short hospital stay and lots of pain. As I was hunkering down and waiting to watch the Austin Trout vs Canelo Alvarez fight I developed a headache or what seemed to be a headache. Took some Motrin and it seemed to help. It never completely went away but it seemed manageable.

It was back by Sunday morning and was getting worse by the minute. As bad as it was I went to work non Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon I had taken all I could take. My wife and I agreed I needed to see a doctor. She tried earlier to get me to go to the doc but I resisted. This time I had enough sense to go.

On Wednesday, April 24, the doctor checked me out but was stumped and sent me to the Whittier Presbyterian Hospital for a CT Scan. At that point they seemed pretty sure it was a sinus virus infection that was causing all my pain. When I say pain I'm talking about the kind of pain that brings a man to his knees. I was skeptical but accepted them at their word. They sent me home to recover.

That same day it got increasingly worse and by Friday it was unbearable. I returned to the Hospital and was admitted a s a patient. An MRI was done. Again, as with the CT Scan, they were looking for a possible tumor, clot, bleeding, hemorrhaging, whatever.

While it was accurately determined that I did have a serious sinus virus, they were not 100% certain that was the cause of my pain. I was told that I had Temporal Arteritis – inflammation of the blood vessels- and that was the cause of my pain. In reality they were still unsure, they were going to treat it as if it were the case. I'm on several meds including steroids which puts me at some risk since I am diabetic.

Saturday I was told I was going to have a biopsy in hopes of finding the source of my problem. That was done and I will be getting the results during the week. I was sent home yesterday and at least in my mind, I'm still unclear about what the problem is.

So that is where I am right now. I feel okay as long as I take my pain medications. I'm hoping to be back at work next Monday and get back to business as usual.

Postcards From New Mexico

Oldest House in the U.S.A.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

The caption below reads: Remnants of a pre-Spanish Indian Pueblo, first seen by white men in the time of Coronado (1541). Serving as residence for a Franciscan Missionary, along with Old San Miguel Mission, it was prominent in bringing Christianity to what is now the United States.

Menudo at the Super Burrito

The sign in the back of the Super Burrito parking lot, in Whittier, proclaiming itself the Home of the world's best menudo. It's my favorite place to eat menudo. 

Menudo con patas at the Super Burrito in Whittier. My serving of menudo in the forefront, Jeri's toward the back. the patas in the center. This is my first bowl of menudo in almost 8 months. It did wonders for me.

Pachuquismo.....

My father, Andrew “Andy” De La O (left), in his drapes (Pachuco slang for Zootsuit), with my nino (Godfather) Randy Fernandez, in the very early 1940's. I'm guessing he was about 18, maybe 19 years old at the time. I'm not exactly sure where this picture was taken but my guess would be Downtown Los Angeles or Brooklyn Ave in East Los Angeles.