Malibu’s changing landscape
resulting from a recent influx of “mega” restaurants is making this full time
resident quake in her Uggs. How soon before all of the “character” of Malibu is
squeezed out by globally popular celebrity chefs and their enterprises?  On the East end Nobu and Mr. Chow’s has
imported visible corporate streaming, which in order for it to be “worthwhile”
requires dense traffic and quick turnover, group sales and “bust the piggy
bank” price points.

 Squab lettuce cups, bigeye and
bluefin toro tartar with caviar, and artichoke “Oshitashi” salad, are all
delights, but in no way would live up to their price tag if the quality of service,
bar and acoustics could not support them. As a diner, and imbiber, I think the
comprehensive experience of these establishments is successful, and warrant the
shock value of the bill

Equally important to me is
that Nobu, and Chow’s offer “backyard” dining options for those of us who are jonesing
for some fine eggroll, but who don’t want to leave Malibu for the satisfaction.
I am one for intimate dining (and good “slow food”), but I also embrace something
feisty and with pizaz. Simply put: sex appeal. A little glamorous dining invites
economic value to Malibu, as well a grand stand for socializing and people
watching! If only I were a “someone” who could get a reservation at the last
moment! Apparently I have not broken into that code. Yet. Putting my ego aside
(who me?) I can embrace the “newbies” as part of my “California Dream,” and
certainly even more so once the smug “new kid” in town attitude fades.

For the most part these
venues provide a win-win for the proprietors, Malibuites and commuters.
However, above all, they must collectively insist on the first rule of the
road: confirm your designated driver! Face it: with PCH as the main tributary
for travel most locals cannot walk home! As my mother told me: carry a cab
company’s number in your phone.

On the West end and more than
a year old, the notable newcomer that is neither culinary nor licensed for
alcohol dispensing, but which does provide for schmoozing, snacking, book
shopping and opportunity for insight is the family owned Bank of Books.

 Located on the corner of the
Pt. Dume Plaza across from Lily’s for legendary breakfast burritos, and two
doors down from Sunlife Organics for a “Million Dollar Smoothie,” Bank of Books
is a viable destination hitched to the rear of Cafecito Organico, and a
location that assumes an important role as the center of the Plaza’s goings on.
Outside, people chill on newly installed outdoor furniture with deep seats;
inside amidst the humble veneered wooden bookshelves salvaged from a retired “Borders”
people speak in quiet tones while thumbing thru the merchandise. Thanks to the
coffee shop the joint is outfitted with a long community table bearing several
stools where individuals and groups gather to ‘muse’.  “Bank of Books” feels like a combination cafe,
library, bookshop, and after school hangout. That’s because it is.

“It’s a community
driven bookstore,” says longtime Mallibuite and manager Ann Vandy. What she
means is, the store is not publisher driven, but rather “offers selections
based on what the community requests.” “Young Adult,” “Swords and Sorcery,” and
“Children’s” and “Research” shelves point to the fact that families frequent
this local bookshop. For DAD who wants young Johnny to know what it was like to
research without “Google” –Encyclopedia Brittanicas sit on the top shelf behind
the cash register.  Nearby: an archive of
“Surfer” journals.  Cookbooks are next to
the coffee pick up. “California’ and “Local History” in plain sight.  

With 25% of the books used, locals can usually find
something discounted. The real bargain begins with the “Beach Books” paperbacks
positioned in crates on the patio, making it easy for coffee drinkers, smoothie
gulpers, and “Subway” eaters to browse thru. Romance, mystery and “who dunnit”
pulp; no one really cares if a little spirulina dribbles onto a copy of a
“007”. But hey, if you like it—buy it for three buck and support your local
bookstore.

Contrary to the name of the bookstore, I think the
stacks are sort of slim, albeit a predictable outcome for most bookstores since
“brick and mortar” is being replaced by online sources. My hunch is that may
not matter here because Ann keeps the place hopping with customers who attend book
clubs, live author’s book signings and literary talks.

For me, the true fireworks happen every six weeks on
“Poetry Night.”  Organized by Ann and her
daughter Krystyn Lambert “Poetry Night” is so popular there is barely standing
room once the hour and a half of reading begins. As of this morning the sign up
list for reading has no openings until late April.  

Writers as readers and readers as writers provide for material
that is as diverse as the locals who show. The fact is, anyone can read just
about anything, as long as it stays within the time allotted.

A Malibu Mom whose material is reminiscent of a
stand-up sketch “kvetches” about her terrorizing sons; a man reads a personal
essay about the rare gold fish his brother gave him as a “peace” gift after
years of estrangement.  Another reads a
poem about a love affair that should have ended long ago, but hasn’t!  Another tells the descriptive tale of the last
night a husband spends with his wife of 25 years before he leaves her. An actor
reads Kerouac. Always: applause, applause, applause. While you get the sense
most of the readers have always written, you also see the exhilaration for
those who are not accustomed to reading at the mike. It feels good to share the
secret, and to have a stranger share their secret with you.

Bank of Books is an experience as far away from
corporate size sushi as you can get. It is homey, low keyed, community
supportive, and perhaps for some, a little therapeutic.  In fact the readers, the listeners and the
management all seem thrilled to have a place to go to. While so many of us move
to Malibu to get away “from it all” sometimes the isolation can be daunting. At
Bank of Books on “Poetry Night” it is hard to imagine any one of us might feel
alone.

Malibu continues to amaze.

West Ender Malibuites
exchanged sweats, Ugg boots, and hoodies for shorts, bikinis and sun hats today
as the thermometer climbed towards the 80-degree marker. Finally, a break. More
than a break: the best of a summer’s day!

It seems like So Cal has been
trapped in an arctic chill since Thanksgiving with consistent daytime temperatures
hovering 50-something degrees, nights touching the 30’s, and paired with a wind
chill blowing off the ocean, slapping at our backs. Sniffles, sore throats and
the flu make for uncooperative socializing, let alone lots of missed school
days. But today, January 19, the vibe at Little Dume is “chill” and one of
relief.  You can almost hear a big sigh,
like an exhale of a pranayama yoga breath.

 At eleven this morning, with barely
a breeze nor swell, barebacked boarders glide across the glassy bay.  Solo, or in pods, they rhythmically dip and
pull, dip and pull—alternating from arm to arm, maintaining a straight line,
heading East or West. 

The tide line eases from a
6.5 to a -1.4, more than enough to expose the shoreline’s underwater cacophony
of vivid organic colors: the potent green of kelp and algae; the breathing
purples and orange backs of the starfish; the chocolate and umber spikes of the
urchin. This winter’s receding tide cycle is providing a major moonscape of
sediment that angles and juts out of wet and dry sand. Off leash (don’t
snitch!) local dogs and residents take their time meandering thru the
sculptural forms, pausing now and then for—well, just to pause. And maybe take
a photo for the spectacularity of it all. 

We had the honor to photograph
a woman with her daughter and an exchange student from Italy. “Bon giorno!” I
exclaimed, meaning it and feeling a little silly, and not. After all, everyone
knows the greeting, but how often do you get to say it on a Malibu beach?  Moreover, how often does a young person from a
foreign country much, much older than ours, with some of the greatest pieces of
art and treasures the world has ever known, get to experience a place called
“Malibu”?  I bet she felt she “landed”
her own kind of treasure today: different from Rome, or the Amalfi Coast, or
Tuscany. But special.

 My Malibu exists beyond mere celebrity groove and tops out at 
one of the “grooviest” environments
(micro climates and all), on this planet. What a place to come home to! This
exchange student and her new family seemed to feel this way too, as they smiled
from ear to ear for their photo op on a warm beach in January!

 Such a gift for this person,
and anyone for that matter, who is lucky enough to dip their toes in the
Pacific, alongside the indigenous water fowl, the ashes of seaweed, and the
astoundingly beautiful asterias vulgaris creatures of the sea.