two weekends ago, i found my way back to manhattan/hermosa/redondo beach again . funny how i ended up in the place i was exploring by foot a little over a year ago, basically doing the same thing :p i took the metro green line down to the south bay area, and got off at redondo beach station. my sunday morning walk was quite pleasant. sure, there was not much to look at at first—except manicured lawns and secluded corporate buildings—but things got better about 30 minutes in as i made my way toward the coast. a 1 hour walk just to get to the beach. but since i made the trek in the early afternoon, i had to stop for lunch. good thing the spot was in the right spot ! it’s apparently la’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, and the outside reminded me of a little beach shack. the inside was dimly lit, but had a homey feel to it. i guess the ambiance influenced my meal choice, since i decided to try the “garden corny”. what food symbolizes home cookin’ more than cornbread ? i didn’t have to wait to long for my plate to arrive, but to pass the time, i forced myself to review lecture slides on heterochromatin. i’m sure my server thought it was strange for someone to be looking at a slide of mutant drosophila just before chowing down… garden corny – cornbread smothered in pinto beans, brown rice, salsa, red sauce, and garden veggies! i certainly had no issues though! my plate came out still steaming hot, and i had to push aside the mountain of pinto beans and rice to find two square pieces of cornbread tucked in the middle. the food did fill me up, and i was left feeling warm and re-nourished from my long walk from the station. still, the seasoning needed improvement. everything from the vegetables to the cornbread tasted quite bland. things could have been a lot better with a flavorful sauce…or perhaps just some more salt! after paying and tipping for my lunch, i made my way to the strand—where i observed the houses, volleyballers, bikers, runners, and walkers i “met” a little