Two months into their Los Angeles  residence, I finally made it to Two Boots Pizza on Sunset in Echo Park and had a mini-epiphany involving a slice with pepperoni. It was the most perfect pizza I’ve had in a long time. I’m a purist, in the pizza sense, and I usually stick to what I know I like– but something must have  happened because I found myself ordering a second slice  called Bayou Beast with BBQ shrimp, crawfish, andouille, jalapenos and mozzarella at the suggestion of the counter guy. (“My wife loves it.”)

This is so not me, I thought, until I bit into it. A delicate balance was struck between the flinty sweet shell fish and the salty spice of the sausage cosseted by the tangy sauce and smooth cheese. Within the culinary boundaries of the two boots of Italy and Louisiana, from which this pizza joint’s name springs, I was shaken free of my old thinking of what a proper slice entails. And here’s the thing: it all comes down to the yielding chewiness of the perfect thin crust that this NYC-based outfit has mastered. Somehow, it makes disparate flavors get along and play nicely together, like a yeasty nanny you don’t want to tick off.

(See the Goddess after the clicky.) Read the rest of this entry →

Mmmmm, Burger.

We ate Pie. We ate Burger. Not necessarily in that order. Unless you were originally from Germany. (More on that later.)

Fourteen people converged on Pie ‘N Burger in Pasadena last evening to celebrate Classic Eats #4. There were the CE Regulars: Mr. Hooks, Jeff and Donna, The Other Jeff, myself, and Matt Mason. Then more Metblogs writers came along, Lulu of the Lotus Eaters, Travis and Jodi. There were also significant others and there were the Germans. We even had one Metblog lurker who came out in public to join us. 

We crowded the back “section” of P ‘N B and had our fill of yummy classic burger food. Skip past the jump for more photos and fun.

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I began having back issues in December of last year.   Believe it or not it was from sitting in front of a computer for hours and writing.  I think I wrote more last year than any other time in my life.  As 2009 unfolded, the situation grew into a pinched nerve that radiated through my shoulder and all the way down my arm.  Eventually I was in so much pain I had begun popping Vicodin like candy.  That is when I began my search for a chiropractor and found All Ages Chirporactic Center in North Hollywood.

Within two visits I was immediately feeling better and it was more than just being out of pain.  After months of depression brought on by the economy, I felt centered and cheerful.  I’ve been a believer in chiropractic for years.  My parents published a very successful magazine on the topic that I spent some time here and there working on too.  But I never realized how interconnected our bodies were until this experience.  It has been life changing.

The people working at All Age Chiropractic along side Dr. Michael Blum are unique, warm and concerned about the well being of their patients.  I was stressed about the money I’d have to dish out with no insurance and they worked with me, putting my health before finances.  It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced health care that was about making people better rather than a bottom line.  Dr. Michael Blum is a charming, extremely experienced chiropractor who doesn’t add a bunch of crazy treatments to a patient’s visit.  No one tried to get me to buy BioFreeze or do anything that wasn’t directly about untangling the mess in my neck and back causing pain.

If you decide to give All Ages Chiropractic a try, don’t be put off by the location or the building.  What’s inside the modest little structure is real and is concerned with your health.  In a country where healthcare is a billion dollar industry most of us can’t afford without insurance (and sometimes even that isn’t enough), there is still a little oasis to be found where human beings come first.

Esza Kaye

Last night I was invited to check out an acoustic set performed by my girlfriend Esza Kaye at a venue around the corner from where I live.  Her music is ethereal goth in nature so I was curious how she’d interpret it stripped down to her voice and a twelve string guitarist.  And that is how I found myself outside on a very chilly Los Angeles night in Studio City at the Sportsmen’s Lodge lurking under a heat lamp next to the bar.  

Apparently Esza was taking part in the first of a series of concerts put together by infamous music promoter Sean Healy.  His events usually take place on the Sunset Strip or at places like the El Rey so I was surprised a little and also impressed by a contribution to live music that wasn’t high production.  It was just about sheer raw talent in an admittedly gorgeous setting.

The Sportsmen’s Lodge has a long history in the Valley.  For the most part it is the backdrop to reunions, weddings and other large gatherings.  On a Friday night, the lobby is full of people drinking, playing pool and conversing.  But I think Sean Healy has hit upon something with the poolside concerts.  With his knowledge of talent in Los Angeles (not to mention his great taste in music) and a setting that will become far more desirable with warmer weather, it could be a hot bed of incredible performances and the people who love good music.

I will certainly be back again and I will bring friends.

On my morning constitutional one day last week, I was awake enough to notice there are four, count them four, houses within a two block span that have gorgeous water saving front yards. I took photos with my phone cam so the photos don’t do the yards justice, I’m afraid.

These gardens have inspired me to find more succulents to plant and to continue to keep my sprinklers off (they have been since January). 

In case you think drought tolerant plants and gardens can’t be pretty, I offer up four examples of “You are so wrong.” Here is the first (on the right), leap frog past the jump for the rest. 

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1963 Buick Riviera Gran Sport

1963 was a banner year for Buick.  They introduced the Riviera as a stand alone model.   It was there to compete with Ford’s Thunderbird in the newly created “personal luxury” segment.  

It was big.  It was fast.  It was probably one of the most elegant designs ever spit out by GM design guru Bill Mitchell.  It was meant to be a resurrection of the “LaSalle” line for Cadillac, but Buick won the battle and debate to add it to its line up.   Buick knew it was going to be special and to create an air of exclusivity they limited production to 40,000.

This particular car is the extremely rare “Gran Sport” version.  Less than a quarter of the limited production run came out as this model.  Through stiffer suspension, different carb set up and rear axle ratios this was the “sports car” of the model line up. 

(more of the story and pics after the jump).
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The Flapper

I was walking at night, near my home, in what the LA Times apparently calls “Mid-City,” and found myself strangely transported by the spirits of the stucco and Spanish-style 1920s houses on these nice blocks. It is this architecture that feels most “Los Angeles” to me, though admittedly perhaps largely simply as an artifact of where I have lived during my fairly brief sojourn here.  Accompanied by my dearest native informant, thoughts started to swirl in my mind, about the people whom these houses first saw, and what in turn these people saw, and how they would see this neighborhood now.

My quandry, in this case, was mostly technological, if you can perhaps extend “technology” to encompass that part of it that concerns the social and political organization and regimentation of people themselves.  Michel Foucault is always relatively dear in my thoughts.  Grabbing an average American, but not necessarily an Angeleno per se, from 1925, what would he or she think of 2009 Los Angeles? … Read the rest of this entry →

Saving the best for last “Queen Skittles” of Doo-dah fame unveils two new photo series.

Prince Dino

Julie Klima is “Queen Skittles” of Doo-dah Parade fame,  and following in the foot steps of her predecessors is donating time and energy to local causes.  The By:Co-astal series ends tonight  at the PDG Warehouse.  As with the prior performances around LA the proceeds from the admissions will go to support local charities.  Queen Skittles favorite recipient is  the Children’s Hospital. 

By:Co-astal is a multi-artist, performance art installation that was done earlier at another locations in the LA this last weekend.  There is music with dance performances that eventually lead you into the art installation featuring Julies work.    Tonight is the last chance to see the show as it moves to New York for the final installation and performance there on the 7th.  (More info and pics after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →

If there’s one thing I love more than movies, it’s drugs, and when you’re talking movies about drugs–well, I’m in. Beginning April 7 and running every Tuesday for eight weeks, the Silent Movie Theater is screening the all-addiction film festival, hosted by Writers in Treatment (where do you think that WIT comes from anyway?). If you couple that with the Silent Movie Theater’s post-punk junk series on Thursdays, I’m pretty much in heaven. What doesn’t kill us, entertains us. The last time I was at the Silent Movie Theater it was to see  The Punk Rock Movie and they gave out cans of Tecate at the door. I have tickets to go see Permanent Midnight next week. I fear to think what they’ll be passing out for that one. The all-addiction (aka Reel Recovery) schedule together with my kibitzing after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →

Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain

No more discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the  Tall Corn State. A unanimous Supreme Court, and no possibility for overly hasty amendment of a protection of rights (not until 2012, at the earliest, and unlikely by then).

I was lucky enough to live in Massachusetts in 2004. Like Iowa, we had some checks-and-balances against an overly quick constitutional revision process. Mob rule ain’t always all it’s cracked up to be; good courts have a place.

What more needs to be said about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a novel that describes itself as “an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem?”

Well, okay, one of its co-authors will be signing the novel tonight at Book Soup. Yeah, I guess that needs to be said.

Co-written by Jane Austen, the very dead author of Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park, and Seth Grahame-Smith, the not-yet-dead author of The Big Book of Porn: A Penetrating Look at the World of Dirty Movies and Pardon My President: Ready-to-Mail Apologies for 8 Years of George W. Bush, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies takes the beloved 19th century snoozefest and supersizes the drama by having Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy battle a bloodthirsty army of the undead.

Looking for a cheap thrill, Snagglepuss? You can read the first three chapters complimentarily. Sans mullah. Gratis. For free, even!

But for Pete’s sake, go out and buy a copy or two. These days, supporting real literatoor is more important than ever.

I have been making my way through everything that LA Live has to offer over the last few months.  It’s a fun place to hang out, though I haven’t been particularly impressed by any of the restaurants until now. Who knew I’d get my mind and tastebuds blown at a bowling alley?

Lucky Strike at LA Live is one part chic lounge and one part futuristic bowling alley all with an emphasis on upscale.  From the moment my date and I hit the door we were treated like royalty.  Even impacted with a massive post concert crowd, the entire staff had it together.  We were ushered to a fantastic table without a reservation.  Our cocktail server was grace under pressure.  Even though she was slightly behind our needs for the evening, she was so charming we didn’t care.

We weren’t expecting haute cuisine by any means when we ordered some finger foods.  We were just starving and anything would do in the way of food.  We ordered Ahi tuna lollipops, chicken skewers, coconut shrimp and two specialty sliders. All if it was on par with an upscale restaurant.  The only exception was the Ahi tuna.  When I think of an Ahi tuna lollipop, I am thinking of sushi grade fish served raw or seared.  What we were given was cooked all the way through and the sauce was not enough to make them as extraordinary as everything else we ate.

Another highlight of a Saturday night at Lucky Strike LA Live is the DJ.  I didn’t get his name but the guy could mix music and pick songs that got me where I live.  I wasn’t alone in that.  I heard music I haven’t listened to in years.  It was an eclectic mix of various decades in something I called, “Music that does not suck.”  The man was a genius.

If you are wondering about the type of crowd prevalent at LA Live, there isn’t one.  I’ve been discovering that most places Downtown defy labels.  You see a little bit of everything in one room, including all ages.  It makes for a very down to earth night.

So, if you find yourself out at LA Live and you are wondering where you can go to have a some good food and excellent service even during the busiest of rushes, check out Lucky Strike on the second floor next to The Conga Room.

Main Street, Los Angeles. Where all seats at the Arrow Theatre are 10¢.

The year was 1939.

Photo from the USC Digital Archive

Yes, it’s only April, but now is the time to start planning your outdoor summer entertainment in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theater and the John Ford Ampitheater have all announced their 2009 season schedules.

The grande dame venue is, of course, the Bowl, and, as Jodi recently pointed out on Metblogs,  until May 2nd when the Bowl box office opens and  individual tickets go on sale, the best way to get in now is to buy a subscription to five or more performances, which also entitles you to two free tickets to an additional concert. The advantage to buying a subscription now is that Ticketmaster is not charging their usual exorbitant service charges, just a flat “5 or more processing fee” for all tickets purchased. It borders on actual decency; for what I ordered, it averaged $1.33 per ticket

Highlights, at least for me this season, include shows by Adele and Death Cab for Cutie, each with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra; an evening with Ray LaMontage and Jenny Lewis; a screening of Koyaanisqatsi, the wordless 1983 film (which was kind of the artsy An Inconvenient Truth of its day) with Philip Glass’s original soundtrack performed live by the LA Phil, The Philip Glass Ensemble (this will be Glass’s Bowl debut) and the Los Angeles Master Chorale; a performance of the three iconic jazz albums by Miles Davis and Gil Evans: Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain and Miles Ahead, with Terence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton; two evenings with Diana Krall and the LA Phil dipping into her fine, lush new album, Quiet Nights; the unstoppable Liza Minelli, who, considering her star power and preternatural ability to wow audiences, rarely plays venues as large as the Bowl– and who was one of several opening night performers last season, so it’s nice to see her get two nights all to herself; and Pink Martini, Portland’s “little orchestra” of lounge, samba, tango and beyond that they describe as perfect for everything from “background music of a love affair to vacuuming around the house.” Or a night at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Hollywood Bowl schedule is here. The Greek line-up can be viewed here. And the Ford schedule is here.

Photo: Fred George, courtesy of LA Phil.

Add this to the “you learn something new every day” file, which I’m sure is filled exclusively with things you read on Metblogs. Right? Yeah. So, anyway. My friend Souris is growing a spawn inside her body, which apparently results in bloating, which apparently results in rings getting stuck on your finger if you don’t remove them ahead of time. This can be a problem, and one that a bunch of people have it seems. What to do? Well, turns out the fire department will cut the thing off for you free of charge. Souris called jewlers-a-plenty to no avail but the SMFD hooked her right up. Here’s her story.