It tastes a lot better than it looks.

Here’s how you can tell I’m not originally from California: I don’t like avocado on my burgers.

Really. I enjoy avocado in general. It’s nature’s answer to butter. And I’m the guy at the party who sits down on the couch and makes sweet love to a bowl of chips and guacamole until everyone in the room is staring. But I just don’t think avocado and burgers mix. Something about the cool smoothness of the avocado manages to distract my mouth from the burger and the remaining toppings, and then my mouth gets confused and angry and resolves to keep saying stupid things, like that maybe a flat tax wouldn’t be such a bad idea, or that those jeans aren’t doing my girlfriend’s hips any favors.

So I avoid avocado when I’m ordering burgers. I also avoid iceberg lettuce, but for entirely different reasons I’ll get into another time.

Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about avocado when I go to Five Guys Burgers & Fries, one of the most recent east coast transplants. A smallish, DC-based burger chain best described as In-n-Out East, Five Guys was voted “best burger in Baltimore,” which is a great endorsement, if only because it allows me to imagine that I’m eating burgers and fries with Omar Little or Bunk and McNulty.

Five guys (fairly) recently opened up a restaurant in Carson, so I decided to give it a try after spending my Sunday morning with a crowd of kindergartners and their parents for reasons I’ll get into another time. The verdict? While In-n-Out probably won’t be losing market share anytime soon, Five Guys is goooooooood.

Read the rest of this entry →

The scene was set in the lobby of a bustling train station. But, this was not New York. Or, Chicago.

It was Los Angeles. The year was 1956.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

Finally someone started running the statistics on this.

Alex over at Westsidebikeside has the scoop:

“LAPD Sergeant David Krumer and Commander David Doan sorted through massive collision data for 2008, and found that in 2008, 23% of bike involved traffic collisions are Hit & Run – 3% were misdemeanor and 20% were felony. This was just one statistic of many in a report on bike collisions in LA in 2008. You can see a preliminary report here – BikeTrafficCollisions2008“

This is a great step considering the history between the LAPD and cyclists.

That mad scientist looking set up manned by Intelligentisa Venice’s Chris Owens is just one of the reasons I love that place. If you enjoy coffee watch that, as well as this espresso one and then thank whatever god you believe in that you live in the same city as this amazing establishment. Billions of people around the world are not so fortunate.

I guess I’m starting to turn local after three years, because, when a friend from another part of the country came to visit, I really wanted to show off my part of town.  Since the visit was only for about 36 hours, and we both needed to spend some of that time working, I gave the quick highlights tour of my West Side neighborhoods.

This included plenty of walking around the Marina del Rey boat channel, Venice Beach, Palisades Park in Santa Monica, The Third Street Promenade, and one of my favorite streets, Adelaide Drive, with spectacular views of Santa Monica Canyon, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. On Thursday night, we showed up pretty late at Natalee Thai on Venice Blvd., and had a really good meal.
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As LACMA wraps up its terrific The Apocalyptic Cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky film series (which I covered earlier) you may be asking yourself, how else can I immerse myself in the life and work of this Russian cinematic master? Well, comrade, the film gods have smiled upon you today.

Moscow-born and Los Angeles-bred filmmaker Dmitri Trakovsky has arranged for a pair of additional screenings for both this weekend and next of his documentary Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky (see the schedule for exact times and locations), which explores Tarkovsky’s enigmatic declaration that death doesn’t exist.

Yes, you read that right: Death. Doesn’t. Exist.

Chew on that during Super Bowl halftime.

Image: A laughing Tarkovsky. Relax your eyes to see him in 3D.

This is not a post about Betty Blue, but this was the only shot of the Nuart I have. Forgive me French film fans.

Not to be outdone by the Hammer, the Nuart starts its own British noir series tomorrow. If you missed seeing The Third Man at the Hammer, you’re in luck. Thanks to the Nuart, you have another chance. It’s playing tomorrow and Saturday in a double feature with Brighton Rock, a Graham Greene thriller starring Richard Attenborough as a “psycho teenage gang leader.” 

Me, I’ll be hitting the Sunday double feature of Peeping Tom and It Always Rains on Sunday because I can’t resist a film described as “a masterpiece full of dread, raw with vulgarity.” Other films in the series include the Red Riding trilogy and The Fallen Idol (which screens in a double feature with The Third Man on the 10th).

And then, if that doesn’t already secure the Nuart as your favorite theater (with apologies to Kevin), they are screening the Oscar nominated short films beginning on the 19th of February. (The screening at the Academy is sold out.)

click to embiggen

Artists and Art can bring about cultural revolution. Manifest Equality has a call out to artists to submit work for a juried contest.   Entries must fit one of the theme’s Equality, Justice, Respect, Unity, Civil Rights and Love.  Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59AM February 19, 2010.

The Five first place winners will have their pieces shown at the Manifest Equality Gallery along side nationally known contemporary artists such as Barry McGee, Clare Rojas, Shepard Fairey among others in a show that will open to the public on March 3, 2010.

Additionally there will be 10 second place winners. Their work will be seen at an online gallery set up by Manifest Equality. The 5 first place winners will also have their work displayed in the online gallery.

Information regarding the art contest HERE.  Information on submitting your art HERE.

DETAILS: Manifest Equality will be open to the public, Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 through Sunday, March 7th, 2010 between the hours of 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM with extended hours Friday – Sunday. 1341 Vine, LA CA 90028.

The LA Times is reporting that the LA City council has defeated Measure 56 that would have eliminated funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs.  Why?  Simply because the local art community raised it voice and was heard by the council.

“This is the first time the arts community was able to mobilize in such an effective way,” said Danielle Brazell, executive director of the arts advocacy group Arts for L.A. “The arts locked arms and we were one community, and that’s extraordinary.”

Thank you all who helped out.

At first sight when I read the headline in this mornings Pasadena Star News my parent hat was on and thought bravo keep the child sex offenders at bay.  Then I got to thinking, do we have a civil liberty issue at hand?  What’s to stop them from crossing the city limit anyway?

Monrovia joined the ranks of several other cities in the area that place significant restrictions on where a registered sex offender, on parole or not, can reside or even congregate within the city limits.  Only 2% of the city residential housing stock is now available to these folks.  2%.

The law enacted is based on the Prop 83 Jessica’s Law that was passed a few years ago.  LA County was the first to enact similar restrictions that apply to the unincorporated areas of the county.  Challenges to similar restrictions have stood the test of law.

Here’s where my libertarian streak rears its head.  If the laws say these guys served their time for the crime and are free to go why are they being restricted so much more differently than other criminals once released?  I mean a petty thief released can go free to live and congregate once his time and parole is served yet these folks are treated differently.  I understand the chances of recidivism is high among the offenders, but the code as passed doesn’t allow for shades of gray.

I’m not advocating those sex offenders for violent crime or involving children get a break.  But what about the non-violent ones.  As an example, a guy at a party misreads a girls intentions and plants a kiss on her only to get slapped, then a police report charging him with sexual battery lands him on the offender list?  Or the couple that have consensual sex only to find out one of the partners lied their age and it becomes a sex with a minor charge landing them on the list?  Shades of gray.

Aside from the liberties issue of residing where you wish after you’ve served your time there is another concern.  Isn’t this classic NIMBY and just shoving the problem to another city to deal with?  The article points out that an opinion is held that it is the states duty to relocate them when released from prison,  really?

What say you?

Yesterday, while taking down a co-workers phone number, I found myself freaking out (with joy) over his 213 phone number. See, we’re a dying breed, us hangers-on to the 213 area code. It’s too often I’ve seen people knocking phone numbers associated with central LA and (God forbid!) Downtown. I’ve spent lots of time selling cell phones, and when setting up new accounts, found myself time and time again defending the 213 customers were randomly assigned, after facing their disappointment over not getting 323. I had a friend change his number to a 323, after holding his 213 cell phone number for several years, in good part because he said 323 just looks better when handing it out to those in the music and/or entertainment industry. But my  phone number ties me to my city, helped me take root in Los Angeles and not give in to becoming one of its many more transient or temporary residents.

I got my first cell phone from the Radio Shack by USC when I first moved out to California for college. And, of course, I was given a local 213 number (this was back when I thought it would be important for locals to be able to call me without incurring long-distance charges). I grew attached pretty quickly. Read the rest of this entry →

Had I figured out how to use my camera faster, this Two Boots slice wouldn't have been cold by the time I ate it.

You know them: you’re sitting down for a perfectly awesome meal when your dinner companion whips out a camera and takes a plate-level, eagle-eye, and close-up picture of her dish, then yours.  In the meantime, no one can touch the food, lest it ruin the shot.  Yeah, that dinner companion is me, and if I knew how to take better pictures, I might get the right shot the first or second time, and we all might get to eat a little faster.  Sorry.

For those of us needing the extra lesson or two on how to take pictures/use our camera in places that do not so kindly set up a light box especially for foodie bloggers (i.e., the very pretty soft box set up by Chef Ludo and his wife Krissy at the recently popped-down LudoBites at Royal/T), Daily Gluttony and other local foodie bloggers will be leading a “Phototasting” workshop on Saturday at the brand spanking new Hilton Checkers Hotel downtown.  Whether you have a fancy schmancy digital camera or a point and shoot, you’ll learn all about how to take food porn photos worthy of Giadia.  Best part: the $45 you’re laying down for the workshop includes not only the enrollment fee, but also the materials fee as well.  In other words, those aren’t plastic apples waiting for their close-up, people.  Checkers Chef (say that three times fast) Todd Allison has prepared dishes for you to practice on, guaranteeing that you’ll have enough pretty dishes to perfect your method.  After this class, you would have earned those high marks in the Food Didn’t Get Cold category.

The Phototasting workshop is from 12pm – 3pm this Saturday at the Hilton Checkers restaurant downtown.  Hop over to EventBrite to reserve your spot.  Between now and then, check out these handy tips from Caroline on Crack on how to take “porn-tastic” photos.  Of food.

Art is hard. I think so, anyway.

Not hard to create, really — although creating art is much harder than most people probably think — but often hard to know how you’re supposed to interact with. Sometimes, of course, that’s the point; a lot of art is meant to challenge your idea of what art is supposed to be. And sometimes, for any number of reasons, art can be so intimidating that we get turned off by it altogether. When I was a kid going to museums — and I’m sure I’m not alone here — I was so frequently warned not to touch the art that I developed the notion that good art was, well, untouchable. Meant to be looked at from afar but never interacted with in a meaningful way.

It’s a problem startup galleries like Control Room are trying to solve. For many young artists, breaking into any city’s art scene is about as easy as giving individual baths to a roomful of cats without getting the floor wet. And any local art scene can seem impenetrable to the common consumer of art. Control Room, a small space on 7th Street just west of Alameda (the Wholesale District, maybe? I dunno, exactly), attempts to welcome both casual art enthusiasts like myself and serious early-career artists looking for a place to get their work seen.

Read more, along with pics both artsy and fartsy, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →

Last week, via LA Observed, I learned of the tragic demise of Goody’s, a super charming (ie: cheap and bad for you) greasy spoon in San Gabriel.  I’ve eaten at Goody’s all of once, but it was by far one of the most memorable meals in my life:  we were driving from Galco’s Soda Pop Stop to Bahooka (both important parts of a perfect Sunday afternoon) when we noticed the totally sweet neon sign at Goody’s (even though the neon wasn’t actually lit) and decided that we needed to stop there for dinner on the merits of their signage alone (I will admit that most of my dining choices are made via this particular method).  And I ordered the chicken pot pie and (I tend to exaggerate this part of the story, but whatever,) it was giant, and came with a loaf of bread, and a salad, and mashed potatoes, and I think also soup and, really, the details aren’t important here, because the bottom line is that it was the largest pile of old people food I have ever seen and it only cost, like, seven dollars.  And it was even tasty!

So, in memory of Goody’s, and their totally sweet neon sign, I want to inaugurate a new series, which I am calling Really Great Neon, and which will chronicle all of the really great neon signs that I (and hopefully my fellow metrobloggers) notice in my travels around this fair city of ours.

The Goody’s sign is a perfect inaugural example of Really Great Neon:  the typeface is fantastic with that boomerang-shaped G, and the distorted rectangular shape of the sign looks really great against the piece with the circular cut outs.  Really, only awesome things could happen in a place with a sign like this.  I hope that somehow the sign gets saved after the restaurant closes – the streetscape just couldn’t possibly be the same without it.

It started with an idea.  Justin Yuille wanted to help kids get into colleges and new that the average high school counselor is so overwhelmed it isn’t always possible to give each kid personalized help with applications let alone SAT’s.  He’s an educator and knows full well the challenges the kids face in getting help from counselors.  With the help of his family members (all educators, some I know personally) Foundation 44 was born.

That was 6 months ago and so far he has helped 75 kids from Pasadena’s Blair High School and Duarte High School to make it into college.  They are all smart kids from under privileged homes, the many the first in the family to make it to college.  They are in the process of working on obtaining their non-profit status as I write this.

Pepsi has a challenge running right now to give out grant money to programs such as this that help a community. The grant is huge $250K. In the end it comes down to votes and Foundation 44 needs votes if it is to grow and achieve their goal of helping 750 local kids from under-privileged homes make it into college.  If you want to help their cause VOTE HERE.