LAbuzzBLOG

The 5th Annual Grand Avenue Festival will hit the streets of Downtown on Sunday, Sept. 28, anchored by MOCA Downtown and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The family-oriented (I say this because Folsom’s happening this weekend in SF) music, arts & culture festival is another attempt to make Downtown LA a destination. Here are some highlights of the event:

• Free performances, art-making activities and specialty programs in legendary venues along Grand Avenue
• Street entertainment
• Culturally diverse crowd
• Audience ranging from young professionals to families to downtown residents
• Access to acclaimed restaurants located on Grand Avenue
• The 2008 festival is expected to draw more than 30,000 visitors from the Southern California region
• FREE admission

Click here to view the full Grand Avenue Festival schedule for the day (9/28).

The other buzz in LA this week is the Build Your Own Bloody Mary bar at the Tranquility Base in downtown. If you want, you can dump the whole bottle of tabasco into your class with an olive, and they will let you pay for that. This is much the same concept as the shabu-shabu places, where sure, it sounds like a whole ton of fun to go into a restaurant and cook your own food; until you realize that the price of your dinner doesn’t include a cooking lesson, so you’re stuck eating the same lame food that you’d end up cooking at home for a lot less. 

If you are solid in your bloody mary skills, by all means, go right ahead. But if you just think it’s a novel idea, that’s because it is exactly that, and you’re just going to pay a lot to drink your own tomato-flavored vodka and hot sauce swill.

The buzz in LA this week is teeny tiny bar Tiki Ti. It’s located on Sunset Blvd on the edge of Silverlake, and has gotten rid of the “volcano” size due to an “incident.” They open and close pretty much whenever they want, because they are their own tiki gods. Father Mike and sons Mike and Mark are the tiki gods, and you will imbibe as much rum as they feel like giving you and you will like it. 

They ever have a Tiki Ti survival guide. Be sure to get there early, otherwise you’ll have to wait in line because this thing only seats about 2 people at a time. Enjoy!

The buzz in LA today is the dinner I had at The Lodge Steakhouse last night… what an experience. Solid. We chose a table in the bar, which was well appointed and extremely inviting. It was a guys night out, and the setting was exactly what we wanted. Beyond atmosphere, The Lodge is fusing food & wine with spectacular service. Highly recommended, especially for foodies.

Here’s the LAbuzzBLOG top three things to know:

1. Sommalier Scott Reesman has assembled a list of 60 wines by the glass, representing a wide range of regions, styles and grapes. Explore it.
2. The appetizers are phenomenal, particularly: Foie Gras on Toast, Burrata & Heirlooom Tomatoes, Shrimp (prawn) Cocktail. Taste it.
3. Waiter Francisco will take care of you. I’d ask for him. Enjoy it.

The Lodge Steakhouse interior design is by Dodd Mitchell, who’s also responsible for dozens of hotspots including Hollywood Roosevelt, Dolce, Sushi Roku, The Rowan Lofts, Katana, Cabo Azul.

Great place. Loved it.

PS- For my masonic brethren, take note: This isn’t a house of freemasonry, but a great place to go after Lodge.

Thanks to Pub Britannia in Santa Monica, for concocting what might now become our signature cocktail: The LA Buzz Martini. Made with Absolut Los Angeles. Yes, a berry infused vodka that presumes to embody our fruitful city. Um, wait it’s got Acai from the rainforsest and Acerola (isn’t that a private body part?) Blueberries. Pomegranite. Thank god. Antioxidants. Add Chambord & pineapple and voila: you’ve got the sweetest recipe for a hangover we can imagine. Me: I’ll have a Guiness. TYVM.

Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th from noon to 6:00pm on the Santa Monica Beach adjacent to the Pier will be LA’s hottest down -home exciting and delicious authentic southern Barbecue Festival. Yeah!!!!

This event features authentic yummies from Texas, Kansas City and Mississippi and the best pit-masters from LA. Scheduled at the event are Eight different BBQ vendors, so make sure you are ready to eat. Save room for the Strawberry-velvet cupcakes and the S’mores Brownies. The festival also has live music, including The Palomino’s who play as described on the BBQ Fest website a “whisky-soaked honky tonk” and a band called Cash’d Out, a band whose purpose is to play an authentic tribute to Johnny Cash. In the evening will be a fun Beatles cover band and Sunday has a group called Country Gone Awry and finally a Spinal Tap style Parody band called Metal Shop.

You can buy two-day VIP tix for $50 (or cheaper if you sign up with Goldstar -see my posting from a few days ago). With the VIP ticket you get two-day admission and you can cut to the front of the lines and get a 2008 Cozmo Deck and a t-shirt. Or you can pay $10 for a day-pass (also discounted as a Goldstar member). This ought to be a hella cool time.

Did I say gentrify? I meant “gives money to the surrounding businesses so they can look hip and sleek and match Whole Foods‘ exterior”. Which is neither here no there, the gentrification of Venice has been happening since people with a ton of money began thinking it was a cool place to live. And they’ve finally brought Whole Foods with them. It’s on Lincoln and Rose. Anyway, the grand opening was today, and it was nice, and most of the community descended upon them to take all the free samples they could possibly stuff in their gullets. The staff is friendly, particularly this one fish guy who LOVES fish. And we can’t blame him, their fish is really good. The shining moment in the store is their gelato bar, which features Blackberry Cabernet gelato. I’m going to go get some right now, actually.  

Yeah you heard me. The amazingly refreshing PinkBerry spin-off at Starbucks being tested only in LA and OC will be FREE TODAY from 4-7pm at all locations offering this colorful summer treat, along with their new high-protein, organic smoothies called Vivanno. This is better than free gas.

The buzz in LA is about SBE’s Foxtail Restaurant and Nightclub. Foxtail is the latest conception by Sam Nazarian’s SBE Entertainment, which continues to churn out Hollywood’s most exclusive hotspots.

I made dinner reservations at Foxtail almost a week in advance, hoping that having dinner there would allow me to get into the club without any trouble.

So after tearfully signing a bill for $150 to cover a hamburger (which I will admit, was one of the best I’ve ever had), my date’s salad, and a total of 4 drinks, we made our way over to the bouncer, confident that after a meal like that and a respectable 1-to-1 ratio, they would welcome us with open arms.

Boy was I wrong. “Sorry, you’re not on the list,” the 6-foot-4 350-pounder bellowed in his monotone voice. So as I stood there, broke, despondent, and embarrassed in front of my date, I bumped into my friend Dave, who luckily bailed me out. Turned out that Dave had a friend who had a friend who new a promoter that was able to sneak the 2 of us in.

The feeling of accomplishment that I felt as the Warren Sapp look-alike unlocked the velvet rope is hard to put into words. But once we were past the rope, it was just another Hollywood nightclub like the rest of them. The music was blaring, the people were attractive, and we obviously had a good time. But there wasn’t anything in particular that separated Foxtail from any other nightclub I had been to.

If you’re looking for a happening place to enjoy some good food (other recommendations: Seared Scallops and the “Mac & Cheese”), hoping to bump into some celebrities (paparazzi are ALWAYS outside), and don’t mind overpaying (a lot), then you will love Foxtail. But unless you’re on the “list” or willing to slip the bouncer a couple of Ben Franklins or happen to be as lucky as myself and bump into someone who knows someone who knows someone, enjoy your drive home after dinner.

If you’ve ever wondered where you can procure a temorary uni-brow Frida-Kahlo style, or see an entire series of golden shower-themed paintings featuring cartoon people partaking in potty parties, you might want to consider soliciting the help of a professional.

Or, just take a jaunt down to the Art Walk in downtown LA. The event, held every second Thursday of the month, draws a(n ecclectic) crowd of nearly 3,000 people  and was a recipient of a Planning Award from the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association.

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The buzz in LA is about Yu-N-Mi sushi in Beverly Hills.

The restaurant has horrible hours (open only on weekdays from 12pm to 2:15pm and from 6pm to 10pm). The place is small (borderline claustrophobic) and you’d be lucky to get a table in less than half an hour. They take reservations (but they rarely answer the phones). The waiters barely speak English (and they won’t hesitate to kick you out when you finish your meal). And you’ll pay a pretty penny (about $15 a roll).

But the sushi makes it all worth it.
Their rolls are unlike anything you will find anywhere else. It’s not just the fresh fish that make them so great. It’s the unique medley of sauces and crunchies that really take their dishes to another level. My personal favorite—the Spicy Tuna #2 roll (spicy tuna, spicy mayo, fish eggs, wassabi chips, eel sauce, and god knows what else). Other good ones: the Yu-N-Mi #2 roll and the tempura eggplant with spicy tuna on top.

The crowd is mostly comprised of Beverly Hills locals, power-lunchers, and the occasional celebrity. I see a lot of the same faces whenever I go back, which isn’t really a surprise—their sushi is addictive. Try it once and you’ll see what I mean.

The buzz in LA today is the dinner I had last night at Nook Bistro in West LA.

I’ve been wanting to try Nook Bistro for the past few years… friends have been telling me about this great little find in the most unexpected location. Simply put: this place is great.

We sat at the bar and sampled a range of dishes. Everything was a delight.

• Calamari was super flavorful with unusual spice
• Market salad has nice, light citrus flavor and heirloom walnuts
• Crab cakes, perfect, crispy outside and crabby inside. Nice sauce
• Chick pea & squash of cous cous was sublime. Nice hit of mint
• Brown rice & vegetable bowl made the missus very happy
• Mac & cheese was excellent. Ask for it extra crispy on top

Meat dishes looked great, but we decided stick with the veggie fare on this visit. I’ll be back for certain to try the rest of the menu at Nook Bistro. This is a really nice place to hang. Good vibe.

Owner Brian Frith-Smith takes an active role, and is usually greeeting & seating guests. Check out Nook Bistro’s MySpace page. I really liked our server named “Swiss Miss”

Final tip: Get a free desert through his CitySearch listing. I had the chocolate & banana bread pudding. Yum.

The buzz in LA today is the bar at West Restaurant atop the Hotel Angelino in Brentwood.

Some places are too cool for their own good. This was my sense of West, until I Went. Truth: They have the right cool factor, and there are some sweet reasons to try this spot.

The early crowd at 10:45 on a Saturday was a good mix of what felt like locals. Mostly couples and larger groups having drinks and goodies. As the hour grew later, the crowd got younger, but never into a juvenile hipster set.

Their live DJ was spinning off his Mac, doing some groovy mix ranging a lot of styles. Just loud enough. Nice vibe.

Best thing about West: Fruit Fondue for dessert. Bottom line is that you should go there for this dish. Perfectly prepared flavorful assortment of fruits with ramekins of hot fudge and caramel for dipping… server with tea lights for warmers.

I also tried the 35 day, dry-aged burger which would have been better rarer. Still tasty, and went nicely with the Booker’s.

I’ll go back for sure,

The buzz in LA today is about Amandine.

Amandine is a European country style bakery café featuring a delectable array of freshly baked cakes and pastries, soups, quiche, salads, sandwiches and more! All the food is made entirely from scratch. Breads are baked fresh every morning and it does taste very fresh!

Amandine is not just bakery, they also prepare hot foods, like eggs for breakfast. The seating can be a tad cramped, but all in all, you can get in and out in a half hour, not spend more than 10-20 bucks, and have a wonderful breakfast for two! Amandine breathes a touch of class into the otherwise lackluster West LA eating scene. The pastries are delicate, tortes are rich, and omelettes are heavenly.

Amandine hours of operation are: Mon-Fri 7am to 7pm, Sat 8am-7pm, Sun 8am-6pm

Location: 12225 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025

Allez-y!Bon apetit!

Playwright extraordinaire Sharon Yablon’s one act theatrical slice of heaven is featured in this, the Night of A Thousand Words. Ms. Yablon’s play will be occurring after the 2nd intermission. Too late for you to stay, you say? Trust us, you’re going to need that second intermission to rest up for the tour-de-force that is a Sharon Yablon play. Her piece is called, “Look Up”, just one from a long repertoire of one-acters that have long been an ol’ stand by at the Mountain Bar in Chinatown at Pharmacy. Sharon Yablon is just one of many many emerging playwrights featured at the Night of 1000 Words, and those guys would much appreciate it if you sat through their plays to get to Sharon Yablon’s. So take a break from your TV and your Myspace, and see some live awesomeness for once. See you there!