I'm a new but enthusiastic fan of the Nickel Diner in Downtown LA: I've been there three times this month, first to taste the house-made, maple syrup and bacon-topped donut (above) and now I'm a fan of the breakfast choices like the huevos rancheros and egg scrambles accompanied by baked polenta. Lots of prep and fresh ingredients goes into these dishes. The restaurant closed for a day a couple months back so Guy Fieri of the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives could capture the secrets to the above donut and fried catfish with brussels sprout hash. Watch the show and you'll be on your way downtown in flash--just don't go on Mondays as the restaurant is closed. Bring change for the parking meters--street parking is now $3/hour.
Earlier this week, more than five dozen, plump honking Canada Geese* made a migratory pit-stop on the cement shores of the Silver Lake Reservoir. They prefer to graze on fields and lawns and have made themselves at home --this week anyway--on the northwest corner of non-bird ball-topped reservoir.
I interviewed the creative team behind this film who are part of The Vactioneers comedy troupe known for "The Googling" (Google it to find their youtube clips). Most of the independently made film was shot in and around Silver Lake/Los Feliz. More info @ TheScenstermovie.com. Movie plays Sunday @ The Arc Light. Hope it comes to the Vista too!
After 78 years John Marshall High School gets a regulation-sized football field today complete with electronic scoreboard, a Mission-style pergola entrance, newish stands (looks like they just moved and rehabbed the old ones) and poles for lights (but no lights). Surrounding the astro-turf field will be one those nice cushy running tracks; for the dedication and homecoming game tonight it's asphalt. Go Barristers! Tour with Councilmember Tom LaBonge @ 4p.m. Dedication at 5 p.m. Varsity football game (no lights!) is at 6 p.m.
An event that melds movie history and Silver Lake's public most famous 133-step staircase is this weekend. From council member Eric Garcetti: The Silver Lake Improvement Association will present the 15th Annual Music Box Steps Day on Saturday, October 17. SLIA, which founded the annual event, will also be celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Arts and Culture Committee is an event co-sponsor. Come join the fun from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Laurel and Hardy Park (between 923 and 935 Vendome Street). There will be free food, Laurel and Hardy look-alikes, live entertainment, a raffle, and a screening of the 1932 Oscar-winning short, The Music Box.
Notice anything about the bike riders passing you lately? More than likely they are riding a fixie (see above) a snazzy fixed gear and usually no brake bike popularized by SF bike messengers, now the bike-du-jour. The teenage boys I know are fixated on them; if you saw Saturday night's Crank Mob fly by, you probably saw hundreds. My son's came via the Internet from Bikes Direct. We're already good customers of Safety Cycle since these bikes seem to require TLC.
Fourth edition of the Frogtown ArtWalk is this Saturday. More than 30 artists participate with dozens of open studios. Great combo of local art (images above are from 2008) and tacos (let's hope the taco lady and table returns to RAC Design Build). The boundaries of Elysian Valley (Frogtown) are the 2 freeway to the north, the 110 freeway to the south, the Los Angeles River to the east, and the 5 freeway to the west. The studios will be open from 5-10 PM. There's free street parking but I've ridden my bike in past years as the L.A. River bike path is one of Frogtown's borders. Party and music are at NOMAD at 1839 Blake Ave.
Expect a sticky mess this Sunday August 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. when art collective Fallen Fruit and Machine Project put on the fourth annual public fruit jam. Pictures above are from last year's event which was very popular (300 jam makers). My suggestions: arrive early and mix up basic fruits. I was a little too creative last year: no takers yet for my fig, kumquat and mixed fruit melange---the more sedate plum and strawberry jam was a keeper.
The 25th annual Thursday Twilight Dance series continues at the Santa Monica pier. This Thursday, organizers are re-creating (kind of) the famed La Monica Ballroom (rendering above) which would have been 85 years old had it not been demolished in the 1960s. A major call went out to local dance troupes and vintage types--expect them all on the 100' dance floor this Thurs. Swing music by the Squirrel Nut Zippers.
Summer (Zoey Deschanel) is the girl, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the boy in this boy-meets-girl, then the timeline is fractured, post-modern romantic comedy. Also, starring in the film: downtown L.A. (Picture is the interior of Summer's very 40s-style apartment ). I tried to figure out many of the locations: Broadway Bar, Bradbury Building, the fountains of the DWP building and Angel Knolls Park among them. The Redwood Bar & Grill has a featured role; my favorite booth looked mighty fine on the big screen. Music is great and so are the downtown backdrops. Film opens this Friday July 17.
Friday night July 10th check out East LA Meets Napa a benefit for AltaMed Health Services that promises a mix of great modern Mexican food and wine with a Latino heritage. Food GPS went last year. Union Station is one of L.A. great public spaces; ticket counters stand empty in the great hall these days and there's plenty of room on the patios outside. Should be a great summer night.
A byproduct of the Burning Man festival, Cirque Berzerk is a raucous, musical alternative circus now at the LA Historic Park (the former Cornfields site). Yes, there are clowns and acrobats but there are twists: vintage lingerie-clad aerialists, a sexy pas de deux features two sculpted men, a drunken stilt walker, a little person as comic relief (not so alternative) and a bar with Hornitos margaritas. At sunset, downtown's skyscrapers catch the light and huge torches straight from the high desert playa ignite outside the bigtop. There are five weekend performances and the show runs through July 26. A New Orleans-style troupe performs during the intermission and after the show to keep the party going. If you're a Goldstar member, discount tickets are available. Definitely a fun and different date night and most everyone was really friendly---guess it's the playa dust.
A favorite of visiting Europeans, The Eames House (Case Study House #8) is one of the Southern California's finest examples of domestic architecture. I took these pictures on a visit sponsored by the Hollyhock House docents in 2005. This year the house celebrates 60 years: Charles and Ray Eames moved into their home that overlooks an open meadow on Christmas Eve 1949. Made from industrial materials, its simplicity and harmony with is site is really inspiring. The property is open for self-guided tours Monday - Saturdays. $5/person is the suggested contribution. Peek into the windows and open doors to see the house's interior almost exactly as Ray Eames left it.
A very "Day of the Locust" afternoon in Hollywood as streams of people gather to place flowers by Michael Jackson's star in front of the Mann Chinese. An outpouring of people and emotion that reminded me of the tributes and flowers to Princess Di outside Kensington Palace but with some only-in-L.A. craziness and media frenzy: 10 satellite news trucks, LAPD on horseback, helicopter buzzing overhead and all of Hollywood Blvd.'s best impersonators out in full force asking folks if they want a picture (Elvis, Marilyn, 2 Captain Jack Sparrows, 2 Obamas, Spider-Man, Batman & the Joker and Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ). 
At Atwater's Salon Mix I caught up on the tabloids from the last couple of weeks. Thanks to "Star Trek's" success (I'm a fan!), Chris Pine appears in numerous People and US Weekly issues with his favorite local haunts in the background. The actor likes to spread his coffee love around: the paparazzi have tracked him outside both LA Mill and Intelligentsia. 
"Enjoy the view. Enjoy this minute. Tell them you love them." Lots of sweet platitudes from an anonymous Silver Lake graffiti artist who's added colorful and very legible instructions to the reservoir's walking path. Fingers crossed they used soy-based chalk, which will dissolve into biodegradable dust that will decompose the walking path's most annoying aspect--dog poop. And yes, the jasmine does smell nice.
"Food, Inc." is the documentary du jour: an elegantly crafted investigation of U.S. government food policies and a hard look at agri-business giants. Most disturbing is footage shot in cattle slaughter houses, chicken farms and the terrible killing floor for pigs. Echo Park's Brite Spot has an early cameo: writer Eric Schlosser is interviewed at the counter and served up a very appetizing looking cheeseburger and fries. Eat before the movie; that cheeseburger will lose its appeal but you'll learn the hard truth about America's food chain.
Steve and Alyssa Melendrez at The Living Room are sponsoring this sure to be crowd pleasing art show and sale tonight: tiny art (can't wait to see that) offered at less than $500/piece. Vodka, too! 8p.m.-11p.m. @ 3531 Sunset Blvd., L.A., 90026.
I've been following film director David Lynch's career since "Eraserhead" hit college campuses back in the day: check out the vintage poster (above). Presented by Hampshire College's "Films in Discretion" the packed screening was...wait for it...$1. "The-lady-in-the-radiator" promises that "in heaven everything is fine." Today, David Lynch.com launches "Interview Project," an online road trip that profiles people found at the edge of the highway. Evocative sound and music and up-close-and-personal profiles; the first portrait, entitled "Jess" is remarkably profound. Maybe Jess' long-lost family will find him because of it. Check it out.
Muralist and local Silver Lake artist Nicky Gagliarducci is recreating vintage L.A. just to the west of the restaurant Local on Sunset Blvd. The project meets with Local's ethos: Nicky is a locally sourced artist capturing an historic local scene. I watched him work recently; he's going to add a surrealistic touch to 25' long montage: Silver Lake's own walking doctor. It's not the quietest place to paint but he was quite genial about the process.
There’s a significant difference between high ground and low ground: one floods, the other doesn’t. Every house has a brand new refrigerator. 2009 has been the windiest ever in the city. Wildlife, except for pigeons, mega-roaches and winged, swarming termites, are rare. (I did see one small heron and some turtles though.) Traditionally, storms have been a method of redevelopment; damaged buildings are not repaired, demolished instead to remove residents. If potholes are big enough, folks dump their trash in it, and sometimes-- old refrigerators. Like the 40th annual Jazz & Heritage Fest, Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young have stood the test of time. Per a Sunday morning music lesson with Dr. John, there are killer weird things that happen in New Orleans that happen nowhere else. That’s for sure. 
Exterior Silver Lake Library 
