Oceania

The Best Concerts to See In L.A. This Weekend

Don't forget to check our constantly-updated Los Angeles Concert Calendar Friday, June 14 LoveyDove CASEY'S PUB One of Los Angeles' choicest homegrown musical sensations, boy-girl adventure team LoveyDove have created an unusually irresistible blend of artful expression, psychedelic atmospherics, ... More >>

Outback Steakhouse Review: Please Don't Call This Food Australian

Is There Any Such Thing as Australian Cuisine?

This week, I reviewed Outback Steakhouse, and one of the main takeaways of the piece is that the food served at Outback is in no way Australian. This prompted an email from Jason Kessler (the same Jason Kessler who writes the Nitpicker column for Bon Appetit that prompted our recent post on touchy-f ... More >>

5 Great Tiki Menus From The Los Angeles Public Library Menu Collection

Exploring the LAPL menu collection is an ongoing project in which we'll take a close look at the menus owned by the Los Angeles Public Library. Read about the project here. Tiki is about to blow up. We already have a number of great tiki bars in L.A., as well as all the history to back it up (the ... More >>

Meat Pies, Vegemite Other Australian Treats at Downtown's Bronzed Aussie

Despite being a food-obsessed culture, Australia has no true defining cuisine of its own. Massive immigrant populations (Asian, Middle Eastern, Greek and Italian), as well as the country's wealth of seafood, have influenced burgeoning New Australian restaurants, but the traditional food of Australia ... More >>

Top 5 Tiki Bars in Los Angeles

Even if it's reborn as part of the newly-imagined Clifton's, many still mourned when aquarium-filled Bahooka tiki bar in Rosemead closed its doors recently. But in NoHo, the Tonga Hut will be celebrating its 55th birthday this year -- and appropriately for such an exotic craze, the phenomenon began ... More >>

To Join the Loyal Order of the Drooling Bastard, You Must Drink 78 Cocktails at Tonga Hut

See also: *4 a.m. Last Call for Alcohol Proposed For Calif. Clubs by Sen. Mark Leno *Top 10 Bars With the Hottest Women in L.A. *10 Bars Most Likely to Get You Laid in L.A. The rules state you have a calendar year to complete the task. Amos Clarke is nine months in, "but I've only been making serio ... More >>

S Is For Snuff Film

New Film Chronicles South L.A. High School Rugby Teams' Journey to New Zealand

South L.A. rugby program ICEF Rugby took its first international trip to compete in Hong Kong in 2006, and film and T.V. crews have been scouting its two high school teams ever since. First there was the Academy award-winning documentary filmmaker who shot a movie reel he intended to turn into a fea ... More >>

New Zealand Pinots To Drink Now

At the New Zealand Consulate in Brentwood last week there was a wine tasting of that country's pinot noir. There were just 18 wines in the seminar, curated by British Master of Wine Tim Atkin; and yet this amounted to a quietly nuanced performance, demonstrating the strides that country has made wit ... More >>

Two Plays About Big Ideas

Cassiopeia and Ganesh Versus the Third Reich Ruminate on Heaven and Earth

Teen Alcohol Use Can Cause ... Brain Damage?

As you plan to grab a beer or two as you enjoy the nachos and commentary of Drunk Uncle during the Super Bowl, beware, our teenage friends: Drinking can cause brain damage. Seriously. A new study published in this month's edition of the journal Cortex contains the bad news:

What's In Season at the Farmers Market: Australian Finger Limes

Wonderful things happened when Australia was ripped away from the rest of the world's landmass around 65 million years ago. That continental isolation yielded some quirky and celebrated evolutionary wonders in both flora and fauna. The platypus and koala get most of the play, but the rainforest fr ... More >>

Tamaryn

Which One's Oates?

Scientists Create Frankencows to Produce Hypoallergenic Milk

In what some might see as a disturbing moove move in the whole Frankenfood trend, cows in New Zealand have been genetically engineered to produce hypoallergenic milk. The target consumer is the 1.3 million children with milk allergies (which apparently includes nauseous young Justin Bieber). (What ... More >>

Kimbra: After Selling Out the Troubadour In 45 Seconds, She's Back to Play the Fonda

New Zealand-born singer Kimbra's voice might sound familiar -- she was featured on Australian singer-songwriter Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," now the third-best selling Australian single of all time. But she's also making tracks of her own, with her American debut, Vows, debuting at #14 ... More >>

Monty Franklin's Comedy Blunder From Down Under

Q & A With Australian Brewery Mountain Goat Beer: Surfboards as Collateral The Influence of American Craft Beer

Australia doesn't just produce enviable beer commercials, as we learned last week, they produce beer equally worthy of our interest. One such brewery, Mountain Goat Beer of Melbourne, Australia, is kicking off a launch party for extended distribution at Rock & Brews in El Segundo tonight, and Congre ... More >>

5 Examples of How Australians Are Very Good at Beer Commercials

In the past 24 hours, America has taken notice of the latest Carlton Draught (that's draft in Australianese) commercial, calling it the "best beer commercial of 2012" and other flattering things. And while the new commercial, which features a carless car chase, is pretty awesome, it is the mere tail ... More >>

G.L.O.W.'s Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, the Female WWF From the '80s, Reunite at Cinefamily

On Tuesday night, Cinefamily screened G.L.O.W.: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, a documentary on the low-budget, female version of the WWF that ran from 1986 to 1990. "Everybody thought G.L.O.W. was about sex," said the show's director Matt Cimber. "But it wasn't at all. The sex was ... More >>

Q&A: Perez Hilton On His New CD and the Music He Has Sex To

See also: Meet Iggy Azalea, the Street Smart Blonde Bombshell Behind "Pu$$y" Megalomaniacal Hollywood gossip blogger and one-time self-described "Queen of All Media" Perez Hilton's first CD compilation, Pop Up! #1, was released earlier this week on the Opus Label. As early as 2009, there was talk o ... More >>

Top 20 Greatest L.A. Punk Albums of All Time: 20-11

*Top 20 Worst Bands Ever: The Complete List *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre: The Complete List *Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time: The Complete List *Top 20 Sexiest Male Musicians of All Time: The Complete List The history of Los Angeles punk is largely composed of a series ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Globetrotting Blues

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] I am on my way back to Los Angeles, on the second of two flights to get back from Johannesburg ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Henry's Live With a Ton of New Records

KCRW Broadcast #166 for Saturday, May 26, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! South Africa's Present and Future Fanatics! What a show! So many new tracks! Besides that, we give our thanks to some great musicians who have recently passed away. The last few weeks have been very tough with all ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Hunting, Gut Stew, and Sex With Your Sister

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] Still in Australia, get used to it! I will be here for quite a while. Things are going very we ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Down Under and 
Hard to Find

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] I am currently in Australia. This will mark my 30th trip to this country since I first came her ... More >>

Why This Song Sucks: Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," featuring Kimbra

[Editor's note: Why This Song Sucks determines why particular tracks blow using science. It appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday.] See also: *Gotye Tells Us His Life Story *The Worst of Coachella: Weekend One Song: Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," featuring Kimbra History: "Somebod ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Aussie Tribute

KCRW Broadcast #160 for Saturday, April 14, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Japanese Guitar Freaks From Outer Space Fanatics! I am Australia bound. At this moment, I am in Wellington, New Zealand with show #60 for the year a few hours behind me. I will be in Australia for quite a long sp ... More >>

Meat 101 at Nick & Stef's: Demystifying Meat Wine Pairings

At the farmers market, a couple digs through the coolers at the Jimenez Family Farm stall, unearthing plastic-encased cuts of goat, lamb, pork and rabbit. They're shopping for dinner, but looking a little less than confident. "What do you do with this again?" asks the lady, bespectacled, gray-bunned ... More >>

Cupcakes Continue World Domination and Other Lessons from Google's 2011 Zeitgeist

R.E.~/FlickrCupcakes were one of the most Googled terms of 2011​Much to our chagrin, the cupcake is a trend that just won't die: according to Google's 2011 Year-End Zeitgeist, cupcakes were one of the most popular Food and Drink search terms of the year. Other fascinating revelations about ou ... More >>

Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Michael Ruhlman, ColLAboration, Irregular Wine Tasting, Tonga Hut Reopening, Pig & Pints

Guzzle & NoshA pint of beer and a pig's head.​[UPDATE, 12.02.11, 4:56 p.m.: This weekend's ColLaboration Winterfest Beer Garden has been postponed due to the Windpocalypse.] In addition to the Master Food Preserver fundraiser happening on Sunday afternoon at Homegirl Cafe, there are plenty of ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

Flickr/dubh​ What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free), it's where most of ... More >>

Tempest Without a Body

$80 Wine Beats $5,000 Wine in Blind Pinot Noir Taste Test

​A bottle of New Zealand pinot noir edged out several high-profile French and Californian wines to take the top spot in a recent blind tasting. Talk about bottle shock. Courtesy of World's Top 20 Pinot NoirsTim Fleming judges a pinot noir.​Proving that price is no guaranteed determiner ... More >>

Henry Rollins! The Column: Listening to Ramones in Tehran

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every Wednesday and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday ... More >>

Sanctum

Compton Cricket Team 'Homies & the Popz' to Rep U.S. in Tourney Down Under (BONUS: They Rap About It)

Compton Cricket ClubThis is not a joke​A dozen dreamers from the hood, one geographically displaced athletic passion. Dare we say Jamaican bobsled team? Nah, but the Compton Cricket Club is nine times as street. Even streeter: These guys might actually have a chance at beating "comparably com ... More >>

I'M BOUQUET, YOU'RE BOUQUET

Tonight: The Naked and Famous, Dar Williams, My Chemical Romance, Chasing Kings, Black Apples, Dirt Dress

The Naked and Famous​Even the coolest of cool kids -- you know, the ones who can eloquently extol the virtues of MGMT's second album Congratulations -- have a soft spot the size of Brooklyn for hits like "Kids" and "Time to Pretend." That's the kind of chewy, sweet electro-pop that New Zealan ... More >>

Out at the Movies

From bisexual bromance to lesbian Marines to Le Tigre: 15 picks for Outfest

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 6/7-6/11

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "She gets her cow, you can eat as low on the food chain as you'd like, and you all drink hoppy oceans of microbrew - everybody wins!"

Abby Sunderland Reported To Be In 'Good Spirits' As Efforts To Reach Her Were Underway

​Southern California teen sailor Abby Sunderland was reported to be in "good spirits" after an airliner spotted her aboard her distressed sailboat and a rescue plane subsequently circled overhead as she awaited sea-bound help in the Indian Ocean Friday. The 16-year-old from Thousand Oaks, who ... More >>

Will Mourn For Food: Man Attends Funerals For The Grub

Signagistics/Christie Bishop​ Most of us have stolen food at one time or another. Maybe it was a Snickers bar from your neighbor's house when you were a kid. Maybe it was bubble gum from the school's candy jar. Or maybe it was the counter-intuitive lollipop at your dentist's office (scratch t ... More >>

The Death By Caffeine Calculator: Or, How Many Espressos Are Just Too Many

The next time you're sitting at the beautiful caffeine lab that is Intelligentsia, your MacBook open, your dog at your feet, your hands shaking as you happily knock back your fifth double espresso, consider this hilarious Death By Caffeine calculator. Energy Fiend is a site that allows you to calcul ... More >>

Australian Cookbook Typo: "Salt & Freshly Ground Black People"

BCC​No, cannibalism has not gone mainstream, even in Australia. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the publishing house Penguin Group Australia pulped and reprinted thousands of copies of a cookbook after discovering that a recipe called for "salt and freshly ground black people" in the i ... More >>

Just Don't Say "Jew Zealand"

Morgan vs. Foretich Twenty Years Later

A mother and daughter whose abuse story gripped the globe are making it in L.A.

Dining à la Cart at Whole Foods

Market values