Santa Monica

Beverly Hills Burglars Sought Near Tom Cruise's Home

Beverly Hills cops nabbed a suspected burglar near Tom Cruise's home, but one or two others apparently got away, authorities said. Police were called to the 1100 block of Calle Vista Drive about 5:10 last night after a neighbor saw alleged burglars "carrying duffle bags" at a nearby estate, accordi ... More >>

Coming in May: Flavors of Los Angeles 2013

Flavors of Los Angeles 2013 has invited chefs such as Nyesha Arrington, exec chef at Wilshire, to cook a 5-course meal at attendees' tableside for the American Liver Foundation on Sunday, May 5. Before dinner at 7 p.m., there will be a cocktail reception and silent auction at 5:30 p.m.

10 Best Yoga Studios in L.A.

When it comes to yoga, L.A's reputation precedes it. Ask any east coaster, and they'll tell you that we're a bunch of Lululemon-wearing, namaste-saying hippies who have jobs that allow us to practice Iyengar at 11:30 on Tuesday mornings. And in some cases -- like that of the freelance writer -- th ... More >>

Cast Your "Beer Votes" at Barney's Beanery Tomorrow Night

It's that time of year again. Months of handshaking and politicking are about to coalesce into a single sweeping turn of the cogs of democracy. Yes, we are referring to Barney's Beanery's quadrennial "Beer Vote," which allows customers to vote for the candidate of their choice by choosing the beer t ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Market: Chinese Dates, a k a Jujubes

Each year the arrival of the jujube -- the small, date-like Chinese tree fruit -- surprises us. People have been growing it in the U.S. for almost a century now. It was once fruita obscura, treasured in Asian markets but not much elsewhere, as recently as five years ago. Now we add a new farmer t ... More >>

Serial Carjacker Beats Women, Takes Purses on Westside, in Valley -- LAPD (VIDEO)

Usually carjackers commit crimes of the moment by grabbing a car to get away from a just-committed felony or using a vehicle for a one-night joyride. But cops today announced they're looking for perhaps L.A.'s first serial carjacker, a man they're calling the "opportunistic bandit." And he's violen ... More >>

5 Best Margaritas In L.A.

Ten years ago -- maybe even five years in Happy Hour time -- compiling the 5 Best Margaritas in L.A. would have been a syrupy lime mix task. Now we're awash in so many small batch tequilas and fresh-squeezed lime promises on cocktail menus that the idea of a $100 margarita is somehow (?) not terrib ... More >>

New Chef Happy Hour at Urbano Pizza Bar

Chef Bruce Kalman recently took the reins as exec chef at Urbano Pizza Bar in downtown L.A., replacing chef Brad Winnaman. Kalman was the opening chef at The Misfit in Santa Monica, where he favored a market-driven menu, specifically a Santa Monica Farmers Market-driven menu.

RAND Withdraws Questionable Marijuana Dispensary Study That Claimed Crime Goes Down Around L.A. Pot Shops

​When the respected Santa Monica think tank RAND released a study last month claiming that crime went up in neighborhoods where marijuana dispensaries had closed in L.A., it just didn't smell right to us. We had a litany of problems with the research, first among which was the fact that not e ... More >>

10 Cats Who Eat Better Than You: At The Santa Monica Cat Show

Gendy AlimurungWhat did your cat eat today?​ Does your cat eat better than you do? Some of these kitties at the recent Santa Monica Cat Show do. I asked their respective humans what is the fanciest, tastiest, nommiest thing they feed their cats. Keep reading to learn what they said, or 10 Cats ... More >>

Beverly Hills Versus the Westside Subway

Bus-Only Lane Will Run 7.7 Miles Down Wilshire Boulevard -- Conveniently Sparing Westwood's 'Condo Canyon'

LAStreetsBlogThe 720 -- home free!​Screwed year-in and year-out by rail-happy L.A. politicians and transportation officials, the Bus Riders Union finally gets to pop the bubbly tonight -- in celebration of a 7.7-mile bus lane it's taken them six years to win. (That is, if it's approved by L.A ... More >>

Cookbook Review: This BBQ Book Will Make You Want To Fire It Up

​Just as we say perhaps it's about time for publishers to put the idea of an annual summer onslaught of new BBQ books to rest, a grilling guidebook arrives at our doorstep that we actually want to add to our swelling collection of books on everything seared and smoked. Fire It Up by Andrews Sc ... More >>

Teena Marie, LA Legend of '70s and '80s Soul and Funk, Dead at 54

The Ivory Queen Of Soul​Born in Santa Monica and raised as the white girl with soul, Teena Marie celebrated the 30th anniversary of her recording career last year with a string of lively performances, including one at the L.A. County Fair. The Ivory Queen was Rick James' protege, starred on Th ... More >>

$9 Billion 'Subway To The Sea' Gets Final Approval From L.A. Metro Officials -- Now For More Studies

​Who cares if it won't de-congest traffic, as promised by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa back when he needed taxpayer support? The extension of the L.A. Metro Purple Line (why does that sound so gay) another 12 minutes west was approved by the Metro board of directors today. The agency did s ... More >>

Celebrity Chef Scandals: Pastry Dude Pleads in Plot to Pop Wife His Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

​One of the more twisted stories in fooddom came to a near-close today when Juan-Carlos Cruz, the former Calorie Commando host on the Food Network, pleaded no contest to the charge that he solicited three homeless men at the Santa Monica Promenade to rub out his wife, Jennifer Campbell. Sen ... More >>

New Housing Development Plotted At Intersection Of Three Major Freeways, Despite 'Black Lung' Health Risks

PHOTO BY TED SOQUIThe Avenue 26 project from the original story, which Mayor Villaraigosa called a model for family housing​The Weekly's cover story for March 6 -- "Black Lung Lofts," by Patrick Range McDonald -- revealed that the City of Los Angeles was allowing developers to build family hou ... More >>

Westsiders Experience Traffic Trauma In Wake Of Obama-Related Street Closures

Via Twitpic'Obama traffic' on the Miracle Mile.​Holy Obamanation: Westsiders haven't been this inconvenienced since Whole Foods ran out of almond scones in the Great Gluten-Free Shortage of '09. (The horror). Luckily, Westside street closures, including Santa Monica and Olympic boulevards thro ... More >>

Petros: Stuck in the Middle With You

And I'm wondering what it is we should do

"Japanese Cocktails" Book Review Begets A Publishing Industry Soliloquy An Aloe Margarita Recipe

​Japanese Cocktails by Kuri Kato is a curious new cocktail book that we sort of love, and like many "sponsored" books, sort of tire of quickly. There are certainly some intriguing recipes like the Aloe Margarita (recipe after the jump) that we can't wait to shake up on one of Santa Monica's dr ... More >>

Mayor Villaraigosa Optimistic That 'Subway To The Sea' Can Happen In 10 Years

​Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. optimistic about his plan to accelerate several transit projects, including his beloved "subway to the sea" that would take rail from the Miracle Mile to Santa Monica. His plan to compact 30 years worth of work in ... More >>

Santa Monica Fire Bug Strikes Near Third Street Promenade

Santa Monica Fire DepartmentFile photo.​For the second time since summer Santa Monica authorities say they have a fire bug on their hands, though it's not clear if the waves of trash and car arson fires are related. February's series of fires happened within a two-block radius near the 1000 bl ... More >>

Name That Pastry Chef: Huckleberry's Zoe Nathan Her Thanksgiving Apple Crostata Recipe

Still hoping your crazy banjo-playing cousin is going to bring over something a little more useful this Thanksgiving, say, a pastry chef? According to this week's Name That Pastry Chef Zoe Nathan, having a pastry chef in the family doesn't mean the Thanksgiving table is going to be filled with dozen ... More >>

Dave Alvin Leads Tribute to Amy Farris at McCabe's (11/08)

Rick Braverman via FacebookAmy Farris at McCabe's​Next Sunday at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica a veritable constellation of roots music stars will be paying tribute to one of their own: much-beloved fiddler, all-around strings virtuosa, singer and songwriter Amy Farris, who passed away ... More >>

The Theory of Relativity as it Relates to California Pinot Noir: How Much is 'Best Ever' Worth to You?

Blame it on the Rain. The current issue of Wine Spectator has the phrase "BEST EVER California Pinot Noir" splashed across the front page. The editors are referring not only to Sonoma, but as far north as Anderson Valley in Mendocino County and as close to home as Santa Barbara. The reason? Near per ... More >>

JOSIAH CITRIN'S SECOND (LOUNGE) ACT

Direct, focused and simple French food in Santa Monica

Nickel Diner: Heart Attack and Main

Not your father's diner but it still might kill you.

Theater Reviews: Eve's Rapture, Half of Plenty, The Country Wife

Also, Trafficking in Broken Hearts, Setup and Punch and more

Sin Carne: Looking for Mexican Vegetarian Cooking

Finding the little-known Mexican herbs and vegetables at La Casita Mexicana in Bell

Taco Madness 2009: Last Chance to Vote for LA Taco Immortality

Online polls close Sunday at midnight in LAtaco.com's first-annual Taco Madness tourney. In the championship's final round, it's all about Los Feliz versus Santa Monica. Yuca's or Tacos Por Favor? Will this contest be about rallying neighborhood support, or about the place that inspires taco love ci ... More >>

The New Cocktailians

The farmers market–loving, sleeve garter–wearing ladies and gentlemen of the bar taking over L.A.'s restaurants one glass at a time

Last Night: Girl on Girl Networking - Girls in Tech Mixer @ V Lounge

The phrase "Girls in Tech" conjures up images of the exceptions (Carly Fiorna of Hewlett Packard, Marissa Mayer of Google, etc.) or the vague peripherals (Julia Allison, namely). Rarely do you get to meet the not so famous ladies working behind the scenes, and by that I mean the programmers, game de ... More >>

Art LA and Los Angeles Art Show

Photog Feels Santa Monica Pier Pressure

(View more photos in the slideshow "Barred From Shooting Pacific Park Pier: The Photographs")One surprise in Sunday's pre-Inauguration Day celebration at the Lincoln Memorial came when Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger and others sang once-expurgated verses from "This Land Is Your Land." Woody Guthrie' ... More >>

Stage Raw: Lodestone Says Goodnight and Good Luck

Check back here Monday after noon for the upcoming weekend's NEW THEATER REVIEWS of The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane's comedy about being oneself in Hollywood and elsewhere, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre; Deborah Pryor's mystical Appalachian one-act The Love Talker at Son of Semele Ens ... More >>

Best Yogi for All: Bryan Kest's Santa Monica Power Yoga

Gills Gone Wild: Why Free-Swimming Salmon Is Best

Tastes great, less environmentally chilling

Donald T. Sterling's Skid Row Mirage

The billionaire Clippers owner claims he's creating a major homeless center. He's not, but image is what counts.

Theater Listings

For the week of March 14-20

In Search of a Full Deck

Brad Spence’s airbrushed cloud of unknowing

Hey, Ladies!

The girls go wild west at Bergamot

Cool Britannia

Ask Mr. Gold

The Gayest Hoopla Ever!

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Leapin’ Ladies

Poetic Licentiousness

Readers respond to Gabrielle Idlet's provocative memories of her late father, the poet John Thomas

Day-Tripping

Deflections in the light

Scrooge Inc.

Hand Jobs

Let your fingers do the walking.

Taxi Driver

Fares to Remember