Santa Monica

RIP Santa Monica Civic Auditorium: Former Punk Haven Finished Holding Concerts

For the last 55 years, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium has had all types of boring conventions, cat shows and craft fairs. But it's also held some amazing concerts; truth be told, its importance to the local rock and punk music scenes cannot be overstated. Due to a combination of obsolescence and ... More >>

Should Mr. Checkpoint Be Tweeting DUI Stops?

His 42,000 followers think so. MADD does not

800 Degrees Opening in Santa Monica this Fall

A new 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria will set up its wood-burning oven in Santa Monica this fall, just a little over a year after the first one opened its doors in Westwood Village. Slated for a 5,000-square-feet space at 120 Wilshire Boulevard, the latest outpost will feature a take-out area and a ... More >>

The Coziest Dance Venue in Town

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 >>

Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including Photos in a Red Line Metro Station

This week's list includes a feisty auctioneer, art in a Metro station and a real-life Romeo and Juliet. 5. The last auction Robert Berman has been running Santa Monica Auctions for going on three decades and has had the C2 building at Bergamot Station for nineteen years. At the end of the month, th ... More >>

72: Persian Mulberries at Weiser Family Farms

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 72: Persian Mulberries at Weiser Family Farms. If you've never had a bowl of ripe Persian mulberries -- a berry about which the Homeric adjective "wine-dark" w ... More >>

No Smoking in Your Own Apartment? Santa Monica Moves Toward Such a Ban

Please explain to us how L.A.'s own version of Berkeley, a town once ruled by ultra-lefty Tom Hayden and is band of merry pranksters called Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, has turned into a an Amish village where the local government is up your arse with just about everything you do there? It wa ... More >>

Milo & Olive: Saturday, June 2, 1:17 p.m.

Cream (the Eric Clapton band, not the dairy product) blasts; two pretty girls in their late teens bop self consciously and mouth the words as they stand in the pastry line; the wait for a table has just gone from 30 minutes to an hour. From the blonde wood bar set up along the front of the room wh ... More >>

Star Wars Light Saber Relay Heads From Santa Monica to Comic-Con San Diego This Summer

Legions of nerds will head to San Diego Comic-Con this summer not in their Scions, scooters or Priuses, as usual, but on-foot, with Star Wars lightsabers in hand. In probably the most physical activity geeks have ever embarked upon, the Course of the Force lightsaber relay will take these human cal ... More >>

The Ultimate Locavore: Backyard Chickens and Beekeeping in L.A.

Imagine a Sunday morning breakfast of a simple omelette with goat cheese and herbs, and a hunk of toasted bread drizzled with honey. How great would it be if you could ensure the freshness of those eggs and the quality of that honey by harvesting them yourself? If only you lived in a place where you ... More >>

L.A.'s 4 Best Bargain Omakase The "Jiro Effect"

If you're planning on seeing David Gelb's brilliant documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi this weekend when it premieres at Santa Monica's Nu-Art Theater you might be well advised to pass on the popcorn and soda. The film clocks in at just under an hour and a half -- a good portion of that is dedicated t ... More >>

March at L.A. Farmers Markets: Your Virtual Grocery List

It's March at Los Angeles farmers markets, which means peak citrus season, along with cardoons, Savoy cabbages, potatoes and winter greens -- and chefs, including frequent shopper Wolfgang Puck, who spent this morning helping to hold down the canopy at Pudwill Berry Farm's stall. (Heavy winds, not h ... More >>

John Travolta's Stolen Mercedes Helps Crack Gone in 60 Seconds-Like Theft Ring

Updated at the bottom with the condition of Travolta's ride, with photos of the leftovers. First posted at 12:20 p.m. The movie Gone in 60 Seconds, every 20-year-old frat boy's favorite "cult" film about stealing the dream rides on their dorm room walls, featured a motley crew of high-tech antihero ... More >>

5 Local Farmers Who are Doing it Right

Felicia FriesemaThe Hollywood market earlier this year.​After reading Beth Barrett's piece about farmers markets this week, it might be tempting to hang up the locavore hat and head out for an angsty and cathartic mouthful at the local McDonald's. We're envisioning an army of market goers as ... More >>

Tartuffe at Theatricum Botanicum: Anarchy Eluded

Miriam GeerAaron Hendry's "brilliantly realized Tartuffe" in a production that can't quite keep up with him.​Good notices this week for solo shows: John Paul Karliak homage to his two mothers, Donna/Madonna, at the Lounge in Hollywood; Guy Hollingworth's perf about card sharks, Expert at the Card ... More >>

Happy Hour: Wine Expo's Santa Monica Wine Bar

JgarbeeTim Guest Serving Guests At Wine Expo​It's been nearly 10 months since Wine Expo opened a tasting bar/retail food shop next to its flagship Santa Monica wine store. In other words, plenty of time for manager Roberto Rogness to work out the inevitable kinks of suddenly jumping into the w ... More >>

Top 10 Pool Party Hotel Restaurants: Welcome to Summertime in L.A.

Jeff KirshbaumSmall plates from Gordon Ramsay's kitchen at The London WeHo's pool​ Despite the June gloom, summer is officially here and that means Los Angeles hotels go a bit Vegas when hosting poolside parties. Although people don't always go into the pool (and there's no European-style sunb ... More >>

Classic, With A Twist: Michael's Debuts Guest Bartender Series

Bar Toscana​ Like a six deuce Impala with an electric engine, the 30 year-old Santa Monica restaurant Michael's is getting a serious infusion of the hot new thing. This Thursday, January 20th, Michael's will kick off a series of monthly guest bartender events featuring some of L.A.'s most tal ... More >>

Tonight: Faith No More, Roger Waters, Grinderman, the Frames, Street Drum Corps

Grinderman​When Nick Cave unveiled Grinderman -- his project with Bad Seeds bandmates Warren Ellis, Jim Sclavunos and Martyn Casey -- the Australian songwriter described the music as a soundtrack to "a massive midlife crisis." So we suppose it's both good (for consumers) and bad (for the 53-y ... More >>

Best Muesli: Hans Röckenwagner's Bircher Muesli A Recipe

A. ScattergoodMuesli at Röckenwagner Santa Monica Bakery/Café, ​ Granola, it seems, comes in and out of style, with or without yogurt and Birkenstocks. The same can be said for oatmeal, various health claims notwithstanding. But muesli is in its own category, maybe too odd and European to b ... More >>

It Doesn't Take Much For Feds To Access Your Facebook Page (But That Could Change)

​Authorities can get all up in your Facebook account with relative ease, so a consortium of companies that includes Google, Santa Monica-based AOL and the ACLU is lobbying congress to enact legislation that will protect the privacy of everyday information stored in "the cloud." The Digital Du ... More >>

Karlsson's Gold Vodka Tasting: A Potato Farmer, A Chef An Open Container

Vodka is defined by U.S. law as "without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color." Delicious. So Squid Ink was rather intrigued when a bottle of Karlsson's Gold vodka arrived on our doorstep this week, with a teaser claiming the spirit is made from seven potato varieties from Cape Bjäre, a pot ... More >>

Holiday Brew Fest at the Library Alehouse: Lots of Beer A Bicycle Valet

David Lackman​If you require more beer in your life to get you through the questionable days between Christmas and New Years, especially if your team didn't quite wind up in the bowl game you wanted, Santa Monica's Library Alehouse will be having a Holiday Brew Fest on December 29. The alehou ... More >>

West Hollywood Ponders Ban On Outdoor Smoking At Clubs, Restaurants

Abbe Land.​We told you about a movement in Santa Monica to ban smoking at apartment and condo complexes. Now the city of West Hollywood is looking at a proposal to prohibit lighting up in outdoor areas of clubs and restaurants. The idea comes courtesy of Mayor Abbe Land and Mayor Pro Tem John ... More >>

Some In Santa Monica Want To See Smoking Banned In Apartments

The Regal Beagle.​How times change. They used to call it the Republic of Santa Monica because our little city by the bay was so crunchy liberal you could barely throw a rock without hitting a pair of Birkenstocks or an unkempt beard. It was the home of Three's Company (and the Regal Beagle), T ... More >>

Squid Ink Food Fight: Santa Monica Wet Burrito, Lettuce Be the Judge

Growing up in Los Angeles, my brother and I used to joke that all Mexican food was just the same ingredients, put into different edible containers. That is a product, really, of Mexican food in the United States, and most specifically, Taco Bell. Sure, we have much more traditional fare available in ... More >>

Buy A Piece Of Local Royalty At Hotel Bel-Air Sale

That's armoire.​If filling your abode with cootie-covered furnishings and tableware from a hotel sounds as unsavory to you as it does to us, hold that thought: Goods from the Hotel Bel-Air are up for sale, and the cooties you end up with might have belonged to Robert De Niro, Elizabeth Taylor ... More >>

Top 10 Places to Buy a Pie For Thanksgiving (And Then Say You Made It Yourself)

Thanksgiving is a food-lover's holiday. Everywhere you turn, there's talk about what to eat or cook for the big day. Scan the food sites and you'll find discussion boards dedicated to the topic of turkey, stories of family food traditions, and lots, and lots, of recipes. What's a food loving person ... More >>

Squid Ink Food Fight: Chicken Jerk Off

Jerk chicken is a dish that seems to have an inordinate number of fans, and I'm not sure why. That's not to say that jerk chicken isn't delicious--it is--I just don't understand why so many people seem to have eaten it. Los Angeles is not loaded with Jamaican restaurants, let alone good ones, and I ... More >>

The Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Today's Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​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 on Wednesday. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is ... More >>

Record with Legendary Producer Jimmy Jam -- For a Hefty Price

Got a hit, but need a boldface-named producer to take it to the next level? Here's your chance -- if you've got an American Express card and $1,250 to spare. You can buy time with legendary R&B producer Jimmy Jam at his Flyte Tyme Studio in Santa Monica. Jam, whose work with producing partner Ter ... More >>

Grauman's Chinese Theater for Sale?

Base image: Carol Highsmith/Wikipedia ​​It may not be a state monument or an historical city-owned property, but Grauman's Chinese Theater is an integral part of Hollywood -- both of its history and its daily commerce as part of the Mann Theater chain. That's why a Hollywood Reporter story is in ... More >>

Who's Footing L.A.'s Recovery?

File this contrast in the Just Sayin' Dept.An L.A. Times blog flagged an Argonaut story about county beach fees rising higher than today's mercury, while City News Service reports that the L.A. City Council seems ready to all but waive some business taxes. According to the Argonaut, which serves the ... More >>

MUST BE THIS HIP TO ENTER

Advertising for Trouble: Supergraphics Landlord Protested at Home

Curbed L.A. has a report about Sunday's protest by anti-billboard activists at the Brentwood home of Frank Rahban. He is the owner of several buildings in L.A. that have become giant easels on which vinyl supergraphics ads have been draped. The Rahban-owned office building at 10801 National Boulevar ... More >>

How the Hall Changes Spring Awakening and The Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Hot ice and Strange Snow

SOMA Fest L.A.: Encore

Moving Variations

Salad Lovers, Get to the Point

Stations of the toss

Studies in Chocolate

Abode Restaurant and Lounge

Heat and Light: A Pan-American Music Marathon

Animal Charm

Snakebites

Verona in Waltz Time

Good Grub

Revolving-Door Renter

Wealthy visitors supplant tenants in Santa Monica

Dancing for the DNC

Things to do in L.A. when you’re delegating (or not)

Letters

Dystopia, Datopia

Southern California on film

Warm-Weather Edibles

A guide to our advertisers