Santa Monica

A SNAP Iron Chef Challenge in Santa Monica

To show how meals with fresh food can be made on a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) budget, chefs Nyesha Arrington of Wilshire Restaurant and Stefano de Lorenzo of La Botte will be facing off tomorrow, April 27, at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica Iron Chef-style. Arrington and ... More >>

Hamlet

Political Shake Up in Santa Monica, Richard Bloom Focusing on Assembly District 50 Race

Big developments are unfolding in the always interesting Santa Monica political scene. Longtime City Councilman Richard Bloom announced he won't run for re-election while his colleague Bobby Shriver is hinting at the same thing. That means that for the first time in two decades, as The Lookout New ... More >>

Sunday's Euro Cup Final: What to Eat?

Set to unfold this Sunday, July 1, the 2012 Euro Cup Final is a familiar tale of the tape. On one side, you have Italy's defense, which stays at home and plays it safe, slurping down zabaglione and soaking up an opposition's assaults -- sort of like how the bread in a ribollita soaks up broth. On ... More >>

Whose Silicon Beach Is It? San Diego Used the Term 2 Decades Before Google Came to Venice

Updated at the bottom: One tech czar says maybe all of Southern California's tech-biz scene should be called "Silicon Beach." First posted at 8:07 a.m. We get mad at New York for trying to surf, claiming that it invented graffiti art despite the fact that Latino gangs have been doing it here for ne ... More >>

Eat This Now: Flan

Tacos, tequila and one more dish should be an ingredient for a proper Cinco de Mayo feast. On menus from Highland Park's My Taco to downtown's Border Grill to Santa Monica's El Chollo to almost every Mexican or Spanish-accented eatery in between, under desserts (postres) there will be flan. The ubiq ... More >>

Betsy Butler, Assembly Candidate for L.A.'s Westside, Spams 8,000 Residents With Weirdest Campaign Paraphernalia Ever

Betsy Butler's bright idea to attach her campaign flyers to plastic baby bottles must have seemed cute in theory. The current assemblywoman for much of L.A. County's South Bay area is shooting for finer pastures this November: She wishes to reign over the new citizen-drawn District 50, quite possib ... More >>

Music Picks: Skrillex, Diplo, Wu-Tang Clan, The Health Club

Also, Art Lande, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Gilad Hekselman, The Stitches, The Villains and others

Pinot Days Is Back: How To Fit 80 Wine Producers Into An Airport Hangar A Special Discount

JGarbeeThe Pinot Days Aftermath At Barker Hanger​With so many wine festivals and tastings out there these days, forking over $60 ($54 with the 10% discount code for LA Weekly readers below) seems somewhat excessive for your everyday Chardonnay and Merlot pours. But this is Pinot Days, the ann ... More >>

The Most Authentic Borscht in L.A.

Dear Mr. Gold: The most authentic borscht in L.A. -- other than at Grandma's kitchen? --Devin Saez, via Facebook

Border Grill: 99 Essential Restaurants 2011

Santa Monica Bar Report: Circle Bar

The Place: Circle Bar, 2926 Main Street, Santa Monica; 310-450-0508. The Hours: Sat.-Thu. 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.-2 a.m. The Digs: The fact that Jim Morrison did some drinking at this downtown Santa Monica mainstay means nothing to us. He would do it anywhere he could, surely never turning ... More >>

Hermosa Beach Cigarette Nazis Ban Smoking Pretty Much Everywhere in South Bay Town

Ian BroylesHermosa Beach: Woo! Wait, not woo.​Ah, the South Bay. Home of the Beach Boys, the laid-back, California lifestyle and, of course, white people partying. And now it's also where you'll find ... cigarette Nazis! That's right, the salt-air breezes don't seem to dissipate the anti-s ... More >>

Five Most Beautiful Parking Garages (Yes, Parking Garages) in Los Angeles

MOCA Facebook page​ Los Angeles is a city in thrall to automobiles (though there is evidence that's beginning to change) so it's not surprising some of our best design comes in the form of parking garages. What's especially intriguing about some of these structures is their public art that app ... More >>

West Hollywood is California's Most Walkable City?

Nichole O'Connor.Walking in WeHo.​West Hollywood was named the "Most Walkable" city in California. It's 89 out of 100 score for walkable amenities even beat out San Francisco and New York, the two major cities that duked it out for top honors (New York won). Makes you wonder if the company th ... More >>

Carmageddon: Santa Monica Bars to Offer Refuge During 405 Shutdown With Car-Themed Drink Specials

We smell traffic pride.​The 53-hour closure of L.A.'s -- and America's -- busiest freeway from July 15 to July 17 is becoming somewhat of an Internet sensation. (We should have known: Combine end-of-the-world jokes with catchy traffic hashtags, and you've got viral gold.) Two different Twitter ... More >>

30 Scoops in 30 Days: N'ice Cream (Day 12)

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's pretty much what goes into the genteel flavors at N'ice Cream, a local shop with three westside outlets: one on Abbot Kinney, another on Ocean Front Walk and a third in the recently opened in L.A.'s Ferry Building imitation, Santa Monica Marketplace.

Seven Weird Things To Do This Week in L.A.

Weekend of Horrors Convention​ L.A. is weird. You can fight it or go with it. What do you think folks in our Calendar section would say? Here are seven hints: 7. The Underground Rebel Bingo Club Fri., May 13, 10:00pm, secret location "We can't tell you anything about this Bingo Club. That's b ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: What's The Big Deal With Quinoa?

Anne Fishbeinthe invisible restaurant critic​ Dear Mr. Gold: What's the big deal with quinoa? I couldn't even pronounce it right when I first saw it on the menu at Hugo's in Studio City. Then I saw it at Trader Joe's and then I saw it everywhere. It has probably been around forever, but has on ... More >>

Top 5 Old School Indie L.A. Health Food Stores

J. Ritz​ Close your eyes and breathe. Deeply. Smell those bulk whole grains commingling with the aromas of spirulina, alternative pastas, sprouts of all types, and freshly juiced wheatgrass? Now take a look around. See the earnest hand-painted signs promoting health tips? Notice the knotty pin ... More >>

Lindsay Lohan Reportedly Tests Positive For Cocaine; Could Be Headed Back To Jail

​TMZ reported Friday that Linsday Lohan failed a recent drug test that's part of her probation and that she was positive for cocaine. If true she could be headed back to the county jail for women for as many as 30 days, the site reported. The 24-year-old actress spent three weeks in drug reha ... More >>

Musical Art Spaces

Gallery life: openings, closures and reopenings

Musical Bakery Chairs: Changes at Röckenwagner

A. Scattergoodpretzels and pastries in the case at Röckenwagner Santa Monica​ Hans Röckenwagner (3 Square, Röckenwagner Santa Monica Bakery/Café, Röckenwagner Mar Vista Bakery) not only makes many of his own tables and chairs -- he's an expert carpenter -- but these days he's moving them ... More >>

Blenheim Apricots And Jam: You Can Have It All -- Legally

Jenn GarbeeImperfect Exterior, Divine Taste​There are apricots and then there are Blenheim apricots. They have a royal pedigree (or at least a palace). They inspire local businesses. They hobnob among the likes of Michael Pollan, Christopher Kimball, and yes, The Weekly's own Jonathan Gold. Th ... More >>

Zócalo Seafood Discussion Tonight: Maybe Eat Sushi Another Night

Anne Fishbeintoro, yellowtail, uni, albacore, wild scallop at Kiyokawa​ A reminder to maybe put down your chopsticks (omakase) and your TV remote (CNN) tonight and consider heading over to the Skirball Center for the Zócalo discussion: Will Seafood Soon Be a Delicacy? Jonathan Gold, his brot ... More >>

Tucking In at Snug Harbor

Ben CalderwoodFortifying with biscuits and white gravy​ You may encounter the occasional Hollywood A-lister at Snug Harbor, a disoriented screenwriter or producer wandering out of the jeweled avenues north of Wilshire for a mug of joe and a scramble, but the über-cozy Snug is a diner for the ... More >>

Belgian Beer Festival At The Libary Alehouse Starts Tonight

Flickr user EaganjLindsay Lohan May Be Wearing One Of These Next Week​You can pop just about anything, any time, any place, and call it a beer festival these days. Then there's a Belgian beer festival. And this one is local, at the Library Alehouse -- if Santa Monica still counts as local in L ... More >>

Hand-Squeezed Margaritas, Organic Stuffed Fruits, Biodynamic Wines & Green Prizes: An Earth Day Round Up

This month local restaurants and businesses are pitching in to help better the environment for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22. From restaurants shutting off the electricity and gas for a day, a gourmet chocolatier selling discounted organic stuffed fruits, to businesses giving away gr ... More >>

Mayor Villaraigosa Skips Town Again Amid Budget Crisis

​As the city's historic budget crisis loomed, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa went to Guadalajara, San Antonio and Europe. He's been to the Grammys, the Oscars and his own Academy Awards party. The mayor even found time to make an appearance on the soap opera All My Children recently, e ... More >>

Thyme Cafe And Market Opens Tomorrow Morning in Santa Monica

A. Scattergoodchairs at Thyme Cafe​Thyme Cafe and Market is opening tomorrrow morning on Ocean Park in Santa Monica. The lofty space, which has been under construction for the last year, is also the new home of Thyme Catering, founded by caterer and 3rd generation Angeleno Maire Byrne, whose g ... More >>

Stage Raw: Clowntown City Limits

THE LATEST NEW REVIEWS ARE EMBEDDED IN THIS WEEK'S COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW REVIEW THEATER PICK CLOWNTOWN CITY LIMITSPhoto by Ed RachlesImagine a personable, grimy, makeup-smeared, cigar-chomping guy in a tank top, not unlike Tommy Lee Jones, playing cards outdoors on the porch of some tra ... More >>

The Parisian Room: Alain Giraud's Anisette Brasserie

A glass of Sancerre, a half-dozen oysters, and a French chef who's found home

Tails, You Win

Where to find coda alla vaccinara

Sod Off!

Your yard — the last sustainable frontier

Send No Flowers

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SABER's Heart of Darkness

He may look friendly, but behind artist SABER's chirpy demeanour lurks a seething heart of darkness. Which sucks for him, but not for us - we loved his eerie nightscapes on display at the L.A. Weekly's new Biennial Art Show in Santa Monica. Here he is in front of one of his works, helpfully hol ... More >>

Best of L.A. 2005: Mirrors

The City in Motion

L.A.’s hyperactive graphics scene

From Planting to Plating

How the Santa Monica Farmers Market transformed the restaurant landscape

Abandoning the Kids

Money problems close doors of beloved community centers

Stage Rage

When losing it isn’t in the script

Movies! Movies! Movies!

Letters

Hooked

40 Years of Fishing Off the Santa Monica Pier

L.A.’s Playful pastimes

Solo

Dating Yourself

Resurfacing

How to avoid looking like yourself