Santa Monica

Proposition A Los Angeles Sales Tax Election Results: Voters Rejecting Tax Hike by Eight Points

Update, Wednesday morning: In a huge embarrassment for City Council President Herb Wesson and the City Hall establishment, voters resoundingly rejected the citywide sales tax hike, 55.17 percent to 44.82 percent. See details on next page. With additional reporting by Jill Stewart. Update, 12:40 PM: ... More >>

Music Picks: Tame Impala, Deftones, DJ Quik

Michael McCarty Updates Michael's Restaurant: Bar Food Drinking With Dennis Hopper

Maybe it's because so many things in this town seem impermanent that our fondness for those that do not increases, exponentially, with each year they remain. Michael McCarty's Santa Monica restaurant Michael's, which he opened in 1979 -- yeah, yeah, that's ancient for us -- is one of those places th ... More >>

5 Places in L.A. to See Affordable Opera

Centuries ago, opera was more affordable, not just something thought to be for the country club set when the dained to put on their long silk gloves and gold-rimmed glasses. Several companies in Los Angeles have strived to recreate this custom, but it hasn't always been easy. Ticket prices are one ... More >>

Superba-Califragilistic Snack Bar

Jason Neroni's new Venice restaurant, is, yes, superb

What's in Season at the Farmers Market: Forellenschluss Lettuce

If you go to the Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market early, before the bell rings at 8:30 and the crowds fill the streets and the marine layer from the nearby Pacific burns off in the late summer sun, you'll notice some things you might miss later on. Wolfgang Puck shucking corn alone at one marke ... More >>

10 Best Pizza Restaurants in Los Angeles

From our 2012 Restaurant Issue, celebrating everything pizza in L.A. 10. 800 Degrees Not since Bill Walton led the Bruins to a 30-0 record have UCLA students had such good reason to rejoice. Westwood's newest pizzeria, a fast-casual concept dreamed up by Umami guru Adam Fleischman, is open until 2 ... More >>

George Harrison's Son Dhani Lives in Town, and Modeled His Band on Wu-Tang Clan

At Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica, Dhani Harrison, brushes his lanky black hair back from his cheeks and reinserts his orange in-ear monitors. The only child of George Harrison, he's also lead singer and ringleader for a group called thenewno2, who now gear up for the second half of ... More >>

Village Trailer Park Closure Decision Postponed

See also: A Santa Monica Trailer Park -- and Its Senior Residents -- Face Off With Fancy New Development. After hearing from an estimated 70 members of the public during a grueling six hour meeting, the Santa Monica City Council adjourned Tuesday night without any kind of resolution on the contenti ... More >>

David Ben Keyes, Suspect in L.A. Area Homeless Stabbings Where 'Death Warrant' Notes Left at Scene

Updated at the bottom with charges filed against Keyes, a.k.a. Courtney Anthony Robinson. First posted at 3:47 p.m. Thursday. Santa Monica police say the stabbing last week of a homeless man could be connected to two similar attacks in Los Angeles in which "death warrant" notes were left at the sce ... More >>

5 Picks for DineLA's Summer Restaurant Week

Next week kicks off DineLA's first ever summer-session Restaurant Week, which consists of discounted prix-fixe lunches and dinners at some of the city's most popular restaurants, available from July 16 to 27. For those who've never experienced Restaurant Week, over 300 restaurants from Santa Monica ... More >>

A February Roundup of Restaurant Openings and Closings

The elderly browse the obits for long-lost friends; foodists check the blogs for restaurant passings. This week, sushi fiends flooded a Studio City strip mall for Nozawa's last days. After only two years, Elements Kitchen in Pasadena bid its patrons farewell. "Thank you all for the wonderful memorie ... More >>

Funkiest Dish West of the 405: Moo Moo Thai's Yen Ta Fo

Did your new year's resolution involve sampling strange cuisine from across the city? If you're the type who scours the San Gabriel Valley like a Sichuan-studded Star Map or can quickly rattle off every birrieria in the barrio then probably not. But if you're perpetually stuck in a quaint Westside f ... More >>

John Travolta's Mercedes Still Missing: Why Did he Leave it on a Residential Street With Parking Restrictions?

A car like Travolta's missing SL.​At the risk of rumor and innuendo, John Travolta really wants his 1970 Mercedes 280 SL back. Santa Monica police today circulated photos of a vehicle that looks like the missing car in hope someone will spot it. It was reported stolen at 3:46 p.m. on Sunday a ... More >>

Fermented Soy Bean Update: Where to Find Fresh Natto in L.A.

A. FrougTezukuri natto from Nijiya Market​ It's an addage we're used to: fresh is better than frozen. Fresh pizzas are better than frozen, freshly picked raspberries preferable to their mushy defrosted counterparts. Add natto, the fermented soy beans that were the subject of our recent blog po ... More >>

Gas Prices Are So High in L.A. Area Some Southern Californians Are Running on Fumes (And Running Out of Gas)

racingmixIf you run out of fuel, pull it on over (if you can).​A recent New York Times piece on SoCal's crazy gas prices noted that a Santa Monica station was charging $5.69 a gallon for premium. Wow. That's enough to make you ride on fumes. And that, Southern California, is apparently what y ... More >>

James Beard 2011 Semifinalists Announced: The L.A. Edition

​Award season is approaching again, and we don't just mean the Oscars. The nominations for Food & Wine's best new chef award opened yesterday, and now the James Beard Foundation has announced the semifinalists for their restaurant and chef awards. Here's the complete (very long) list. The Be ... More >>

69 Things for Music Lovers to Do In L.A. on Valentine's Day

Timothy Norris​ Don't sacrifice your Monday night music excursions into our fair city of Los Angeles, just to be a slave to the grueling whip of commercialized love. You can have your cake and eat it too, especially if that cake comes with a plethora of "ingredients" that help you get your ro ... More >>

25 Years of Border Grill

Revamped Ciudad carries on fine tradition

If Prop. 19 Passes in California, Will $1.50 Joints Destroy Marijuana Industry Jobs?

​It's a fair question: Will marijuana cheap-as-a-drugstore-cigar hurt the state's cannabis industry, a rare bright spot in California's dismal economy? A recent study by Santa Monica-based RAND Corporation states that pot prices could drop 80 percent -- as low as $1.50 for a joint -- if the ... More >>

Photo Gallery: What's In Season Mid-July At The Farmers Market

A. ScattergoodSee Canyon Blenheim apricots​ The Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market is, on some days more than others, a microcosm of the Los Angeles food scene, or at least a certain quadrant of it. This morning, relentlessly sunny and with temperatures creeping towards the 80s and then the ... More >>

Tiato Opens in Santa Monica: New Restaurant, Old Vietnamese Herb

Barbara Hansenpots of tiato at Tiato ​ Tiato, which opens today, June 28th, in Santa Monica, is the latest addition to the House of An group's restaurants, the flagship of which is Crustacean in Beverly Hills. Crustacean's famous garlic noodles aren't on the menu, but they'll turn up a couple ... More >>

Lazy Ox Does Cart For A Cause: See What You Missed At Lunch Today

N. GalutenThe Lazy Ox Cart For A Cause in Santa Monica​ The Cart For A Cause truck rolled into Santa Monica today, featuring the food of Lazy Ox Canteen chef Josef Centeno. It proclaims itself as "the nation's first philanthropic meal truck," helping to feed home-bound senior citizens by provi ... More >>

The Many Names of Mariscos Guillen La Playita

Ben CalderwoodChicharron and asphalt​ It may have two or possibly three names, or no proper name at all--regulars call it the blue shack, and that will do nicely. Nothing at this cash-only Venice/Santa Monica taco stand is renegade, or even all that spicy. I fear a hissing shamble of Yelpers-- ... More >>

Top 10 Cocktails Inspired by Los Angeles A Mulholland Drive Cocktail Recipe

The Beachcomber CafeThe Beachcomber's Surfrider Cocktail​ New York has the Manhattan, Moscow the Moscow Mule. Even Long Island has a cocktail named after it. But what is Los Angeles' signature cocktail? Something to immortalize the City of Angels in drink? Fortunately, local bars, whether insp ... More >>

People's Historian Howard Zinn Dies In Santa Monica

​History professor and author Howard Zinn, well known for his populist A People's History of the United States, died in Santa Monica Wednesday at the age of 87, Daughter Myla Kabat-Zinn said he suffered a heart attack. His most-famous tome dissected American heroes, accused Christopher Columb ... More >>

Pinot Days: A Pinot Noir Fest Coming to the Santa Monica Airport (No Drinking & Flying, at Least Not Literally)

​Oh, the good old Pinot Noir days. When Sideways ruled the screen, Merlot was the bastard child, and hair gel was the residual left in the glass. You can re-live those toss-it-back days at Pinot Days at the Santa Monica airport hanger in two weeks. The festival, touting 70 Pinot Noir produc ... More >>

Now Open: The 3rd La Bottega Marino, in Beverly Hills

The third La Bottega Marino officially opened its doors Saturday morning, on a busy section of Santa Monica in Beverly Hills. The previous two Bottegas, from brothers Salvatore and Mario Marino, are in Santa Monica, next to Sal Marino's white-tablecloth restaurant Il Grano, and in Larchmont. This in ... More >>

How Silver Lake Residents Can Obtain Sunset Junction Wristbands

​In accordance with recent negotiations between Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance, Los Angeles Council District 13 and various community groups, SJNA has expanded the boundaries for free entry to next weekend's Sunset Junction Street Fair. According to a news blast from Silver Lake Improve ... More >>

Riva: Stuzzichini This, Stuzzichini That

Eat What Bourdain Just Ate: Wings, Polish Food and Lebanese Tartar

Another week, another episode of No Reservations. Bourdain, inspired partially by HBO's critically acclaimed series "The Wire", (a fact that seemed to concern some locals), set out on a Rust Belt episode, highlighting the local fare of Buffalo, Baltimore and Detroit. Baltimore "lake trout", which i ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Not in My Back Sky The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked Santa Monica's ban of fast private jets from its municipal airport -- until an FAA review of the proposed restrictions is finished. L.A. TimesPorts o' No Call L.A.'s twin harbors can expect a 13.5 percent drop in traffic this yea ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Chris Brown Deal in the Works? R&B singer Chris Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, may be close to making a plea deal with the District Attorney's office regarding the charges Brown faces in the alleged beating of singer-girlfriend Rihanna. Brown's arraignment has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday. ... More >>

Stage Raw: Land of the Tigers

CLICK HERE FOR COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSLAND OF THE TIGERS IS THIS WEEK'S PICKLand of the Tigers Photo by Jon Beauregard Noises OnCool Cats and Hot ActorsAct 1 of the Burglars of Hamm's hilarious and thought provoking comedy, Land of the Tigers, outlandishly crosses Cats with Planet of the Ape ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Ah, Wilderness! The House of Representatives has passed a massive conservation bill that would declare as wilderness almost as much land as George W. Bush did during  eight years in office. Included are a new wilderness area centered on Magic Mountain and the cleanup of San Gabriel Valley groun ... More >>

First Dance

Synapse Dance Theater takes a bow at the Broad

Dot-Com Again? Behind the Scenes of L.A.'s "Twiistup" Networking Phenomenon

Geek meets tech socialite and parties like it's 1997

Christmas Charity Shows

There are several Christmas charity shows (and just plain Christmas themed shows) around time this month, like Snoop Dogg's Smokin' Christmas Party at the House of Blues on the 15th (and don't forget Snoop's timelessChristmas classic "Servin' Season!"), and Aimee Mann's second annual Christmas show ... More >>

Agamemnon

One Hot Restaurant

An Untamable Voice

Iraqi blogger Faiza Al-Araji comes to America

Stumbling Toward 2006

A Second Skin

Sloughing it off for summer

Small Press Is Beautiful

Brave New Cityscape

Sit!

The Feminine Mistake

Between a lark and a hard place

No Room for Cheap

Loews’ hotel workers want a union in Santa Monica

Return of the Mole People

Santa Monica's Tlapazola Grill

1980 Timeline