Went to the new W hotel in Hollywood to celebrate my friend Sam’s bday and decided to explore a little bit. On the 2nd floor, all along the hallway is a row of sketches by artist John Clark, who creates “sharpie art” on torn pages from paperback novels.
By the way – incredible that the W is right off the Hollywood/Vine stop on the RED Metro line. THIS is the Los Angeles we need! Bring on the subway! It may speed up my decision as to where I’m going to buy a home.
The Friday after #Thanksgiving we played a special show at The Shore in Hermosa Beach…. check it out! (You can’t see me in the video, but I’m standing behind Mike)
I still can’t believe Summer’s over. I am sitting here in the new library at LBCC and should be working on the revised Student Learning Outcomes, but A) I left my notes at home and B) I could be blogging. Similarly my thoughts upon exiting my car were “I could be going to the gym, but A) I forgot my gym shoes at home and B) I could be blogging.”
Everybody here still thinks I’m a student. I literally have to dress up on the first day every semester so that some vicenarian student with a skateboard doesn’t fire the vitriolic remark “you can’t park there,” when I pull into a faculty parking slot. Today, however I was dressed casually as I usually am on the car ride down and when I was walking through the cafeteria I was approached by a size medium man wearing size XXL clothes. No sir, I am not your esse, I just grade them.
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When my folks were in town, we went to Korean BBQ – which is quite a feat for my family because well, let’s just say if my family was white, we would eat nothing but hotdogs and hamburgers. Straying away from a massive Chinese dinner at 9pm is usually quite unavoidable for our family, but this time we did it. We ventured outside of our comfort zone and tried Korean. (I would imagine if we were British, we would similarly not try Welsh food unless it was absolutely mandatory.)
I would like to draw your attention to the restaurant BCD Tofu House in Koreatown. Moderately priced Korean food in the center of Koreatown at Wilshire and Vermont. The combination platters are usually the way to go and you get three different types of kimchee, an appetizer of cold veggies, a dried fish and soup. In true Korean fashion you are given a raw egg to crack into the boiling soup so that you can cook your own. Pretty neat. Then comes the main course which is a pile of meat and rice. I had the bugolgi (beef) but I would totally recommend the pork, which is what my bro Lawrence tried and they also have chicken and BBQ ribs.
As if we didn’t hear enough about the Koreans already, I was also recently at the LACMA (which you should all go to every second Tuesday of the month for FREE ADMISSION) where they are having an exhibit by 12 modern Korean artists titled “Your Bright Future.” Many of the pieces are political, crying out against wage disparagement between working classes in Korea and other social oppression. Many of the pieces were pretty abstract and weird but I really enjoyed this one piece by Do Ho Suh, which harks back to my favorite era in studio art – constructivism. Photos were lot allowed, but my brother Landis thankfully resides on the other side of the generation gap from me and does what he wants.
The cherry on the sundae was that my FAVORITE artist’s pieces were acquired by LACMA and I didn’t even realize it! Three of Ed Keinholz’s works (downstairs from the main floor) from the 60’s A Lady Named Zoa, The Illegal Operation and History as a Planter were present, the middle piece being a protest piece on abortion created long before the Roe v. Wade era. I urge you all to go. I’m mostly interested in what you think of Keinholz’s work. His most famous diorama or construction was a life-size replica of the bar at Barney’s Beanery with all the bar patrons sitting on the stools with clocks as heads. I think that piece is currently in New York.
There were many great exhibits… I will share some of the best shots of the hall I could get but if you do get the chance, please check out the Latin American art floor (4th) and walk into the modern section. Check out this awesome short film titled Paralysis (Parálisis) by Gabriel Acevedo Velarde. You will love it. (sample below)
Yes it’s true. One of my favorite composers of all time has a restaurant.
Yesterday Robokazr, Bun and I tried this new place called Carlitos Gardel, named in honor of the great Carlos Gardel, who is most famously known for his tune “Por Una Cabeza” – you know it… it’s the popular tango piece used in movies such as Schindler’s List, Scent of a Woman, and True Lies.
The original, with lyrics….
And a quintet version…..
I remember playing this piece back in ’99 when I was a lowly music major at Santa Clara University, in fact the last youtube video might even be my arrangement. But I digress.
This restaurant rocks!
The price range is about similar to Angelini Osteria, but way less noisy. We were there on a Monday night… so we were one of 3 tables occupied. Also our waitress was incredible (and super hot) and rattled off about 18 specials and wines off the top of her head. Tre impressif!
I had the Sea Bass, Rob the Pollo de Ajo and Mateja had the pasta with mussels. The Chimichurri sauce – INCREDBLE – and the service was utterly impeccable. The space is very upscale but not rustic like Angelini,it feels “new” and “American-ish” inside… but I assure you, the cuisine is was just perfect. I must say after going here, it’s going to be tough going back to Lala’s (my original favorite Argentinean restaurant)
But Lala’s $5.95 Chorizo sandwich can’t be beat! Hm…. $45 or $5.95….
I should have posted one about the party we had for Azad (because he’s leaving) and my trip to the San Diego zoo.
Now we make up for lost time. Avanti!
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Italian, you say? Very apropos, because TONIGHT I took Mateja to Angelini Osteria in Hollywood for her bday – THANK YOU LAUREN for that suggestion – and I must say this was probably the finest dining experience that we were going to have in 2008, if not like, EVER for a bday.
Mateja and I have been looking for some good Italian joints that were a tier above BJ’s, so this was a very happy occassion.
The upscale crowds in Hollywood are a far cry from Venice. Last year for Mateja’s bday we dined at Boa on Ocean and well… let’s just say that while Hollywood has its headaches, I still prefer their classy “Old Money” stuffiness to the Venice Beach/Santa Monica “anything-goes-Blasé”.
Our waiter (We forgot to ask his name, Doh) looked like Patrick Fischler and made the overall dining experience amazing. The meals are served multi-course and they tell you the specials in Italian. The only damper to the evening was the mother/daughter couple who sat RIGHT NEXT TO US (it is a very tight fit in the restaurant…) talking about how lovely their sex lives were, but what can you expect with Old Money.
I would suggest you go to this place immediately.
And I would recommend you try the Tagliatelle with Boar Sauce (secondi) and the Blood Sausage (antipasti).
not a good photo of the blood sausage – but c’mon. you can’t go by its name NOR the photo. You just got to try it…..
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Bulgarian food – I highly recommend trying Danube Bulgarian Restaurant on 1303 Westwood Blvd in Westwood. I had the pleasure of touching their cuisine to my lips last week and have been hurriedly trying to spend all my waking hours online and shopping for things I don’t need so that I can waste even more time blogging about this new food. And then complain in a subsequent blog that I have no time to do anything. And then blogging again.
Great food, friendly Eastern European girls, and a flatscreen TV showing the latest pop hits from Bulgarian MTV.
For those of you who still thought Bulgaria touched Kazakhstan, Bulgaria is a small country south of Romania. If you are a fan of Neil Strauss’ The Game you might subscribe to the neue-chiche that the further east in Europe you go, the hotter the girls are. Once Dan (before he met Kelly, of course) and I went out to a Hollywood joint and some (two, to be exact) Eastern-European girls started talking to us. Actually, they started talking to Dan and I just watched. But back then, I considered that scoring. Anyway – they were amazing. And I will from then on never forget that the capital of Bulgaria is Sofia. Not knowing that, cost me.
But I digress. Here, I will not talk about the girls, since:
a) I’m here to talk about food – as I do in every blog.
b) Bun is a Slovenian – a country WEST of Bulgaria and I will not score tonight if I keep writing about Bulgarian girls.
At any rate because of the country’s proximity to Greece, you do get tons of Moussaka – which I had. I highly recommend asking the girls what is the most authentic dish on the menu. They’ll proudly tell you. And if you don’t you’ll probably end up eating something with fries in it.
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Great appetizers and a cheap corkage fee make this place an all-in-all sweet experience. Oh – and this place is very casual and feels like you’re eating in a friends’ house. So, def good for casual dining, not a first date. Unless she’s from Moldova and is trying to use you to get a Green Card.
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