But What Does Joni Mitchell Think?

It will soon be easier to visit Runyon Canyon -- but parkgoers and nearby residents are mixed over the decision to build an 85-spot parking lot.

The hiking destination -- popular especially with dog owners -- has gotten more crowded over the years, angering local residents, who must deal with increased traffic, parking and dog poop on their streets.

Notes the L.A. Times: Those who have led passionate efforts to keep cars out of the city's largest off-leash dog park said they were blindsided by the decision. City officials say this shouldn't come as a surprise — a parking lot has been part of their plan all along and is the best solution to traffic problems in the area.   
   
At issue are the increasing number of visitors and dogs that come to the 133-acre park, nestled between Mulholland Drive and Franklin Avenue in the Hollywood Hills.

So Maybe This Is Why "Two-Buck Chuck" is So Cheap

Reports the L.A. Times: "Four former employees of the company that produces the wine known as Two Buck Chuck are suing, saying they weren't paid for working overtime or given lunch breaks.

"According to papers filed in Napa Superior Court, Perry Roberts, Brian Bingham, David Yoch and Scott Christensen say they were classified as exempt from overtime even though their work was primarily manual."

Bronco Wine Co. produces the Charles Shaw wine.

Insult to Injury

Now, I've been called a lot of things in my day... but this is just low. Check out the form letter I received yesterday:

Dear Fellow Republican,

You are among a select group of Republicans who have been chosen to take part in the official CENSUS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

Enclosed is your GOP CENSUS DOCUMENT which was assigned and prepared especially for you as a representative of all Republicans living in your voting district.

Gee, thanks, that's so nice of.... wait a sec. What did you just call me? A Republican?!

Dude, that's cold.

Are they kidding? I'd seriously consider filling out the form, just to throw off their "Census Document." But then they'd have my name permanently on file. Devious of them, hmm?

You gotta love this part of the questionnaire, however:

3. Will you join the Republican National Committee by making a contribution today?

[ ] Yes, I support the RNC and am enclosing my most generous contribution of ______.

[ ] Yes, I support the RNC, but I am unable to participate at this time. However, I have enclosed $11 to cover the cost of tabulating my survey.

[ ] No, I favor electing liberal Democrats over the next ten years.

Just Go Naked

Talk about thorough. KKBT/100.3 "The Beat" really wants to make sure nothing goes down at its annual summer concert. (They have good reason: The 2002 show had to be shut down, and 15,000 concertgoers escorted out of the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater, after a brawl broke out and spilled onto the stage.)

Check out the extensive dress code and code of conduct for this year's event, held next weekend at The Forum:

· No COLORED shoe laces
· No Bandanas of any kind
· No White, Purple, Red, Blue, & Orange T-shirts or Sweatshirts
· Must wear shirts with sleeves
· No baseball caps
· No jerseys of any kind
· No “BK” shoes
· No backpacks or large bags
· No pens or markers
· No cameras or video recorders
· No open packs of cigarettes
· No outside food & beverage
· A VERY strict dress code will be enforced, anybody attending the show that may be wearing colors that resemble gang motives will not be granted admission.
· No instruments that could be used as a weapon &/or projectile will be permitted on the venue property, inside the venue &/or surrounding vehicle parking lots.
· No Firearms are permitted in the Venue or surrounding vehicle parking lots

Oddly enough, the same code was in place at last week's ComiCon. Those Star Trek/Star Wars smackdowns can get awfully bloody. Recognize!

Rate-A-Restaurant, #48 in a series

Restaurant: gingergrass

Location: 2396 Glendale Blvd., Silverlake

Type of restaurant: Vietnamese Cuisine

They stipulated: No reservations. BYOB with a $5 corkage fee (fyi, Silverlake Wine is across the street).

What we ordered: Drinks: Basil-Lime Elixir ($2.95) and the Fresh Ginger Limeade ($2.95); Appetizers: "Gingergrass" Fresh Rolls ($5.50), Char-broiled Sugar Cane Shrimp ($4.95) and the Mako Salad ($8.50); Main Course: Banana Leaf Fish ($12.95), Shaking Beef ($11.95), and the "Gingergrass" Tofu ($9.75); Dessert: Bread Pudding with Coconut Custard Sauce ($3.95) and the Fried Banana Spring Rolls ($4.75).

High point: Dining with two other friends, we sampled a variety of food and ordered family-style.

Low point: No one was with me in ordering the Pork Chops and they ran out of the Lychee & Coconut Panna Cotta.

Overall impression: The scene is hipster, hipster, hipster -- wear your low-rise, bright tee and unkempt hair to fit in while dining. But seriously, you can check out the action in the kitchen from the dining area and it's good to see that Asians are manning the kitchen including a woman who looks like an actual Asian Mom. The best dish was the tofu, everything else tasted fresh but nothing spectacular. The basil-lime elixir was solid and the taste grew on Mike, but I liked it. The bread pudding had a nice texture and I couldn't get enough of that coconut custard sauce.

Chance we will go back: I'd like to give it another go and have the pork chops, sample the pho and taste the elusive panna cotta.

Downtown L.A. Factor

Here's something the downtown L.A. boosters probably aren't excited to share: The producers of NBC's "Fear Factor" find parts of the area so creepy that they frequently shoot their gross-out and extreme challenges down there.

Popular spots, according to the LA Downtown News, include the old printing annex for the L.A. Herald Examiner. Another episode featured Playboy playmates walking a tightrope across Fifth street, from the roof of the aforementioned (see below) Hotel Rosslyn and Frontier hotel.

Writes the paper: Kunitz said his favorite locale is the Rykoff Building, which features side-by-side structures that allow for rigging to be suspended between the two. "It's half abandoned, half industrial and has great height for stunts," he said.

Kunitz noted that, contrary to many productions that earn the wrath of Downtowners, "Fear Factor" shoots rarely require street closures during the stunts, which typically last two to three days. "There are a lot of great high buildings here and some slightly shady-looking streets."

Many of the buildings are scouted for their creep factor, acknowledges Kunitz. This includes dark corners, decades of grime and dust, and a few resident critters thrown in for good measure - dead cats, roaches and rats to name a few.

The "Fear Factor" story is part of a larger "Best of Downtown L.A." issue that this year uses reality TV as a backdrop. Elsewhere in the issue, a group of "Queer Eyes" suggest how they would makeover downtown; while readers suggest voting off movie crews, the L.A. Mall and the new Caltrans building. Nominated for an "Extreme Makeover"? Pershing Square.

Not So Golden

L.A. Times reporter Steve Hymon began commuting to work via the Pasadena Gold Line nine months ago. But after watching his commute balloon from 50 minutes both ways to 100 minutes, he's switching back to his car.

The problem? The line is just too damn slow:

The Gold Line brakes for everything but its shadow. Curves, street crossings, straight sections of track are all reasons for the choo-choo to take a breather. Engineers often stop the train just before reaching station platforms, as if they fear passengers might hurl themselves en masse onto the tracks.

"Speed is not the reason you use this line," The Times quoted Metropolitan Transportation Authority Deputy Chief Executive John Catoe as saying in March. "It's about comfort. You can read the paper, relax. It's a really great line that way."

I tried to relax. But the more sluggish the train got, the more my road rage merely shifted to rail rage. Instead of screaming "Go!" at little old ladies on the freeway, I wanted to bellow "Go!" at train drivers.

An MTA spokesman admits that "compromises inevitably had to be made just to get the line finished within budget," Hymon adds.

The Most Famous Hotel You'll Never Step Foot Inside

One of the great ironies about L.A.: Because of all the film, TV and commercial shoots downtown, many of those old, dilapidated but wonderful old buildings -- most of which lost their lustre years ago -- nonetheless clock a ton of screen time.

Some of those buildings, of course, are now being reborn as fancy lofts. But most of the Historic Core is still a shadow of its bustling old self. I'm particularly fascinated by the area's once-grand hotels, such as the Alexandria, that one time housed diginitaries and now live on as flop houses.




Then there's the Hotel Rosslyn.

You've seen it dozens, maybe even hundreds of times, on TV or at the movies. Most recently, the Hotel Rosslyn serves as a backdrop for the music video to Hoobastank's "The Reason." The Rosslyn can also be seen in a recent Dr. Pepper ad, promoting the soda's tie in with "Spider-Man 2." You'll regularly see the Rosslyn in the background in shows and movies supposedly set in New York. But don't be fooled by its noteriety, or the ease in which it appears on TV. This is still a sad place, where drug deals are common and tenants are regularly forced to leave.

The Hotel Rosslyn, located at the corner of 5th and Main, opened in 1914 as a lavish, Beaux Arts-style 264-room hotel. It later spawned a sequel, in 1923, when the owners constructed a 422-room hotel across the street. The two hotels were connected by an underground tunnel. Large signs adorned both roofs -- the original simply announcing the "Rosslyn Hotel," while the other referring to itself as the "New Million Dollar Hotel Rosslyn."

But like much of downtown, the Rosslyn and its annex fell onto hard times by the mid-century. The annex is now called the Frontier Hotel; both are pay-by-the-week transient hotels.

Yet they're still famous. Downtown's hotels serve as the perfect backdrop for Hollywood's tales of innocence lost and various human tragedies.

U2's Bono became fascinated by the place when he and the band filmed their infamous rooftop video to "Where The Streets Have No Name" close by. They even shot this promotional pic on the roof:

Bono pitched the story that would later become Wim Wenders' film "Million Dollar Hotel." (Starring Jeremy Davies, Milla Jovovich, Mel Gibson and Jimmy Smits, "starts when a billionaire's son dies in a skid row hotel and a federal agent turns the lives of the miscreant residents upside down to find out if it was suicide or murder," according to IMDB.com.

According to a story on the International Cinematographers website, Wenders decided to shoot all of the movie at the Hotel Rosslyn/Frontier, even though it would have been easier to do elsewhere.

And it sounds like it wasn't easy: Since this was a $55-a-week hotel - a place with junkies, lunatics and people throwing needles off roofs - we were all wearing helmets since bags of urine could come flying down.

The lustre may be long gone... but at least one piece of the Rosslyn's past still survives: After at least half a century, the gigantic "Million Dollar Hotel" sign now shines once again, having been recently restored.

Rate-A-Restaurant, #46 and #47 in a series

Restaurant: Senor Fish

Location: 4803 Eagle Rock Blvd. (Eagle Rock); also in downtown; Alhambra; and South Pasadena

Type of restaurant: Mexican

They stipulated: Apparently, that you dismiss their actual hours of operation and call ahead to make sure they're open. We got there 20 minutes before their 9 p.m. close... but they had already shut down their kitchen.

What we ordered: Nothing. Couldn't. Would have had an Ensenada-style fish taco, or perhaps a shrimp burrito.

High point: The woman at the counter felt bad for us, and showed some humor as she admitted that the Senor Fish restaurants don't always observe their own hours of operation. "You could come here tomorrow for breakfast," she said. "What time do you open?" I asked. "8... which means you should probably get here at 10:30." Comedy!

Low point: We came hungry, and left hungry.

Overall impression: We've been to the downtown location once or twice, and the tacos are excellent. But this is now that second time that we've tried to eat at the Eagle Rock location (not too far from our new house) and have been turned away -- despite the fact that they should have still been open.

Chance we will go back: We're already at strike two. I'm loathe to try a third time. But we probably will, anyway.

But, in the meantime, since we were still hungry, it was time to visit a Glendale landmark. Yeah, I know you can find it in Hollywood and Pasadena, but it's the Glendale location of Zankou Chicken that Beck made famous in the classic Prince-ish tune "Debra."

Restaurant: Zankou Chicken

Location: 1415 E. Colorado Blvd. (Glendale); locations also in Hollywood, Van Nuys, Anaheim and Pasadena

Type of restaurant: Shawerma/Chicken/Tarna/Falafel

They stipulated: You gotta pay with cash. Credit cards not accepted here. Luckily, Zankou is a bargain -- so you won't have to dig deep for change.

What we ordered: Half chicken plate (served with two pitas, hummus, tomatoes, pickled beets and Zankou's famous garlic sauce) -- $6.98; and a falafel sandwich (topped with lettuce, tomatoes and sesame sauce, wrapped in pita bread) -- $3.60

High point: Mmm... Zankou chicken. So moist. Don't know how they do it, but this is juiciest chicken you'll find anywhere. I guarantee. Mixed with Zankou's amazing garlic sauce, or with the hummus, it's truly amazing. The portions are extremely generous -- in particular, the half-chicken could feed two people, with a tremendous amount of juicy white breast meat.

Low point: On the flip side, I've had better falafel. It was just all right, nothing compared to the chicken.

Overall impression: I met you at JC Penney
I think your nametag said "Jenny"
I coldstep to you with a fresh pack of gum
Somehow i knew you were lookin' for some
Like a fruit that's ripe for a pickin'
I wouldn't do you like that Zankou Chicken
'Cos only you've got a thing
That i just got to get with
I just got to get with you
And you know what we're gonna do

I wanna get with you
And your sister
I think her name's Debra

I pick you up late at night after work
I said "lady, step inside my Hyundai"
I'm gonna take you up to Glendale
Gonna take you for a real good meal

Chance we will go back: Without a doubt.

For a complete archive of our Rate-A-Restaurant reviews, check out our companion ratearestaurant.blogspot.com website.

Maria en Español

Ever been a recipient of marketing mailers where you are not the target audience? I've learned to automatically throw this junk mail in the trash ever since I received my first Great Expectations invite letter over 10 years ago. At the time, I was embarassed. How did they know I was single and unattached?

These days, a large amount of junk mail I get is targeted toward the Latino community. They try to make me vote for their candidates ("as a Latino, we suggest you vote for X!") and buy into their phone plans ("dial home to Mexico for just 15 cents a minute!"). Many of these are written entirely in Spanish.

The rub? I'm Filipino. In other words, Sé muy poco español. Apparently they saw my Spanish-oriented last name and automatically assumed, Oh, she's Latino. Nope. Sorry guys, your hard sells are lost on me.

A couple of months ago, I even received a postcard from Glamour magazine announcing that they will start delivering Glamour en Español to me free of charge. Wha?!? I couldn't believe it. Why won't my guilty pleasure mags like Us Weekly or People send me some love? Sure enough, Glamour en Español started coming... and even followed us to the new house.

I may know un poquito español but for now, I'm enjoying leafing through the pictures. Muchas Gracias, Glamour.

Time To Break Out That Hazmat Suit

You gotta admit, we were all feeling awfully smug here in L.A. a few years ago when the East Coast was freaking out over the West Nile disease.

Not anymore. An Orange County man has officially become California's first West Nile death.

The Fullerton man was diagnosed with encephalitis (swelling of the brain) on June 17 and died a week later.

Writes the L.A. Times: Authorities also revealed that the virus has appeared in eight more California counties during the past few weeks, bringing the total to 16. They expect that the disease, which is transmitted from birds to humans by mosquitoes, will soon reach all corners of the state.

"We are in for a significant West Nile virus season. We need to take the risk very seriously," said Dr. Richard J. Jackson, California's public health officer. "I would be surprised if this is the last death in the state."

The West Nile virus has already been found in mosquitos in Griffith Park; 35 people have been infected so far in Southern California. Hmm, West Nile mosquitos and random mountain lion attacks. I sniff a trend here, folks.

Fresh Starts in Webland

Get those bookmarks ready: Plenty of revamped and new sites in recent days.

First up, Aaron Barnhart -- the Kansas City Star TV critic who calls himself "the net's first television critic," having been talkin' TV on the web for 10 years, has revised his indispensible TV Barn. I check TV Barn several times a day for its "Ticker" feature, where Aaron culls the latest television-centric headlines and sometimes finds a few obscure stories I would have never seen otherwise.

On the new site tip, I've enjoyed reading I Can't Wait to Vote in recent weeks. The mysterious Johnny Friendly (outed by Marc Brown as "the folks behind LA Examiner and Tabloid.net" -- Matt Welch, we're looking at you!) has much to say about GWB and why he can't wait to vote Dubya out of office.

Speaking of Welch, his wife, journo Emmanuelle Richard, is back online with her blog after a long hiatus. Franklin Avenue's on her blogroll, so we're more than happy to return the favor.

Also, shout outs to Tiffany Stone (who loved our The Mummy: The Ride experience with Jonathan Antin) and LACOMfidential (which picked up our "Best of LA" item) for recent mentions.

And any new leads on who might be the Defamer? Leave 'em here.

UPDATE: In the comments below, Emmanuelle hints that we -- and BlogBlogBlog -- are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to I Can't Wait To Vote.

Best Press Release Yet From This Summer's TV Press Tour

As Joe says, "This could be brilliant... or the worst show ever" :

 
SHOWTIME THROWS WEIGHT BEHIND UNSCRIPTED COMEDY SERIES "FAT ACTRESS" STARRING EMMY® WINNER KIRSTIE ALLEY
 
LOS ANGELES- July 21, 2004- Showtime has greenlighted "Fat Actress," a six-episode, half-hour hybrid comedy/reality series starring two-time Emmy® Award winner Kirstie Alley that was inspired by Alley's real life, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment for Showtime Networks Inc.

Taking her life experiences and recreating them in the extreme, Alley plays a fictional version of herself - a successful television and movie star whose weight gain has become the subject of every tabloid imaginable as well as the bane of her existence as she tries to find work and true love in an unforgiving Hollywood.

This irreverent series, which will be co-created and executive produced by Alley and Brenda Hampton ("Seventh Heaven"), will be unscripted, with each episode emanating from a story outline and the actors largely improvising the dialogue. "Fat Actress" will begin production in September in Los Angeles and will air on Showtime in 2005. Sandy Chanley ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") also executive produces through her production company, Production Partners, Inc.

"Kirstie Alley came to see us - with 24 dozen Krispy Kremes in hand - and said she was so tired of seeing unflatteringly fat pictures of herself on the cover of The Star that it was time for her to send-up her own image as well as Hollywood's obsession with weight and beauty," said Greenblatt. "Kirstie is an incredibly gifted comedian and a beautiful woman (regardless of her size), and we jumped at the chance to go behind the scenes of her life in a unique comedy series format which will blend reality and fiction. This is quintessential premium cable for us - not only will the show garner a ton of attention, it also has something to say."

"Finally, a network that feels just like home," Alley added. "They don't give a damn how much I eat or how many men I sleep with as long as it's on camera."

Radio Waves

The spring 2004 Arbitron ratings are out, and the news is good for quite a few stations -- particularly Emmis' hip-hop outlet KPWR "Power 106." KPWR continues its No. 1 streap spot this spring with 5.0% of the 12+ audience.

It's the ninth Arbitron win in a row for Power 106, which has truly turned into the market's dominant force.

Then there's Spanish outlet KLAX, the spring book's top success story, which made a huge leap into second place. KLAX's explosion comes thanks to the addition of morning drive superstar Renan Almendarez Coello ("El Cucuy"). In its first full book since El Cucuy took over mornings, KLAX lept to a 4.7 share (from a 3.0 share in the winter ratings). On the flip side, KSCA, which lost El Cucuy earlier this year, slumped to a dismal 1.9 share.

Also celebrating a big book was talker KFI, which wound up in third place (jumping from 3.9 to 4.5), while KROQ slumped to fourth place -- but it still improved on last winter's total: 4.4 share, vs. last Winter's 4.1.

Ratings for KDLD/KDLE "Indie 103.1" showed a slight improvement from winter, going from a 0.7 share to a 0.8 share. But with such a weak signal, it'll be tough for the outlet to break a 1.0 share.

Best of the Best of the Best

If it's mid-summer, it's time for the deluge of local pubs and their annual "Best of L.A." roundups. L.A. Alternative Press already produced theirs a few weeks ago, while the L.A. Weekly and LA CityBeat/ValleyBeat have more takes in the coming weeks (unless Los Angeles owner Emmis gets to them first).

Speaking of Los Angeles, the granddaddy of them all -- the city mag's own, trademarked "Best of LA" issue -- just hit newsstands.

Again, it goes with a list of 101 local faves, ranked in no particular order. Included on the survey are entries like "Best Latte," which goes to the newly renamed Sabor Cultura Cafe. Formerly known as Espresso Mi Cultura, the Hollywood joint serves as a gathering place for artists and writers, particularly with a Latin bent. The adjoining bookstore/gift shop sells alt literature and radical works, while entertainment ranges from spoken word to poetry to DJs. We like the Mexican Mocha, an original concoction of chocolate Mexicano with a shot of espresso.

Back to the LA mag: Perhaps as a slap to all the other "Best of LA" pubs around town, the issue's cover includes a graphic promising the best "Best of LA" issue ever. That's right. The "Best of LA" list makes it onto the list of the best of LA.

Santa Clarita, Clarita, Clarita's On Fi--yah!

It took Maria and I seven hours to make it home from Las Vegas on Sunday evening, after what should have been a nifty shortcut instead kept us stuck on a two-mile stretch of freeway for hours.

Driving to Vegas this weekend, we made good time by taking the 5 North to the 14, and then jumping on the 138 at Palmdale and taking it to Victorville, where we hopped on the 15. The drive is fast and helps you avoid the 10, which can sometimes be a parking lot as all of L.A. tries to head to Vegas for the weekend.

Great. But unfortunately, on the way back we got greedy. We didn't take into account the massive forest fires near Santa Clarita. Oops. As you know, the 15 itself is dicey on a Sunday afternoon, as all of Vegas heads back west to L.A. But by the time we got to Victorville, it was smooth sailing. We sped down the 138 (which isn't a freeway, but might as well be one) and climbed aboard the 14, heading South.

And then we stopped. And waited. The 14 was shut down from the 5 to about five miles in. CHP was diverting traffic to various canyon roads as we inched along, ever so slowly. Flames were visible high above in the mountains, and smoke was in the air. Finally, after two hours of inching along at 0.05 miles per hour (and giving the new Volvo's brakes a real workout), we were close to the canyon road off ramp -- but the CHP instead decided to slowly reopen the freeway. We finally made it home -- about three hours later than when Maria predicted.

We left Vegas at 4:15; Maria predicted an 8:30 arrival time, while I decided to factor in the horrible Sunday night Vegas-to-LA traffic and instead overcompensated, throwing out 10:30 pm. Of course, we were both wrong. We finally walked in the door at about 11:20.

We were in Vegas for a mini reunion of many of Maria's grade school/high school pals (from the all-girls Poveda Learning Center, in Quezon City) who now live in the States. We left $5.75 richer, and tried out the new Las Vegas Monorail (a nice idea in the 110-degree heat, but not a bargain at $3/ride... keep walking).

Weekend Notes

:: Carl Karcher, the man behind the messy burgers that are Carl's Jr., retires. (Los Angeles Times)

:: Break out the "Free Martha" shirts from Y-Que: The domestic diva gets five months in the pokey. (AP)

:: Say hello to a new made-up neighborhood: "Toluca Woods." (Daily News, by way of LA Observed)

Goo-Goo for Googie

So-called "Googie" architecture -- those space-age 50s diners that were once found all over Los Angeles -- has mostly disappeared, but as the LA Times mentions Thursday, a few examples remain.

That includes the old Johnie's Coffee Shop at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax, across the street from LACMA West. Johnie's has been closed since 1999, but the building is still used regularly for film shoots. And its old neon sign and flashing lights still light up at night, giving nostalga buffs a glimpse at how the restaurant once looked.

Writes the Times: Named after a now demolished Los Angeles coffee shop at Sunset and Crescent Heights boulevards, the Googie style is marked by upswept roofs, bright lights, large windows and shapes that evoke the Space Age.

The Googie style fell out of favor in the 1970s and 1980s, when many of the coffee shops, gas stations, motels and shopping centers that exemplified the look were either remodeled or torn down. It's unclear whether Johnie's might share the same fate.

"Johnie's, and the style it represents, tells us as much about that period in L.A. history as the bungalows of Pasadena told us about the 1900s or the missions told us about 19th century Southern California," said Alan Hess, author of two books on Googie architecture. "The building embodies all of the changes in L.A.: becoming suburban, auto-oriented, also becoming a city of the future."

The Johnie's building has been owned by the family behind the 99 Cents Only store (one of which resides next door, and uses the old diner's parking lot). According to the paper, the family appreciates the diner's design, but haven't yet figured out what to do with it.

Arresting News

There is justice in the business: Fox's Arrested Development has been nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. The show -- one of my few TiVo season passes -- faces off with "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Sex and the City" and "Will & Grace."

Check out Variety for more details. I've been up since 4:30 this morning to cover the nominations. Right about now I'm hooking my veins up to the coffee I.V. Wish me luck today as I try to stay awake through 2 a.m., when my radio show ends.

Rate-A-Restaurant, #45 in a series

Restaurant: Azuma

Location: 16123 S. Western Ave. (Gardena)

Type of restaurant: Japanese

They stipulated: As a popular hole-in-the-wall joint in the heart of Gardena's large community of Japanese stores and restaurants, expect a long wait on a weekend.

What we ordered: Chicken Teriyaki and tempura (Mike); Black cod plate (Maria)

High point: We headed down to Gardena (Take the 110 south, Redondo Beach exit. You know the exit -- it's the one you take to go to the Hustler Casino. Not that you know about that.) for Anthony's birthday. He and Candice (the couple who got married last February in Manila) frequented Azuma back when they were dating and Anthony was living in Gardena. It's a pretty authentic place -- most of the patrons appear to be from Japan, which tells you the food's gotta be all right. The plates are huge, so you won't leave hungry.

Low point: The waiter warned us not to order tempura -- with the restaurant packed, he said it would take awhile. I ordered it anyway. Mistake. While every one else had their grinds, I had to wait. And wait. Apparently they have just one deep fryer.

Overall impression: Not bad. But not worth the drive all the way to Gardena, unless you're meeting people. Perfect midway point if you're dining with Long Beachians. Otherwise, might I suggest Mishima on 3rd and La Cienega.

Chance we will go back: Again, only if we're meeting up with The Uys of Long Beach (or we somehow, mysteriously, end up gambling at the Hustler Casino). Otherwise, we'll be kickin' it Japanese style a little closer to home.

For a complete archive of our Rate-A-Restaurant reviews, check out our companion ratearestaurant.blogspot.com website.

Cat Calls

Maria and I were jolted awake the other night by the sound of cats screaming bloody murder. The screams continued for a good ten minutes, leading up to one big roar. Like a mountain lion tearing into another animal.

And then, silence.

We were convinced we'd wake up in the morning and find a couple of dead cats in our backyard. Had a coyote come down and sunk his jaw into the neighborhood stray cats?

Ahh, how naive we are. This is when you realize that neither of us grew up around animals.

I told someone about the screaming cats the next day. Mike, they said, you realize they were mating, right?

Um, now I do. Call us naive.

Just An Illusion

Jeff had the hookup, and got us all into the Magic Castle on Friday night.

Yup, that big, mysterious Victorian house on the hill next to Yamashiro's. I'd been curious for years -- was it some sort of secret society of magicians? What's behind the "members only" policy? If Doug Henning had ditched the frontless shirts, would his career have survived?

I'm not even a magic enthusiast. Don't mind it, but haven't really paid much attention to it. Other than watching the occassional David Copperfield special growing up (still don't know how he made the Statue of Liberty disappear. Oh yeah, "illusion!") and being creeped out by David Blaine, it's a mystery to me.

Jeff, on the other hand, was an amateur magician himself. He and Jess have hit the Magic Castle quite a few times. They graciously invited us along last Friday (you must either be a member or an invited guest to enter), so Maria and I checked it out.

After the $15 entrance fee, you have a choice between shows in one of several theaters. The main shows take place in the "Palace of Mystery," but there are also shows at "The Parlour of Prestidigitation" and "The Close-Up Theater" (a small, 20-seat theater that allows the audience to witness card tricks and slights of hand up-close).

We arrived late and missed several early shows, but we had an 8 p.m. dinner reservation -- so we hit the Dining Rooms first. Maria and I both tried the veggie lasagna ($17), which was nothing special, but the portions were large -- neither of us could finish.

Following dinner, the group headed to the Palace of Mystery for the main show. MCed by a magician/comedian from Oklahoma (whose name escapes me). He called on several audience members -- including former KNBC and KCOP anchor Rick Chambers (now a reporter at KCBS/KCAL), who I suppose decided to hit the Magic Castle rather than catch an opening weekend showing of "Anchorman." (Hits too close to home.)

Three magicians followed -- one who was surprisingly good, despite relying on tried-and-true "whoa! There's a dove up my sleeve!" and "watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat" style tricks. Another branded himself the dancing magician, and boogied to Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra while pulling scarves out of his pockets (and mouth).

Shows last all evening, but you have to plan your schedule. After the Palace of Mystery show, we headed downstairs to the Close-Up Theater and waited for the 11:30 p.m. show (with the theaters so small, you frequently find yourself waiting for a seat). Show was best of the night; I was called up at one point as, yes, comic relief. The illusionist stuck two cards in my hand -- a jack of spades and nine of clubs, or something to that effect. Before I knew it, I was holding an ace of hearts and an ace of diamonds. How/when did he switch the cards? He's good.

The Magic Castle gets off on the spooky reputation of magic; the downstairs bar is straight out of the Addams Family mansion, and to enter the building, a bookcase of fake tombs only opens after you recite the words "open sesame" into a wooden owl. There's also Irma, the "invisible pianist," who entertains another lounge. Large posters of magicians like Blackstone (and young shots of Siegfried and Roy) grace the walls.

The private Academy of Magical Arts took over the Victorian mansion -- built in 1908 -- about 30 years ago, according to the Magic Castle's official website.

Blow Out: The Ride

Yup, that's Morrissey lookalike (OK, a younger, smirkier Morrissey) Jonathan Antin, he of the Bravo series "Blow Out" (and his Jonathan Salon, soon to go worldwide), sitting right behind me on Universal Studios' "The Mummy: The Ride."

Beyond marveling Antin's tan, you gotta wonder, how does he manage to still pull off the Zoolander/"Blue Steel" facial expression -- while riding a fast-moving rollercoaster?! Impressive.

Meanwhile, that's fellow Varietyites Denise and Geoff next to me; Denise, in particular, screaming for her life (and digging her claws into poor Geoff). Lucky for her -- and disappointing to the rest of us -- The Mummy ride is over almost as soon as it begins. The heavily hyped ride starts off with few Space Mountain-style twists and turns inside dark environs, then suddenly comes to a quick halt and jolts backwards. Pretty cool, original feature -- but you're racing back for only a few seconds before POOF! A large burst of dry ice (which quickly dried out Denise's contacts) and the ride is over.

"The Mummy: The Ride" is a tad more thrilling than the one it replaced, "ET: The Ride." (Yup, betcha didn't realize, they axed ET!) But is it worth standing in line for two hours? Not quite.

The ride was also tempermental at Universal. Not only did it break down a few times, but a handful of TV reporters were stuck inside for a few minutes. Oops. Not the best time for a malfunction.

Weekend in L.A.

:: Eric Garcetti's proposal to exempt owners of hybrid vehicles (like the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid) elicits mostly a yawn from Angelenos, according to the L.A. Times.

At least in the Larchmont neighborhood, where the paper accosted motorists looking for spots: Many spoke admirably about the proposal's environmental benefits. But when asked whether the perks would wean them from gas guzzlers, most said the few extra coins were unlikely to sway them.

:: Speaking of car woes, I sent my Honda CRV to the shop Thursday for body repairs (thanks to last week's accident in Los Feliz, our very own automotive Bermuda Triangle). Rented a car through Enterprise, which gave me a Jeep Liberty. Not a fan. Too bumpy and boxy. And in a strange design feature, the window controls are down by the cup holders, not the actual door.

Just a day later, I heard this news via NPR: Some 2003 model CRVs have been known to catch fire after a routine oil change.

Hmm. I may be giving the body shop a call soon. "Guys, while you're at it, can you fix the feature that causes my car to explode?"

:: 40th Birthday. Pomegranate Juice. Mysterious "abortion." Ambulance. Hospital Stretcher. Police. Handcuffs. Ahh, just another day in the life of Courtney Love.

:: Decided not to try out to appear in the third installment of "The Apprentice." (Third installment? Yup, the second one's already shot and in the can. Keep up, people!) But apparently plenty of Angelenos tried their luck, according to the Daily News.

Donald Trump and the "Apprentice" crew, including uberproducer Mark Burnett, will actually be at the Century Plaza Hotel this afternoon for a session during the semi-annual TV Critics Assn. press tour.

Oh, that thing again? Yup, it's day three of the press tour, and I'm coming atcha live from the Century Plaza's press room, where I doubt these computers were meant for blogging. But what the hell -- it's Saturday.

In case you forgot, press tour comes twice a year, in January and July. TV crix from around the country traipse down to L.A. and set up shop for two weeks, as one by one the broadcast and cable networks pimp their new wares. And atone for their sins. (NBC's Jeff Zucker is still offering up mea culpas for "Coupling.")

PBS (you remember them? Yup, they still exist. You just haven't watched it recently.) showed off their stuff on Thursday and Friday, and now we're in the midst of day one of the NBC portion.

Click on over to Variety for all the insanity. Like a description of the orange and blue tie Jeff Zucker is wearing. OK, not really.

Above the Windy City

When it's not insanely humid (which pretty much rules out late July/early August), you can't beat Chicago in the summertime. My dad whipped out his digital camera and took this shot before landing at O'Hare for a layover last week...

Rate-A-Restaurant, #44 in a series

Restaurant: Alcove Cafe & Bakery

Location: 1929 Hillhurst Ave. (Los Feliz)

Type of restaurant: Cafe/Bakery/shop

They stipulated: No waiters -- you order at the counter, and food is brought out to you.

What we ordered: It was breakfast time, so we got coffee and a breakfast quesadilla (grilled chicken breast, scrambled eggs, spinach, aged Vermont cheddar and monterey jack, all in a grilled flour tortilla with salsa, sour cream and seasonal fresh fruit) -- $8.95

High point: Napa comes to Hillhurst. Alcove reminded us of those cute little cafes in Napa Valley and Sonoma, where the food is good and the crowd is mellow. The quesadilla was solid breakfast fare, but the menu is much larger and more adventurous than our choice would lead you to believe. Meanwhile, the inside decor is cozy, while the outside-- where the bulk of the patrons eat -- is well landscaped. We caught plenty of people slowly sipping their coffee and enjoying the newspaper.

Low point: Apparently there was a pent-up demand for this kind of place in the Los Feliz/Franklin Hills area. It was Saturday at about 11 am, and the line snaked out the door.

Overall impression: Nice neighborhood joint. Too bad we just moved -- Alcove would have been a quick walk. It's a very casual way to spend your breakfast. And the adjoining shop boasts a wide variety of cheeses, and plenty of take home fare, every thing from potato salad to "adult macaroni and cheese."

Chance we will go back: Very possible. A definite possibility to meet others for breakfast; we may wait until the frenzy dies down, however.

For a complete archive of our Rate-A-Restaurant reviews, check out our companion ratearestaurant.blogspot.com website.

Final Exam

It's been a year now since Matt Welch and Ken Layne turned off the late, lamented L.A. Examiner. Yet the site still attracts an average of 74 hits a day -- dramatically down, of course, from the thousands it attracted as an active blog. But not bad for a website that's been dormant for a year.

LA Examiner was one of the first blogs I stumbled across, and inspired me to grab Maria and start a site of our own. The scrappy blog tweaked the L.A. Times, served as a sounding board for local journalists and simply had a lot of fun. But site lost some steam by spring 2003, when it ceded much of its local media coverage to Kevin Roderick's LA Observed.

And then it just sort of stopped publishing all together one day last July, with nary an explanation.

Only recently was the empty page replaced with a boilerplate, jokingly blaming the demise on Layne, who "left Los Angeles for parts unknown." (Apparently some wild land known as "Americana").

The LAExaminer.com site now directs readers to the original site, launched in 2001; last June's brief revamp; and the prototype for the never-launched Los Angeles Examiner newspaper, which Layne and Welch developed (back when Dick Riordan was briefly flirting with the idea of becoming a newspaper tycoon).

What a difference a year makes. LA is now crawling with cityblogs, including newbies Defamer and LAist, in addition to all the others listed to the right in our new "los angeles blogs" list o' links. A tip o' the hat to LAExaminer.com for being one of the pioneers.

The Chase Is On

July sweeps doesn't start until Thursday (July 8), but the local news outlets got a jump on things Tuesday night. Yup, wall-to-wall coverage of a mostly ho-hum car chase took up most of the 10 p.m. newscasts.

L.A.'s local broadcast outlets had been moving away from covering car chases in recent years. Not only are these chases lacking in any news value, but they're a collossal waste of money and resources. Chase coverage will frequently pre-empt commercial breaks, causing loss in revenue (although stations are getting more savvy, even cutting away from chase coverage to air ads), while they also bump legitimate news packages off the screen.

But the chases are slowly seeping back to air. The trend was reverting back even prior to the recent LAPD beating incident, caught on tape by two local stations. But that event may have convinced news directors to again cover car chases as a breaking news story, in case it turns into another mess of an LAPD pursuit.

In this case, KCAL/9 and KTTV/Fox 11 covered the bulk of the chase last night, even when the suspect got too close to LAX, forcing the TV stations' helicopters to retreat and broadcast simple shots of the L.A. skyline. KTLA/5 was more reserved, going live for snippets of the chase but also weaving in regular news stories.

Oddly, Fox 11 reporter Tony Valdez spent a great deal of time discussing what would happen if the suspect sped down to the Mexico border. Yet, as anchor John Beard pointed out, the guy wouldn't have enough gas to make it that far, so it's a moot point. Not to mention that there was no indication whatsoever that he would try to crash Mexico.




Over at KTLA, the station cut back to the chase as it hit its conclusion. The suspect jumped out of his car in a residential Redondo Beach neighborhood, running down the street with a gun to his head. I started to wonder whether the guy was about to pull the trigger, and why KTLA wasn't pulling its helicopter camera back, just in case a gory scene was about to unfold.

Luckily, the chase ended pretty uneventfully, as the suspect hopped to the ground. Not a moment later, KTLA anchor Hal Fishman tried to steer the newscast back to... well, news. "OK, we're done here," he said, trying to rush the station's helicopter reporter off the screen.




Of course, the 11 p.m. news outlets were probably kicking themselves that the pursuit ended right before the start of their newscasts. That didn't prevent them from still going live in Redondo Beach. But as this KABC reporter learned, it's never easy to go live when a whole crowd has gathered. Flashing hand signals, waving and making faces at the camera, the bystanders added an even more circus atmosphere to the chase.

A Method to His Man-Ness

"Method & Red" star and antiperspirant spokesman Method Man got into a tussle last week with one of the show's writers, not too long after he complained to the L.A. Times about how he felt the show had been compromised.

Tempermental? Method Man? I could have told you that. Flashback to 1994, when I was running WNUR-FM at Northwestern. One night Method Man came down to our studios during the "Streetbeat" dance/hip-hop show. He started thumbing through our new vinyl (as you know, club DJs and indie rockheads stuck with vinyl long after everyone else went to CD) and found our copy of his first post-Wu Tang Clan solo CD.

Our Streetbeat music director was not a fan. I forget what he had scrawled on the Method Man record, but it was something to the effect of, "This is shit. Don't play."

To say that set Method Man off is an understatement. I missed it, but an angry Meth started roaming up and down the halls, pounding on doors, looking for the guy responsible for the harsh review. Had he been there, I'm not sure what Method Man would have done. But it wouldn't have been pretty.

By The Time I Get To San Francisco

The Los Angeles Times' Behind the Wheel column conducts another one of its transportation challenges, pitting two staffers in a race to get to San Francisco's St. Francis hotel.

One reporter drives her Honda Accord up the 5 to SF, while the other braves LAX traffic to fly up to the Oakland Airport (where she then takes the BART into San Francisco).

The winner? The plane, of course. But not by much. Despite the short flight, the flyer managed to get to the St. Francis only an 50 minutes before the driver made it to the hotel's parking garage.

Weekend Odds -n- Ends

:: L.A. Weekly (spotted via newbie LAist) lists its favorite hot dog, hamburger and BBQ joints. They got it right with the BBQ, including one of L.A.'s best Korean barbecue joints, Soot Bull Jeep: "Soot Bull Jeep may be the best of L.A.’s 100-odd Korean barbecues, noisy, smoky, with all the bustle you’d expect in the heart of a great city, a place to cook your own marinated short ribs and baby octopus, pork loin and tripe, above a tabletop heap of glowing hardwood coals." (3136 W. Eighth St.)

:: Mack at LAVoice.org has been busy lately. Check out his snazzy redesign -- including a BlogAd pointing right back here! -- and several recent strong posts, including one gently reminding potential mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa that he better, um, buy up a few web domain names before someone else does...

:: Check out the excellent blog from the folks at World of Wonder, the production company behind Bravo's so-bad-it's-good series "Showbiz Moms and Dads." Highlights include a not-so-pleasant experience for one of the WOW staffers standing behind Melissa Rivers at Hollywood and Highland's Great Steak & Potato Co.

:: Maria and I are mulling our kitchen cabinet options this weekend. Yup, we're on a budget, so IKEA is definitely a contender. But there's gotta be someone else out there who's relatively inexpensive and could install decent cabinets, yes? Any suggestions, leave 'em here.

Accident Alley

It happened again.

No, I'm not kidding. Driving to work this morning, down Los Feliz Blvd., my Honda CR-V was hit.

Luckily, it wasn't a huge hit, like the the huge accident two months ago that destroyed Maria's VW Jetta. Or the big accident last year that destroyed my Honda Civic. Or the major crash two years ago... OK, you get the drift.

My car will be OK, once the bumper and rear door are repaired. But the message is clear: Los Feliz does not like our cars. Apparently moving to Glendale wasn't enough. We must steer clear of the entire area!

Truth Be Told: Britney Spears Working Through Her Madonna/Vanilla Ice Phase!

It all suddenly makes sense. Just as her idol Madonna went a little crazy around 1990 and 1991 -- specifically when she hooked up with Rob "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle -- Britney is now working through her slutty-hooking-up-with-everyone-under-the-sun-including-a-cheesy-white-boy-wannabe-gangsta phase.

The proof courtesy Defamer, which found this high school yearbook shot of Britney boytoy Kevin Federline. (And to the right, for reference, Mr. Ice at the height of his One Hit Wonderdom.)

I think it's safe to assume a metal-cover, softcore porn book from Brit-Brit is forthcoming.

Eye in the Sky

The LAPD's latest scandal was uncovered thanks to L.A.'s TV choppers, which were (suprise) following a car chase and wound up reporting on a lot more than the usual slow-moving freeway pursuit. The Daily News checks in on L.A.'s TV station helicopter reporters.

Apparently, at least among the helicopter reporters, it's more about cooperation than competition:

Viewers may have noticed on major breaking stories that rival stations will share aerial feeds when one helicopter needs to set down for fuel or a mechanical problem. It's an informal arrangement that benefits everyone at one time or another.

Jennifer York, KTLA's popular morning traffic reporter who has been flying over L.A. for 16 years, says the cooperation in the air is "flawless."

"It's like a club," she says. "We never see each other because we're always flying, but everybody trusts everybody.

Extra Greasy Spoons

L.A. Times has the list of May restaurant closures, which thankfully is a little shorter than usual. Apparently vermin was infestating in places other than Los Angeles' eateries last month.

Still, there were the usual round of mom and pop joints, mixed in with a few bigger names: Apparently those specks weren't chocolate chips! at the Mrs. Field's location on Colorado Blvd.; the cookie shop was shut down for a whopping four citations: "Gross contamination of utensils and/or equipment," "Vermin infestation," "Failure to prevent entrance and harboring of vermin" and "No potable water supply or no hot water" (because, after all, how are you going to boil up them rats?)

Also shut down for a time in May: The L&L Hawaiian BBQ in Carson and the Poquito Mas location in North Hollywood. Happy eats!