Nancy Silverton’s Spacca Burger. Photo from Chi Spacca’s website.
You Can Now Pick up Nancy Silverton’s Famous Burger at Chi Spacca!
Nancy Silverton’s hamburgers have been a thing of L.A. foodie lore for years. Made exclusively at her home for friends, you could only approximate it by buying her dry-aged ground beef blend at Huntington Meats at the Los Angeles Farmers Market. You can now order this juicy marvel at Chi Spacca in Hancock Park on Saturdays from 11:30 to 2 p.m. The patty is “a blend of chuck, brisket, dry-aged beef trim, dry-aged beef fat, and fat from around the kidneys for optimal flavor and texture.” The Spacca Burger is topped with cheddar cheese, pickles, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and a Calabrian-chili-and-mint aioli. The Oklahome-inspired Sooner Smash is made up of two dry-aged smash patties, seared on the flat top with a mound of thinly sliced onion & topped with American cheese, mustard & pickle. $16 with a side of fries. Preorder by phone at 323-297-1130 or just show up and ask nicely. – Elise Thompson
Street Takeover in OC Turns Deadly
Lately, Angelenos have been noticing burned rubber at local intersections, especially the unmistakable tight spinning treads of people doing “donuts.” Sadly, these driving stunts can turn deadly. A “street takeover” in Orange County killed one person and injured two others involve According to Costa Mesa police Sgt. Zack Hoferitza, vehicles had converged on Sunflower and Hyland avenues at 2:30 a.m., when one of pickup trucks doing donuts flipped pickup truck flipped over killing a 23 year-old male passenger, and sending another passenger to the hospital. An hour earlier, at a nearby takeover at Anaheim Plaza involving approximately 200 vehicles, a car drifting backwards struck an 18 year-old woman, sending her flying. She was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries. SOURCE – Elise Thompson
Pasadena City Council Weighing Memorial to Eddie Van Halen
A memorial for Eddie Van Halen is currently under discussion by the Pasadena City Council. According to city public information officer Lisa Derderian, council members will consider on Monday, October 26 a permanent tribute for the late guitarist, who attended both Pasadena High School and Pasadena City College. Should plans go forward, city commissions may be considered for construction of the memorial. “We’ve had numerous requests from the public, both locally and internationally,” said Derderian. “We’re proud that he was hometown raised. ” Informal tributes to Van Halen, who died on October 6, 2020, have popped up on Allen Avenue, where the brothers wrote their name in wet cement, and near his childhood home on Las Lunas Street. – Paul Gaita
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to Release Bodycam Footage of the Shooting of Fred Williams III
According to Los Angeleno, who cite KCal9 and The L.A. Times, the L.A. Sheriff’s Department has promised to release bodycam footage of the shooting of Fred Williams III. Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said they don’t want the release to hinder their investigation, so there is no specified date for it. On October 16, 2000, at around 5:30 PM, Williams was shot in the back and killed as he attempted to scale a wall to evade deputies. The deputies had approached a group of 10-15 people gathered in the parking lot of Mona Park in Willowbrook when Williams, who deputies say had a gun, broke away and ran into a nearby backyard. The deputy giving chase stated that Williams pointed his firearm at the deputy, causing him to shoot. A semi-automatic handgun was reportedly found at the scene. There is no gun clearly visible in surveillance footage of the chase. “Cliff Smith of the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police expressed skepticism, saying, ‘It’s difficult to accept the sheriff’s official statement that Fred had turned around and pointed a gun at this deputy as he’s running away with nothing in his hands, climbing an 8-foot block wall and is shot at the top of the wall, such that his body falls and lands into the next yard.” Elise Thompson
And: tomorrow is the third and final Record Store Day for 2020, though apparently, there is also a Black Friday on November 27 in the works. You can find a list of participating retailers – some of which offer curbside pickup and even delivery – and RSD specials here; it goes without saying that support for local record stores, and indeed, all local businesses, remains crucial. – Paul Gaita
