Hollywood Under The Stars returns to the Paramount lot to benefit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Saturday, June 24th. St. Vincent Meals on Wheels is the largest privately funded senior nutrition program in the country, delivering over 100,000 meals to at risk seniors in their homes. With a staff that includes a registered dietician and a chef, meals are tailored to each client’s specific dietary needs. For some seniors, St. Vincent Meals on Wheels also offers them a valuable social connection.
Aberfeldy 12. Photo by Karin E. Baker for The LA Beat.
In honor of Father’s Day, you can experience an Aberfeldy whisky tasting for just $25 per couple at three of LA’s best bars every night this week, through Sunday, June 18.
Forman’s Whiskey Tavern (Toluca Lake), Playa Provisions (Playa Del Rey) and Birdie G’s (Santa Monica) are all offering this special “Golden Hour” tasting. You and your dad, or perhaps another father figure in your life, can savor a tasting of whiskeys, including the newly released Aberfeldy 15 Year Old Limited Edition finished in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks. You’ll also enjoy a cocktail made with Aberfeldy.
After experiencing Aberfeldy’s Golden Hour tasting at Studio City’s Mister O’s last year, I can’t recommend this high-quality (yet well-priced) tasting enough. $25 is a serious bargain to partake in whiskeys of this caliber, particularly since the price of your guest is included. You can make reservations for any of the three Los Angeles bars offering the Aberfeldy “Golden Hour” via TOCK. Cheers!
Poppy and Rose’s chicken and waffles at TOTNLAX. Photo by Elise Thompson.
The weather was cloudy and cool last weekend as Taste of the Nation No Kid Hungry hosted its fundraiser to help end childhood hunger. But even the overcast skies didn’t dampen the mood as chefs and mixologists chatted and laughed with guests and children ran around trying the various activities set up for them. There was a cute road map where kids could complete tasks such as “Try a vegetarian dish” or “take a selfie with the No Kid Hungry sign.” Once they completed the assignments, they could turn the map in for a prize.
There was a nice combination of street eats and upscale dining. When you are trying to cover a big food event, your appetite is at a premium. It is best to avoid things that will fill you up, like hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. But last Sunday, TOTNLA had such a stellar lineup, I had to break my own rule. The guys grilling smash burgers over at Maple BlockMeat Co. were friendly and served up delicious, greasy burgers, A local favorite, Dog Haus, had created Mac n Cheese dogs. I asked Chef Adam Gertler how they kept the macaroni from gumming up the grinder. They said you mix the macaroni in after the meat has gone through the grinder, which maybe should have been obvious. The dogs were fun and I ate my entire serving. There were two kinds of pizza on offer, and I really liked the cacio y pepe.
If you got an unsolicited copy of the book “Changed” by Tom Cantor in the mail, you are not alone. Many months ago this 85-page, 31-chapter, exclamation mark intensive, large print autobiography of “One Man’s Journey from Lost to Defiled to Found and Cleansed” landed in my mailbox. Since a neighbor had already generously left their copy in the mailroom for anyone to take, I decided to bring the copy I received inside where it landed on a stack of Westways Magazines. I know that it seems like super-secret government documents are the current trend in bathroom reading, but I’m a traditionalist. And like many other Hollywood perverts, the word ‘defiled’ caught my attention.
Basically it’s the story of a rich Jewish kid of divorced parents in Beverly Hills who starts rebelling against whatever you got by age seven. He gets in trouble, sent to different schools, ends up in boarding school in Switzerland, and then wandered Europe. Or something like that. I’ll go light on the details in case you have a copy sitting by your toilet and are intrigued.
* indicates that the film is also available for digital sale or rental on various platforms.
“The Worst Ones” (2022, Kino Lorber*) A filmmaker (Johan Heldenberg) and his crew seek an authentic tone to their socially conscious drama by casting a group of teens from an impoverished suburb in northern France who are deemed “the worst ones”: kids marginalized by money, circumstance, and unguided emotion. Former casting directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret won the Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes 2022 for this mostly satisfying look at good intentions and the road it paves in the filmmaking world, where the personal struggles of real people are often tapped to add real pathos to manufactured premises, including that of this film itself, which uses real non-professionals (all exceptional presences) for its four young leads. Kino’s subtitled DVD includes a short, “Chasse Royal,” by the filmmakers.
Leslie Sloan presents High Heels on Wheels – the Musical where “‘Hairspray’ meets ‘A League of their Own’ – when roller derby was one of the few places women could compete as professional athletes. A lesbian love story, roller derby action, kickass songs, & an illegal birth control smuggling ring!”
June 15 – 24: High Heels on Wheels – The Musical, The Hudson Theater, 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90038; restricted to ages 13+, matinee and evening options.
