watt’s picture of the week – sunday, june 18, 2023

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Mike Watt

the gang’s all here!

photo by mike watt

– – – – –
mike watt’s hoot page

Posted in Photo Essays | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Three LA Bars Offering Aberfeldy Whisky Tastings This Week (Just $25 for Two Guests!)

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Karin E. Baker

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!

Posted in Cocktails, Beer, Wine & Weed | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Taste of the Nation LA No Kid Hungry Brought Food, Fun and Frolic to Culver City

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Elise Thompson

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 Block Meat 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.

Continue reading →

Posted in Cocktails, Beer, Wine & Weed, Food | Leave a comment

Book Review: “Changed” by Tom Cantor

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Else Evil E Duff

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.

Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photo Gallery: LA Pride Parade

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Guest Post

Pride LA 2023. Photo by Sklar K. Toy.

Sklar K. Toy on the left with friends at LA Pride Parade

Posted in Attractions, Events, Fashion, Photo Essays | Leave a comment

watt’s picture of the week – monday, june 12, 2023

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Mike Watt

these are two of the cranes on the reefer “baltic performer” here in my pedro town… they bring fruit!

photo by mike watt

– – – – –
mike watt’s hoot page

Posted in Photo Essays | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LA Through a Cracked Lens: Station to Station

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Brian Donnelly

Posted in Art, Photo Essays | Leave a comment

Movies Till Dawn: Here and There, Then and Now

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Paul Gaita

* 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.

Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening this week: High Heels on Wheels – The Musical!

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Judy Ornelas Sisneros

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!”

High Heels on Wheels – The Musical website

Get tickets here:

High Heels on Wheels – The Musical at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival

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.

Posted in Events, Miscellanious, Music | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Taste the Nation: No Kid Hungry Food Fest is Happening this Sunday!

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Elise Thompson

Slapfish’s Clobster Rolls at Taste of the Nation. (Photo by Elise Thompson)

June 11, 2023, from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Taste of the Nation No Kid Hungry brings its 32nd premium food event to Media Park in Culver City. The strolling event features unlimited tastes, sips and desserts from dozens of the best chefs and mixologists in Los Angeles.

Some of our favorite participating restaurants include Angelini Osteria, the definitive LA Italian trattoria from Chef Gino Angelini, B Sweet, with Filipino desserts from Chef Barb Batiste (here’s hoping for an ube dessert!), Chef Wes Avila’s Guerrilla Tacos,  Jitlada, with Chef Jazz Singsanong, the most charming chef serving the hottest Thai food in LA, the award-winning Kali, Maple Block Meat Co., Chef Michael Reed and Kwini Reed’s DTLA brunch spot, Poppy + Rose, plus Chefs and Hot Tamales Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken with their newest restaurant, SOCALO. It’s practically a Top Chef women’s reunion with Chef Shirley Chung’s Ms. Chi Cafe, Chef Stephanie Izard’s super buzzy Girl and the Goat, and even season 14 Top Chef winner Brooke Williamson’s Playa Provisions.

One-hundred-percent of proceeds support the No Kid Hungry campaign’s work to end childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children have access to the nutritious meals they need, every day. Tickets for Los Angeles’ Taste of the Nation are $115 for adult General Admission; $35 for kids ages 4 to 16; and kids 3 and under are free. Rain or shine.

Get your tickets now!

Posted in Food, Upcoming Events | Leave a comment