Dine LA Restaurant Week is Back!

DineLA Restaurant Week is back! This two-week event showcases Los Angeles dining with well-priced lunch and dinner menus served daily at hundreds of LA restaurants.

Try some new restaurants or return to old favorites, with meals priced from as little as $15 to $65 plus. The current edition of dineLA starts on  Friday, July 12 and continues through Friday, July 26. See below for a few of our dineLA recommendations.

A 2023 Michelin Guide recommendation, DTLA’s outpost of renowned chef Stephanie Izard’s famous Chicago restaurant Girl & the Goat is offering three-course dinners for $65 per person. Options include king salmon poke, tadka crunch chicken, and brownie sundae topped with caramel cream and maca straciatella. See Girl & the Goat’s entire Dine LA menu and make a reservation here.

One of LA’s most esteemed seafood restaurants, Connie & Ted’s is headed by Michelin-starred and James Beard award-winning chef-owner, Michael Cimarusti. For Dine LA, the West Hollywood seafood stalwart offers 3-course lunches for $35 and 3-course dinners for $55. Lunch options include chowder (New England, Manhattan, or Rhode Island style), ½ dozen oysters, the Hook Burger, deep-fried cod sandwich, and more. Dinner highlights include Connie & Ted’s famed lobster roll, Alaskan cod & chips, crudo of the day, Portuguese fish stew, and other options. You can find more info here.

A Thai fixture in LA for 48 years, woman-owned eatery Chao Krung is renowned for serving excellent dishes made with recipes that their grandmother cooked for the King of Thailand. For Dine LA, Chao Krung is serving a four-course dinner that includes Larb Salmon with Salmon Roe, Pad Thai with Grilled Prawns, Massaman Short Ribs, and deep-fried coconut and banana rolls for dessert. You can find more info here.  

Savor a multi-course meal on Rodeo Drive for as little as $25 during Dine LA! The Hideaway, a Mexican steakhouse at the Rodeo Collection, offers a three-course lunch, plus amuse bouche, for just $25. Lunch options include Short Rib Enchiladas, Wagyu Flautas, Fajitas, Roasted Corn Empanadas, and much more. Dinner is $55 and features an amuse bouche, along with choices including an 8 oz. Margaret River Wagyu Picanha, Chilean Sea Bass Tacos, Hamachi Sashimi, Shrimp Empanadas, and more. You can find more info here.

An unorthodox Italian restaurant that was awarded the prestigious 2-fork award by Italy’s Gambero Rosso, Da Barbara is the first LA eatery from Chef Barbara Pollastrini, who hails from Rome. It’s tucked away inside a two-story Hollywood apartment Chef Barbara converted into a restaurant. There, she alone concocts her culinary creations in a small kitchen in front of her guests. For her Dine LA debut, Chef Barbara is offering a three-course lunch for $35 (a seasonal starter based on her farmers market finds, followed by Tagliolini al Pomodo & Basil or Tagliolini with Zucchini, Basil, and House-Cured Giancale, then Coffee Semifreddo). Dinner is Tuna Tartare or Fried King Oyster Mushroom, your choice of two decadent pasta dishes, and Fresh Strawberry Semifreddo for $45. Find more info here

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Concern Foundation’s Culinary Extravaganza Returns to Paramount’s Back Lot!

Image courtesy of Concern Foundation.

One of the summer’s best food events is coming to the historic backlot at Hollywood’s Paramount Studios on Saturday, July 13. The Concern Foundation’s 49th Annual Block Party is a five-hour culinary journey that will raise much-needed funds for cancer research.

This extravaganza of deliciousness will feature gourmet tastings, high-quality beverages, and scrumptious desserts. With the theme “Mission Concern – Conquering Cancer the Final Frontier, the Stanley and Joyce Black Family Foundation will be honored for their outstanding community contributions and celebrate “3 Generations – A Legacy of Community Leadership.”

The extensive list of participating restaurants include 1212 Santa Monica, A.O.C. Wine Bar, Arth Bar + Kitchen, Brique French Toastery, Café Dulce, California Sushi Academy, Casablanca Restaurant, Champion’s Curry, Chubby Foods by Chubby Group, Churn, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, Emporium Thai, Factor’s Famous Deli, Farm Fresh To You, Fogo de Chão, Fresh Brothers, Gyu-Kaku, Hayama, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill & Jazz, La Boheme, Leona’s Sushi House & The Village, Mama M Sushi, Maria’s Italian Kitchen, Miracle Noodle, Nobu Malibu, Ocean Prime Beverly Hills, Pink Taco, Pink’s Famous Hot Dogs, Porta Via, Portillo’s, Ratatouille Catering, Room Service Neighborhood, Settecento DTLA, SITK – Someone’s In The Kitchen, STK Los Angeles, The Grill on the Alley, Tokyo Kitchen, and Uchi West Hollywood.

Savor pirits and specialty cocktails from esteemed brands like BUZZBAR®, maker of alcohol-infused ice cream and sorbet bars for adults, along with City Vodka, Good Money Whisky, Dulce Vida Tequila, Empress Gin, Flor de Caña RumKnox & Dobson, Last Shot, Lodestar Whiskey, Melograno, Mezcal 33, Mezcal Rosaluna, Milagro Tequila, Mission Cocktails, Nuda Tequila, and Veranda Cocktails.

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Movies Till Dawn: Complicated Individuals

* indicates that this title is also available to rent, stream, or purchase on various platforms. Please note that streaming options may differ from these home video presentations in terms of visuals, supplemental features, etc.

Narc” * (2002, Arrow Video) After gruesomely bungling a drug arrest, hyper-intensive Detroit narcotics officer Jason Patric is given a shot at professional redemption by investigating the murder of a fellow undercover cop with the help of Ray Liotta, an old-school detective whose preferred method of crime prevention (brutality) complicates matters. Cop drama from Joe Carnahan travels along well-worn territory from a script perspective but benefits greatly from Carnahan’s skill with violent and intense setpieces and downbeat atmosphere; he’s helped immeasurably by his two leads, who navigate the razor’s edge on which their characters live without resorting to caricature. Arrow’s Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray presentation lends considerable polish to DP Alex Nepomiaschy’s already crisp, funereal imagery, and adds new interviews with him, Carnahan, costume designer Gersha Phillips and co-star Krista Bridges; also included are archival interviews and EPK footage, many extended from previous release versions, with Carnahan, Patric, Liotta, and a lengthy appreciation of “Narc” by William Friedkin, as well as vintage making-of featurettes.

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Where to Celebrate 4th of July 2024 in Los Angeles

Photo by mike watt

Are you ready to rock Independence Day? Some events took place last weekend, but we are still spoiled for choice in LA. Please don’t light illegal fireworks, instead check out everywhere else you can party this week!

ATTRACTIONS

Aquarium of the Pacific

The Aquarium will be hosting their annual BBQ. Unfortunately, it won’t be taking place at night this year, so you can’t watch the fireworks. But you can see them from nearly every single corner of Long Beach, so don’t fret. Reservations for the buffet meal will be available from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., including BBQ Chicken, Pulled Pork and Jackfruit Sliders, Avocado, Bean, and Corn Salad, Potato Salad, Mac N Cheese, Baked Beans, Watermelon Wedges, Assorted Cookies and Cherry and Peach Cobblers Water and Lemonade are included. A cash bar will be available.

BBQ Tickets include all-day Aquarium admission. 11:00 am–2:00 pm PT $79 per adult, $55 per child (3-11), Members: Adult $54, $30 per child (3-11). Reservations required. R.S.V.P. (562) 590-3100, ext. 0.

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watt’s picture of the week – tuesday, july 2, 2024

we got a visitor from italy in my pedro town for the fourth, the amerigo vespucci and you know watt’s gotta have a look see!

photo by mike watt

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Summer Music Series Brings Live Music to the Original Farmers Market Through August

Live music has returned to the Original Farmers Market! The Summer Music Series, a weekly live music series, takes place every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. through August 29 (except for this Thursday, when they’re taking a break in honor of July 4)

Come to shop or dine – some of our favorite spots here include El Granjero Cantina, The Gumbo Pot, Du-Par’s, and Fritzi Coop. Then stay to hear music from a variety of genres, including swing influenced by Sinatra and Count Basie from The Jazz Cartel, along with salsa, Texas blues rock, reggae/hip hop/world beat, ‘90s hits, and smooth jazz.

These performances are free of charge and take place at Farmers Market Plaza.  The Original Farmers Market is located at 3rd and Fairfax.

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Movies Till Dawn: Some Kind of Love 2

* indicates that this title is also available to rent, stream, or purchase on various platforms. Please note that streaming options may differ from these home video presentations in terms of visuals, supplemental features, etc.

Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill” * (2023, Greenwich Entertainment) There is a lot of tragedy in “Lost Angel,” a documentary about the singer-songwriter Judee Sill from directors Andy Brown and Brian Lindstrom. Sill navigated a library’s worth of noir scenarios before her brief ascent in the Los Angeles music scene of the early 1970s: abusive parents and parents, drug dependency, even a stint in prison. Brown and Lindstrom might have laid this early misfortune onto Sill’s life and matched it with her tragic downward spiral to death at the end of the 1970s to show her life as a fait accompli; to their credit, they focus instead on her music – haunting tracks like “Jesus was a Crossmaker,” “Crayon Angels,” and “The Pearl” – and the talent needed to create such unique work in spite of the trauma-go-round of her life. Collaborators (David Crosby, Jackson Browne), romantic entanglements (J.D. Souther, David Geffen) and admirers (Fleet Foxes, Shawn Colvin) lend perspective and testimony to why her music endures long after her name has faded; Greenwich’s DVD includes the theatrical trailer.

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watt’s picture of the week – friday, june 21, 2024


happy solstice, good people!

the angels gate light this morning from my pedro town…

photo by mike watt

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mike watt’s hoot page

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“When I Didn’t See What I Wanted I Made What I Wanted” Black Barbie on Netflix

If you have ever taken a Psychology, Sociology, or even a Law class, you have probably seen a clip of the Clarks’ Doll Tests (The tests were used to win Brown vs. the Board of Education, proving that separate is never equal.) Over 14 years in the 40s and 50s, Black Psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark presented Black children, ages 3–7, to choose between Black dolls and white dolls. The children overwhelmingly preferred the white dolls, ascribing to them all of the positive attributes, while choosing a Black doll when asked which doll was “bad.”

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“The Outsider” Theater Review

International City Theatre of Long Beach knocks it out of the park yet again with another home run!

Their current offering as part of their 2024 theatrical season is “The Outsider”, a hysterically funny take on a most unlikely candidate running for office.

As the Bard once intoned in “The Twelfth Night” “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”, couldn’t be more true as “The Outsider runs the gamut from political commentary to slapstick comedy…..definitely two ends of the theatrical spectrum but under the expert talents of director Brian Schnipper, it absolutely works.

Paul Slade Smith’s keenly insightful play skewers the media push in “electable or not” and how sometimes the most unqualified people rise to the top.

This show is so good in its blocking, cast and scenario that it’s right out of classic television comedic skit shows like “The Carol Burnett Show”; razor sharp dialogue delivered by the cream of the crop in actors that truly understand comedy.

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