UnHip LA

 

 

 

 

This intersection scared me.  Wicker Park, Chicago.

What really struck me about my trip back to the Midwest (Chicagoland) this time was just the sheer size of everything.
The roads were very wide, the buildings huge, the stores ginormous….But first, a sign outside a bar in weather-weary Chicago:

Meijer.  It’s bigger than Wal-Mart. 

Check-out lanes to infinity….(actually 28 of them)

Tons of carts 

Plus-size carts for large families 

This long aisle could easily house a family or two.

AMC 30 - HUGE, much bigger than anything in SoCal.  This was just one part of it.

No Boba within walking distance from me.  I haven’t had a tea drink in a week; this could be why I am so tired out here in the Midwest.  One interesting thing out here amongst the land of the large - I see white people, real white people, corn-fed folk.  This is quite a novelty for me since I reside in the SGV (San Gabriel Valley) and am surrounded by Asians and Latinos.  To see a real white person with other real white people is neato!  (Sorry, hope not to offend anyone.)

I miss you Boba. 

Thanks to the Midwest, I now have three mosquito bites on my right arm and one on my head.

 

While in the Midwest, I couldn’t resist the chance to check out Bollywood flick "Chak De India," (Buck Up India!) which was playing at the AMC 30 in Barrington, IL.  To my surprise, they were playing two Bollywood films, "Heyy Babyy" being the other one.  I give "Chak De India" 5 out of 5 samosas, and more if my own ratiing system would allow it.  It’s a compelling story about the rag-tag Indian women’s field hockey team and their coach who led them to World Cup Gold.  It’s based on a true story about a male Indian field hockey player who was ostracized and vilified by Indians after losing to the Pakistani team in the World Cup finals.  He later becomes the coach of the women’s field hockey team and redeems himself. 

The team in the movie comes from many different states in India, and it’s very interesting to watch how the women interact, get past their prejudices, and learn how to be a team.  Who would think field hockey could be so inspiring and empowering?  This is not like the Madonna movie "A League of Their Own" and it’s better than "Bend it Like Beckham."  There are no songs or dances in this film and no love stories either, except for the patriotic love of India.  The movie has a  great cast of unknown actors, real sports action (many of the actors played field hockey in school or on professional teams), and Shah Rukh Khan who doesn’t dominate the movie.  The women do.  Go India!   "Chak De India" is now playing at the Naz 8.

Previous post with tips for the Naz 8.
Articles about the movie:  here, here, and here.

 

UnHip LA will be in UnHip Chicago for a few days.  In my absence, may this monkey keep you company. 

Might I suggest you rifle through my previous posts and categories for things to do?  The Independent Shakespeare Company still has performances, as does Theatricum Botanicum.  Click the Shakespeare tab for more info.  Also the Malibu beaches are calling your name.  They are beautiful beaches all to yourself! 

 

– FOODIE FLASH - - FOODIE FLASH - - FOODIE FLASH - - 
Learned about this via www.biggestmenu.com, my new internet play pen:

For a limited time, some of the finest restaurants in your area are offering a special three-course prix fixe gourmet menu for just $25 at lunch and $35 at dinner.  You’ll also receive a complimentary bottle of S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water or Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water to enjoy with your meal. And for each S.Pellegrino™ Dine OutSMS.Pellegrino™ will donate $1 to Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit organization that is committed to building the first hunger-free generation of children in America.
– FOODIE FLASH - - FOODIE FLASH - - FOODIE FLASH - - 

Participating cities: Chicago     Fairfield County, CT     Los Angeles     New Orleans     Orange County, CA     San Francisco     Westchester County, NY

Check out www.usadineout.com.  Make RSVPS.
From August 26 - 30, 2007.  I’ll be in Chicago.  Anyone have any recs for that town?

(Confession:  Though my last run of posts have all been about food, I am not really a foodie with a capital F.  I’m a choodie, a cheap foodie.  I have limited kitchen knowledge, and I rarely remember ingredients.  I just like to eat tasty morsels.  Eeeks.) 

I have just found a great new way of spending even more time on the Internet than I already do - www.biggestmenu.com.  It’s like the YouTube / Flicker / Chowhound / Myspace / Facebook of foodies.  You have to check it out!  Users post pictures of their favorite foods and restaurants, and the site organizes that info around locations so it’s really easy to find a place to eat in your ‘hood.  The top cities thus far with the most posts are right around here - Alhambra, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Pasadena etc.  There is picture after picture of food, food, food, with prices listed!  Prices, hah, that’s so Chinese! said my friend B.  I love the prices!  It’s a menu after all.  Also you can "lick" people’s food if you like it.  If you’re the first to put a restaurant up on the site, you "discovered" it.  I just discovered Saffron Spot!

I was at work and I kept looking at this site.  If I truly join the foodie cult, I fear I will gain weight. It’s particularly funny that the site profile asks for your exercise routine.  Eat responsibly folks!

Here is my foodie profile with them:
http://biggestmenu.com/UnHipLA 

 

Fosselman’s in Alhambra, Sunday night around 8:30 pm, was packed.  I still don’t get the appeal of this place, though I do appreciate how it’s a great ambassador for Alhambra.  The ice cream to me has always been just mushy ice cream.  I got the green tea ice cream and it had no flavor.  After having eaten Saffron’s Spot’s ice cream, I can never eat regular ice cream again.  Never.  This is good, I guess because I will be eating far less ice cream since Saffron Spot is about 40 minutes from me.

  Eh, Fosselman’s.   

So the tally thus far - Saffron Spot wins over Pinkberry, and Saffron Spot trounces Fossleman’s

Fosselman’s in Alhambra
www.fosselmans.com

Saffron Spot in Artesia
www.saffronspot.com

Saffron Spot.  Better ingredients and presentation.

 

El Tepeyac
812 N. Evergreen Ave.
East Los Angeles, CA  90033
(323) 267-8668 

I was mightily impressed by the guacamole here; others have been impressed by the Hollenbeck burrito. 

I finally got one.  OMG, are they supposed to smash your veins and try to rub the living %&@@! out of them?  The little woman who worked on me snickered in Chinese when I told her that she was massaging too hard.  She was so powerful.  My feet and legs are tingling right now and feel raw. I will not know until tomorrow if this was a good thing or not. Ow. 

The Barnsdall Arts Market is this Sunday, August 19th, from 11am - 5pm.

MySpace profile for the market

http://www.barnsdall.org/artcenter/default.cfm 

Afterwards, catch Richard II which starts at 7:30 pm. Free!  Bring a picnic.

Both events happen at the Barnsdall Arts Park
4800 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Also, the Sunset Junction street festival is going on too.   

Thanks to the Los Angeles Urban Rangers, I’ll never be intimidated by a no-trespassing sign again. 

On Saturday, August 11, 2007, the Rangers, a merry band of artists, urban planners, and environmentalists, led a "safari" to the Malibu Beaches and showed about 35 people how to access and enjoy the pristine beaches there that are blocked by beachhouses.  Under California law, the coastline up to the mean high tide line is open to public access.  Not too many people know this, and thus shy away from what seem to be exclusive beaches. The owners also post up misleading private property signs to scare off people.  Please see my previous posts for more info and links to great maps.

The safari was very well organized with activities such as enacting stereotypical beach activities and making tableaus out of them, "trailblazing" - measuring off dry sand easements, potlucking and singing. We used a tape measure to find the specs of the sandy beach that we were allowed to play on.  Homeowners can own parts of the sand, just not the part that directly touches the ocean.  Many of the private properties have easements which allow the public to use the beach.  It was empowering seeing what a 25 feet easement looked like and knowing we had all that space.  We took a moment of silence at an accessway gate (public path to the beach) that was only opened for three weeks, most likely as a vengeful act by one beachhouse owner to another. In front of another beach house, we sang Arlo Guthrie’s "This Land is Your Land."  The rangers, outfitted in forest ranger garb, were knowledgeable, sincere, and irreverent, a great combo.  Smokey the Bear and Ranger Rick would love them.

At least one angry homeowner in bathing trunks came after us as we used a tape measure before this property. At the end of his beach deck, he stood ready to bite. We entered the beach at the 22126 Pacific Coast Highway, the David Geffen accessway as it is fondly known.  I feel bad for the guy; he’s basically has a parade of beachgoers right next to his compound.  But what does he expect?  He doesn’t own the beach.  His security guard patrolled the area, telling a few group members not to lean on the porch.

Here are some shots from our day.
My killer FREE parking spot right next to the accessway (22126 PCH) and right before Geffen’s house.  Notice the brown Coastal Access sign.  Look for these as you drive for they mark accessway gates.  Some accessways, however, are not marked.

 

22126 PCH is the accessway to Carbon Beach.  At least the gates match the Cape Cod look of Geffen’s house.  Walking from my car to the beach was equivalent to walking from one room to another.  No more forking over $10 for parking and being with crowds at other beaches.

The lovely Carbon Beach.  1:00 pm on a Saturday and no one’s around!  Also there are no lifeguards, restrooms, and food stands.  Restaurants and businesses are nearby enough if you dare to walk across PCH.

 
Safari-goers listening to the rangers:

Safari participants next to the "natives":

 

Ranger with beach arrows.  Those umbrella-tipped pins were used to mark off the easements.

 

One of the many Malibu Road accessways, off of Webb Way from the PCH.  This beach felt more secluded.  

             

 

Watch out for dog poop (that’s seaweed above). Though dogs are not allowed on the beach, they were everywhere and apparently not curbed.  I stepped in some poop and spent the rest of the safari trying to get it all off. Yuck.

Misleading signs:

 

Afterwards, we ate shrimp cocktails, mussels, and fish tacos at Malibu Seafood, very fresh and delicious. I’ve lived in L.A. for over a decade and this was the first time, I truly felt the call of the ocean.  Thanks Rangers!  Thanks to the California Coastal Commmission and Access for All for all their hard work forging public access to the beaches.  Visit their sites to get maps and more info. (The Access for All site appears to be in progress.)

Previous posts on this topic here.   It’s your beach, go out and enjoy it!

The Los Angeles Times food section has a good article about finding delicious deals in L.A. Eat it here.   This pictured meal (credit: LAT) is from Pollo a la Brasa in Koreatown and is only $5.  I used to eat there a lot when I worked in that area.  It is delicious. 

 

Other highlights for me:  Woodlands, an Indian buffet in Artesia, $7.95; at least five restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley area; and a bunch of places for hearty eats.  Lots to try out on the list!

The fourth RRFM will be this Saturday, August 11, 2008, from 9am - noon, in Pasadena at the Bresee Nazarene Church.  Click here for details.  Here’s my post on the first one.  

We went to Wrightwood last weekend and had a peaceful time amongst the tall trees. The townspeople were extraordinarily friendly, making me feel like I was on the set of Northern Exposure or Men in Trees.  You really don’t experience that degree of friendliness in L.A, even unhip L.A.  A shopkeeper startled me when he asked, "Didn’t I see you last night at Rockin’ the Pines?"  Rockin’ the Pines was a free outdoor music festival and market night the town had, which we happened to stumble upon.   We were pretty easy to spot though, being the lone Asians there.

There is surprisingly a lot going on in this town of 4,000 known for its proximity to Mountain High, the ski and snowboard resort, about 1 1/2 hours north of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel mountains.  Rockin’ the Pines has two more dates.  I enjoyed the all-girl, punk rock band Pretty in Stereo who played that night.  During the town’s summer off-season, it seems to have something fun every weekend: concerts, art shows, plays, car shows, markets…see list below.

Our accommodations, Wrightwood Cottages. $100/night offseason rate:

The "racoon" cabin was rustic, spacious and cozy, but the couches were old and felt grimy.  Also the tub was not so clean.  But still, it was a cabin and fun to be in.

Scenes from the town:

Wrightwood houses in trees:

 

Town stores.  I loved the Butterfly Emporium, a hippie-ish store. The last pic is of a woman spinning her own llama’s wool at a knitting and tea gathering that happens every Sunday afternoon at Wrightwood Knitting and Spinning.

 

Accommodations links:
http://www.wrightwoodchamber.org/accommodations.htm
http://www.mthigh.com/pages/lodging.html

Upcoming Events:
- Rockin’ the Pines free music festival.  Dates remaining: Sept. 8 and Oct. 6.
- Market Night, a fun night of shopping for arts, crafts, clothes, produce and more at vendor booths.
- Mountain Classic Car Show.  Video here. 
- Wrightwood Studio Art Tour, go on a self-guided tour of artists’ studios in the woods.  Sept. 11
- Summerfest 2007 music festival. $20 admission. August 24 and 25.
- Sunday knitting and spinning.

Plus many more.  Check here.  Suggestion: drive up and spend the night to see the Studio Art tours.  Plenty of talented artists live in the woods there.

Lost in Wrightwood, Calif.

 

The free Malibu Public Beach safaris led by the Los Angeles Urban Rangers (previous post) are this weekend, but they’re all full. Openings are anticipated for next weekend. Instead DIY your own safari with these steps:

1. Read this LATimes article on the safaris.
2. Download the free guides at www.laurbanrangers.com
3. Download the California Coastal Commision’s free map, "Broad Beach Coastal Access" here.  Look to the left side for it.

Yes, this is a lot of paper to get through, but it’s so worth it.  I found the wonderful and uncrowded Lechuza Beach following the maps above.  I parked in a ritzy neighborhood, pressed on a magic gate, walked down a short driveway past more ritzy beach houses, and entered a beach that truly made California feel like an escape, a feat in this dirty city.

The access gate on East Sea Level Drive was hard to find because the sign for the drive was obscured by a tree and the gate had a no passing sign on it.  The sign should not be there according to the California Coastal Commission, a state organization that regulates beach access acreas in Malibu. I have to emphasize again the free and easy parking!  These are neighborhood beaches that the oceanfront property owners try to keep people away from.  But the beach is not private property in California.  This is like trying to say Griffith Park is your private property.  The beach is a public space that belongs to all. So get out and enjoy yourself.  You’ll never be back at Topanga or Zuma again.  Well, okay, maybe if you need a restroom or a lifeguard because the hidden beaches in Malibu don’t have these things.

The magic gate and the misleading sign.

Here is my post-safari report, with lots of pictures, on accessing the East Malibu beaches. Fun fun fun.  (Lechuza is on the West side of Malibu.)

 

The Pasadena Conservatory of Music will be hosting two free introductory lectures and discussions on appreciating classical music led by musicologist and pianist Priscilla Pawlicki. 

What to Listen for in Bach - Saturday, August 18, 1-2 pm
What to Listen for at the Symphony - Wednesday, August 22, 1-2pm

With refreshments!  I wonder what Bach cookies will taste like. I did not see mention of these lectures on the conservatory’s website. The card says to
RSVP to 626-683-3355 or music@pasadenaconservatory.org
The site does mention a free sight-reading workshop series for guitar starting August 5th.  Click here for details.

www.pasadenaconservatory.org 
100 N. Hill Avenue
Pasadena, CA