I started a monthly series in May in which I share a glimpse into what the past few weeks of my life have looked like. I skipped my monthly review in June because, as I previously shared, it was a rough month for me but I’m back in business with my July in Review and ready to wrap up the month by sharing the events I attended and the amazing food and drinks I had the pleasure of sampling.
The absolutely delicious California roll I enjoyed during Dine LA Restaurant Week.
SEEN AND HEARD
Back in the summer of 1998 I spent a considerable length of time at my grandparents’ house in Tacoma, Washington. My best friend at the time had made the 45 minute drive down from Seattle and was staying with me for a couple of days and we were desperate for things to do. My grandmother mentioned that a movie was being filmed in town, primarily at the stately high school my mother attended, Stadium High School. This being 1998 we didn’t have the option of hopping on Google and obtaining more information about the who, what and where of the movie so we decided to investigate on our own.
We showed up at Stadium High School one sunny afternoon and found ourselves right in the middle of a movie set. It wasn’t a huge production and the majority of the actors involved were relatively unknown, therefore everyone was hanging out in a very low key manner. After about twenty minutes of watching the comings and goings of the cast and crew we also found ourselves hanging out in a very low key manner with them. There we were, two twelve year olds, spending our summer days with Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Heath Ledger. To this day I have no idea why they all allowed us to hang around but it was definitely a special experience that I have treasured ever since.
When I saw that there was going to be an outdoor screening of 10 Things I Hate About You at a local Los Angeles park as part of Street Food Cinema (just what it sounds like, a movie screening with food trucks galore) I excitedly purchased two tickets. My husband, Lola and I made our way to the park at dusk and settled in for an evening of delicious food, a Q&A session with the director and cast and a showing of one of my favorite movies. It was such a fun event and so wonderful to share with my husband and Lola.
Happy humans at the movie and a less than focused Puggle.
Adults Only is a relatively new speakeasy type bar in Hollywood. To get to the bar you enter through a seedy adult video store that looks like it’s out of the early 90s. Once inside however you are treated to an experience that is anything but seedy.
It’s a small venue but it’s gorgeously decorated and always packed. The main room where the bar is has banquets and small tables interspersed throughout and turns into a dance floor after about midnight. The back room of the bar has additional seating, a pool table and a much more mellow vibe. I understandably prefer the back room.
The crowd is always young, fun and local which is a hard combination to find in Hollywood! The best part about Adults Only? It’s right down the street from where I live so we can pop in whenever we get an inkling to have a fun night out.
Halsey at the Shrine Auditorium
Halsey’s set at Coachella 2016 stands out as one of the top things I saw this year so you can imagine my excitement when I found out she would be coming to LA and performing at the Shrine Auditorium. Her set for the two shows she put on at the Shrine was nearly identical to the one she performed at Coachella which was actually a good thing because her Coachella set was unbelievably great.
Halsey getting every single person in the auditorium involved in her show.
Halsey is a ridiculously talented performer and has such a huge, soulful voice for being a young and relatively petite woman. If you have the opportunity to see her you should absolutely take it because she will thoroughly impress you and give you a concert experience to remember.
Intrude
This actually occurred in June but since I skipped doing a June in Review post due to having a bit of a challenging month I wanted to include it in July’s edition because it was such a neat experience. Back in June a herd of giant two story tall glow-in-the-dark bunnies took over a square in downtown Los Angeles. It turns out these rabbits have been all over the world are more well traveled than most people.
Note that the rabbit is as tall as the surrounding trees.
The bunnies are part of a public art installation by Australian artist Amanda Parer called Intrude. Intrude‘s aim, aside from being a ridiculously fun sight to take in, is to remind viewers that against the backdrop of downtown LA the animals are outsiders. Parer selected rabbits for the project because the animals have wreaked complete havoc on Australia’s ecosystem since being introduced to the country by European colonists in the 1780s. The project is meant to start a conversation about fragility and the importance of the natural world and our efforts to conserve it.
Aside from being an awesome installation with a powerful message behind it the rabbits also played host to a silent disco. Three DJs playing different types of music were all lined up on one side of the square and thousands of people could be seen silently rocking out to their chosen music with headphone pressed firmly to their ears.
It was a scene that just left you feeling good. Feeling good about collectively taking in a powerful message, feeling good about coming together as a community, and feeling good about sharing in the experience of dancing under the shadow of giant rabbits surrounded by the lights of downtown Los Angeles. Magic.
TASTED
I came across this establishment when researching a place to watch the European Championship game. The large wide-open restaurant and bar is technically Italian but serves all different types of food. There are high definition televisions situated throughout the room so you’re never at risk of having a bad view of your preferred sporting event.
Definitely make a reservation if you’re planning on going on the weekend or during any type of game. The bar is billed as being an MLS and NFL bar so on weekends seats fill up quickly. It’s a great place to go with a large group, but be sure to ask for the corner banquet seating when you make your reservation. Supposedly it books up weeks in advance!
Recommended: Go for Sunday brunch and enjoy chicken and waffles along with their two for one drink special.
I have made it my mission to sample the fare at just about every local lobster shack in the greater Los Angeles area. This particular restaurant is located on Santa Monica Boulevard and has long been on my list of places to try. I still haven’t made it in to the restaurant itself, but I did have the pleasure of encountering their food truck at the Street Food Cinema showing of 10 Things I Hate About You that I attended.
The most delicious lobster tacos I’ve ever tasted.
I ordered the lobster tacos because they were gluten free while my husband dined on a lobster roll. When we picked up our food we were shocked to see that they both contained a ton of lobster! In fact the pieces of lobster were so large that we could barely eat them. Heaven on Earth. The lobster was clearly incredibly fresh, as were all the other ingredients, and we both walked away with full and happy bellies.
Recommended: Lobster tacos and lobster rolls
I unintentionally ended up at 33 Taps, a Hollywood Boulevard bar, twice in the past few weeks. 33 Taps is named as such due to their extensive selection of beer on tap. They are one of the few spots in Los Angeles that has North Coast Brewery’s Pranqster on tap, a beer my husband I were first introduced to and grew to love at Outside Lands.
33 Taps is tucked away in a stately building on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
There are televisions throughout the medium-sized bar making it a great place to catch a game or stare mindlessly at Sports Center late at night. Seating can be hard to come by as the night goes on so make sure to get there early if you want to sit and relax.
Recommended: Pranqster (obviously) and garlic parmasean fries
Dine LA Restaurant Week occurs twice a year, once at the end of January/beginning of February and once in the middle of July. My husband and I always try to go to at least one or two restaurants we haven’t been to and get their prefixed menu designed for the event.
We dropped the ball this summer and didn’t even realize Dine LA had rolled around once again until we were at Knuckle & Claw in Silverlake and saw an advertisement for their prefixed menus. We obviously love Knuckle & Claw and knew we had to return for Dine LA.
The dinner we were treated to was absolutely delicious. It came with chips, oysters and a California lobster roll on a gluten free bun that contained lobster, chipotle aioli, and avocados. It was absurdly delicious and satisfying and is now my favorite menu item they offer.
Recommended: California rolls, oysters, whoopie pies
July was an eventful month full of fun shared experiences and incredible food and drinks. There is a lot coming up for me in the month of August and I’m more than ready to take it on!