06-23-14 by Los Angeles Downtown News

Old Building, New Housing | 8 The Big BET Festival | 13

JUNE 23, 2014 I VOL. 43 I #25

The 14 Most Interesting Chefs In Downtown Meet the Folks Who Are Shaking Up The Central City Food Scene

photo courtesy Feld Entertainment

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THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

Micah Wexler is drawing crowds to his space in Grand Central Market. Pastrami is his specialty.

2 Downtown News

AROUND TOWN

Glass Tower Returns With New Developer

an Francisco-based developer Trumark Urban is reviving plans to build a 24-story condominium project, formerly dubbed the Glass Tower, at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and 11th Street. The company recently bought the property and will spend $100 million on the already-entitled, 151-unit development, according to a press release. “Many developers are building rental apartments, which has helped to bring retail services to the area, but the sub-market is dramatically lacking new condo inventory for those residents who prefer ownership,” Trumark Urban Managing Director Arden Hearing said in a prepared statement. The project was approved in 2007, but stalled during the recession. Trumark Urban is largely leaving the original plans unchanged, but has partnered with Downtown-based architect Douglas Hanson to tweak designs. The developer hopes to break ground in January; the condos could hit the market as soon as 2016, according to the release. Planned amenities include a fitness center and a pool deck.

Rickey the Pirate Dies funeral fund has been set up for Rickey “the Pirate” Taylor, following his death on Tuesday, June 17, after a bout with cancer. Taylor, a Downtown resident known for his skull-and-

crossbones cap, his toothy smile and the blackand-white glossy head shots that he peddled in the Historic Core, passed away at a low-income housing facility in the Central City. He was a ubiquitous part of Downtown culture, selling photos or paintings of himself donated by local artists such as Robert Vargas. Janene Zakrajsek of Pussy & Pooch was one of the scores of locals who posted about the eccentric Taylor on the DTLA Facebook group, writing that he was the first human to use their self-serve dog wash tubs, and noting he took great pride in his work and tidiness. Taylor had been homeless for 30 years, but several community members came together to pay for his low-income housing in 2009, said former Downtowner Jenson Nelson. Nelson has created a fundraising page for Taylor. She hopes to collect $5,000 to help his family cover services. Contributions may be made at giveforward.com.

TAKE MY PICTURE GARY LEONARD

Press Club Awards in Downtown This Week

ome big business names will be in Downtown this week, though their attendance stems not from money, but rather journalism. That’s because the Los Angeles Press Club is holding its annual Southern California Journalism Awards at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on Sunday, June 29. Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler will receive the club’s President’s Award, and will be introduced by billionaire businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad. Additionally, NBC News correspondent Ann Curry will receive the Joseph M. Quinn Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Public Service prize will go to Maria Shriver, who has a background in

Why does this little burger stand attract over a million people a year?

June 23, 2014

L.A. Kings

The Stanley Cup at Dodger Stadium

journalism. The evening will also see the handing out of more than 80 awards honoring the year’s best achievements in print, radio, TV and online journalism. The event, which starts at 5 p.m., is open to the public. Tickets and information are at lapressclub.org.

First Show Announced for Revived Regent Theatre

istoric Core workers and residents, are you ready to rock? Whether the answer is yes or no, live music will soon land in the community,

June 17, 2014

as the operators of the Regent Theatre last week announced that Danish singer MØ will perform in the venue at 448 S. Main St. on Oct. 16 (tickets went on sale June 20). The exact opening date has not yet been determined, as finishing touches are being put on the building. Still, operator Spaceland Productions, headed by Mitchell Frank, said that several shows will be announced in the coming weeks. Frank in the past has said that the club will also hold a pizza restaurant. Spaceland programs numerous concert venues, including the Echo and the Echoplex in Echo Park. The company has also booked indie rock bands for the stage at Pershing Square.

2014 Transit Pix Winners

Metro Briefs 2014 Transit Pix Winners Announced

Find out at the landmark location near Downtown. Home of the original Chili-burger. Quality and value since 1946:

Chili Hamburger .............. $2.30 Chili Cheeseburger ........... $2.80

Metro and other transit operators invited riders across LA County to submit a photo showing why they love transit for entry in the >rst Transit Pix photo contest. More than 200 entries were received for public voting. Winning entries were announced on June 18, “Dump the Pump” Day, and can be viewed at facebook.com/losangelesmetro.

Purple Line Gets $1.25 Billion in Federal Funds The Federal Transit Administration awarded Metro a $1.25 billion grant to construct the >rst phase of the Purple Line Extension. This segment extends the subway from Wilshire/Western to Wilshire/La Cienega, with completion projected for 2023. More information on the project is at metro.net/purplelineext.

Airport Transportation Center Open House June 27 Bob Hope Airport will hold a public grand opening for its new Regional Intermodal Transportation Center on Saturday, June 27 from 10am to 2pm. The partially Metro-funded facility along Empire Avenue includes a rental car center and bus station.

Don’t Forget Your Bike on Metro When riding the bus with your bike, be sure to sit or stand near the front to watch your bike. At your stop, exit through the front door and tell the operator you will be removing your bike. When taking your bike on the train, walk your bike on the platform. More information at metro.net/bikes.

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June 23, 2014

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EDITORIALS

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June 23, 2014

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

Welcome Back, Neighborhood Prosecutors

ike Feuer seems to be on a pretty good roll as City Attorney. A year ago he beat incumbent Carmen Trutanich and, since taking office, he has demonstrated a solid understanding of the real and symbolic aspects of the job. His impact has been felt in numerous communities including Downtown Los Angeles. Here he has made a point of publicizing crackdowns on the sellers of pirated merchandise, which is a positive step even if the millions of dollars in fines will likely never be collected. Hopefully his prosecution of hospitals that allegedly dump indigent patients on Skid Row will have more of a long-term effect. Feuer’s office has helped write a new set of guidelines for discharging the homeless, and with any luck, and perhaps a few more public shamings of violators, they will become an industry standard. Recently, Feuer made another strong move with the announcement that he has doubled the size of the neighborhood prosecutor program, from eight to 16 individuals, and that in the new fiscal year (it starts in July) he intends to increase it further, to 21. This would mean one neighborhood prosecutor working with each police station in the city. The neighborhood prosecutor program was initiated by Rocky Delgadillo in the early 2000s. When implemented effectively it is a valuable tool. Neighborhood prosecutors often operate in a proactive manner, and the work with homeowners associations, community groups and other organizations strengthens the relationship between local government and members of the public. Neighborhood prosecutors also tend to have a creative streak, and can rope in resources from various city departments to help find solutions to vexing problems. Many Downtowners recall the positive contributions of Dena Sohn, one of the program’s earliest hires. Downtown’s current neighborhood prosecutor is Kurt Knecht, whose skills have been demonstrated in a number of instances, including one in which he addressed complaints about a homeless encampment near an apartment complex. It turned out that people moving out of the building were leaving furniture on the sidewalk, which the homeless individuals quickly picked up and took to a nearby lot. Knecht pulled together building management and the city to help thwart the practice and more quickly haul away goods when it does occur. The neighborhood prosecutor’s job is challenging, as it requires someone able to work with a lot of different people, many of whom think their idea for solving a problem is the best. Yet the job is also very important — those who embed themselves in the community, armed with the resources of the city attorney’s office, build up trust with area stakeholders. When problems arise, they have the context and the connections to respond effectively. In one regard Feuer has been fortunate. The improving economy helped provide him the funds to expand the program, which had been slashed under Trutanich. Feuer also has a better working relationship with the mayor and the City Council than his predecessor, and that also greased the financial wheels. We’re glad Feuer has followed through on his campaign promise to expand the neighborhood prosecutor program. We look forward to its positive effects.

Booze Permit for Meatball Restaurant Is Right Move, But City’s Stumbles Could Have a Chilling Effect

his month, the Central Area Planning Commission said that the proposed gourmet meatball restaurant Great Balls on Tires can sell beer and wine. That decision, the right one, reversed a ruling made by a city zoning administrator in March. On one hand we’re tempted to applaud, as operator Clint Peralta should have the right to serve booze in the restaurant he intends to open on the ground floor of the New Genesis Apartments, a permanent supportive housing complex that debuted in late 2012 at 456 S. Main St. On the other hand, we’re flabbergasted that it took this long for the city to come to the appropriate decision. What should have been a slam dunk was instead batted about for approximately two years. Given how much ruckus has been raised, and how much time has been wasted (not to mention the jobs not created and the sales tax not collected), we wouldn’t be surprised if Peralta throws up his hands and walks away. He might very well ask, if the theoretically easy permit can be so bungled, what else will the city complicate once he actually gets into construction? We have to wonder: Where were the clear heads and the political leadership in this debacle? The damage isn’t limited to Peralta — anyone wanting an alcohol permit for a restaurant or bar in the Historic Core now has to question whether they can get through the potential pitfalls, and whether they want to fight with a small group of oppositional stakeholders who may feel emboldened by delaying Great Balls for so long. We’d understand if an individual who had been considering investing in the neighborhood instead learns about what has transpired with the meatball restaurant and opts for another community where logic prevails. This never should have been a problem. The 104-apartment New Genesis came from experienced nonprofit developer Skid Row Housing Trust. The project has a lot going for it, starting with its location: Instead of being another development that places the formerly homeless in the heart of Skid Row, steps from a bevy of drug dealers, SRHT chose a site on the eastern edge of the Historic Core, just south of Tom Gilmore’s Old Bank District and close to a number of restaurants, bars and shops. From the beginning the development team sought to create a project that integrates all levels of the community. It ultimately decided that the best way

to achieve a mix of incomes would be to house formerly homeless people on the upper levels, and to include two ground-floor retail spaces that appeal to the neighborhood. The small ice cream shop Peddler’s Creamery was one retail component, and that arrived with relative ease. However, as far back as the summer of 2012, there were rumblings regarding Great Balls on Tires, which would be a bricks-and-mortar spinoff of a food truck. At issue, of course, was booze, with the primary argument being that selling alcohol on the ground floor was disrespectful to those with addiction issues living above. Never mind that the community is full of places that sell alcohol, some of them just steps from the New Genesis. Never mind that the beer and wine sold at the New Genesis would have been more expensive than at other nearby bars and stores. Never mind that a key part of being in recovery is learning to resist the temptation to take a drink. It’s good to have a vigorous debate on issues of importance to the community, but in this instance a minority of naysayers were able to command an audience far greater than they deserved. After a lot of discussion, Great Balls in March 2013 was denied an alcohol permit by the city. That necessitated a significant revamping of the application, and it took another year for things to move forward. Still, the situation didn’t change. Three months ago, City Associate Zoning Administrator Maya Zaitzevsky decided that selling alcohol would be harmful to New Genesis residents. Only after her ruling sparked another outcry did the appeal wend its way to the City Planning Commission. As anyone who has tried knows, opening any kind of food or alcohol-related business in Los Angeles is extremely difficult. For whatever reason, various efforts over the decades to streamline the process haven’t made much difference. While regulators’ primary concern must be safety, the hurdles frequently get in the way of good business sense and job creation. In this instance, the right thing ultimately occurred. The problem, however, is that it may be a Pyrrhic Victory, and that the troubles Great Balls endured could have a chilling effect on others. This was entirely preventable. The city officials who could have made a difference long ago dropped the ball.

June 23, 2014

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

The 14 Most Interesting Chefs in Downtown A Group of Downtown Kitchen Wizards Is Changing How the City Eats By Eddie Kim owntown is the city’s hottest dining scene, with new restaurants popping up in every district and established eateries continuing to impress. It’s no wonder that people from across Los Angeles now flock to Downtown for a meal. Much of the culinary power comes from a cadre of chefs — some new, some with decades of experience — who are not only serving delicious food, but are also changing the way we dine. It’s a fine line to straddle, but 14 chefs in particular are offering inventive tastes, combinations and cooking tactics. However, it’s not just about being different for the sake of being different — their food keeps people coming back for more. Here (in alphabetical order by chef) are the 14 most interesting chefs in Downtown:

Angelo Auriana

The Factory Kitchen Auriana spent nearly two decades helming the kitchen at Westside Italian temple Valentino. That experience shows in the simple, but brilliantly executed dishes at this Arts District restaurant. His pesto pasta dish, dubbed mandilli di seta, is transcendent, evoking a crumpled nightgown in its shape and silky texture; the Ligurian pesto that coats it sparkles with the heady flavor of fresh basil and almonds. The menu is full of surprises, and Auriana’s technique and love of fine ingredients shine bright. His cooking may be more refined and lighter than the slam-bang rusticity found at the nearby Bestia, but don’t be fooled: This is Italian cooking at its finest. At 1300 Factory Pl., (213) 996-6000 or thefactorykitchen.com.

Josef Centeno

Orsa & Winston, Bäco Mercat and Bar Amá Centeno does it all. He’s the chef and owner of three Old Bank District restaurants with wildly different menus, and each has its

photo by Gary Leonard

Josef Centeno runs not one, but three Old Bank District restaurants. He made his name at Bäco Mercat and Bar Amá, but he shows off his fine dining skills at the still-new Orsa & Winston. photo by Gary Leonard

Angelo Auriana spent nearly two decades at the famed Santa Monica Italian restaurant Valentino. Now he serves simple, but brilliantly executed dishes at the Factory Kitchen.

own craveable charms. He built a foundation at the casual Bäco Mercat and Bar Amá, but last year’s arrival of Orsa & Winston gave him a stage to showcase his elegant fine-dining skills. Centeno’s five-course menu is a steal at $60, especially considering the creativity within. One dish, for instance, presents abalone snuggled up with burnt-milk panna cotta, an onion jus, and the

tiny individual sacs of a pomelo citrus fruit for a burst of acid. No one in Downtown is cooking quite like, or as prolifically, as Centeno. Orsa & Winston is at 122 W. Fourth St., (213) 687-0300 or orsaandwinston.com.

Tony Esnault

Church and State Tony Esnault made his name in the kitchens of Alain Ducasse, Continued on page 6

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6 Downtown News

June 23, 2014

chefs, 5

brothers, Nakul and Arjun, seem to be asking with Badmaash, the Indian gastropub they opened in Downtown last year. There are tongue-in-cheek Indian references all around, from the decor to the names of menu items. It works because of the stellar dishes being pumped out by the family patriarch, Pawan Mahendro, who takes on modern twists (there is a chili-cheese naan, which sounds like a stoner’s delight) and Indian classics (butter chicken and a richly flavored saag paneer) alike. A classically trained chef with decades of experience, Pawan Mahendro is the soul of one of the most quirky and creative restaurants in Downtown. At 108 W. Second St., (213) 221-7466 or badmaashla.com.

helping snag three Michelin stars at two different restaurants. Later, in Downtown, he reinvigorated Patina and won raves with his exacting, nuanced cooking. Now he’s at this Arts District restaurant, coaxing sensational flavor out of bistro classics. Consider Esnault’s refined coq au vin, or chicken stewed in red wine: The liquid is precisely reduced to a glistening syrup redolent with the scent of thyme, wine and earthy vegetables. The only downside is that Esnault won’t be here long. Thankfully he’s staying in Downtown — he’s working on another restaurant, Spring, in the Historic Core. At 1850 Industrial St., (213) 405-1434 or churchandstatebistro. com.

Ori Menashe

Bestia Snagging a reservation at Menashe’s raucous Arts District restaurant is a chore. Eating his punchy Italian dishes is anything but. Menashe’s rustic pastas are engrossing in their simplicity — consider the ricotta dumplings with rough pebbles of house-made pork sausage and a sprinkling of gloriously funky black truffles. The roaring wood-fired oven cranks out pizzas with beautifully blistered crusts, and the salumi board with house-cured meats shows off Menashe’s devotion to handmade, old-world Italian eats. Don’t miss the desserts from self-taught pastry chef Genevieve Gergis, who runs the restaurant with Menashe, her husband. One crowd favorite is the bittersweet chocolate budino tart with salted caramel and olive oil. At 2121 Seventh Pl., (213) 514-5724 or bestiala.com.

Ian Gresik

Drago Centro The trick to a great restaurant isn’t just good food — it’s consistency in meeting those standards over years. Ian Gresik has done just that at Drago Centro, a beautiful restaurant that pumps out elegant and delicious Italian fare. The pastas (try the oddly shaped garganelli with pork sausage), the salumi, the main dishes and even the salads all gleam with a careful attention to detail and balance in flavors. It’s no wonder that founding chef Celestino Drago tapped Gresik, a former pastry chef at Patina, to lead the kitchen. At 525 S. Flower St., (213) 228-8998 or dragocentro.com. photo by Gary Leonard

Michael Hung

Faith and Flower South Park’s Faith and Flower only opened in April, but it’s already obvious that Hung is a rising star. His fine-dining background (he cooked most recently at San Francisco’s La Folie, and previously at Daniel and Aquavit in New York City) shows in his sumptuous Downtown dishes. The steak tartare flavored with miso cream, kombu seaweed and black sesame sounds like an Asian-fusion cliché, but it’s a perfectly executed, umami-rich dish that leaves you wanting more. The oxtail agnolotti slicked with bone marrow butter comes alive with the addition of a tan-

Micah Wexler, who opened Wexler’s Deli in the Grand Central Market this year, may well have the best pastrami in all of Los Angeles.

gerine salsa and light-as-air cracklings made with beef tendon. The menu doesn’t show off Hung’s ability with the most concise focus, but there are flashes of brilliance all around. At 705 W. Ninth St., (213) 239-0642 or faithandflowerla.com.

Pawan Mahendro

Badmaash Can Indian food be fun and witty? That’s what the Mahendro

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June 23, 2014

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$165 for dinner, it had better be good — and it is. At 521 W. Seventh St., (213) 225-6285 or qsushila.com.

join an email list and submit requests (usually creative) for seats. Then, at the end of a multi-course tasting menu, diners leave however much cash they want. The process is as idiosyncratic as Thornton’s cooking. Savory dishes range from the more recognizable, such as rabbit meatballs with harissa and cider-glazed Brussels sprouts, to the unforgettable, as with a “blood”-splattered plate of roast venison, pine gelee, shards of blueberry meringue and hen of the woods mushrooms. By the by, the “blood” is a beet and berry gastrique, and the plate is a play on forest roadkill. At wolvesmouth.com.

John Rivera Sedlar

Rivera Sedlar had a good thing going at Rivera with a regular à la carte menu, but he shook it up this year when he introduced a dimsum style dining concept. Customers now get to point and choose items from rolling carts, as well as order hot dishes from a streamlined menu. While the format has changed, Sedlar’s whimsical takes on Pan-Latin cuisine continue to surprise. Check out the maize po’boy, with tempura oysters and a chile verde remoulade, or Yucatecan puerco pibil, which is pork shoulder cooked slow in a water bath (sous vide) until it threatens to collapse at the touch of a fork. At 1050 S. Flower St., (213) 749-1460 or riverarestaurant.com.

Micah Wexler

Kenji Tateishi

Marugame Monzo Stroll into the intimate dining room at Little Tokyo’s Marugame Monzo, and chances are you’ll see a slender man in white spinning, slapping and cutting an ivory hunk of dough into hundreds of long filaments. He is Kenji Tateishi, the udon chef and general manager, and his noodle game is flawless. Whether in a simple dashi-based broth with seaweed or a fusion dish with butter, cod roe and squid, it’s those noodles — supple but chewy, thick but not too heavy — that keep diners lining up. Monzo’s kitchen also slings out a worthy slate of side dishes, such as an incredible plate of tempura-fried chicken skin. At 329 E. First St., (213) 346-9762 or facebook.com/marugamemonzo.

Ari Taymor

Alma Taymor’s 35-seat restaurant has bare wood tables and a tiny open kitchen, but the atmosphere belies some of the most inventive and evocative cooking in the city. Taymor only serves a 10-course tasting menu ($95) that changes nightly and crackles with ambition in its flavor and texture combinations. One high-

photo by Gary Leonard

Young Ari Taymor has been one of the most praised chefs in Los Angeles. His 35seat Alma continues to push the envelope with a 10-course chef’s menu each night.

light is the duck liver with coffee granola and carrots: Frozen in liquid nitrogen and shattered into bits, the liver melts lushly on the tongue, and the granola and carrots add both earthy crunch and a zip of fragrant sweetness. Some think Taymor’s cooking is polarizing, but perhaps a better word would be challenging. There is one word that can never describe Taymor’s food, though: boring. At 952 S. Broadway, (213) 244-1422 or alma-la.com.

Craig Thornton

Wolvesmouth Good luck getting a bite of Thornton’s food. Wolvesmouth is a private Arts District supper club, and hopeful diners have to

Wexler’s Deli Wexler gained a following at Mezze, a Beverly Grove restaurant that served contemporary American dishes with a Middle Eastern flair. That closed, and now he’s ensconced in Grand Central Market, running an old-school Jewish deli. It’s an unlikely twist, but Wexler clearly knows what he’s doing — his handcrafted pastrami is possibly the best in the city (yes, we know Langer’s exists). The juicy, smoky, thick-sliced pastrami is king here, but don’t miss Wexler’s delicately smoked fishes, corned beef, and luscious egg and tuna salads. At 317 S. Broadway or wexlersdeli.com.

Ricardo Zarate

Mo-Chica Zarate’s modern Peruvian restaurant Mo-Chica is the sort of place that you hit several times a week if you work or live near Seventh and Grand. It has a festive atmosphere and nice portions of food for affordable prices (consider the $18 lunch deal with two sides and dessert). Don’t be fooled by the price points, though: Zarate is creating remarkably sharp cuisine that’s both lively and refined. No matter whether you get the lomo saltado (marinated steak and potatoes), the pig-trotter stew or the Peruvian seafood paella, Zarate’s deft touch with spices and topnotch ingredients is always instantly apparent. At 514 W. Seventh St., (213) 622-3744 or mo-chica.com. eddie@downtownnews.com

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From Blight to Beauty Veteran Developers Turn Derelict Architectural Gem Into 96 Apartments By Donna Evans uval Bar-Zemer and Leonard Hill made their names in the Arts District. Their company Linear City turned two hulking Industrial Street buildings into the Toy Factory and Biscuit Company lofts, thereby kicking off the trend that has made the Arts District one of the hottest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. That Arts District focus helps explain why, when a broker called in 2010, the pair were unfamiliar with the Sunset Boulevard property the broker was dangling. Still, the moment Bar-Zemer pulled up to the building, he saw two things: an architectural gem hidden inside decades of neglect, and the future of urban living.

June 23, 2014

“I didn’t really care how bad it looked. It just needed some brushing off and cleaning,” he reflected last week. The brushing off and cleaning were more complicated than they sound, but Bar-Zemer’s prediction came true: This month, tenants began moving in to The Elysian, Linear City’s $30 million project at 1115 Sunset Blvd. So far, 35 of the 96 apartments have been leased, Hill said, with rents running from $1,500 to $6,000 (the smallest unit is 700 square feet; the priciest, a two-story penthouse, spans 1,700 square feet and features two bedrooms and two bathrooms). The floor-to-ceiling windows offer every residence a sweeping view. The 1973 building has a serious pedigree: Prominent architect William Pereira designed it as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Water District. Pereira, whose work includes the central theme building at LAX and the Transamerica tower in San Francisco, thought up the eight-story edifice defined by the tiered, horizontal platforms sticking out from each floor. The MWD also occupied an adjacent low-rise structure, though

photo by Gary Leonard

Leonard Hill (shown here) and Yuval Bar-Zemer of development firm Linear City spent $30 million to turn the defunct former headquarters of the Metropolitan Water District into housing. The first residents moved in this month.

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Supplier Diversity Fair for Women, Minority, Veteran and Small Business Vendors and Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Honoring Local Civil Rights Pioneers Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 1:00 p.m. LADWP Downtown Headquarters 111 North Hope Street Outdoor Dining Terrace Please RSVP. LADWPSupplierRelationsOffice@LADWP.com Sign Language Interpreters, Communication Access Real-Time Transcription (CART), Assistive Listening Devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability, you are advised to make your request at least 72 hours prior to the meeting/event you wish to attend. Due to difficulties in securing Sign Language Interpreters, five or more business days notice is strongly recommended. For additional information, please contact: (213) 367-2252. TDD: 1 (800) 432-7397.

June 23, 2014 the shorter building suffered some damage during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Hill said during a recent tour of the building. Although Hill said the edifice was structurally intact, the MWD ultimately relocated to its current new headquarters near Union Station. The Sunset building sat empty for nearly 20 years, though not for lack of effort. One developer tried to turn it into a senior housing complex. The structure was sold to Mika Realty in 2004, which sought to convert it into 92 residences. That didn’t work out, and Mika sold the property to Linear City for $6.8 million. Hill and Bar-Zemer tapped architect David Gray to handle the conversion. Gray had been hired for Mika’s project, but Linear City’s vision was far different, he said. Two-story penthouses were added, turning the eight-story edifice into a nine-floor structure. The views have been maximized, with the tiered platforms turned into balconies; every apartment has one. Gray admits it was a big task. “William Pereira was an iconic Los Angeles architect. Stepping into his shoes was a little scary,” he said. “From an architectural standpoint, what we did wasn’t very difficult. It was all here.” Activating Sunset The project includes 210 parking spaces along with a 24/7 fitness center, a yoga deck, cabanas and an outdoor barbecue and kitchen area. Also coming is a 3,100-square-foot ground-floor restaurant and bakery (including an 1,100-squarefoot patio). Hill anticipates it serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and expects it to help enliven a long-stagnant portion of Sunset. “In the aorta of Los Angeles, Sunset is a pretty key boulevard. But there was some significant angina here,” Hill said, adding that he

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM hopes Downtown workers will pop in quickly for a coffee or come by for a meal. Adrian Scott Fine, director of advocacy for the Los Angeles Conservancy, agreed that the Pereira-designed building, which he referred to as a “major, iconic landmark” in the city, will be a catalyst for connecting the neighborhoods. “We’re thrilled any time a building of this stature and size is reused,” he said. “This makes a lot of sense, and to reuse this in a way that so many people can now experience. These are some of the most amazing views in the city.” The residences, meanwhile, all have polished concrete floors, Italian appliances and ample light. The larger units offer walk-in closets. The building also contains something decidedly different from most new housing complexes: a garage with 20 electric vehicle charging stations. The developers will cover the electricity usage of the car charges for tenants. That amenity helps explain Hill’s answer when asked whom he believes would make a good Elysian tenant. “I can tell you who my nightmare tenant is,” he said. “A lawyer who drives a Humvee.” One inhabitant who doesn’t fit that profile is Eugenia Chong. She was stuck in traffic on the 101 Freeway last fall when, through the window of her 2002 Honda Civic, she saw the sun glinting off an enormous building with a glass façade. The then-Arts District resident and her husband Richard were looking to move to a larger apartment, but one convenient to her job at Keck Hospital of USC and his at the Brewery Arts Complex. It turns out that Richard, a 2007 graduate of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, studied Pereira’s work when he was in school, so living in his building, he felt, was kismet.

Downtown News 9

photo by Gary Leonard

The property at 1115 Sunset Blvd., known as The Elysian, features sweeping views from every unit. The structure’s former tiered platforms were turned into balconies.

The couple rented a 900-square-foot, northfacing unit on the third floor. The “killer view” and ample parking prompted them to sign a lease, said Chong. In addition to her appreciation of the building, Chong believes there’s something unique happening in the residential pocket nestled between Echo Park and Chinatown. The couple has already found their favorite new restaurant, Mexicali Taco & Co., on Figueroa Street. If Hill and Bar-Zemer have their way, The Elysian won’t be their last project in the area. The

low-rise MWD building continues to sit vacant, though its future is in doubt as several parties are in litigation over it. Hill said he’d like Linear City to purchase the building and create an extended-stay loft-style hotel, which would cater to performers in town for musical and theatrical productions. Exactly what happens next is uncertain, but the developers already know that, as they did on Industrial Street in the Arts District, they have forever changed the block. donna@downtownnews.com

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

10 Downtown News

Garcetti’s Big F-ing Deal The Mayor Drops an F-Bomb and Comes Out Ahead By Jon Regardie ll it took last week was one single word for Eric Garcetti to ignite the biggest media and social media firestorm of his still-young mayoralty. Of course, it was a planned-out word, and if you doubt it, then you also probably think the infamous Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake “nip slip” during the 2004 Super Bowl was actually an unintentional “wardrobe malfunction.” I don’t know whether Garcetti planned the F-bomb heard ’round Los Angeles two days or two minutes before he let it fly during the Los

Angeles Kings’ victory celebration on Monday, June 16, but whatever the case, the observation that the Stanley Cup celebration was “a big f-ing day” didn’t escape his lips in the heat of the moment at the microphone. Garcetti is smart and super careful, and he ran an entire successful mayoral campaign with the unofficial strategy of “Just don’t screw up — Wendy Greuel will do that for us.” He isn’t about to torpedo his public standing, just when people are starting to whisper about him being a future governor, with something equivalent to Howard Dean’s primal scream during his 2004 presidential run.

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Heck, Garcetti is so darn careful that even his flubs are choreographed. Well-placed and effective, but choreographed. Calling him choreographed isn’t a criticism. Really. The Antonio Villaraigosa era showed just what happens when a mayor lacks focus and has a loose grip on his instincts (including the carnal ones). Garcetti is the Anti-Antonio (the Antitonio?), and though many reporters (myself included) have complained that he frequently lacks flash, he’s also not out there making promises that will never be kept. However quickly it took Garcetti to weigh the pros and cons of an F-bomb, he’s emerged on the right side. He made light of the hubbub during a national appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and got the tone just right. Even the criticisms are pretty timid. Some complained that he stole the Kings’ thunder, but, no — they had a parade and a massive celebration. No one has overlooked the team’s second Stanley Cup in three years. If anything, the cup and the cursing were complementary. Some tsk-tsked Garcetti over the children who might have been watching, and I get that, but only to a degree. I have a 5- and a 7-yearold, and if I thought that letting them watch TV at 2 p.m. on a weekday was a good idea, and was watching with them, I would have responded by not overreacting. Big kids know the word and utter it more frequently and far more colorfully than you and I (or Garcetti). Little kids latch on to new “bad” words only if you make a big deal out of them. If there’s one thing that’s truly shocking, it’s that when Garcetti delivered the line, he held aloft a bottle of Bud Light. Garcetti seems like a microbrew guy, someone who would opt for a craft beer manufactured in Belgium or Eagle

photo by Gary Leonard

Mayor Eric Garcetti uttered the F-word heard round Los Angeles, and hasn’t really suffered.

Rock. Does anyone really think that, if given his choice of beers, this mayor would ever select Bud Light? Perhaps the most amusing thing about the whole f-ing situation is that everyone keeps writing and saying “F-ing” and “F-bomb,” as propriety and, in the case of TV and radio, FCC regulations, make the actual seven letters prohibitive. My only real criticism of the word is that it’s overused, that people treat it as a synonym for “very.” If it has to be an adjective, reserve it for appropriate circumstances. I’m not offended by the word, but rather the laziness of trading “It’s very cold” for “It’s f-ing cold.” With all that said, the thing about Garcetti’s comment is that, well, he was right. He chose precisely the right moment and the right conditions to veer away from being the Boy Scout mayor. It may have been an expletive, but it was accurate. The Kings celebrating the Stanley Cup in a raucous Downtown Los Angeles celebration? Yeah, it was a big f-ing day. regardie@downtownnews.com

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Downtown News 11

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

The Central City Crime Report A Rundown on Downtown Incidents, Trends and Criminal Oddities By Donna Evans n the Central City Crime Report, we survey the recent week in public safety. All information is provided by the LAPD’s Central Division.

Wigging Out: Three people walked into SP Human Hair at 1103 S. Main St. just after noon on June 12 and tried to return a wig. The manager refused, per store policy, and the disgruntled customer stole another wig and ran into the street. The customer dropped the merchandise, but punched the manager.

The ATM Is Not MIA: For the second time since April, someone tried to steal an ATM machine from the 600 block of South Central Avenue. At 8 p.m. on June 14, a wouldbe burglar used an acetylene torch to try to remove the machine. It was the same result as three months ago: The machine didn’t budge. Help Yourself: An employee at 1753 S. Hill St. asked a customer who walked in at about 6 p.m. on June 12 if he needed any help. The man pushed the employee, reached into the

cash register and stole an undisclosed amount of money. Ticket Trouble: A man with a criminal history for robberies told police he was robbed of Los Angeles Kings tickets at noon on June 13. As soon as the man gave money to the seller in the 1200 block of South Grand Avenue, the guy pulled out a gun and demanded the tickets back. While running from the robber, the man fell and broke his ankle. Heads Up: A man who parked his car in a lot at College and Hill streets on June 14 told police that three men assaulted him with a chair and hit him. The 2:30 p.m. incident left the man with four stitches in his head.

Bad Night: Two men who had been standing in front of a woman’s apartment building in the 1500 block of South Flower Street at 8 p.m. on June 14 entered the building two hours later and kicked in her door. One suspect tasered the woman and demanded money while the other pulled out a gun. They kicked in a bedroom door and ransacked the place. The woman’s roommate remained asleep during the incident. Walk-by Snatching: A man holding three cell phones on the sidewalk at Sixth and Spring streets at 9 p.m. on June 10 told police that a man walking by ripped them out of his hands and fled. The area was searched, but no phones were found.

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TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

12 Downtown News

June 23, 2014

Strange Tree Dies, and A Mystery Is Solved Twelve-Foot Greenery Five Floors Above Broadway Is No More

A FREE COMMUNITY EVENT FOR DOWNTOWN LA RESIDENTS AND THEIR DOGS

Hosts Hal & “Scooter” Bastian of the Downtown Center BID and Monsignor & “Joaquin” Kostelnik of the Cathedral

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014 • 6– 9PM FREE ADMISSION Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Plaza 555 W. Temple St., Downtown LA photo by Gary Leonard

A 12-foot tree growing out of the fifth floor of a building at 353 S. Broadway has long puzzled passersby. The tree is now dead and its leaves are gone.

By Donna Evans he mystery surrounding the strangest tree in Downtown has been solved. Regrettably, it coincided with the death of the hearty piece of urban greenery. The 12-foot tall tree, growing out of the fifth floor of a southfacing wall at 353 S. Broadway, has long puzzled passersby. It also stumped the building’s owner, David Gray, who first spotted it in late 2011. No one could determine how it had taken root. In a 2013 Los Angeles Downtown News story, a curator at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden theorized it might be a ficus, as they can take root in unlikely places that lack dirt if a bird happened to drop a seed in a spot where there is some moisture. The solution is far less spectacular. This month, as construction workers were cleaning out the building as part of Gray’s $7.5 million renovation, they discovered several tons of dirt that had been topped with a flat slab. The 1911 building, which once housed Graysons department store, was designed to be seven stories, but the original builders stopped at five, he said. Coursing through the dirt were 60 feet of tree roots. They have now been removed. “That sucker had a good life. It was growing like a weed,” Gray said. Gray admits to being sad about killing the tree, though its removal was a necessity in the building’s transformation. He said he saw a parallel between the tenacity of the tree and the momentum of a revitalized Broadway. Both are symbolic of a Downtown determined to survive, he said. His project is slated to turn the century-old edifice, which has been vacant since the 1970s, into an office building, and he plans to add an additional floor and create a bar. The project is scheduled to be completed next March. While the roots have been hauled away to make room for that sixth floor, the lifeless tree protrudes, for now at least, from the building. Gray said he intends to remove it soon, though he hopes to plan a fitting send-off for the scrappy sap. “I’m thinking of tying it to a hearse and driving it up and down Broadway with a police escort. It’s famous,” he said. donna@downtownnews.com

Downtown LA residents and their dogs are invited for mingling, music, and pet-related vendor displays! Celebrate our four-legged friends who create community in Downtown LA. Dodger dogs, snacks & full bar by Levy Restaurants available for purchase Downtown residents without dogs are welcome too

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Downtown News 13

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DT photos courtesy BET

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Now Playing/Starts June 6 The BET Experience, taking place June 27-29 at L.A. Live, offers everything from films to panel discussions to a celebrity basketball game. The highlight is the slate of concerts, including (l to r) Rick Ross, Outkast and A$AP Rocky.

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Check Our Website for Full Movie Listings DowntownNews.com the BETX Film Festival, as well as Nokia Plaza and the Gram-

By Eddie Kim lack Entertainment Television was born in 1980 as a block of programming on Nickelodeon. For two hours each week, audiences could catch music videos from black artists and reruns of popular black-oriented sitcoms. Founder Robert Johnson couldn’t have predicted how swiftly and significantly the network would grow over the next 34 years. The music videos and sitcom reruns remain, but BET today is less a network than a black-culture media juggernaut. Its massive lineup of original and syndicated programming, with highlights including “106 & Park” and E-NEWS s.com households in the wnNew “The reaches than 90 million Downto n up atmore N UP ”Sig SIGGame, United States. Network chairUp Debra hadE-News long hoped to create Sign forLee Our Blasts & a signature real-world cultural event to complement its TV presBe Entered to Win Movie Tickets! ence, said Paxton Baker, president of BET Event Productions, and that vision came to fruition last year with the inaugural BET Experience, held at L.A. Live. The event returns to the same Downtown locale on Friday-Sunday, June 27-29. The mix of concerts, films, free events and more (see sidebar) is expected to draw close to 150,000 people. “Our chairman has been with BET for 30 years, and she has always wanted to bring the brand to life off the TV screen,” said Baker. “The BET Experience is the first real foray into that and we can’t imagine another place to do it outside of L.A., the entertainment capital of the world.” The centerpiece of the BET Experience is its lineup of five concerts, which each feature multiple artists and are taking place inside Staples Center or Club Nokia. Headlining the /L.A.DowntownNews com Facebook. event is the superstar rap duo of André 3000 and Big Boi, better known as Outkast, who perform June 28 at Staples Center. Other who will News appear over the weekend inLike artists Downtown on Facebook clude Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, A$AP Rick Ross & Be Entered to Win MovieRocky, Tickets! and The Roots. Tickets for the concerts range from $40 to $150, while three-day passes go for $100 to $350. It doesn’t take even a dime to be part of the event, however. A free Fan Fest will be held in the Los Angeles Convention Center, with activities including a streetball game, a gospel choir showcase, a dance-off, and discussions with Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather. Parts of the Fan Fest also will be held in Regal Cinemas L.A. Live, which will host screenings of six movies as part of

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my Museum. Baker emphasized that the BET Experience is intended to cater to a huge range of tastes and demographics. “It’s rooted in African-American culture and has an urban sensibility, but the programming was meant to have crossover appeal,” Baker said. “It’s about celebrating the best and the brightest of African-American talent, and it’s for all kinds of fans, no matter whether you like huge hip-hop stars or rising artists or films.” The production is a collaboration between BET and L.A. Live, which is owned and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group. The partnership with AEG began when the company last year lured the BET Awards away from the nearby Shrine Auditorium. Additional concerts and events were devised to complement the awards, and a “growing snowball” of ideas led to the BET Experience, said AEG’s Lee Zeidman, senior vice president and general manager of L.A. Live and Staples Center. “L.A. Live was built for big, multifaceted events like this. And we’ve been pursuing as much diversity as we can in programming not just mainstream acts but for Latino audiences, black audiences and so on,” Zeidman said. “We want to be culturally relevant in many ways, and the BET Experience is certainly significant in that sense.” Baker hopes to see the event gain the influence of entertainment festivals such as South by Southwest or Coachella. The revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles bodes well for the future of the BET Experience, Baker added. Zeidman also noted that there is room for the event to grow at L.A. Live. He suggested that future BET Experiences could see activities in the ballrooms of the J.W. Marriott hotel or on the Event Deck, the top level of an L.A. Live parking structure. R&B singer-songwriter Durrell Babbs, better known by his stage name Tank, sees the BET Experience as valuable because of how it highlights many wildly different elements of black popular culture. Babbs is performing as part of the Fan Fest’s Acoustically Speaking live music program, which begins at 2 p.m. on June 28 in the “Theatre” space inside the Convention Center. He said that the length of the Experience and its emphasis on free events helps draw more diverse crowds.

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Festival at L.A. Live

“It’s a platform to showcase what black artists do, and to come together as a community to celebrate it,” he said. “At the same time, there’s a lot of people who aren’t black and just love rap, hip-hop dance, R&B, whatever. This kind of event makes it really easy to take part in that culture and see it firsthand.” The BET Experience is June 27-29 at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-5483 or bet.com. eddie@downtownnews.com

Now Playing/Starts June 13

Six BET Experience Highlights Future with DJ Khaled & Friends, Friday, 11 p.m., Club Nokia, about $30. The rapper takes the stage to perform tracks off his well-received LP Honest. BETX Film Festival, Saturday, 12-9 p.m., Regal Cinemas, free. Six free film screenings, including Prince’s classic Purple Rain, spaghetti western They Die By Dawn and the Spike Lee-produced documentary Evolution of a Criminal. Celebrity Basketball Game, Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Convention Center, free. Snoop Dogg, Terrell Owens, Soulja Boy and more work their magic on the court. Coaches include Rajon Rondo and Metta World Peace.

Now Playing/Starts June 20

Acoustically Speaking, Saturday, 2-6:30 p.m., Convention Center, free. Intimate acoustic performances from Faith Hill, R&B singer Tank, stellar MC Talib Kweli and more. Genius Talks: Mike Tyson, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. in the Convention Center, free. Boxing legend Mike Tyson dishes out stories during an interview with rapper Common. L.A. to the Bay, Sunday, 3:30 p.m., Convention Center, free. A group of California artists including Sage the Gemini, Mila J, DJ A-Tron and Problem come together to throw down rhymes, hooks and beats.

Now Playing/Starts June 27

14 Downtown News

Vatican Action Ahmanson Show Explores Political Intrigue And the Death of a Pope By Jeff Favre oger Crane couldn’t have foreseen the papacy of Pope Francis when he penned The Last Confession. The enjoyable and occasionally fascinating play, which explores the Catholic church hierarchy and the theories surrounding the quick rise and fall of Pope John Paul I, premiered in London in 2007. The continued scandals in the church, mixed with the apparently reform-minded new pope, make Crane’s artful mix of fact and fiction even more relevant today. Set in 1978 and starring David Suchet, best known for portraying the mystery-solving Hercule Poirot on British TV, The Last Confession runs through July 6 at Downtown’s Ahmanson Theatre. It’s the production’s only American stop before heading to Australia. Suchet’s name above the title may not drive American audiences to the theater, nor will Crane — a lawyer with no other theater credits — but fans of political drama will find plenty to appreciate, despite a few clunky elements. Crane’s writing sometimes lacks elegance, and the opening scenes are a blitz of names and facts better reserved for a TV procedural. Once the players are introduced and the sides are drawn, however, things get interesting. Directed by Jonathan Church and told in flashback by Cardinal Giovanni Benelli (Suchet) to an unnamed Confessor (Philip Craig), the story traces the final year of Pope Paul VI (Donald Douglas) and the internal struggle among the College of Cardinals to select the next pope. Benelli is a popular but polarizing choice. However, he wants no part of the job, and instead prefers to be a pope-maker. He pushes the lightly regarded Cardinal Albino Luciani (Richard O’Callaghan), believing him to be a man of the people and a reformer, not a pawn of the church.

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

June 23, 2014

Getting the votes for Luciani, who takes the name Pope John Paul I, is one thing, but fighting the longstanding establishment is another. Cardinal Jean Villot (Nigel Bennett) is intent on keeping the status quo from the recently deceased Pope Paul VI. So is the American-born Bishop Paul Marcinkus (Stuart Milligan), who runs the Vatican Bank as if he’s a member of organized crime rather than the Catholic church. It’s impossible to know if Pope John Paul I would have pushed through changes to the church — Crane suggests he was doing just that — because he died unexpectedly in the middle the night, after just 33 days as pope. Some still suspect nefarious circumstances. Fittingly, the plot shifts gears toward an investigation into John Paul’s death, with Benelli acting as a suspect-grilling prosecutor. The Last Confession is an ensemble work with a cast of 20, but Suchet is the magnetic and charismatic driving force behind each scene. He balances Benelli’s ambitions for power with his desire to see the church work for the common people. Suchet displays a matter-of-fact demeanor mixed with signs of fear that Benelli’s faith in God is shaky at best. Also impressive is Douglas as the aging, dying Paul VI, who offers a sense of regret and resolution for failing God. Most of the needed comic relief comes from O’Callaghan, who portrays Pope John Paul I as a humble, modest, everyday man who likes to snack on candy and walk in the garden. The running time of two-and-a-half hours could be cut by several minutes without losing the intricate plot. Crane tries to shoehorn in a bit much, including a plot twist that isn’t needed to convey Benelli’s internal anguish that he didn’t do enough to help the pope he put into power. The bigger fault, though, is technical. The intense scenes are appropriately frenetic, but much of Church’s pacing is lost with unnecessary shifts in William Dudley’s scenic design, which is dominated by a series of ominous metal gates and doors that hide in Peter Mumford’s shadowy lighting. The look effectively connotes a sense of secrecy and power, but rotating the set pieces during 15-second blackouts to suggest a change in location slows the action without any payoff.

photo by Craig Schwartz

Nigel Bennett (left) and David Suchet have different views on where the Catholic church needs to go in The Last Confession. The politically tinged drama set in 1978 is built around the mysterious death of Pope John Paul I.

The Last Confession truly needs no set at all. It’s an intimate piece that would have fit better in the Mark Taper Forum. Regardless of the venue, however, Center Theatre Group deserves applause for being the only domestic company to nab the show. The Last Confession runs through July 6 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-4000 or centertheatregroup.org.

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Thursday, June 26, 2014, 5:00 to 7:00 pm City National Plaza Fountain, 5th and Flower Streets All proceeds benefit Hope Street Family Center

Mark & Eloise Appel Marshal Bernes M.D. & Rina Tham Jeffrey & Hannah Kirschner John & Lauren Opgenorth Richard & Betty Oxford

TuESDay, JuNE 24 History Repeats Itself at REDCAT REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. 7:30 p.m.: Cuauhtemoc Medina, an art critic and curator at Mexico City’s Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo, muses on the role of historical memory in our society. ThuRSDay, JuNE 26 Geoff Dyer at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org. 7:15 p.m.: Writer Geoff Dyer discusses the odd whims and fancies of his wordsmith career in light of his latest work of nonfiction, Another Great Day at Sea. Controller Ron Galperin at Town Hall-LA City Club, 555 S. Flower St., (213) 628-8141 or townhall-la.org. 8 p.m.: You’ll come for the breakfast, but you best bet you’ll stick around to hear the City Controller dish on the state of our fine metropolis’ fickle finances. Continued on next page

photo by Mitch Maher

“Rosebud” is news.co th m hits the scre e watchword of the w en at the Orp eek as Orso n Welles’ Cit Seats serie heum The izen s. T at always aim he annual program fro re as part of the Last Kane s high, but th Remaining m the Los A ng is films in class ic venues. T may be the pinnacle o eles Conservancy he cinemati f its pairings 28, at 2 and c sp of 8 thing hits to p.m. at the Broadway lendor goes down Satu classic theater. If th o close to ho rday, June ew Seats offerin m g, Luis Buñu e, then check out anoth hole existential crisis el’s El Gran C Wednesday er Last Rem ala n a at (213) 623 ight. All three screening vera at the Palace Th ining eatre on -2489 or laco s have a pre -show. Info nservancy.o and tickets rg.

From the co lle glimpse at th ction of Christian Esqu ev e said Christia heyday of Hollywood in comes a rare costuming. n who?, no If y wo Museum in South Park rries. Just head to the F ou just to gander a among them IDM t so in the 1940 s (shown he two evening jackets w me rare outfits, re), along w orn by Marl from the lik ene ith es Hollywood: of Walter Plunkett and a batch of costume ske Dietrich Sketches Fro tches Edith Head. m T Tuesday-Su nday from 1 the Christian Esquevin he exhibit Designing Collection is 0 a.m.-5 p.m up and tell M ope . th r. at some brill DeMille you’re ready rough November. So n each fo do ia r Grand Ave., nt historical Hollywoo your close-up glimpse ll yourself d garb. At 9 (213) 623-5 19 821 or fidm museum.org S. .

Four

LIST

At first glan ce orchestra se , the concept of a hip -h e post-mode ms a touch antithetic op rnity and w al, but this is e’re all abo ing of style ut th s. daKah Hip So why not get on bo e blendard H ensemble le op Orchestra? The h with ig d a perennia by Geoff “Double G” hly touted l fixture at Gallegos is Bunker Hill’ Plaza Wat s Ca erc of sympho ourt, featuring a st lifornia nic elemen u ts and som nning blend ters of cere e sp m hitting the ony. The 60-person tr irited masoupe will b stage on Sa e tu Arrive early to save the rday, June 28, at 8 p.m At 350 S. G best seats. . ra Bri grandperfo nd Ave., (213) 687-21 ng a picnic. rmances.org 59 or .

We like to im massive su agine the City Contro ller as an o bterranean mniscie chamb from traffic er with a series of lev nt superbeing lurking ers ligh in Ron Galpe ts to those Zamboni- that operate everythin a esque stree rin is a mere g t sw m books. Give n Los Ange ortal in charge of bala eepers. Alas, les’ ncin 26, mornin g appearan rampant deficits, his T g the city’s ce at the Cit hursday, Ju ne y Clu Hall-Los A ngeles, sh b, hosted by Town ould be a ti enlightenin mely g which a ma glimpse into the proce and jo ss pay Paul. B r American city robs P by reakfast wil eter to hungry for l be served Like Disney la Flower St., Danishes and knowle , so come second hap nd for the tortilla-orie dg (213) 628-8 pie nte 141 or tow e. At 555 S. entertainm st place on earth on d, L.A. Weekly’s Tac n hall-la.org. ola Sa en Bad news fo t that will only serve turday, June 28. Drop ndia will transform El to b r Tacolandia the underage set: Th distract you from the y from 3-7 p.m. to ex Pueblo de Los Ang p e event is 2 eles Histo includes te erience a b b o u n ty of me ric 1-a quil ev microapp.la weekly.com a tasting. At 125 Pase nd-over. Great news at, beans and corn yo y of food trucks and so Monument into the for the adu u /tacolandia o De La Pla me robust ’l l be ingestin lts: za or live . g. Send information and possible Don’t Miss List submissions to calendar@downtownnews.com.

photo by RKO Pictures/Mercury Theater Productions

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