Los Angeles magazine- March 2022

BEST IN SHOW THE L.A. RAMS’ SECOND ACT

SMOKED OUT

Are Mexican meth labs fueling L.A.’s homelessness crisis?

SWEET SURRENDER The $12 cookie that has consumed Hollywood’s elite

Spring Fashion: Rocker Chic Returns Inside HBO’s Controversial Lakers Hit

BY PETER KIEFER

PLUS:

The city’s best Cantonese cuisine, the worst speeches in Oscar history, and a neighborhood’s Black renaissance

Karen Bass almost edged out Kamala to become VP. Now she’s the front-runner for an even harder job. Is she tough enough to turn L.A. around?

BY K AT E P I C K E R T

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Features 50

Thanks for Nothing Once upon a time, Oscar speeches were actually fun— sometimes even funny (take a bow, Ruth Gordon). But over the last 20 years, winners have been spewing head-scratching drivel (we’re looking at you, Matthew McConaughey).

BY M I C H A E L C A L L A H A N 8 L A M AG.C OM

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Karen Bass almost edged out Kamala to become Biden’s VP. Now she’s the front-runner for an even harder job. The consensus-building congresswoman has spent her lifetime defying expectations. But is she ready to be mayor of an ailing L.A.?

From Sid and Nancy at the Chelsea to Pam and Tommy at the Chateau, rock-and-roll couples and hip hotels are a pairing that never goes out of style.

A provocative new book by former L.A. Times reporter Sam Quinones claims that a potent form of Mexican meth is causing a surge of deaths and homelessness in L.A. Are we doing enough to address the city’s drug problem? And why aren’t more people paying attention?

The Candidate

BY KAT E P I C K E R T

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P R O D U C E D B Y : V I L L A N I P R O D U C T I O N S ; H A I R : G I O VA N N I G I U L I A N O F O R A R T D E PA R T M E N T U S I N G O R I B E ; M A K E U P : S E T S U K O TAT E U S I N G N A R S M O D E L S : M A L E D A M I A N F I N L AY S O N W I T H S TAT E M A N A G E M E N T L O S A N G E L E S F E M A L E J E S S I C A C L E M E N T S W I T H F R E E D O M M O D E L S L . A . L O C AT I O N : C H AT E A U M A R M O N T

Retro spring fashion at the Chateau Marmont.

M A R C H 202 2

Buzz Basket Brawl

» A new blockbuster HBO series promises viewers a courtside seat to the drama and debauchery of the legendary ’80s Lakers. Of course, not everyone is happy about that.

BY PETER KIEFER PAGE 17 COUNTRY COM FORT

Biscuits and gravy from Korean deli Yangban Society, page 36.

Brief

» Peter Dinklage rips Disney’s dwarves; Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Anne Frank gaffe hits home; Union Pacific’s great L.A. train robberies; Steve Martin’s price of fame.

PAGE 20

Hunger Games

» How a $12 cookie became Hollywood’s latest monster hit.

BY JONATHAN LITTMAN PAGE 22

Ask Chris » Is the freak show on the Venice boardwalk ever coming back?

What’s the biggest public library in L.A.? Who’s the biggest landlord here? Our resident historian answers all your burning questions.

BY CHRIS NICHOLS PAGE 96

Incoming!

» How L.A. learned to love the Rams again; your five senses meet Frida Kahlo’s colors; The Godfather is the best film of 2022; the next Black renaissance will not be in New York; Cantonese food is making a comeback; in praise of a one-pound meatball.

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TRENDING

POSTSCRIPT LIFE AFTER “LONG SHOT” » Juan Catalan escaped a bogus murder rap with the help of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Will the cops who tried to put him away face consequences?

BY CHRIS DEROSE

ENTERPRISE THE ADVENTURES OF L.A.’S FIRST BLACK FEMALE DISPENSARY OWNER

DURST IMPRESSIONS

The man behind The Jinx.

» It took nearly five years and a lawsuit against the city for Kika Keith to finally be able to open her cannabis shop.

BY KAILYN BROWN

FOOD SOKO’S CHEF REVEALS HIS SUSHI SECRETS » Chef Masa Shimakawa’s eight-seat Santa Monica hideaway serves up some of the finest sushi in America.

BY DANNY PALUMBO

» From breaking news to celebrity buzz to the

best places to eat around town, our daily website features exclusive, up-to-the-minute coverage of the things that Angelenos really care about. Here’s a small sampling of the most popular stories from LAMAG.COM CRIME AN AFFAIR TO DISMEMBER » Real estate heir Robert Durst died in prison in January after eluding conviction for a string of murders over 30 years.

An intimate account of his last days by a reporter who tracked him for decades.

BY LISA DEPAULO

14 L A M A G.C O M

OUT AND ABOUT THE 100 MOST PHOTOGENIC PLACES IN L.A. » L.A loves to have its picture taken, naturally. We scouted out some of the most breathtaking locales in the city—some of them familiar; others, not so much—to help you upgrade your Instagram feed.

POLITICS GUNNING FOR GASCÓN » After a spate of highprofile crimes, the campaign to recall DA George Gascón is gaining support from some deep-pocketed Democratic donors.

Here are a few of the high-profile Dems seeking to dump the DA.

BY JASON MCGAHAN

SECRET L.A. BONFIRE OF THE VANITY PLATES » An obscure and overworked division of the DMV reviews (and rejects) thousands of hilarious vanity-plate applications each year.

Here are some of the our favorite rejects and a few that, shockingly, got through.

BY SAMUEL BRASLOW

I L LUS T R AT E D B Y R OB E RT C A RT E R

» Everyone scoffed when a ragtag alliance of fans vowed to free the pop star from her 13-year conservatorship. Now the group is playing a pivotal role in reforming California’s controversial conservatorship laws, and nobody’s laughing anymore.

BY REX WEINER

TRIBUTES JOAN DIDION’S L.A. » The legendary writer put words to the city’s subtle currents of menace and dread. Her work will stand as long as the city does.

BY MATTHEW SPECKTOR

D I D I O N : G A R Y G E R S H O F F/ W I R E I M A G E )

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A BLOCKBUSTER NEW HBO SERIES PROMISES VIEWERS A COURTSIDE SEAT TO THE DRAMA AND DEBAUCHERY OF THE LEGENDARY ’80S LAKERS. OF COURSE, NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY ABOUT THAT

ST Y L I N G BY: DA M I A N CO L L I N S FO R FO RWA R D A R T I STS ; S O LO M O N H U G H E S : G R O O M I N G BY H E E S O O KWO N ; Q U I N C Y I SA I A H : H A I R BY DA R O N N C A R AT B L E N D L A ; S I M O N E F R A J N D FO R E XC LU S I V E A R T I STS U S I N G B A R B A R A ST R U M

BY PETER KIEFER

T H E Y’V E GOT GAME

Solomon Hughes (left) and Quincy Isaiah play Kareem AbdulJabbar and Magic Johnson in HBO’s controversial series about the Lakers.

P H O T O G R A P H E D BY I RW I N R I V E R A

L A M AG . C O M 1 7

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N OW P L AY I N G

I

T ’ S G O T A L L the elements of a boffo TV drama. Passion. Hubris. Betrayal.

Heartbreak. And that’s just what was happening off camera.

Whatever else viewers might make of HBO’s upcoming Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a ten-part docudrama that supposedly unveils the true personalities and inner turmoil behind L.A.’s favorite basketball team during its so-called “Showtime” years of the 1980s—you know, when it won five NBA championships—it’s hard to imagine anything on the screen being as compelling as the commotions going on behind it. This, after all, is the project that split up one of the most productive and formidable bromances in recent comedy history, Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, the duo behind such 2000s classics as Anchorman, Stepbrothers, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (not to mention the current HBO hit Succession).

But more on that bitter breakup later.

First, its star-studded casting: Oscar winner Adrien Brody plays former Laker coach Pat Riley; Jason Segel portrays Riley’s predecessor, Paul Westhead; Jason Clarke is Jerry West, the team’s mercurial manager; and John C. Reilly and Sally Field are the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss and his mother, Jessie. But for the most conspicuous roles—Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—McKay cast two relative newcomers. Six-foot-three Quincy Isaiah plays Johnson, and six-foot-eleven Solomon Hughes portrays Abdul-Jabbar.

“The Lakers were the center of my basketball universe,” says Hughes, 42, who earlier in his career had a brief stint as a Harlem Globetrotter. “For any kid growing up in Southern California, there were the Lakers and then there was everybody else.”

Sadly, Hughes never got to meet Abdul-Jabbar or any of the other Lakers while preparing for his role. In fact, the Lakers wanted absolutely nothing to do with this series, likely because they were aware of the source material on which it’s based: Winning Time is adapted from veteran journalist Jeff Pearlman’s 2014 best-seller Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, which rips the lid off the excesses and all-star hedonism that dominated the Lakers during that time. In Pearlman’s telling, cocaine was nearly as plentiful in the locker room as Gatorade, and egos were as big as any of the players. Riley starts out as a modest but scrappy coach but evolves into a world-class prima donna, West is an expletive-spouting jerk, and Buss is an irredeemable womanizer (indeed, the opening scene of the pilot shows him in bed with a naked young woman inside the Playboy Mansion).

As for Johnson, his sexual exploits were almost as famous as his no-look passes, while Abdul-Jabbar is portrayed as 1 8 L A M AG . C O M

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3 4

M E N F OR A L L SE A SONS

1 . G E T T Y I M AG E S / B E T T M A N N ; 2 . 4 . WA R R I C K PAG E / H B O ; 3 . 6 . FO C U S O N S P O R T/G E T T Y I M AG E S ; 5 . T H E S P O RT I N G N E W S V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S

1. Flanked by NBA commissioner David Stern (left) and legendary Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Magic Johnson holds the NBA Most Valuable Player trophy for the 1987 season. 2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pulls down a rebound against the Washington Bullets, circa 1977. 3. Johnson and AbdulJabbar on a 1980 cover of The Sporting News. 4. Then Lakers assistant coach Pat Riley (left) on the sidelines with Lakers manager Jerry West during a 1979 game.

5. Actor Solomon Hughes, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, re-creates a scene from Airplane!. 6. John C. Reilly (left) as Buss, with Quincy Isaiah as Johnson and Jason Clarke as West.

huge Laker fan who often can be spotted sitting courtside 5 at games—but then changed his mind and cast Reilly in 6 the role, supposedly because Reilly looked more like Buss.

“The truth is,” McKay recently told Vanity Fair, “ the way the show was always going to be done, it’s hyperrealistic. And Ferrell just doesn’t look like Jerry Buss, and he’s not that vibe of a Jerry Buss. And there were some people involved who were like, ‘We love Ferrell, he’s a genius, but we can’t see him doing it.’ It was a bit of a hard discussion.”

Fair enough, except that McKay neglected to mention to his old friend and producing partner that he was cutting him from the series.

Ferrell was so hurt when he finally learned—from Reilly, a longtime friend—that he’d been dropped, he hasn’t spoken to McKay since. “I should an aloof misanthrope who treats his fans appallingly. have called him, and I didn’t,” McKay admitted. “I fucked Not at all surprisingly, a representative for Abdul-Jabbar up on how I handled that. It’s the old thing to keep your declined to comment about the show, while emails to side of the street clean. I should have just Johnson’s spokesperson were not returned. done everything by the book.”

“I’m not looking forward to it. I’m going The last time the two did speak was to to leave it at that,” Johnson told TMZ in When it came break up their production company, Gary December when asked if he planned to to casting Sanchez. “Basically, [it] was like, ‘Have a watch the show, adding that he and Buss’s good life,’ ” McKay said. “And I’m like, ‘Fuck, widow, current Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson Ferrell’s never going to talk to me again.’ So were working on competing Lakers shows and Kareem it ended not well.” of their own (including a front-office Abdul-Jabbar, As for Isaiah and Hughes, their careers as comedy that Mindy Kaling is reportedly the showrunners actors will, to a large degree, depend on how producing for Netflix). As for the Lakers Winning Time is received by viewers, not organization itself, all a publicist would plucked two to mention Lakers fans. Isaiah, who attends say was, “We aren’t supporting nor are we actors out of a regular pickup game with friends in Van involved with this project.” total obscurity.

Nuys, is anticipating at least a little push For McKay, who is producing and back on the court. directing the series, controversy is hardly “I imagine they’ll try me a little more at a stranger (he took some flack from critthe end of the day,” he says. “I just hope they don’t expect ics for his recent, massive Netflix hit, Don’t Look Up). But me to be as good as Magic. I mean, I can do a thing here or this time, the backstage drama over the production really there, but Magic—he was something.” hit home. Originally, he’d cast Ferrell as Buss—Ferrell is a L A M AG . C O M 1 9

The Brief MIGHTY MOUTH

Dinklage: “You’re still making that fucking backward movie about seven dwarfs living in a cave?”

PETER DINKLAGE RIPS DISNEY’S DWARFS THE GAME OF THRONES STAR HAS BIG PROBLEMS WITH THE STUDIO’S LIVE-ACTION SNOW WHITE REBOOT

BY IAN SPIEGELMAN

T H E WA LT D isney Studios’

upcoming liveaction version of its 1937 animated fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has drawn fire from Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage.

Appearing on comedian Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Dinklage said, “Literally no offense... but I was a little taken back that they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White— but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.

It makes no sense to me.

You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still 2 0 L A M AG . C O M

making that fucking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?” The Emmy winner added sarcastically, “Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney responded that some of its best friends are little people.

“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,” the studio said. “We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into

production after a lengthy development period.”

Dinklage has previously used public appearances to draw attention to insensitive portrayals and outright abuses of dwarfs, citing in his Golden Globes Best Supporting Actor speech the case of Martin Henderson, a British dwarf who was injured when he was picked up and thrown outside a U.K. pub. In 1995’s Living in Oblivion, he famously played a little person, in a send-up of Twin Peaks, who’s offended at the frequency with which dwarfs show up in movie dream sequences.

WHY RFK JR. IS LIKELY SLEEPING ON THE SOFA TONIGHT C H E RY L H I N E S wasted

no time curbing her enthusiasm for husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after his tone-deaf remarks comparing COVID publichealth regulations to the Holocaust.

Addressing an antivaccine rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Kennedy suggested that

S H E ’S T H E B O S S

Cheryl Hines busted RFK Jr. on Twitter for his anti-vax rant.

life for unvaccinated Americans is worse than it was for Anne Frank, who hid from the Nazis with her family in Amsterdam for two years before their capture and her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

“Even in Hitler Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did,” Kennedy, a longtime antivaxxer, said during the rally. “Today, the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run, and none of us can hide.”

Kennedy’s remarks unsurprisingly sparked outrage when footage of the speech went viral—including a scathing rebuke from his TV star wife.

“My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive,” Hines tweeted.

“The atrocities that millions endured during the Holocaust should never be compared to anyone or anything. His opinions are not a reflection of my own.”

Kennedy later apologized in a tweet, saying his “intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from technologies of control.”

NBC reported that Kennedy had previously compared vaccines to the Holocaust at a 2015 screening. Ironically, invitations to a holiday party at Kennedy and Hines’s I L L U S T R A T E D B Y B R I A N T AY L O R

K E N N E DY: A X E L L E / B AU E R - G R I F F I N / F I L M M AG I C

N E W S & N O T E S F R O M A L L OV E R

ESTIMATED COST OF THE BIRKIN BAGS THAT KANYE WEST GIFTED HIS POST-KARDASHIAN GIRLFRIEND, UNCUT GEMS STAR JULIA FOX, ALONG WITH FIVE OF HER CLOSEST FRIENDS, AT A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY BASH IN FEBRUARY.

CRAZY TRAIN

Railroad to City of Los Angeles: Clean up our act!

TO P : A R L D. WA L S H / P O R T L A N D P R E S S H E R A L D V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S ; H I R O H ATA M E R C U RY: T H E S H O P M AG .CO M ; ST E V E M A R T I N : P I X E L P U S H E R S

Mandeville Canyon home last year encouraged guests to be vaccinated or tested for COVID, Politico reported. Kennedy said it was actually his wife’s idea.

“I guess I’m not always the boss at my own house,” he said. — K A I LY N B R OW N

UNION PACIFIC’S GREAT L.A. TRAIN ROBBERIES L O S A N G E L E S has a long, storied history of great train robberies, but at least the old-timey bandits didn’t leave behind heaps of Amazon boxes, paper packaging, and shredded cardboard.

Drone footage shot above Lincoln Heights in January shows the shocking remnants of a series of brazen freight-train heists that left the area looking more like landfill than a railroad hub.

As the footage went viral, the scene quickly became a worldwide embarrassment for Union Pacific, the Omaha-based railroad that owns the tracks. But instead of cleaning up the debris

and deploying an army of Pinkerton-style private police to fend off future bushwhackers, as it did in its Wild West days, the railroad just blamed the government.

In a letter to Los Angeles County DA George Gascón, the railroad said his “no-cash bail policy and extended time-frame for suspects to appear in court” had emboldened the train robbers, leading to “re-victimization of U.P. by these same criminals,” according to railroad spokesman Adrian Guerrero.

Gascón fired back: “U.P. does little to secure or lock trains and has significantly decreased law enforcement staffing.”

Multiple reports suggested that severe cuts to security staff left the trains vulnerable to robbery as

O G L OW R I D E R

they rolled into the city.

As few as 6 U.P. police protect the territory stretching from Yuma, Arizona, to Los Angeles, LAPD Capt. German Hurtado told the Los Angeles Times—a laughably thin blue line.

Proof that the problem is potentially containable could be found just two blocks away, with tracks on the BNSF Railway, a competitor of U.P., showing no significant evidence of the same issues. — ST E V E A P P L E FO R D

WHEELS OF FORTUNE AS IF USED CAR prices

weren’t already out of control, a 1951 Mercury just went up for auction in Los Angeles and fetched a whopping $2.14 million. But at least this set of wheels has a more interesting backstory than what you’ll find on CarMax. In 1952, Masato Hirohata, then a 21-yearold internment-camp veteran, brought his 1951 Mercury Club Coupe to the Lynwood garage of George Barris, who would go on to design the Batmobile. By the time Barris and his brother, Sam, were finished, the Merc had been chopped and lowered, the

The Hirohata Merc recently sold at auction for a record $2.14 million.

$50K headlights “frenched”—or blended with the bumper—and the body given a two-tone paint job.

The Hirohata Merc created a sensation, appearing at motor shows and the Indianapolis 500, and it sparked the Californiacustom-car craze that Tom Wolfe immortalized in a 1963 Esquire article and his book “The KandyKolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby,” one of New Journalism’s founding documents.

“This car really transcends motoring,” says Leslie Kendall, chief historian at L.A.’s Petersen Automotive Museum.

“It’s now into the realm of art.” —A N DY L E W I S

STEVE MARTIN’S PRICE OF FAME O N E O F the charms of

Los Angeles is bumping into celebrities. But how to keep your cool in the “Pics, or it didn’t happen” era? Steve Martin has your back. The actor never leaves home without cards, complete with a facsimile signature, attesting to his congeniality.

Julien’s Auctions sold a lot of more than 1,000 of the cards in 2020 for $1,920.

An eBay seller is now offering them at $29.99 each, a 1,500 percent price increase. — C H R I S N I C H O L S L A M AG . C O M 2 1

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Last Crumb’s savvy marketing campaign has VIPs lining up to pay $140 a box for its subscriber-only treats.

Hunger Games

Jaeger—who, at 37, pumps iron and looks like he’d run from a batch of cookies—fell in love with the science of food: “what makes the mouthfeel, the pleasure of tying it all together,” he says. Jaeger moved on, launched a marketing company, but still loved baking cookies at the end of the day “as a release.”

He’d bring them to parties. “People would say, ‘You should do something with these.’ ” HOW DID A $12 COOKIE BECAME HOLLYWOOD’S In January 2020, Jaeger joined forces with Alana ArLATEST MONSTER HIT? BLAME CHRISSY TEIGEN nold, 32, an L.A.-based digital marketing expert, and Last B Y J O N AT H A N L I T T M A N Crumb was born. “The flavors had to be perfect,” recalls Arnold. “The best chocolate chip cookie. The best birthday cake cookie.” (Jaeger won’t divulge trade secrets but suggests N A P R I L O F L A S T Y E A R , Last Crumb—the that Last Crumb’s unusual three-day dough prep was the direct-to-consumer L.A. purveyor of ultragourmet breakthrough.) The partners hired Truffl, the posh Wilshire cookies—made its first email drop to 300 initial Boulevard branding agency, to fashion a fabulous box, and subscribers. Within minutes, the entire inventorecruited a CEO, Matthew Jung, 35, who had scaled up and ry—two dozen boxes at $140 each, or $12 per cookie—was exited a surfing brand. snapped up. Each cookie bore a smirking After the Teigen triumph, Jaeger wanted to meme on its wrapper; “a generous vanilla milk see “who our apostle customers were—if people swirl because we f**king love you” was typical. are willing to spend four figures on a future box Adoring customers compared unboxing them of cookies.” Thus was hatched Last Crumb’s to a hyped sneaker drop. Instagram lit up, and VIP tier. influencers were clamoring for more. Within “It’s like a nightclub,” Jaeger says. “We have weeks, each subsequent drop was spoken for a huge waiting list.” A sweet grand earned VIP in minutes, all without a single ad. members the means to jump the line, along Then, in late May, major buzz struck. Derek with heirloom packaging and seven prepaid Jaeger, Last Crumb’s cofounder, got a call from boxes of cookies. Nearly 1,000 people clicked one of his business partners. “Holy shit, guess “It’s like a on the offer—a million dollars for future cookwhat happened?” Jaeger recalls him sputteries. Juiced with the VIP cash and $1 million in ing. “Chrissy Teigen got her hands on a box and nightclub—we VC funding, Last Crumb has since expanded to posted [on Instagram] within like a second.” have a huge 30 staffers and secured a facility in Pasadena to That day, Last Crumb nearly tripled its email waiting list.” increase production. list, adding 10,000 new subscribers.

So do these f **king cookies live up to the A truism of entrepreneurialism is that obbreathless buzz? The consensus of an informal session with a niche product can spark extraortaste test declared them oddly underbaked and sickly sweet, dinary opportunity. Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club, and more like cookie dough. But that’s beside the point. With a Julep proved the might of the direct-to-consumer model. Last surgically executed aura of scarcity, Last Crumb turned cookCrumb is a case study in how even something as prosaic as a ies into the equivalent of a Melania NFT or Supreme sneaker. cookie can be transformed into a status signifier by provocaThe more apt question is: How will we satisfy the next $1,000 tive digital storytelling and drip-by-drip promos. craving we didn’t even know we had?

During his stint as a chef in San Diego a decade ago,

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T H R OW I N G SHADE

Tiny Houses, Tony Neighborhoods

A Japanese maple inside a Santa Monica home.

$

1.1M

S A N TA M O N I C A

Trunk Show

FOR STATUS-OBSESSED ANGELENOS SEEKING TO SHOW OFF THEIR GREEN, THIS YEAR’S MUST-HAVE IS A $100,000 TROPHY TREE.

BY JESSICA RITZ

S I Z E 624 square feet H I G H L I G H T S This 1922 Craftsman speaks

to SAMO’s humble beach-town roots. In less space than a Kardashian walk-in closet, the floor plan comprises two bedrooms, one bath, and a kitchen. Converting the garage adds an additional 200 square feet of living space.

1 Y E A R AG O $1.7M

⁄ TO DAY $1.1M

CO N TAC T Justin Green, Harcourts Prime

A D E C A D E after California sued rustlers for stealing Canary Island palms worth $20,000 each from public land, wealthy Angelenos are clamoring for mature, pedigreed trees that run $100,000 or more.

From a 150-year-old olive tree transplanted from Tuscany to Beverly Hills to a huge Southern magnolia choppered in to a remote hillside site, these trophy trees meet the demands of a clientle for whom deferred gratification is largely theoretical.

“Fortunes are made quickly; specimen trees typically are not,” says L.A.

landscape designer Scott Shrader.

Popular species include live oak, ficus, and olive—Shrader says he can source olive trees in Sacramento that are more than 200 years old.

For a showy stairwell in Manhattan Beach, architect Grant C. Kirkpatrick punched a hole in a roof and craned in a Ficus benjamina. “Stair and tree are doing well,” he reports.

“They are like pieces of sculpture,” says Deborah Nevins, a New York landscape designer with upscale L.A. clients. “Even if it is a trophy tree, it’s still a tree—green and living.”

Make that living large.

$

970K

S I LV E R L A K E S I Z E 841 square feet H I G H L I G H T S This 1936 two-bedroom, one-

bath Craftsman has been upgraded with a loftlike feel and stainless-steel appliances, quartz countertops, and dual-paned windows. A home office can be converted to a third bedroom.

1 Y E A R AG O $820,600

⁄ TO DAY $969,900

CO N TAC T Ana Lety Rodriguez,

Kat Von D Looks to Ink Deal on Windsor Square Estate > Blood. Red. Pool. That’s just one of the many attentiongrabbing features of celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D’s newly listed 1896 Victorian manse in L.A.’s historic Windsor Square. The $15 million asking price is quite a leap from the $6.5 million the former L.A. Ink star and current Indiana resident paid in 2016 for the 11-bedroom, 8½-bath baroque palace. Von D’s Goth trappings bely the property’s wholesome Hollywood provenance as a location in the 2003 remake of Disney’s Cheaper by the Dozen.

PRICE DROP! CALIFORNIA HOME PRICES TO FALL—BUT NOT IN L.A. (SURPRISE) > Harbingers of, if not doom, then a return to something approaching sanity can be found in

recent predictions for cooling California home prices in 2022. The California Association of Realtors’ forecast predicts median single-family home resale values will rise by 5.2 percent this year, a massive retreat from 2021’s freakish—and unsustainable—20 percent. But Los Angeles could be an outlier to the trend, says Boni Bryant, an agent at real estate broker Compass.

Pointing to the still-red-hot L.A. market and its chronic lack of inventory, Bryant predicts that “interest rates would have to go up a significant amount to make an impact.” Ruh-roh.

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Ana Rodriguez Real Esate, 323-735-4107

$

1.3M

VENICE S I Z E 798 square feet H I G H L I G H T S Located a block from Abbot

Kinney Boulevard’s boutiques and boîtes on the border of Marina del Rey, this teeny-weeny two-bedroom, one-bath bungalow was builit in 1953 and is on the market for the first time in 45 years.

1 Y E A R AG O $1.4M

⁄ TO DAY $1.3M

CO N TAC T Yadira Sandoval, Keller Williams

Realty Westside, 310-482-2500

T R U N K S H OW: CO U R T E SY O F M O N TA L B A A R C H I T E C TS , M I C H A E L C H E N ; K AT VO N D : G E T T Y I M AG E S ; W I N D S O R S Q UA R E E STAT E A N D T I N Y H O U S E S : F R O M R E A LTO R S ’ W E B S I T E S

Properties, 949-248-1888

YOU DESERVE THE LOCAL TREATMENT

I knew I wanted to make Northeast LA my home the moment I saw it for the first time. It had everything I wanted in a neighborhood — an unbeatable location, walkable streets filled with fun shops and restaurants, and, most important, an old-fashioned sense of community. So I bought a fixer-upper, started sampling every restaurant, and opened a boutique real estate firm. Courtney and Kurt Real Estate. Thanks to thousands of buyers and sellers, as well as an unmatched team of agents, that small firm is now the premier agency for Northeast LA. But something about the name never felt right to me. Our company isn’t about me or my name. It’s about the clients and communities we serve. It’s about making our neighborhoods better than ever. We’re not just agents who work here. We’re neighbors and unabashed supporters. We’re Locals.

That’s why C+K is proud to announce our new name: The Local Real Estate Group. The Local for short. At The Local, you’ll continue to find the same qualities that separate us from the others: • • •

Veteran, hands-on leadership with a cooperative mindset that continuously yields record results.

A team structure that pairs specialty agents with clients to best fit any situation.

An overarching commitment to give back and make this community a better place for all.

So whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or just gather information, give us a call or come by our office.

We’ll give you The Local treatment you deserve.

Kurt Wisner DRE 01431217 kurt@thelocalre.com 323.667.0700 THELOCALREGROUP.COM Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate.

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03.22

T H E B OYS A R E B AC K I N T OW N

L.A. Rams quarterback, Matthew Stafford, after the team defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game at SoFi Stadium in January.

Plus > The new Frida Kahlo show is a full-body experience PAGE 30

> L.A.’s Cantonesefood comeback PAGE 39

> A Black art renaissance in Leimert Park PAGE 44

Best in Show

P H OTO BY C H R I ST I A N P E T E R S E N /G E T T Y I M AG E S

SPORTS

WHEN THE RAMS LAST PLAYED IN L.A., IN 1994, THE REVIEWS WERE SAVAGE. BUT AFTER THREE DECADES IN PURGATORY (UH, ST. LOUIS), THEY CAME HOME TO CONQUER A TOWN THAT LOVES NOTHING MORE THAN SECOND ACTS

BY WILL LEITCH

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in Los Angeles. The Super Bowl was the showcase the league and the city have been inexorably working back toward since before there was a Super Bowl. It was the glorious, inevitable reunion.

The road here was ugly and ragged, to be sure. The battle to get the NFL back to Los Angeles after the Rams and Raiders decamped in the mid-’90s featured Al Davis fighting off a privately funded $200 million stadium in 1995, various teams in other cities threatening to move to L.A. if their own municipalities didn’t pay for their own new stadiums, and ultimately then-St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, out of nowhere in 2014, buying the 60-acre Hollywood Park racetrack and then refusing to say what plans he had for it. It turned out—surprise surprise—he wanted to move the team back to L.A. and stave off a competing plan from the Chargers and Raiders to build their own stadiums in Carson. Kroenke took the team out of St. Louis—in a move that cost him and the NFL a $790 million settlement with the city—and stowed them at the Coliseum for a couple of years, just as the Chargers (now in on the deal) did out in Carson. Then the pandemic hit, and construction delays followed, and then they played a season there with no fans—a $5.5 billion project that no fans were allowed to see. Looking back at what it took to get us here won’t exactly make you feel covered in glory.

But that’s how everything—and especially everything

1 : P H OTO BY G E T T Y I M AG E S / B O B R I H A , J R . ; 2 : A R T R O G E R S / LO S A N G E L E S T I M E S / D E PA R T M E N T O F S P E C I A L CO L L E C T I O N S , C H A R L E S E . YO U N G R E S E A R C H L I B R A RY, U C L A . ; 3 : TO D D ST R A N D/A L A M Y STO C K P H OTO

H E R E WA S A T I M E when all you had to do to get a Super Bowl in your town was to be sunny and warm in late January. That’s why the first Super Bowl was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum and why it happened at the Rose Bowl in 1993, the last time the game visited the area. But that’s not how Super Bowls are awarded anymore. Since the last Big Game in L.A., it has been in Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis, and East Rutherford, N.J. Now you need a multibillion-dollar stadium just to get your foot in the door.

And you know what? It still might have been worth it.

It has been a long, hard two years: you don’t need me to tell you that. The Miami Super Bowl two years ago is now most famous for epidemiologists’ claim that the Chiefs’ win over the 49ers may have saved thousands of lives because San Francisco didn’t have a victory parade as COVID was already silently circulating through its population. The Super Bowl last year featured 30,000 cardboard-cutout fans, and a streaker got within five feet of a then-unvaccinated Tom Brady during a surge. The Super Bowl has been stuck in the same pandemic muck as the rest of us.

But not this year. This Super Bowl had none of that.

Despite early worries that the game would have to be moved because of California’s COVID restrictions, it not only stayed in Los Angeles but also featured the hometown Rams in that shining, almost otherworldly state-of-the-art new football stadium in Hollywood Park—it honestly looks like something from Arrival—that has wowed even the most skeptical observers since it opened last year. (And for $5.5 billion, it’d better.) This NFL season was one of the most exciting—and insanely popular—in recent memory, culminating in a postseason that is widely considered the best in recent memory. The sport navigated the pandemic the way it navigates everything: It plowed through it like it was too big to fail, or at least too big to socially distance. And it all ended with an evening in Los Angeles that the league has been dreaming of for decades.

The history of football in Los Angeles is the history of football and the history of Los Angeles. The Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles and made it the first West Coast city to have a professional team, and the city represented a new way to experience pro football: not shivering in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin or the grit and grime of Pittsburgh but, instead, basking in sunshine and hope. For a sport that would ultimately find its greatest breakthrough because of television, Los Angeles gave it something that would blaze that path: terrific lighting. The sport left the area for 29 years—29 years during which the league and the sport exploded in popularity precisely because of that prevalence and ubiquity on television. And it returned for the reason it was always going to return: Location, location, location.

You can have a Super Bowl in Indianapolis and make it look decent, but there is nothing like having the Super Bowl back

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1. Rams owner Georgia Frontiere and head coach Ray Malavasi attend a Super Bowl party in L.A. in 1980. 2. Kids watching through a fence at the Rams training camp in Fullerton, 1973. 3. 1948 football card showing Rams halfback Kenny Washington, the first African-American to sign a contract with an NFL team. 4. Player Eric Dickerson with staff during a 1984 game in Anaheim.

5. Then-head coach Sid Gillman and players after a win against the Green Bay Packers, 1955. 6. Quarterback Joe Namath at practice, 1977. 7. The new $5.5 billion Sofi Stadium in Inglewood.

in Los Angeles—always gets made, for better and (mostly) worse, isn’t it? By paving over the ugliness of the past to build a shiny, gleaming new future. The people who entered SoFi Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, and the hundreds of millions of viewers watching at home—they weren’t thinking about zoning or breach of contract suits or strong-arming tactics from Kroenke and the NFL. They were thinking, “Ooooh, that place looks amazing.” And more to the point: They were thinking, “This feels so much better than the last two years have felt.” That’s not nothing, right? That is what sports, and all of entertainment, is supposed to provide: diversion, distraction . . . escape.

Having the Rams—the team that has history here, the one that is so Southern California that it even took a brief sojourn in Anaheim—be the team to usher in the new stadium’s Super Bowl is the perfect ending to a story that is only just beginning. (There are many, many Super Bowls in Hollywood Park’s future.) Los Angeles, with its two teams, its transcendent stadium, and its increasing centrality to the league itself (which now houses its NFL media unit

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at Hollywood Park), is closer to the NFL than it has ever been, and vice versa. The teams might not necessarily have captured the hearts and minds of the citizens the way the Lakers and the Dodgers have. But you can give that time too. The NFL has become this country’s national pastime, its ongoing soap opera, and Los Angeles, with this Super Bowl and this Rams team, has now announced itself as its primary stage. It took a long time to get here, and a lot of elbows were thrown along the way. But that doesn’t matter much anymore, and it will matter even less as the years go on. The gleaming NFL future is in Los Angeles. And that future sure looks better than the past. Which, after all, is the point of the future in the first place.

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HAPPENINGS

THE TO-DO LIST

YOUR MARCH CULTURAL AGENDA

BY JOR DA N R I E F E

LOOK

cess of his immersive Van Gogh show, animator Massimiliano Siccardi is back with a noisy multimedia celebration of another iconic artist. Scored by composer Luca Longobaridi, Immersive Frida Kahlo tells the story of the Mexican painter who suffered from polio as a child and later survived a bus accident in which she was impaled. Her injuries led to a life of pain, a fate sometimes softened by her marriage to artist Diego Rivera and, at other times, exacerbated by his infidelity. Masterpieces in the show include The Wounded Deer, which refers to her physical struggles.

Diego and I is a self-portrait with her husband’s face on her forehead.

It sold at auction in November for a record-breaking $34.9 million.

A RT P R O J E C T

A projected photo of Kahlo at work for the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1932.

Lighthouse Artspace, 6400 Sunset Blvd., March 31 through June 11.

STREAM

› Bridgerton brightened

LISTEN

› It might not be April

yet, but it’s 4/20 in Chinatown. Kick back and burn one to a ’90s hip-hop and neosoul festival, with Erykah Badu, Thundercat (above), the Roots, Kamasi Washington, and more.

March 19, Smokin Grooves, L.A. State Historic Park.

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a COVID Christmas when it dropped in 2020. Back then, no one knew we’d be plodding through yet another scary spring. But April showers bring May flowers, and in this case, the second season of the wildly popular series set in Regency London.

This time, dreamy Lord Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), takes center stage in the absence of season 1 heartthrob Regé-Jean Page, who is rumored to be the next James Bond.

March 25, Netflix.

READ

› Titans collided when

Dolly Parton and bestselling author James Patterson sat down to write their thriller, Run Rose Run, the story of a singer-songwriter whose bitter history fuels her rising star. With this new novel, Patterson continues a string of collaborations including two with Bill Clinton. March 7, Little, Brown and Company.

SEE

› Direct from Broadway, The Lehman Trilogy, a

portrait of American capitalism directed by Skyfall’s Sam Mendes, chronicles a family and its credo that starts off as good ole Yankee bootstrapism and morphs into scorchedearth avarice, devouring everything in its path.

Ahmanson Theatre, March 3 through April 10.

WAT C H

› This Batman is differ-

ent, honest! Iterations of the caped crusader will be plentiful as long as moviegoers keep plopping down their dollars. So get ready to plop, because, this time around, Robert Pattinson dons the cowl in a cat-andmouse thriller inspired by the Zodiac Killer.

Directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), the new movie costars Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman and Colin Farrell as the Penguin.

March 4, Warner Bros.

F R I DA : M I C H A E L B R A S I LOW; T H U N D E R C AT: J I M DYS O N /G E T T Y I M AG E S ; D O L LY PA R TO N : T H E O WA R G O/G E T T Y I M AG E S FO R N B C ; R U N R O S E , R U N : CO U R T E SY L I T T L E , B R OW N A N D CO M PA N Y

› Following up on the outsized suc-

Fridays with the LA Phil Start your weekend with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

PAOLO BORTOLAMEOLLI

DRINKS IN THE GARDEN

Outstanding live music. Brilliant orchestra. Stunning space. It doesn’t get any better.

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL

JEANINE DE BIQUE

THOMAS ADÈS

HILARY HAHN

CASUAL FRIDAYS: On MAR 4 and MAY 13, take in a Q&A with the artist and a complimentary drink with members of the orchestra at the post-concert party. laphil.com/casualfridays DRINKS IN THE GARDEN: Starting at 6:30pm on select Fridays, enjoy a complimentary drink and soak up the ambience of the garden at Walt Disney Concert Hall before your concert. laphil.com/thegarden UPBEAT LIVE: Arrive an hour before your concert to hear an expert offer compelling insights into the music. laphil.com/upbeatlive

Get Your Tickets Today!

laphil.com/fridays | 323 850 2000 Groups (10+) 323 850 2050

Programs, artists, prices, and dates subject to change.

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MIXED MEDIA

The Best Movie of 2022 THE GODFATHER IS BACK WITH A THEATRICAL RELEASE THAT CONFIRMS ITS ENDURING GREATNESS

BY STEVE ERICKSON

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PA R A M O U N T/G E T T Y I M AG E S

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A L F A CE N T U RY after it opened to lines around dialogue have become part of the American lexicon, resonatthe block, The Godfather has been rereleased to ing down the years in other films, TV shows, music, politics: theaters this month in a restored print. CrossI believe in America. An offer he can’t refuse. Don’t ever take ing generations and cultures, it remains the most sides against the family again. Today I settle all family busienduring American movie of all time. More than merely ness. If history has taught us anything, it’s that you can kill great, more than merely loved, more than merely influential, anyone. Leave the gun; take the cannoli. Bada bing! Fredo— it’s timeless in a way no other movie matches. Where Citizen you broke my heart.

Kane is a bit rarefied; Vertigo, a bit obscure; 2001, polarizing; Sharp-eyed Godfatherologists, of course, will note that sevand Casablanca, nostalgia-invoking, The Godfather feels both eral of the above allude to The Godfather Part II, released two like it’s always been here and years after the original. In a that it could have been made 2002 Sight & Sound poll of five minutes ago. critics and directors, part one The story of a Sicilian and Part II’s combined six immigrant who has risen hours of deceit, betrayal, and from the New York streets to mayhem—as Vito is forced build a criminal empire, directo cede control of the family tor Francis Ford Coppola’s business to the son whom masterpiece is the ultimate he meant to liberate from example of an incontestable it—were counted as a single work of art that’s also populist work, both parts together entertainment, at once accescoming closer to the Great sible and radical. It’s easy to American Novel than anyforget how much heartburn thing since The Adventures the movie’s production gave of Huckleberry Finn.

Paramount executives at the Part III of The Godfather time, what with has-been trilogy, released in 1990, Marlon Brando in the role of wasn’t so much a botch as Vito Corleone and unknown a missed opportunity saboAl Pacino as his son Michael, taged by too little time, too not to mention Gordon Wilsmall a budget, a miscast if lis’s cinematography of blacks unfairly scapegoated Sofia and browns swallowing up Coppola as Michael’s daughthe story in shadow, a threeter, and, more than anything, The Godfather feels like it’s hour running time, and an by a leading man who, after always been here or could have opening half-hour wedding giving movie history’s single scene where no shot is fired greatest performance in the been made five minutes ago. and no fist is thrown. first two parts, surrendered The Godfather’s fraught to his outsize acting impulsproduction—with Coppola es and forgot his character: barely clinging to his job as he dodged phone calls and the earlier Michael staring at the dance of dead leaves on his executives—has become so mythologized that a book about veranda and surveying the black landscape of his soul. it resides near the peak of Amazon’s best-seller list. Next Assuming you don’t want to wait until 2024’s inevitable month, Paramount+ releases The Offer from writer Michael double bill of part one and Part II, The Godfather’s new theTolkin, with Dan Fogler as Coppola, Miles Teller as proatrical restoration provides the chance to see it anew, to the ducer Albert Ruddy, and Giovanni Ribisi as real-life mob extent that seeing it anew is still possible. In the post-Trump boss Joe Colombo, who tried to shut era of COVID-19 and self-styled militias plotting coups, what AC T O R’S E Q U I T Y down the movie before becoming its lurks inside this magnificent Trojan horse of a movie is the Al Pacino, as Michael stalwart supporter. distinctly unsettling revelation that believing in America can Corleone, gave movie history’s greatest At once a crime epic, family epic, and make you a killer or crazy. In any case, it’s no disgrace that The performance in The film noir where the femme fatale is the Godfather is the best movie of 2022, as it would be any year it Godfather and its Statue of Liberty, The Godfather and its was released since anyone saw it for the first time. first sequel.

SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

COMING SOON

Opens May 6

Opens June 17

Opens July 8

Group Rate Tickets & Concession Combos Available!

Contact our group planning experts at disney.movie.tickets@disney.com VISIT ELCAPITANTICKETS.COM OR CALL 1-800-DISNEY6 (1-800-347-6396) #ElCapitanTheatre Follow Us @ElCapitanThtre

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ART

Moving Pictures AFTER SURVIVING THE PANDEMIC, L.A.’S STILL FEVERISH GALLERY SCENE SHOWS NO SIGN OF COOLING DOWN

BY MICHAEL SLENSKE

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H E M O S T C O M M O N refrain among Los Angeles art dealers during the early hours of the Art Basel, NADA, and untitled fairs in Miami Beach this past December was some version of “We just sold out our booth!” As the virus rages on, and the feeding frenzy in the contemporary-art market continues unabated, it’s no surprise that bigger galleries are in expansion mode. Two leading Angeleno dealers, David Kordansky and Nicodim, recently planted flags in New York, and a ton of top New York dealers are coming to Los Angeles. But there’s also been an explosion of growth inside L.A.—from artist-run spaces to soon-to-be-blue-chip operations—where galleries are opening additional spaces from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood. Here are a few movers and shakers we’ve got our eye on.

Fourteen months after expanding from her Culver City gallery to a 2,500-square-foot space on Wilshire just west of LACMA, Anat Ebgi decided to take on an even larger space with a backyard garden on Fountain in the shadow of the Scientology complex. At first, Ebgi just wanted to utilize the voluminous gallery as a pop-up venue for a 50th anniversary tribute to Womanhouse, the feminist installation-performance space organized by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, who went on to start the storied Feminist Art Program at CalArts. (The show is up through April 2.) “But then I fell in love with the space and neighborhood and decided to stay longer,” says Ebgi, who will open a solo show there with Polish ceramic artist Krzysztof Strzelecki on April 16. “I like the idea of having spaces across various parts of town that attract different communities and vibes.” 4859 Fountain Ave., anatebgi.com.

D E B O E R G A L L E RY

David De Boer opened his eponymous Boyle Heights gallery in a quaint storefront off East Pico in February 2020, just a few weeks before the lockdown. “It was a wild year for a new gallery, but we had this great outdoor space and I thankfully have a lot of great relationships 3 4 L A M AG . C O M

with artists and collectors who were very supportive,” says De Boer. A year later, De Boer took over the former office space across the courtyard, which expanded the gallery’s footprint to 2,200 square feet inside and 2,000 outdoors. In just under two years, De Boer has worked with 15 artists, including in-demand painters like Shannon Cartier Lucy, Noelia Towers, and Monsieur Zohore. “With the additional space, we can now host two solo shows at a time and more expansive group shows.”3311 E. Pico Blvd., deboergallery.com.

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L A LO M A P R OJ E C TS

Artist and filmmaker Kirk Nelson kicked off his Eastside gallery, La Loma Projects, by curating shows out of the living room of his Pasadena home in the spring of 2019— sometimes corralling friends like ascendant ceramicist and painter Jennifer Rochlin to help out. “After COVID hit, I did one show with Jude Pauli’s ceramics in this sculpture garden and with Adrian Paules’s etched paintings in the garage,” says Nelson. “But once my wife got pregnant, it became too much.” So in January 2021, Nelson began looking for spaces downtown and in Glendale, then stumbled upon a vacant minimall in Highland Park anchored by a 1,700-square-foot corner space with 13-foot-high ceilings. After getting the keys a month later, he opened on Juneteenth with a landscape-based group show called Hot Tropics; followed by a sports-themed show, Goals; and a solo show by beloved

1 . CO U R T E SY O F T H E A R T I ST A N D D E B O E R , LO S A N G E L E S ; 2 . CO U R T E SY O F T H E A R T I ST A N D N I G H T G A L L E RY, LO S A N G E L E S

A N AT E B G I G A L L E RY

3 W H E N MORE IS NOT L ESS

1. “Self Help” by Noelia Towers at De Boer in Boyle Heights in January. 2. Samara Golden’s “Guts” at the Night Gallery downtown this past winter. 3. Kareem Anthony-Ferreira’s “Cloth” at Nino Mier Gallery in Glassel Park. 4. Work by Jan Gatewood—including “Instability appreciation constructed atop a foundation of failure. Life is all we have”—opened the new Smart Objects Gallery in Silver Lake in February.

3 . I M AG E S CO U R T E SY O F N I N O M I E R G A L L E RY A N D T H E A R T I ST. P H OTO : DAW N B L AC K M A N ; 4 . CO U R T E SY O F S M A R T O B J E C TS

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landscape painter Aaron Morse.

During Frieze, La Loma hosted a three-person, floral-themed painting show with Daniel Gibson, Patricia Iglesias Peco, and Stan Kaplan. “The cool thing about this space is that it has a big parking lot, so I can still have openings with a taco truck outside and beers made by my friend Peter Moran,” says Nelson, who is also developing pop-up shows around town. “It’s a friendly vibe with great art as opposed to this sterile-whitebox experience.” 6516 N. Figueroa St., Ste. A, lalomaprojects.com.

N I G H T G A L L E RY

For years, Night Gallery founder Davida Nemeroff, who recently celebrated her twelfth year in business, was turned off by the 1929 garmentdye factory across the street from her tastemaking Arts District gallery.

“I actually saw it get raided once,” says Nemeroff, referring to when the building was used as an illegal

weed-growing operation. “At first, I was just trying to find another gallery to take it, but when I walked into the building, I fell in love.” Now known as the North Gallery, the 13,000-squarefoot indoor-outdoor space opened in January with a landmark, multilevel sculptural installation by the acclaimed sculptor Samara Golden.

“Our space is not fancy—it’s very raw—but it has this beautiful light,” says Nemeroff. “It’s very nurturing to art.” 2276 E. 16th St., nightgallery.ca.

N I N O M I E R G A L L E RY

Since he opened his first gallery in West Hollywood in 2015—he has four on the same block now—Nino Mier has been steadily growing his empire, which represents 43 artists and now extends to Brussels, Cologne, Marfa, and, most recently, Glassell Park.

The last is a 1,500-square-foot space across from Verdugo Bar where he’ll host six shows a year focusing on community events, installations,

and artist-curated shows. The space opened during Frieze L.A. with a multimedia exhibition by KareemAnthony Ferreira, which will be followed by exhibitions for Lola Schnabel, Alma Barrow, Andrea Heimer, and Cameron Welch. “We wanted to be part of the growing scene and engage a different audience,” Mier says. 2700 W. Ave. 34, miergallery.com.

S M A R T O B J E C TS

A few months before the city shutdown, Chadwick Gibson leased a high-ceilinged space beside his ascendant Silver Lake gallery, Smart Objects, which is approaching its tenth anniversary. The former vintage shop was in shambles—“It looked like an abandoned orphanage,” jokes Gibson—but over the past two years, he’s turned it (and his smaller original space) into a 4,000-square-foot “ballroom/temple,” complete with chandeliers, crown molding, rugs, and plants. “It’s a more human place to see art and connect with people,” says Gibson, who opened in February with a solo show by Jan Gatewood, which he’ll follow with rising stars Adam Alessi, Paul Rouphail, and a summertime arcade. “White cubes can be soulless and boring, so I’m finding that most artists I work with are looking forward to the new context.” 1832 W. Sunset Blvd,, smartobjects.la.

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W H E R E TO E AT N OW

New & Notable Bacetti Trattoria E C H O PA R K

● Chef Joel Stovall,

C L A I M T O FA M E

Fanny’s is named for vaudeville star Fanny Brice, whom Barbra Streisand portrayed in Funny Girl.

The salmon crudo (below) is an early favorite.

Night at the Museum AT FANNY’S, THE ACADEMY MUSEUM’S NEW RESTAURANT, DINING IS TRULY A TECHNICOLOR EXPERIENCE B Y H E A T H E R P L A T T

1509 Echo Park Ave., bacetti-la.com.

De la Nonna A RT S D I S T R I C T

H E N R E N Z O PIANO met with

Bill Chait about the design for Fanny’s at the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the famed Italian architect’s vision was to have the restaurant be completely open to and visible from the museum’s exhibits.

“One side of the whole restaurant is glass,” says Chait. “Renzo’s idea originally was to not even have the glass, until we explained to him there’s no way to do that in the Los Angeles permitting world. But the idea was to make it so you could feel like you’re walking right into the restaurant and kitchen and see the waiters bustling around— almost like a set.”

Even with the glass wall, Piano succeeded in creating an eatery that feels quite cinematic. While by day, Fanny’s is a café that serves salads and sandwiches to museumgoers, by night, it’s a glam, modern vision of an old-school Hollywood hangout.

Captains in suits push carts of gooey, French, washed-rind cow’s milk cheeses and carve thick bloody slices of côte de boeuf tableside.

“It’s definitely in some sense ‘finer’ dining, but it’s more about the theater of how the service used to work,” says Chait, who refers frequently to the Brown Derby—a bygone-era 3 6 L A M AG . C O M

Hollywood haunt that is, in many ways, the inspiration for the atmosphere of Fanny’s.

“The booths were just like the ones we have. They’re clamshells,” Chait gushes. “They almost merchandise the people sitting in them as much as the restaurant.”

But there are also plenty of modern touches. Instead of a live band, Fanny’s has a different DJ spinning records every night, providing an upbeat soundtrack for cocktails from acclaimed mixologist Julian Cox. Chef Raphael Francois (Le Cirque, Tesse) sends out perfect twists on a Caesar salad and plays around with menu items that are more 2022 than old Hollywood, like hamachi crudo on a bed of sweet pickled grapes and jicama with brown butter and cilantro.

While the museum closes at 6 p.m. most nights, the two-story, 10,000-square-foot, 270-seat dining room is open until 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

“At night, it’s certainly not a museum restaurant,” says Chait. “It’s a restaurant that happens to be at a museum.”

6067 Wilshire Blvd., Mid Wilshire, fannysla.com.

● This pop-up-turned-

brick-and-mortar is a destination for its delicious, crunchy rectangular pizzas alone.

But there’ s also a lovely, sprawling patio, warm service, and a substantial selection of natural wines.

710 E. 4th Pl., delanonna.com.

Yangban Society

A RT S D I S T R I C T

● Two alums of the great Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa have opened a 5,000-square-foot Korean American deli and market. Whether you’re craving hot smoked trout or a rice bowl with banchan, you’ll be satisfied.

712 S. Santa Fe Ave., yangbanla.com.

FA N N Y ’ S : WO N H O F R A N K L E E ; YA N G B A N S O C I E T Y: DY L A N + J E N I

W

formerly of Orsa & Winston, uses California produce in his odeto-Rome menu at this upscale neighborhood stunner. Sunchokes tossed with dates, sunflower seeds, and za’atar surprise, while the al dente rigatoni all’amatriciana comforts.

PROMOTION

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THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE In December, Los Angeles magazine partnered with Westfield Topanga & The Village to host a two-day The Holidays are Here festival.

Guests enjoyed the weekend with live performances by strolling carolers, break dancing routines courtesy of the hip hop elves, and magical presentations by the Los Angeles Ballet Academy. Children enjoyed a range of fun-packed activities including face painting, ornament decorating, and letter writing to Santa, while adult guests sipped on tastings of rose, cabernet, and champagne, poured by Total Wines. Plus, the ever-popular Gift Wheel offered a variety of exclusive prizes for Westfield Rewards members to win including a $1,000 Westfield Topanga gift card.

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This special, memory-making event also featured a variety of creative Holidays are Here-themed Instagram experiences topped by the chance for guests to pose as cover models for Los Angeles magazine.

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1. Prima Ballerina from the Los Angeles Ballet Academy performing before the crowd 2. Face and finger painting at the kids craft area 3. Holiday Balloon Art station from Belle Ame Balloons 4. Spread Joy in our photo op areas at the Village 5. Strolling Carolers singing holiday classics 6. Westfield Rewards members go to spin the wheel for prizes 7. Total Wine offering sparking rose and wine tastings to guests 8. Children enjoying the snow fall 9. Hip Hop elves performing and teaching children their moves 10. Children dancing in the snow 11. Kids craft table filled with letters to Santa and ornament decorating 12. Crowds of guests watching the snow with family and friends 13. Los Angeles Ballet Academy ballerinas’ mid performance 14. Guests striking a post at the Los Angeles Magazine Cover photo op

PHOTO CREDIT: JIM DONNELLY

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THE DISH

Have a Ball!

LAVO, A CLUBBY NEW WEHO EATERY, SERVES UP EVERYTHING YOU’D EXPECT FROM A TAO GROUP RESTAURANT : OVER-THE-TOP DECOR, STADIUM SEATING, AND A PARTY-HEARTY VIBE (PLUS A SPICY, ONE-POUND MEATBALL)

BY HAILEY EBER 3 8 L A M AG . C O M

F R O M G I A N T chandeliers to 16-foot statues

of Buddhist deities, Tao Group Hospitality isn’t known for subtlety. So, naturally, when the company opens its next L.A. project—a 250-seat West Coast outpost of Lavo Ristorante—there will be a one-pound meatball on the menu. Made of Wagyu beef, veal, Italian sausage, Pecorino Romano, and Parmigiano Reggiano, the dish is on the menu at the original Lavo in New York City. Tao Group’s chief culinary officer, Ralph Scamardella, is excited to serve it here. “It’s an überpopular showstopper,” he says.

9201 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, taogroup.com.

TAO G R O U P H O S P I TA L I T Y

Incoming

F I V E TO T RY

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Go East

ONCE OVERSHADOWED BY SPICY SICHUAN FARE, NUANCED CANTONESE FOOD IS SUDDENLY ENJOYING A CITYWIDE REVIVAL B Y J O S H UA L U R I E

IN THE ’70S AND ’80S,

Cantonese-style dim sum service, siu mei (roasted meats), and seafoodfueled banquets dominated L.A.’s Chinese food scene. Given immigration history, most Californians associated Chinese food with culinary traditions from Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong, the southeastern province whose capital, Guangzhou, is known as Canton in the West. Regional cuisines from provinces like Sichuan had yet to explode in popularity as they have in recent decades. Now Cantonese food is back, with Hong Kong-style cafés and next-level noodle joints opening.

Have a look—and a bite.

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L ONGT E N CA F E

> Junshi Weng grew up in Guangdong and recently opened this stylish family-run eatery. Tender eggplant strips join salted fish and diced chicken in a sumptuous clay pot. A steamed pork patty with salted fish is a homestyle triumph.

220 W. Garvey Ave., Monterey Park, longtencafe.com.

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NEEDLE

> Trois Mec alum Ryan Wong and his wife, Karen, first opened this spot in 2019. Their concept has evolved to offer a tasting menu of refined takes on dishes from Hong Kong’s night markets. Skewers of savory zucchini, curry-stained octopus, and rich pork jowl dressed with black bean sauce are grilled to perfection over binchotan charcoal.

3827 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, needlela.com.

N E W H AOJ I NG

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PEARL RIVER DELI

> Taishan native Wei Wen Wu derived his sprawling menu from the Cantonese and Hong Kong canons. The restaurant excels at dishes like fried rice with charred chicken and salted fish, or with scrambled egg whites and dried scallops; puffy Japanese egg tofu with stir-fried mushrooms; and a juicy fried pork chop with spicy salt.

> Johnny Lee has moved his acclaimed Chinatown spot to a larger space with table seating. He’s also added breakfast and hired Largwa pastry chef Laura Hoang, who bakes a memorable passion-fruit cream cake and a milk bread that stars in a French toast bursting with salted-egg custard.

500 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, newhaojingalhambra.com.

935 Mei Ling Way, Chinatown, @prd_la.

I L LU S T R AT E D BY TA E L G O M E S

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TA M ’S N O O D L E HOUSE

> Hong Kong native Chun Fai Tam has made noodles for 30 years and it shows.

Delicate, house-made, flat egg noodles showcase everything from wontons to fluffy fish paste.

120 N. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel, tamsnoodlehouse. wixsite.com/home.

L A M AG . C O M 3 9

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EXPERT TESTIMONY

G U I L L Ė N ’S GO-TO

The actor especially loves to visit La Placita Olvera on Día de Los Muertos.

Placita is full of it. My favorite time to visit is during Día de Los Muertos.

Favorite flea market? > The Rose Bowl.

It happens every month. There’s always some cool vintage finds.

Favorite L.A.based movie? > 500 Days of Summer, easy.

Favorite place to go for inspiration? > The beach at sunset. I find it very calming.

Favorite record/ music store? > Amoeba. Huge selection and fun to explore.

Favorite concert venue?

The Hollywood Bowl. It’s an outdoor venue, so you get plenty of fresh air. Especially nice during the summertime.

HARVEY GUILLÉN, THE ASPIRING VAMPIRE ON THE FX HIT WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, TAKES A BITE OUT OF L.A.

>

Favorite sushi?

I don’t really eat sushi, but my favorite Thai food place is Jitlada.

Matt Groening left a signed Homer Simpson drawing on a receipt that now hangs on their wall—pretty

Favorite gay bar? > Akbar. Nice and cozy while still having a great dance floor.

I’ve never had a dull experience.

4 0 L A M AG . C O M

Favorite massage place? > Burke Williams, hands down!

Favorite place to grab a cheap dinner? > Street tacos, yum! You really can’t go wrong

with a solid carne asada taco. I saw a Twitter thread the other day debating the red and green salsa— I’m Team Green all the way.

Favorite spot to take out-of-town friends? > Disneyland

or the beach. I love the ocean, and I’m a pretty great swimmer.

Have you ever seen me and Michael Phelps in the same room? Probably not; he did get that restraining order because I kept saying I was Michael Phelps.

Ideal place for a second date?

La Placita Olvera. I love teaching people about Mexican culture, and the >

epic! I’m a huge Simpsons fan.

Favorite spot for margaritas? > 208 Rodeo in Beverly Hills.

The strawberry margarita is incredible!

Favorite pizza joint?

Jon & Vinny’s.

My favorite is the Ham & Yeezy.

I tell everyone I know to try it or I won’t be their friend.

>

My Favorite Things

Favorite Chinese restaurant? > Yang Chow in Chinatown.

10/10 would recommend.

Favorite hike? > Griffith Park is a fun one. You gotta check out the observatory before you head

Favorite neighborhood? > Echo Park. I love the atmosphere there.

Favorite coffee shop? > Tierra Mia. Anything horchata-flavored is enough to get me in the door.

I’m hooked.

—J U L I U S M I L L E R

CO U R T E SY H A RV E Y G U I L L É N : L A N E D O R S E Y; J I T L A DA : PA N U M A S J O E S U N G K M A E E ; L A P L AC I TA O LV E R A : JA S P E R D E J E S U S ; CO U R T E SY J O N & V I N N Y ’ S ; H O L LYWO O D B OW L : P H OTO BY C H R I STO P H E R P O L K /G E T T Y I M AG E S FO R C B S R A D I O I N C .

>

Favorite barber? > Manly & Sons on Alvarado.

They do men’s grooming, and the aesthetic is very old-timey.

out—one of my favorite views in L.A.

GET L.A. NEWS FOOD CULTURE DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX. SUBSCRIBE HERE:

LAMAG.COM/ NEWSLETTERS

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INTERIORS

Clean Up Your Rooms

AFTER BEING TRAPPED AT HOME FOR TWO YEARS, ANGELENOS ARE UNDERSTANDABLY EAGER FOR A CHANGE OF SCENERY. HERE ARE A FEW NEW LOCAL DESIGN FIRMS AND GALLERIES THAT WILL HELP TRANSFORM YOUR DREARY DOMICILE INTO A DREAM HOUSE

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After uplifting homes for an A-list roster that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Hudson, and Dakota Johnson, designers Louisa Pierce and Emily Ward opened a retail space on Hillhurst Avenue that showcases their color- and patternsoaked aesthetic. The Pierce & Ward team does the heavy lifting of scouring estate sales and markets, then curates its finds into sumptuous vignettes featuring reupholstered antique furnishings and accessories that don’t shy away from heavy velvets and fringe. » 1956 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz, pierceandward.com.

From his art deco-style storefront on Beverly Boulevard where design-savvy neighbors include Nickey Kehoe and +COOP, New York transplant Andy Goldsborough shares his wide-ranging, eclectic style and deep historical knowledge. His shop is a resource for rare collectibles from various eras, as well as niche items, such as chairs by Italian heritage maker Fratelli Levaggi and limited-edition Pool Table Series tables from multidisciplinary architecture firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero. » 7282 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax District, thegildedowl.com.

Pierce & Ward

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The Gilded Owl

P I E R C E A N D WA R D : O L I V I A P I E R C E ; T H E G I L D E D OW L : ST E P H E N B U S K E N

BY JESSICA RITZ

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Noble Souls

Timothy Oulton, the British-

based decor company with an international reach and stores downtown and in Culver City, debuted its moody Noble Souls gallery at the Malibu Country Mart in December.

At the unique offshoot, dark colors and rich textures impart an old-world sensibility that stands in contrast to easybreezy, bright beach vibes often associated with California coastal cool. Peruse deluxe, deep-seated, linen sofas, vintage textile throw pillows, and candle holders made from reclaimed mortars. » 3900 Cross Creek Rd., Ste. 1A, Malibu, noblesouls.com.

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Martin & Brockett

A presence on Pico Boulevard near La Brea Avenue since 2015, Martin & Brockett moved and expanded this past fall to a 2,000-square-foot space a few blocks east. Owner Jason Martin likens his new digs to an artist’s

TO P : CO U R T E SY N O B L E S O U L S ; M A R T I N & B R O C K E T T: J O N K E I S E R ; M AQ U E T T E : A N N I E M E I S E L

studio, and there’s a large, evolving mood board where visitors can see the creativity unfolding. Browse midcentury Italian ceramic lamps with raffia shades; vintage and contemporary art, furnishings, and accessories; plus the full range of Martin & Brockett’s original (and locally made) furniture collections like the Lupa line, which features wolf-paw-shaped feet. » 5065 W. Pico Blvd., Mid City, martinandbrockett.com.

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Maquette

Stepping into this boutique, situated just north of Larchmont’s main drag, feels like entering the world of your most fun and creative friends where it’s cocktail hour at any moment. It’s set in a one-story, 1920s Tudor revivalstyle house and run by three independent designers—Julie Goldman, Caitlin Scanlon, and Abby Wolf-Weiss—who each bring their own style to the inviting setting, showing off both vintage and contemporary pieces. » 507 N. Larchmont Blvd., Larchmont Village, shopmaquette.com.

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N E I G H B O R H O O D WAT C H

Black to the Future

AN ARTY ENCLAVE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE IN THE CRENSHAW DISTRICT, LEIMERT PARK IS OFTEN CALLED “THE BLACK GREENWICH VILLAGE.” NOW A NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS AND ENTRPRENEURS IS TURNING THIS HISTORIC HUB INTO ONE OF THE CITY’S MOST VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

BY MERLE GINSBERG

ART + PR AC TICE > Artist Mark

Bradford, a Leimert Park native, opened this art-filled oasis in 2014 as a gift to the community.

Funded in part

by Bradford’s foundation, the 20,000-squarefoot space has free art classes for kids and a lively program of artist talks and workshops for adults.

3401 W. 43rd Pl., artand practice.org.

SOLE FOLKS > Model Akil

West teamed up with actress Nika King and Grammywinningproducer Taz Arnold to open this stylish co-op, which showcases clothes and accessories by ascendant Black fashionistas. It’s also home to Sole Folks Lab, 4 4 L A M AG . C O M

R E V I VA L

Clockwise from left: Eso Won Books, Hot and Cool Cafe, Sole Folks, and the Vision Theatre.

Inset: B. True, owner of Kicks “B” Clean.

an incubator for designers of color.

4317 Degnan Blvd., solefolks.com.

HOT AND COOL C AFE > The hip vegan

hangout has become a hot spot for all the neighborhood’s cool kids, thanks to an inventive, multicultural menu that

includes cauliflower wings, soul bowls (red beans and rice, collard greens, yams), and a cold brew infused with berries.

4331 Degnan Blvd., hotandcool cafe.com.

E SO WON BOOKS > Now in its

32nd year, the landmark

bookstore is packed with new and vintage novels, biographies, and political tracts, with a focus on social justice and Black history. Regulars include Spike Lee and Roxane Gay and, recently, Barack Obama.

4327 Degnan Blvd., esowonbook store.com.

KICKS “B” CLEAN > True sneaker

VISION T H E AT R E > After years

of renovations, the art deco movie palace built for Howard Hughes in 1932 is now equipped with an orchestra pit and a huge stage.

A very grand reopening is planned for summer 2023.

3341 W. 43rd Pl.

afficionados keep their kicks so pristine that they look like they never left the box.

Kicks “B” Clean restores even the most soiled shoes to their virginal magnificence, making it a mecca for sneakerheads across L.A. 4317 Degnan Blvd., @kicksbclean.

P H O T O G R A P H E D BY WAY N E NAT H A N

Where epic reunions happen.

Rediscover Arizona RediscoverAZ.com

The west rim is heart-pounding, soul-searching, bucket-list-checking adrenaline rushes you’ve never felt or seen before, including one of the largest glass cavalier bridges in the world that will have you stepping 4,000 feet out over the Grand Canyon floor. Skywalk is just one of the ways you can jolt your senses and ignite your spirit at Grand Canyon West. Plan your adventure today.

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Hollywood

BY MICHAEL CALLAHAN

RAMBLE ON

Matthew McConaughey accepts the Oscar for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in 2014 for his work in Dallas Buyers Club.

ONCE UPON A TIME, OSCAR SPEECHES WERE ACTUALLY FUN—SOMETIMES EVEN FUNNY (TAKE A BOW, RUTH GORDON). BUT OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, WINNERS HAVE BEEN IGNORING THE ORCHESTRA AND SPEWING ENDLESS, HEAD-SCRATCHING DRIVEL (WE’RE LOOKING AT YOU, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY) 5 0 L A M AG . C O M

going to win, including her.

It was clear from the way Julia Roberts swanned confidently along the red carpet, dressed in vintage velvetand-satin Valentino, and even more clear by the fact she had already won the BAFTA, the Golden Globe, and the Critics Choice Award for her lead performance in the title role of Erin Brockovich. She was the definition of a shoo-in. ¶ So when Kevin Spacey opened the Best Actress envelope at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001 and announced her name,

K E V I N W I N T E R /G E T T Y I M AG E S

Thanks for Nothing

E V E RY O N E K N E W she was

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H E A V Y

L A K I N G S . C O M

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C LO C KW I S E F R O M TO P : B E T T M A N N A R C H I V E ; G LO B E P H OTO S /Z U M A P R E S S .CO M ; E A R L L E A F/ M I C H A E L O C H S A R C H I V E S /G E T T Y I M AG E S

it would be fair to assume that Roberts had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to say to the more than 72 million people watching around the world. One can only wonder, looking back, if the incoherent mess that ensued was it.

You knew we were going to be there a while when, right off the bat, Roberts warned the orchestra conductor to sit down, later saying, “Turn that clock off—it’s making me nervous.” After four seemingly endless minutes, she concluded with a plucky “I love the world! I’m so happy!,” which was a charming, Julia Robertsesque thing to hear—assuming you’d managed, of course, to endure her rambling gratitude to the 26 people (yes, 26) she’d just thanked, a roster that did not include the actual Erin Brockovich.

Roberts was hardly the first to drone on in an Oscar speech. But in the two decades since, they’ve C L A S S AC T S only gotten worse, now reduced to Clockwise from top: West Side Story director Robert Wise with Best Supporting Actress Rita Moreno and Best Supporting Actor George Chakiris in 1962; Grace Kelly and Bob Hope at the 1955 Academy a never-ending blizzard of industry Awards ceremony; Yul Brenner holding his Best Actor Oscar in 1957 for The King and i. names no one’s ever heard of, recited with the passion of a chemistry lecin the warm embrace of the gracious Or production designer Hannah ture. A bevy of early-season awards creator of us all, a healing embrace Beachler, who, accepting with Jay shows, all breathlessly covered by that cools their fevers, that clears Hart for Black Panther in 2019, not entertainment magazines and blogs, their skin, and allows their eyes to only barked at her co-winner for stepnow means the suspense of “Who’s see the simple, self-evident, common ping on her dress, but then read her going to win the Oscar?” has somesense truth that is made manifest speech on her iPhone. what been removed; office Oscar by the benevolent creator of us all While memorable Oscar antics pools are now won and lost on Best and was written down on paper by are easy to conjure—the streaker Short (Animated) and other opaque wise men, tolerant men, in the city of behind David Niven in 1974, Jack categories. While the occasional Philadelphia two hundred years ago.

Palance’s push-ups in 1992, Roberto upset still occurs—witness Anthony God bless you all. God have mercy on Benigni climbing over seats in 1999, Hopkins besting the late Chadwick us all. And God bless America.”

Adrien Brody mackBoseman for Best A new standard for Oscar oration? ing on Halle Berry Actor just last Hardly. Hanks won Best Actor again in 2003—recalling year—by and large, The Oscar speech the next year and gave a bland speech a truly involving the Oscar winners that was instantly forgettable.

Academy Awards are all but known is now reduced acceptance takes way ahead of the big to a blizzard of a lot more work. I night. All of which I T WA S N ’ T A LWAY S this way. industry names, think of 1994, when means the winSince its founding in 1929, the recited with the Tom Hanks won ners really have no Academy Awards showhas proven to Best Actor for his excuse for delivering be a platform for some of the loveliest passion of a portrayal of a lawyer a terrible speech. speeches ever recorded—beautichemistry lecture. with AIDS. Thanking They do it anyful and heartfelt words that were his gay teacher and way. Who can forget often poignant and best of all, brief. classmate (a moment Anne Hathaway’s (William Holden, Patty Duke, and that would inspire the 1997 Kevin disingenuous, wince-inducing “It Alfred Hitchcock all said, simply, Kline comedy In & Out), he concame true!” for Les Misérables in “Thank you”; Gloria Grahame said, cluded, without notes, with this gem: 2013, or Matthew McConaughey, “Thank you very much”; and in 1991, “The streets of heaven are too winning Best Actor for Dallas Buyers a slightly more verbose Joe Pesci crowded with angels. We know their Club the next year, taking over three said, “It’s my privilege. Thank you.”) names. They number a thousand for minutes to deliver a largely incoher“I’ve always had the feeling ever each one of the red ribbons that we ent riff that included a reference since coming into it, that you can only wear here tonight. They finally rest to his late father in his underwear. be as good as the other fellow thinks

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you are, or, I might add, as bad. And it seemed that quite a number of people have thought a good job has been done, and that makes me very happy,” James Cagney said when he won Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1943. Yes, that was the entire speech, and how great it was.

Grace Kelly, winning Best Actress in 1955 for The Country Girl in an upset over Judy Garland, said humbly, “The thrill of this moment keeps me from saying what I really feel. I

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not a mistake because I won’t give it back for anything in the world.

Thank you very much.” (The exacta: Funny and brief.) In a 32-second acceptance for Elmer Gantry in 1961, Best Actor Burt Lancaster thanked those who voted for him, adding, “And right now, I feel so happy that I want to thank all of the members of the Academy who did not vote for me.” In 1969, 72-year-old Ruth Gordon, winning Supporting Actress for Rosemary’s Baby, opened by deadpanning, “I can’t tell you how encouraging a thing like this is.”

Sometimes it’s not even the words but, rather, the unvarnished reactions of the winners one remembers.

Anna Paquin, winning Best Supporting Actress for The Piano in 1994 at the age of 11, spent the first 20 seconds of her acceptance in silence, dazed and speechless.

Rita Moreno, gobsmacked by her Supporting Actress win for West Side Story in 1962, took the Oscar from presenter Rock Hudson, exclaimed, “I can’t believe it! Good Lord! I leave you with that,” and walked off the stage. And then there was, of course, Halle Berry, breaking the

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can only say thank you, with all my heart, to all who made this possible for me,” then calmly exited. John Wayne, winning Best Actor in 1970 for True Grit, gave a brilliant, touching speech that lasted 68 seconds and didn’t thank a single person by name.

Humor has also been a touchstone for some of the ceremony’s most memorable addresses. Winning Best Actor for The King and I in 1957, Yul Brynner quipped, “I hope this is

winners first began to amble off the humility reservation into long and dull diatribes that grew increasingly numbing over the years.

Politics also came into play.

Winners sometimes got preachy, a trend that began when Marlon Brando sent a Native American to refuse his Oscar for The Godfather in 1973. That opened the floodgates for scolds from everyone from Vanessa Redgrave (booed for her “Zionist hoodlums” comment in 1978) to Michael Moore

(also booed, for his George W. Bush rant in 2003) to, more recently, Sean Penn, John Legend, and Frances McDormand, among others.

A prominent presidential speechwriter, who didn’t want to be quoted on the record “giving advice to movie stars,” had this to say about the intersection of politics and the Oscars: “They shouldn’t use the moment to share their political insights. They don’t have insights; they have opinions, and it’s boorish to impose them

“Kidjo’s music has always been about legacies of women”

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glass ceiling winning Best Actress for Monster’s Ball in 2002, whose heaving, sobbing speech began with a heart-wrenching tribute (“This moment is so much bigger than me”) to all of the women of color who came before her.

Memorable moments all.

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S O W H AT happened?

Length is one issue: droning speeches have been a bane of the ceremony since Greer Garson’s marathon for Mrs. Miniver in 1943.

(Legend has it Garson blathered on for seven minutes, but due to spotty recordkeeping, nobody can confirm this with certainty.) After that, the Academy started instituting time limits—some years a minute, others as little as 20 seconds—that in the ceremony’s heyday were largely adhered to by the winners.

Michael Santana, a publicist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, says the devolution into seemingly endless speeches can be traced to the late 1960s, after the studio system had collapsed. With no one to answer to but themselves and their burgeoning personal brands,

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Clockwise from top left: Anna Paquin accepts the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1994 for The Piano; Julia Roberts picking up her trophy in 2001 for her performance in Erin Brockovich; Adrien Brody kisses Halle Berry in 2003 after winning the Best Actor Award for his work in The Pianist; Tom Hanks snags the Best Actor Oscar in 1994 for Philadelphia.

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New Season

on a national audience that tuned in, in part, for a break from politics.”

But the real problem with contemporary Oscar speeches can be found in two words: the list.

“As the rise of the power agent came in the 1970s, people felt they needed to thank their agents,” says Dave Karger, an Oscars historian and host on Turner Classic Movies. “And now it’s their ‘teams’: their stylists and their managers and their lawyers and their yoga teachers. There is a lot of pressure on winners to include the ‘right’ people. If your name gets mentioned from the Oscars stage, that’s huge. It gives you instant clout and power in the industry. It’s priceless.”

In other words, it comes down to egos, which are plentiful in Hollywood. But it also translates into money. Forget to thank the producer who gave you that role or the director who cast you, and you may not work for either again. Is it any wonder, then, why the speeches are almost uniformly awful? God knows how many more people Julia Roberts has amassed to thank in the last 20 years.

But there is hope. While the tentpole award winners might be a lost cause, swamped by their own selfpreservation and image, you can still occasionally mine some gold in the acceptance speeches from some of the less showy categories on Oscar night.

In 2008, the Best Original Song Oscar went to “Falling Slowly” from the art house film Once, based on a musical by the same name. In a lilting Irish brogue, cowriter Glen Hansard, face flushed and as excited as a kid on Christmas morning, said this: “Thanks! Go raibh míle, míle, maith agat.” (That’s Irish for “Thanks a million.”) “This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot it on two Handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we’d ever come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It’s been an amazing thing. And thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the academy. Thanks to all the people who’ve helped us. They know who they are; we don’t need to say them. This is amazing. Make art. Make art.”

Good advice for acceptance speeches too.

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MEET THE PRESS

Bass rolled out her plan to fix L.A.’s homelessness crisis at the shuttered St. Vincent Medical Center on January 14.

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THE

CANDIDATE SHE ALMOST BEAT KAMALA TO BECOME VP. NOW SHE’S THE FRONT-RUNNER FOR AN EVEN HARDER JOB. KAREN BASS HAS SPENT HER LIFE DEFYING EXPECTATIONS. BUT IS SHE TOUGH ENOUGH TO RUN L.A.?

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Karen Bass’s household is usually an extended-family affair. But last November, as the turkey roasted in the oven and her clan gathered in her Baldwin Hills residence—Bass’s stepchildren, her stepgrandchildren, her brothers, nieces, and nephews—the 68-yearold congresswoman and front-runner in this year’s mayoral campaign was nowhere to be found. She was, in fact, miles away from home.

“I went for a bike ride on the beach,” she says.

The ride was part pleasure, part business. As the potential next mayor of Los Angeles, Bass wanted to see for herself what was happening in Venice, home to one of the most visible and persistent populations of homeless residents living in tents. As she rode through the neighborhood, Bass noted various concentrations of homeless people bivouacked by the roadside but was surprised by what she saw—or, rather, didn’t see—as she made her way along the Venice Beach bike path, where, for much of the past couple of years, a veritable city of tents had taken over the strand. “I didn’t see any encampments,” she says. “I saw four individual tents, and that’s pretty good.”

It is perhaps a sign of how deep a crisis L.A. is facing right now that a temporary reduction in the number of

W H E N S H E H A D B A R AC K O B A M A’ S O L D J O B (COMMUNITY ORGANIZER)

Above: In 1992, at age 39, Bass and other local activists hold a rally for the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, an organization she helped launch in 1990, and which she helped lead for 14 years. Right: Bass; her late husband, Jesus Lechuga; and their daughter, Emilia, who died at age 23 in a 2006 car accident, along with her husband, Michael Wright. Says longtime friend Dr. Cheryl Grills of the impact on Bass, “I don’t think she’s ever gotten over it.”

Opposite: Bass in 1992.

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people sleeping on a once-popular and touristy stretch of waterfront property could be counted as a win.

Homelessness is at the core of Karen Bass’s campaign.

Indeed, with 94 percent of voters claiming it as their top issue, according to a 2021 L.A. Times and Los Angeles Business Council poll, fixing homelessness will obviously be a major component in every candidate’s platform. But Bass, a former community organizer and a six-term progressive representative of the 37th district (covering Culver City and South L.A.), has focused her campaign on tackling the reasons for homelessness rather than simply clearing tents from the city’s sidewalks and parks.

Bass, who raised far more than her closest rival in the second half of 2021, spent decades working on behalf of the poor and vulnerable and has publicly called out L.A.’s current homelessness situation as a “humanitarian crisis.”

She has also dug deep into what she believes are its root causes: things like income inequality, housing unaffordability, 1990s-era welfare reform, and the lack of support for people released from jail or prison. “It just doesn’t seem to me that the way things have been handled so far—and I’m not faulting anybody for it—but it doesn’t appear to be a response to an emergency,” she says. “It appears to be a response to a problem. And that’s the difference.”

There’s no question that Bass’s electoral credentials are impeccable. She’s smart, empathetic, and well-liked among her peers and constituency. She’s also wonkishly immersed in the minutiae of the issues, charismatic in a low-key, soft-spoken sort of way, and has better name recognition than just about anybody else in the field. (In 2020, she was on the short list for Joe Biden’s VP candidate, until another California politician snagged the job.) In just about every way, Bass seems like exactly the right woman for precisely the right moment. Except for one thing—that moment may have been two years ago.

Los Angeles politics—in fact, politics in every major city in the nation—have shifted dramatically since the last election cycle when Bass was reelected to Congress with a whopping 86 percent of the vote.

Crime is now a top issue, with a 53.9 percent increase in L.A.’s homicide rate over the last two years and smash mobs seemingly running amok across the city. And while fixing homeless- ness remains a priority for voters, that same L. A. Times poll reveals that some 40 percent feel unsafe due to homeless people in their neighborhoods. Even more troubling for Bass, who wants to solve L.A.’s homelessness crisis by transforming the region’s approach to poverty,

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57 percent of voters now believe government should focus more on short-term solutions rather than on long-term ones like building permanent supportive housing. In other words, voters are growing impatient with promises of large structural changes and may reject exactly the sorts of carefully constructed policy proposals Bass has made the centerpiece of her campaign.

This is not just bad news for Bass. Across the country, progressive candidates are finding themselves spun around by shifting political winds. Voters in 2020 may have been happy to rally behind broad promises for social justice and nuanced arguments for low-income housing. But in 2022, many voters just want to be able to stroll down the sidewalk without feeling as if their lives are in danger.

Some progressives are adapting to this new political reality. London Breed, the liberal mayor of arguably the most liberal city in the nation, San Francisco, was voted into office with the support of the Defund the Police movement.

This past December, after months of spiking crime, Breed pivoted 180 degrees, announcing new policies to make her city “more aggressive with law enforcement.”

Meanwhile, 3,000 miles away in New York, Democrat Eric Adams, a MANY VOTERS former Brooklyn borough president JUST WANT TO and police officer, made law and order his top priority right after STROLL DOWN THE moving into the mayor’s mansion SIDEWALK WITHOUT in January.

Will Bass ultimately make that FEELING AS IF pivot? Is there even room for her to THEIR LIVES ARE do so, with the field already growing crowded with other possible canleftist organization that filled charIN DANGER.” didates—so far, a city attorney, two tered jets with student activists and city councilmen, and several memsent them to visit Castro’s Caribbean bers of the business community, Island. In fact, she’s not even the only including a certain mall-owning billionaire whose name Los Angeles politician who belonged to the group: former recognition rivals even Bass’s—some of whom are itching to L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also spent some time as a paint Bass as a soft-on-crime liberal? youth in Cuba. And Bass’s experiences there hardly sounds The good news for Bass? She’s got lots of time to do it— subversive. “We built houses during the day,” she told The three whole months before the primary and another five Atlantic in July 2020, when Biden was still considering her months before the general election. as a potential VP. “And then we had what they called ‘cultural activities’ and we called ‘parties.’ There was great music, rum, dancing.” Still, given the importance of Florida in the 2020 presidential race—and Florida’s population of antiCastro Cuban expats—it must have been a red flag to some B A S S G R E W U P in the Venice-Fairfax area, the daughter in Biden’s campaign. of a mailman and a hair-salon owner turned stay-atIn any case, after Bass returned from Cuba, she earned home mother. Right from the start, she was interested in a degree in health sciences from Cal State in Dominguez progressive politics. As a teen in the late 1960s and early Hills and trained to be a physician’s assistant. By the ’70s, she campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy, protested 1980s, she was working at USC’s emergency room, where the Vietnam War, and walked the picket line when her she saw up close the impact of the city’s crack epidemic. teachers formed a union and went on strike. Then, shortly She was so disturbed by the effect the drug was having on after graduating high school—Alexander Hamilton on South L.A.—and the criminalization of the community Robertson Boulevard, then a hotbed of social action—she that resulted—that, in 1990, she teamed up with other flew to Cuba and very likely blew her future chances of Black and Latino activists to start the Community Coalition becoming Biden’s vice president. for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, a nonBass is hardly the only politician to have a youthful brush profit that sought to change the way the public, police, and with the Venceremos Brigade, once a highly controversial

‘‘

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somebody who is more concerned with getting something accomplished for the people.”

Harris-Dawson puts it only slightly differently. “The city of L.A. doesn’t need a Don King at this moment. What it needs is someone who uses the power of the mayor to get people in a room and keep them in a room until we figure out the answer to tough questions . . . Karen’s a person who’s negotiated between homeowner groups and street gangs.”

So far, at least, Bass’s demure political style hasn’t proved much of a hindrance. In 2004, at 51, she left the coalition and won a seat in the California Assembly. Representing West L.A., Culver City, and Baldwin Hills, she continued advocating for WO N D E R WO M E N Bass with then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton families and making foster children her and California Democratic congresswoman Maxine signature issue. But just two years into Waters during a Women for Hillary rally held at West her life as a politician, personal tragedy Los Angeles College in June 2016. Opposite: With thenVice President Joe Biden, goofing around during a tour struck. Bass’s 23-year-old daughter, politicians viewed the epiof a dental hygiene lab in Culver City in 2015.

Emilia, by all accounts the center of her demic. In Bass’s view, life, was killed in a car accident, along crack was a health probwith Emilia’s young husband, Michael lem, not a criminal one.

Wright. Bass also had four stepchildren with Emilia’s father, “Politicians tripped over themselves trying to pass laws ex-husband Jesus Lechuga, but the death of her only bioto be tough on crime,” she says. “But in passing those laws, logical child left a huge hole in her life. “I don’t think she’s they destabilized families and destabilized neighborhoods.” ever gotten over it,” says Grills. “She used to tell me, ‘Cheryl, Over the years, the coalition broadened its mandate, I’m walking through it.’ ” organizing rallies and press conferences on a variety of After Emilia’s death, Bass threw herself into her work issues, pushing for stronger social safety nets and more at the Assembly, rising to become majority whip, pushing support for families. After the 1992 riots, for instance, the through laws to improve the state’s foster-care system and group petitioned to stop the rebuilding of liquor stores expanding health insurance for children. that had been burned down during the protests, arguing Then, in 2008, she became Speaker of the Assembly that they had become magnets for drug dealing and loijust in time for the biggest financial crisis since the Great tering. L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson Depression. The day she was sworn in, negotiations to remembers meeting Bass around that time while interwrestle with California’s $42 billion shortfall began. viewing for a job at the coalition. “All my life, people have Dealing with an intractable partisan deadlock, Bass was been talking about the liquor stores that have problems,” forced to cobble together a budget agreement that included he recalls. “We all knew where they were. And here this both big tax increases (which Republicans loathed) and organization was quietly doing something about them.” drastic spending cuts (which Democrats loathed). Nobody The quiet part of the group’s work made a deep was happy, least of all Bass. “I got put in that hot seat for impression on Harris-Dawson, who was accustomed to two solid years as speaker,” she says. “And I had to make encountering local activists who burnished their personal horrible decisions. The State of California ran out of money. brands while they tackled issues. “People did it, and they I had to cut health care and education and housing.” got notoriety or pursued notoriety,” he said. Bass was the The Assembly has term limits, so Bass’s tenure as opposite. “She was a person getting stuff done, who wasn’t speaker was short-lived. But, in 2010, another opporfamous or making an effort to be famous.” tunity presented itself when Congresswoman Diane According to those who know her best, Bass has never Watson retired and encouraged Bass to make a run for been much of a spotlight hog, which, her friends and fans her seat. Piecing together a diverse coalition of supinsist, is precisely the quality that would today make her a port—raising nearly a million dollars from labor unions, great mayor, or at least a very different sort of one. health professionals, lawyer groups, and the entertain“What L.A. does not need is someone who’s climbing a ment industry—she ended up winning Watson’s seat career ladder,” says Dr. Cheryl Grills, a clinical psycholoin a landslide. And while Bass continued to politick for gist and professor at Loyola Marymount University who the issues that had to some degree defined her in the has known Bass for 30 years. “What L.A. does need is

Assembly—namely, child welfare—she expanded her Bradley just because he’s Black?’ ” Bass recalls. “But what purview, working on everything from criminal justice to impressed me was the coalition that Bradley built, which gun laws to LGBT equality, while also becoming a key was Black and Jewish.” player in Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, as Of course, a lot has changed about L.A. since Bradley well as Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run. During that later camleft office in 1993, but mostly in ways that make coalition paign, she launched a petition to have then-candidate building more important than ever. For starters, L.A. is Donald Trump psychologically evaluated for narcissistic much more Latino—49 percent of the population at last personality disorder. She did not count. While Latinos historically attend his inaugural. vote less frequently than other groups, At one point, there had been talk that demographic will likely have a of Bass taking over Nancy Pelosi’s decisive influence in November, espejob. After the 2018 midterms, some cially if turnout is higher than normal, I DON’T SUPPORT Democrats were pushing for new bringing more Latinos to the polls ‘DEFUND THE blood in the leadership, arguing that than usual. And, as it happens, turnPelosi—then in her late seventies— out is expected to be sky-high this year.

POLICE.’ IT’S LIKE I had aged out of the position. Bass This will be the first mayoral elecCAN’T BE TRUSTED was floated as a replacement, but she tion held in a year when congressional rejected the offer and threw her supseats are also up for grabs. It’s also UNLESS I RECITE port behind keeping the speaker. the first election to take place in L.A. IT SEVERAL TIMES A year later, she was appointed chair since the state adopted universal of the Congressional Black Caucus, vote-by-mail rules. This combination, A DAY.” one of the most influential groups on some estimate, could increase turnthe left side of the House. out in the primary by something like Exactly how close she got to becom30 percent, and in the general by as ing Biden’s running mate is something probably only Biden much as 50 percent. “It has the potential to be a different knows. But in the summer of 2020, Bass’s name repeatedly election,” says Fernando Guerra, a political science profespopped up as a likely contender, if not a front-runner. But sor at Loyola Marymount University, who studies local there were potential issues with Bass as a candidate beyond voting patterns. her youthful indiscretion in Cuba. Like the emergence Whether Bass can tap into that population, molding it of a video of her speaking at the opening of a Church of into a Bradley-like coalition of her own or whether Latino Scientology, during which she praised L. Ron Hubbard as a voters end up tilting toward a Latino candidate—like, say, champion of civil rights. She would later defend her speech, City Councilman Kevin De León, who is part Guatemalan, claiming that she “spoke briefly about things I think most part Chinese—remains the big question. Theoretically, of us agree with,” but it must have been another red flag. it’s possible that Bass’s focus on homelessness may end up After Biden picked Kamala Harris for VP, there was talk of (CO N T I N U E D O N PAG E 9 4 ) Bass landing a gig as Secretary of Health and Human Services. But, again, she was passed over for another Golden State pol, former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

‘‘

A P P H OTO/JA E C . H O N G

I F B A S S G E T S elected in November,

she will become Los Angeles’s first female mayor. She’ll also become its second Black mayor, after Tom Bradley broke that barrier back in 1973. In fact, Bass has fond memories of campaigning for Bradley even before then, during his first unsuccessful bid in 1969, while she was in high school.

She often wore a cowboy hat back then—“I was a teenager, OK?”—and during the campaign, she pinned a Bradley button to the front. “I remember my teacher coming up to me and saying, ‘Why do you support Bradley? Do you support L A M AG . C O M 6 9

›E Y E S

WIDE SHUT LOUIS VUITTON Cape, $5,000; and jeans, bra and boots, prices upon request TIFFANY & CO. Knot earrings, necklace, and rings, prices upon request BALENCIAGA Sunglasses, $490

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› CALI-

FORNIA SUITE LOUIS VUITTON Suit, shirt, and shoes, prices upon request AZATURE Necklace, price upon request RICK OWENS Sunglasses, $830

F r o m S i d a n d N a n c y a t t h e C h e l s e a to Pa m a n d To m m y a t t h e C h a te a u , r o c k- a n d - r o l l co u p l e s a n d h i p h o te l s a r e a p a i r i n g t h a t n eve r g o e s o u t o f s t y l e S H OT O N LO C AT I O N AT C H AT E AU M A R M O N T L A M AG . C O M 7 1

SERVICE HER: GUCCI Dress, $8,200; and sandals, $790 WOLFORD Tights, $46

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7 2 L A M AG . C O M

P R O D U C E D BY: V I L L A N I P R O D U C T I O N S ; H A I R : G I OVA N N I G I U L I A N O FO R A R T D E PA R T M E N T U S I N G O R I B E ; M A K E U P : S E TS U KO TAT E U S I N G N A R S M O D E L S : M A L E DA M I A N F I N L AYS O N W I T H STAT E M A N AG E M E N T LO S A N G E L E S F E M A L E J E S S I C A C L E M E N TS W I T H F R E E D O M M O D E L S L . A . LO C AT I O N : C H AT E AU M A R M O N T

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L A M AG . C O M 7 3

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OF LOVE HIM: MICHAEL KORS Turtleneck sweater, $890; and pants, price upon request AZATURE Signature ring with black diamonds, $15,000

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HER: MICHAEL KORS Turtleneck sweater, $890; and panty and mules, prices upon request

7 4 L A M AG . C O M

L A M AG . C O M 7 5

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HER: CHRISTIAN DIOR Top, skirt, earrings, bracelet, and ring, prices upon request

7 6 L A M AG . C O M

LO C AT I O N : C H AT E AU M A R M O N T

AZATURE Necklace, price upon request

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BREAKFAST HIM: ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Pants and sneakers, prices upon request; and necklace, $890 BOTTEGA VENETA Bag, price upon request AZATURE Signature ring with black diamonds, $15,000 HER: BOTTEGA VENETA Swimsuit, $650; dress, $2,250; and earrings, rings, and shoes, prices upon request

L A M AG . C O M 7 7

›N O R E S T FOR THE WICKED HIM: BALENCIAGA Vest, $2,550; and pants, $950 BOTTEGA VENETA Boots, price upon request HER: ROBERTO CAVALLI Dress, $1,649 SAINT LAURENT Shoes, price upon request CHRISTIAN DIOR Ring, price upon request ALMASIKA Bracelet, price upon request

7 8 L A M AG . C O M

›

LO C AT I O N : C H AT E AU M A R M O N T

F O R T H E S H O P P I N G D I R E C TO RY, S E E PAG E 9 4

L A M AG . C O M 7 9

SMOKED OUT A controversial new book by former L.A. Times reporter Sam Quinones claims that a cheap and potent form of Mexican meth is causing a surge of deaths and homelessness in Los Angeles. Are we doing enough to address the city’s drug problem?

And why aren’t more people paying attention?

By Maer Roshan Illustrated by Robert Carter

8 0 L A M AG . C O M

L A M AG . C O M 8 1

QUINONES FINISHED WRITING HIS 2015 BEST-SELLING EXPOSÉ ON BLACK TAR HEROIN AND OXYCODONE— DREAMLAND: THE TRUE TALE OF AMERICA’S OPIATE EPIDEMIC —HE FIGURED HE WAS PRETTY MUCH DONE. “I THOUGHT THAT WAS MY LAST BOOK ABOUT DRUGS. AFTER ALL, WHAT COULD BE WORSE THAN HEROIN?”

Turns out there’s an answer to that question, which Quinones, 63, reveals in his latest book, The Least of Us, a deep dive into the even darker, even more destructive world of meth addiction. According to Quinones, a cheaper and far more potent strain of speed from Mexico has been flooding the country, a synthetic-chemical cocktail so potent it can send many users into rapid psychosis.

“It’s accompanied by severe, very rapid onset schizophrenia and paranoia,” he says. “Hallucinations and demons. Monsters in the basement kind of stuff.”

The former Los Angeles Times journalist sat down with editorin-chief Maer Roshan for a lengthy discussion about this latest phase of America’s endlessly mutating drug epidemic.

Since it was published, Quinones’s book has generated a fair share of controversy. His assertion that the new meth has been the unspoken culprit behind the nation’s outof-control homelessness crisis has drawn darts from the Washington Post and the New York Times and

8 2 L A M AG . C O M

praise from conservative pundits like Andrew Sullivan. But Quinones says he’s nonplussed. “I’m not really a political guy,” he says. “I didn’t write this to score political points. I just reported what I saw.” > You started out as a crime reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Is that how you became involved in reporting on the drug trade?

I was actually a crime reporter long before that. My first journalism job was at the Stockton Record. In 1994, though, I moved down to Mexico and worked there as a freelance reporter for ten years, until 2004, when I came home to work for the L. A. Times.

As a journalist in Mexico, you obviously get some insight into the drug trade, but when I was there I really just covered immigration and politics. But shortly after I arrived at the Times, the drug wars kicked off in earnest, and things got crazier

You wrote a book about it.

Dreamland told the story of how the enormous use of opioid painkillers had created a massive population of addicts throughout the country.

When American authorities finally cracked down on crooked doctors and pill mills, a lot of people were suddenly left stranded. Many of them turned to heroin instead. For 20 years, heroin use in this country had declined or stayed flat, and suddenly it began spiking again.

Mexican cartels rushed in to fill that demand.

So I wrote about these entrepreunerial guys who had developed a method of selling black tar heroin very much like pizza—you know, like you call up and they deliver—and then they expanded to a Domino’s-like franchise that exported to the rest of the country. That’s what really pushed me to understand the nuances of the drug world and all that stuff that informed Dreamland.

G E T T Y I M AG E S

WHEN SAM

and more savage with every passing year. Eventually, the Times realized it needed to devote more attention to the issue, so it formed a team to cover it. My job was to cover how drugs were trafficked once they crossed the border and arrived here in the U.S.

ALL DRUGS, METHAMPHETAMINE AND OPIOIDS RELATED DRUG THE NEW METH: THE NUMBERS ADD UP OVERDOSE DEATHS, LAC,HOW 2008-2019 Fentanyl-, Heroin-, and Meth-Related Deaths in L.A. County from 2013 to 2019

Source: CDC WONDER 750 500

161

Fentanyl

Heroin

2019

75

2018

20

132

2017

24

2016

18

237

2015

0

221 156

2014

250

420

2013

Number

576

Meth

S O U R C E : C D C WO N D E R / T H E L . A . CO U N T Y CO R O N E R ’ S O F F I C E

CO U R T E SY SA M Q U I N O N E S

They upended the whole drug economy. Suddenly, if you’re a drug trafficker, you don’t need land or water to produce your goods. You don’t have to depend on sunshine or rainfall. You no longer have to be exposed to DEA helicopters. You bring it all indoors; you’re in a lab.

You collapse the number of people that are involved. It’s so much less risky. And the drugs, particularly in the case of fentanyl, are so much more potent.

Ephedrine-based meth was widely available both in Mexico and in the United States in the late ’80s into the early 1990s. It wasn’t illegal, but it was kind of regulated. The police surveilled the warehouses just to see who was buying—no big deal. But then they got aggressive. So eventually the cooks that had been able to set up for many years in Temecula in Riverside County and in San Diego, little by little, those guys began to feel the heat.

By the early 2000s, they started to head back to Mexico, even though by 2008, the Mexican government had made it illegal for anyone to possess ephedrine. So suddenly this method that they had been using for almost 20 years kind of went extinct, and they had to make their meth another way.

You say in your book that the new synthetic meth has different effects than its old, ephedrine-based predecessor. Can you explain the difference?

It’s in some ways a story of technological innovation: By changing the way drugs were manufactured, traffickers no longer had to rely on traditional methods to produce meth and heroin. Instead, they hired chemists to create vast quantities of synthetic knockoffs that they could sell at rock-bottom prices. It was a game changer that transformed the drug trade and addiction in America—and caused massive social problems here that even the traffickers could never have expected.

How were synthetic drugs a game changer? How did they drive prices down?

According to your book, there was a change in how meth was made.

‘‘STARTING AROUND 2009, THE METH CHANGED. IT SEEMED TO HAVE A MUCH DARKER IMPACT ON PEOPLE WHO WERE USING IT .’’

—SAM QUINONES

Well, ephedrine-based meth was a very euphoric, social drug. You know, you did it with other people and wanted to be around other people.

You stayed up all night partying, you wanted to be friends for life. It was big with the biker community and huge in the gay community—huge in the gay community.

But starting around 2009, the meth effectively changed. It seemed to have a different and much darker impact on the people who were using it. One of the first people to clue me into this was a veteran meth user named Eric, who lives in L.A. He’d been using for almost a decade, and for several years he held his life together—you know, he had a job, he had a girlfriend, a car. I mean, his life wasn’t great; he was constantly making up excuses for why he had to come in late to work and that kind of thing. But he wasn’t on the street.

And then, in 2009, the drug changed one night. It was not the same drug. It was a drug that had him going crazy. He was imagining

L A M AG . C O M 8 3

In the Shadow of Meth LAST SUMMER, TEUN VOETEN, AN ACCLAIMED DUTCH WAR PHOTOGRAPHER AND ANTHROPOLOGIST, SPENT A WEEK ON SKID ROW DOCUMENTING THE DEVASTATING TOLL THAT SPEED HAS TAKEN ON ITS USERS AND THE CITY. HIS BOOK ON THE GLOBAL METH TRADE IS COMING OUT LATER THIS YEAR

RO G E R , from the Midwest, is a crystal meth addict with a profile typical of many on Skid Row: MICA, or mentally ill chemical abuser, in the argot of medical literature.

LIVING ON THE EDGE

in tents along San Pedro Street.

N A N CY is a daily user who says she feels happiest when she smokes meth.

A N N A , a homeless woman originally from Afghanistan and a heavy crystal meth user, smears herself with white paint.

M E T H A D D I CT S from Juarez, Mexico, shoot up in front of the offices of the Needle Exchange on 4th Street.

SCOTTY

shoots $30 worth of meth a day.

He says he makes his money by obtaining 40 clean needles daily at the Needle Exchange, which he sells for $1 apiece to fellow addicts.

W H I T N E Y smokes meth while her boyfriend looks on.

L A M AG . C O M 8 5

his girlfriend hiding men in the apartment, in the mattresses. And he began to stab the mattresses with a butcher knife. He went out of his mind. No more euphoria; now it was intense paranoia. And he never got back to that euphoric meth again.

Finally, his life just completely crashed. He told me he stayed using it for the next four years, during which time he was gradually alienated from everybody. Eventually, he ends up homeless.

And in 2013, just as the supplies are really about to explode, he gets sober through the VA as an ex-Marine. Before that, they had diagnosed him with schizophrenic.

Now he stops using, and little by little his sanity kind of returns more or less, and they decide he’s actually not schizophrenic at all.

What happened to him started happening to thousands of people across the country. And many addicts who had previously managed to tread water suddenly found themselves on the streets.

Are there statistics that back up this observation?

It’s certainly reflected in the rise of homelessness. In some places, the correlation was masked by a focus on the high cost of housing. And that’s definitely part of the equation in some places. But the same thing was happening in other parts of the country that have no issue of affordable housing—Rust Belt or rural areas where housing costs are stable or declining.

I write in my book about Clarksburg, West Virginia, a Rust Belt town where many people live in trailers. But all of a sudden, after the meth poured in, they started seeing tent encampments there as well.

There’s a tiny town in New Mexico where housing costs a fraction of what it does in L.A., and there, too, people who own their houses outright are losing them because they can’t control their lives. Even if they paid off their mortgage, they can no longer afford the taxes or the electricity. In all these places, you see the

8 6 L A M AG . C O M

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BYLAC RACE METHAMPHETAMINE OVERDOSEKILLER: DEATHS METH

BY RACE, 2008-2019 Methamphetamine-overdose deaths by race in L.A. County 2008 to 2019 Source: CDC WONDER API: 307 (4%) WHITE: 3,131 (43%)

BLACK: 1,405 (19%)

LATINX: 2,416 (33%) S O U R C E : C D C WO N D E R / T H E L . A . CO U N T Y CO R O N E R ’ S O F F I C E

same phenomenon—the psychosis, hallucinations, with an attendant increase in homelessness.

And in time, the tent encampments we’re now used to in L.A. begin springing up nationwide. I spoke with a guy who had been studying meth for 20 years. He tells me people go out of their minds very rapidly. It doesn’t take years of steady use anymore; it’s now just weeks or months. It’s immediate. They’re out of their minds, screaming at demons. No one wants to live with someone who’s doing that at three in the morning, or who’s taking apart the TV for 12 hours, or who’s rewiring his car for nine hours. And so they begin to kind of fade away from people who are sober and retreat to the streets. And so you start seeing encampments that kind of function as meth colonies.

And that’s where the tents come in. A tent is perfect housing for someone who believes the entire world is a threat—it’s private and portable. Conversely, if you’re in that mindset, the very last place you wanna be is in a homeless shelter.

You say in your book that many things that Angelenos may recognize in the homeless encampments—like hoarding—may actually be related to the peculiar effects of the meth epidemic.

I’ve noticed that everybody on this kind of meth is just obsessed with bicycles. Bicycles allow you to go around and look for stuff that you might be able to sell, or something that in your psychotic state you think one day you’re gonna need. That’s the reason why you find so much junk and car and bicycle carcasses and all that. It just naturally kind of occurs to people in this state to constantly hoard stuff.

There has been pushback to some of the claims you’ve made in your book. I think there’s a section where you estimate that up to 90 percent of people in L.A.’s homeless encampments are drug users.

On meth. A very high percentage.

Here’s the thing (and I’ll get back to answering your question in a minute): It’s not just that meth causes homelessness. It also perpetuates it because you might be homeless

for another reason entirely. Maybe you’re a registered sex offender. You know, the number of places where registered sex offenders can live is very limited. And so you can’t find housing and you’re homeless. And then on the street, you start using meth because it’s dirt cheap and so available. And pretty soon you can’t get out of it. It prevents you from leaving homelessness as much as it creates homelessness.

And it also makes it so you’re not able to follow basic stuff: You need to maintain a house. You need to go to work. You need not to be filling your house with trash and taking apart TVs all day long. It keeps you divorced from reality. That’s another part of it. It’s not just that it creates homelessness and perpetuates it—it also numbs you to the reality of what you’re living in.

The connections you make between this new form of meth and homelessness are obvious. And many people on the front lines are affirming what you’re positing. So why isn’t this subject showing up in any reporting?

Oh, man, you really want to go there.

I could give you a few hunches. I

would say, first of all, newspapers have fewer people than ever. The media have been shredded. Most news organizations no longer have the same budget or the number of people that are needed.

It’s a very, very important part to this story. Because in order to understand this, you have to be willing to put in the time to dig below the easy answers, right? And the easy answer is that it’s the high cost of housing. And certainly housing costs here are enormously high.

But that’s the only solution that’s allowed to be discussed. Nothing else is allowed.

‘‘IT’S NOT JUST THAT IT CREATES HOMELESSNESS— IT ALSO NUMBS YOU TO THE REALITY OF WHAT YOU’RE LIVING IN.’’

There’s a well-intentioned sense some in the media have that these people are victims, and we should not be discussing the role that drugs play in this crisis because we don’t want to stigmatize them any further.

But that kind of thinking has really cast a shadow over the discussion of these issues, even among people on the front lines of this crisis.

I talked to a number of treatment providers down at Skid Row, two who actually lowered their voices when discussing this with me—like they were worried that someone was listening in and would report them to the authorities.

Why would a treatment provider feel afraid to talk with you about addiction?

Because they’ve been at too many meetings with housing advocates and homeless advocates who angrily pile on them for suggesting that drugs and mental illness could possibly be a part of the issue. And yet when you talk to these people privately, the common denominator everybody talks about is meth. They report that the people they are now seeing are increasingly psychotic and incapable of self-care. They are literally going out of their minds but can’t get out of the psychosis because the meth is so common and so prevalent.

And getting them into treatment is enormously difficult. Those aren’t problems that would be solved simply by giving someone an apartment. But you can’t talk about that because the discussion is confined to the high cost of housing.

G E T T Y I M AG E S

What you’re saying seems to undercut a lot of the solutions we’re exploring to end homelessness. You’re suggesting that those approaches are doomed unless we address the main issue.

Yes. Addiction to methamphetamine has no treatment other than prolonged abstinence. So treatment starts by separating the user from the drug. You have to detox people first and then keep them abstinent for a sustained period. That’s never (CO N T I N U E D O N PAG E 9 5 )

L A M AG . C O M 8 7

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2022

E B E R

I N E X P E N S I V E (Meals under $10) M O D E R A T E (Mostly under $20) E X P E N S I V E (Mostly under $30) V E R Y E X P E N S I V E ($30 and above)

Price classifications are approximate and based on the cost of a typical main course that serves one.

For restaurants primarily offering multicourse family meals, the cost per person of such a meal is used.

Restaurant hours are changing frequently. Check websites or social media accounts for the most current information.

on the walls to the curries on the plate—just pops.

Grab a date, grab your friends, and get to the party.

Don’t miss the beautifully ferocious Devil Chicken curry, amped up by both fresh and dried bird’s eye chiles along with ghost peppers and accompanied by a saucer of habanero vinegar that magically cuts the heat and enhances it at the same time. 2104 Main St., cobis.la, or @cobis.la. Beer and wine.

❂ Colapasta

» Italian $ It’s equally pleasant to grab and go or eat at this quiet, affordable spot that features fresh pastas topped with farmers’ market fare. The colorful, poppy-seed-sprinkled beet ravioli is delicate and delicious, while the gramigna with pesto and ricotta is hearty and satisfying. 1241 5th St., 310-310-8336, or colapasta.com. Beer and wine.

SANTA MONICA

❂ Crudo e Nudo SANTA MONICA » Seafood $$

Brian Bornemann, the 31-year-old former executive chef at Michael’s Santa Monica, has gone his own way. He and his girlfriend, Leena Culhane, have launched a sustainable neighborhood joint that’s by turns a coffee shop, a seafood market, and a casual restaurant where you can nibble impeccably prepared crudo, tuna tartare toasts, and vegan Caesar salads on the patio while sipping a thoughtfully selected natural wine. Though the project began as a pandemic pop-up, it’s now an exciting brick-andmortar spot from one of the city’s most promising young toques. 2724 Main St., crudoenudo.com, or @crudo_e_nudo. Beer and wine.

❂ Dear John’s CULVER CITY » Steak House $$$

There’s still good times and great food to be had at this former Sinatra hang stylishly revamped

by Josiah Citrin and Hans Röckenwagner. Steakhouse classics—crab Louie, oysters Rockefeller, thick prime steaks—pay homage to the lounge’s Rat Pack past and can be enjoyed on a sunny new patio or to go. 11208 Culver Blvd., 310-881-9288, or dearjohnsbar.com. Full bar.

K AT R I N A F R E D E R I C K

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❂ Birdie G’s

Porkand-shiitake dumplings from Cobi’s

❂ Etta

CULVER CITY

» Italian $$$

With a sprawling patio, lengthy menu, and various party tricks (the restaurant calls them “moments”), Etta is primed for good times. You can go big and order a $120 short rib “picnic” with various accoutrements for the table or opt to have wine poured into your mouth from a large jug while a server snaps Polaroids. But you can also just pop in for a pizza or excellent pasta at the bar. For dessert, there are shots of tequila and coffee topped with rainbowsprinkled shortbread cookies. 8801 Washington Blvd., ettarestaurant.com, or @ettarestaurant. Full bar.

❂ Felix VENICE » Italian $$$

At Evan Funke’s clubby, floral-patterned trattoria, the rigorous dedication to tradition makes for superb focaccia and pastas. The rigatoni cacio e pepe—tubes of pasta adorned only with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper—nods to Roman shepherds who used the spice to keep warm, while the rigatoni all’Amatriciana with cured pork cheek sings brilliantly alongside Italian country wines. 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd., 424-387-8622, or felixla.com. Full bar.

✤ Matū

» Steak $$$ Prolific restaurateur Jerry Greenberg (Sugarfish, Nozawa Bar, KazuNori, Uovo, HiHo Cheeseburger) and his partners are convinced that they serve the world’s best beef, prepared in the most optimal way.

After trying their five-course, $78 Wagyu dinner featuring sustainably raised, 100 percent grass-fed beef from First Light Farms in New Zealand, you might see things their way. Magnificently marbled steaks are cooked to “warm red,” which is the color of rare and the temperature of medium rare. The result is meat that’s tender, luscious, and strikingly beefy. 239 S. Beverly Dr., matusteak.com. Full Bar.

BEVERLY HILLS

❂ Mírame

BEVERLY HILLS » Mexican $$$ Joshua Gil is cooking exciting, contemporary Mexican fare with market-driven ingredients and serving them on a stunning patio. Dishes are imaginative but not overly contrived—salmon-skin chicharrón with fermented garlic aioli; a divine slow-cooked Heritage Farms pork shoulder served with a black-lime gastrique, celtuce, and hearty, richly flavorful frijoles charros cooked with a pig’s head. The latter is available as part of Mírame’s to-go family meal, which includes house-made tortillas; a memorable riff on Caesar salad with pork chicharrón, roasted vegetables and goat cheese; chocolate flan; and an adorable little bottle of margaritas. At just $105 for two people, it’s an amazingly affordable way to sample Gil’s cooking. 419 N. Canon Dr., 310230-5035, mirame.la, or @mirame.la. Full bar.

❂ Ospi VENICE » Italian $$$

Jackson Kalb’s sprawling new Italian joint brings bustle and outdoor tables to a corner on an otherwise quiet stretch. Pastas, including a spicy rigatoni alla vodka and raschiatelli with a pork rib ragù, are sublime, and most travel remarkably well if you’re looking to takeout, which is the only option for lunch. Roman-style pizzas boast a uniquely crispy, cracker-thin crust; to get the full crunch, have a slice as you drive your takeout home. 2025 Pacific Ave., 424-443-5007, ospivenice.com, or @ospiveni. Full bar.

❂ Pasjoli

» French $$$$ Dave Beran’s à la carte spot bucks the trends and eschews bistro clichés in favor of old-fashioned thrills—an elaborate pressed duck prepared just as Escoffier would have and served with potatoes au gratin dauphinois—and modern French fare. The showy duck must be reserved in advance as only a limited number of birds are available each night. But there are plenty of other exciting dishes on the menu, such as the chicken liver in brioche and a complex lobster, mussel, and clam bisque with shaved fennel and tarragon. 2732 Main St., 424-330-0020, or pasjoli.com. Full bar.

SANTA MONICA

❂ Sant’olina BEVERLY HILLS » Mediterranean $$$

The buzzy h.wood Group has taken over the rooftop at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to launch this breezy pop-up that’s likely to become a permanent fixture.

Tables with views are topped with blue-and-white linens, and the menu is full of crowd-pleasing dishes: babka french toast for brunch, harissa-cured salmon, a lamb burger for dinner, or various Middle Eastern dips for any time of day. The culinary team includes h.wood’s Michael Teich and David Johns, along with Burt Bakman of the beloved barbecue joint Slab. 9876 Wilshire Blvd., 310-285-1260, santolinabh.com, or @santolinabh. Full bar.

DOWNTOWN ❂ Angry Egret Dinette CHINATOWN » Sandwiches $$

Wes Avila has left Guerrilla Tacos and is focusing on torta-esque sandwiches at this heartfelt new venture. Standouts include the Saguaro with tempura-fried squash blossoms, heirloom tomato, market greens, ricotta cheese, and salsa macha. It’s hearty and decadent but also wonderfully nuanced.

There’s ample outdoor seating, but sandwiches with fried ingredients miraculously manage to remain crispy and travel well. 970 N. Broadway, Ste. 114, 213278-0987, aedinette.com, or @angryegretdinette.

Badmaash

HISTORIC CORE » Indian $$ This Indian gastropub concept comes from the father-and-sons team of Pawan, Nakul, and Arjun Mahendro, who are all well versed in the culinary techniques of East and West. The menu features contemporary mash-ups, like a version of poutine smothered in chicken tikka, tandoori chicken wings, and a spicy lamb burger. If tradition’s your thing, you’ll be comforted by spice-stewed chickpeas, potato and pea samosas, and what they call Good Ol’ Saag Paneer. 108 W. 2nd St., 213-2217466, badmaashla.com, or @badmaashla. Beer and wine.

Also at 418 N. Fairfax Ave., 213-281-5185, Fairfax District.

✤❂ Caboco

ARTS DISTRICT » Brazilian $$ Rodrigo Oliveira and fellow chef/partner Victor Vasconcellos are here to show Los Angeles that there’s a lot more to Brazilian food than churrascarias, so they’re serving habit-forming fried tapioca cubes and a vegan stew (moqueca de caju) headlined by cashew fruit that’s startlingly complex. Wash it all down with refreshing caipirinhas—the bar makes no less than five different kinds. 1850 Industrial St., 213-405-1434, cabocola.com, or @caboco.la. Full bar.

✤❂ Caldo Verde ARTS DISTRICT » Portuguese $$$

Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne have opened a Portuguese cousin to their beloved Spanish-infused A.O.C. The restaurant loads up its namesake seafood stew with a generous amount of local rock crab, grilled linguica, mussels, kale, and potato. It’s a tremendous example of the rough-and-tumble food that Goin loves—dishes in which she deftly balances salt, fat, and bold flavors with California brightness. A starter of Iberico ham, anchovies, and olives is called “a small plate of salty favorites” because Goin understands that you visit restaurants to be jolted and enjoy food that’s a bit more intense than what you typically eat at home. 1100 S. Broadway, 213-806-1023, properhotel.com/downtown la, or @caldoverde_dtlap. Full bar.

❂ Cha Cha Chá ARTS DISTRICT » Mexican $$

The huge, lively, plant-filled rooftop and some mezcal would be enough for a good night out at this Mexico City import, but chef Alejandro Guzmán, an alum of Le Comptoir, has packed his menu with quiet thrills. Carnitas get taken up a level by an orange reduction that comes at the end of the long

cooking process. For dessert, the carrot flan is a small revelation, a surprising, exciting riff on carrot cake. The newly opened interior bar, La Barra, offers up unique mezcal cocktails. 812 E. 3rd St., 213548-8487, or chachacha.la. Full bar.

❂ Gamboge

LINCOLN HEIGHTS » Cambodian $ The Cambodian sandwiches known as numpang, which are somewhat similar to Vietnamese banh mi, are the speciality at this charming new deli. Crusty bolillo bread is a vessel for proteins like lemongrass-marinated pork shoulder or grilled trumpet mushrooms, along with condiments like Maggi mayo, chili jam, and carrot-and-papaya slaw. The menu is full of delights beyond sandwiches, including rice bowls; a great shredded chicken salad with cabbage, peanuts, and a citrus-and-fish-sauce dressing; and a memorable braised-sardines-and-tomato dish.

Order food to go, or enjoy it on the sunny, succulentdotted back patio. 1822 N. Broadway, 323-576-2073, gambogela.com, or @gambogela. Beer and wine.

❂ Girl & the Goat ARTS DISTRICT » Eclectic $$$

At long last, Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard has brought her hit Chicago restaurant to a light, airy space and pretty patio in downtown L.A. with seating for 200. The lengthy menu is full of international intrigue and the unexpected flavor combinations Izard is known for. Roasted beets mingle with blackberries and a yuzukosho vinaigrette. A salmon poke features chili crunch, avocado, and strawberry. Goat makes an appearance in both a liver mousse starter and a hearty curry main. 555-3 Mateo St., 213-799-4628, girlandthegoat.com, or @girlandthegoatla. Full bar.

CENTRAL ❂ Alta Adams WEST ADAMS » California Soul Food $$

Riffing on his grandmother’s recipes, Watts native Keith Corbin loads up his gumbo with market veggies and enlivens his collard greens with a smoked oil. Soul food in this city is too often associated with Styrofoam containers, but this verdant patio, is a lovely place to linger. Hot sauce splashed onto skillet-fried chicken is pure pleasure, enhanced by a bourbon drink the bar tints with roasted peanuts and huckleberries. Finish the night by taking on a heroic wedge of coconut cake. 5359 W. Adams Blvd., 323-571-4999, or altaadams.com. Full bar.

❂ A.O.C.

BEVERLY GROVE » California $$$ Unforced and driven by culinary excellence, A.O.C. is anchored by a courtyard with soft sunlight and laurel trees. Caroline Styne’s wine list doesn’t shy away from the ecology of vineyards, while Suzanne Goin’s cooking has become indispensable.

Carefully constructed salads showcase vegetables at their best, and the roasted chicken with panzanella is both an homage to San Francisco’s Zuni Café and a classic in and of itself. 8700 W. 3rd St., 310-859-9859, or aocwinebar.com. Full bar. Also at 11648 San Vicente Blvd., 310-806-6464, Brentwood.

✤ Bicyclette

» French $$$ Walter and Margarita Manzke’s delightful, delicious follow-up to République brings a bit of Paris to Pico Boulevard. The menu is stocked with exactingly executed bistro standards: onion soup with oozy cheese, hearty short rib bourguignon, and a luxurious bouillabaisse. Margarita’s textbook baguettes and beautiful desserts are as great as ever. Resisting Bicyclette’s charms is futile. 9575 W. Pico Blvd., bicyclettela.com. Full bar.

PICO-ROBERTSON

Brandoni Pepperoni

WEST HOLLYWOOD » Pizza $$ Six nights a week, Brandon Gray turns out some of L.A.’s most exciting pizzas. Gray, a veteran of Navy L A M AG.C OM 89

kitchens and top local restaurants like Providence, brings boundless imagination to his pies. They’re topped with premium ingredients—Jidori chicken, Sungold tomatoes, Spanish octopus—in exciting combinations. A curry-Dijonnaise dressing renders a side salad surprisingly memorable. 5881 Saturn St., 323-306-4968, or brandoni-pepperoni.com. Wine to go.

❂ Gigi’s

HOLLYWOOD MEDIA DISTRICT

» French $$$

With its sceney Sycamore Avenue location and gorgeous, illustration-lined interiors, Gigi’s could easily succeed with subpar fare. But chef Matt Bollinger’s bistro classics—like curry mussels, steak tartare, and roasted chicken—are done quite well, if priced rather high. The wine list from beverage director Kristin Olszewski, an Osteria Mozza alum, is surprisingly interesting, with various natural and biodynamic options on offer. 904. N. Sycamore Ave., gigis.la, or @gigis_la. Full bar.

❂ Hanchic KOREATOWN » Korean $$

a Sazerac-worthy buzz. 2920 W. Jefferson Blvd., 323-735-9023, or haroldandbelles.com. Full bar.

✤ Horses

HOLLYWOOD » Eclectic $$$ Versatile power-couple chefs Liz Johnson (who earned extensive national acclaim at Freedman’s) and Will Aghajanian (formerly the chef de cuisine at Vespertine) have created a lively California bistro that feels both old-school and of the moment. Located in the red-boothed space that was home to Ye Coach & Horses, the restaurant exudes vintage Hollywood glamour. The mostly European-inspired menu is rooted in both classic technique and free-spirited cooking. A sobrassada panino with white American cheese and a drizzle of honey is thin, crispy, sweet, savory, creamy, and spicy: an extremely pleasing little bite. Lumache pasta with vodka sauce gets an unexpected and delightful kick from ’nduja. 7617 W. Sunset Blvd., horsesla.com, or @horsesonsunset. Full bar.

Lalibela

This new K-town spot infuses Korean dishes with Italian elements to create uniquely craveable dishes. Tagliatelle is tossed with kimchi and pork.

A decadent spin on mac ’n’ cheese features both Korean rice cakes and elbow pasta coated in tangy Mornay sauce that’s been infused with fermented soybean paste. 2500 W. 8th St., Ste. 103, hanchic.co, or @hanchic.la.

Harold & Belle’s JEFFERSON PARK » Southern Creole $$

For Creole-style food—a mélange of French, African, and Native American flavors—Harold & Belle’s is as close to the Dirty Coast as you’ll come on the West Coast. The crawfish étouffée in spicy gravy will have you humming zydeco, while the bourbon bread pudding will leave you with

» Ethiopian $-$$ The strip of Fairfax known as Little Ethiopia has long been dominated by the same handful of restaurants. Chef-owner Tenagne Belachew worked in a few of them before opening her own sophisticated haven, which invites with the swirling aromas of berbere and burning sage. Stretchy disks of injera—the sour, teff-flour pancake that doubles as a utensil for scooping up food by hand—arrive piled with uniquely pungent delights. There are wots, or stews, made with chicken or spiced legumes or lamb sautéed in a creamy sauce. 1025 S. Fairfax Ave., 323-965-1025, or lalibelala.com. Beer and wine.

FAIRFAX DISTRICT

Luv2Eat Thai Bistro HOLLYWOOD » Thai $$

Vibrant flavors and spices abound at this strip-mall favorite from two Phuket natives. The crab curry,

with a whole crustacean swimming in a creamy pool of deliciousness, is not to be missed (it travels surprisingly well), but the expansive menu is full of winners, from the massaman curry to the Thai fried chicken with sticky rice and sweet pepper sauce.

6660 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-498-5835, luv2eatthai.com, or @luv2eat.thaibistro.

❂ Ronan

FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Cal-Italian $$ At Daniel and Caitlin Cutler’s chic pizzeria, the pies—especially the How ‘Nduja Like It? with spicy sausage, gorgonzola crema, green onion, and celery—are the clear stars, but it’s a big mistake not to explore the entire menu. It’s filled with delicious delights, from cacio e pepe risotto to a sea bass served with an ever-changing assortment of banchan. 7315 Melrose Ave., 323-917-5100, ronanla.com, or @ronan_la. Full bar.

❂ Son of a Gun BEVERLY GROVE » Seafood $$

Florida-raised chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo deliver a certain brand of sun-drenched seashore nostalgia. Dropping into the nautically themed dining room for chilled peel-and-eat shrimp and a hurricane feels as effortless as dipping your toes in the sand. There are buttery lobster rolls and fried-chicken sandwiches alongside artfully plated crudos. 8370 W. 3rd St., 323-782-9033, or sonofagunrestaurant.com. Full bar.

❂ Soulmate

» Mediterranean $$$ It’s lovely outside, and there’s a stunning new WeHo spot with a patio that can hold 75 attractive people, plus hours that go to midnight on Friday and Saturdays. Starters include various jamones and spicy paella bites. Further down the menu, there’s lot of seafood options, from

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wood-fired octopus with charred romesco to salmon crudo. 631 N. Robertson Blvd., 310-734-7764, soulmateweho.com, or @soulmateweho.

Full bar.

EAST ✤❂ Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery PASADENA » Eclectic $$

This low-key charmer—the work of two alums of acclaimed San Francisco Italian joint Flour + Water—deftly mixes midwestern hospitality and European technique. The casual lunch is all about cheese and charcuterie boards and sandwiches. At dinner, excellent pastas, smartly prepared proteins, thoughtfully selected wines, and great cocktails join the party on the spacious patio. 40 W. Green St., 626-389-3839, agnesla.com, or @agnes_pasadena.

Full bar.

❂ All Day Baby SILVER LAKE » Eclectic $$

Jonathan Whitener’s Here’s Looking At You is, sadly, closed, but his thrilling cooking continues on a bustling Eastside corner. Whether you opt for smoked spare ribs, a hot catfish sandwich, or a breakfast sandwich on pastry chef Thessa Diadem’s sublime biscuits, it’s all great. 3200 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-741-0082, alldaybabyla.com, or @alldaybabyla.

C H E F FAV O R I T E S

GIANBA VINZONI CINQUE TERRE WEST

❂ Bar Restaurant SILVER LAKE » French $$$

Chef Douglas Rankin, who worked under Ludo Lefebvre for years, struck out on his own with this charming “neo bistro” in the old Malo space in Sunset Junction. The menu features playful Gallic-ish fare, like curly fries and plump mussels Dijon atop milk toast; classic cocktails; and plenty of funky wines available by the glass. A large parking-lot seating area has huge plants, twinkling lights, and good vibes. Somehow it manages to feel both festive and safe. 4326 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-347-5557. Full bar.

NATALE E T H A I

C U I S I N E

Daybird

» Fried Chicken $ This long-anticipated casual chicken concept from Top Chef winner and Nightshade toque Mei Lin is finally open, and it was worth the wait. Lin separates her hot poultry sandwich from the flock of others in the city, thanks to uniquely crispy fried chicken that’s dusted with a memorable, Sichuanpeppercorn- heavy spice blend. A spicy slaw and habanero ranch dipping sauce add to the fun.

240 N. Virgil Ave., Ste. 5, daybirdla.com, or @daybirdla.

WESTLAKE

❂ Eszett

SILVER LAKE » Eclectic $$ This stylish, cozy wine bar brings warm hospitality to the strip-mall space formerly occupied by Trois Familia. Chef Spencer Bezaire’s menu deftly brings in flavors from around the globe without feeling overly contrived. Chicken wings are accompanied by salsa macha, grilled Broccolini is dusted with furikake. Don’t miss the big fries. 3510 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-522-6323, or eszettla.com. Beer and wine.

❂ Found Oyster EAST HOLLYWOOD » Seafood $$$

This tiny oyster bar was a pre-pandemic favorite, and chef Ari Kolender’s seafood dishes still thrill when taken to go or enjoyed on the restaurant’s “boat deck.” The scallop tostada with yuzu kosho and basil is a must-order, and a bisque sauce takes the basic lobster roll to new heights. Interesting, affordable wines add to the fun. 4880 Fountain Ave., 323-486-7920, foundoyster.com, or @foundoyster.

Beer and wine.

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❂ Hippo

HIGHLAND PARK » Cal-Italian $$ Hidden in a wood-trussed dining room behind Triple Beam Pizza, this Cal-Ital restaurant from Mozza vet Matt Molina balances casual and refined. Snappy wax beans are sluiced with vinaigrette for a picnic-worthy salad. Great pastas and juicy grilled chicken thighs deliver the unfussy pleasure found at the best neighborhood spots.

Eclectic regular specials like haute corn dogs add to the fun. 5916 ½ N. Figueroa St., 323-545-3536, or hipporestaurant.com. Full bar.

The Bowl Formerly Known As BLUEYS

WONHO FR ANK LEE

It’s a super-healthy breakfast bowl with bold, balanced flavors. There’s a citrusy dressing for acidity and a really nice spicy sauce that comes on the side.

really, really good.

It’s just seared, and there’s not too much seasoning, so you really taste the quality of the beef.

All my beef I like as raw as possible. $38 per ounce, 8715 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, catchrestaurants.com.

$14, 1814 Berkeley St., Santa Monica, blueyskitchen.com.

Pasta Carbonara

A5 Japanese Miyazaki Wagyu

This is the classic dish done right. They don’t use cream, and the guanciale is really crispy.

CATCH

It’s a steak they cook and serve on a hot stone, and it’s

UOVO

$17, multiple locations, uovo.la.

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✤ KinKan

VIRGIL VILLAGE » Japanese-Thai $$$$ Nan Yimcharoen became an underground sensation during the pandemic, selling jewel box–like chirashi sushi over Instagram. Now she’s got a brick-and-mortar spot serving a Japanese-Thai tasting menu with exquisite courses like slices of bluefin tuna larb gorgeously assembled in the shape of a rose, and a resplendent crab curry with blue butterfly-pea-flower noodles and a sauce powered by innards and roe.

771 N. Virgil Ave., @kinkan_la. Sake.

✤❂ Moo’s Craft Barbecue LINCOLN HEIGHTS » Barbecue $

Some of the best Texas barbecue is actually in L.A. Andrew and Michelle Muñoz’s brisket and beef ribs are meaty bliss that would be taken seriously in Austin. But Moo’s is very much a vital L.A. spot; the Muñozes weave in their Mexican-Angeleno roots with dishes like a cheese-and-poblano-filled pork verde sausage. 2118 N. Broadway, mooscraftbarbecue.com, @mooscraftbarbecue. Beer and wine.

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Northern Thai Food Club EAST HOLLYWOOD » Thai $

Offering specialty dishes unique to northern Thailand, this family-run favorite doesn’t skimp on flavor, spice, or authenticity. Tasty takeout meals include the khao soi gai (curry egg noodle with chicken), laab moo kua (minced pork), tam kha noon (jackfruit salad), and pla salid tod (fried gourami fish). For those unfamiliar with the region’s distinct cuisine, the illustrious sticky rice is still a reliable bet. Need incentive? Everything on the menu is less than $10. 5301 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-474-7212, or amphainorthernthaifood.com.

❂ Playita

» Mexican $ The team behind the beloved local chainlet Guisados has taken over an old seafood taco stand on a busy Eastside stretch. The results, as you might expect, are delicious and delightful. Playita has a fresh, beachy blue-and-white aesthetic and a tight menu of well-done ceviches, seafood cocktails, and fish tacos. 3143 W. Sunset Blvd., playitamariscos.com, or @playitamariscos.

SILVER LAKE

✤❂ Saso

PASADENA » Spanish $$$ The arrival of this splashy new spot suggests that the good times might soon be here again.

It shares a charming, sprawling courtyard with the Pasadena Playhouse, and the seafoodheavy menu from chef Dominique Crisp, who previously worked at L&E Oyster Bar, begs for reuniting with friends on nice summer nights.

Orange zest enlivens jamon iberico crudite, while miso butter takes grilled oysters to new heights. 37 S. El Molino Ave., 626-808-4976, sasobistro.com, or @sasobistro. Full bar.

❂ Sōgo Roll Bar LOS FELIZ » Sushi $$

So¯go is hardly the only concept in town devoted to rolls, but it has mastered the form. Rice is cooked with the same careful consideration and seasoning that sushi master Kiminobu Saito uses at the high-end Sushi Note, and it manages to maintain a great temperature and texture, even when being delivered. Fish is not just fresh but also flavorful, each type thoughtfully paired with ideal accompaniments, from a tangy yuzu-pepper sauce that makes salmon sing to brandy-soaked albacore with garlic-ginger ponzu and crispy onions.

4634 Hollywood Blvd., 323-741-0088, sogorollbar.com, or @sogorollbar. Beer and sake.

❂ Spoon & Pork SILVER LAKE » Filipino $$

The go-to for Filipino comfort food offers a variety of dishes, all featuring one shared ingredient: deliciousness. Spoon & Pork puts an innovative spin on some Filipino favorites—just try its adobo pork belly, pork belly banh mi, or lechón kawali.

The dishes, which can be ordered at the counter to enjoy on the patio or for takeout and delivery, elegantly mix decadence with some authentic soul.

3131 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-922-6061, spoonandpork.com, or @spoonandporkla. Beer and wine.

❂ Sunset Sushi SILVER LAKE » Japanese $$$

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With omakase boxes priced from $30 to $85, this new sushi place in the old Ma’am Sir space strikes the sweet spot between affordable and indulgent and is another exciting addition to the Eastside’s growing number of quality sushi options. It’s a sister spot to Highland Park’s Ichijiku, but with a more luxe vibe and a larger menu, tailor-made for takeout. 4330 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-741-8371, sunsetsushila.com, or @sunsetsushi. Beer and sake to go.

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❂ U Street Pizza PASADENA » Pizza $$

There was a moment in the spring when U Street’s vodka pepperoni pie was a shining star of Instagram, and rightfully so. The

92 L A M AG.C OM

why-haven’t-I-had-this-before combination of pepperoni and creamy vodka sauce is an easy win.

Vegetable dishes, notably a Japanese eggplant with Calabrian chili agrodolce, are more than afterthoughts. Note that while the vodka pepperoni pie travels well, the clam pie is best enjoyed in-house.

33 E. Union St., 626-605-0430, ustreetpizza.com, or @ustreetpizza.

THE VALLEY ❂ Black Market Liquor Bar STUDIO CITY » New American $$

Some nights it seems as if half the Valley is here, enjoying the colorful patio. Top Chef graduate Antonia Lofaso’s Italian chops are visible in the buxom ricotta gnudi with brown butter and pistachios. The deep-fried fluffernutter sandwich is a reminder that food, like life, should not be taken too seriously. 11915 Ventura Blvd., 818-4462533, or blackmarketliquorbar.com. Full bar.

❂ The Brothers Sushi WOODLAND HILLS » Sushi $$$

This hidden gem, reinvigorated when chef Mark Okuda took the helm in 2018, is worth traveling for. The excellent omakase is available in the restaurant, on the patio or to go. You can also order à la carte or get non-sushi items like soy-glazed grilled chicken. 21418 Ventura Blvd., 818-456-4509, thebrotherssushi.com, or @thebrotherssushila. Beer, sake, and wine.

Hank’s

BURBANK

» Bagels $

The L.A. bagel revolution continues at this stylish spot in the Valley that serves up carefully constructed sandwiches. Tomato, aioli, and mapleglazed bacon elevate a simple bacon, egg, and

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cheese, while a classic salmon-and-lox construction has thoughtful touches like salted cucumbers and pickled onions. Grab a tub of Hank’s “angry” spread—a spicy, slightly sweet concoction—to have in your fridge. 4315 Riverside Dr., 818-588-3693, hanksbagels.com, or @hanksbagels. Also at 13545 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Tel Aviv Authentic Chef Kitchen » Middle Eastern $

ENCINO

Deeply comforting Israeli beef stews and merguez come with a colorful and tasty array of salads showcasing produce like red cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, and pumpkin. The spicy sauces that come on the side work well with any- and everything. 17630 Ventura Blvd., 747-444-7001, or telavivkoshergrill.com.

SOUTH ❂ Ali’i Fish Company EL SEGUNDO » Seafood $$

This small, unassuming spot shames all of the glossy poke purveyors popping up around town to serve mediocre versions of the Hawaiian dish. Glistening cubes of tuna, flown in fresh from the islands daily, remind you how great poke can be. The smokedahi dip with house-made potato chips is not to be missed. Perfect for picking up a beach picnic. 409 E. Grand Ave., 310-616-3484, or aliifishco.com.

❂ Fishing With Dynamite MANHATTAN BEACH » Seafood $$$

A premium raw bar near the beach shouldn’t be unusual, but it is. The same goes for velvety clam chowder. Here, it achieves smoky richness—you can thank the Nueske’s bacon for that—without any of the floury glop. 1148 Manhattan Ave., 310-893-6299, or eatfwd.com. Full bar.

Hotville

» Fried chicken $ With her hot chicken joint, Kim Prince is doing her family’s legacy justice—she’s the niece of André Prince Jeffries, owner of Nashville legend Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, where hot fried chicken is said to have originated. Prince adds spice at every step in the cooking process to produce a complex, layered flavor. Sides, like mac and cheese, are also winners. 4070 Marlton Ave., 323792-4835,or hotvillechicken.com. No alcohol.

BALDWIN HILLS CRENSHAW

❂ Little Coyote LONG BEACH » Pizza $

That most amazing slice of pizza you had that one very drunken, late night in your early twenties in New York lives on . . . in Long Beach. The crust, made with dough cold-fermented for 48 to 72 hours, is carby perfection: tangy, crispy, thin but with a healthy puff. The concise menu doesn’t offer any revelations about what should be atop pizza, but instead perfects the usual suspects. 2118 E. 4th St., 562-434-2009; littlecoyotelbc.com, or @littlecoyotelbc.

Also at 3500 Los Coyotes Diagonal, 562-352-1555.

❂ Tamales Elena Y Antojitos BELL GARDENS » Afro-Mexican $

This small spot, with counter service, a drivethrough window, and a patio purports to be the only Afro-Mexican restaurant in the area. It focuses on a distinct cuisine from a part of Guerrero to which former slaves fled. Pozoles are rich and slightly thick, and the memorable pork tamales with red sauce are wrapped in fire-tinged banana leaves that impart a hint of smoke. 81801 Garfield Ave., 562-0674-3043, ordertamaleselenayantojitos.com, or @tamaleselenayantojitos.

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CO N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 6 9

helping her with Latinos, a group that’s seen surges of homelessness in L.A. in recent years. Latinos now make up about 33 percent of the homeless population, while Black Angelenos are 38 percent and whites are 25 percent.

But the challenge Bass has with Latino voters—with all voters, really— is that her plans to cure homelessness are decidedly not quick fixes. She’s promised to house at least 15,000 homeless people within her first year in office through a combination of temporary and permanent housing.

But permanent supportive housing projects aren’t cheap and usually take forever to construct, thanks to L.A.’s infamously cumbersome permitting bureaucracy. The region’s decentralized layers of government, in which power is distributed to more than 80 mayors within the county, which has its own leadership structure, also tends to slow things down (as Mayor Eric Garcetti learned the hard way during his own much-criticized homelessness initiatives).

So even if Bass gets elected and makes good on her promises, it’ll be well past the next election cycle before substantive and durable changes will be visible.

Understandably, voters may not be willing to wait that long. Asked recently how the problem of homelessness made them feel, more than half the Angelenos surveyed said they felt “sad,” “disappointed,” or “sympathetic.” But Bass knows how fast such sympathy can evaporate.

“I’m not saying that people shouldn’t be angry,” she says. “What people have to put up with—not being able to walk down the street and all of the problems—of course, they are angry.”

9 4 L A M AG . C O M

at the possibility of Bass ultimately pivoting, the way Breed did in San Francisco or Adams did in New York.

Recently, for instance, Bass quietly removed her name from a website supporting George Gascón, the controversial progressive L.A. County DA who has come under fire—and is now facing recall for the second time since he took office in 2020—for a range of criminal-justice-system reforms that many in L.A., including some of Bass’s rivals, consider invitations to lawlessness. City councilman and mayoral candidate Joe Buscaino, for one, has endorsed the most recent Gascón recall, arguing that the DA’s policies have “emboldened criminals, shunned victims’ rights, and have made our communities more dangerous for everyone.”

But for the most part, Bass is sticking to her guns, doing her best to make this upcoming election more about housing people than incarcerating them.

Ideally, of course, L.A. should have a mayor who can do both things— fight crime and fix homelessness. But right now, eight months before the voters decide who gets to be the next mayor of L.A., nobody seems to be doing either. And that’s a recipe for a very unpredictable November.

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BEN DUGGAN

The Candidate

And homelessness is hardly the only thing making voters angry these days. Crime is also fraying nerves, although that’s an issue Bass has been reluctant to take on quite as directly as some of her opponents.

“I’m asked ten times a day, what do I think about Defund the Police?” says the congresswoman who coauthored the still-unpassed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. “I’m on record—radio, TV, print, hundreds of times—saying that I don’t support Defund the Police. It’s like I can’t fully be trusted unless I recite it several times a day.

“It would be a heck of a lot easier for me to get elected if I ran on a lawand-order platform,” she goes on.

“But I want to run on a public-health platform, a humanitarian-crisis platform, an income-inequality platform, a pro-business platform.

What I don’t believe in is the lock’em-up strategy. To me, this is a replay of the ’90s, where people are angry, and they’re getting ready to do policy based on their anger and not based on looking at things holistically or historically. And when you do that, you come up with bad policies that tend to hurt low-income communities.”

There are small signs that hint

I think a problem is that so much of this seems subjective. As the New York Times pointed out, there really is no study or lab tests to prove that this new meth is really so much more damaging than its predecessor.

Smoked Out CO N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 8 7

been easy, but new meth has really made things worse.

I spoke with a woman who runs a shelter in Nashville. She worked in homeless care for 30 years in different parts of the country. She told me she used to have all their therapists be life coaches because the process of addiction and recovery involved teaching people how to get back into normal life: how to get a job, how to get your license back, how to apply for housing. All these were things you could teach people. But over the past few years, they stopped that.

She said, “We don’t have life coaches anymore because the people we’re seeing now, their brains are so devastated that they can’t process even basic things. It’s a different order of magnitude.”

Another treatment woman in Tennessee told me that her facility used to keep people in residential treatment for nine months. Now it’s five months before they even know what kind of person they are. They arrive with this zombie look, stripped of memory, stripped of personality.

As you know, there are some who argue that your descriptions of these people are sensational and overblown.

One reviewer in the Washington Post noted that the media have always demonized super drugs. He noted that in the ’90s, everyone was yelling that crack was supposed to be this demonic super drug, and then it slowly petered out.

I was a crime reporter in Stockton during the crack epidemic. It was absolutely catastrophic. There was no need to sensationalize anything about crack. I saw the devastation that it caused firsthand for four full years. Many lives were destroyed and lost. That was no hyperbole.

There is no neuroscience. There’s no rat test. There’s no mice study. All I’m giving you is the kind of reporting that you and every other reporter in L.A. can corroborate. If you really get out there, you will find this out, too.

It’s an absurdity that it took a book writer like me to get the scoop. This story should have been done by a newspaper reporter in 2018. It was all pretty clear back then if anyone bothered to report on it.

Why do you think that reporting has been so scarce?

It’s because there’s a party line about this issue that impedes people from writing about it. It’s the woke party line, and it says, “Thou shalt not talk about this. Otherwise you will be deemed some pariah.” It’s a self-censorship that I think a lot of reporters engage in. It’s a very scary thing. See how many stories the Los Angeles Times has written on homelessness that include the word “methamphetamine.”

Look, homelessness is an enormously complex problem. There’s a lot of reasons why people are homeless, and some of them have nothing to do with methamphetamine. There are some homeless people who can be immediately helped with housing.

Absolutely. But the only discussion in Los Angeles around getting people into housing is how to build more affordable housing. And that discussion must be part of the mix. But with all this mounting evidence, it’s an outrage that it’s the only solution that’s being discussed.

To what extent do you think the meth and fentanyl problem are factors in increasing crime rates?

Well, it’s hard for me to say if more severe crime is connected to this. But I would say that a lot of the small-scale crime is due to it. That’s important to note: Just as all this meth was beginning to inundate California, we passed Proposition 47, which turned a lot of felony drug crimes into misdemeanors. Great.

OK, but the problem is that nobody gets treatment anymore. Because the

only way you are going to get people into drug-rehabilitation treatment and away from the very prevalent and powerful dope that they’re on is by using the leverage of the criminal justice system. People say, “Oh, no, you can’t do that!” But I’ve known too many addicts who have told me, “The best thing that ever happened to me was getting arrested. I would be dead had I not been arrested.” Many people find sobriety while being locked up.

But I’m saying that once we remove the leverage to felony charges, it’s very difficult to push people into treatment.

Your book describes how people have come together and tried to make a dent in this problem. But there are lots of macro, global things leading to the crisis with meth and fentanyl. How do we address those?

At the macro level, Mexico has done virtually nothing to deal with the intense, pervasive, toxic influence of drug trafficking in its society and the corruption of the criminal justice system. That’s one. But we’ve done nothing to stop the flow of guns from the United States south to Mexico, arming those people, allowing those folks the impunity that they enjoy to be able to create methamphetamine and fentanyl in such catastrophic quantities. What is the price that we as Americans pay for allowing AK-47s made in Eastern Europe to be legally sold in the United States and then smuggled south to Mexico in one way or another? The price that we are paying is the encampments under our overpasses. It’s a binational issue for each government, and both nations are saying, “It’s the other guy. It’s not our problem. You deal with it.”

There are thousands of people who need intensive, long-term care. I just don’t understand where this goes from here.

Our thinking on drug treatment hasn’t changed for many, many years.

But the drugs have. They are very, very different regardless of what that guy at The Washington Post says. Yes, in different times along the way, the drugs that you were being presented with were scary things. Crack was frightening. I saw it firsthand in a city that was inundated, and it is absolutely scary. I never thought anything could be worse than crack. And now, all of a sudden, here we are.

L A M AG . C O M 9 5

Q

EMAIL YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS ABOUT L.A. TO ASKCHRIS@LAMAG.COM

Is the freak show on the Venice boardwalk ever coming back?

CHRIS’S PICK

Space-Age Architects BUILDINGS OF THE FUTURE ARE IN THE PAST

B E AC H BU N N Y

Jessa the Bearded Lady at the Venice Beach Freakshow.

A:

Todd Ray was a Grammy-winning producer for the Beastie Boys when he gave up a $1 million contract to recapture the childhood wonder he remembered from a carnival sideshow. He created what he calls a “living piece of art” with two-headed animals, a bearded lady, and a wolf boy, and presented it to thousands passing by on Ocean Front Walk for 11 years starting in 2006. Ray lost his lease during the Silicon Beach era, and today his two-headed bones are in storage, the wolf boy is a wedding decorator, and one of the freaks works at Dollar Tree. But he’s brought the band back together for festivals and private events. “We haven’t gone away,” says Ray. “If a great space opened up in Venice, we’d jump on it.”

Q: People joke that Angelenos don’t read. But isn’t our library one of the world’s largest?

A: You could fit a dozen Walt Disney Concert Hall auditoriums inside our glorious Central Library downtown, which clocks in at 538,000 square feet. The landmark keeps adding amenities like loaner laptops and even 9 6 L A M AG . C O M

a green screen for your TikTok videos.

The Los Angeles Conservancy includes the tower at 5th and Flower on its downtown walking tours every Saturday morning. If you can’t make it, there are 72 branch libraries. The Mid-Valley branch is the second largest, double the size of a Trader Joe’s, at 28,000 square

feet. The L.A. Public Library hit almost 9 million online checkouts last year, making it the top circulating digital library in the U.S. Q: Who’s L.A.’s biggest residential landlord?

A: One of the largest is the City of L.A., whose housing authority owns 10,731 low-cost units, ranking it

third. Former L. A. Times owner Sam Zell’s company, Equity Residential, owns 15,379 units at 67 locations, but it’s a “real estate investment trust,” says Steven Fink of G.H. Palmer Associates. “We’re probably the biggest that is privately held,” he says.

Palmer, 71, is L.A.’s largest individual land baron, with 8,000 units. The tinsel Medici from Beverly Hills built abbondanza villas on the fringe of downtown, including the Orsini and Da Vinci, overlooking the Harbor Freeway instead of Lake Como.

V E N I C E B E AC H F R E A K S H OW: T E D S O Q U I /CO R B I S V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S

● Before sci-fi

movies like Forbidden Planet showed us what dwellings might look like in other worlds, USC grads Louis Armet and Eldon Davis were designing stellar buildings for Norms, Denny’s, and Bob’s Big Boy. Their atomic-age visions started as sketches, and that original art is captured in the book Googie Modern: Architectural Drawings of Armet Davis Newlove by Michael Murphy and Alan Hess, out this month. Most of the rugged flagstone, jaunty zigzags, and scintillating signage the firm dreamed up for coffee shops, motels, and bowling alleys has been plowed under, but you can still enjoy a short stack at Armet and Davis’s restored Penguin (now Mel’s) in Santa Monica, or Pann’s, their masterpiece in Westchester.

No space suit required.

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