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DEATH BECOMES HER
» Amid the escalating toll of the pandemic, a lively South L.A. entrepreneur named LaRuth Wright turned her fledgling mortuary into a bustling Beverly Hills business. BY REX WEINER PAGE 11
THE BRIEF
» LACMA director Michael Govan downsizes; Judge Judy’s courtroom blues; Kamala Harris’s family values; premium Prius parts; and a bear drops in on Eagle Rock, oh my! PAGE 14
THE PAPER CHASE
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Wright, born and raised in South-Central L.A., realized she could provide cremations for less.
Death Becomes Her AMIDST THE ESCALATING TOLL OF THE PANDEMIC, A LIVELY SOUTH L.A. ENTREPRENEUR NAMED LARUTH WRIGHT TURNED HER FLEDGLING MORTUARY INTO A BUSTLING BEVERLY HILLS BUSINESS B Y R E X W E I N E R
P H O T O G R A P H E D BY J O S H F O G E L
L A M AG . C O M 1 1
ASHES
M
Y MOM’S REMAINS—
long overdue since her death in January, and now scheduled to arrive at my door at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in February—encountered one more delay when the mortuary director called to say she’d been rearended in a traffic accident and needed to reschedule for Wednesday. “I’m OK,” LaRuth Wright reassured me. “I just need a day, y’know, to take it easy.” Glad she was OK, I said, but how was my mom doing? “Now you’re making me laugh,” she said, her voice softly breaking with the kind of relief that comes only at the most brittle edge of that stressful place we’ve all been lately. Founder and CEO of White Diamond Funeral Services in Beverly Hills, Wright has been concerned with the mortal tasks of the afterlife for 20 years, but nothing in her experience prepared her for COVID-19 and its toll on the living and the dead. The pandemic has taken her business and the entire mortuary industry in Los Angeles to an unprecedented level, with the recently deceased stacked up in freezers across L.A. County like rush hour on the 405 and city skies thicker by the day with smoke from burning bodies. That legally regulated thanatosphere orbiting more densely at the pandemic’s peak due to orders from the South Coast Air Quality Management District lifting restrictions on the number of cremations permitted daily, now includes my 94-year-old mother. The assisted living facility where she resided amiably for five years with worsening dementia, held the virus at bay longer than many institutions. My last visit in December—a 15-minute encounter allowed only in the lobby, distanced beyond my mom’s poor hearing range, and in masked confusion to her failing eyesight—was deeply unsatisfactory, but what can anybody do? Across the country and around the world, that’s how it is these sorrowful days. A few weeks later, the insidious plague slipped through all defenses, first clouding my mother’s lungs with pneumonia, reducing her oxygen lev1 2 L A M AG . C O M
NO T A STAT I ST I C
Edith Weiner, a retired second-grade teacher and wife of a WWII war hero, died of COVID at the age of 94 in an L.A. nursing home this past January.
el, and tapering her appetite to nothing, and finally adding the Brooklyn College graduate, retired second-grade teacher, wife of a decorated WWII flyer, and mother of two grown sons to the grim statistics. That’s when Wright took over. Born in South Central to parents who’d come up from Louisiana in the Great Black Migration of the 1940s to find wartime employment in Southern California’s booming aerospace industry, the 50-ish graduate of Thomas Jefferson High in L.A. began her career selling “pre-need” mortgage insurance. In case of death, homeowners wanted to guarantee their mortgages were paid off, so adding preneed funeral insurance to further ease the family’s burden was an easy sale. Wright moved on to selling plots for Inglewood Park Cemetery but soon noticed that cremation offered a cheaper alternative to traditional burials. She signed on with Neptune Society, a national leader in cremation services, but after five years selling Neptune’s prepaid, immediate-need cremation packages (starting at about $2,000), Wright struck out on her own. “I saw how I could present the same
services for a fraction of the cost,” she says. Indeed, she’d latched onto a trend; 54.6 percent of all U.S. deaths in 2019 resulted in cremation, a 7.6 percent growth from 2014 to 2019, according the Cremation Association of North America. Wright opened her Wilshire Boulevard office in 2011 with a ribboncutting ceremony held by the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, for which she has served as an official ambassador and entrepreneurial exemplar: a born-and-bred L.A. success story. Despite the upscale address where she oversees a staff of four, Wright stays connected to South Central where she grew up and where the coronavirus impact has been “horrible,” she says. After providing funeral services for a part of L.A. that has already seen more than its fair share of mortality due to gang warfare, police-involved killings, and the highest health-related death rate in the county, Wright would see COVID’s one-two punch to the Black community borne out by the statistics, both local and national. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in April 2020 found that 33 percent of hospitalized patients
CO U RT E SY R E X W E I N E R
BUZZ
with COVID were Black, although they moval.” I was invited by the hospice made up just 18 percent of the comagency to be present, but I declined. munity being evaluated in the study. What would I be permitted to safely CDC experts cite three reasons for see, given all coronavirus precautions, this, including preexisting conditions even while venturing at my own risk (such as diabetes, hypertension, and into the hot zone that had killed my obesity) suffered disproportionately mother? I could almost hear her Brookby the African American community; lyn-accented voice: “Oy, don’t bother.” jobs in the public-service sector requirSo I put my trust in White Diamond ing greater exposure to the disease by and waited to hear from them. communities of color; and “structural My mother had died during the inequities and social determinants of peak season for funeral directors. “Nohealth that are influenced by implicit vember, December, January is when bias and racial discrimination,” such as people normally die the most,” says less access to health care. Wright, attributing that fact to holiThe pandemic death rate for the day stress. The 2020-21 numbers were Black community in California is 8 per“extremely high,” she says, and so she’s cent higher than the overall statewide turning away business. But she’s still rate, according to the California Delooking after four to five of “my famipartment of Health. Another way to say lies” each week and mostly working it is the case rate for Californians with from home or her office, using Documedian incomes of less than $40,000 is Sign to gather electronic signatures on 38 percent higher than statewide rates. required legal certifications. (This factor cuts across all communiColleagues in the business share her ties of color, with the COVID death experience. “From December through rate for Latinos 21 percent higher than January, we’ve had a 30 to 35 percent statewide.) As of mid-February, out of increase in our business,” says Walker L.A. County’s ten million residents, just Posey, a fourth-generation funeral di7 percent of the Black community 65 rector in North Augusta, Georgia, who years old and older had been vaccinatis also a spokesman for the National ed with shot number one, compared Funeral Directors Association. The arwith 17 percent of white chives at Posey Funerseniors. “We’re alarmed al Directors, founded by the disproportionalin 1879, record earlier ity we’re seeing in who pandemics, including has received the vacWright emerged, the influenza epidemcine,” said L.A. County of 1918. “This is no masked, carrying ic Public Health Direcflu,” says Posey. “We’ve tor Barbara Ferrer in a seen losses of up to a black velour public statement. five family members, bag containing In general, while I ages 40 to 90.” While was still waiting for my an 8 by 6 by 4 inch business is up, he says, mother’s remains nearrevenues are undercut box labeled with ly a month after her by the costs of PPE, demise, L.A. County’s my mom’s name. hiring additional staff, overall positivity rate and allowing mental hovered at 19 percent. health breaks for emThe hospice agency ployees. “It’s taking a tending to my mother personal toll,” he says. in her last days called me when she’d “I’m drained,” Wright confides in a been found in her room unresponphone call one evening after work. “But sive. They recommended White DiaI have to take time off for self-care. Afmond for mortuary services. After proter five, I bring it on and fill my cup!” nouncement of death at a late hour, In the background, I hear young voicWhite Diamond dispatched drivers in es. “My grandkids,” she says. She’s got hazmat suits to the assisted living fatwo grown children and a full house in cility to take possession of the body— Hermosa Beach where she also looks what they call in the business, a “reafter her 97-year-old father. Wright va-
DUST T O DUST
The author (left) and Wright took a selfie the day she home-delivered his mom’s remains.
cations in spring and summer, jetting to Aruba, Cancún, or Cabo, but her usual getaway was canceled in the wake of COVID’s tidal wave of death. White Diamond’s business comes mainly from referrals from hospice agencies like Faith & Hope, Angeles Vista, and Roze Room. Cremations are arranged exclusively with a San Fernando Valley crematorium where family members normally come by to pick up remains. Wright explains that an unfortunate outbreak of COVID among the employees, contracted from one of their clients’ visiting mourners, had shut down on-site pickups, making home delivery the only option. It’s something Wright normally doesn’t do. But for now she’s crisscrossing L.A., listening to motivational podcasts (she likes The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn), with the recently deceased on the seat next to her. Which is how I met her on a Wednesday morning as she parked her blue Prius outside my front door and emerged, masked and carrying a black velour bag containing an 8-by-6-by-4inch box labeled with my mom’s name. After signing papers attesting to the facts of her cremation as presented, I accepted the box. Once Wright assists with the necessary permits, obsequies will be conducted at the VA cemetery in Riverside where my mom’s ashes will be interred next to my father’s. All this according to final instructions that she prepared with the purposefulness and attention to detail in matters of death befitting the strongly independent and professional woman she’d been all her life. I like to think she and Wright would have enjoyed meeting one another. L A M AG . C O M 13
N E WS & N OT E S F R O M A L L OV E R
The Brief
LACMA’S MICHAEL GOVAN LIVES IN A TRAILER PARK? THE CONTROVERSIAL MUSEUM DIRECTOR IS CHILLING IN MALIBU AFTER EXITING TWO LACMA-FUNDED MANSES BY MICHAEL SLENSKE
YO U C A N T E L L
a lot about a museum by where its director lives. For instance, Ann Philbin, who has spent the last 20 years turning the Hammer into a bastion of progressive art, occupies a predictably gorgeous midcentury architectural gem in Beverly Hills. The Museum of Contemporary
But what about Michael Govan, the controversial
LACMA director who’s demolishing the museum’s Miracle Mile campus to make room for the new $750 million David Geffen Galleries? At the moment, he’s camped out in a trailer park in Malibu. Govan, 58, has been doing a lot of house-hopping lately. Until last fall, he’d been living in a 1926 LACMA sold Govan’s Mid-Wilshire Tudor-style, ve-bedroom, house and applied the funds to the fi5,800-squaremuseum’s spiraling debt. foot mansion situated “on the best Art’s more iconoclastic street in Hancock Park,” Klaus Biesenbach, on as a recent Trulia listing the other hand, has set up described the property. But housekeeping in a massive in November, the owner converted downtown-adjaof the house—Museum cent warehouse—a space Associates, the nonprofit he shares with his pet duck, providing LACMA with Cupcakes—decorated with financial backing—sold the palm trees, midnight-blue manse for $6.7 million. At walls, and a lone bed as its that point, Govan, who’d main piece of furniture. been living in the home 14 L A M AG . C O M
for free since he started as director in 2006, downsized to a more modest (but still rent-free) $2.2 million, 3,300-square-foot Spanish Revival in Mid-Wilshire owned by the museum itself. But after occupying that house for less than four months, Govan self-evicted and had the museum put it up for sale in order to refill LACMA’s coffers after it took a financial beating during the pandemic. (The museum received a $6.7 million PPP loan last year, which helped save all but ten jobs, but it’s still bleeding millions.) “We’ve been closed for so long and losing so much money on the operating side, selling the house was the one thing we could do really quickly and redirect the money into our reserves,” explains Govan. It’s unclear where Govan will be settling down next— the makeshift Malibu digs are obviously temporary housing—but he doesn’t seem in any rush to deploy the Million Dollar Listing agents . . . yet. “It’s cool,” he says of trading Hancock Park for the trailer park. “I’m very happy about it.”
JUDGE JUDY GETS CLOBBERED IN COURT S H E ’ S S P E N T the last 25 years playing a wisecracking judge on TV, but Judy Sheindlin, aka Judge Judy, just got her butt kicked in a real courtroom. It all started last August, when Sheindlin’s former agent, Richard Lawrence,
sued the 78-year-old one-time Manhattanfamily-court-judge-turnedsyndication-star for $5 million over the profits from her $95 million sale of the show’s library. Two weeks later, Sheindlin countersued, claiming that Lawrence owed her $22 million in packaging fees he’d collected from the show over the years, arguing that the agent merely represented two nonwriting producers of the series, not Sheindlin herself. “If Mr. Lawrence can produce a contract signed by me and Mr. Lawrence on the same page at any time
D O N’ T J U D G E
Judy Sheindlin owns Judge Judy.
in the history from the beginning of time,” she announced with typical New York bravado, “I will toast the contract, smear it with cream cheese, and eat it on national television.” Well, sesame or poppy seed? Because on Feb 24, Richard J. Burdge, the court judge hearing Sheindlin’s claims against Lawrence, ruled against Sheindlin, agreeing with Lawrence’s attorneys that she had no standing to sue, and that the statute of limitations on the packagingdeals claim had expired. Burdge did, however,
M I C H A E L G OVA N : ST E FA N I E K E E N A N /G E T T Y I M AG E S FO R L AC M A ; H O M E : C A R O L I N A M I R A N DA / LO S A N G E L E S T I M E S V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S ; J U D G E J U DY: BO B R I H A , J R . /G E T T Y I M AG E S ; M E E N A H A R R I S : PAU L A R C H U L E TA /G E T T Y I M AG E S ; P R O D U C TS : P H E N O M E N A LWO M A N .U S , I N STAG R A M , L I T T L E , B R OW N A N D CO M PA N Y; P R I U S : N AT I O N A L M OTO R M U S E U M / HE R I TAG E I M AG E S /G E T T Y I M AG E S
A RT WA L K
Govan lived rent-free in this $2.2 million Mid-Wilshire house until LACMA sold it this year.
THE DISTANCE A GIANT BLACK BEAR RECENTLY TRAVELED (INCLUDING CROSSING THREE FREEWAYS) FROM THE ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST TO EAGLE ROCK. IT WAS SPOTTED STROLLING ALONG CITY SIDEWALKS UNTIL ABOUT 11 P.M., AT WHICH POINT IT HEADED HOME.
give Sheindlin 30 days to amend her complaint and try again, although Lawrence’s lawyers are advising her against it. “If Judy tries to continue with this case, our client will seek sanctions and sue her for malicious prosecution,” Lawrence’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Deadline. “This was never a real lawsuit, only an attempt to insult an honorable man, and Judy knows that.” Sheindlin’s lawyers are painting the ruling as merely a “procedural issue” and vow to carry on. “The court declined to dismiss the claims, and in making its ruling today the court assumed that all of the facts pled in the complaint are true—and they are true,” says Sheindlin attorney Todd Eagan. “It is not disputed that Richard Lawrence received over $20 million in packaging fees even though he did not represent a package and has caused significant damage to Judy Sheindlin by his wrongful conduct.” —IAN SPIEGELMAN
8 Miles HOT STEALS
MEENA HARRIS: KASHING IN ON AUNTY KAMALA
Prius converters.
B E I N G R E L AT E D to the
vice president can really help kick-start a modeling career. In February, just weeks after the inauguration, Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris’s 21-year-old stepdaughter, made her runway debut at a Proenza Schouler show in New York (she wore a navy trench) and then landed the cover of a European fashion magazine. But another Harris family member— Meena Harris, the veep’s 36-year-old niece—has done Emhoff one better, not only modeling (for Prada), but also making appearances on The View and other shows to peddle a personal brand that includes apparel, books, and even a headphone collaboration with Beats by Dr. Dre. In fact, Harris has been so successful at marketing herself as the VP’s niece, White House lawyers have reportedly instructed her to stop using her aunt’s name and likeness for personal profit. “We’ve been attacking the Trumps for years on all the gross grifting,” a former advisor to the vice president told the Los Angeles Times. “We ought to be much cleaner.” Among the products Harris has been selling online and gifting to influencers and celebrities: sweatW H AT ’S I N A NA M E ?
Harris’s VP-Aunty products.
shirts emblazoned with the words “Vice President Aunty,” children’s books (like her best-seller Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea), and those Beat-brand headphones, which have the slogan “The First But Not The Last” written on the head piece (a reference to Aunt Kamala’s place in American history). Even supporters of the vice president have found the boosterism awkward, with one Twitter critic going so far as to call Harris’s product line “Ivanka-ish.” Still, Harris seems undeterred. “Since the beginning of the campaign, I have insisted on upholding all legal and ethical standards,” she said in a statement to the Times, “and will continue to strictly adhere to the ethics rules of the BidenHarris White House.” —G R AC E JA E G E R
HIGH-DOLLAR HEISTS HIT LOWEMISSION PRIUSES TURNS OUT Lady Gaga’s
canines aren’t the only rare commodities being snatched up in Los Angeles these days. Platinum, palladium, and rhodium—the precious metals found in catalytic converters—are being stolen, as well. In fact, over the past year, thousands of car owners in L.A.—especially those with
Priuses, whose converters are easiest to jack—have been waking up to find their rides missing the pricey pollution-preventing devices. According to the LAPD, thefts of catalytic converters jumped almost 50 percent over the last year or so, to a total of 3,049 in 2020. The Pacific Division around Venice and Mar Vista is one of the hardest-hit areas (312 thefts in 2020), as is the Northeast Division around Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and Eagle Rock (291 thefts). Craig Kuromi, whose family has run Ise Automotive in Los Feliz since 1947, says the burglaries appear to be the work of organized thieves, who sell the devices for a few hundred bucks to smelters who then extract a few grams of the precious metals for a much bigger payday. (Palladium sells for $2,200 an ounce while rhodium fetches a whopping $22,000.) Kuromi says there are after-market locks that can deter thieves and save car owners the $2,000 it costs to replace a converter, but the catalytic crime wave shows no sign of abating, especially as mineral prices continue to soar. “We’ve already done about 50 in January so far,” says a parts manager at Toyota of Hollywood. “That’s way up. Usually it’s around 20. It’s crazy.” —A N DY L E W I S L A M AG . C O M 15
Buzz
MEDIA
› Former Washington Post managing editor, now at ESPN’s The Undefeated, “ticks every box” but might prefer a newly vacant top job at WaPo.
› The ex-Hollywood Reporter, US Weekly, and Quibi star met thrice with LAT brass, but staff balked at her gossip roots and newspaper inexperience. › The savvy Slate alum and LAT culture czar is one of four in-house candidates, but staff say she disdains the politicking that comes with the job.
› NYT executive editor has global gravitas and a house in Hancock Park. Controversies at the NYT could lead him to the LAT or out to pasture by age 66. › Esteemed and digitally savvy, the former NYT reporter now runs Spotify’s podcast arm, Gimlet. But her brief stint at HuffPo yielded mixed reviews.
THE
PAPER
CHASE
16 L A M AG . C O M
› Ambitious editorial page editor and NYT alum is very tight with the boss but still working to win over the staff.
› Deputy managing editor and Buzzfeed prodigy would bring millennial edge, but she hasn’t really gone after the job.
› WaPo alum and Facebook news curator is well-positioned to deliver PSS’s goal of reaching a million digital subscribers.
› The oncefavored managing editor’s chumminess with disgraced ex-food editor Peter Meehan sank her chances.
› Popular columnist and former OC Weekly top editor insists he’s not running but remains an intriguing long shot.
AND THEY’RE OFF! The horse race to fill the coveted executive editor job at the Los Angeles Times has thrown ten highly trained news beasts into the run of their lives. The track is muddy—internal battles over race, gender, and resources at the 139-year-old institution have roiled the staff, as did a report, fervently denied, that mercurial owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong (aka PSS), who bought the Times two years ago as part of a $500 million sale, is so frustrated over financial losses that he might sell the paper. Two early favorites have bowed out. After checking in with dozens of informed sources, we adjusted the odds for the rest. A L L E N SA L K I N & B R I T TA N Y M A RT I N I L LU S T R AT I O N BY P E T E R A R K L E
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04.21 THE
Inside Guide Plus > Imagining the Coachella 2021 that never will be PAGE 28
> Hipster matzo makers versus Passover OGs: An epic showdown PAGE 33
> Bling Empire’s Christine Chiu has been ready for her close-up for years PAGE 36
T I N S E LTOW N
Bruce Almighty VETERAN AWARDSSHOW WRITER BRUCE VILANCH DISHES ON PAST OSCAR DEBACLES, THE BEST AND WORST HOSTS EVER, AND HOW TO AVERT DISASTER THIS YEAR BY ANDREW GOLDMAN
I L LU S T R AT I O N BY C H R I S M O R R I S
L A M AG . C O M 19
The Inside Guide
T I N S E LT O W N
T
H E 1 9 8 9 O S C A R S , infamous for their 11-minute opening production number that saw Snow White dueting with Rob Lowe on “Proud Mary,” ended the career of the show’s producer, Allan Carr. That year’s ceremony, however, proved a more auspicious beginning for first-time telecast-writer Bruce Vilanch, who would go on to work on 24 more shows. “They gave me a T-shirt that said, ‘I wrote everything but Snow White,’” Vilanch, 72, says. The humorist started as a writer for the Chicago Tribune before Hollywood came calling. Over the years, he’s written not just for the Oscars but also the Tonys, Grammys, and Emmys, making him a kind of awards-show éminence grise, if someone as blond as Vilanch can technically be considered such a thing. Here, he talks to Andrew Goldman about past Oscar ceremonies and offers a few COVID-era what-not-to-dos for the first-time producers of April 25’s Oscars.
Who was particularly hard to write for? > Keanu Reeves was hard to write for because there’s no stage personality there. Johnny Depp was the same thing. I mean, when actors inhabit characters, it’s on the page and that’s their job. But they’re not like Shirley MacLaine or Billy Crystal or Bette Midler, who strut out on stage every night and have the stage persona. I had a bitter failure with Keanu, who’s a really terrific guy. We thought we’d give him a Bill and Ted kind of thing to do. It was ridiculous. He tried to sell it. It just didn’t work. Forty years later and I’m still apologizing to him. 20 L A M AG . C O M
Oscar telecast history is filled with jokes that don’t land. In your role as a writer, were you ever able to prevent a disaster? > Well, one obvious one comes to mind. We had a joke [for host Billy Crystal] about the rumor about Richard Gere and a gerbil. Oh my God. I can’t believe you considered doing a gerbiling joke at the Oscars.
I had a bitter failure with Keanu, who’s a terrific guy. Forty years later and I’m still apologizing to him. > Well, there was a movie that year called An American Tail about Fievel the mouse. And the joke was “Richard Gere was going to present this award with Fievel, but Fievel backed out.’ Richard was on the show presenting something very serious like
documentary, so he’s sitting out there, and we’re backstage looking at the monitors. And when you’re sitting at the Oscars and you see a guy coming up the aisle with a camera, you know something’s going to happen involving you that you don’t know about. So Richard sees the camera and he’s terrified. And so Billy just looks at him and says, “We can’t. He’ll have a heart attack. Look at him, he’s pale already.” So we cut the joke. I wish I could say that I said to cut it, but Billy said it.
get in your own way. Things that you would do on some other show and not get noticed . . . everybody notices it when you do on the Academy Awards. David Letterman did not need to host the show, and he was living with it for years afterward.
The Oscars have been experimenting with having no host at all because it seems that despite how high-profile a gig it is, it’s hard to find someone willing to host. > It’s impossible.
Is there somebody elusive that producers are always going after to host who’s never said yes? > Tom Hanks. I think he once said they’ll never nominate me again if I host the thing. I don’t think that’s true, but I just don’t think he wants to do it. One year Billy was very sick—had like severe migraines—and we were worried about whether he would make it. Tom was the standby. He would have come and done it, but Billy rallied and was great.
Why? > Because if you’re big enough to host the Academy Awards, you can only
Do you remember people politicking to host? > Jay Leno wanted it very badly, but I think ABC was
TO P R OW: P H OTOS BY B E I /S H U T T E R STO C K ; B OT TO M : CO U RT E SY B R U C E V I L A N C H
A big part of the job of an Oscar writer is writing the bits that the stars say while presenting. Would you get a lot of pushback from stars? > You get notes, and everybody gets into the act. I mean, I literally got a call once from a guy who was Goldie Hawn’s yoga trainer, who said, “She left a script at the studio, and I took a look at it. You know, she’s not going to say this.” This actually happened.
they got together to do the promos for the show, they were edited to look as if they had chemistry, but they had no chemistry.
PA RT Y H E A RT Y
TO - D O L I ST: JA M E S N O RTO N A N D J U DY C H I C AG O : G E T T Y I M AG E S
Clockwise from far left: Vilanch at the 1989 Oscars with Patrick Swayze and Allan Carr; Vilanch and Daryl Hannah at the Governor’s Ball in 1992. Bette Midler and Vilanch at the Roxy in the 1970s. She jump-started his comedy career when she drafted him to write her stage shows.
not interested in promoting him. Which is weird because Johnny Carson did it [five times between 1979 and 1984]. If someone hosts only once, is it fair to assume that person wasn’t deemed successful at it? > Maybe. Or it might be that they didn’t like it. These people are so rich and famous already that they don’t need go through all the agita. They don’t
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THE TO-DO LIST
Judy Chicago
James Norton
need the money. And if you’re going to do it the way a performer does it, you’re going to spend a lot of time on it—time that you could spend making a Marvel comics movie. You worked on the infamous Anne HathawayJames Franco show. What went wrong? > The idea was that they were young and that was all that mattered. But they had no real chemistry. When
› Consummate biographer Blake Bailey’s Philip Roth is hardly the first bio of the literary provocateur, but it might be the most definitive at 912 pages, boasting unprecedented access to Roth’s papers, friends, and family. April 6.
SEE
› After a year abroad, Desert X is back. The naturally socially distant outdoor art fest will showcase the work of 13 artists—including the legendary Judy Chicago—on sites throughout the Coachella Valley. March 12 to May 16.
nizable. And the Oscar show is full of nerds. Some of them are saying some wonderful, significant things, but people aren’t listening because they don’t give a shit about them.
When you say no chemistry, do you mean that they So what can this year’s Osdidn’t particularly care for car producers—Steven one another? Soderbergh, Stacey Sher, and Jesse Collins—learn > I would hate to say that about either of them befrom other COVID-19 era cause I know them both and awards shows? they’re nice people. But > Well, the Emmys did it great. The Golden Globes Anne’s a precision instrutried to duplicate some of ment. She’s very disciplined that, but they had some of and knew what she was gotheir own ideas that didn’t ing to do each time. And work. Their comJames is freeedy sketches wheeling, so he swung wide, was not really in with Kristen his comfort For more of Andrew Wiig and then zone. Plus, Goldman’s conversation with Bruce Vilanch, Maya Rudolph James had check out The Originals and Keenan brought in a on Apple Podcasts Thompson dobunch of Judd ing that thing. Apatow writers They were both funny premwho had never been inises, but they just didn’t land, volved with the show beespecially when they had an fore, throwing him stuff. audience of 50 first responders. It was a nice idea, but noEven with the best hosts, body wants to see an audithere’s a point at which the ence without celebrities in it. broadcast feels like it will Plus, the show was laden never end. Is there any way with so much—they were to fix that? carrying the guilt of the > Yeah, you have to eliminate categories. But the Acadewhite race the whole show. my’s not going to do that. Don’t do the show that you Every year, I say, “When the would normally do; do someratings get low enough, thing completely different. they’ll start eliminating.” Steven Soderbergh producThere are 24 categories, and ing is a brilliant idea because only four of them have ache’s a filmmaker, and he’ll do tors. Part of the reason that something different with it. people get tired is because Because he knows that he they’ve seen awards shows can’t do the same old, same like the Golden Globes old. Because we’re in an exwhere everybody is recogtraordinary year.
WATCH
› Make it a James Norton double feature. The hunky Brit stars in both HBO Max’s Victorian epic The Nevers, premiering in April, and the thriller Things Seen & Heard, which costars Oscar favorite Amanda Seyfried and debuts on Netflix April 30.
STREAM
› The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is going virtual this year with 30 online panels, readings, and performances. Participants include CNN’s Don Lemon and New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe. April 17 to 23.
FAMILY
› Keep the tween set entertained over spring break with Horse Girl, a new YA novel billed as a cross between Mean Girls and Black Beauty and written by Groundlings alum Carrie Seim. In bookstores March 30. —JORDAN RIEFE L A M AG . C O M 2 1
The Inside Guide
S P E C TA C L E
1963
Show Stoppers
» Frank Sinatra hosts the Oscars from the Santa Monica Civic Center, but almost doesn’t make it into the building on time. He forgets his parking sticker, gets turned away from the parking lot by security, and has to park his own car on the street.
AND THE AWARD FOR BEST BLUNDER GOES TO . . . FROM ENVELOPE MIX-UPS TO WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS, OSCAR HISTORY IS FILLED WITH EMBARRASSING (AND WILDLY ENTERTAINING) MOMENTS BY MERLE GINSBERG
T H E R E H AV E B E E N far more strange and surprising incidents at the Academy Awards than even all those that Bruce Vilanch has been involved with. In their nearly 92 years, the only certainty with the Oscars is unpredictability—thankfully. What would we have to chat about around the watercooler (or on Zoom) the next day if Hollywood’s big night didn’t have a streaker or stoner host occasionally? Here, an incomplete but totally amusing timeline of Oscar’s memorable moments.
2000
» Angelina Jolie wins Best Supporting Actress for Girl, Interrupted and in her acceptance speech proclaims “I’m so in love with my brother right now!” Later that night, she and bro James Haven publicly lock lips at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
2001
» Sammy Davis Jr. announces the Oscar winner of Best Score as Tom Jones. Too bad the music from Tom Jones wasn’t even nominated. Davis had been handed the wrong envelope.
1992
» Seventy-three-year-old Jack Palance, so excited about his win for Best Supporting Actor in City Slickers, drops to the stage floor and shows off his maniacal ability to do onearmed push-ups.
1999
» When Italian director Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful takes Best Foreign Film, he jumps out of his seat, climbs over the backs of other people's seats, and hops his way to the stage like the Energizer Bunny.
2003
2009
» Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston are all in attendance. Aniston, who brought lothariosinger John Mayer as her date (awkward enough), presents an award within the stage’s-eye view of her ex and his femme fatale, who were caught on camera trying to act natural. Their performances eclipse those of the night’s actual winners.
1989
» Rob Lowe awkwardly sings and dances to a hopped-up version of “Proud Mary” with a live-action Snow White. The number was produced by super-showman Allan Carr, once known for Grease on Broadway, now mostly known for this debacle.
» Oscar nominee Bjork wears a giant swan dress by Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski and turns walking the red carpet into performance art by pretending to lay an egg on it.
» Surprise Best Actor winner Adrian Brody (The Pianist) bolts to the stage, grabs presenter Halle Berry, bends her backward, and kisses her wildly on the lips. His competitors in the category, Jack Nicholson and Nicolas Cage, cheer him on. “I was like ‘What the fuck!’” Berry later tells Andy Cohen about the moment.
22 L A M AG . C O M
1964
1967
» An anxiety-inducing strike by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) threatens to derail the Oscar telecast, but it’s settled with just hours to spare. Sardonic, 16-time host Bob Hope quips when the show starts, “I’m not ready for another crisis.”
1969
1973
1971
» The Beatles’ “Let it Be” from their Let It Be documentary wins for Original Score. Oscar bandleader Quincy Jones jumps out of the music pit to accept for them.
» Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tie for Best Actress. Hepburn doesn't attend, but Babs does—in a sheer-bellbottom ensemble, no less.
» Marlon Brando declines to accept his Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather, sending Apache actress Sacheen Littlefeather to the stage to protest Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans.
1974
» Katharine Hepburn wears gardening clothes and clogs to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producerfriend Lawrence Weingarten. A wardrobe consultant asked Hepburn’s companion, “When is she going to get dressed?” The famous answer: “She is dressed!”
1988
» A streaker runs through David Niven’s intro to Elizabeth Taylor’s presentation of the Best Picture Oscar. Niven’s throwaway line saves the evening: “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”
» Cher somehow finds new parts of herself to bare, wearing an ultrasheer, jewel-encrusted belly-dancer ensemble by Bob Mackie to accept an award for her performance in Moonstruck.
» Woody Allen wins his first Oscars—Best Director and Best Screenplay, Annie Hall—and begins his Oscar no-show streak by staying in NYC to play his Monday night clarinet gig.
2013
G E T T Y I M AG E S
» Jennifer Lawrence trips over her Dior gown while taking the stage to accept the Best Actress award for Silver Linings Playbook, starting an ongoing debate about whether her clumsiness is cute or contrived. » Oscar host Seth MacFarlane kicks things off with an original opening number called “We Saw Your Boobs,” offending A-listers while making several B-listers feel more included in the proceedings.
2014
» John Travolta mispronounces the name of Broadway belter Idina Menzel as “Adele Dazeem.” Frozenloving four-year-olds everywhere vow to never let it go.
2017
» Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty are handed the wrong envelope for Best Picture and mistakenly announce La La Land, not Moonlight. Working for PricewaterhouseCoopers has never seemed so fraught with danger.
1978
2020
» James Corden and Rebel Wilson take to the stage in costumes from the mega-flop Cats to present the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, explaining their cosplay with, "As cast members of the movie Cats, nobody more than us understands the need for good visual effects.”
L A M AG . C O M 23
The Inside Guide
MIXED MEDIA
The Erickson Awards
OUR RESIDENT CRITIC SALUTES THE CINEMATIC STANDOUTS OF HOLLYWOOD’S MOST DISMAL YEAR BY STEVE ERICKSON
I
N T H I S , T H E S T R A N G E S T Y E A R in movie
history, the top films generated meager box office, but that didn’t diminish the accomplishments of the artists who made them. My Oscar picks are neither predictions nor necessarily made from the nominations—just a bid to give credit where it’s due. Cinematography and production design: Mank If David Fincher’s homage to movie rebels of yore—in this case, Citizen Kane director Orson Welles and screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz—seemed dramatically wanting, you could revel in the visual blackand-white splendor of the thing. As well, there’s the loving re-creation of a time and place that will test your resistance to nostalgia, particularly if you’ve spent a lifetime in L.A.
Supporting actress and actor: Dominique Fishback and Daniel Kaluuya In Judas and the Black Messiah, Fishback is stirring as the poet Deborah Johnson (later to become activist Akua Njeri), who can hear the poetry in real-life Black revolutionary Fred Hampton, played by Kaluuya—the year’s single-best performance by any actor of any gender or color. Actor: Chadwick Boseman Because awards are specious to the point of absurdity, I see no point in being a purist about them. Whether it was in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom or Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, Boseman was impossible to look at this year without feeling your heart break at the loss of so much invention, craft, smarts, and star power. In the years to come, his stature will grow commensurate to what’s vanished with his passing. Actress: Carey Mulligan The year’s hardest call, and nobody would be happier than I to see Viola Davis get the top prize long her due for her portrayal of blues legend Ma Rainey. But Mulligan’s avenging angel was the more challenging role in a script where the moral logic and psychological credibility are arguable, to say the least. In a time when Supreme Court nominees whine away allegations of rape, Mulligan— overdue herself as brilliant performances like 2018’s Wildlife have gone unrecognized—lifts Promising Young Woman above the level of mere metaphor.
Original screenplay: Judas and the Black Messiah Director: Chloé Zhao One of the year’s two most amWith her third feature and bitious screenplays, distilling breakthrough Nomadland, America’s secret history into a Zhao’s time under the radar Watching Chadwick Boseman is over. Nothing represents night of betrayal. While never losing sight of who the villains better the nonsequitur posthis year was heartbreaking. are or where our sympathies sibilities of American movies lie, the script by screenwriter than this Chinese filmmaker’s Will Berson and director Shaka fascination with a restless and King finds emotional complexity if not outright empathy, untethered American West of Native despair, cowboy even for the FBI agent terrified by the insinuations of J. existentialism, and roads to nowhere (also evident in Edgar Hoover sitting across the desk from him. Zhao’s Songs My Brother Taught Me and The Rider). Adapted screenplay: One Night in Miami The year’s other most ambitious screenplay, distilling America’s secret history into a night of comradery. Even if you don’t believe that Malcolm X actually turned Sam Cooke on to a Bob Dylan record, the audacity of bringing together Malcolm X, Cooke, football legend Jim Brown, and the radicalizing Cassius Clay (soon to become Muhammad Ali)—a modern Black Mount Rushmore in a motel room—remains irresistible. 24 L A M AG . C O M
Picture: Judas and the Black Messiah In a siege-mentality year created by the onslaughts of a pandemic, white-supremacist terrorism, and an authoritarian presidency, movies from Nomadland to Da 5 Bloods to One Night in Miami to Minari to Trial of the Chicago 7 formed a portrait of American reckoning. Most direct and powerful was Shaka King’s story of homegrown revolution and the murderous lengths to which the power structure of the late 1960s went to silence it. I L LU S T R AT I O N BY C H R I S T O P H E R H U G H E S
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The Inside Guide
BOOKS
Stone Bold Truth
SHARON STONE WRITES OF HER TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD, #METOO MOMENTS, AND HOW SHE NEARLY DIED BY ALEX SCORDELIS
SHARON STONE BECAME
famous by revealing herself on the big screen. Now the 63-year-old is doing the revealing on the page. Here’s what to expect in the Basic Instinct icon’s new memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, out March 30.
• IT'S A SURVIVOR'S STORY... In a horrifying chapter, Stone recounts a heartbreaking story of how her grandmother forced her at age eight to watch her grandfather molest her five-year-old sister. On later attending that grandfather’s funeral, she writes, “It’s a very weird thing when you’re a kid and the first experience you have of death is glee and relief. And emptiness.” Stone goes on to say that she tapped into the anger she felt toward her grandfather to play serial killer Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct. “To know that I was so angry that I would have loved to stab [my grandfather] to death,” she writes, “was incredibly freeing.” In addition to the childhood abuse, Stone crossed state lines to get a secret abortion at 17, and, later in life, suffered three miscarriages—each after five months of pregnancy. 26 L A M AG . C O M
Stone's memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, is named for the second life she's had after suffering a severe stroke in 2001.
• ...IN MYRIAD WAYS. The book opens dramatically with Stone in a hospital bed after suffering a stroke in 2001. Even in convalescence, she stays true to her sexsymbol status. “There is a very goodlooking doctor here,” she tells a friend sitting by her bedside. “Sadly, I might not be able to flirt with him.” While recovering, Stone “loved watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and committed to leading a simpler, kinder, and more spiritual life. • BUT, OF COURSE, SHE TALKS ABOUT THAT SHOT. The leg-uncrossing scene in Basic Instinct made Stone a household name (and got millions to press pause on their VCRs), but she doesn't recall it fondly. “There have been many points of view on this,” she writes, “but since I’m the one with the vagina in question, let me say: the other points of view are bullshit.” Ultimately, Stone says she was tricked into doing the shot, and slapped the director, Paul Verhoeven, when she saw the final cut. But she allowed it to stay in the movie “because it was correct for the film and for the character, and because, after all, I did it.”
• AND THERE'S PLENTY OF NAME-DROPPING. Stone gushes about various celebs she’s crossed paths with. Faye Dunaway took her to the Basic Instinct premiere. While she was shooting Casino, Mick Jagger told her to cover her windows with foil so she could sleep during the day. She ran into Patti Smith and Donna Karan at a New York restaurant, and they all ended up eating together. Arnold Schwarzenegger taught her how to fight with a knife on the set of Total Recall. • SHE TALKS #METOO BUT DOESN'T NAME NAMES. The actress expresses solidarity with the #MeToo movement, but she doesn’t see herself as a victim. She claims that some producers, none of whom she names, would try to get her to sleep with male costars to improve on-screen chemistry. She had her own way of handling things. “I take my time and explain that I am like the nice girl they grew up with, and get them to recall that girl’s name. That leaves us all with a little bit of our dignity.”
MICHAEL MULLER
• IT'S NOT A TELL-ALL. Although she shares an anecdote or two about her famous roles in Casino and Basic Instinct, Stone’s book is fairly light on insider Hollywood gossip. While she isn't exactly known for being demure, here she plays it nice.
A L I V E A N D K I C K I NG
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The Inside Guide
MUSIC N OW P L AY I N G
CAR CRASH
Olivia Rodrigo’s bittersweet ballad “drivers license” is a smash hit.
Coachella 2021 Another year, another Coachella canceled. While a lineup including Travis Scott and Rage Against the Machine had previously been announced, we’ve got other ideas for the Coachella ’21 that will never be. Here, a playlist for the fest of our dreams.
The Weeknd and Rosalía, “Blinding Lights” Abel Tesfaye’s Super Bowl halftime show was solid, but imagine the euphoria of watching him headlining Friday night with special guest Rosalía’s sizzling vocals in the “Blinding Lights” remix.
TEMECULA TEEN OLIVIA RODRIGO HAS SHOT TO THE TOP OF THE HOT 100 IN RECORD TIME. HERE’S THE LOWDOWN ON POP MUSIC’S RAPIDLY RISING NEW STAR
Who is she? » Rodrigo is an 18-year-old singer, songwriter, and actress who grew up in Temecula and rose to fame as a Disney TV star. She released her first single, “drivers license,” a sob-inducing, lowercase-letter-only ballad, on January 8, 2021. Fans are convinced it’s about Joshua Bassett, her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costar and rumored ex. Why is “drivers license” such a big deal? » The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Rodrigo one of the youngest artists to ever top it. (Other teens who reached No. 1: a then-17-year-old Billie Eilish with “Bad Guy” in 2019, and a then-16-year-old Lorde with “Royals” in 2013.) It’s already been certified double platinum, and it broke Spotify’s record for most streams in a single day for a non-holiday tune after it was streamed a whopping 15 million times in a 24-hour period on January 11. So she’s the new Billie Eilish? » Kinda, though she’s drawing more comparisons to Taylor Swift, thanks, in part, to the seemingly autobiographical nature of the hit track. Rodrigo is a self-proclaimed Swiftie and said she “just about died” when Tay-Tay praised “drivers license” on Instagram. Can anyone over 18 really relate to a teenage Disney+ star’s breakup anthem? » Yes. Rodrigo has touched on something that resonates with anyone who can’t get over the one who got away—and she has a beautiful voice to boot. The song is such a phenomenon that it inspired a Saturday Night Live sketch in February in which a gaggle of blue-collar bros, among them Regé-Jean Page, played it on a dive-bar jukebox and bawled about their own breakups. —Hilary Hughes 28 L A M AG . C O M
Phoebe Bridgers, “I Know The End” The Grammy nominee got into a spat with former Byrds guitarist-turned-Twitter-troll David Crosby following her crecent SNL performance. It would have been sweet revenge for her to stage a Byrds mini-reunion—minus the Croz.
The Fugees, “Killing Me Softly” Given that 2021 is the 25th anniversary of the New Jersey crew’s legendary The Score, this could have been the year for the group to take the money and reunite. It’s the hope that kills you (softly).
Megan Thee Stallion, “Savage Remix,” featuring Beyoncé Beyoncé comes out, Megan beams with Texas pride, the official flag of Houston is unveiled behind them, and they burn up Saturday night with a wild version of their 2020 smash. Epic.
Supergrass, “Alright” Before COVID-19 hit, the beloved Britpoppers had just reformed and were prepping to tour the U.S. All the cool moms and dads dancing in a sweaty fest tent would have been an exquisite throwback.
Barry Gibb, “To Love Somebody” The last remaining Bee Gee is riding high thanks to the HBO doc How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. Perfect time for him to dust off those solid-gold hits for a Sunday afternoon main-stage set.
Fleetwood Mac, “Dreams” Imagine seeing them as headliners, playing this classic track to close things out on Sunday night while Nathan Apodaca (aka @420doggface208) skateboards around the stage, swigging from a bottle of Ocean Spray, just as he did on TikTok.
G E T T Y I M AG E S
Zero to 100
Taylor Swift, “Mirrorball” Tay-Tay has pop headliner status, but after Folklore and Evermore made her indie royalty, she’d be more suited to play early in the evening on Saturday, taking the main stage just as the sun sets. There’d be cardigans and duets with members of the National.
ART
The road to art-world acclaim has been long and lively for Guest. The seventh of nine children, he was raised in Niagara Falls by a housewife mother and a Baptist-preacher father. When Guest was ten, his parents divorced, and his mother took him and his siblings to West Philly on a Greyhound bus. “It was tough. When we went to school, the kids stole my Mickey Mouse watch off my wrist, and they used to hit us,” says Guest. “I stuttered severely and that put me in silence.” When Guest’s older brother came home from the Marine Corps in 1970, he taught Guest karate to defend himself. Guest also started training in gymnastics, eventually earning a scholA G R E AT S PAC E arship to Southern Connecticut State Guest in his studio University. When he didn’t make the with paintings of abolitionist John Brown national team, he was eager to succeed and Zahara Jolie-Pitt. in another area of his life. “The only thing I had a little bit of talent in was drawing,” he says. After graduation, he moved to New York, where he palled around with Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine crew, including renowned illustrator PAINTER CHAZ GUEST FINALLY HAS A STUDIO OF HIS OWN TO WELCOME Antonio Lopez, who became a mentor. SERIOUS COLLECTORS, CURATORS, AND A NEW LEVEL OF FAME When Lopez died of AIDS in 1987, BY MICHAEL SLENSKE Guest booked a one-way ticket to Paris S H O RT LY A F T E R C H A Z Ghana. Nevertheless, Guest’s honest and picked up work doing illustrations Guest first arrived in L.A. in renderings of Black figures—historical for fashion magazines. “Christian Lacthe late ’90s, he ended up at and fantastical—have attracted a roix said I should pursue painting,” he the Vanity Fair Oscar party. “I only steady stream of high-wattage collecrecalls. So Guest returned to New York, needed to do that once,” says Guest. “I tors. Oprah Winfrey owns a Guest where he lived on a SoHo roof and sold almost got in a fight defending the dipainting of a young Maya Angelou. paintings of jazz icons on Sullivan rector Antoine Fuqua.” He elaborates: Barack Obama had a painting Guest Street before coming west. “I was talking to Richard Gere about did of Thurgood Marshall installed in After years of painting on the fly— Balthus, and from the corner of my the White House. Netflix from the street outside Baleye I caught these guys approaching chief Ted Sarandos owns thus’s Swiss chalet to his Antoine. I excused myself and jumped no fewer than five of the own garage—Guest got a “There's a over a rail and stood in front of Anartist’s works, while Angelistudio of his own last part of him spring. Housed in a former toine with my hand on his chest. I na Jolie commissioned said to the guys, ‘Fellas, not tonight.’ I Guest to create a portrait of that exists in Mid-City acting school was training hard in kyokushin karate her daughter Zahara. And a different called The Imagined Life, at this point, so my awareness was now, at 59, Guest is gaining time period.” the space is filled with keen. I remember turning to my even more attention and toothsome sumi ink-and-oil —DAVIDA NEMEROFF friend later and saying, ‘I’m so happy buzz. He recently landed portrayals of semi-fictionalthat I was never bitten by the desire spots in two plum shows: ized characters, from a todto be an actor; the hustle is real.’ one at New York’s Half Galdler Michelle Obama to a It made me feel great to be a painter. lery, which ran through February, and wild-eyed ’80s Miles Davis. Having the But it was a hell of a party!” another at L.A.’s Night Gallery, which studio has allowed Guest to better In the years that followed, Guest opens April 13. showcase his work to both art-world eschewed the glitzy life for a monk“Chaz’s works have a certain patina luminaries and himself. like existence traveling the globe and to them,” says Night Gallery owner Da“It’s the first time in my life,” he painting wherever he could, be it in vida Nemeroff. “There’s a part of him says, “that I have space to truly step tiny ryokans in Tokyo or in a palace in that exists in a different time period.” back and see my paintings.”
NABIL ELDERKIN
Be His Guest
L A M AG . C O M 29
The Inside Guide
W H E R E T O E AT N O W
New & Notable Saso PA S A D E NA
Crudo e Nudo oysters with borage flowers and a limoncello-and-pink peppercorn mignonette.
Shell Company
The Bungalow Kitchen
A DYNAMIC YOUNG DUO IS SERVING UP FRESH, SUSTAINABLE FISH—AND AN EXCITING NEW BUSINESS MODEL—AT THEIR SANTA MONICA RAW BAR AND SEAFOOD MARKET
O Chef Michael Mina and
BY HAILEY EBER
B
E F O R E T H E pandemic, Brian Borfound a brick-and-mortar home in a storefront nemann, 31, was a young chef on that was once a juice bar. They renovated the the rise. In 2019, he took the posispace themselves and set it up as a multifaceted tion of executive chef at Michael’s operation. Not only is it a raw bar where you Santa Monica, bringing fresh ideas can enjoy a glass of biodynamic wine and tuna and new relevance to the Westside institution. tartare on Gjusta bread outside on the patio, but But Bornemann has no plans to go back. “The it’s also a place to grab a quick coffee or some old fine-dining business model, which we knew of the ice cream that Culhane makes under the wasn’t working before, really, really didn’t work moniker Crème Fatale. You can even pick up through this,” he says. some pristine fish to cook at home, along with In the middle of 2020, Bornemann met Leena Bornemann’s favorite products, like a white soy Culhane, also 31, an artist and touring musician, sauce and yuzu olive oil. through mutual friends. The two soon started While Bornemann is thankful for the experidating, and by summer ences he was afforded at they launched a pop-up Michael’s—and wrote Micalled Crudo e Nudo, servchael McCarty a note saying sustainable, creative ing as much—he’s quite raw-fish preparations. “We excited about this new were both sort of reeling venture. “I could not be from this massive transimore grateful for the option that we were underportunity to do something going with our work,” says on our own and really creCulhane. “It was really ate a solution for how to such a natural partnership sell food and beverage in of different skills and also a profitable way.” 2724 wanting to stay creative.” Main St., Santa Monica, D I N N E R F ROM T WO Crudo e Nudo’s Brian Bornemann and Leena Culhane. In February, the couple crudoenudo.com.
30 L A M AG . C O M
L O NG B E AC H
reality-show entrepreneur Brent Bolthouse continue to expand with this new concepi in Belmont Shore. The 10,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor space is much more foodfocused than the pair’s Bungalow lounges in Santa Monica and Huntington Beach. Here, there’s an extensive menu of crowd-pleasers like a carbonara pizza and tunaand-tomato poke. 6400 Pacific Coast Hwy., bungalowkitchen.com.
Nossa LOS FELIZ O Restaurateur John Borghetti has flipped his Farfalla Vinoteca into this Brazil-meets-Italy spot. From Brazil, there’s cheese bread, empanadas, and grilled steak with plantains, rice, and beans. Italy makes its presence known with tagliatelle, lasagna, and various vegetable preparations featuring anchovies and balsamic vinegar. 1966 Hillhurst Ave., nossala.com. — H . E .
AS H L E Y R A N DA L L P H OTO G R A P H Y
T O TA L LY S H U C K E D
O This long-anticipated Basque restaurant has at last opened its doors, bringing croquettes, jamon iberico, and an array of seafood delights— Santa Barbara crab claws, poached shrimp with smoked-salmon aioli—to a beautiful courtyard outside the Pasadena Playhouse. Dom Crisp, the onetime executive chef at Silver Lake’s L&E Oyster Bar is in the kitchen. 37 S. El Molino Ave. sasobistro.com.
PROMOTION
PHOTO COURTESY FAIRTRADE USA
A Greener Footprint
Sustainably Minded and Locally Roasted HOW DON FRANCISCO’S COFFEE IS MAKING AN IMPACT
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LAMAG25
The Inside Guide
H O L I DAY S
Time for a Roast!
EASTER
FORGET THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY. THIS SLOW-COOKED PORK SHOULDER IS A LITTLE BIT CUBAN, A LITTLE BIT MEXICAN, AND A TOTAL SHOWSTOPPER BY JEAN TRINH
W H E N M A R I O C H R I S T E R NA was in his
twenties, his mother remarried. Initially, Christerna, a Mexican American and the chefowner of Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co., felt protective of his mom as he got to know his new stepfather, who is Cuban. Then he tasted his lechón. After taking one bite of the juicy pork, he recalls, “I felt respect for him, because I was like, ‘Wow, he cooks!’” After that, it became a tradition for the family to enjoy the roast together every Easter following church services. Over the years, they’ve perfected the recipe, with Christerna, now 41, and his mom incorporating elements they cook with often, such as Mexican oregano, green bell peppers, and Bijol seasoning. “We added our thing to it,” says the chef, whose Boyle Heights restaurant is less than three miles from his childhood home. He adds, “It’s rich, salty, flavorful, and comforting. You know when you taste something and you can tell that someone was having a good day in the kitchen? It tastes like that. When you bite into it and close your eyes, you’re like, ‘Someone with love made that.’” Here, he shares the recipe.
LECHÓN WITH MOJO INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups peeled whole garlic cloves ½ green bell pepper, cored and seeded 4 cups orange juice, ideally fresh-squeezed zest of 2 oranges 1 ½ tsp Mexican dried oregano ½ tsp cumin ¼ tsp Bijol seasoning 7 Tbsp kosher salt 4 Tbsp olive oil 1 10-pound, bone-in pork shoulder 1 bay leaf ½ green bell pepper, cored and seeded 2 onions, sliced in rounds leaves from 1 bunch of parsley
S E E PAG E 1 1 2 F O R O U R E A ST E R T R E AT P I C K S
PA S S O V E R
CRACKERIN’ UP
P I G H E AV E N
Chef Mario Christerna and his mother, Norma Guerrero, cook this delicious lechón every Easter.
B Y H E AT H E R P L AT T
We enlisted local chefs to suffer through a matzo taste test and decree which flatbreads deserve to be at the top of the flour-power rankings—and which brand is last but not yeast O U R PA N E L I S T S
Jeremy Fox brings fine-dining acumen to Eastern European comfort fare—and one of L.A.’s best Passover menus—at Birdie G’s (birdiegsla.com).
Rebecca King is known for her popular pop-up “The Bad Jew” (thebadjewla.com), which serves playfully unrabbinical twists on pastrami and babka.
Jason Kaplan—a selfdescribed East Coast Jew—owns Maury’s Bagels (maurysbagels. com), which offers a great beet horseradish for Passover.
P R E PA R AT I O N
Begin preparations three days out. Make the mojo sauce. In a food processor, combine two cups of the garlic, bell pepper, orange juice, zest, oregano, cumin, Bijol, four tablespoons of salt, and two of olive oil. Blend until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pork from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. In a large sauté pan, heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and sear the pork on all sides. Then place it in a roasting pan, skin side down. In the same pan, cook the remaining sauce and onions until the onions are translucent, then pour the sauce over the pork. Wrap the pan in foil and roast in the oven for six hours, replacing the foil and tenting it after two hours and basting every hour. Then remove the foil, flip the pork over, and cook another 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove the roast from the oven. Let it rest for at least an hour. Slice the meat, pour the drippings and sauce over it, garnish with parsley. Serves many with lots of leftovers.
P H O T O G R A P H E D BY I RV I N R I V E R A
J E R E M Y FOX : J I M S U L L I VA N ; JAS O N KA P L A N SA R A D OW N I N G
Salt the pork shoulder with the remaining salt and refrigerate for three hours. Then cut several slits all over the skin side, and insert the remaining garlic cloves. Place the pork shoulder in an eight-quart container and marinate it in one third of the mojo sauce with a bay leaf for two days in the refrigerator.
S T R E I T ’S U NS A LT E D M AT Z O
Y E H U DA PA S S OV E R M AT Z O S
Launched on New York’s Lower East Side in 1925, the kosher brand Streit’s holds about 40 percent of the matzo market in the United States. King: It dries out your mouth. I spit it out; I didn’t want to swallow it. Fox: They don’t have much flavor because they’re not salted, and they’re really fragile. If you break off a piece, the whole thing shatters. Kaplan: I really like that they’re packing in more ingredients—malt and canola—and at least trying to add more flavor. But it still tastes like suffering.
Yehuda has been run by the same Orthodox family for 100 years. Its Passover matzo is made with only flour and water. King: It has almost a burnt flavor, like a char to it. Crunchy and yummy! Fox: Oy vey! They were torched burnt. There were at least two tablespoons of ash in the package. It’s the equivalent of overcooked popcorn. Kaplan: This is the one that I buy for myself for Passover if I can find it. I like that it’s baked the darkest.
M A N I S C H E W I T Z O R I G I NA L
T H E M AT Z O P R O J E C T
First opened in Cincinnati in the late 1800s, Manischewitz is now based in New Jersey but produces its kosher products in Israel. King: I thought this was the worst. It just tastes like flour and water were mixed together and baked, which they were. But I was at least able to swallow it. Fox: They don’t taste like much, but they are at least sturdy and they had the easiest package to open. Kaplan: They don’t call it “the bread of affliction” for nothing. I wish these guys would brighten their box, darken their bake, and bring a little love to the synagogue rec room.
Founded in Brooklyn in 2014, this artisanal producer makes its products in a kosher facility, but they aren’t certfied as kosher for Passover. King: It has a really nice crunch to it, and there’s good, crispy air bubbles. It’s lightly salted so it doesn’t taste like cardboard. Fox: Before I opened Birdie G’s, I tasted every matzo out there and went with this one. I like that they look homemade; the others look like they’re made on a 3D printer. Kaplan: Their schtick is strong, but I’d love to see them bring out a version that’s actually kosher for Passover and not just kosher for tapenade. L A M AG . C O M 3 3
The Inside Guide
GEAR
HIP TO BE SQUARE Yes, there are tons of bikers in tight, bright outfits racing around the city these days. But your retro Rubik’s Cube jersey will let them all know that you’ve really got game. $65 at asummitdifferent.co.uk.
SPIN CYCLE
EVERYONE IN L.A. IS BESOTTED WITH BICYCLES. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN STAND OUT FROM THE PACK BY MERLE GINSBERG
C O V I D M AY H AV E cursed America’s carmakers, but it’s been a blessing for the bicycle industry, which is enjoying an unprecedented boom since the pandemic began. Nationwide, bike sales have jumped by double digits in the past year, and two-wheeled transportation is taking off in Los Angeles, where local bike shops are reporting record sales and lengthy waiting lists for the most-wanted rides. Of course, you can’t spin your wheels without the appropriate accessories. Here are a few suggestions to help you get into gear.
EASY RIDER The SixThreeZero EVRYjourney electric tricycle looks innocent, but its 250-watt motor isn’t kidding around. It will whisk you to a Tinder date faster than an Uber. And its basket is great for hauling groceries—or wine. $750 at sixthreezero.com. 3 4 L A M AG . C O M
TIME-OUT Whether you’re a serious triathlete or a weekend warrior, the Wahoo Elemnt Rival GPS watch will help you track your miles on the road, while counting down the minutes to happy hour. $380 at helenscycles.com.
PRIVATE EYES Beloved by professional cyclists and professional hitmen, these rimless, ultra-lightweight Bollé Lightshifter sunglasses offer protection from the elememts (and the law). $153 at fashion eyewear.com.
PUT A RING ON IT
Ear-splitting, Trumpian bike horns are so 2016. Instead, check out this Biden-era brass bell. It emits a pleasing ring that says “Buddy, can you please get out of the way?” $15 at competitivecyclist.com.
GET LIT Night riders and Burning Man devotees will both take a shine to these ultra-bright LED lights from Brionic. They’re waterproof and come in six psychedelic colors, including rainbow, of course. $17 at amazon.com.
STAYIN’ ALIVE Technically, the 3/4 shell disco ball helmet is made for motorcyclists. But its groovy marriage of form and function will make you stand out, no matter what you’re riding. $306 at ironhorsehelmets.com.
THE BRIGHT STUFF See and be seen in even the darkest situations with the Lezyne Lite Drive 1000XL headlight, which boasts up to 1,000 lumens of output and 87 hours of battery life. $90 at backcountry.com.
KEYED UP No responsible biker leaves home without protection. This sturdy lock from Kryptonite vows to deter the most ambitious thieves at half the price of competing models. $115 at amazon.com.
ARM YOURSELF Hate taking a ride on a spring day only to have the temperature plunge at sundown? These floral Frida arm warmers will keep you balmy without bulking up. $27 at cycologyclothing.com.
HALF AND HALF Part cowhide, part crocheted cotton, these vintage-styled, fingerless gloves will help the most hapless rider get a grip. $27 at explorethousand.com. L A M AG . C O M 3 5
The Inside Guide
H OW I G OT T H I S LO O K
“Don’t be quiet about fashion. Don’t keep it to yourself. Don’t hide behind the label, but don’t hide the label either. ”
P H O T O G R A P H E D BY I RV I N R I V E R A
Chiu on This
THE PRODUCER AND STAR OF THE HIT NETFLIX SERIES BLING EMPIRE REVEALS HOW SHE REALLY FEELS ABOUT HER CASTMATES, THE FASHION AWAKENING SHE HAD AT AGE 26, AND THE MUSTHAVE SKIN-CARE PRODUCTS SHE NABS FROM HER PLASTIC-SURGEON HUSBAND B Y L I N D A I M M E D I AT O
H A I R : P R I N C E A N G E L ; M A K E U P : PAT R I C K T U M E Y
Christine Chiu, 38, Beverly Hills Socialite Christine Chiu stars as the hard-partying wife of a would-be-Chinese-emperor-turnedBeverly-Hills-plastic-surgeon in the runaway hit Bling Empire. Chiu is known for her bitchy rivalry with castmates on the show, but off-screen she insists things are pretty civil. “We genuinely enjoy each other’s company and have had many fun outings together, ranging from hot-pot meals to yacht trips,” she says. But her true passion is fashion. Though she was raised in the Bay Area, Chiu wasn’t a label queen early on. Her parents were clotheshorses with closets full of designer duds, but when it came to their daughter, they emphasized the importance of academics over Armani. It wasn’t until after she graduated with a business degree from Pepperdine University that she started to find her personal style. At age 26, Chiu attended her first couture show—Chanel, naturally— and became obsessed with haute fashion. “I was awestruck by the lavishness and exquisite details,” she says. “At that moment, fashion became art to me.” Chiu went on to become a fixture at shows, snapping up exclusive looks right off the runway and casually going on six-figure shopping sprees. When she was pregnant with Baby G, now two, multiple houses offered to create custom maternity looks for her, and Armani hosted her Malibu baby shower. “I try to acquire at least one piece from each couture show so as to collect a moment in time and an element of fashion history,” she says. Here, she dishes on her approach to beauty and fashion.
ST Y L E P H I LO S O P H Y
» Fashion is the most exciting storyteller! Let your pieces help tell the story of who you are, where and how far you’ve come, where you’d like to go. Let them reveal different facets of your personality, moods, and idiosyncrasies. Don’t be quiet about fashion. Don’t keep it to yourself. Don’t hide behind the label, but don’t hide the label either. The label tells a story, too. N OT A F R A I D TO FA K E I T
» I consume HAIRtamin vitamins and gummies like candy and am currently addicted to Ouai products. Great hair is a result of the joined efforts of a healthy diet, vitamins, styling pros—and wig shops! F U L L- S E RV I C E FAS H I O N
» I wore this very Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture gown on the red carpet the first time Dr. Chiu and I went to Cannes. The JPG team was so kind to fly into Cannes to fit me for it just in time. T R U LY G I F T E D
» These Chanel fine jewelry Comète collection earrings were the first piece of jewelry Dr. Chiu ever gifted me. As the years went by, he purchased the matching bracelet and finally the necklace to complete the suite. STA N D I N G BY H E R M A I S O N
» For someone who loves to change things up, I’m strangely devoted to my perfume. My favorite and most significant scent is Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Bacarrat Rouge 540. It evokes the perfect balance of sensuality and power, flirtatiousness and purposefulness. I feel simultaneously untouchable yet incredibly desirable even with just a spritz. FAC I N G I T
» I have easy access to the world’s best in advanced skin care, and the line I currently use is SkinBetter. I love the AlphaRet exfoliating peel pads. They really reduce my fine lines and wrinkles and even out my skin texture. For makeup, I rely on Koh Gen Do, a plant-based Japanese product line made with water from Japan’s Izumo Yumura hot springs and France’s Iroise Sea.
L A M AG . C O M 37
The Inside Guide
BEAUTY
A Stitch in Time
BORED WITH BOTOX, YOUTH-OBSESSED ANGELENOS ARE TAKING UP A MORE PRICKLY PROCEDURE. BUT ARE THEY REAPING WHAT THEY SEW? BY MERLE GINSBURG
A
WOMAN IN HER mid-thirties, hair helped to develop the procedure using cascading to her waist, is the very NovaThreads, the market leader in the picture of L.A. high maintenance: creation and distribution of PDO threads. pale pink lipstick and matching eye “The procedure provides a subtle result,” shadow, a black catsuit, and fur mules. She’s he explains. “It doesn’t depend so much perfectly Zoom-ready, except for one thing: 12 on age, but how much fat in a particular five-inch-long black threads protruding from face that can be lifted. You can only really tiny holes in each of her cheeks. pull so much.” Often thread lifts are suppleShe’s undergoing the current trend in age mented with fillers to add extra volume to abatement, a quick-fix procedure known sagging skin. “The threading won’t replace as PDO (polydioxanone) threading, a less a surgical face-lift for someone 50 or older,” invasive and more natural-looking alternahe says. tive to a full-blown face-lift. First developed Celebrities are relying on the procedure by Russian and American surgeons working to look camera-ready, and some are out independently in the 1990s, thread lifts about it. In November 2020, Eva Mendes have surged in popularity in recent years, posted a selfie to Instagram showing pinkthanks to the development of more reliedged needles stuck in her neck. Mendes’s able sutures, increasing affordability, and Beverly Hills-based doctor Mariana of course, Instagram, where some 305,000 Vergara is a fan of the treatment, but she DR. KIAN KARIMI images are tagged #threadlift. has her own limits. She’s not down with To perform the procedure, the doctor first the cat-eye lift in which threads are used maps the patient’s bone structure and fat to raise the brows to achieve a Bella Hadiddeposits with a chalk pen, dotting threads wherever gravity esque look. “The millennials want it, but in 15 years those could use some defying: typically the cheeks, jowls, under ladies will have very thick temples,” says Vergara. eyes, and jaw, but also décolletage, buttocks, lips, and arms. While there are dozens of places throughout the city Next, a topical numbing agent is injected through each dot. offering the service, done by everyone from medspa aesthThen threads of various lengths and thicknesses are sewn eticians to plastic surgeons, many of the physicians who into the skin to stimulate the production of collagen. “I use a cater to celebrity clientele are based elsewhere and travel lot of threads,” explains Dr. Simmi Goyle, based in Glendale. to Los Angeles. Dr. Julius Few is a Chicago plastic surgeon “We resculpt the fat pads, placing threads in areas of skin who flies into town once a month at the behest of a group laxity.” of very discerning private patients: “It started out as a favor It all takes about an hour, and for my dear friend Gwyneth Paltrow,” you can go back to work the next he says. After that, he was in high day, if you don’t mind being red and demand with the Goop set. Another puffy. It takes a few weeks to fully traveling doctor is Mariano Busso. recover, with best results seen after He flies in from Miami once a week a few months. The threads themto tend to Beverly Hills clients. selves dissolve in six to nine months, As for pricing, it varies from and results last up to two years. about $1,000 for the face, to up to Dr. Kian Karimi is an otolaryn$5,000 for multiple procedures— gologist at Providence St. John’s much cheaper than a $20,000 Health Center in Santa Monica who facelift. However, Dr. Goyle says a new method is on the horizon: suture suspension, which could last FIT TO BE TIED up to two years. Top: Eva Mendes showing the popular neck-lift “But I can’t talk about that yet,” procedure. From left: Hadid with a natural brow and then with the cat-eye look she’s known for. she teases. 38 L A M AG . C O M
TO P : I N STAG R A M .CO M / B E AU T YV I L L AV E R G A R A ; B OT TO M : I N STAG R A M .CO M /A E ST H E T I C A L LYYO U
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DAY THREE ,_WLYPLUJL HYLH 5H[PVUHS 4VU\TLU[Z! >HSU\[ *HU`VU :\UZL[ *YH[LY =VSJHUV HUK >\WH[RP APW V]LY [V -SHNZ[Hќ ,_[YLTL (K]LU[\YL *V\YZL MVY [YLL[VW [OYPSSZ [OLU [YLR [OL -SHNZ[Hќ )YL^LY` ;YHPS ;OPZ TV\U[HPU [V^U ^PSS IL OLYL ^OLU [OL [PTL PZ YPNO[ MVY `V\ [V KPZJV]LY -SHNZ[Hќ -VY TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU NV [V KPZJV]LYÅ HNZ[HɈ JVT, and Z[VW I` [OL -SHNZ[Hќ =PZP[VY *LU[LY PU OPZ[VYPJ KV^U[V^U VU 9V\[L 7SLHZL MVSSV^ OLHS[O N\PKLSPULZ ^OPSL ]PZP[PUN! >HZO `V\Y OHUKZ MYLX\LU[S` ^LHY H THZR HUK ZVJPHS KPZ[HUJL 40 L A M AG . C O M
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Medicine
ROB E RT I T O
Club Med
JAZZ QUARTETS! COUPLES MASSAGES! TOTAL ANONYMITY! L.A.’S CONCIERGE MEDICAL SERVICES WOO AILING VIPS WITH A HOST OF PLUSH AMENITIES. BUT NOT EVERYONE IS FEELING GOOD ABOUT THAT
E
V E N B E F O R E the pandemic struck, ailing Angelenos hated cooling their heels in waiting rooms filled with wheezing kids and crappy magazines, which is why Abe Malkin, founder of Concierge MD LA, always made house calls to his well-heeled patients. Since 2016, Malkin and his team have been going into homes from Pasadena to the South Bay, administering everything from echocardiograms and blood tests to botox injections and “home detox services” (for celebrities wary about being spotted going into and out of addiction treatment centers). Malkin has made house calls on movie sets and to music festivals, to mansions and high-rise offices. One time, he was called to an iconic Southern California arena (he won’t say which) to give a strep swab to a musician who was about to go onstage; another time, he was flown to Europe via private jet to treat a patient and escort them back home to L.A. In-
4 4 L A M AG . C O M
stead of you making time for the doctor—scheduling an appointment for a month down the road, sitting in traffic for hours—Malkin makes time for you. “We try to work seamlessly into your day,” he says. Concierge medicine has been around L.A. since 1996. With its promise of 24/7 VIP care and preferential access to the area’s top doctors and specialists, concierge care is the medical option of choice for those who put a premium on health care—and can afford the often hefty annual membership fees, which can range upward of $25,000. Many concierge services are tied to some of the city’s largest and most prestigious hospitals, like UCLA’s Comprehensive Health Program, which offers the Executive Physical Plus, an annual checkup on steroids that includes everything from stress EKGs and colonoscopies (if needed) to town-car pickups and dropoffs or private suites at Santa Monica’s Providence Saint John’s Health Center. Others are small boutique affairs. There
are places where one can get routine lab work and CT scans, hormone replacement therapy, and “microgold facials.” This being L.A., there are practices that offer cast and contestant physicals for series and reality shows. One of the biggest selling points of concierge medicine is the promise of instant care, because one thing clients hate to do is wait. “Whether you’re a busy executive or an actor or an athlete with a busy travel schedule, it shouldn’t have to be a burden for you to sit and talk to your doctor,” Malkin says. When COVID-19 hit, however, waiting for medical care suddenly became a major concern for just about everybody. What were once mere inconveniences—getting stuck in a waiting room or struggling to get an appointment—were now alarming propositions. Who knows what that wheezing kid has or whether he might give it to you? Nobody wanted to be anywhere near a waiting room, let alone an ER. And with a mysterious pandemic on I L LU S T R AT I O N BY JA S O N R A I S H
the rise, waits for anything—COVID tests, at first, and then later, the vaccine itself—seemed intolerable. In just a few months, what had previously seemed a frivolous luxury began to make a lot more sense to those with the means to pay for it. Over the past year, the interest in concierge medicine has exploded, whether from current clients now searching for tests and vaccines or from potential clients concerned about getting any medical care at all at a time when hospitals and ICUs across the state are operating at maximum capacity. “In the beginning, when people were scrambling to get COVID tests, the patients I had a relationship with were able to get tested much more quickly,” Malkin says. “Not so much because they were paying for tests but because I took the time to prioritize them and make sure they got them.” His patients were so eager to know their viral status that Malkin made monthly COVID tests, along with his practice’s standard annual physical and monthly house calls, a part of his “premium” and “elite” service packages, which range from $6,000 to $9,000 a year. “Some of my patients get tested more often than that,” he says, “but I wanted to establish what I thought was a smart and reasonable baseline.” At Sollis Health, a concierge medical center in Beverly Hills, cofounder Ben Kruger has taken the standard no-wait concierge model and added urgent- and emergency-care capabilities. “Our centers can handle 95 percent of what you might see in an emergency room,” he says. Sollis has CT scanners and 3T magnetic resonance imaging machines—along with the emergency staff to go with them. While a typical ER might see 300 or more people in a day, at Sollis, the number is closer to 10 or 15, a plus for physicians like Scott Braunstein, the facility’s medical director and longtime emergency-room doctor at Cedars-Sinai. “I think what attracted Dr. Braunstein to our service is the ability to spend more time with patients and to provide more personalized care,” Kruger says. What this all means in practical terms is that if you slice open your thumb and head to Sollis, you’ll be tended to by someone the moment you walk in the door. That sort of service stands in sharp contrast to to the triage situation one encounters in the typical crowded
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L A M AG . C O M 45
ER, where you’ll be queuing up behind to Sollis; or at a W Hotel, whose South the woman going into cardiac arrest or Beach property recently opened a Solthe guy with the gaping chest wound. lis pop-up. Whatever preceded your trip to the ER “We really look to great hotels and is bad enough, says Kruger, without the hospitality experiences to learn what ER itself adding to the nightmare. they do well and apply that to health “If you cut yourself in the middle care,” says Kruger. of the night, you know you’re gonna At Remedy Place, a “social wellhave a bad night,” he says. “I just felt ness club” in West Hollywood, Jonathere had to be a better way.” than Leary provides concierge wellness At Sollis, that bettreatments in a comter way includes plush munal, clublike setting robes, fancy menus, for those who’d rathand Taschen art books. Unsurprisingly, er not endure their ice If the place looks like a baths and IV treatments folks used to boutique hotel, that’s inalone. At the private, VIP care expect booze-free space, coutentional, says Kruger. “It’s not a med spa,” ples and groups can “enpreferential he says. “But we believe joy” everything from intreatment. you can pair high-qualifrared saunas and cryo ty medicine with hospichambers to hyperbaric tality. We look at everychambers (the oxygenthing from the patient’s perspective.” therapy machines of choice for folks Those patients include executives like LeBron James and Justin Bieber) and pro athletes and celebrities like Siand vitamin injections. enna Miller and Chris Rock, the sorts “I wanted to create an entire club of folks one might see at, say, the San that was temptation- and toxin-free,” Vicente Bungalows, which offers its says Leary. In some cases, couples members a discounted membership make a date night of lymphatic mas-
sage treatments, which involve “something like a blood pressure cuff” followed by a massive purge of waste products. After partnering on events with companies like Nike (“They were flying down teams every other week from Portland”) and organizations like the Cannes Film Festival, Leary plans to open a new Remedy Place at the recently renovated Century Park Plaza. COVID, of course, has put many things on hold for now: mixologists, athletic clubs, and live jazz, for instance. But the hyperbaric chambers and vitamin IVs are good to go. “You can do everything except the events and classes,” says Leary. The pandemic has affected many aspects of concierge medicine, both for good and ill. While the thought of getting sick or going to crowded hospitals has driven many to concierge care, it’s also encouraged unscrupulous folks of every stripe to try to use the services to cut the line for vaccines. To be fair, the distribution system worldwide has been problematic, with rich countries getting access to vaccines before poor ones; ineligible young Floridians
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dressing up as “grannies” to get second doses; Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar suggesting that NBA players “jump the queue”—albeit to promote vaccine awareness and acceptance; and people volunteering at food banks and hospitals to get shots. So it should probably come as little surprise that folks used to receiving VIP care—and paying handsomely for it—might expect preferential treatment. In February, San Francisco-based One Medical allowed ineligible individuals with ties to the concierge medical company’s leadership to jump the line ahead of high-risk patients. The news came as little surprise to many; indeed, for months, patients have been hitting up their concierge doctors for tests and vaccines, in some cases offering bribes for early access to shots. Even before vaccines had been created, concierge doctors were fielding calls. “Back in March 2020, they were asking me for COVID tests. Then they wanted antibody tests. Then they wanted hydroxychloroquine and Regeneron,” says Malkin. “Everyone understands that there are limited re-
sources and that there are people who need to be prioritized. That being said, within the framework of the rules and regulations, my patients want to get access to care as quickly as possible.” With nearly every aspect of our lives affected by COVID, health has become utmost in many minds. And at a time when one can’t even go to fancy restaurants or on luxury vacations, why not spend that extra cash on trying to stay alive, or at least healthy? “For really anyone who is willing to pay more in any sector of their lives— whether it’s the car they’re driving, the clothes they’re wearing, the home they’re living in—that’s what we’re providing, too,” says Kruger. “We’re providing a better experience.” Malkin agrees. “The cost of concierge medicine is not prohibitively high if you consider what people spend their money on otherwise,” he says. “If you make sacrifices elsewhere in your life, people can certainly afford concierge medicine.” Malkin also believes that concierge medicine benefits all of us, not just the people getting oxygen treatments
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in their homes or having their doctor flown to their estate by private jet. “People may think it’s unfair for some to receive better care than others,” he says. “But, ultimately, keeping people out of the emergency room— treating them early and keeping them from having to get costly medical care—reduces the strain on the medical system,” he says. “And reducing the strain actually allows for more time and energy to be spent on people who need true care in an emergency setting.” Which is where all this began: trying to stay out of a waiting room or ER at all costs. “They’re not built to provide a quality customer experience,” says Kruger. “Our mission is really to provide the highest quality health care, and we believe it’s impossible to do that without also providing a really amazing healthcare experience. We want people to feel that they’re being given the attention they deserve, and that’s impossible in a large medical institution that’s driven by volume rather than by treating the individual.”
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4 8 L A M AG . C O M
TALE OF TWO CITIES
Blocks from Skid Row (left) the rooftop pool of the Standard Hotel beckons (right). An estimated 66,000 L.A. residents are homeless, many of them living in tents on downtown’s sidewalks.
EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, SOARING RENTS AND HOMELESNESS HAD CLOUDED DTLA’S VAUNTED RENAISSANCE. HERE’S HOW TO GET IT BACK ON TRACK. BY JON REGARDIE PHOTOGRAPHED BY SHAYAN ASGHARANIA
stride down 7th Street, stopping in front of an empty storefront. Once upon a time, before the pandemic, it was a vintage-clothing shop. She’s about to tell a story about it when suddenly a bright-red engine from Station No. 9, based in Skid Row, comes barreling down the street, siren blaring. “We get that all the time,” Besten says as the truck passes, alluding to the staggering toll from the winter coronavirus surge. Besten is executive director of the Historic Core Business Improvement District, representing the 56-block downtown neighborhood filled with early-twentieth-century buildings like the Eastern Columbia, a turquoise Art Deco edifice on Broadway that underwent a $30 million transformation and reopened as lofts in 2007, part of a decades-long wave of reinvestment and development that utterly transformed downtown L.A.— at least until COVID-19 came to town. For an hour on a crisp January morning, Besten and I traverse sidewalks that feel about 30 percent as crowded as they did a year ago. The quiet feels alien; I spent the better part of two decades as editor of the Los Angeles Downtown News and grew habituated to clogged sidewalks, near-constant construction, and an unending stream of store and restaurant openings. Now the economic wreckage unleashed by COVID is inescapable, if also oddly random, the blocks a patchwork of closed businesses and those that persevere. We stop in at the Bohemian House of Espresso & Chai, where the menu includes a camel milk cortado, and discuss Big Man Bakes, the cupcake spot Chip Brown opened nearby at 4th and Main in 2009; its sixfoot-five proprietor and namesake parked himself in front all night during the spring Black Lives Matter protests to deter opportunistic looters. On 5th Street, Besten points to a pair of husks that, pre-pandemic, held the Mexican restaurant Coronados and the New Orleans-flavored nightspot Little Easy. The randomness of the devastation is jarring; over in the Spring Arcade, Le Macaron and Downtown Donuts have closed while RiceBox and Garçons de Café carry on. “What was great about this neighborhood was that we had people who lived here long enough to fall in love with it, and then decided to start their dream business here,” Besten says. “We need to find a way to encourage those people to return, or new people to come and take their place.” No part of Los Angeles has been impacted more by COVID than downtown. For the past two decades, it expe-
rienced an urban metamorphosis driven by building what was essentially a private-sector-financed satellite downtown around Staples Center and L.A. Live. Spectacular growth in residential, cultural, culinary, retail, hospitality, and nightlife sectors followed, boosting downtown’s residential population from about 18,000 to 85,000. But all of it came to a screeching halt on March 15, 2020, when Mayor Eric Garcetti issued the executive order shuttering restaurants, bars, theaters, and many other businesses integral to downtown’s renaissance. Four days later, the Safer at Home directive landed, and Los Angeles was effectively locked down. Literally overnight, a hefty percentage of the approximately 500,000 people who work downtown and live elsewhere stopped their daily commutes. The office towers emptied, and a year later, amid a molasses-slow vaccine rollout, the skyscrapers are only about ten percent filled on any given day. “The pandemic really put into focus that, boy oh boy, this is a heavily dependent office-worker environment, where if you remove the approximately half-million workers, there’s not a lot of folks feeding the daily retail,” says Derrick Moore, a senior vice president at the brokerage firm CBRE, who since 1999 has executed north of 500 restaurant, store, and other commercial
DOWNTOWN’S SPECTACULAR GROWTH CAME TO A SCREECHING HALT ON MARCH 15, 2020.
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HERMAN SCHULTHEIS/LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY; AMANDA EDWARDS/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
L A I R B E S T E N H A LT S her
THEN AND NOW
GUTTER CREDIT TK
Left: 7th Street, 1937. Above: The preCOVID scene at Ace Hotel’s bar. Below: Blair Besten, a key leader in downtown’s revival.
leases in downtown alone. Virtually every downtown economic engine has been shut down. The Lakers, Clippers, and Kings play at Staples Center without fans, a loss of 19,000 patrons who normally would linger in nearby bars and restaurants before and after games. Museums and live-music venues, from Walt Disney Concert Hall, itself an anchor tenant in downtown’s rehabilitation, to the ragtag, allages Main Street club the Smell, remain closed. The Convention Center calendar has been gutted, and along with it the expense-account attendees who once filled thousands of nearby hotel rooms. “We don’t have the tourists roaming the streets near the Convention Center, walking to their hotels,” observes Jessica Lall, president and CEO of the advocacy and lobbying group the Central City Association. Then there is the most salient change: the number of tents on the sidewalks has exploded, evidence of an unrelenting humanitarian crisis now impossible to ignore. The effort to rein in homelessness in downtown is a decades-long tug-of-war, and without constant foot traffic serving as a deterrent—and the Centers for Disease Control early in the pandemic urging that homeless individuals not be forced to pack up and move their belongings each day—the encampments have grown unabated. “General” Jeff Page, a Skid Row activist for 15 years, says some of the spread is driven by the same instincts exhibited by millions of housed Angelenos: Skid Row denizens have sought to social distance by leaving their crowded, impoverished community. The Reverend Andy Bales, president and CEO of Union Rescue Mission, said the threat of the coronavirus forced Skid Row shelters to “decompress” their residential base by a half to two-thirds, pushing many onto the streets of downtown. “People say, ‘I don’t want to live in a tent and an encampL A M AG . C O M 51
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VIRGIL MIRANO COLLECTION, BANCROFT LIBRARY/COURTESY NATHAN MARSAK, FROM THE BOOK BUNKER HILL LOS ANGELES
ment next to other people; I have to find my own block.’ So they migrate into areas not normally known for homelessness,” Page says. The homeless population swelled further as inmates held at downtown’s Men’s Central Jail and other facilities were released early in another effort to stanch COVID, though often without much concern as to where they would go. Add to those the housed whose incomes cratered during the pandemic—a February report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation estimates that 20,000 L.A. County residents became homeless between February and November last year. Large encampments have sprouted in places where they never before existed, such as the plaza on First and San Pedro streets in Little Tokyo and an underpass north of the Bonaventure Hotel on Figueroa Street. The situation has sparked existential dread from even some of downtown’s most ardent boosters. “It fuckin’ sucks—but it’s getting better,” says Hal Bastian, executive vice president of the real estate brokerage firm Major Properties, who for more than a quarter century has lured businesses to downtown. Adds Chris Rising, the cofounder and CEO of Rising Realty Partners, which has invested in turnarounds of downtown URBAN RENEWAL properties such as the PacMutual and the CalEdiClockwise from right: Chip Brown opened Big son buildings, “The quality of life is significantly Man Bakes at 4th and poorer right now. I used to walk all around downMain in 2009; Bunker Hill’s Victorian houses town, and I’m not feeling comfortable doing that. were removed in 1963 to I think we have to be realists and say to our city make way for skyscrapgovernment, ‘This isn’t acceptable.’ We’re not goers; the landmark Tower Theater, at Broadway and ing to get people coming back unless they feel safe 8th, opened in 1927. After and unless we address these quality-of-life issues.” renovations, it’s now an Meanwhile, the pandemic has ignited an exApple Store. istential debate about the very viability of downneeds to be done, from zoning changes to waivtown. On one side are those who assert that the ing fees for business owners, the mayor believes state of the streets, combined with the rise of Zoom and walkdowntown is uniquely disposed to recovery. “I think it’s going down-the-hall commutes, will undermine the base of office to be a place that goes from empty office buildings to some workers that drives the community, and this in turn will reof the most competitive, class-A office buildings on the West verse the momentum that drew hip restaurateurs and proCoast. The fundamentals are so strong.” pelled Gen Xers and millennials to pay $4 a square foot for If there is an overarching truth about downtown, it’s that apartments. On the other side is the recognition that downtwo conflicting realities define it simultaneously: a once-betown has been badly damaged—that it will take at least two draggled city core reclaimed and reactivated, and a heartyears to fill the vacancies—but that it has rallied more than breaking display of civic failure and a devastating portrait once, and ultimately COVID, like the Great Recession, will be of what happens when the nation’s second-biggest city, with just another high hurdle to clear. Ongoing construction and conspicuous wealth, chokes on the mission to provide susan influx of new businesses, including Warner Music Group tainable housing for all its residents. and Spotify in the Arts District, are cited as casual evidence that downtown is already on the rebound. “Rumors about the death of downtown are vastly exaggeratO A P P R E H E N D T H E F U T U R E of ed,” says Dan Rosenfeld, whose decades of work in the commudowntown, a refresher on its past is in nity range from developing skyscrapers on Bunker Hill to proorder. The historic heart of Los Angepelling neighborhood-oriented growth through the nonprofit les—bordered roughly by the 101, 110, Community Partners. “I think downtown L.A. is more well-poand 10 freeways on the north, west, sitioned than any office market for a new world,” adds Rising. and south, respectively, and the Los “If we are in a new world, where you’re only going to come into Angeles River on the east—boomed the office a couple days a week, why wouldn’t you go to downearly in the twentieth century as a town L.A.? It’s got a transportation system geared around it.” nightlife magnet with movie palaces The mayor, unsurprisingly, counts himself among the optilike Sid Grauman’s Million Dollar Themists. “I think it’s going to go from zombie town to party town,” atre on Broadway, with its fantastical Garcetti told me in February. Acknowledging that much work
DOWNTOWN FADED MIDCENTURY AS BUSINESSES RELOCATED TO BEVERLY HILLS AND CENTURY CITY.
bas relief gargoyles; decades later, it would become one of the first downtown commercial buildings converted to residential use. Downtown faded in the middle of the century as the city sprawled and businesses relocated to Beverly Hills and Century City. In the 1980s, then-mayor Tom Bradley utilized the Community Redevelopment Agency as an enticement to developers to erect steel-and-glass towers where crumbling Victorian houses once stood on Bunker Hill. The office sector expanded—and downtown L.A.’s skyline was suddenly dominated by skyscrapers like the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower, which long stood as the tallest building west of the Mississippi until it was eclipsed by the Korean Air–owned Wilshire Grand Center in 2017; the Gas Company Tower overlooking the Millennium Biltmore Hotel; and the high-rise now known as FourFortyFour South Flower, made famous in L.A. Law’s opening credits. But the new glass-and-steel downtown—abutting its low-rise, 1920s-vintage, stone-and-masonry counterparts like the Los Angeles Times building—remained essentially a 9-to5 zone, with nightlife mostly limited to performances at the fortress-like Music Center, opened in 1964 as a West Coast response to New York City’s Lincoln Center. The passage of the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance in 1999 made it easier and cheaper for developers to turn dead office buildings into housing, with city government oversight to make sure the program was effectively implemented. It worked. I remember meeting a gregarious real estate developer named Tom Gilmore at the then-sketchy corner of 4th and Main. Gilmore pointed to a trio of buildings he had just purchased and planned to turn into loft-style apartments. “People say the neighborhood sucks,” Gilmore told me. “I just bought the neighborhood.” L A M AG . C O M 53
> When the NoMad Hotel opened three years ago in the historic Bank of Italy building, the Downtown News dubbed it “project of the year.”
> La Cita asked everyone who ever “celebrated, laughed, cried, danced, or partied” with them to donate to a GoFundMe to help the bar’s staff earlier this year.
> After 42 years, the bubble has popped for the Downtown Car Wash. The site was sold for development.
> Chef Josef Centeno built a mini empire of fine dining restaurants downtown, only to close his first, the landmark Bäco Mercat.
THE VANISHING S O R R Y, W E ’ R E C L O S E D
Twenty years and $34 billion dollars into its extreme makeover, downtown Los Angeles was upscaling fast. The changes brought back luxuries not seen in the area for generations. But a former check-cashing joint on Main Street that had morphed into a fancy French bakery suddenly joined hundreds of other neighborhood businesses that closed in 2020. Here’s a snapshot of the retail devastation one year into COVID-19. P R O D U C E D B Y C H R I S N I C H O L S • I L L U S T R A T E D B Y C A R T I FA C T
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STORES & SHOPS
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Bäco Mercat Blue Cow Kitchen Blue Whale jazz club Bon Temps Broken Spanish Bunker Hill Bar & Grill Casey’s Irish Pub Clayton’s Public House Coronados Mexican Restaurant Ebisu Japanese Izakaya Fable a Kitchen Story Giulia Gulp Hill Grill Hock + Hoof The Hon Shabu Shabu House of Machines bar HRB Experience sushi Indus by Saffron Industriel Izakaya Honda-Ya Kismet Falafel Krab Queenz La Cita Little Easy Mitaki Mon Petit Poulet Oreno Yakiniku Japanese Bar-B-Cue Patina Pestolini Preux & Proper Red Herring Rosa Mexicano Sajj Mediterranean Smeraldi’s Restaurant Spread Mediterranean Spring Terroni The Urban Oven
FAST FOOD & CASUAL DINING
> The Arts District lost a favorite nontoxic manicure spot when Base Coat Nail Salon shuttered.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
10Below Ice Cream 85 Degrees bakery/cafe Bad Son Tacos Bella Frozen Yogurt Bento Man B.S. Taqueria BurgerIM The Burrow Bar & Kitchen Café Beantage Calavera Burrito Co. Capital One Café Cassell’s Hamburgers Chicas Tacos CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice Doreen’s Tropical Fruit EdiBOL Fernando’s Taco Inn Gil’s Super Burger Hill Street Pizza Karayama La Tropézienne Bakery Le Macaron French Pastries Le Pain Quotidien Lions & Owls Lucky Bakery Mel’s Deli Ocho Mexican Grill Okipoki Yogurtland Pig Pen Delicacy Poke Express by Honda-Ya Quizno’s Ramen Itto Soom Soom Fresh Mediterranean South City Fried Chicken Subway Subway Tacos Tu Madre Teabella The Tamale Cafe Two Boots Pizza Wilshire Promenade Food Court Ye Olde Taco House
Unidentified luggage shop A Shop Called Quest L.A. Bargain Suits BNKR clothing Broadway Factory Cerre boutique The Curated Bandit clothing Esentialle clothing Gap Factory Golden Rose Jewelry Harper clothing Hookah Place JapanLA gift shop LAndmark Hookah Lounge Little Tokyo Cosmetics Michael Levine Fabrics Nepal Handicrafts Studio New Warehouse Clothing Oak West Shoes footwear Out Rage clothing store Outfitters clothing Pop Obscure Records Rastawear Collection Recliners.la Rite-Aid Sixhundred Theory Utmost skate shop Walgreens Wander Boutique Sticks + Pinecone
GYMS, SALONS & SERVICES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
24 Hour Fitness Base Coat Nail Salon Basic Flowers Chayil Maison Nail Salon Circle K Downtown Car Wash Downtown Dance & Movement Elegance Event Decorator Floyd’s 99 Barbershop Hope Beauty Center Industry DTLA Hair Salon Krav Maga Unyted Lash Bar Mrs. Winston’s Green Grocers Nail Swag Oscar’s Key & Jewelry Repair Pussy & Pooch Salon on Seventh VIP Tickets Simply Ink tattoos Sneaker LAB
GALLERIES & MUSEUMS 1 2 3 4
Jason Vass Gallery OUE Skyspace Take My Picture Gallery Wells Fargo History Museum
COFFEE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bruno Café Bulletproof Coffee Don Francisco’s Coffee Casa Cubana MASA Coffee Lab Starbucks Strada Eateria & Bar Stumptown Coffee Roasters
LODGING 1 2
Standard Hotel NoMad Hotel
From reports by staff, landlords, neighbors, and a windshield survey. Some businesses may eventually reopen.
VINTAGE POSTER IMAGE, COURTESY OF LA CITA; COURTESY NOMAD/ BENOIT LINERO; JAPANLA.COM; COURTESY BASE COAT; COURTESY OF BÄCO MERCAT; DOWNTOWN CAR WASH: GETTY IMAGES
> Gudetama and Hello Kitty left for a new outpost on La Brea Avenue when Little Tokyo’s pop culture emporium JapanLA closed last year.
RESTAURANTS & BARS
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The early housing rush coincided with the arrival of tentpole public facilities like Staples Center in 1999 and Disney Hall in 2003. The first wafts of hip development were led by the Standard Hotel, which in 2002 turned the former headquarters of Superior Oil on Flower Street into one of downtown’s first bastions of buzz; its rooftop bar and swimming pool instantly became one of the city’s chicest nightspots. Although the 2008 financial panic and Great Recession slowed growth, downtown roared in their aftermath. Jo-
DOWNTOWN’S GREATEST CHALLENGE REMAINS THE HOMELESS, PART OF ITS FABRIC FOR DECADES.
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sef Centeno, the restaurateur behind Bäco Mercat and the Michelin-starred Orsa & Winston, found an audience of adventurous diners in the new apartments and condos, as did Grand Central Market, which pivoted to include hip, queuedrawing establishments like Eggslut. A similar culinary repositioning took place in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza, as the faded 1979 Broadway building became home to Roy Choi’s Chego in 2013 and, three years later, hot-chicken purveyor Howlin’ Rays. Nightlife impresario Cedd Moses launched the self-consciously louche watering holes Broadway Bar and Seven Grand, among others. ArtWalk, held the second Thursday of each month, drew throngs from across the city and allowed some businesses to make their rent in a single night. Downtown wasn’t for everyone; thousands left when their leases expired. But a robust coalition of early adopters was there to stay, despite the lack of conveniences taken for granted elsewhere in L.A. When a Ralphs held a grand opening downtown in 2007, then-mayor Antonio Villaraigosa cut the ribbon, congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard appeared, and more than 1,000 showed up to celebrate. My newspaper titled its story “Let There Be Ralphs.” The Central City Association, led for more than two decades by Carol Schatz, stoked growth by pitching out-of-town investors on the area’s potential. Increasingly, national and international developers sniffed profits in the housing secHARD TIMES tor, leading to a mix of shiny skyscrapers and This page: The boardedforgettable seven-story apartment complexes. up Bottega Louie at 7th and Grand. Opposite Neighborhoods became the Next Big Thing at page: Andy Bales, presia dizzying pace, from the Historic Core and the dent and CEO of the Financial District to Little Tokyo and South Union Rescue Mission. Park. The transformation of the Arts District was especially dynamic, bringing a branch of the members-only SoHo House to a formerly dilapidated Santa Fe Street building. Since 1999, according to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, $34 billion has been invested in the area. “When we got there with the Standard, it surprised a lot of people,” says Amar Lalvani, CEO of the hotel’s parent company, Standard International. (The hotel is currently closed, due to the pandemic and a renovation of the lobby overseen by original designer Shawn Hausman, with plans to reopen at an unspecified date.) “In the early days, we had the market to ourselves. Now there’s a lot more competition, which we view as a great thing because there are so many exciting things happening, leaving aside the pandemic.” The cultural evolution was just as sweeping. The opening of the $140 million Broad museum in September 2015 and the debut of the Hauser & Wirth gallery in a former flour mill in the Arts District the following spring turbocharged a revving arts scene. The Regent, the Teragram Ballroom, and the Theatre at Ace Hotel became mainstays for touring bands and DJs. A 12-screen outpost of the Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse opened in the summer of 2019 in a revitalized shopping center on 7th Street. Downtown may not have reached 24/7 status, but it was on the way. Before the pandemic, says Suzanne Holley, president
and CEO of the DCBID, “We were at the peak with no end in sight. Things just kept getting better and better.” Even if the New York Times ranked downtown No. 5 on its “52 Places to Go in 2014,” the transformation was patchy. Staples Center and L.A. Live served as job generators and drew big crowds for games and concerts but felt detached from the lives of most residents. As the population increased, so did crime, especially vehicle break-ins. Chains such as Urban Outfitters and Ross opened on Broadway, but the bustling Oxy trade at 5th and Broadway continues to unsettle neighbors. A group of families opened a charter elementary school in 2013, aiming to serve the wave of affluent residents, but an inability to find a landlord willing to provide space for a permanent location resulted in it moving several times before closing in 2019. Even before the pandemic, one of downtown’s most noticeable projects stalled when its Chinese parent company encountered financial trouble. The weirdly named Oceanwide Plaza, a $1 billion development slated to include more than 500 condos, a Park Hyatt hotel, and commercial space, sits skeletal and unfinished overlooking Staples Center. Then there is José Huizar, the disgraced former city councilman who stands accused of racketeering and operating a pay-to-play ring that feasted on the downtown real estate community. Federal prosecutors allege that developers directed cash or campaign donations to Huizar and his wife, Richelle, and in exchange received help greenlighting their projects. After Huizar’s home and offices were raided by the FBI in November 2018, he was politically neutered, leaving downtown without a City Hall champion for almost two years until his replacement, Kevin de León, was sworn in last October. Still, downtown’s greatest challenge remains its longest running. Homelessness has been part of downtown’s fabric for decades, and, in the absence of a coherent city policy to quell it, the area has improvised around it. While the 50-block Skid Row is rife with abject poverty and tents that swallow entire sidewalks, neighborhood advocates who sweep the streets, house, feed, and otherwise aid people without resources, kept the situation from spinning completely out of control. Until, that is, COVID shattered that network and exposed the consistent failures by city leaders. Though mayors including Garcetti and Villaraigosa launched campaigns to get people off the streets (Garcetti directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward the effort), Los Angeles has gone in the wrong direction. The 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count tallied more than 66,000 people experiencing homelessness, up 12.7 percent over the previous year. The health-care and economic crises, combined with underinvestment in emergency shelters and temporary housing, has resulted in what Union Rescue Mission’s Bales labels an “imperfect storm. As hard as it is to believe, it has absolutely never been worse than it is right now,” he tells me.
“There are more people on the streets of Skid Row and downtown than there have ever been, and there have never been fewer places for people to go and stay safely.” It is uncertain what happens next, but anger and worry in the community remain widespread. As do the tents.
O W N T O W N ’ S C U R R E N T C A S C A D E of challenges include how it is perceived. The arrival of upscale residences and bars serving $15-a-shot small-batch bourbon, and the tenants they attract, is cited by some as the cause of widespread displacement of poverty-stricken inhabitants. That’s not quite accurate. Yes, some longtime residents of the Arts District left as rents spiked, and housing activists point to the protracted battles necessary to preserve affordable units in places such as the Bristol and Alexandria hotels. But the overwhelming majority of new market-rate apartment and condominium projects rose on former parking lots, or filled office buildings that sat empty for decades. Some pigeons and rats might have been forced out, but long-term covenants usually protected the residential base of low-income properties. Critics tend to overlook the newly commissioned buildings that house homeless individuals, (CONTINUED ON PAGE 114) L A M AG . C O M 57
Photographer Stuart Palley has spent his career shooting disasters like fires and earthquakes. This one was different: it was invisible
STAND STILL T E X T BY T R I S H D E I TC H
P H OTO G RA P H S BY ST UA RT PA L L E Y
T
HE FIRST TIME 32-year-old Stuart Palley photo-
graphed the aftermath of a disaster was when he was 16 and in Thailand just a few months after the 2004 tsunami washed away 228,000 souls. Having been in and out of hospitals with asthma as a boy, Palley was familiar with trauma, and he found that he had the stomach for it—at first shooting wildfires when he was an intern at the Orange County Register and over time making a living chronicling climate-change-
related fires and droughts: big, loud, sudden, colorful, terrible moments that change people’s lives forever. For the past eight years, his photos have appeared in Time, National Geographic, and the Washington Post. “A friend wrote me recently and said, ‘You do your best
work when things are at their worst,’ says Palley on his way
INTERCHANGE Z The 110 and 105 interchange stack is empty of traffic during rush hour on Friday, April 3, 2020. The lockdown led to a dearth of vehicles in one of the otherwise most-congested metro regions in the world. Whatever cars were on the road belonged to essential workers. “With downtown virtually at a standstill, “ Palley says, “the Harbor Freeway had no southbound traffic. It blew my mind.”
to Joshua Tree where he’s fixing up a house. “I don’t know if that’s true, but a lot of my work revolves around things that are a suspension of society—whether that’s a fire or drought or, in this case, an effect of a pandemic.” Palley grew up in Newport Beach, and he calls California “the home of the freeway,” and so it makes sense that just a few days after the lockdown went into effect in March, he chartered a helicopter to fly over the
roadways and mall parking lots in Orange County and L.A., his once-frenetic old haunts that were, for the first time, empty and still. “I was documenting this uncertain point in time,” says Palley. “There was a lot of well-founded fear and a lot of not knowing what was going to happen. This pandemic has changed the world; we’re never going back to what it used to be like. I think a lot of us have been wrestling with this. We are creatures of habit, and it can be challenging.” 6 0 L A M AG . C O M
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK
Z Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park were shut down on March 14, 2020. The park employed 32,000 people before the pandemic. After the lockdown, 11,500 employees were laid off—almost 40 percent of the staff. Maybe because it was so deserted, Palley was able to get this unusual shot from the sky. “Disneyland has a permanent flight restriction over it—you can’t fly over it. So there were a lot of things that came together that day that will probably never happen again.”
LONG BEACH HARBOR Z Oil tankers anchored offshore at the Port of Los Angeles on April 24, 2020. Due to widespread stay-at-home orders, crude-oil spot prices collapsed, leading to a glut of supply with no buyers. “At the end of March and April in Cushing, Oklahoma, where oil is sold, demand was so nonexistent that producers and distributors were paying people to take the oil away,” says Palley. The tankers moored offshore in the Port of Los Angeles collectively held millions of barrels of unwanted oil. Now, though, almost a year later, the price of oil is at a new record high.
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MOJAVE DESERT Z Hundreds of aircraft were hastily stored at Southern California Logistics Airport near Victorville on March 26, 2020. “As the majority of flights from LAX and regional airports were canceled, there was not enough space to store hundreds of planes on runways,” Palley says, “including the old air frames and the previously grounded 737-MAX.”
HOLLYWOOD
Z The corner of Hollywood and Highland around 6 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2020. “An intersection normally packed with cars and pedestrians, it was an eerie sight, likely not seen since the blackouts of World War II or when the 1918 influenza pandemic swept the region,” says Palley. “As I looked west along Sunset and Wilshire, the scene was much the same as the sun set on empty streets and sidewalks, adding an air of unease and uncertainty at the new future we all face.”
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DOWNTOWN L.A. Z Dozens of school buses in a parking lot southeast of downtown Los Angeles grounded after the COVID pandemic slammed into the Southland. “This image, taken at sunset in early April 2020, was at the height of lockdown when people were terrified of the virus running unchecked through vulnerable populations,” Palley says. There are 24,201 school buses in California, most of which were parked during the lockdown. Across the U.S., schoolbus sales decreased by 20 percent last year compared to 2019.
PORT OF LONG BEACH Z Thousands of shipping containers awaited offloading to semis and rail cars for transport to markets across the United States in late-April 2020. At the same time, COVID infections among port workers and truck drivers, increased demand for goods and raw materials from overseas, and other workplace operational restrictions, led to product shipping delays across the board, from microchips to raw metals to household goods like canned soup, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper.
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NEWPORT BEACH Z A fisherman walked along the sand on the Balboa peninsula in Newport Beach in late March 2020. The beaches were open at the beginning of the lockdown, but then closed. At that time, demonstrators etched “FUCK NEWSOM” into the sand along the redleaning city. “Nearby Huntington Beach was the site of anti-lockdown protests,” Palley remembers, “where demonstrators became violent, attacking members of the media.”
FASHION ISLAND
Z Parking spots at the high-end Fashion Island outdoor mall in Newport Beach in late March 2020 stood completely deserted. “Most retail stores were closed,” Palley says, “with the exception of Whole Foods and restaurants that served takeout. The mall was empty except for security guards and a few families going for walks. Fashion Island normally attracts 16 million people a year, many from China. Following the border closings in late January, tourism from China has dropped precipitously.
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*P[` VM /VWL»Z YLW\[H[PVU MVY ZJPLU[PÄ J L_JLSSLUJL Z[LTZ MYVT P[Z KL[LYTPUH[PVU [V HNNYLZZP]LS` W\YZ\L UL^ SPULZ VM PUX\PY` 5\TLYV\Z IYLHR[OYV\NO JHUJLY KY\NZ PUJS\KPUN /LYJLW[PU ,YIP[\_ 9P[\_HU HUK Avastin, are based on technology pioneered by City of Hope and are saving lives worldwide. More than ever, our patients need assurance and safe access to lifesaving cancer care. City of Hope is a leader in treatment, research and outreach and has the highest standards for infection prevention and control. City of Hope was a pioneer in bone marrow and stem cell transplants—and our program is now one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the United States, with more than 16,000 transplants performed to date. City of Hope continues to be at the forefront of a powerful form of immunotherapy known as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Using this approach, immune cells are taken from a person’s bloodstream, then reintroduced into the patient’s system, where they get to work destroying targeted tumor cells.
Honors and Accomplishments City of Hope’s infrastructure and collaborative energy set it apart. By having scientists, physicians and manufacturing facilities all on the same campus, treatment advances can travel from laboratory to patient with lifesaving speed.
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CIT Y OF WON’T BACK DOWN
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At City of Hope, our unique expertise in infection prevention and control makes us one of the safest places to be if you have cancer today. As one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the country, we have decades of experience treating patients with compromised immune systems. So in these challenging mbf^l% rhn \Zg \hg_b]^gmer \hgmbgn^ pbma ma^ \Zk^ rhn g^^]' :g] p^ ee \hgmbgn^ hnk fbllbhg mh \k^Zm^ Z phke] without cancer. Discover more at CityofHope.org
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2 0 2 1 F I N E S T H O S P I TA L S OF LOS ANGELES
KECK MEDICINE OF USC 1500 San Pablo Street Los Angeles, CA 90033 (800) USC-CARE (800) 872-2273 KeckMedicine.org
Profile
Innovations and Breakthroughs
We are Keck Medicine of USC, where we take on the toughest cases. Last year, we ranked among the top 20 hospitals in the nation for the second time in a row.
At Keck Medicine, we are committed to the relentless pursuit of discovering breakthrough treatments and bringing our world-class research from the laboratory to the bedside — all while training the next generation of medical experts in collaboration with Keck School of Medicine of USC.
We combine world-renowned expertise with an unwavering passion to heal at Keck Hospital of USC, USC Norris Cancer Hospital, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, and more than 80 outpatient locations throughout Southern California.
With 25 research-oriented basic and clinical academic programs, with multidisciplinary access to USC’s schools of business, communications, engineering, gerontology, HUK SPML ZJPLUJLZ ^L H[[YHJ[ [VW ZJPLU[PÄJ HUK biotechnology researchers from around the globe. Among our innovations: 2LJR 4LKPJPUL Z\YNLVUZ HYL \ZPUN TPUPTHSS` invasive robotic surgical techniques for complex procedures, such as prostate cancer, kidney cancer, gynecologic cancer, brain surgery, and joint replacements. Researchers are testing new ways to leverage HY[PÄJPHS PU[LSSPNLUJL IPN KH[H HUK THJOPUL learning to optimize surgical techniques and automate cancer-risk screenings.
74 L A M AG . C O M
:VTL VM V\Y IYLHR[OYV\NOZ ^LYL KLÄULK I` the COVID-19 pandemic. Research We are participating in multiple COVID-19 treatment clinical trials, as part of the AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford vaccine trials. We also launched a COVID-19 Recovery Clinic to study patients whose COVID-19 symptoms linger. Telemedicine As soon as the pandemic hit, we rolled out a comprehensive telehealth program allowing patients to schedule virtual visits when visiting in-person was not an option.
Honors and Accomplishments Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, was ranked among the top 20 hospitals nationwide on U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 Best Hospitals Honor Roll. The academic medical center also was ranked among the top three hospitals in Los Angeles HUK [VW Ä]L PU *HSPMVYUPH
WE TAKE ON THE TOUGHEST CASES and safely provide care that’s right for you Your safety is our top priority. In-person or via telehealth, Keck Medicine of USC offers safe and compassionate health care for you and your family. From routine procedures to the most complex cases, our doctors and health care team deliver the best possible outcomes.
(800) USC-CARE KeckMedicine.org
© 2021 Keck Medicine of USC
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2 0 2 1 F I N E S T H O S P I TA L S OF LOS ANGELES
UCLA HEALTH (800) UCLA-MD1 (800) 825-2631 uclahealth.org
Profile For more than 60 years, UCLA Health has provided the best in health care and the latest in medical technology to the people of Los Angeles and throughout the world. Our four hospitals on two Southern California campuses include Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, and Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric /VZWP[HS H[ <*3( 0U HKKP[PVU ^L Vќ LY HU HYYH` of primary and specialty services at more than 200 clinics throughout Southern California.
;OL +H]PK .Lќ LU :JOVVS VM 4LKPJPUL H[ <*3( has grown into an internationally recognized leader in research, medical education, patient care, and public service.
Innovations and Breakthroughs UCLA Health has long been a leader in innovative health care delivery. Early research at UCLA was integral to the development of imaging systems such as CT scans and PET scans. UCLA faculty developed the tissuematching test that makes organ transplants possible, as well as a breakthrough treatment for brain aneurysms. Our scientists have developed new, life-saving targeted treatments for cancers such as breast cancer and 7 6 L A M AG . C O M
TLSHUVTH HZ ^LSS HZ [OL Ä YZ[ -+( HWWYV]LK CAR-T cell therapy. The leading-edge research on our campus has been awarded the top prizes in medicine, including the Nobel Prize and the National Medal of Science.
Honors and Accomplishments <*3( /LHS[O YHURZ PU 3VZ (UNLSLZ PU *HSPMVYUPH HUK PU [OL UH[PVU HJJVYKPUN to U.S. News & World Report’s survey of “America’s Best Hospitals.” 9VUHSK 9LHNHU <*3( 4LKPJHS *LU[LY HUK UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center have received the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition, the highest honor for excellence in nursing.
in California. And top 4 in the nation.
#1 in Los Angeles, #4 in the nation, U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals.
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L.A. FEATURED
PHYSICIANS Anna Guanche, MD Kaiser Permanete Lasika Seneviratne, MD Isabelle Soh, MD, MPH Southern California Reproductive Center (Hal C. Danzer, MD | Mark Surrey, MD | Carolyn Alexander, MD | Shahin Ghadir, MD | Wendy Y. Chang, MD | Lina Akopians, MD)
Stephanie Tran, MD Suhas Tuli, MD Amir Vokshoor, MD, FAANS John G. Wilcox, MD, FACOG Wound Institute of America and Under Pressure Hyperbarics (Som Kohanzadeh, MD | David A. Pougatsch, DPM | Nicole Garrett, CHT) L A M AG . C O M 79
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WOUND INSTITUTE OF AMERICA AND UNDER PRESSURE HYPERBARICS Wound Care and Reconstructive Surgery +PHIL[PJ MVV[ \SJLYZ =LUV\Z SLN ^V\UKZ (Y[LYPHS \SJLYZ 7YLZZ\YL ZVYLZ *OHYJV[ MVV[ KLMVYTP[` ;YH\TH ^V\UKZ 3HJLYH[PVUZ HUK ZRPU [LHYZ :RPU NYHM[PUN ÅHWZ
9HKPH[PVU PUQ\YPLZ /PKYHKLUP[PZ 7PSVUPKHS J`Z[Z /HUK HUK ^YPZ[ PUQ\YPLZ Cancer Resection and Reconstruction :RPU JHUJLY )YLHZ[ JHUJLY *VSVYLJ[HS JHUJLY
>V\UK 0UZ[P[\[L VM (TLYPJH HUK <UKLY 7YLZZ\YL /`WLYIHYPJZ ^LYL MV\UKLK I` +Y :VT 2VOHUaHKLO HUK +Y +H]PK ( 7V\NH[ZJO [^V PU[LYUH[PVUHSS` YLJVNUPaLK ^V\UK JHYL HUK YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L Z\YNLVUZ ^P[O [OL W\YWVZL VM WYV]PKPUN HK]HUJLK ^V\UK JHYL PU [OL .YLH[LY 3VZ (UNLSLZ HYLH >L \ZL HK]HUJLK IPVSVNPJHS [PZZ\LZ L_WLY[ Z\YNPJHS [LJOUPX\LZ HSVUN ^P[O O`WLYIHYPJ V_`NLU [OLYHW` /)6; [V OLHS [OL TVZ[ KPѝJ\S[ ^V\UKZ MYVT OLHK [V [VL PU [OL TVZ[ LѝJPLU[ THUULY \ZPUN J\[[PUN LKNL TLKPJHS HK]HUJLTLU[Z
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Cosmetic Procedures )YLHZ[ H\NTLU[H[PVU HUK SPM[ -HJL ULJR SPM[ 4VTT` THRLV]LY ;\TT` [\JR )YHaPSPHU I\[[ SPM[ 3PWVZ\J[PVU HUK IVK` JVU[V\YPUN -H[ NYHM[PUN 5VUZ\YNPJHS YLQ\]LUH[PVU
250 N. Robertson Blvd. Suite 106 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310.919.4179 woundinstitute.com underpressure.com drsom.com
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Our Team Som Kohanzadeh, MD, is a KV\ISL IVHYK JLY[PÄ LK WSHZ[PJ HUK YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L Z\YNLVU HUK NLULYHS Z\YNLVU ZWLJPHSPaPUN PU YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L HUK HLZ[OL[PJ WYVJLK\YLZ [OYV\NOV\[ [OL IVK` /L OHZ KL]V[LK OPTZLSM [V [OL [YLH[TLU[ VM JHUJLY HUK YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L Z\YNLY` ^P[O H WHY[PJ\SHY MVJ\Z VU IYLHZ[ +Y :VT JVTWSL[LK OPZ [YHPUPUN PU NLULYHS Z\YNLY` H[ *LKHYZ :PUHP 4LKPJHS *LU[LY PU 3VZ (UNLSLZ HUK OPZ MLSSV^ZOPW PU WSHZ[PJ HUK YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L Z\YNLY` H[ [OL <UP]LYZP[` VM (SHIHTH H[ )PYTPUNOHT /L PZ H UH[P]L VM :V\[OLYU *HSPMVYUPH HUK PZ WYV\K [V JVTIPUL [OL HY[ VM WSHZ[PJ Z\YNLY` ^P[O TVKLYU HK]HUJLTLU[Z VM ZJPLUJL HUK [LJOUVSVN` (KKP[PVUHSS` +Y :VT HUK OPZ [LHT WYV]PKL M\SS JVZTL[PJ ZLY]PJLZ PUJS\KPUN UVUZ\YNPJHS [YLH[TLU[Z Z\JO HZ 0= HUK Z[LT JLSS [OLYHW` [V TVYL L_[LUZP]L TVTT` THRLV]LYZ HSVUN ^P[O IVK` JVU[V\YPUN HUK )YHaPSPHU I\[[ SPM[Z
David A. Pougatsch, DPM is IVHYK JLY[PÄ LK I` [OL (TLYPJHU )VHYK VM 7VKPH[YPJ 4LKPJPUL ^P[O HU HKKLK X\HSPÄ JH[PVU PU ^V\UK JHYL HUK HTW\[H[PVU WYL]LU[PVU /L JVTWSL[LK OPZ WVKPH[YPJ Z\YNPJHS YLZPKLUJ` H[ *LKHYZ :PUHP 4LKPJHS *LU[LY HUK H MLSSV^ZOPW PU HK]HUJLK ^V\UK JHYL SPTI ZHS]HNL HUK MVV[ HUK HURSL YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L Z\YNLY` H[ >LZ[LYU <UP]LYZP[` VM /LHS[O :JPLUJLZ +Y 7V\NH[ZJO PZ H MVYLTVZ[ L_WLY[ PU [YLH[PUN ^V\UKZ K\L [V KPHIL[LZ ]LUV\Z KPZLHZL SLN Z^LSSPUN HY[LYPHS KPZLHZL SHJR VM JPYJ\SH[PVU HUK [YH\TH[PJ HUK WYLZZ\YL PUQ\YPLZ HZ ^LSS HZ JVTWSL_ MVV[ HUK HURSL YLJVUZ[Y\J[P]L Z\YNLY` 6YPNPUHSS` MYVT 3VZ (UNLSLZ ¸+Y 7¹ PZ WYV\K [V [HRL JHYL VM [OL :V\[OLYU *HSPMVYUPH JVTT\UP[` HUK IL`VUK I` OLHSPUN JVTWSL_ ^V\UKZ PU H KPѝ J\S[ WH[PLU[ WVW\SH[PVU
Nicole Garrett, CHT OHZ H IHJRNYV\UK PU JVTTLYJPHS KP]PUN HUK KP]L TLKPJPUL (Z H MVYTLY KP]LY TLKPJ 5PJVSL PZ H JLY[PÄ LK O`WLYIHYPJ [LJOUPJPHU */; ^OV Z[HY[LK OLY JHYLLY VWLYH[PUN <* :HU +PLNV»Z O`WLYIHYPJ JOHTILYZ [YLH[PUN L]LY`[OPUN MYVT JY\ZO PUQ\YPLZ HUK KLJVTWYLZZPVU PSSULZZ [V KPHIL[PJ ^V\UKZ HUK Lќ LJ[Z VM YHKPH[PVU MVY JHUJLY [YLH[TLU[Z :OL [OLU ^LU[ VU [V WHY[PJPWH[L PU [OL SHYNL [YH\TH[PJ IYHPU PUQ\Y` Z[\K` MVY [OL <: +LWHY[TLU[ VM +LMLUZL 6]LY OLY JHYLLY ZOL OHZ HZZPZ[LK PU VWLUPUN ZL]LYHS O\UKYLK OVZWP[HS IHZLK O`WLYIHYPJ MHJPSP[PLZ HJYVZZ [OL JV\U[Y` HSVUN ^P[O [OL PUZ[HSSH[PVU HUK THPU[LUHUJL VM [OLPY O`WLYIHYPJ JOHTILYZ 5PJVSL [LHJOLZ [OL <UKLY^H[LY HUK /`WLYIHYPJ 4LKPJHS :VJPL[`»Z IVHYK JLY[PÄ LK [YHPUPUN JV\YZL MVY [OL WO`ZPJPHUZ HUK Z[Hќ HUK PZ OPNOS` YLNHYKLK PU OLY Ä LSK HUK MYLX\LU[S` JHSSLK \WVU MVY JVUZ\S[PUN H[ JLU[LYZ HJYVZZ [OL JV\U[` HUK ^VYSK^PKL
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ANNA GUANCHE, MD
Dermatology
Dr. Anna Guanche PZ H IVHYK JLY[PÄ LK dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon specializing in cosmetic procedures that have minimal downtime and excellent results. In practice for 17 years and founder of Bella Skin Institute in Calabasas, she cares for all types of skin conditions, with a special emphasis in the areas of cosmetic dermatology and laser surgery. She teaches and mentors residents and medical students. She was a member of the dermatology [LHJOPUN Z[Hќ H[ <*3( 4LKPJHS *LU[LY MVY 13 years. Dr. Guanche is a perfectionist who strives to listen and understand the patient’s ZWLJPÄ J NVHSZ HUK JVUJLYUZ HUK WYV]PKL them with positive results. Dr. Guanche has performed more than 30,000 injectable procedures. She can literally sculpt a face with her needle, using injectables. Dr. Guanche and her Derm Dream Team approach their work with absolute joy and enthusiasm. Follow Dr. Guanche @annaguanchemd on Instagram to view her portfolio of procedures.
Bella Skin Institute 23622 Calabasas Road, Suite 339 Calabasas, CA 91302 ph 818.225.0117 fx 818.225.0127 bellaskininstitute.com
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KAISER PERMANENTE Generations of Southern Californians have counted on Kaiser Permanente to help them thrive in mind, body, and spirit. Our quality care is delivered by more than 8,000 physicians who practice Permanente Medicine®—ethical medicine that is patient-centered, evidence-based, culturally responsive, team-delivered, technologyenabled, and physician-led.
We’re proud of the exceptional physicians who were chosen for their excellence as Los Angeles’ Top Doctors. And we’d like to thank them—along with Kaiser Permanente’s outstanding care teams—for caring for our patients and our communities throughout one of the most challenging times in our community’s history with compassion, humanity, dignity, courage, and respect.
For more information, go to kp.org.
L A M AG . C O M 83
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LASIKA SENEVIRATNE, MD
Hematology and Medical Oncology
Dr. Lasika Seneviratne is a medical doctor ^OV PZ IVHYK JLY[PÄLK PU PU[LYUHS TLKPJPUL OLTH[VSVN` HUK TLKPJHS VUJVSVN` ZLY]PUN [OL NYLH[LY 3VZ (UNLSLZ HYLH /L J\YYLU[S` ^VYRZ ^P[O ;OL 3VZ (UNLSLZ *HUJLY 5L[^VYR H WYLZ[PNPV\Z WYP]H[L TLKPJHS VUJVSVN` WYHJ[PJL PU :V\[OLYU *HSPMVYUPH (SVUN ^P[O [OL Z\WWVY[ VM H KLKPJH[LK [LHT VM KVJ[VYZ U\YZL WYHJ[P[PVULYZ HUK U\YZLZ +Y :LUL]PYH[UL OHZ ZLY]LK [OL NYLH[LY 3VZ (UNLSLZ JVTT\UP[` MVY V]LY `LHYZ /PZ SPML»Z WHZZPVU PZ UV[ VUS` [V JHYL MVY OPZ WH[PLU[Z ^OV ULLK JHUJLY [OLYHW` UV^ I\[ HSZV [V IYPUN J\[[PUN LKNL [OLYHWPLZ VM [OL M\[\YL I` WHY[PJPWH[PUN PU JHUJLY JSPUPJHS [YPHSZ YLZLHYJO ;OPZ HќVYKZ OPZ WH[PLU[Z HJJLZZ [V WYVTPZPUN [OLYHWPLZ ^LSS ILMVYL [OL` HYL H]HPSHISL [V NLULYHS WO`ZPJPHUZ 0U HU LYH ^OLYL [OLYL PZ H WHYHKPNT ZOPM[ PU [OL ^H` JHUJLY [YLH[TLU[ PZ HKTPUPZ[LYLK ^P[O WLYZVUHSPaLK [OLYHWPLZ [V Z\P[ [OL PUKP]PK\HS ULLKZ VM WH[PLU[Z WHY[PJPWH[PVU PU Z\JO JSPUPJHS [YPHSZ PZ WP]V[HS +Y :LUL]PYH[UL [Y\S` ILSPL]LZ [OH[ [OL OHSSTHYR VM JHUJLY YLZLHYJO PZ [OL OVWL HUK JVUÄKLUJL KPZJV]LYPLZ HUK TLKPJHS PUUV]H[PVU IYPUN [V JHUJLY WH[PLU[Z ;OPZ JV\U[LYHJ[Z [OL MLHY HUK HU_PL[` [OH[ H JHUJLY KPHNUVZPZ Z[PSS IYPUNZ [V ZV THU` +Y :LUL]PYH[UL OHZ ZLY]LK HZ WYPUJPWHS PU]LZ[PNH[VY VU THU` JSPUPJHS [YPHSZ PU [OL SHZ[ `LHYZ HUK OHZ OHK [OL WYP]PSLNL VM ^P[ULZZPUN ZVTL VM [OVZL [YPHSZ SLHK [V [OL HWWYV]HS VM UL^ KY\NZ ;OPZ PZ ^OH[ KYP]LZ OPT [V JVU[PU\L OPZ JSPUPJHS WYHJ[PJL HUK JHUJLY YLZLHYJO >P[O [OL TVZ[ L_JP[PUN TLKPJHS PUUV]H[PVUZ OHWWLUPUN PU JHUJLY JHYL +Y :LUL]PYH[UL»Z TPZZPVU PZ [V JVU[PU\L [V I\PSK \WVU ;OL 3VZ (UNLSLZ *HUJLY 5L[^VYR»Z SLNHJ` VM X\HSP[` OLHS[O JHYL PU OPZ JVTT\UP[` HUK [V WYV]PKL WH[PLU[Z ^P[O JVTWHZZPVUH[L PUKP]PK\HSPaLK [YLH[TLU[ \ZPUN [OL TVZ[ YLJLU[ WYV]LU HK]HUJLZ PU JHUJLY JHYL 84 L A M AG . C O M
The Los Angeles Cancer Network 1245 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 303 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213.977.1214 lacancer.net
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ISABELLE SOH, MD, MPH Primary Care
Dr Isabelle Soh is one of the leading primary care physicians in Beverly Hills and [OL NYLH[LY 3VZ (UNLSLZ HYLH :PUJL ÄUPZOPUN her residency through the UC Davis Family Medicine Network in 2015, Dr. Soh has been practicing at Cedars Sinai—one of the top hospitals and health systems in the United States. She is one of the Tier 1 Leads of the Primary Care Department, which is the equivalent of chief of the department. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Dr. Soh is fondly known as a modern-day Doogie Howser. She was accelerated two years during primary school and graduated high school with numerous accolades, PUJS\KPUN NL[[PUN ÄYZ[ WSHJL OPNOLZ[ ZJVYL in biology and being awarded a prize from the Australian government for being among the top students in the country. She then went straight to medical school at the tender age of 16 and completed a six-year undergraduate program at the prestigious University of New South Wales. Dr. Soh combines her keen intellect with a deep love and care for her patients. She strives to make a true connection and establish an ongoing therapeutic relationship focused on helping each and every patient achieve the best health that they can. She also makes herself readily available via online patient messaging and telehealth visits to meet patients where they are, and improve access and convenience. She teaches internal medicine residents outpatient medicine and is a Clinical Assistant Professor. Her focus is on women’s health, how to leverage telemedicine, and also how to prepare to practice after residency. She weaves in pearls about operations, billing, and ^VYRPUN ^P[O KPќLYLU[ OLHS[O WSHUZ PU[V OLY clinical teaching. Dr. Soh has a passion for public health, health policy, and improving the health care system, which led to her completing a Masters of Public Health at UCLA in 2020. Her excellent performance resulted in Dr. Soh’s induction into Upsilon Phi Delta honor society, which is the national academic honor society for health care administration. She is a young and upcoming leader and is very actively involved in health care operations and committees and is also on the Board of Directors for Cedars Sinai Medical Group.
Cedars Sinai Medical Group 8767 Wilshire Boulevard, Floor 3 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310.248.7077 sohmd.com L A M AG . C O M 85
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER Fertility
For more than 25 years, SCRC has been a leader in assisted reproductive technology and is recognized as one of the largest and most successful IVF facilities in the country. With a renowned team of IVHYK JLY[PÄ LK YLWYVK\J[P]L ZWLJPHSPZ[Z HUK Z[H[L VM [OL HY[ MHJPSP[PLZ V\Y WYHJ[PJL Vќ LYZ HU \UWHYHSSLSLK combination of expert care and advanced biomedical technology, giving our patients the best chances for success in building a family. Our onsite IVF lab is considered the region’s most advanced for producing healthy embryos, and we’re proud to have more than 20,000 live births and counting. Our laboratory is overseen by an VU ZP[L 7O+ ^OV PZ H 5H[PVUHSS` )VHYK *LY[PÄ LK High Complexity Laboratory Director. We utilize the most innovative technologies in reproductive science. The integration of our Embryoscope (time-lapse imaging) has allowed a narrower selection of optimal embryos, leading to the highest success rates when implanting a single embryo. Additional advancements in genetic testing (using next generation sequencing) have allowed us to accurately diagnose embryos. As a result, we can transfer genetically healthy embryos, giving our patients the highest opportunity for a successful, full-term, normal pregnancy. The joy of parenthood is something many people look forward to in their lives. The reality is that many individuals and couples face fertility challenges and need assistance in building the family of their dreams. Finding the right fertility center and reproductive specialists to help guide you through this process is critical. We treat every patient with respect and compassion. We know that seeking fertility treatment is among the most important and life-altering decisions you will THRL HUK V\Y Ä YZ[ WYPVYP[` PZ [V LUZ\YL `V\Y ULLKZ are met throughout your journey. Our physicians take the time to build a strong relationship with each of their patients and create treatment plans that meet [OLPY ZWLJPÄ J ULLKZ HUK JVUJLYUZ 0U HKKP[PVU V\Y lab and surgery center are both onsite, allowing for a patient experience that is as seamless and convenient as possible. At SCRC, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the gift of parenthood. Our practice is proudly inclusive and supports a diverse patient population. 86 L A M AG . C O M
L-R back: Dr. Alin Lina Akopians, Dr. Carolyn Alexander, Dr. Shahin Ghadir, Dr. Wendy Chang L-R front: Dr. Mark Surrey, Dr. Hal Danzer
Connect with us on Instagram Hal Danzer @DrHalDanzer Mark Surrey @DrMarkSurrey Carolyn Alexander @bheggfreezeMD
Shahin Ghadir Wendy Chang Lina Akopians
@DrShahinGhadir @BHFertilityMD @drlinaakopians
Southern California Reproductive Center scrcivf.com 450 North Roxbury Drive, Suite 500 Beverly Hills, CA 90210 877.735.1182
625 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 125 Pasadena, CA 91105 626.345.7260
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SUHAS TULI, MD
Cornea, Cataract & Refractive Surgery
Dr. Suhas Tuli PZ H IVHYK JLY[PÄ LK ophthalmologist fellowship trained in corneal and refractive surgery. She specializes in LASIK surgery, small incision no-stitch cataract surgery with advanced technology intraocular lenses, astigmatism management, and corneal transplant surgery including Descemets Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK). Dr. Tuli performs all types of ocular surface reconstruction, including pterygium excisions, and performs full thickness corneal transplants such as PKP. She is experienced in medical and surgical Glaucoma treatment, and performs interventional Glaucoma surgeries including Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) and Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS). Dr. Tuli has extensive experience diagnosing and treating PUMLJ[PV\Z HUK PUÅ HTTH[VY` JVUKP[PVUZ VM [OL cornea, conjunctiva and sclera, as well as managing posterior vitreous detachment and other retinal diseases. Dr. Tuli completed a fellowship in corneal and refractive surgery at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Following her ophthalmology residency, she completed a second fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California. Dr. Tuli has served as the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Providence St Joseph, and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. She enjoys speaking at ophthalmology conferences, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed ophthalmology journals. In her spare time, she likes to dance, and enjoys gardening and cooking with her husband and daughter.
Tuli Eye Care Center 2601 West Alameda Avenue, Suite 206 Burbank, CA 91505 818.845.2015 TuliEye.com L A M AG . C O M 87
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JOHN G. WILCOX, MD, FACOG Fertility
Dr. John Wilcox PZ H KV\ISL IVHYK JLY[PÄLK USC-trained reproductive endocrinologist who has been in practice since 1994. Treating patients from around the world, Dr. Wilcox is recognized for his excellence and meticulous approach, providing high WYLNUHUJ` YH[LZ (Z HU PUÅ\LU[PHS WO`ZPJPHU at HRC Fertility, he has been instrumental in continually advancing IVF laboratory protocols, genetic testing technologies and equipment. Recently, the center relocated to provide the ultimate in care with expanded patient-focused space, improved in-house services and a new state-of-the-art lab creating one of the top IVF Laboratories in the United States. Patients appreciate Dr. Wilcox’s honest and candid approach with recommended treatment plans and in educating patients so they have a complete understanding of both outcomes and realistic expectations. A close partnership between patient, physician, and clinical team are essential. “It is deeply satisfying to help patients achieve their goals and dreams of having a baby and creating a family. It never gets old. This is the most satisfying career and the gratitude shown by patients continues to drive me to be my best.” Dr. Wilcox is originally from the San Diego area. He is married and has three children. When not seeing patients, Dr. Wilcox enjoys traveling, is a collector of French wines, HUK PZ H KLKPJH[LK HUK KPZJPWSPULK Ä[ULZZ enthusiast. Many women are unaware that their fertility begins declining at the age of 27. If you are under 35 and have been trying to get pregnant for over a year without success, or if you’re over 35 and have been trying unsuccessfully for 6 months, it’s time to see a fertility specialist. Additionally, egg freezing and embryo freezing are two avenues to look into for fertility preservation until the perfect time to begin a family arrives. 88 L A M AG . C O M
Wilcox Fertility 55 South Lake Avenue, Suite 900 Pasadena, CA 91101 626.657.9327 wilcoxfertility.com
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STEPHANIE TRAN, MD -HTPS` 4LKPJPUL /0= .LUKLY (ɉYTPUN *HYL
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AMIR VOKSHOOR, MD, FAANS 5L\YVZ\YNLY`
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L A M AG . C O M 89
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L .A .’S TOP DOCTORS
2021
SEE LIST T H E FO L I O S O C I E T Y E D I T I O N O F T H E G O D FAT H E R © R O B E R T C A R T E R 2 0 2 0 ; WWW. FO L I O S O C I E T Y.CO M
P. 92-105
C H O O S I N G A D O C T O R is about as much fun as, well, visting one. With more than 31,000 licensed physicians in Los Angeles alone, even that task can be daunting. Our annual Top Doctors list trims the fat, so to speak. We understand that a guide like this is only as good as its curators, so given the enormity of the task, we relied on a firm that specializes in the process—in this case, Troy, Michigan’s Professional Research Services—to conduct a peer-to-peer survey. Over the past year, it asked practicing physicians throughout Los Angeles County to identify the doctors they consider to
be at the peak of their profession. The process isn’t scientific, but it is logical: the idea is to tap into the wisdom of professionals who know medicine and the people working within it. The names of those who received the most nominations were cross-checked with the California Medical Board’s license profile database and the Department of Consumer Affairs to look for any major complaints or infractions, and we contacted their individual practices as well. Only a fraction of the nominees made the roster, which is organized by specialty below. Examine our list in good health. L A M AG . C O M 91
TOP DOCS 2021
ADDICTION MEDICINE Itai Danovitch Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-2600 Keith Heinzerling Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7640
Melinda Braskett Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2501 Reyneiro Castro Huntington Asthma & Allergy Center, Pasadena, 626-793-6680 Joseph Church Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2501 Jonathan Corren West L.A., 310-312-5050 Marine Demirjian Allergy and Asthma Treatment Center, Glendale, 818-600-4503
David D. Pinsky South Pasadena, 626-799-4151
Robert Eitches Tower Allergy, Beverly Grove, 310-657-4600
Matthew A. Torrington Culver City, 310-425-2472
Stuart Z. Epstein Beverly Hills, 310-274-6853
Alan Khadavi Allergy and Asthma Care of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, 310-282-8822 Marc J. Meth Century City Allergy, 310-438-5411
Johnathan L. Pregler UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-8694 Gary Scott Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2262
Stuart Y. Min Min Allergy & Asthma Center, Alhambra, 626-346-7653
Ava Chomee Yoon Kaiser Permanente, Downey, 833-574-2273
Peck Ong Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2501
BREAST SURGERY
Danica J. Schulte Southern California Allergy, Encino, 818-990-9155 Joseph Shapiro Allergy and Asthma Institute, Studio City, 818-769-5998 Raffi Tachdjian Santa Monica, 310-998-0060
Jennifer Baker UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2144 Alice P. Chung Cedars-Sinai, West Hollywood, 310-423-9331 Catherine M. Dang Cedars-Sinai, West Hollywood, 310-423-9331 Maggie L. Dinome UCLA Health, Westwood, 424-259-8791
Malcolm J. Wehrle Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, 626-397-2350
Flora A. Vardanian Allergy and Asthma Specialist Doctors, Pasadena, 626-792-2328
ADOLESCENT MEDICINE
Karl von Tiehl Bowtie Allergy Specialists, San Marino, 626-460-6038
Armando E. Giuliano Cedars-Sinai, West Hollywood, 310-423-9970
Michelle Yasharpour Beverly Hills, 424-625-4824
Dennis R. Holmes Santa Monica, 310-582-7100
Martin M. Anderson UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
JOANNA CHAN, MD
Marvin Belzer Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2153
CALIFORNIA SKIN INSTITUTE
Claudia Borzutzky Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2153
Dermatology
1127 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 600 Los Angeles 213-278-0021 caskin.com/ dr-chan-top-doc
ANESTHESIOLOGY Andrew J. Costandi Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2262
Johanna Olson-Kennedy Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2153
Kevin Farnam Adult and Children Allergy Asthma Center, Pasadena, 626-793-2246
Shahbaz Farnad Miracle Mile Medical Group, Mid Wilshire, 323-433-7744
Michele Roland Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2153
Ronald Ferdman Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2501
Viliam Furdik Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9600
Diane Tanaka Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2153
Maria I. Garcia-Lloret UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Edna Ma 90210 Surgery Medical Center, Beverly Hills, 310-651-2050
ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY Saraleen Benouni Allergy Asthma Care Center, Sawtelle, 310-393-1550 Varaz Bozoghlanian Allergy Asthma Care Center, Sawtelle, 310-393-1550 92 L A M AG . C O M
Brian K. Greenberg Pediatric Group of Southern California, Agoura Hills, 818-735-5555
David Mahjoubi Ketamine Healing Clinic of Los Angeles, Westwood, 424-278-4241
Sherwin R. Hariri Beverly Hills Allergy, 424-322-9712
Rebecca Margolis Children’s Hospital L.A., Los Angeles, 323-361-5591
Rita Kachru UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-481-4646
Marla Matar Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2262
Kristi Funk Pink Lotus Breast Center, Beverly Hills, 833-800-7522
City of Hope, South Pasadena, 877-998-7546 Stephen F. Sener USC Verdugo Hills, Boyle Heights, 323-865-9910 Jeannie Shen UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626 356-3167 Lesley Taylor City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Alicia M. Terando Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Christina H. Yeon City of Hope, South Pasadena, 877-998-7546
Kirk Chang Beverly Grove, 310-659-4026
Leigh C. Reardon UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9011 R. Fernando Roth Foothill Cardiology Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-793-4139
Azhil “Alex” Durairaj Foothill Cardiology Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-793-4139
Amir Solhpour Glendale Heart Institute, Glendale, 818-242-4191
Abbas Ardehali UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5841 Craig J. Baker Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Nimmi S. Kapoor Cedars-Sinai Valley Oncology Medical Group, Tarzana, 818-480-7269
Fernando Fleischman Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Katharine Schulz-Costello
Steven Burstein Keck Medicine of USC, Westlake, 800-USC-CARE
Andreas Mauer Southern California Heart Specialists, Pasadena, 626-793-1227
CARDIAC SURGERY
Fardad Esmailian Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-3851
Amy Polverini City of Hope, South Pasadena, 877-998-7546
Michael Broukhim Pacific Heart Institute, Santa Monica, 310-829-7678
Ray V. Matthews Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
Michael D. Share Cedars-Sinai Cardiology Medical Group, Beverly Grove, 310-248-8245
Neel R. Joshi Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-0289
Maria E. Nelson Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Arash Bereliani Beverly Hills Institute for Cardiology & Preventive Medicine, 310-550-8000
Nikhil Daga Foothill Cardiology Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-793-4139
Robbin G. Cohen Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
Amy M. Kusske UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 424-259-8791
Jamil A. Aboulhosn UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9011
Michelle Kittleson Cedars-Sinai California Heart Center, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8300
John H. Yim City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Veronica C. Jones City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Laura Kruper City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
CARDIOLOGY
Cynthia Herrington Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4148 Danny Ramzy Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-3851
Yaron Elad Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-248-8245 David Filsoof Beverly Hills Cardiovascular, 310-424-5750 Antreas Hindoyan Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE Hsin Yi Grace Huang Arcadia, 626 576-1800 Erika L. Jones Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3496 Sam Kalioundji Kal Heart Cardiovascular Specialists, Northridge, 818-477-2337
Richard J. Shemin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8232
Ronald P. Karlsberg Cardiovascular Medical Group of Southern California, Beverly Hills, 310-278-3400
Vaughn A. Starnes Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4148
Ilan Kedan Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3496
Alfredo Trento Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-3851
Raj Khandwalla Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3496
Mark K. Urman COR Medical Group, Beverly Grove, 310-659-0715 Cory A. Waldman Beverly Hills, 424-239-1499 Karol E. Watson UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-8811 Payam R. Yashar Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-556-2020 Kristal B. Y. Young Southern California Heart Specialists, Pasadena, 626-793-1227 Raymond Zimmer Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3496 COLON AND RECTAL SURGERY
Gabriel Akopian Pasadena, 626 788-4095 Moshe Barnajian Surgery Group L.A., Beverly Grove, 424-253-7342 Liza M. Capiendo Los Angeles Colon & Rectal Surgical Associates, Beverly Hills, 310-299-9080
Tracey R. Childs Providence Specialty Medical Group, Santa Monica, 310-829-8928 Kyle Graham Cologne Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Marjun Duldulao Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Zuri A. Murrell Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-854-3580
Scott S. Oh UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-8061
Youssef Nasseri Surgery Group L.A., Beverly Grove, 310-861-7493
Adupa Rao Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Joongho Shin Keck Medicine of USC, La Cañada Flintridge, 800-USC-CARE
Ayman Saad Huntington Pulmonary Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-486-0181 Curtis C. Sather Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, 626-304-4400
Eiman Firoozmand Los Angeles Colon & Rectal Surgical Associates, Beverly Hills, 310-273-2310 Phillip Fleshner Cedars-Sinai, West Hollywood, 310-289-9224 Gary H. Hoffman Los Angeles Colon & Rectal Surgical Associates, Beverly Hills, 310-273-2310 Christine Hsieh Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE Andreas M. Kaiser City of Hope, Duarte, 626 256-4673 Howard S. Kaufman Avalon Surgery Center, Glendale, 818-696-0091 Kevork Kazanjian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7788 Mary Kwaan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7788 Lily Lau Lai City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Sang W. Lee Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Tisha S. Wang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-8061 STEPHANIE TRAN, MD Family medicine
CEDARS SINAI MEDICAL GROUP 8767 Wilshire Blvd., Fl 2, Beverly Hills 310-423-4945 stephanietranmd.com IG @drstephanietran
Thomas P. Sokol California Colorectal Surgeons, Beverly Hills 310-854-3580 Robert Yavrouian Surgical Multispecialties Medical Group, Boyle Heights, 818-242-6828 Karen Zaghiyan West Hollywood, 310-289-9224 CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE AND PULMONARY DISEASE Joanne Bando UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-449-0939 Brooke Chandrasoma Huntington Pulmonary Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-486-0181
Anne Y. Lin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7788
Ching-Fei Chang Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
David Magner FACS, Beverly Hills, 310-421-4292
Stella Cohen UCLA Health, Encino, 818-461-8148
Kurt A. Melstrom City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Patricia H. Eshaghian UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-449-0939
Beth A. Moore California Colorectal Surgeons, Beverly Hills, 310-854-3580
Michael S. Levine Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8299
DERMATOLOGY Rachel Abuav Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300 Jennifer Ahdout Roxbury Institute, Beverly Hills, 424-394-1610 Ohara Aivaz Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300 Haleh Bakshandeh Beverly Hills, 310-274-7623 R. Sonia Batra Batra Dermatology, Santa Monica, 310-829-9099 Daniel Behroozan Dermatology Institute of Southern California, Santa Monica, 310-943-0146 Joanna Chan California Skin Institute, Arcadia, 626-446-8809 Shanthi Colaco Skinstyle Dermatology, Rancho Park, 323-285-9603 Joyce N. Fox Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300 Nima Gharavi Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300 Patrice M. Healey Dermatology Associates Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-274-9954 Alan W. Heller Heller Dermatology & Aesthetic Surgery, Long Beach, 562-498-2459
Misha M. Heller Heller Dermatology & Aesthetic Surgery, Long Beach, 562-498-2459 Wendy L. Hoffman Dermatology Associates Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-274-9954 Jill Javahery Comprehensive Dermatology of Long Beach, 562-256-9929 Alex Khadavi Dermatology & Laser Medical Center of Encino & Thousand Oaks, 818-528-2500 Christine Choi Kim Sawtelle, 310-477-4727 Leonard H. Kim LKMD Dermatology, Century City, 310-289-0009
A. David Rahimi Forever Young, Beverly Grove, 323-653-7700 Vicki Rapaport Rapaport Dermatology of Beverly Hills, 310-274-4401 David C. Rish Beverly Hills, 310-275-8855 Parrish Sadeghi Pure Dermatology and Skin Surgery Center, Santa Monica, 310-954-9501 Robin M. Schaffran Beverly Hills, 310-854-3003 Adriana N. Schmidt Santa Monica Dermatology Group, 310-829-4484 Karen Sherwood Descanso Dermatology Medical Group, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-6726
Tanya Kormeili Derm & Rejuvenation Institute, Santa Monica, 310-526-8301
Minnelly Luu Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4191 Eric Meinhardt California Dermatology Specialists, Brentwood, 310-275-1170 Brian P. Mekelburg Beverly Grove, 310-659-9075 Binh T. Ngo Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Debra Don Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2145
Irene Koolwijk UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Kay Durairaj Beauty by Dr. Kay Pasadena, 626-316-7033
Josh Mandelberg Griesbach, Batra, and Mandelberg, Sawtelle, 310-996-8990
Elisabeth D. Ference Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Douglas Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-3327 Larry Yin Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2110 DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY William D. Boswell Jr. City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Saro Manoukian City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Peter L. Kopelson The Kopelson Clinic, Beverly Hills, 310-271-7400
Jason R. Litak Santa Monica Dermatology Group, 310-829-4484
DEVELOPMENTALBEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS
EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT
MATTHEW L. MACER, MD Fertility
INCINTA FERTILITY CENTER 21545 Hawthorne Blvd., Pavilion B Torrance 424-212-4087 incintafertility.com
Soheil Simzar Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Care, Santa Clarita, 661-254-3686 Teresa Soriano UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-6911
Jasmine O. Obioha Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300
Stefani R. Takahashi Keck Medicine of USC, La Cañada Flintridge, 800-USC-CARE
Maria Ochoa Keck Medicine of USC, Beverly Hills, 800-USC-CARE
Allison K. Truong Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300
David Peng Keck Medicine of USC, La Cañada Flintridge, 800-USC-CARE
James Y. Wang Metropolis Dermatology, Downtown L.A., 213-319-3339
Susan M. Rabizadeh Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3300
Scott D. Worswick Keck Medicine of USC, Downtown L.A., 800-USC-CARE
Elliot Abemayor UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688 Behrad Brad Aynehchi Westside Head & Neck, Culver City, 310-361-5128 Michel Babajanian Century City, 310-201-0007 Anca Barbu Beverly Hills Voice, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 Steven A. Battaglia Huntington Ear Nose Throat Head & Neck Specialists, Pasadena, 626-796-6164 Keith E. Blackwell UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688 Henry H. Chen Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 Dinesh K. Chhetri UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688 Marc Cohen Tarzana, 818-609-0600 Karan Dhir Beverly Hills, 310-579-2051
Thomas J. Gernon City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Gabriel Gomez Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2145 Chester F. Griffiths Pacific Eye & Ear Specialists, Brentwood, 310-477-5558 Reena Gupta Center for Vocal Health, Beverly Hills, 310-736-4272 Allen Ho Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 Martin L. Hopp Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-657-7704 Akira Ishiyama UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688 Michael Johns III Keck Medicine of USC Downtown L.A., 800-USC-CARE Robert S. Kang City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Niels C. Kokot Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Daniel Injung Kwon Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Matthew Lee Beverly Hills ENT, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 Gene Liu Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 Ellie Maghami City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Jon Mallen-St. Clair Beverly Hills ENT, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 L A M AG . C O M 93
TOP DOCS 2021
Alexander Markarian Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE Omid B. Mehdizadeh Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Brentwood, 310-477-5558
Nima Shemirani EOS Rejuvenation, Beverly Hills, 310-280-9821 Maie St. John UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7075 Joseph H. Sugerman Beverly Hills, 310-274-6005 Jeffrey D. Suh UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688 Mark S. Swanson Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Abie Avraham H. Mendelsohn UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688
Dorothy Wang Westside Head & Neck, Culver City, 310-361-5439
Ali R. Namazie SoCal ENT, Encino, 818-986-5500
Alisha N. West UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6688
Shawn S. Nasseri Beverly Hills, 310-289-8200 Ronen Nazarian Osborne Head & Neck Institute, Beverly Grove, 310-657-0123 Karla O’Dell Keck Medicine of USC, Downtown L.A., 800-USC-CARE John S. Oghalai Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Michelle Putnam Westside Head & Neck, Culver City, 310-361-5439 Benjamin Rafii Beach Cities ENTS, Torrance, 310-540-2111 Alexis Korostoff Rieber Huntington Ear Nose Throat Head & Neck Specialists, Pasadena, 626-796-6164 Vanessa S. Rothholtz Pacific Coast Ear, Nose & Throat, Beverly Hills, 310-926-1573 Amanda Salvado Westside Head & Neck, Santa Monica, 310-361-5313 Nina L. Shapiro UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2749 Jahangir Sharifi L.A. Sinus & Allergy Specialists, Boyle Hts., 323-226-0022 9 4 L A M AG . C O M
David Ulick Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, 626-397-5111 ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES, AND METABOLISM Shadi Abdelnour Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3228 David E. Aftergood Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-659-8824 Trevor E. Angell Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Nirmal K. Banskota Arcadia, 626 446-0559
Mani H. Zadeh Los Angeles Sinus Institute, Century City, 888-361-2173 Soroush Zaghi Breathe Institute, Westwood, 313-579-9710 Richard Zoumalan Beverly Hills, 310-278-1900 EMERGENCY MEDICINE Christine Cho Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2109 Frank C. Day UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2111 Brandon L. Lew Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, 626-397-5111 Lynne B. Mccullough UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2111 Ameer Mody Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2109 Sam S. Torbati Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8780
Neil J. Goldberg Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3228 Michael D. Harris Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3330 Anthony P. Heaney UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-828-1050 Jennifer L. Hsieh West Coast Endocrine, Long Beach, 562-988-0040 Sarah S. Kim UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-828-1050 Reza Nazemi Beverly Hills, 310-652-4743 Caroline T. Nguyen Keck Medicine of USC, Downtown L.A., 800-USC-CARE
Bozena B. Wrobel Ear, Nose, and Throat Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE Arthur Wu Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220
Century City, 310-277-1812
LASIKA SENEVIRATNE, MD Hematology and Medical Oncology THE LOS ANGELES CANCER NETWORK 1245 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 303 Los Angeles 213-977-1214 lacancer.net
Braden G. Barnett Keck Medicine of USC, Downtown L.A., 800-USC-CARE John David Carmichael Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Jennifer I. Chang Huntington Health Physicians, Pasadena, 626-397-8323 Dianne S. Cheung UCLA Health, Torrance, 310-542-6333 Pejman Cohan Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7640 Matthew J. Freeby UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-828-1050 Mitchell Geffner Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606 Jordan Geller Geller Endocrinology,
Wendy L. Sacks Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-3870 Peter A. Singer Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Stephanie Smooke Praw UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-7922 Conrad J. Tseng Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-652-3000 FAMILY MEDICINE David A. Austin Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-2960 Evlyn Avanessian Sunland Medical Center, Tujunga, 818-296-9601 Maya S. Benitez Cedars-Sinai, Marina del Rey, 424-315-2458 Edward Castro Family Care Specialists Medical Group, Boyle Heights, 323-226-1100 Lawrence D. Dardick UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-656-1702 Laura L. Doan East Hollywood, 510-543-3937
Jamie A. Elson Westside Internal Medicine, Santa Monica, 310-264-0765 Lichuan Fang UCLA Health, Woodland Hills, 818-610-0292 Katherine Gibson Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Michael Guice Westlake, 213-482-8600 Jason Hove UCLA Health, Redondo Beach, 310-937-8555 Bernard J. Katz UCLA Health, Pacific Palisades, 310-459-2363 Lacy L. Knowles Cedars-Sinai, Playa Vista, 424-315-2240 Teresa Ku-Borden Family Care Specialists Medical Group, Boyle Heights, 323-226-1100 Nupur Kumar Westlake, 213-977-0187
Manali Shendrikar Santa Monica Family Physicians, 310-829-8948 Nicole Shweiri Live Well Family Medicine Center of Naples, Long Beach, 562-434-7777 Isabelle Y. Soh Cedars Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-7077 Denise K. Sur UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-4700 Stephanie Tran Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-423-4945 FOOT AND ANKLE SURGERY Bob Baravarian University Foot & Ankle Institute, Santa Monica, 424-238-1042 Timothy Charlton Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9998 Alexis E. Dixon Marina Del Rey, 310-437-7922
Danica Lomeli Westside Internal Medicine, Santa Monica, 310-264-0165
Thomas G. Harris Congress Orthopaedic Associates, Pasadena, 626-795-8051
Gilberto Medina Family Care Specialists Medical Group, Boyle Heights, 323-226-1100
Kenneth S. Jung Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Westchester, 310-665-7200
Marvin S. Mina Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6031
David Pougatsch Wound Institute of America, Beverly Hills, 310-919-4179
Laura Mosqueda Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE Nevra Ozdil St. Anthony Medical Center, Hollywood, 323-469-5555 Rodolfo Protacio California Primary Health Care, Glendale, 818-500-8739
Nelson F. Soohoo UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-1234 David J. Soomekh Foot & Ankle Specialty Group, Beverly Hills, 310-651-2366
GASTROENTEROLOGY Jim Amerian San Fernando Valley Gastroenterology Medical Group, Tarzana, 818-708-6000 Peter A. Anton UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-1597 Benjamin Basseri Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-652-4472 Ihab Beblawi inSite Digestive Health Care, Pasadena, 626-793-7114 Peyton P. Berookim Gastroenterology Institute of Southern California, Beverly Hills, 310-271-1122 James L. Buxbaum Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Derek Cheng Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8200 Rahul K. Chhablani Providence Medical Institute—Mission Hills Specialty Surgery, 818-496-7740 Lynn Shapiro Connolly UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-582-6240 Mark M. Davidson Beverly Hills Center for Digestive Health, Beverly Grove, 310-855-0222 Seper Dezfoli Prestige G.I., Beverly Hills, 323-800-1000 Marc A. Edelstein Beverly Hills Gastroenterology, 310-659-1300 Charles J. Frankel Cedars-Sinai, Santa Monica, 310-453-1871
Benjamin Tehrani Kings Point Foot & Ankle Specialists, South L.A., 323-843-3668
Terri Getzug UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6279
Jehni S. Robinson Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
David B. Thordarson Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9778
Kevin Ghassemi UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-208-5400
Colleen Marie Ryan Cedars-Sinai, Culver City, 310-248-7120
Mark A. Weissman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6017
Wendy Ho UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6279
Gregory E. Idos City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Trilokesh Kidambi City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Jeffrey R. Lewis Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8200 James L. Lin City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Marc D. Makhani L.A. Digestive Health and Wellness, Beverly Grove, 323-488-4648 Shahab Mehdizadeh Beverly Hills Digestive Care, 310-246-4100 Richard E. Nickowitz inSite Digestive Health Care, Pasadena, 626-793-7114 Ari Nowain Center for GI Health, Beverly Hills, 310-657-4444 Raena S. Olsen Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8200 Vikas K. Pabby UCLA Health, Burbank, 818-843-9038 David M. Padua Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8200 Peter M. Rosenberg inSite Digestive Health Care, Pasadena, 626 793-7114 Ara Sahakian Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Jenny S. Sauk UCLA Health, Westwood, 855-423-8252 Edward J. Share Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-652-4472 Gobind N. Sharma Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8200 Omid A. Shaye Gastroenterology Associates of Beverly Hills, Beverly Grove, 310-858-2224 Sarah Sheibani Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Waleed W. Shindy inSite Digestive Health Care, Pasadena, 626-449-9920 Sassan Soltani inSite Digestive Health Care, Pasadena, 626-793-7114 Theodore N. Stein Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-8200 Carey B. Strom Tower Digestive Health Medical Group, Beverly Grove, 310-550-0400 Leo Treyzon Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-652-4472 Jacques Van Dam Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Marc D. Wishingrad Cedars-Sinai, Santa Monica, 310-453-1871 David P. Yamini Santa Monica, 310-285-3005 Julie Yang inSite Digestive Health Care, Pasadena, 626-793-7114 GENERAL SURGERY Miguel A. Burch Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8350 Ronald W. Busuttil UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5318 Brendan J. Carroll Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-854-0151 David C. Chen UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-4080 Jason Cohen Surgery Group L.A., Beverly Grove, 310-861-7493
Erik P. Dutson UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-7163 Babak “Bobby” Eghbalieh Southern California Multi-Specialty Center, Sherman Oaks, 818-900-6480
Michael W. Yeh UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7838 GENETICS Barbara F. Crandall UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0300
David E. Fermelia Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 800-CEDARS-1
Neel R. Joshi Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-0289 Faisal Khan Surgical Multispecialties Medical Group, Boyle Heights, 323-264-2633 Sepehr Lalezari Lalezari Surgical, Westlake, 213-545-1656 David J. Lourié Pasadena, 626-793-7955 Daniel Marcus Marina del Rey, 310-305-1813 Laleh Melstrom City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 I. Benjamin Paz City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Wes Powell Pasadena, 626 765-6944 Poornima Rao City of Hope, South Pasadena, 844-444-4673 Kamran Samakar Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Brandon K. Koretz UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8272 Allison M. Mays Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3511 Laura Mosqueda Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Oscar J. Hines UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7788 Darryl T. Hiyama UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7788
Carolyn Kaloostian Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Hts., 800-USC-CARE
JOSEPH ENAYATI, DO Interventional Pain Medicine BEVERLY HILLS ADVANCED PAIN & SPINE 822 S. Robertson Blvd., Ste. 100 Los Angeles 310-651-6937 LAPain.com
Ora K. Gordon Providence—Roy & Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center, Burbank, 818-748-4748 Deborah Krakow UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Timothy J. MaarupKaiser Permanente, Downey, 833-574-2273
David B. Reuben UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8272 Sonja L. Rosen Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3511 Elizabeth J. Whiteman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3511 GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY Fikret Atamdede GYN LA, Torrance, 310-375-8446 Joshua G. Cohen UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Thanh H. Dellinger City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Julian A. Martinez UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6581
Ernest S. Han City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Linda Randolph Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2178
Beth Karlan UCLA Health, Beverly Hills, 310-205-0771
Sulagna C. Saitta UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Stephen J. Lee City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Pedro A. Sanchez. Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4623 Derek A. Wong UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Scott E. Lentz Kaiser Permanente East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Andrew J. Li Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5246 Paul S. Lin Pasadena, 626 793-3339
Ramin Mirhashemi GYN LA, Torrance, 310-375-8446
Rachel E. Lefebvre Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Huyen Q. Pham Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Nina Lightdale-Miric Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142
Bobbie J. Rimel Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1126
Erin Meisel Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2141
Lorna RodriguezRodriguez City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
M. Ramin Modabber Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Santa Monica, 310-829-2663
Lynda D. Roman Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
Amir Mostofi Risser Orthopaedic Group, Pasadena, 626 797-2002
Christine S. Walsh Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5456
Mort Rizvi Huntington Orthopedic Institute, Pasadena, 626 795-0282
Eijean Wu CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, East Hollywood, 213-413-3000
Steven S. Shin Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4566
Annie A. Yessaian Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
Eugene Y. Tsai Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5900
Mae Zakhour UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
HEMATOLOGY
HAND SURGERY
Steven H. Applebaum UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-396-2999
Kodi K. Azari UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-319-1234
Noam Z. Drazin Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3343
Prosper Benhaim UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-319-1234
David M. Hoffman Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680
Vanessa Gabrovsky Cuéllar Beverly Hills, 310-256-4363 Ryan DellaMaggiora Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5900 Alidad Ghiassi Ghiassi Hand Surgery, Brentwood, 310-824-1262 David C. Hay Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Boyle Heights, 310-665-7200
Howard A. Liebman Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Philomena F. McAndrew Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680 Mark V. McNamara Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
Robert Cole Santa Monica, 310-829-4469
Shirin Towfigh Hernia Center, Beverly Hills, 310-358-5020
GERIATRIC MEDICINE
Timothy Donahue UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-7440
Gregory K. Tsushima Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-0289
Erin A. Cook UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8272
Wei-Chien Michael Lin City of Hope, Mission Hills, 818-660-4700
David A. Kulber Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5900
Casey L. O’Connell Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Asok Doraiswamy L.A. Surgical, Arcadia, 6 26-600-2094
Susanne Gray Warner City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Michelle S. Eslami UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8272
Sanaz Memarzadeh UCLA Health, Weswood, 310-794-7274
Stuart H. Kuschner Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5900
Michael H. Rosove UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-4955 L A M AG . C O M 95
TOP DOCS 2021
Kevin S. Scher Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680 Lasika C. Seneviratne Los Angeles Cancer Network, Westlake, 213-977-1214
Annabelle De St. Maurice UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9111 Randy B. Feldman Comprehensive Care ID Medical Group, Beverly Grove, 310-855-1960 Cyril R. Gaultier Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-358-2300
Winnie Huang Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273
Kimberly A. Shriner Pasadena Travel Medicine, Pasadena, 626 793-6133
Stephen C. Deutsch Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3334
Richard T. Sokolov Mid Wilshire, 310-358-5530
John Enayati Century Wellness Center, Century City, 310-551-1711
Christopher N. Tymchuk UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-9643 STEPHANIE TRAN, MD
Ilanit Brook Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-3854
CEDARS SINAI MEDICAL GROUP
Sunita Puri Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE INFECTIOUS DISEASE Emily Blodget Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Benjamin E. Bluen Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-358-2300 Margrit E. Carlson UCLA Health, Pico-Robertson, 310-557-2273 Geemee Chung Private Medical, West Hollywood, 310-855-2558 9 6 L A M AG . C O M
Eric J. Curcio UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-315-8900 David T. Dang Pasadena, 626-344-0640
Gitanjli Arora Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2109
Peter G. Phung UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-4698
Suman M. Radhakrishna Southern California Infectious Diseases Medical Group, Westlake, 213-483-0901
Jonathan R. Cole California Health & Longevity Institute, Westlake Village, 818-575-3000
Ellie J. C. Goldstein Santa Monica, 310-315-1511
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE MEDICINE
Debra Lotstein Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-7142
Irving Posalski Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-855-1960
Annapoorna R. Chirra UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-9830
David D. Rand Torrance Memorial Physician Network, 310-784-6954
Marina Vaysburd Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3297
Sorin Buga City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Westlake, 213-483-0901
HIV
8767 Wilshire Blvd., Fl 2, Beverly Hills 310-423-4945 stephanietranmd.com IG @drstephanietran
Melvin Khaw Cedars-Sinai, Encino, 818-990-1067 Jason B. Kirk Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3500 Bernard M. Kubak UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-7663 Raphael J. Landovitz UCLA Health, Pico-Robertson, 310-557-2273 David G. Man Infectious Disease Consultants, Pasadena, 626 793-6133 Eric N. Milefchik Torrance Memorial Physician Network, 310-784-6954 Neha D. Nanda Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Daniel Z. Uslan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-7663
Samuel I. Fink Tarzana, 818-609-0700 Christopher R. Fitzgerald Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-248-7188
Tara Vijayan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-7663
Alan Frischer Frischer Medical Group, Downey, 562-806-0874
Byron K. Williams Antaki & Associates, Glendale, 818-242-5299
Peter C. Galier Premier Health Partners of Santa Monica 310-395-7471
Rachel Zabner Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-358-2300
Alison C. Garb Pacific Palisades, 310-459-4321
Phillip C. Zakowski Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-358-2300
Mark Ghalili Regenerative Medicine L.A., Hollywood Hills, 310-295-9403
INTERNAL MEDICINE
Bianca Grigorian Huntington Health Physicians, Pasadena, 626-792-3141
Ehsan Ali Beverly Hills Concierge Doctor, 310-683-0180 Wafaa Alrashid Pasadena, 626-449-4438 John B. Andrews Cedars-Sinai, Santa Monica, 310-385-6008 Benjamin J. Ansell UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-4881
Paul H. Nieberg Pasadena, 626-304-0782
Stephanie K. Bui UCLA Health, Brentwood, 310-208-7777
Joseph Nussbaum Southern California Infirmary Disease,
Aaron Chiang Century City, 310-620-1888
Brenda J. Hermogeno Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5252 Arek A. Jibilian Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE David Y. Kawashiri Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3466 David M. Kayne Cedars-Sinai, Encino, 818-990-1067 Joshua Khalili UCLA Health,
Santa Monica, 310-319-4377 Chae Y. Kim Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6031 Stephanie Koven Cedars-Sinai, Santa Monica, 800-CEDARS-1 Sophie Kwok PIH Health— Good Samaritan Hospital, Westlake, 213-482-5141
Sera Ramadan Los Angeles Primary Care, Westlake, 213-238-5887 Jon C. Rasak Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-2977 Daniel L. Rowady Pasadena, 626-795-4223
Paul T. Lee Lakeside Community Healthcare, Burbank, 818-557-2671 John T. Liu Westlake, 213-481-9828 Dorothy H. Lowe Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-659-7000 Mina W. Ma UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-9830 Susan A. Mandel Beverly Hills, 310-652-4900 Sasan Massachi Beverly Hills, 310-553-3013 Stuart C. Miller Huntington Health Physicians, Pasadena, 626 792-3141 Sharon E. Orrange Keck Medicine of USC, University Park, 800-USC-CARE Adrian G. Ostrzega Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6031 Joseph J. Pachorek Pasadena, 626 795-4223 James E. Pacino Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Eva Poon Pasadena, 626-508-3388 Rubencio Quintana Beverly Hills, 310-659-5500
Shadi Yaghoubian Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-402-0548 Clement C. Yang Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4866 Patrick Y. Yao UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8000
David Lalezari Mid Wilshire, 323-938-9999 Michael Lazarus UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-9643
Hawkin E. Woo UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6232
Jennifer Y. Yeung UCLA Health, Brentwood, 310-208-7777 AMIR VOKSHOOR, MD, FAANS Neurosurgery PACIFIC SPINE INSTITUTE
2811 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 850, Santa Monica NEUROSURGICAL SPINE GROUP
7320 Woodlake Ave., Ste. 215, West Hills 800-899-0101 drvokshoor.com neurovella.com
Joshua D. Sapkin Keck Medicine of USC, Downtown L.A., 800-USC-CARE
MATERNALFETAL MEDICINE Yalda Afshar UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Paola Aghajanian Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9999 Ramen H. Chmait Los Angeles Fetal Surgery, Pasadena, 626-356-3360
Samir Sawiris Descanso Family Practice, Glendale, 818-790-1088
Tania F. Esakoff Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9999
Flora J. Sinha Cedars-Sinai, Playa Vista, 310-423-4622
Esther Friedrich Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273
Daniel J. Stone Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3526
Kimberly D. Gregory Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9999
Eric Sue Sue Medical Group, Century City, 310-556-1800
Rachel Gutkin Pacific Perinatal Center, Torrance, 310-944-9094
Ronald Sue Sue Medical Group, Century City, 310-556-2244 Ara Thomassian Cedars-Sinai Valley Internal Medicine and Nephrology, North Hollywood, 818-487-0040
Christina Han UCLA Health, Carthay, 323-857-1952 Marc H. Incerpi Keck Medicine of USC, Burbank, 800-USC-CARE
Jeff Toll Century City, 310-504-2915
Carla Janzen UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Stephanie Tran Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-423-4945
Sarah J. Kilpatrick Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9999
Neil S. Wenger UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6232
Brian J. Koos UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Deborah Krakow UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
NEONATAL AND PERINATAL MEDICINE
Wendy W. Cheng Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-657-9841
Ilian O. Marquez Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, 626-397-5000
Timothy F. Cloughesy UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9113
Jeffrey L. Saver UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1195
Lydia K. Lee UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Kara L. Calkins UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9436
Stephen T. Copen Cedars-Sinai, Vermont Square, 323-232-6131
Ann E. Moore Pasadena Nephrology, 626-577-1675
Lisa G. Cook Century City, 310-277-9534
Perry B. Shieh UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1195
Roy Mansano Comprehensive Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center, Tarzana, 818-345-2455
Rachel Chapman Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-5939
Gabriel M. Danovitch UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-2555
Yasir A. Qazi Keck Medicine of USC Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Ilan J. Danan Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Westchester, 310-665-7200
Alison Chu UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9436
Stuart Friedman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8661
Anjay Rastogi UCLA Health, West L.A., 310-954-2692
Jonathan Eskenazi CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, East Hollywood, 213-413-3000
David A. Miller Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-6070 C. Scott Naylor Pacific Perinatal Center, Torrance, 310-944-9094 Tina A. Nguyen UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Joseph G. Ouzounian Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE Lawrence David Platt Center for Fetal Medicine & Women’s Ultrasound, Carthay, 323-857-1952 Steve Rad Los Angeles Fetal & Maternal Care Center, Beverly Grove, 310-299-7561 Rashmi R. Rao UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-794-7274 Esther Schmuel Comprehensive Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center, Tarzana, 818-345-2455 Neil S. Silverman Center for Fetal Medicine & Women’s Ultrasound, Carthay, 323-857-1952
Hannaise C. Cruz Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273 Sherin U. Devaskar UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9436
Bruce Greenfield Premier Nephrology Medical Group, Downtown L.A., 213-748-1414
Philippe Friedlich Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-5939
Huma S. Hasnain UCLA Health, Torrance, 310-542-6333
Saba Gaffar Dignity Health— Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 818-885-5444
Edmund Huang Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center, West Hollywood, 310-423-2641
Meena Garg UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9436 Theodore Glatz Dignity Health— Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 818-885-5444 Annie Lim Lim & Lim Medical Group, Whittier, 562-698-6388 Saul Z. Newman Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Jamie W. Powers Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, 626-397-3826 Aaron J. Reitman Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273
Khalil Tabsh Maternal & Fetal Medicine Center of Southern California, Santa Monica, 310-829-8664
Yosef Zibari Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273
John Williams Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9999
Sevag Balikian Pasadena, 626 352-0010
Melissa S. Wong Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9999
Larry Froch Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8661
NEPHROLOGY
Behnoud Beroukhim Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8661
Mohammad Kamgar UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8277 Haresh M. Khilnani Arcadia, 626 256-1000 Reza Khorsan UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-481-4228 Kenneth S. Kleinman Tarzana, 818-300-0081 Sophie Kwok PIH Health— Good Samaritan Hospital, Westlake, 213-482-5141 Ravi Sharad Lakdawala Tower Nephrology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-652-9162 Luani Lee Premier Nephrology Medical Group, Downtown L.A., 213-748-1414 Michael M. Levine Tower Nephrology Medical Group , Beverly Hills, 310-652-9162 Michael S. Linsey Pasadena Nephrology, 626-577-1675
Leon Rovner Premier Nephrology Medical Group, Downtown L.A., 213-748-1414 Carl E. Schulze UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-481-4228 Samy Sharobeem Beverly Hills, 310-203-0222
James C. Ha Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-6016 Christianne N. Heck Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Colin Stokol Beverly Grove, 310-855-5999 Steven N. Sykes Cedars-Sinai, Santa Monica, 424-314-7810 Nicholas R. Szumski Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-6016 Ravi Vakani Cedars Sinai, Marina Del Rey, 424-314-6080 Shilpa Wali Kaiser Permanente, Panorama City, 833-574-2273
K. Edmund Tse Pasadena Nephrology, 626-577-1675
Rujuta Wilson UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-660-7270
Ora Yadin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Allan D. Wu UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1195 GEORGIOS HARTAS,
Michel Zakari Adventist Health, Glendale, 818-242-0475 NEUROLOGY Peter-Brian Andersson Neurology Consulting, Tarzana, 818-287-8018 Leon Barkodar West Hills Neurology & Neurosurgery, 818-593-2191 Danny Benmoshe Sawtelle, 310-688-8800 Jeff M. Bronstein UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-9799 Marisa Chang Interventional Group, Santa Monica, 310-829-5968 Eric M. Cheng UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1195 William Chow Beverly Grove, 310-659-4986 Helena Chang Chui Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
MD, FAAP, FACC, FSCAI Pediatric Cardiology CHILDREN’S HEART CLINIC 411 N. Central Ave., Ste. 250, Glendale 818-839-7101 Hartas@MedCHC.com TheChildrensHeartClinic .com
Shaun A. Hussain UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Mark F. Lew Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Artin Minaeian Axon Neurology, Glendale, 818-265-2245 Wendy Mitchell Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471 Phioanh Nghiemphu UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5321
NEUROSURGERY Michael J. Alexander Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7900 Sean Armin Valley Village, 818-766-6895 Behnam Badie City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Ausaf A. Bari UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111 Garni Barkhoudarian Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7450 Ulrich Batzdorf UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111 Marvin Bergsneider UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111
Arun Ramachandran Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-6016
Keith L. Black Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1773
Tena Rosser Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Mike Y. Chen City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Thomas C. Chen Keck Medicine of USC, La Cañada Flintridge, 800-USC-CARE Ray M. Chu Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-248-6693 Geoffrey P. Colby UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7108 Aaron Cutler Inland Neurosurgery Institute, Pomona, 909-450-0369 Moise Danielpour Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8061 Lisa Anne Feldman City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Igor Fineman Raymond Neurosurgery and Spine, Pasadena, 626-507-5204 Steven L. Giannotta Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Nestor R. Gonzalez Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-0783 Langston T. Holly UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-3475 Patrick C. Hsieh Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Gabriel E. Hunt Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9941 Rahul Jandial City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 J. Patrick Johnson Beverly Grove, 310-423-9792 Daniel F. Kelly Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7450 Deven Khosla Achieve Brain & Spine, Santa Monica, 310-710-1919 Won Kim UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111 Mark Krieger Children’s Hospital L A M AG . C O M 97
TOP DOCS 2021
L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2169 Todd Lanman Lanman Spinal Neurosurgery, Beverly Hills, 310-385-7766 Linda M. Liau UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111 Charles Yu Liu Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE John C. Liu Keck Medicine of USC, Beverly Hills, 800-USC-CARE Daniel C. Lu UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-3475 William J. Mack Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Luke Macyszyn UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-794-9833 Adam N. Mamelak Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7900 Jasvinder S. Nangiana Providence Medical Institute— Mission Hills, 818-361-0917
Wouter I. Schievink Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7900 Walavan Sivakumar Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Torrance, 424-212-5340 Amir Vokshoor Santa Monica, 800-899-0101 Anthony C. Wang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111 Isaac Yang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111
Sushma Bhadauria Carthay, 424-224-9065 Barry J. Brock Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-652-9347 Rebecca Brown Rodeo Drive Women’s Health Center, Beverly Hills, 310-432-6640 Allison H. Canavan Cedars-Sinai, Playa Vista, 424-315-2277
NUCLEAR MEDICINE Shahram Bonyadlou Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Patrick M. Colletti Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Johannes Czernin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1005 Hossein Jadvar Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
ISABELLE SOH, MD, MPH Primary Care
CEDARS SINAI MEDICAL GROUP 8767 Wilshire Blvd., 3rd Floor Beverly Hills 310-248-7077 sohmd.com
Alexander C. Chiang UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-899-7500 Mark A. Dwight Spectrum Women’s Healthcare, Westlake, 213-977-4190 Michael Frields Adventist Health, Glendale, 818-247-5845
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Diana J. Friend Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273
Yalda Afshar UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Caren T. Hoffman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-3380
Nader Pouratian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111
Laila A. Al-Marayati Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Moksha Ranasinghe Southern California Brain & Spine Surgery, Montebello, 213-369-4583
Jennifer J. Israel Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Thaïs Aliabad Beverly Grove, 844-863-6700
Chirag G. Patil Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7900
Ian B. Ross Pasadena, 626-793-8194 Jonathan J. Russin Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE 9 8 L A M AG . C O M
Shamsah Amersi Santa Monica, 310-264-5600 Peyman Banooni Beverly Hills, 424-281-7790 Ohad Ben-Yehuda Encino, 818-783-6500
James A. Macer Huntington OBGYN, Pasadena, 626-449-6223 Howard C. Mandel Westwood, 310-556-1427 Erin M. Mellano UCLA Health, Torrance, 310-316-4373 Erin Meschter Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1224 Michael S. Mitri Fair Oaks Women’s Health, Pasadena, 626-304-2626
Parham Yashar Yashar Neurosurgery, Beverly Hills, 424-361-0923 Gabriel Zada Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Keren Lerner Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-967-5650
David Seil Kim Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-3380 Deborah Krakow UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Joy A. Leong PIH Health, Whittier, 562-789-5440
Susan Morrison West Hollywood, 323-933-6330 Valerie P. Myers Huntington OBGYN, Pasadena, 626-449-6223 Tina A. Nguyen UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Erica D. Oberman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Ram Parvataneni UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Jeannine Rahimian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Ramneek Rana UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-794-7274 Radhika D. Rible UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 H. Elena Rodriguez Torrance, 310-325-9400 Valentina M. Rodriguez UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Jessica L. Schneider Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-6600 Scott P. Serden Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-6600 Donna Shoupe Keck Medicine
of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Taaly Silberstein Tarzana, 818-996-3200 Deepjot K. Singh Torrance, 310-373-7900 Karyn M. Solky Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-967-4324 Aparna Sridhar UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Tracey N. Sylvester Kaiser Permanente, Playa Vista, 833-574-2273 Joana Tamayo Glendale, 818-906-4540 Ian H. Taras Woodland Hills, 818-887-0050 Samantha L. Thomson Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-3380 Timothy Tsui Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-6600 Sara Beth Twogood Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1224 Taz Elizabeth Varkey Carthay, 323-933-2930 Hadar Waldman Westwood, 310-556-1427 Sarah K. Yamaguchi Spectrum Women’s Healthcare, Westlake, 213-977-4190 Deborah A. Yu Arcadia Obstetrics & Gynecology Medical Group, Arcadia, 626-445-3333 Mya R. Zapata UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE Taha M. Ahmad Kaiser Permanente, Panorama City, 833-574-2273 Glen John Apramian St. George’s Medical Clinic, Pasadena, 626 440-0097
Emmett A. Berg Healthline Medical Group, Van Nuys, 818-997-7711 John C. Foster Sunset Walk-In Healthcare, West Hollywood, 310-273-1155 ONCOLOGY Ani Balmanoukian Cedars-Sinai— The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Sawtelle, 310-582-7900 James R. Berenson West Hollywood, 310-623-1222 Linnea I. Chap Beverly Hills Cancer Center, 877-320-5131 Sant P. Chawla Sarcoma Oncology Center, Santa Monica, 310-552-9999 Bartosz Chmielowski UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-5471 Cathie T. Chung Cedars-Sinai— Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7900
Leland M. Green Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680 Mitchell E. Gross Keck Medicine of USC, Beverly Hills, 800-USC-CARE Omid Hamid Cedars-Sinai— Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Sawtelle, 310-582-7900 David M. Hoffman Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680 Sara A. Hurvitz UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-5471 Gino Kim In Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Syma Iqbal Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Irene Morae Kang Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Vincent Chung City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Evangelia K. Kirimis UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-396-2999
Timothy Cloughesy UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9113
Leonid Kleynberg Kleynberg Medical Clinic, Beverly Grove, 323-965-9995
Sven de Vos UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-5471
Heinz-Josef Lenz Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Alexandra Drakaki UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-5471
Daniel J. Lieber Cedars-Sinai— Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7900
Noam Z. Drazin Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3343 Anthony El-Khoueiry Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Shahrooz Eshaghian Compassionate Oncology Medical Group, Century City, 310-229-3555
Janice Lu Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Philomena McAndrew Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680
Marwan G. Fakih City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Mark V. McNamara Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
John A. Glaspy UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-4955
Becky J. Miller Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-854-5841
Monica M. Mita Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-248-6729
Gavin G. Bahadur UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-0160
Youram Nassir Cancer Care Institute, Mid Wilshire, 323-930-2324
John D. Bartlett UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-983-3865
Niki Patel City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Sahar Bedrood Acuity Eye Group & Retina Institute, Pasadena, 626-269-5348
Surasak Phuphanich Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8100 Lawrence D. Piro Cedars-Sinai— Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Sawtelle, 310-582-7900 David I. Quinn Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Lee S. Rosen UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 888-662-8252 Barry E. Rosenbloom Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680 Kamalesh Sankhala Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-800-2467 Kevin S. Scher Cedars-Sinai Tower Hematology Oncology Medical Group, Beverly Hills, 310-888-8680 Lasika C. Seneviratne USC Verdugo Hills, Westlake, 213-977-1214 Melani Shaum Cedars-Sinai— Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7900 Dennis J. Slamon UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-206-6909
Benjamin B. Bert UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Kimberly Gokoffski USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Robert A. Goldberg UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-8250 Kweku Grant-Acquah Acuity Eye Group & Retina Institute, Westchester, 310-673-2020 Melinda Hakim Beverly Hills, 310-657-3030
Mark Borchert Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2347
Gad Heilweil UCLA Health, Arcadia, 626 254-9010
Brian Boxer Wachler Boxer Wachler Vision Institute, Beverly Hills, 310-860-1900
J. Martin Heur USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
David S. Boyer Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group, Westlake, 213-483-8810
Hugo Y. Hsu UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Michael A. Burnstine Eyesthetica, Pasadena, 626-662-7758
Alex A. Huang UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Monica Ralli Khitri UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747 Mark Kramar Ophthalmology Associates of the Valley, Encino, 747-227-7412 Howard R. Krauss Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, 310-582-7640 Maziar Lalezary Doctor Retina, Beverly Hills, 310-571-5026 Linda A. Lam USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Christopher C. Lo Eyesthetica, Torrance, 310-361-5101 Kenneth L. Lu UCLA Health, Arcadia, 626-254-9010
Tom S. Chang Acuity Eye Group & Retina Institute, Arcadia, 626-574-0009
Benjamin Mandel De La Peña Eye Clinic, Montebello, 323-728-5500
Brian Chen Acuity Eye Group & Retina Institute, Lincoln Heights, 323-221-6186 Vikas Chopra UCLA Health, Arcadia, 626-254-9010 Michael Davis Acuity Eye Group & Retina Institute, Downey, 562-862-6200
CHARLOTTA LA VIA, MD Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery LA VIA PLASTIC SURGERY 2001 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 1180-W Santa Monica 310-829-5550 charlottalavia.com
Jeffrey Huang Diamond Vision Institute, Alhambra, 626-799-2075
Uday Devgan Devgan Eye Surgery, Sawtelle, 800-337-1969 Calvin T. Eng Southland Eye Surgeons, Monterey Park, 626 289-8260
Michael S. Ip UCLA Health, Arcadia, 626-817-4747
David Aizuss Ophthalmology Associates of the Valley, Encino, 747-227-7412
Brian A. Francis UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
John A. Irvine UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Kerry Assil Assil Eye Institute of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, 310-651-2300
Avneet Sodhi Gaur Assil Eye Institute of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, 310-651-2300
Boban Joseph UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
OPHTHALMOLOGY
Arbi Khemichian Pasadena Eye Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-796-5325
Jessica R. Chang Roski Eye Institute of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Jennifer S. Huang Southland Eye Surgeons, Monterey Park, 626-289-8260
Marina Vaysburd Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3297
Justin Karlin UCLA Health, Westwood, 800-825-2631
Michael P. Miller Pasadena, 626-585-8700 Majid “Amir” Moarefi Eye Physicians of Long Beach, 562-799-2020 Audrey Mok Eye Treatment Center, Long Beach, 562-988-8668 Steven M. Naids Advanced Vision Care, Century City, 310-229-1220 Vivek Ravindra Patel USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Peter A. Quiros UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747 Narsing A. Rao USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
David Richardson San Marino, 626 289-7856
Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Alexis E. Dixon Marina Del Rey, 310-437-7922
Daniel B. Rootman UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Michael C. Yang Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3450
J. Dominic Femino City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
SriniVas R. Sadda UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Victoria H. Yom UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
Alfredo A. Sadun UCLA Health, Pasadena, 626-817-4747
David D. Yu Pasadena Eye Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-796-5325
David B. Samimi Eyesthetica, Encino, 213-318-3076 Irene F. Sasaki Eye Treatment Center, Long Beach, 562-988-8668 Aaron Savar Eyes by Savar, Beverly Hills, 310-276-9800 David Savar Eyes by Savar, Beverly Hills, 310-276-9800 Louis Savar Eyes by Savar, Beverly Hills, 310-276-9800 Steven D. Schwartz UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-7474 Babak Shabatian Lancaster Eye Institute, 661-940-0555 Neda Shamie Maloney-Shamie Vision Institute, Westwood, 310-882-6365 Brian C. Toy USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Victoria Tseng UCLA Health, Arcadia, 626 817-4747 Irena Tsui UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-7290 Reid Wainess Acuity Eye Group & Retina Institute, Arcadia, 626 574-0009 Peter Ho Win Win Retina, Arcadia, 626-447-7008 Benjamin Y. Xu USC Roski
Sandy X. Zhang-Nunes USC Roski Eye Institute, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Christopher Zoumalan Beverly Hills, 310-620-1286
Jonathan Frank Beverly Hills, 310-247-0466 Seth C. Gamradt Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE David B. Golden Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3326 Rachel Goldstein Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142 Raymond J. Hah Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Sonu Ahluwalia Century City, 310-430-1310
George F. “Rick” Hatch III Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Lindsay Andras Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142
Nathanael D. Heckmann Boyle Heights, 323-442-8018
Sevag A. Bastian Orthopaedic Surgery Specialists, Glendale, 818-237-2248
Kevork N. Hindoyan Congress Orthopaedic Associates, Pasadena, 626-795-8051
Nicholas M. Bernthal UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 424-259-9860
Francis J. Hornicek UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-1234
Richard Bowen UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 424-259-6593
Leonel Hunt Hunt Spine, Beverly Grove, 310-496-1790
Keith R. Brookenthal Adolescent & Children’s Orthopedic Surgeon, Encino, 818-789-9449
John M. Itamura Cedars-Sinai, Boyle Heights, 310-665-7200
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
Walter Burnham Huntington Orthopedic Institute, Pasadena, 626-795-0282 Robert H. Cho Shriners for Children Medical Center, Pasadena, 626-389-9300
Kristofer J. Jones Torrance, 424-240-8961 Robert Kay Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142 Sang Do Kim SK Spine, Beverly Grove, 310-248-8511
Ryan DellaMaggiora Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5900
Robert C. Klapper Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-659-6889
Todd B. Dietrick Congress Orthopaedic Associates, Pasadena, 626-795-8051
Jay R. Lieberman Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE L A M AG . C O M 9 9
TOP DOCS 2021
David R. McAllister UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-319-1234 Rojeh Melikian Sawtelle, 310-426-8206 Eric S. Millstein Millstein Orthopedics, Century City, 310-595-1030 Luke Thomas Nicholson Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Daniel A. Oakes Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Vahe Panossian Huntington Orthopedic Institute, Pasadena, 626-795-0282
George Tang Huntington Orthopedic Institute, Pasadena, 626 795-0282 James E. Tibone Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Carlos A. Uquillas Shriners for Children Medical Center, Pasadena, 626-389-9300 Suketu B. Vaishnav Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6026 Alexander E. Weber Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Andrew B. Weiss Beverly Hills, 310-652-1800 Andrew Yun Center for Knee and Hip Replacement 2001, Santa Monica, 310-582-7474 Erik N. Zeegen UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-1234 PAIN MEDICINE
Don Young Park UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-3475 Brad L. Penenberg Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-860-3470 Christos Photopoulos Cedars-Sinai, Westchester, 310-665-7200 Bal Rajagopalan Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute, 310-247-0466 Marc A. Samson Los Angeles Orthopaedic Center, Westlake, 213-482-2992
Christy Anthony Synovation Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-403-6200 Laura G. Audell Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9600 Jason A. Berkley Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9717 David B. Bockoff Beverly Hills, 310-652-5800 Andrew J. Costandi Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2262
Arya N. Shamie UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-3475
Ilan J. Danan Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Westchester, 310-665-7200
David L. Skaggs Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142
Timothy T. Davis Source Healthcare, Santa Monica, 310-574-2777
Andrew I. Spitzer Cedars Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4566
Joseph Enayati Beverly Hills Advanced Pain & Spine, Pico-Robertson, 310-651-6937
Milan Stevanovic Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE 10 0 L A M AG . C O M
Shahbaz Farnad Miracle Mile Medical Group,
Mid Wilshire, 323-433-7744 Hilary J. Fausett Pasadena, 626-440-5900 F. Michael Ferrante UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center, Santa Monica, 310-794-1841 Nicholas S. Fuller Intelligent Pain Management, Beverly Hills, 310-854-0283 Evish Kamrava Spine Institute Center for Spinal Restoration, Santa Monica, 310-828-7757
Manisha Trivedi City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Mikako Warren Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2069
Joseph C. Tu Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-423-3530
Shengmei Zhou Pathology Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-6189
Payam Vahedifar Nuvo Spine and Sports Institute & Ortho Regenerative Center, Encino, 818-986-0200 Behnoush Zarrini BZ Pain Management, Beverly Hills, 310-967-0031 PATHOLOGY
Eugene Kim Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-7686 Faisal Lalani Pain & Healing Institute, West L.A., 310-856-9488
Manju Aron Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Roger S. Moon Pacific Comprehensive Pain Management, Los Alamitos, 562-799-3888 Edward K. Pang Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-248-7358 Sanjog S. Pangarkar California Pain Medicine Center, Santa Monica, 310-904-6895 Ajay Patel Downey, 562-869-3585 Steven H. Richeimer Keck Medicine of USC Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Shawn Roofian Integrated Pain Management, Beverly Hills, 310-926-4922 Gabriel Rudd-Barnard California Pain Medicine Center, Santa Monica, 310-904-6895 Nadiv Y. Samimi Pain & Healing Institute, West L.A., 310-856-9488
Joseph Ahdoot Pacific Pediatric Cardiology Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-796-9259 Juan C. Alejos UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7667 Sarah Badran Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4635 Yaniv Bar-Cohen Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
Arash Lavian Cedars-Sinai, Santa Monica, 310-829-2663 Andrew T. Leitner City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY
STEPHANIE TRAN, MD Gender-Affirming Care CEDARS SINAI MEDICAL GROUP 8767 Wilshire Blvd., Fl 2, Beverly Hills 310-423-4945 stephanietranmd.com IG @drstephanietran
Sarah M. Dry UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2339 Scott D. Nelson UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-825-9111 Bruce Pawel Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4756 Nick Shillingford Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-5778 Wonwoo Shon Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-6623 William Dean Wallace Keck School of Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Larry Wang Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2426
Lennis Burke Pacific Pediatric Cardiology Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-796-9259 Timothy W. Casarez Medical Associates of Southern California, Encino, 818-784-6269 Elizabeth R. De Oliveira Pacific Pediatric Cardiology Medical Group, Pasadena, 626-796-9259 Timothy L. Degner Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Jon Detterich Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2557
Grace Kung Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
Myke D. Federman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9111
Daniel S. Levi UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7667
Robinder Khemani Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2557
Jondavid Menteer Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
Barry Markovitz Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2557
Gregory S. Perens UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7667
Christopher Newth Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2557
Jay Pruetz Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461 Leigh C. Reardon UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9011
Jose Pineda Soto Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2557 Patrick Ross Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2262
Gary M. Satou UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7667
PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY
Kevin M. Shannon UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7667
Carol Cheng UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-917-3376
Mark S. Sklansky UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7667
Ronald W. Cotliar UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Jennifer Su Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
Nicole Harter Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4191
Jacqueline Szmuszkovicz Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
Robert M. Hartman Encino, 818-907-7076
Jodie Votava-Smith Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461 Pierre Wong Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
David A. Ferry Pediatric Cardiology Medical Associates of Southern California, Encino, 818-784-6269
Evan M. Zahn Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1153
Ruchira Garg Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1153
PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE
Georgios A. Hartas Children’s Heart Clinic, Glendale, 818-839-7101
Fernando Beltramo Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2262
Allison Hill Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2461
Elizabeth Bragg Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-5591
Paul F. Kantor Children’s Hospital
Sylvia Del Castillo Children’s Hospital
Meagan Hughes Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4191 Minnelly Luu Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4191 Karen Sherwood Children’s Hospital L.A., La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-6726 PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY Juliana Austin Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606 Lily C. Chao Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606 Clement Cheung Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606
Harvey K. Chiu UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Roja Fallah UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Lynda K. Fisher Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606 Mitchell Geffner Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606
Tanaz Farzan Danialifar Children’s Hospital L.A., Santa Monica, 310-820-8608 Susan Pacini Edelstein Beverly Hills Gastroenterology, Beverly Hills, 310-659-1300 Rula Harb Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181
Frank Sinatra Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Sharon Tam Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Elaheh Vahabnezhad UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-825-0867 Robert S. Venick UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
David Geller Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Santa Monica 310-820-8608
Frederick D. Watanabe Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273
Mimi Kim Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606
Laura J. Wozniak UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6134
Steven D. Mittelman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Cedric Ng Huntington Health Physicians, Pasadena, 626-397-8323 Jennifer Raymond Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606 Anna Ryabets-Lienhard Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4606 Bahareh M. Schweiger Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7779 PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY Ron J. Bahar Encino, 818-905-6600 Vrinda Bhardwaj Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Gilberto Bultron Mindful Pediatric Gastroenterology, Pasadena, 626-397-5000 Mallory Chavannes Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181
LINA AKOPIANS, MD Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER
450 N. Roxbury Dr., Ste. 500, Beverly Hills 310-736-2079 scrcivf.com @drlinaakopians
Doron David Kahana Center for Digestive Health & Nutritional Excellence, Torrance, 424-234-1840 Rohit Kohli Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Anjuli Kumar Pediatric Gastroenterology Associates of Southern California, Long Beach, 562-933-3009 Elizabeth A. Marcus UCLA Health, Los Angeles, 310-825-0867 Tania Mitsinikos Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Hillel Naon Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Roy Nattiv Torrance, 562-933-6730
Brynie Slome Collins Encino, 818-905-6600
Shreena Patel Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181
Harry Cynamon Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181
Shervin Rabizadeh Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7100
Ardath Yamaga Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 George Yanni Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2181 Joanna Yeh UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6134 David A. Ziring Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-710 PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGY AND ONCOLOGY Vivian Y. Chang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Jerry C. Cheng Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Thomas Coates Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624 Tom Davidson Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624
L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624
Westwood, 310-825-0867
Westwood, 310-825-0867
Rima Jubran Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624
PEDIATRIC NEPHROLOGY
Harley I. Kornblum UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-6196
Ashley Margol Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624 Leo Mascarenhas Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624 Theodore B. Moore UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Michael Pulsipher Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624 Gavin D. Roach UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Rachana Shah Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624 Saranya Veluswamy Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624
Carl Grushkin Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2102 Kevin V. Lemley Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2102 Gary Lerner Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2102 Rachel Lestz Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2102 Dechu P. Puliyanda Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4747 Isidro B. Salusky UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Ora Yadin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Alan S. Wayne Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2121
Grace M. Aldrovandi UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 Jeffrey Bender Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2509 Annabelle De St. Maurice UCLA Health, Mid Wilshire, 310-825-9111 Paul A. Krogstad UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5235
Jason T. Lerner UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-6810
Katrine J. Enrile Claremont University Student Health Services, Monsour; Counseling and Psychological Services, Claremont, 909-621-8202
Quyen Luc Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Robert Holloway Children’s Hospital L.A., Beverly Grove, 310-403-7878
Wendy Mitchell Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Julienne Jacobson Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-3500
Leigh Maria Ramos-Platt Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Maria Levine Tarzana, 909-293-9576
Tena Rosser Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471 Kiarash Sadrieh Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471 Dean Sarco Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Yana J. Tavyev Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-7779
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE CAROLYN ALEXANDER, MD Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER
450 N. Roxbury Dr., Ste. 500, Beverly Hills 310-736-2079 scrcivf.com @bheggfreezeMD
PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY Nusrat Ahsan Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Anat Erdreich-Epstein Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624
Kanokporn Mongkolrattanothai Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2509
Jay Desai Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Noah C. Federman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Michael Neely Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2509
Christopher C. Giza UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-6196
Thomas C. Hofstra Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4624
Pia Pannaraj Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2509
Eugenia Ho Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2471
Julie Jaffray Children’s Hospital
Nava Yeganeh UCLA Health,
Shaun A. Hussain UCLA Health,
PEDIATRIC PSYCHIATRY
Bradley Peterson Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-660-2450 Natalia Ramos UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9989 Erica Z. Shoemaker LAC + USC Medical Center, Boyle Hts., 323-442-4033 Scott Sweet Beverly Hills, 310-247-1517
Rujuta Wilson UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-660-7270
Linda Woodall MCLA Psychiatric Medical Group, Glendale, 818-240-0340
PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGERY
PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY
Peter A. Chiarelli Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2169
Manvi Bansal Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2387
Eisha Anne Christian Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273
Lara Bishay Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2287
Jason Chu Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2169
Roberta Kato Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2287
Susan Durham Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2169
Thomas Keens Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2287
Aria Fallah UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111
Sande O. Okelo UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Mark Krieger Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2169
Iris Perez Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2287
Anthony C. Wang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5111
Mindy Ross UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867 L A M AG . C O M 10 1
TOP DOCS 2021
Muhammad M. Saeed Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Sally Ward Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2287 PEDIATRIC SLEEP MEDICINE Alfonso J. Padilla UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-449-0939 Sally Ward Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2287 PEDIATRIC SURGERY Dean Anselmo Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-5193 David Bliss Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2276 Steve Chen Beverly Hills Pediatric Surgery, 310-598-7738 Daniel A. DeUgarte UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-2429 Christopher Gayer Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4974 Tracy Grikscheit Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-5901 Howard Chung-Hao Jen UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-2429 Eugene S. Kim Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-8332 Steven L Lee UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-2429 Nam Nguyen Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-7662 10 2 L A M AG . C O M
Donald B. Shaul Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273
Adrian E. Castro Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583
Shant Shekherdimian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-2429
Kristin B. Chapman Pasadena Pediatrics, 626-449-7350
Cathy Shin Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2322
Yee-Jean Chou Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583
James Stein Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 626-795-7177 Roman M. Sydorak Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Ashley Walther Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-8412 Kasper Wang Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2338 PEDIATRIC UROLOGY Andy Chang Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2247 Roger De Filippo Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2247
Diala Faddoul Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583 Richard H. Feuille Jr. Glendale Pediatrics 818-246-7260 Kirsten J. Gardner Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583 Sandra S. Gildersleeve Huntington Health Physicians— Pasadena Pediatrics, 626-449-7350 Inessa Grinberg Beverly Hills Pediatrics, Beverly Hills, 310-854-0770 Yvonne Gutierrez Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-669-2113
Andrew L. Freedman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4700
Paria Hassouri Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3345
Paul Kokorowski Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2247
Jayme E. Heath UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-9935
Steven E. Lerman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7700 Jennifer S. Singer UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7700 S. Scott Sparks Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2247 Evalynn Vasquez Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2247 PEDIATRICS (GENERAL) Eyal Ben-Isaac Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2122 Bradley M. Bursch Glendale Pediatrics, 818-246-7260
Fasha Liley Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-669-2110
Michelle Thompson Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2122
Edward K. Pang Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-248-7358
Jaco H. Festekjian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-4126
Karen S. Lin UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-9935
Alexander Van Speybroeck Shriners for Children Medical Center, Pasadena, 626-389-9300
Kenith K. Paresa Pain & Healing Institute, West L.A., 310-856-9488
Joubin Gabbay Gabbay Plastic Surgery, Beverly Hills, 310-388-9383
Adam Saby UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-6771
Daniel Gould Marina Plastic Surgery, Marina Del Rey, 310-494-2881
June C. Liu UCLA Health, Mar Vista, 310-231-9150 Gregory S. Lizer Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583 Shakeh A. Mazmanian Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583
Rungsima Vayupakparnonde Lakeside Community Healthcare, Burbank, 818-557-7278 Daisy L. Vinzon UCLA Health, Manhattan Beach, 310-546-8702 Stephanie J. Whang Huntington Health Physicians— Pasadena Pediatrics, 626 449-7350 Heide Woo UCLA Health, Mar Vista, 310-231-9150
WENDY Y. CHANG, MD Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER
450 N. Roxbury Dr., Ste. 500, Beverly Hills 310-736-2079 scrcivf.com @BHFertilityMD
Mary Ellen McCormick Huntington Health Physicians— Pasadena Pediatrics, 626-449-7350
Morris Yen Santa Clarita Pediatrics, Valencia, 661-253-4971 PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION Thomas Apostle Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8898 Danielle Aufiero OrthoHealing Center, West L.A., 310-453-5404 Moshe Ben-Roohi LifeSpan Medicine, Santa Monica, 310-453-2335
Nareen Hindoyan Huntington Health Physicians— Pasadena Pediatrics, 626-449-7350
Petra “Micky” Obradovic Lakeside Community Healthcare, Burbank 818-557-7278
Matthew Keefer Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2110
Mona Patel Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2122
David S. Cheng Keck Medicine of USC, La Cañada Flintridge, 800-USC-CARE
Vivian Lee Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-6177
Pamela J. Phillips Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3345
Jae H. Jung UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-3475
John E. Legault Huntington Health Physicians— Pasadena Pediatrics, 626 449-7350
Christopher Russell Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-6177
Gus Kalioundji Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273
Ann B. Sahakian Huntington Health Physicians, La Cañada Flintridge, 818-790-5583
Ryan Kotton Docs Spine + Orthopedics, Beverly Grove, 424-800-3627
Sarah E.C. Salamon Huntington Health Physicians, Pasadena Pediatrics, 626-449-7350
Maxim Moradian California Sports & Spine Institute, Arcadia, 626 460-1096
Margaret E. Legault Huntington Health Physicians— Pasadena Pediatrics, 626-449-7350 Carlos F. Lerner UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-0867
Allen S. Chen UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-319-3475
Steven Sampson OrthoHealing Center, West L.A., 310-453-5404 Kavitha Swaminathan Cedars-Sinai California Rehabilitation Institute, Century City, 424-363-1000 Hunter Vincent OrthoHealing Center, West L.A., 310-453-5404 Mona Zall Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Glendale, 818-952-0670 PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY Ruben Abrams New Age Institute for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Beverly Hills, 310-276-7777 Daniel Barrett Barrett Plastic Surgery, Beverly Hills, 310-598-2648 Whitney A. Burrell South Bay Plastic Surgeons, Torrance, 310-784-0644 Henry H. Chen Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1220 Michael W. Chu Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273 Andrew L. Da Lio UCLA Health, Westwood, 310206-7521 Payman Danielpour Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group, 310-853-5147 Karan Dhir Beverly Hills, 310-579-2051 Deepak Raj Dugar Beverly Hills Rhinoplasty Center, 310-276-1703
Lisa L. Jewell South Bay Plastic Surgeons, Torrance, 310-784-0644 A.J. Khalil Beverly Hills, 310-385-8601 Betty Kim Beverly Hills, 310-385-6090 Som Kohanzadeh Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-289-1518 Lloyd M. Krieger Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery, Beverly Hills, 310-550-6300 David A. Kulber Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5900 Charlotta La Via La Via Plastic Surgery, Santa Monica, 310-829-5550 Justine C. Lee UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7616 Lily Lee Pasadena, 626-414-5693 Wai-Yee Li City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Christopher C. Lo Eyesthetica, Downtown L.A., 213-375-0896 William Magee III Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2154 Bernard L. Markowitz Beverly Hills, 310-205-5557 Gary Motykie West Hollywood, 310-246-2355 Sheila S. Nazarian Beverly Hills, 310-773-3039 Michael K. Newman Beverly Hills, 310-859-0010
Martin O’Toole Pasadena Cosmetic Surgery, 626-671-1756
Caroline Yao Line Plastic Surgery Center, Koreatown, 213-383-3322
Mark A. Weissman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6017
Jay S. Orringer Beverly Hills, 310-273-1663
Hootan Zandifar Beverly Hills, 310-736-4272
Tamer B. Younan Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-6017
David Ozersky Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273,
PODIATRY
Andre Panossian Pasadena, 800-958-3778
Bob Baravarian University Foot & Ankle Institute Santa Monica, 424-238-1042
Ketan M. Patel Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Victoria M. Foley Superior Foot & Ankle Care Center, Long Beach, 562-420-9800
Mort Rizvi Huntington Orthopedic Institute, Pasadena, 626-795-0282
Claire E. Futenma Claire E. Futenma, DPM, Pasadena, 626-788-6651
Leif Rogers Beverly Hills, 310-860-8915
Arash R. Hassid SoCal Foot & Ankle Doctors, Santa Monica, 424-273-4243
Jason Roostaeian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-8827 Mitchel Seruya Los Angeles Nerve Institute, Beverly Grove, 310-423-2129 Nima Shemirani EOS Rejuvenation, Beverly Hills, 310-280-9821 Grant Stevens Marina Plastic Surgery, Marina Del Rey, 310-736-4803 Amir Tahernia Beverly Hills, 310-614-9701 Mark C. Tan City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Christopher Tiner Pasadena, 626 788-9152 Charles Y. Tseng UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-5358 Mark Urata Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2154 Andrew Vardanian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-8927 Dev Wali Dev Wali, MD, Claremont, 909-624-4440 Andrew M. Wexler Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273
Jason Khadavi Tru Foot & Ankle, Encino, 424-377-0441 Neal Patel Wound Institute of America, Beverly Hills, 310-919-4179 David Pougatsch Wound Institute of America, Beverly Hills, 310-919-4179 Avanti Redkar University Foot & Ankle Institute, Mid-Wilshire, 310-461-2002 Matthew M. Safapour West Hills Surgical Center, West Hills, 818-226-9151 Alan M. Singer UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1515 David J. Soomekh Foot & Ankle Specialty Group, Beverly Hills, 310-651-2366 Kazuo Suzuki Suzuki Wound Care Clinic, Los Angeles, 310-926-1793 Jonathan Tavakoli Home Foot Care, Valley Village, 818-452-9902 Benjamin Tehrani Kings Point Foot & Ankle Specialists, South L.A., 323-843-3668
PREVENTIVE MEDICINE Mike Carragher Body Well, Beverly Grove, 323-874-9355 Mark Ghalili Regenerative Medicine L.A., West Hollywood, 310-295-9403 Jill Stocker West Hollywood, 310-620-7855 PSYCHIATRY George A. Blair Exodus Recovery, Sawtelle, 310-490-2867 Curley L. Bonds Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Koreatown, 310-395-0921 Allen Chroman Smart Brain and Health, Santa Monica, 310-829-3438 Kenneth S. Chuang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-966-6500 Emily DeFraites West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, West L.A., 310-478-3711 Deborah Fein Playa Vista Mental Health, 323-813-6218 Michael J. Gitlin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9989 John A. Jimenez Keck School of Medicine of USC, Boyle Hts., 323-442-4001 Aaron Kaufman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9989 Laura K. Kendall LAC + USC Medical Center, Boyle Hts., 323-442-4001 Mark McDonald Sawtelle, 310-954-9565 Lindsay Merrill Playa Vista Mental Health, 323-813-6218
Duc T. Nguyen Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Scott Glaser City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Anita Red Pasadena, 626-793-0141
John V. Hegde UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 424-259-8777
Wendy S. Rosenstein UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9989
Mitchell Kamrava Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-1858
Renee Sabshin Edelman Westside Mental Health Center, West L.A., 310-966-6500
Tania B. Kaprealian UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775
Catherine Scott More Ways Than One, Eagle Rock, 323-999-7599 Steven Siegel Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE David W. Trader Westwood, 310-277-3883 RADIATION ONCOLOGY
David C. Khan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-414-9990 Amar U. Kishan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775
Leslie E. Botnick City of Hope, Sherman Oaks, 818-997-1522 Albert J. Chang UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775 Eric Chang Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Helen Chen City of Hope, South Pasadena, 877-998-7546 Robert K. Chin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775 Savita Dandapani City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Ari Gabayan Beverly Hills Cancer Center, 877-320-5131 Adam Arebi Garsa Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Mona V. Sanghani Providence— Roy & Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center, Burbank, 818-847-3444 Sayana R. Shah UCLA Health, Westwood, 714-210-0140 Michael L. Steinberg UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775 Puja Venkat UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775
John L. Go Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Fariba Goodarzian Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2411 Rachael E. Gordon MINK Radiologic Imaging, Beverly Hills, 310-358-2100 Paul E. Kim Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Kevin G. King Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Lauren A. Lukas City of Hope, Mission Hills, 818-496-4410
Robert C. Wollman Providence— Center for Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Tumors, Santa Monica, 310-829-8913
Sheri D. Marquez Adventist Health, Boyle Heights, 323-260-5825
Kenneth Wong Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood 323-361-2417
Aram Jonathan Lee City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Henry Yampolsky City of Hope, West Hills, 818-884-1683
Benjamin D. Levine UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800
Jason Ye Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Leah M. Lin Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Arya Amini City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Leslie Ballas Keck School of Medicine of USC, Boyle Hts., 323-865-3050
Beverly Grove, 310-423-4204
HAL C. DANZER, MD Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER
450 N. Roxbury Dr., Ste. 500, Beverly Hills 310-736-2079 scrcivf.com @DrHalDanzer
Susan A. McCloskey UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 424-259-8777 Amin J. Mirhadi Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5212 Ann C. Raldow UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-9775 Afshin Safa Dignity Health— Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 818-885-5331 Sagus Sampath City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Howard M. Sandler Cedars-Sinai,
Zachary S. Zumsteg Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-2523 RADIOLOGY Denise R. Aberle UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800 Jay Acharya Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Omid Bendavid RadNet Imaging Centers, Beverly Hills, 310-385-7747 Kathleen Brown UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800 Phillip M. Cheng Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Peter Stephen Conti Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Vinay A. Duddalwar Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Linda Hovanessian Larsen Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
C. Jason Liu Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Harshawn S. Malhi Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Pareen Mehta Cedars-Sinai Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Sawtelle, 310-582-7900 Navid Moradshahi Cedars-Sinai Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Sawtelle, 310-582-7900 Kambiz Motamedi UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800 Marvin Nelson Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-660-2450 Suzanne L. Palmer Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE L A M AG . C O M 103
TOP DOCS 2021
Vishal N. Patel Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Ravi S. Prasad Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 800-CEDARS-1 Anandh Rajamohan Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Group, Redondo Beach, 310-318-3010 Kelly Baek California Fertility Partners, Sawtelle, 310-828-4008 Marsha Baker Keck Medicine of USC, Westlake, 800-USC-CARE Aykut Bayrak LA IVF Clinic , Century City, 310-286-2800 Kristin Bendikson Keck Medicine of USC, Westlake, 800-USC-CARE
Shahin Ghadir Southern California Reproductive Center, Beverly Hills, 310-736-2079 Jacqueline Ho Keck Medicine of USC, Westlake, 800-USC-CARE Andy Huang Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Redondo Beach, 310-318-3010 John K. Jain Santa Monica Fertility, Santa Monica, 310-566-1470 Omid Khorram University Fertility Center, Torrance, 310-378-7445
Noriko Salamon UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800
Thomas J. Kim RMA Southern California, Sawtelle, 424-293-8841
Leanne L. Seeger UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800
Bradford A. Kolb HRC Fertility, Pasadena, 877-577-5070
Aldric J. Shim Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Monterey Park, 626-572-0912
SHAHIN GHADIR, MD Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER
Lindsay L. Kroener UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
450 N. Roxbury Dr., Ste. 500, Beverly Hills 310-736-2079 scrcivf.com @DrShahinGhadir
Melanie Landay The Valley Center for Reproductive Health, Sherman Oaks, 818-986-1648
Lusi Tumyan City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Kathleen M. Brennan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Matthew Macer Macer Fertility Center, Century City, 424-320-0025
Juan P. Villablanca UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-481-7545
Meredith Brower Kindbody, Santa Monica, 323-410-1291
Eliran Mor California Center for Reproductive Health, Encino, 818-907-1571
Alison G. Wilcox Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Wendy Y. Chang Southern California Reproductive Center, Beverly Hills, 877-735-1182
REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY/ INFERTILITY
Karine Chung California Fertility Partners, Sawtelle, 310-828-4008
Sam Najmabadi Center for Reproductive Health & Gynecology, Beverly Hills, 424-308-0970
Benita Tamrazi Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2411
Lina Akopians Southern California Reproductive Center, Beverly Hills, 877-735-1182 Zain A. Al-Safi UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Hal C. Danzer Southern California Reproductive Center, Beverly Hills, 877-735-1182 Catherine DeUgarte CMD Fertility, Westwood, 310-873-1800
Carolyn Alexander Southern California Reproductive Center, Beverly Hills, 877-735-1182
Daniel A. Dumesic UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274
Gayane Ambartsumyan Reproductive Partners Medical
Michael Feinman HRC Fertility, Westlake Village, 805-374-1737
104 L A M AG . C O M
Richard J. Paulson Keck Medicine of USC, Westlake, 800-USC-CARE Margareta D. Pisarska Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-9964 Molly Quinn UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7274 Guy Ringler California Fertility Partners, Sawtelle, 310-828-4008 Ingrid Rodi Pacific Fertility Center
of Los Angeles, Westwood, 310-586-3462 Gregory F. Rosen Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Redondo Beach, 310-318-3010
Christina Charles-Schoeman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448 Michal Cidon Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4178
Vicken Sahakian Pacific Fertility Center of Los Angeles, Westwood, 310-586-3462
Glenn R. Ehresmann Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Vicken Sepilian Pacific Fertility Center of Los Angeles, Westwood, 310-586-3462
John D. Fitzgerald UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448
Mousa Shamonki Fertility & Surgical Associates of California, Thousand Oaks, 818-794-7904 Mark W. Surrey Southern California Reproductive Center, Beverly Hills, 310-736-2079 David E. Tourgeman HRC Fertility, Sawtelle, 866-472-4483 Carrie Melissa Wambach Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Redondo Beach, 877-273-7763 John G. Wilcox HRC Fertility, Pasadena, 866-472-4483
Lindsy J. Forbess Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 800-CEDARS-1 Alan H. Gorn UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448 Jennifer M. Grossman UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448 Arash A. Horizon Center for Rheumatology, Beverly Grove, 310-659-7878 Mariko L. Ishimori Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-3870 Dmitry Karayev Center for Rheumatology, Beverly Grove, 310-659-7878
Bill Yee Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Redondo Beach, 877-273-7763
Tanaz A. Kermani UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-582-6350
RHEUMATOLOGY
Jennifer King UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448
Daniel G. Arkfeld Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Thanda Aung UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448 Shirin Bagheri Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3298 Susan A. Baker Beverly Hills, 310-274-7770 Ami Ben-Artzi Beverly Hills Arthritis Associates, 310-659-5905 Dahlia Carr Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-659-5905
Benjamin Kretzmann Center for Rheumatology, Beverly Grove, 310-659-7878 Katherine Anne Marzan Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2119 Gopika D. Miller Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3357
Westwood, 310-825-2448 Vickram Singh Reehal Optum HealthCare Partners, Pasadena, 626 799-4194
Alon Y. Avidan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-1195 Ravi S. Aysola UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-449-0939 Vincent Grbach Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
MARK SURREY, MD Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPRODUCTIVE CENTER
450 N. Roxbury Dr., Ste. 500, Beverly Hills 310-736-2079 scrcivf.com @DrMarkSurrey
Bracha Shaham Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2119 Shuntaro Shinada Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Lillian Szydlo Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-3298 Lynnette Tatosyan Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Mihaela Taylor UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448 Orrin M. Troum Doctors of Saint John’s, Santa Monica, 310-449-1999 R. Swamy Venuturupalli Attune Health, Beverly Hills, 310-652-0010 Elizabeth R. Volkmann UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-825-2448 Daniel J. Wallace Attune Health, Beverly Hills, 310-652-0010
Shirisha Janumpally Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, Encino, 877-775-3377 Eric J. Kezirian Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Dan Naim Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-691-1138 Daniel Norman Santa Monica Sleep Disorders Center, 424-309-1372 Reuben J. Ram UCLA Health, Burbank, 818-556-2700 Arun Ramachandran Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-385-6016 SPORTS MEDICINE Calvin J. Duffaut UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-319-1234 Bianca Edison Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142 Neal S. Elattrache Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, Westchester, 310-665-7151 Michael K. Fong Kaiser Permanente, East Hollywood, 833-574-2273 Joshua Goldman UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-395-4814 Kristofer J. Jones Torrance, 310-319-1234
Geraldine M. Navarro UCLA Health, Valencia, 661-253-5851
Keyvan Yousefi Beverly Grove, 310-888-7737
Ryan Kelln Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142
Dean T. Noritake Pasadena, 626-296-2910
SLEEP MEDICINE
Byron Patterson Primary Care Sports Medicine, Tarzana, 818-501-7276
Veena K. Ranganath UCLA Health,
Roy Artal Beverly Grove, 310-657-3792
Christos Photopoulos Cedars-Sinai, Westchester, 310-665-7200
Dan J. Raz City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Siamak Daneshmand Keck Medicine of USC, Beverly Hills, 800-USC-CARE
Joshua Scott Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute Tarzana, 424-314-7784
Harmik J. Soukiasian Cedars Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-2640
Joseph J. DeOrio Ascent Urology, Long Beach, 562-283-4876
Winfield Wells Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-4148
Premal Desai Tower Urology, Beverly Grove, 310-854-9898
Jane Yanagawa UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7333
Armen Dikranian Huntington Urology Specialists, Pasadena, 626-544-0300
TRANSGENDER HEALTH
Leo R. Doumanian Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Carlos A. Uquillas Shriners for Children Medical Center, Pasadena, 626-389-9300 Curtis VandenBerg Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142 Daniel V. Vigil UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-9956 Tracy Zaslow Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2142 THORACIC SURGERY Scott M. Atay Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE Robert B. Cameron UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-4612 Elizabeth Ashleigh David Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Loretta Erhunmwunsee City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Clark B. Fuller Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-2640 Ali Gheissari Advanced Cardiothoracic Surgery Medical Group, Westlake, 213-483-1055 Anthony W. Kim Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Jae Y. Kim City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Jay M. Lee UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7333 Daniel S. Oh Keck Medicine of USC, Fullerton, 800-USC-CARE
Maurice M. Garcia Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4256 Johanna Olson-Kennedy Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2153 Stephanie Tran Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-423-4945 Carl A. Violano Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-423-4366 Amy K. Weimer UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-267-4334 UROLOGY Arash Akhavein Comprehensive Urology, Beverly Grove, 310-499-2756 Jennifer T. Anger Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-2992 Monish Aron Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Zachery C. Baxter UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-794-7700
Ramin Khalili Huntington Urology Specialists, Pasadena, 626-544-0300 Moez Khorsandi Westlake, 213-482-2910 Dennis H. Kim Beverly Hills, 310-278-1594 Howard H. Kim Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-2992 Hyung L. Kim Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-4700 Evgeniy Kreydin Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE Clayton S. Lau City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
JOHN G. WILCOX, MD, FACOG Reproductive Endocrinology/ Infertility WILCOX FERTILITY 55 S. Lake Ave., Ste. 900 Pasadena 626-657-9327 wilcoxfertility.com
Gary Leach Tower Urology, Beverly Grove, 310-854-9898 Timothy Lesser South Bay Urology, Torrance, 310-542-0199 Jennifer Linehan Providence— St. John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, 310-582-7137
Kamyar Y. Ebrahimi Star Urology, Glendale, 818-246-3300
Mark S. Litwin UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7700
Karyn S. Eilber Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, 310-385-2992
Jennifer Liu Ascent Urology, Long Beach, 562-283-4876
Inderbir S. Gill Keck Medicine of USC, Beverly Hills, 800-USC-CARE
Sameer Malhotra Advanced Urology Medical Offices, Redondo Beach, 310-670-9119
David A. Ginsberg Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE
Leonard S. Marks UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7700
Justin Houman Tower Urology, Beverly Grove, 310-854-9898
Jesse N. Mills UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-794-7700
Andrew J. Hung Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-USC-CARE
Christopher S. Ng Tower Urology, Beverly Grove, 310-854-9898
Amanda Chao-Yu Chi Kaiser Permanente, Mid-City, 833-574-2273
David Y. Josephson Tower Urology, Beverly Grove, 310-854-9898
Mike M. Nguyen Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Seth A. Cohen City of Hope, Glendora, 844-444-4673
Eric L. Kau Keck Medicine of USC, Arcadia, 800-USC-CARE
Mayank Patel Skyline Urology, Tarzana, 818-776-0660
Karim Chamie UCLA Health. Westwood, 310-794-7700 Kevin G. Chan City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673
Robert E. Reiter UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7700 Christopher Saigal UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-794-7700 Roger W. Satterthwaite City of Hope, Pasadena, 844-444-4673 Anne K. Schuckman Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Christopher M. Tarnay UCLA Health, Westwood, 833-825-2974 Jeffrey L. Veale UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-7727 David Fishbein Yao UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-794-7700
Westwood, 310-267-8773
Beverly Hills, 310-423-7040
John M. Moriarty UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-481-7545
Sukgu M. Han Keck Medicine of USC, Pasadena, 800-872-2273
John J. Park City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Dipak Ranparia Los Angeles Vascular Center, Inglewood, 310-674-9300 Stuart T. Schroff Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Ramon Ter-Oganesyan Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Richard J. Van Allan Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-8844
Ali Zhumkhawala City of Hope, Glendora, 844-444-4673
Chadi Zeinati Children’s Hospital L.A., East Hollywood, 323-361-2411
VASCULAR / INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY
VASCULAR SURGERY
Gary R. Duckwiler UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-8599 Navid Eghbalieh Southern California Multi-Specialty Center, Sherman Oaks, 818-900-6480 Marc L. Friedman Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 800-233-2771 Scott J. Genshaft UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-301-6800 Sue Ellen Hanks Keck Medicine of USC, Boyle Heights, 800-USC-CARE Reza Jahan UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-8761
Ali Azizzadeh Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5400 Sammy Eghbalieh Southern California Multi-Specialty Center, Sherman Oaks, 818-900-6480 Terrence J. Fitzgibbons FItzgibbons Vein Center, Westlake, 213-334-3777 Hugh A. Gelabert UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-6294 Bruce L. Gewertz Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Grove, 310-423-5884 Navyash Gupta Cedars-Sinai Medical Group,
Ryan Haqq Vascular Surgery Associates, Beverly Grove, 310-652-8132 Juan Carlos Jimenez UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-206-1786 Jeffrey Kronson Arcadia, 626 254-2287 Rameen Moridzadeh Vascular Surgery Associates, Beverly Grove, 310-652-8132 Sasan Najibi LA Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, Burbank, 818-558-7700 Zahi E. Nassoura San Fernando Valley Vascular Group, Tarzana, 818-345-6126 Christian Ochoa Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE David A. Rigberg UCLA Health, Santa Monica, 310-825-3684 Vincent L. Rowe Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-872-2273 Allan Tulloch Vascular Surgery Associates, Beverly Grove, 310-652-8132 Willis Wagner Vascular Surgery Associates, Beverly Grove, 310-652-8132 Fred A. Weaver Keck Medicine of USC, Glendale, 800-USC-CARE
Jonathan Kessler City of Hope, Duarte, 800-826-4673 Edward W. Lee UCLA Health, Westwood, 310-267-8771 Justin McWilliams UCLA Health, L A M AG . C O M 105
THE HOT LIST
The Mixto Tostada from Mírame
L.A. MAGAZINE
LISTING BELOW
OUR MONTHLY LIST OF L.A.’S MOST ESSENTIAL RESTAURANTS E D I T E D
BY
H A I L E Y
E B E R
WEST T H E B R E A K D OW N
Birdie G’s
SANTA MONICA » American $$
James Beard Award–nominated chef Jeremy Fox gets personal with a sunny spot dedicated to comfort food and named after his young daughter. The high-low menu is full of playful riffs on comfort food, from a decadent stufffed latke called the Goldbar to a matzo ball soup with carrot miso to a nextlevel relish tray. Don’t miss the jiggly Rose Petal pie for dessert. 2421 Michigan Ave. (310-310-3616 or birdiegsla.com). D Wed.-Sun. Full bar.
Broad Street Oyster Co.
MALIBU » Seafood $$
If ever there was a car picnic scene, it’s at this openair spot overlooking Malibu Lagoon State Beach (and across from a SoulCycle, if we’re being honest). You can grab a great lobster roll (topped with uni or caviar if you’re feeling extra fancy), towers of raw seafood, great clam chowder, and a burger sprinkled with shio kombu (dried kelp) that shouldn’t be overlooked. 23359 Pacific Coast Hwy. (424-644-0131 or broadstreetoyster.com). L-D daily. Beer and wine.
Cassia SANTA MONICA
» Southeast Asian $$$
Bryant Ng mines his Chinese Singaporean heritage, honors wife Kim’s Vietnamese background, and works in the wood-grilling technique he honed at Mozza at this grand Southeast Asian brasserie. Hunker down at a table on the patio—or treat yourself to some great takeout—to devour turmeric-marinated ocean trout or chickpea curry with scallion clayoven bread. Wherever and however you enjoy Ng’s cooking, you won’t be disappointed. 1314 7th St. (310-393-6699 or cassiala.com). D nightly. Full bar.
Colapasta SANTA MONICA
» Italian $
It’s equally pleasant to grab and go or eat at this quiet, affordable spot that features fresh pastas topped with farmers’ market fare. The colorful, poppy-seed-sprinkled beet ravioli is delicate and de-
10 6 L A M AG . C O M
At press time, restaurants remained closed for indoor dining, so we’ve focused on our favorite spots for eating alfresco or ordering takeout and delivery. W EST
EAST
Includes Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Culver City, Malibu, Marina del Rey, Mar Vista, Palms, Santa Monica, Venice, West L.A., Westwood
Includes Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, East L.A., Echo Park, Glendale, Los Feliz, Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley, Silver Lake
DOWNTOWN Includes Arts District, Bunker Hill, Chinatown, Historic Core, Little Tokyo, South Park
T H E VALLEY Includes Agoura Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Encino, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Van Nuys
CENT RAL
SOUT H
Includes Beverly Grove, East Hollywood, Fairfax District, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Koreatown, West Hollywood
Includes Bell, Compton, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, Watts
Denotes restaurants with outdoor seating $ $$ $$$ $$$$
I N E X P E N S I V E (Meals under $10) M O D E R A T E (Mostly under $20) E X P E N S I V E (Mostly under $30) V E R Y E X P E N S I V E ($30 and above)
Price classifications are approximate and based on the cost of a typical main course that serves one. For restaurants primarily offering multicourse family meals, the cost per person of such a meal is used.
2021
licious, while the gramigna with pesto and ricotta is hearty and satisfying. 1241 5th St. (310-310-8336 or colapasta.com). L-D Mon.-Sat. Beer and wine.
Dear John’s » Steak House $$$
CULVER CITY
There’s still good times and great food to be had at this former Sinatra hang stylishly reva∂ƒƒƒmped by Josiah Citrin and Hans Röckenwagner. Steak-house 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). D Thurs.-Sat. Full bar.
Felix
VENICE » Italian $$$
At Evan Funke’s clubby, floral-patterned trattoria, the rigorous dedication to tradition makes for superb focaccia and pastas. The rigatoni cacio e pepe—tubes of pasta adorned only with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper—nods to Roman shepherds who used the spice to keep warm, while the rigatoni all’Amatriciana with cured pork cheek sings brilliantly alongside Italian country wines. 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd. (424-387-8622 or felixla.com). D nightly. Full bar.
Kato SAWTELLE
» Cal-Asian $$$
Jon Yao is now serving his acclaimed Taiwanese tasting menu outdoors. Dishes like 3 Cup Abalone and Dungeness crab soup are just as revelatory alfresco, Priced at $118 for more than a dozen courses, Yao’s prix fixe menu remains one of the best deals in town. 11925 Santa Monica Blvd. (424-535-3041 or katorestaurant.com). D Tues.-Sat.
Mírame
BEVERLY HILLS » Mexican $$$
Joshua Gil is cooking exciting, contemporary Mexican fare with market-driven ingredients and serving them on a stunning patio. Dishes are imaginative but not overly contrived—salmon-skin chicharrón with fermented garlic aioli; a divine slow-cooked Heritage Farms pork shoulder served with a blacklime gastrique, celtuce, and hearty, richly flavorful
CO U RT E SY O F M Í R A M E
APR
frijoles charros cooked with a pig’s head. The latter is available as part of Mírame’s to-go family meal, which includes house-made tortillas; a memorable riff on Caesar salad with pork chicharrón, roasted vegetables and goat cheese; chocolate flan; and an adorable little bottle of margaritas. At just $105 for two people, it’s an amazingly affordable way to sample Gil’s cooking. 419 N. Canon Dr. (310-230-5035, mirame.la, or @mirame.la). L Tues.-Fri., D Tues.-Sun.; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.
n/naka PALMS » Japanese $$$$ Niki Nakayama’s acclaimed kaiseki restaurant remains closed for dining in, but there’s always takeout. N/naka has long been one of the city’s harder-toscore reservations, so naturally its to-go meals aren’t easy to get hold of either. But if you do nab some takeout, you’re in for a treat. The menu varies, but recent options included a $38 bento box with sushi and grilled miso black cod and an $85 kaiseki jubako with delicacies like braised Monterey Bay abalone and seared-Wagyu salad. The restaurant opens up reservations for takeout meals every Saturday at 10 a.m., and they’ve been going quickly. 3455 S. Overland Ave. (310-836-6252, n-naka.com, or @nnaka restaurant). Takeout via Tock. 4:30-7 p.m. Tue.-Sat.
Ospi VENICE » Italian $$$
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). L-D daily. Full bar.
Pasjoli SANTA MONICA » French $$$$
Dave Beran’s à la carte spot bucks the trends and eschews bistro clichés in favor of old-fashioned thrills—an elaborate pressed duck prepared just as Escoffier would have and served with potatoes au gratin dauphinois—and modern French fare. The showy duck must be reserved in advance as only a limited number of birds are available each night. But there are plenty of other exciting dishes on the menu, such as the chicken liver in brioche and a complex lobster, mussel, and clam bisque with shaved fennel and tarragon. 2732 Main St. (424-330-0020 or pasjoli.com). D Wed.-Sun.; brunch Fri.-Sat. Full bar.
Pizzana BRENTWOOD » Italian $$
It’s not easy to make over the local pie joint, but 35-year-old chef Daniele Uditi has reimagined an urban standby with equal parts purism and playfulness that has become a neighborhood favorite in the process. Most impressive is the open-mindedness that has him deftly transforming the Roman pasta dish cacio e pepe into a pizza or putting a hearty short rib ragù on the Pignatiello pie. And in a real twist, appetizers and seasonal salads aren’t afterthoughts but highlights. Don’t miss specials, like an insane chicken parm sandwich. 11712 San Vicente Blvd. (310-481-7108, pizzana.com, or @pizzana). Pickup and delivery via ChowNow. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Also at 460 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood (310-657-4662).
DOWNTOWN
braised in star anise-laced lard for eight hours, then stuffed in a roll with horseradish cream, avocado, queso fresco, serrano chile, and red pepper escabeche. It’s hearty and decadent—especially if you opt to add a duck egg, which you should— but also wonderfully nuanced. There’s ample outdoor seating, but sandwiches with fried ingredients, like a veggie number, with squash blossom tempura, miraculously manage to remain crispy and travel well. 970 N. Broadway, Ste. 114 (aedinette.com or @angryegretdinette) B-L daily.
Wes Avila has left Guerrilla Tacos and is focusing on torta-esque sandwiches at this heartfelt new venture. Standouts include the Whittier Blvd: beef belly
T H A I
C U I S I N E
Badmaash HISTORIC CORE
» Indian $$
This Indian gastropub concept comes from the father-and-sons team of Pawan, Nakul, and Arjun Mahendro, who are all well versed in the culinary techniques of East and West. The menu features contemporary mash-ups, like a version of poutine smothered in chicken tikka, tandoori chicken wings, and a spicy lamb burger. If tradition’s your thing, you’ll be comforted by spice-stewed chickpeas, potato and pea samosas, and what they call Good Ol’ Saag Paneer. Wash it all down with carefully curated, reasonably priced natural wines. 108 W. 2nd St. (213-221-7466, badmaashla.com, or @badmaashla). Curbside pickup and delivery via Caviar and DoorDash. 5-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go. Also at 418 N. Fairfax Ave., Fairfax District (213-281-5185). 12-9 p.m. daily.
Guerrilla Tacos » Mexican $-$$
“The Best of Culver City” 9 Years in a Row
ARTS DISTRICT
Though founder Wes Avila recently departed last summer, this slick counter-service spot remains fairly true to its taco-truck origins, with many old favorites—Yucatan-style fish tacos, a hamachi tostada—still on the menu. The complex salsas are some of the best in town. Not looking to dine in? Takeout options, including taco kits, abound. 2000 E. 7th St. (213-3753300 or guerrillatacos.com). L-D daily. Full bar.
- Culver City News
“Readers Choice Award”
“Best of The West Side”
- LA Times
- The Argonaut
Venice: 10101 Venice Blvd. | (310) 202-7003 Full Bar | Sushi Bar Beverly Hills: 998 S. Robertson Blvd. | (310) 855-9380 Full Bar | Valet Parking
Dine In | Delivery | Take Out | Order Online
nataleethai.com
Guerrilla Cafecito ARTS DISTRICT » Breakfast $-$$ This newish breakfast offshoot around the corner from Guerilla Tacos makes a perfectly balanced brekkie burrito that rivals the city’s long-established best. The doughnuts are wonderfully not-toosweet: a doughnut even a non-doughnut lover can love. No wonder they often sell out. 704 Mateo St. (213-375-3300 or guerrillacafecito.com). B daily.
Pearl River Deli CHINATOWN » Chinese $
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H A L L O F FA M E 1 9 9 6 - 2 0 2 0
Chef Johnny Lee has gained a reputation as a poultry wizard, and his succulent Hainan chicken is a highly sought-after dish. Sadly, he’s serving it only as an occasional weekend special at his tiny Far East Plaza takeout spot. But don’t despair: the everchanging menu is full of winners, from a pork chop sandwich on a pineapple bun to a beefy, memorable rendition of mapo tofu. 727 N. Broadway, Ste. 130 (626-688-9507, pearlriverdeli.com, or @prd_la). Takeout by calling the restaurant. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed.-Sun.
Redbird HISTORIC CORE » New American $$$$
Best Lasik Eye Surgeon, 1999
Neal Fraser has defined his own kind of L.A. elegance over the 20 years he’s been cooking in his native city. Setting up shop in the deconsecrated St. Vibiana Cathedral offered an opportunity to add theatrics to a space that’s contemporary and classically plush and now boasts three distinct outdoor dining areas. A delicate curried carrot broth and beluga lentils transform slices of smoked tofu from wholesome to haute, while lamb belly spins on a spit in the former rectory. 114 E. 2nd St. (213-788-1191 or redbird.la). D Wed.-Sun.; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.
ANDREW I. CASTER, MD
Sonoratown Angry Egret Dinette CHINATOWN » Sandwiches $$
NATALE E
FASHION DISTRICT
» Mexican $
At this downtown spot known for its flour tortillas, you can order à la carte or opt for affordable familystyle takeout options to make your own tacos, burritos, or chimichangas filled with chorizo, carne asada,
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or mesquite-grilled chicken. Wash it all down with a six-pack of Tecate or seasonal aguas frescas. 208 E. 8th St. (213-628-3710, sonoratown.com, or @sonora townla). Curbside pickup by calling the restaurant; takeout and delivery via Caviar. L-D daily. Beer.
Superfine Pizza FASHION DISTRICT
» Pizza $
Get a quick taste of Rossoblu chef Steve Samson’s Italian-food mastery at his casual pizzeria, which serves both thin-crust slices and whole pies. The pepperoni always pleases, but the honey—with spicy salami, provolone, and Grana Padano—really thrills. 1101 S. San Pedro St., Ste. F (323-698-5677, superfinepizza.com, or @superfinepizza). Curbside pickup and delivery via the restaurant website, elsewhere via Postmates. 12-9 p.m. Wed.-Sun.
CENTRAL Alta Adams WEST ADAMS » California Soul Food $$ Riffing on his grandmother’s recipes, Watts native Keith Corbin loads up his gumbo with market veggies and enlivens his collard greens with a smoked oil. Soul food in this city is too often associated with Styrofoam containers, but this verdant patio, which reopened March 18, is a lovely place to linger. Hot sauce splashed onto skillet-fried chicken is pure pleasure, enhanced by a bourbon drink the bar tints with roasted peanuts and huckleberries. Finish the night by taking on a heroic wedge of coconut cake. 5359 W. Adams Blvd. (323-571-4999 or altaadams.com). L-D Thurs.-Sun. Full bar.
BOOK IT Molly Baz, a former Bon Appétit editor now based in Los Angeles, shares uncomplicated but exciting recipes in Cook This Book, out April 13.
in a town outside the Adriatic city of Rimini, then came to Los Angeles to cook with Mauro Vincenti. He’s not above finishing a crostino of lardo with truffles, but his wheelhouse is a more understated realm: soup is thick with soft potatoes, tripe is buoyed by a slow-cooked soffritto, and all the veal kidneys need is cooked-down onions and a splash of wine. 7313 Beverly Blvd. (323-297-0070 or angelini restaurantgroup.com). L-D daily. Beer and wine.
Antico LARCHMONT VILLAGE » Italian $$
Chef Chad Colby smartly converted his East Larchmont Italian restaurant into a takeout spot for foccacia pizzas and ice cream, fashioning a makeshift pizza oven with the plancha top that used to sit on the restaurant’s hearth. The ice cream has a wonderfully smooth texture, and the flavors are spot-on. The honeycomb and strawberry have garnered a lot of praise since the restaurant opened in 2019—and rightly so—but Colby has regularly been introduing new flavors like cookies-and-cream and pistachio. 4653 Beverly Blvd. (323-510-3093, antico-la.com , antico_la). Pickup and delivery via Caviar. 3-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 12.-8 p.m. Fri..-Sun. Wine to go.
A.O.C. Angelini Osteria » Italian $$$
BEVERLY GROVE
Gino Angelini grew up eating his grandma’s lasagna
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BEVERLY GROVE » California $$$
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. (310-8599859 or aocwinebar.com). D nightly; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.
Brandoni Pepperoni WEST HOLLYWOOD » Pizza $$ Six nights a week, Brandon Gray turns out some of L.A.’s most exciting pizzas. Gray, a veteran of Navy kitchens and top local restaurants like Providence, brings boundless imagination to his pies. They’re topped with premium ingredients—Jidori chicken, Sungold tomatoes, Spanish octopus—in exciting combinations. A curry-Dijonnaise dressing renders a side salad surprisingly memorable. 7100 Santa Monica Blvd., (323-306-4968 or brandoni-pepperoni.com). Pickup only. 4-8 p.m., Thurs.-Tues. Wine to go.
E.P. + L.P. WEST HOLLYWOOD
» Pan-Asian $$$
With a killer rooftop dining area, this dual-concept restaurant and bar has long been popular. Currently, only the L.P. rooftop lounge is open, serving up tacos and calamari with lime aioli. E.P., which has an Asian menu, is closed for the time being. 603 N. La Cienega Blvd. (310-855-9955 or eplosangeles .com). D nightly; brunch Sat. and Sun. Full bar.
Harold & Belle’s JEFFERSON PARK » Southern Creole $$ For Creole-style food—a mélange of French, African, and Native American flavors—Harold & Belle’s is as close to the Dirty Coast as you’ll come on the West Coast. The crawfish étouffée in spicy gravy will have you humming zydeco, while the bourbon
bread pudding will leave you with a Sazeracworthy buzz. 2920 W. Jefferson Blvd. (323-7359023 or haroldandbelles.com). L-D daily. Full bar.
Lalibela
FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Ethiopian $-$$
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). L-D daily. Beer and wine.
Luv2Eat Thai Bistro HOLLYWOOD » Thai $$
is heavy on the pizzas, with an $85 five-pizza package that’s a steal. Don’t miss the Spacca burgers, offered only on the weekends, for takeout and delivery only. Osteria: 6602 Melrose Ave. (323-297-0100 or osteriamozza.com). D nightly. Full bar. Pizzeria: 641 N. Highland Ave. (323-297-0101 or pizzeriamozza.com). Takeout via Toast or by calling the restaurant 12-8:30 p.m. Sun. Beer and wine.
République
HANCOCK PARK » Cal-French $$$
République may be devoted to French food, but its soul is firmly rooted in Californian cuisine. Walter Manzke is as skilled at making potato and leek beignets as he is at roasting cauliflower and local dates. Meanwhile, Margarita Manzke’s breads and pastries are always spot-on. Like a fine wine, this classic L.A. restaurant just gets better and better. 624 S. La Brea Ave. (310-362-6115 or republiquela.com). B-L daily, D Tues.-Sat. Full bar.
Ronan
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). Takeout and delivery via SappClub, ChowNow, or phone. 11 a.m.- 10 p.m. daily.
FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Cal-Italian $$
Osteria Mozza/Mozza2Go HANCOCK PARK » Italian $$$
BEVERLY GROVE
Nancy Silverton aims for end-times elegance with a parking lot that’s been transformed into a piazza where you can spend an evening nibbling on pastas, pizzas, and thoughtful salads from Mozza, Chi Spacca, and Pizzeria Mozza. Mozza2Go’s expansive menu
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). D Tues.-Sun. Full bar.
Slab
» Barbecue $$
Hungry diners used to line up in the driveway of Burt Bakman’s home, desperate for a taste of his famous smoked barbecue meats. In 2018, Bakman came up from the underground, opening a sleek storefront that’s now filling to-go orders for hearty fare, from perfectly marbled brisket to pulled-pork
sandwiches and collard greens. You can even get a six-pack of Bud Light. 8136 W. 3rd. St. (310-855-7184, slabbarbecue.com, or @slab). Takeout and delivery via Postmates. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine.
Son of a Gun » Seafood $$
BEVERLY GROVE
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 friedchicken sandwiches alongside artfully plated crudos. 8370 W. 3rd St. (323-782-9033 or sonofagun restaurant.com). L-D daily. Full bar.
EAST All Day Baby SILVER LAKE » Eclectic $$ Jonathan Whitener’s Here’s Looking At You is, sadly, closed, but his thrilling cooking continues on a bustling Eastside corner. Whether you opt for smoked spare ribs, a hot catfish sandwich, or a breakfast sandwich on pastry chef Thessa Diadem’s sublime biscuits, it’s all great. 3200 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-7410082, alldaybabyla.com, or @alldaybabyla). Takeout and delivery via Toast. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wed.-Sun.
Bar Restaurant » French $$$
SILVER LAKE
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 Gallicish fare, like curly fries and plump mussels Dijon atop milk toast; classic cocktails; and plenty of
T H E WO R L D ’ S B E S T TA S T I N G C B D G U M M Y w w w. m o d e r n l ove o rg a n i c s . c o m
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 or barrestaurant.la). D Wed.-Sun. Full bar.
Eszett SILVER LAKE
» Eclectic $$
This stylish, cozy wine bar brings warm hospitality and tasty plates, large and small, to the strip-mall space formerly occupied by Trois Familia. Chef Spencer Bezaire’s menu showcases Japanese, French, and German influences, making for hearty yet refined togo meals. The big fries alone are worth an order. 3510 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-522-6323 or eszettla.com). Happy hour and D Wed.-Sun.; brunch Sunday. Wine and beer.
Found Oyster EAST HOLLYWOOD
» Seafood $$$
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). Takeout via Toast. 3-8 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 12-8 p.m. Sun. Wine and beer.
Hippo HIGHLAND PARK
» Cal-Italian $$
Hidden in a wood-trussed dining room behind Triple Beam Pizza, this Cal-Ital restaurant from Mozza vet Matt Molina balances casual and refined. Snappy wax beans are sluiced with vinaigrette for a picnic-worthy salad. Great pastas and juicy grilled chicken thighs deliver the unfussy pleasure found at the best neighborhood spots. Eclectic regular specials like haute corn dogs add to the fun. 5916 ½ N. Figueroa St. (323545-3536 or hipporestaurant.com). D nightly. Full bar.
Maury’s Bagels SILVER LAKE » Bagels $ East Coast transplant Jason Kaplan spent a decade in L.A. before deciding he had to take matters into his own hands if he wanted a great bagel in this town. He started out as a pop-up at farmers’ markets and coffee shops, but his appropriately modestly sized, delightfully chewy bagels and quality smoked fish now have a brick-andmortar location. On a quiet Eastside corner next door to Psychic Wines, it’s quite charming. 2829 Bellevue Ave. (323- 380-9380, maurysbagels.com, or @maurys_los angeles). Takeout and delivery via Caviar and ChowNow. 7 a.m.- 2 p.m. Tues-Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
Northern Thai Food Club EAST HOLLYWOOD » Thai $ Offering specialty dishes unique to northern Thailand, this family-run favorite doesn’t skimp on flavor, spice, or authenticity. Tasty takeout meals include the khao soi gai (curry egg noodle with chicken), laab moo kua (minced pork), tam kha noon ( jackfruit salad), and pla salid tod (fried gourami fish). For those unfamiliar with the region’s distinct cuisine, the illustrious sticky rice is still a reliable bet. Need more incentive? Everything on the menu is less than $10. 5301 Sunset Blvd. (323-474-7212 or amphai northernthaifood.com). Takeout via the restaurant’s website. 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily.
Sōgo Roll Bar » Sushi $$
core with garlic-ginger ponzu and crispy onions. 4634 Hollywood Blvd. (323-741-0088, sogorollbar.com, or @sogorollbar). L-D daily. Beer and sake.
Spoon & Pork » Filipino $$
SILVER LAKE
The go-to for Filipino comfort food offers a variety of dishes, all featuring one shared ingredient: deliciousness. Spoon & Pork puts an innovative spin on some Filipino favorites—just try its adobo pork belly, pork belly banh mi, or lechón kawali. The dishes, which can be ordered at the counter to enjoy on the patio or for takeout and delivery, elegantly mix decadence with some authentic soul. 3131 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-922-6061, spoonand pork.com, or @spoonand porkla). L Sat. and Sun., D Tues.-Sun. Beer and wine.
Sunset Sushi SILVER LAKE » Japanese $$$ 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). Takeout via Square. 5-9 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Beer and sake to go.
Union
LOS FELIZ
Sogo 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 alba-
PASADENA
» Italian $$$
The food shines at this cozy trattoria just off Pasadena’s main drag. Chef Chris Keyser, an acolyte of Philadelphia pasta maestro Marc Vetri, joined in 2019, keeping classics, like a great cacio e pepe, on the menu while adding his own dishes, such as a thrilling crispy octopus appetizer. Most of the eat-in menu is also available to go, and family-style meals for four are also available. The pastas all impress, but don’t
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miss the wild mushrooms and polenta with a sublimely delicious sherry vinegar and truffle butter sauce. 37 E. Union St. (626-795-5841, unionpasadena .com, or @unionpasadena). Curbside pickup and delivery via Toast and Postmates. D nightly. Wine.
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STUDIO CITY
Some nights it seems as if half the Valley is here, enjoying the colorful patio. Top Chef graduate Antonia Lofaso’s Italian chops are visible in the buxom ricotta gnudi with brown butter and pistachios. The deep-fried fluffernutter sandwich is a reminder that food, like life, should not be taken too seriously. 11915 Ventura Blvd. (818-446-2533 or blackmarket liquorbar.com). D nightly. Full bar.
The Brothers Sushi WOODLAND HILLS » Sushi $$$ This hidden gem, reinvigorated when chef Mark Okuda took the helm in 2018, is worth traveling for. Keep spirits up with the Hand-Roll Party home kits (there’s even one for kids), or splurge on an omakase that can be enjoyed on the patio or to go. You can also order à la carte or get non-sushi items like soyglazed grilled chicken. 21418 Ventura Blvd. (818-4564509, thebrotherssushi.com, or @thebrotherssushila). L Tues.-Fri., D Tues.-Sun.Beer, wine, and sake.
Casa Vega SHERMAN OAKS
» Mexican $
The Vega family’s 64-year-old institution has put up a massive tent in its parking lot to keep the margaritas flowing amidst COVID-19 restrictions. And if you prefer takeout, there’s a drive-through setup that makes it easy to pick up a plate of enchiladas or a hulking “oven-style” burrito topped with enchilada sauce and melted cheese. The expansive menu has a great selection of hearty crowd-pleasers, cocktails, and tequilas. You might leave tipsy, but you’ll never go hungry. 13301 Ventura Blvd., (818-788-4868 or casavega.com). L-D daily. Full bar.
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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 maple-glazed bacon elevate a simple bacon, egg, and cheese, while a classic salmon-and-lox construction has thoughtful touches like salted cucumbers and pickled onions. Sammies shine with plain cream cheese, but it’s worth grabbing a tub of Hank’s “angry” spread—a spicy, slightly sweet concoction—to have in your fridge. And no cream cheese is needed for Hank’s everything jalapeno-cheddar bagel, a stunning gut bomb. 4315 Riverside Dr. (818-588-3693, hanksbagels .com, or @hanksbagels). Takeout via Toast. B-L daily. Also at 13545 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.
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SOUTH Ali’i Fish Company EL SEGUNDO » Seafood $$ This small, unassuming spot shames all of the glossy poke purveyors popping up around town to serve mediocre versions of the Hawaiian dish. Glistening cubes of tuna, flown in fresh from the islands daily, remind you how great poke can be. Even a vegan poke, with tofu and sea asparagus, manages to satisfy. If you’re not looking to go raw, there are various salmon and tuna burgers to choose from, and the smoked-ahi dip with house-made potato chips is not to be missed. Perfect for picking up a beach picnic. 409 E. Grand Ave. (310-616-3484 or aliifishco.com). L-D daily.
Fishing With Dynamite » Seafood $$$
MANHATTAN BEACH
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L A M AG . C O M 1 1 1
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. On the menu, you’ll find several kinds of oysters from across the country, Peruvian scallops, and Alaskan king crab legs. 1148 Manhattan Ave. (310-893-6299 or eatfwd.com). L-D daily; brunch Sat.-Sun. Full bar.
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» Fried chicken $
After three years of running a pop-up, Kim Prince has opened a brick-and-mortar that does 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. The sides ($5 and up), like spicy mac and cheese and kale coleslaw, are also winners. 4070 Marlton Ave. (323-792-4835 or hotvillechicken.com). L-D Tue.-Sun. No alcohol.
This creamy lemon-coconut cake from SWEET LAUREL BAKERY is lovely on its own, but it’s even prettier if you opt to add spray roses or fresh fruit. $65, 15279 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, sweetlaurel.com.
Little Sister
REDONDO BEACH » Asian Fusion $$
Chef and co-owner Tin Vuong deftly translates the flavors of Vietnam for a casual drinking scene. Nibble on fresh spring rolls with shrimp, pork, and a peanut dipping sauce, then wash it all down with a craft beer or three. 247 Avenida del Norte (424-3980237 or dinelittlesister.com). L-D daily. Beer, wine, and sake.
M.B. Post
MANHATTAN BEACH » New American $$
David LeFevre (the Arthur J, Fishing With Dynamite) cuts a swath through genres and latitudes with the gusto of someone who’s clearly pleased to be at the stove. He sears Scottish salmon with roasted garlic puree, sugar snap peas, truffle vinaigrette, and charred scallions. There’s plenty of wordplay on the menu (“Meat Me Later”), but no pun can do justice to his bacon-cheddar biscuits with maple butter. 1142 Manhattan Ave. (310-545-5405 or eatmbpost.com). D nightly. Full bar.
Every Easter, PRIMO’S DONUTS sells a limited selection of pastel delights, including its signature coconut-covered Easter Basket doughnuts. $26.50 a dozen, 2918 Sawtelle Blvd., Sawtelle, primosdonuts.com.
Little Coyote LONG BEACH » Pizza $
KARMA BAKER’s Carrot Cake in a Jar (Easter edition) is perfect for vegan or gluten-free bunnies. $48 for six eight-ounce jars, 1145 Lindero Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, karmabaker.com.
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: pepperoni comes in generous quantities, tiny porky cups glistening with grease; a veggie supreme transcends the usual half-cooked-produce mediocrity of the form. This is pizza worth driving south for. 2118 E. 4th St.. (562-434-2009, littlecoyotelbc.com, or @littlecoyotelbc). Takeout and delivery via Toast and DoorDash. 12-8 p.m. Wed.-Sun.
The always-superb CLEMENTINE is baking up cupcakes topped with pastel buttercream and festive tidbits. $14 for an assortment of four, 1751 Ensley Ave., Century City, clementineonline.com.
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, order tamaleselenayantojitos .com, or @tamaleselenayantojitos). Takeout and delivery via restaurant website or phone. 9 a.m.6 p.m. Sun.-Tues, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.
VENUES Calamigos Ranch calamigos.com 818.889.6280
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FLOUR SHOP offers two holiday versions of its famous explosion cake, one that looks like an Easter bunny and another modeled after a flower pot. $40-$175, 9495 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, flourshop.com.
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Downtown at a Crossroads C O N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 5 7
among them architectural landmarks like the $40 million Star Apartments, which opened on 6th Street in 2014, and New Pershing Apartments, a $32 million endeavor that created 69 permanent supportive housing units while preserving the Victorian façade of a Historic Core building that dates to 1889. In January, a rapidly constructed $48 million homeless housing project, with 232 units, largely funded by CARES Act dollars, opened on Vignes Street. The truth about downtown is that it’s complicated—the megawealthy and the impoverished intermingle there like nowhere else in Los Angeles. Few realize that downtown actually comprises more than a dozen disparate districts, from the low-slung developments spreading in the Arts District to the government buildings populating the Civic Center. South Park has little in common with the Jewelry District. The same goes for Bunker Hill and Little Tokyo. It’s also easy to forget that downtown is still only in the middle stage of its reinvention. It was moribund 22 years ago, the place where hundreds of thousands of people each day would drive in for work and then drive home. There’s a reason why the major planning document for the community is labeled DTLA 2040; some of the most important growth is yet to come. “Downtown is now full of real stakeholders, not just people who come in and work and leave,” Garcetti says. “A balanced set of stakeholders that say, ‘Yes, we want to see nightclubs and restaurants, but we want parks and schools.’ ” The pandemic has brought downtown to a crossroads moment. Neighborhood-defining restaurants have disappeared, among them Bäco Mercat in the Historic Core, Broken Span1 14 L A M AG . C O M
ish in South Park, Bon Temps in the Arts District, and Plum Tree Inn in Chinatown. The trouble endures across all sectors. The DCBID’s yearend market report put the downtown office vacancy rate at 16.9 percent, up from 14.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, while hotel occupancy plummeted to barely 25 percent. The average residential rent has tumbled by about 7 percent, according to the CCA. Bill Cooper, who has been selling condominiums in downtown since 2002, said prices are generally 5 to 10 percent less than they were a year ago. A vaccination program won’t quickly fill the empty spaces. Rising expects “two years of pain” as cautious CEOs assess how much office space they need. Rosenfeld also predicts a slow climb from the depths. The forecasts that he believes peg 2021 and 2022 as recovery years. “And in 2023, we will be back where we were a year ago,” he says. Downtown’s advantage is that it is not starting from zero. The tens of billions sunk into the area in the past two decades provide an almost “too big to fail” foundation. Further, points out Nick Griffin, executive director of the DCBID, half a dozen major projects are currently under construction, including the billion-dollar Frank Gehry-designed development the Grand, which is rising across from Disney Hall and will have upscale residences, an Equinox-branded hotel, retail shops, and restaurants. Garcetti points to the Regional Connector, a $1.75 billion infrastructure improvement that will speed travel by tying together three Metro lines in downtown; and the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor, a 19mile light-rail line that will connect downtown with southeast L.A. County. Cooper touts the Apple flagship store coming this year to the old Tower Theater at 8th and Broadway and the Paul Smith boutique that opened on the same block last July (now temporarily closed) as indications that downtown will rebound. Economic trends will help. “Interest rates continue to be ridiculously low,” he says. Some facets of downtown life will change. The tech workarounds of videoconferencing and cloud-based software that sufficed during the pandemic could encourage companies to have many employees come to the of-
fice only two or three days a week, just enough, perhaps, to bring back some of the vital lunchtime business that evaporated last year. Too, the recent dramatic decline in new COVID cases and arrival of three highly effective vaccines could presage a much earlier return to something resembling normal than originally predicted. There is a growing consensus that CEOs want their teams to interact in person again, and younger workers worry that they will be overlooked in companies where most communication is virtual. COVID-inspired design changes are a certainty. “We will have touchless elevators, which we were headed toward anyway,” says Rising. “We’ll have touchless faucets. I think we will have better air-handling systems or maybe even fresh air in our office buildings.” Rising believes that the owners of some 1980s-era downtown office buildings may be unable to afford major renovations and could sell to developers who turn the properties into housing. When new deals are signed, even negotiations will be different. Contracts, predicts Moore, “are all going to include some type of a pandemic clause, that if we were to have something like this again—i.e. COVID-25—they will go to either an abatement of rent or some formula that allows for a forgiveness of rent. These will be new things landlords have not seen in the past but will have to be prepared for.” Additional enthusiasm for the future stems from the makeup of the downtown populace. Besten notes that while some businesses have gone under, a tight-knit community supports those still open. Indeed, on an early afternoon in mid-February, after outdoor dining restrictions had been lifted, patios across downtown were packed with unmasked patrons, from the Arts District sausage-and-beer joint Wurstküche to the Yard House at L.A. Live. Downtown has recovered from a century’s worth of calamities, among them the 1918 flu pandemic, and so will likely prevail again. “There is inherently a belief that we will overcome this. There’s a historic track record to prove that we have,” says Lall. “I think there’s a real pride here,” adds Brown. “It means something to be a downtowner and part of something unique. I think it can bounce back.”
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BU R I E D TREASURE
Beverly Hills residents demand street improvements on Rodeo Drive in 1958.
A:
The road connecting the Beverly Hills Hotel to the Beverly Wilshire once had practical businesses—a gas station and a hardware store—tucked between the celebrity-packed hot spots like the Brown Derby and the Luau. Giorgio founder Fred Hayman launched the Rodeo Drive Committee in 1977 to radically upscale the street, but European fashion brands, not quite convinced, played it safe and sold franchises to locals. The first Prada, Versace, and Fendi stores were run by “mom-and-pop people,” according to realtor Gilbert Dembo, who has sold property on the street for 50 years. These global companies gradually displaced local shops through the ’80s, and today rents have soared to $70 per square foot, making the street one of the most expensive in America. “It wasn’t a gold rush,” Dembo says. “It didn’t happen overnight.” Q: Where are indigent people buried in Los Angeles? A: County workers collect unclaimed bodies every day from hospitals, sidewalks, bus benches, jails, and private homes. They spend three years trying to contact families before sending the cremated remains to L.A.’s potter’s field at the 1 16 L A M AG . C O M
Los Angeles County Cemetery on 1st and Lorena in Boyle Heights. Last December, 1,547 Angelenos were interred under a four-inch marker inscribed “2017.” There’s a service once a year that has grown more inclusive recently, with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Native American rituals. Last year’s
service featured a violinist from Street Symphony, which performs concerts on Skid Row. Q: Why are there revolving pyramids on top of some In-N-Out Burger shops? A: They’re not tiny Egyptian funerary mastabas or symbols of Christian mysticism; the aluminum-
USC DIGITAL LIBRARY. LOS ANGELES EXAMINER PHOTOGRAPHS COLLECTION
How did Rodeo Drive come to be the most luxe street in Los Angeles? plated spinners are simply there to scare off pigeons. The makers of the Eagle Eye device claim it reflects sunlight at a wavelength that birds “associate with danger.” Ornithologist John McCormack likens it to a human being reacting to a camera flash. “If you were walking in the forest and the paparazzi took your picture,” he says, “you’d be startled and maybe go somewhere else.” Q: LACMA has temporarily gone dark. Are there new museums on the horizon? A: With LACMA still in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation, a handful of other museums will soon be vying for our attention. Any day now, we’ll have a glass sphere with the shark from Jaws at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wilshire and a spaceshipful of Renoirs and Rockwells at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art at Exposition Park. The Armenian American Museum in Glendale will be joining 400 others in L.A., quite possibly home to more museums than any city in the world.
C H R I S ’S P I C K
Landmark Status A NEW BOOK OF L.A.'S OLD PLACES O Buildings carry
the stories of the city. Howard Hughes’s aircraft hangar is now creative space for Google, and a gas station restored by Starbucks suddenly offers a different kind of fuel. For the last 15 years, L.A.’s Office of Historic Resources has been headed up by Ken Bernstein, and in his new book, Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America’s Cities, he shows off some of the city’s 1,200 designated historic-cultural monuments. Bernstein’s office teamed up with the Getty to survey almost 900,000 addresses, and the effort revealed 50,000 pieces of astounding architecture. “We’re now looked at as a national model of historic preservation,” Bernstein says.
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