Los Angeles magazine - July 2020 by The Lifestyle Magazines of SoCal

HOW THE CITY’S MOST CROOKED COUNCILMAN GOT CAUGHT

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL: THE FIGHT TO SAVE MICHAEL’S RESTAURANT

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JULY 2020

N E W K I DS ON THE BLOCK

A band of TikTok stars has taken over mansions in L.A.’s poshest zip codes— to the chagrin of their neighbors PAGE 13

Features 52

L.A.’s Real Estate Roller Coaster

My Fight to Save Michael’s

Escape From Synanon

The city’s post-pandemic housing market promises to be a wild ride. Here are tips from the pros to help you handle the ups and downs

Devastated by the COVID-19 crisis, the launching pad for California cuisine faces an uncertain future. Amid the shutdown, the son of founder Michael McCarty reflects on the maddening realities of running a beloved restaurant

Mikel Jollett and his brother, Tony, spent their early years raised by strangers at the Venice-based cult. One night a nervous woman arrived to whisk them to a hazy future. An exclusive excerpt from the season’s most anticipated book

BY CHAS MCCARTY

BY MIKEL JOLLETT

BY ALEXANDRIA ABRAMIAN

4 L A M AG . C O M

P H O T O G R A P H BY C O R I NA M A R I E H OW E L L

Buzz THE KIDS NEXT DOOR

JULY 2020

» Newly minted TikTok stars are setting up shop in mansions across the city. The neighbors are not amused BY BRITTANY MARTIN PAGE 13

CASH ME IF YOU CAN

» The pandemic has been a disaster for the city’s drug cartels, which are dealing with stepped-up DEA raids, crippling shortages, and fewer ways to launder their dirty money BY JASON MCGAHAN PAGE 14

THE BRIEF

» Joe Manganiello’s Dungeons & Dragons lair; COVID-19 and plastic surgery; and Elon Musk’s estate sales PAGE 16

Columns THE CROOKED COUNCILMAN

» José Huizar beat the odds to become the most powerful politician in the city. Now he’s a key suspect in a burgeoning scandal that has L.A.’s politicos in a panic BY JASON MCGAHAN PAGE 40

PEEPS SHOW

F I N - TA ST I C

Salmon sushi and cauliﬂower “rice” bowl from Skinny Fish

» How a Zoom writers’ room introduced this author to a set of quirky strangers— and saved her from her cranky quarantine self BY ANNABELLE GURWITCH PAGE 48

Ask Chris

The Inside Guide » From cannabis cafés to the season’s sexiest swimsuits to sensational strawberry ice cream—the best things to buy, eat, see, and do this summer. PAG E 2 1

» What’s the story with the “Witch’s House” in Beverly Hills? How did Angelenos quarantine during the Spanish flu of 1918? Our resident historian answers your burning questions BY CHRIS NICHOLS PAGE 88

ON THE COVER » PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTIN METZ

6 L A M AG . C O M

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Editor’s Note

BY MAER ROSHAN

M I K E L J O L L E T T WA S F I V E

years old when he was rousted from bed one night by a virtual stranger, pushed into a waiting car, and driven to a safe house across the state. At the time, in the early 1980s, Jollett and his older brother were living in Synanon, a drug and alcohol rehab near Venice Beach that had gradually devolved into a notorious cult. The stranger turned out to be Mikel’s mom, who had left him in the care of Synanon when he was a baby and returned to ferry him and his brother to safety once she had sufficiently dried out. But his life outside Synanon would be marred by poverty, violence, and addiction. In the end, Jollett turned out OK—he’s a father of two living in Silver Lake and lead singer of a popular indie rock band, the Airborne Toxic Event. His memoir, Hollywood Park— excerpted here—is already one of this summer’s most celebrated books. Talking to Mikel, I asked how he managed to spin adversity into such a thoughtful and generous piece of work. “I wanted to be useful,” he replied. “You can take pain and turn it into something more transcendent. You can turn it into art.” Be useful. It’s a challenge that I’ve thought about frequently as the pandemic has gone from a novelty to a dull and chronic fact of life. As I write this, the death 8 L A M AG . C O M

Even as Angelenos begin to venture out, it’s become clear that the pain this pandemic has inflicted will be longerlasting than any of us imagined. FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @MAERROSHAN

toll from the epidemic has inched above 100,000, and a quarter of L.A. County is unemployed. Even as Angelenos start to venture out, it’s clear that the pain this plague has inflicted will be longer-lasting than any of us imagined. Amid the steady drip of bad news, it’s difficult to stay hopeful and focused, but working as a journalist—trying in a small way to be useful—is what keeps me and my colleagues going every day. I’m sure the same imperative drives 30-yearold Chas McCarty, who writes in these pages about his quixotic battle to keep his father’s legendary restaurant alive. When Michael McCarty opened his eponymous Santa Monica restaurant in 1979, it was an immediate hit: the archetype for a new California cuisine and a launchpad for a generation of culinary talents from Jonathan Waxman to Nancy Silverton. But even legends can use an occasional face-lift. A few years ago, as business declined, Michael passed the reins to his son, and gave him a mandate to reinvent the restaurant. Just as his efforts were paying off, the shutdown hit. Owning a restaurant is difficult in the best of times, so Michael’s faces the same dilemma shared by scores of other independent restaurants and stores: how to keep going when you’re not sure you can afford to do so. Elsewhere in this issue, Alexandria Abramian’s exhaustive survey of the city’s housing market proves that even in calamitous times, there’s ample potential for upside. (Just ask the twentysomething TikTok stars who now occupy some of Beverly Hills’ toniest mansions.) Real estate also plays a central role in the downfall of José Huizar, the mysterious city councilman who allegedly pocketed massive bribes from international conglomerates to green-light huge construction programs in his district. As Jason McGahan reports, Huizar now finds himself at the center of the worst scandal to hit the city in more than 80 years. Raised in a down-on-its heels neighborhood blocks from City Hall, Huizar overcame long odds to become an Ivy League-educated lawyer and the first Mexican immigrant to be elected councilmember. He had become an inspiration to people looking to make a similar leap. But his greed put a stop to that. In the end, instead of being useful, he was simply used.

Roshan Editor-in-Chief Maer Roshan, P H O T O G R A P H E D BY S H AYA N A S G H A R N I A

Maer Roshan

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alexandria Abramian, Cristopher Beam, Alex Bhattacharji, Alex Ben Block, Steven Blum, Samuel Braslow, Susan Campos, Rene Chun, Matthew Dickinson, Ben Ehrenreich, Gillian Ferguson, Annabelle Gurwitch, Andy Hermann, Robert Ito, Matt Jaffe, Gabriel Kahn, Eliyahu Kamisher, Jason McGahan, Jon Regardie, Allen Salkin, Heidi Siegmund Cuda, Michael Slenske, Bryan Smith, Joel Stein, Sam Wasson, Jeff Weiss, Laurie Winer, Emily Young CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Shayan Asgharnia, Elisabeth Caren, Andrea D’Agosto, Dominic Bugatto, Ben Duggan, John Euland, Christina Gandolfo, Jill Greenberg, Corina Marie, Max-O-Matic, Slava Mogutin, Kyle David Moreno, Elliott Morgan, Chris Morris, Jason Raish, Edel Rodriguez, Matt Sayles, Jason Schneider, Ryan Schude, Ian Spanier, Brian Taylor, Isak Tiner, John Tsiavis, Christian Witkin EDITORIAL INTERNS Rachel Hallet, Schuyler Mitchell, Olivia Novato

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L A M AG . C O M 1 1

WE’VE ALL BEEN ON PAUSE

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07.20

The Kids Next Door

> Artists of yesteryear may have pooled their wages to shack up in dreary downtown lofts, but today’s culture creators prefer the creature comforts that only a posh mansion can provide. With TikTok the phenomenon du jour, gangs of newly minted social media stars have popped up across the city, living together in million-dollar manors equipped with the photogenic amenities and outdoor space they require. Living with your besties might sound dreamy, but as Marcus Olin can attest, it’s not necessarily a wild scene. The 21-year-old moved here from Oregon and, in May, launched Kids Next Door, a “content house” he shares with eight fellow influencers, including his girlfriend, a TikTok star named Stephanie Margarucci. Living there means committing to create multiple posts every day, taking full advantage of the digs. “At first, like, the neighbors were definitely not happy at all,” Olin concedes. “But we’re trying to be as quiet as possible.” —BRITTANY MARTIN

P H O T O G R A P H BY C O R I NA M A R I E H OW E L L

L A M AG . C O M 13

BUZZ

CRIME

Cash Me If You Can

AMONG THE MANY BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN PUNISHED BY THE PANDEMIC ARE THE CITY’S DRUG CARTELS, WHICH ARE DEALING WITH CRIPPLING SHORTAGES AND FEWER WAYS TO LAUNDER DIRTY MONEY BY JA S O N M C G A H A N

H E C ORONAV I RUS has

cash seizures, as easily as shooting devastated the business ﬁsh in a barrel. landscape of Los AngeThe Black Market Peso Exchange les, leaving no sector of makes use of money brokers and legitthe economy unharmed, imate trade to disguise proceeds from not even the drug trade. illegal sources. Robert E. Dugdale is Since most retail shops were ordered all too familiar with the process. As shut across California on March 19, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angedrug-trafficking organizations operles in 2014, Dugdale prosecuted busiating in the city have faced a serious nesses in the Fashion District that dilemma: how to launder their ill-gotwere charged with taking bulk cash ten gains and funnel them back to the funneled by drug cartels for clothing cartel bosses in Mexico. exported to Mexico. Two of the compaThe pandemic has thrown a wrench nies were owned by brothers living in into a sophisticated scheme Westwood and Beverly Hills. known as the Black Mar“The basic goal for the ket Peso Exchange, which drug cartel is to realize the helped establish L.A. as the revenue from its drug sales The DEA epicenter of cartel money in the United States without has seized laundering operations in having to physically smugthe United States. The DEA gle bulk currency across the over $9.5 says it is one of the most sucborder, where the chances million cessful such systems ever of its seizure by law enforcein cartel devised. This spring stash ment are at their highest,” cash since houses and other hiding Dugdale says. places were practically overTrade-based money launMarch. ﬂowing with drug money— derers depend on legitimate and with all nonessential businesses to help launder businesses closed, there was suspect funds. So when the no one to clean the dirty loot and safetrade they rely on dries up overnight, guard its transfer to Mexico. the whole narcotics industry goes into So cartels have had to revert to an a panic. In March, when the Fashion old-fashioned way of moving cash: District—the purported epicenter of packing it in the back of a vehicle, the epicenter of underworld banking in driving it to the border, and hoping the United States—was shuttered in the for the best. The risky business has wake of the pandemic, the Drug Enforcenot escaped the attention of federment Administration began hearing al drug enforcement agents in Los through the grapevine that cartels operAngeles, who in the early weeks of ating in the area were desperately seekthe lockdown kept their ears to the ing new ways to launder growing piles ground and made a series of major of cash. Between March and early May, 14 L A M AG . C O M

while the Southern California economy was reeling, the DEA seized more than $9.5 million in cash as it was headed for the border, more than double the $4.6 million that the feds nabbed during the same period last year. Until recently the cartels knew better than to travel with copious amounts of dough, and such big busts were rare. But between late April and late May, the DEA hit the jackpot with four massive drug busts that each netted a million dollars of dirty cash. The seizures occurred in Long Beach and Cerritos, in L.A. County; Anaheim, in Orange County; and Wildomar, in Riverside County. According to the DEA, the money was found in the possession of couriers who work for the dueling multinational drug traffickers that control California’s border with Mexico: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Car-

L E AV I NG L OS A NG E L E S

G E T T Y I M AG E S

Cartel couriers are racing to the border with carloads of cash. The DEA is there to greet them.

tel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. What surprised William Bodner, the DEA’s special agent in charge of L.A., was the apparent desperation of the traffickers. “It says something about the mindset of the cartels right now that they are stuffing a million dollars in cash into bags or boxes and then throwing them in the trunk,” Bodner tells Los Angeles. The problems the stay-at-home order has posed for the cartels have not been limited to the fortunes they lost due to seizures. The pandemic has also struck at the heart of the global supply chain, resulting in a severe shortage of their most popular products. The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the COVID-19 outbreak originated, also happens to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of the chemicals used to manufacture crystal

meth and the increasingly deadly opioid fentanyl. In December, as China was vainly trying to cover up the emergence of a deadly respiratory illness, DEA agents 7,000 miles away in L.A. started noticing an inexplicable rise in the street price of crystal meth. “We weren’t in tune with the coronavirus yet,” Bodner says, “so we were kind of wondering why the meth price was growing so rapidly in January and February.” They soon discovered that reduced laboratory operations in Wuhan after the pandemic had limited the supply of precursor chemicals to cartels in Mexico. As a result, the street price of meth in L.A. doubled from about $900 a pound in November to $1,800 a pound by the ﬁrst week of May. (Prices of other drugs like heroin and cocaine were largely

unaffected by the pandemic, the DEA says.) The clampdown on nonessential travel across the U.S.-Mexico border has further reduced the narcotics supply. “Finding a drug shipment at a border crossing is like ﬁnding a needle in a haystack,” says Bodner. “But the haystack just got a lot smaller.” On the bright side for the cartels: demand for illicit drugs is presumably as high as ever, and probably higher, judging from the skyrocketing popularity of other mind-altering substances. According to the market research ﬁrm Nielsen, U.S. sales of spirits like tequila and gin increased 75 percent during the early phase of the shutdown, while cannabis sales in L.A. have reportedly quadrupled. But all that money won’t do the cartels any good, if they have no place to hide it. L A M AG . C O M 15

N E WS & N OT E S F R O M A L L OV E R

The Brief

BEVERLY HILLS BABES ARE EAGER TO GET BACK TO BOTOX AND BOOB JOBS—COVID CONCERNS BE DAMNED BY MERLE GINSBERG

I T ’ S N O T E V E RY

city where cosmetic surgery is considered an essential service, but for a certain subset of Angelenos, beauty is worth any risk. Since the shutdown went into effect, top docs across Beverly Hills say patients have tried to bribe and threaten them to ﬂout the city’s ban. On April 28 the Beverly Hills City Council voted 4 to 1 to allow “medically necessary procedures” to resume, but what’s medically necessary is in the eye of the beholder. “While some elective procedures are now permitted, aesthetic cosmetic surgeries were still not recommended during the emergency state,” says Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman. Doctors seem to be interpreting the new guidelines loosely. In April a patient who went 16 L A M AG . C O M

under the knife for breast augmentation was raced to the ICU at Cedars-Sinai when she had trouble breathing. According to several doctors in the area, tests revealed that she was positive for COVID-19. Soon after that alleged incident, Harry Glassman, a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, sent out an invite to select clients, offering “elective and non-invasive aesthetic procedures.” Glassman did not return calls for comment, but other docs say they felt they had no choice but to follow his example. “If we didn’t start doing cosmetic surgeries, we’d go out of business,” gripes a leading 90210 plastic practitioner, who points out the steep costs of maintaining a Beverly Hills practice. The surgeon, who requested anonymity,

D&D TIME

From left: Tom Morello, Joe Manganiello and Vince Vaughn

D&D HOLLYWOOD HE’S PERHAPS MOST

famous for playing Wes Mantooth in Anchorman, but Vince Vaughn may ﬁnd his most personally satisfying role is as Kassin, the Human Divine Soul Sorcerer, when he gets together with other industry insiders for a secret Dungeons & Dragons adventure in Joe Manganiello’s basement. According to Variety, Manganiello, the star of True Blood, has spent several years quietly serving as Dungeon Master to Vaughn and a tiny group of fellow D&Dobsessed luminaries. Other members include Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello (a Mountain Dwarf ), WWE’s Paul “The Big Show” Wight (Giant Psychic Warrior), and Game of Thrones cocreator Dan Weiss (Moon Elf Assassin). Initially just a handful of players showed up for the weekly battles, but as word of the epic campaign has grown, attendance has

P L AST I C S U R G E RY: V I N C E N T B E S N AU LT/G E T T Y I M AG E S ; D & D H O L LYWO O D : P I X E L P U S H E R , CO M P O S E D O F G E T T Y I M AG E S & CO U RT E SY I M AG E F R O M D U N G E O N S & D R AG O N S

THE UNKINDEST CUT OF ALL

says he opened his offices in mid-May for “mostly” medical procedures. “But it’s really ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” he admits. “If we are too late coming back to this party, we might not come back at all.” Top derm Peter Kopelson had a soft reopening May 18, “treating moles, skin cancers—and slowly doing cosmetic procedures where masks can be worn, like Botox,” he says. “Thermometers and strict sanitary conditions are enforced.” Another skin specialist, Ava Shamban, has gone to even more elaborate lengths to make her offices safer. “I installed air-ﬁltration systems in all patient rooms—30 of them,” she says. “If a patient needs to remove their mask, we rinse their mouth and do not speak.” Whether or not such precautions are sufficient may be a moot point for people whose livelihood depends on their looks. “The show must go on,” says the anonymous surgeon. “Actors would rather die than look bad.”

THE NUMBER OF YEARS IT WOULD TAKE AN AVERAGE PERSON TO MATCH THE ANNUAL L D BONUSES—A MEDIAN OF $37.6 MILLION—THAT MEDIA EXECS AT COMCAST, DISNEY, AT&T, FOX, AND NETFLIX GAVE THEMSELVES WHILE LAYING OFF HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES DURING THE PANDEMIC C

increased—and, of course, there’s a Zoom component of late. “It’s [like] a high-stakes poker game,” Morello told Variety. “It’s very, very serious!” —IAN SPIEGELMAN

MALL MAYOR L.A. MALL MOGUL

Rick Caruso has long been coy about his mayoral ambitions, but City Hall observers say his recent moves suggest he’s readying for a run to succeed Eric Garcetti in

being named to President Trump’s post-COVID-19 economic advisory panel won’t do him any good in ﬁercely liberal L.A., he is ﬁlling a similar role in the state for Governor Gavin Newsom. Sources say that if Caruso runs, he will pitch himself as a business leader who can save Los Angeles in its time of economic peril. And with an unlimited campaign war chest, the billionaire will be hard to beat. —J O N R E G A R D I E

410

MUSK’S MANSIONS S HIT THE MARKET

lon Musk is apparently nott just a billionaire, possible super-villain r-villain (we don’t know!), and father her to bouncing baby X Æ A-Xii. He would ld also seem to be a Marie Kondo fan. “I am selling almost all physical possessions. ns. Will own no house,” he tweeted in early rly May. “Don’t need cash,” he later added, d, in case you were worried about his ﬁnances. ces. “Possessions just weigh you down.” n.” While his six L.A.-area homes may no longer nger spark joy for him, the estimated $102 102 million he could make off the sales just might. Have a look. — B R I T TA N Y M A RT I N ASKING: $9.5 MILLION

ASKING: $30 MILLION

CORONAVIRUS TV I F YO U T H O U G H T TV

I T T O O K A V I L L AG E

M A L L M AYO R : A M A N DA E DWA R DS /G E T T Y I M AG E S ; E LO N M U S K : G E T T Y I M AG E S ; H O M E S 1 , 3 , 4 : CO U RT E SY Z I L LOW; H O M E 2 : CO U RT E SY M L S ; H O M E S 5 , 6 : G O O G L E M A P S

Garcetti and Caruso launched Palisades Village in fall 2018

2022. The deep-pocketed developer of the Grove and the Americana won widespread praise for keeping his outdoor malls open and his fountains dancing during L.A.’s stay-at-home order, and he’s maintained a peripatetic media presence since the crisis began, dropping Churchillian soundbites everywhere from Vanity Fair to CNN. “Without shared responsibility we’re not going to succeed,” he recently told Fox’s Neil Cavuto. “With shared responsibility I don’t think we can fail.” While

was getting interesting before the pandemic shuttered most productions, just wait till fall. Bloomberg reports that with nearly all shooting halted, networks are panic-buying everything from South African sitcoms to decades-old stand-up comedy specials to fill the gap. One of the biggest players in this new market is Brian VolkWeiss, a producer who has spent the past decade assembling a library of content. “This is probably the greatest time in the world to have a catalog,” he bragged to Bloomberg. His outfit, the Nacelle Company, just signed its first-ever deal with a broadcast network, selling seven specials to the CW, including a years-old one starring Jim Gaffigan. “They’ve gotta find stuff that has been made but not exposed,” VolkWeiss said. —I . S .

Musk reportedly adapted this midcentury property—previously owned by Gene Wilder—for use as a (very) private school for his kids and the children of a few select associates.

Among the largest of Musk’s estates, this 20,248-square-foot mansion has seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and, possibly, a secret laboratory.

OFFERED IN A $62.5 MILLION BUNDLE

Purchased in 2015, this compound was the third Bel-Air buy for Musk. He picked up the property, along the same street as the larger estate and his schoolhouse, in an off-market sale.

The most modest of the properties, this small ranch house was bought as an add-on because it happened to sit on a ridge above the mansion Musk actually wanted.

More modern in style than the others but situated on the same street as the modest ranch house, this unique property is believed to have served as the residence of Musk’s fashion-model mom, Maye.

Acquired only last year, this stately Bel-Air home was estimated to cost Musk around $6.4 million. The previous owner had held on to it since 1964, when it sold for just $310,000.

L A M AG . C O M 17

Buzz

HIGH SOCIETY

Members Only SOHO HOUSE AND NEWCOMERS LIKE SAN VICENTE BUNGALOWS FACE AN EXISTENTIAL DILEMMA: HOW TO RUN A PRIVATE CLUB IN AN AGE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING

he much-hyped

2010 debut of Soho House West Hollywood, a satellite of the London-based social club, set off a tidal wave of membersonly launches aimed at Los Angeles’s creative class. Groucho Marx may have dismissed any club that would have him as a member, but entertainment agents and hip-hop artists, fashionistas and tech tycoons all wanted in. Private clubs reshaped the social landscape of the city. Three months ago that landscape imploded. Whither the social club in the era of social distancing? As nonessential businesses, the clubs have been shuttered since March. In late May, Nash Tennant, general manager of h Club Los Angeles—the buzzy outpost of the London club founded in 2018 by the late Paul Allen and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics—announced the club would not be reopening, citing the “devastating effect on the hospitality industry” of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the economic uncertainty created by the pandemic, the surviving clubs face challenges speciﬁc to their operations. For starters there’s the pesky fact that they’re largely ﬁnanced by membership dues. How to charge club fees when you can’t provide club privileges? AllBright, the women’s club on Melrose Place, has suspended membership dues while it is closed. At San Vicente Bungalows, the snug celeb-

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rity watering hole that Jeff Klein fashioned out of a gay bathhouse in West Hollywood, dues paid during closure will be applied toward membership when the club reopens. At Soho House—whose L.A. locations now include Soho Warehouse downtown and Little Beach House Malibu in addition to Soho House West Hollywood—dues-paying members are allowed to use credits on Soho House products and on food, beverage, and room charges after the clubs reboot. “At the moment loads of our members are spending their credits on our Barwell crystal bar sets so they can make their quarantine cocktails at home,” says Samantha Stone, chief membership officer of Soho House. Stone adds that the club is “really fortunate in the sense that our members are on this journey with us. We haven’t had much membership falloff.” But credits or no credits, clubs are facing membership cancellations; every club contacted for this story acknowledged some attrition. A bigger concern is the turnout the clubs will get as Governor Newsom rolls out Phase 3 of California’s reopening plan. “I’m not in any hurry to rush back to a place that’s really crowded,” says one Soho House member. Losing business means losing staff—the loyal retainers who remember how many ice cubes you take in your Negroni and are crucial players in the performance art that is club life.

“If, when the war is over and the dust settles, we’re left with 70 percent of our staff, I’d be very happy,” says Klein. “That’s probably going to be the reality.” In the meantime Klein and other club owners are hoping their digital programming will keep members engaged. The Bungalows’ slightly surreal online content includes COVID-19 talks by Jessica Yellin and Deepika Chopra on the one hand,

The Bungalows is hiring a “COVID Captain” to oversee employees on cleanliness.

drinking game Zooms with the Bungalows’ courtly Macedonian host Dimitri Dimitrov on the other. Amid a deluge of cooking classes and sound bath sessions, perhaps the most useful offerings are those suited to a club’s constituencies and to new economic realities: AllBright’s Pitch Days, for example, which give startup owners a chance to woo investors. The clubs are also using technology to prepare for reopening. Soho House has House Connect, a video app allowing members to interact without coming into the club, and House Pay, a phone app

for contact-free transactions. In addition, the clubs will be limiting the size of gatherings, making more use of their outdoor areas, and ditching the passed appetizers. (“There won’t be people booking a private event and asking us to provide a grazing table,” notes Louise O’Riordan, vice president of AllBright, U.S.) The Bungalows is hiring a “COVID captain” to train and oversee employees on cleanliness standards and a staff doctor to take the temperature of anyone entering the club. If accurate testing is made available, Klein would also like to test everyone who comes through the doors. It’s a long way from the air kisses and fist bumps that used to attend one’s arrival at a private club. But the defining feature of all clubs—their exclusivity— remains the same. And that’s something their proprietors see as a big drawing card moving forward. “Now more than ever, people crave community and social interaction,” says Stone. “The benefit we have is that we know everyone coming in and out of our doors, and our members trust us.” Klein, who says he still has a waiting list of 8,000 prospective members, is more explicit: “I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but psychologically I think there’s a level of comfort if you saw that [journalist/filmmaker] Matt Tyrnauer was the person sitting next to you at the table and not some random person from Europe or whatever.”

T H O M AS B A RW I C K /G E T T Y I M AG E S

BY PETER HALDEMAN

C LU B D R E A D

The ban on gathering in bars has made scenes of close-contact revelry a thing of the past at L.A.’s private clubs. But that exclusivity could be their salvation when the city reopens. “We know everyone coming in and out of our doors, and our members trust us,” says Soho House’s Samantha Stone.

Reopening this summer. Visit thebroad.org for updates. 221 S. Grand Ave. | Downtown Los Angeles Photo by Mike Kelley

07.20 THE

Inside Guide Play > How a Zoom magic show became the hottest ticket in town PAGE 23

Eat > A strawberry ice cream that will make you melt PAGE 30

Shop > The season’s most soughtafter swimsuits— and the selftanner you need to shine in them PAGE 38

Full Bloom ROSAMUND PIKE, WHO STARS AS MARIE CURIE IN RADIOACTIVE, MAY BE A BEAUTIFUL BRITISH ROSE, BUT SHE’S NO SHRINKING VIOLET BY MERLE GINSBERG

P H O T O G R A P H BY DAV E J . H O GA N/GE T T Y I M AG E S

L A M AG . C O M 2 1

The Inside Guide

FILM

You’ve been playing these complex women, many of them brittle, bristling. Why would an actress who’s been described as “one of the great beauties of all time” choose those? > When I was a teenager, it was my friends whom the boys liked. I blossomed later, at 18. I’d never identiﬁed as beautiful. And when that happened, I thought, “Oh, God, I don’t necessarily even want this.” It’s never been my mojo, not what I’ve traded on. I value personality—in my friends, in my roles. I don’t have any precious fear around my looks. Like everything else, it’s a phase. It will pass. I’m primarily interested in people. Women have had to trade and compete with each other on youth and looks. It pits women against each other and doesn’t get anyone anywhere, does it? I bought a book recently called The Rise of the Unruly Woman. An interviewer in Paris asked me, “Why, after all Marie Curie’s success, was she such a bitch?” Ha! Being nice wouldn’t have gotten her anywhere. She trusted her own brain, was happy to own her intelligence. I ﬁnd that entirely charming. And you’re very much the genre jumper, aren’t you? > When you’re younger, people always ask about your choices. 22 L A M AG . C O M

I’ve always laughed: “My choices? I’m just taking what I’m offered.” In recent years there’s been a progression post-Gone Girl. That character, Amy Dunne, [ran the] whole gamut: cozy friend, fun-loving cool girl, smart and sophisticated. After that, ﬂoodgates opened—it was full permission to let out the crazy— and I’ve had a lot of fun playing antiheroines. I’ve attempted not

“I thought it was a punk-rock version of science. Marie Curie was a rebel.”

L I F E S C I E NC E

Rosamund Pike stars in Radioactive (right) as Marie Curie (below). The ﬁlm premieres on Amazon Prime Video on July 24.

[to] be typecast—to play with multiple shades. I’d still love to do something else with the commercial clout of Gone Girl—a film with huge buzz that adults want to go to a movie theater for. But, alas, my tastes are not always commercial. In Radioactive, you toy with beakers, mix chemicals, and speak in scientific jargon. Did you take a crash course? > There’s the school of thought for actors that if you look completely neutral, people will project any thought on you. But I needed to have an idea of her mind. A chemistry teacher came to my house after my kids went to sleep. It wasn’t just studying chemistry—it was about the turn of the century. Electricity was just discovered, X-rays. That’s the first time anybody had seen inside the human body. Curie’s work was also about the phenomenon of what you can’t see with the human eye. We’re in this anti-science moment in the world, but have you noticed since the pandemic, all one reads about is science? > Doing home school for my

kids, I suddenly watch a lot of science on Nat Geo Kids. Everyone’s learning about this virus, grappling with ideas they haven’t thought about. I think our film shows [that] with a scientific discovery comes great responsibility. When I read the Radioactive script, I thought it was a punkrock version of science. Marie Curie was a rebel. To me it felt right that [director Marjane Satrapi] put in flash-forwards of the atom bomb going off in Hiroshima, of the radioactive meltdown of Chernobyl. I didn’t want to make a commercial biopic of this woman: I wanted a rock and roll look at science. The movie starts with Curie at the end of her life. How did you react to the old-lady makeup? > It was like a plastic surgeon doing everything no one wants: deepening your furrows, giving you smile lines, jowls; my teeth were aged. If you could have made any scientific discovery in the past, what would it have been? > Hmmmm. DNA—to find the code of life and realize how it works.

RA D I OACT I V E : CO U RT E SY L AU R I E S PA R H A M /ST U D I O C A N A L ; M A R I E C U R I E : B E T T M A N N A R C H I V E T H E P R E S E N T : CO U RT E SY G E F F E N P L AY H O U S E ; H AT: G E T T Y I M AG E S

H E N R O SA M U N D P I K E pops onto a Zoom call with wet hair and no makeup, it’s a bit of a shock. She has the crisp accent one would expect from an Oxford-educated Brit, but she’s also delightfully warm, candid, and unself-conscious. The 41-year-old ﬁrst made a name for herself playing a predictably beautiful Bond girl in 2002’s Die Another Day and a swinging ’60s sexpot in 2009’s An Education. She’s gone on to portray a series of bold, complicated, unpredictable women, including the titular Gone Girl (2014), war correspondent Marie Colvin in A Private War (2018), and, now, Nobel-winning chemist Marie Curie in Radioactive, premiering July 24 on Amazon Prime Video. Here, she talks to Los Angeles from Prague, where she moved last fall with her family—longtime partner Robie Uniacke and their sons, Solo, 8, and Atom, 5—to shoot the Amazon fantasy epic The Wheel of Time.

Strange Magic T H E AT E R

CARD TRICKS OVER ZOOM, AN ESTRANGED GRANDFATHER, AND A MYSTERY BOX MAKE FOR A SURPRISE, SOCIALLY-DISTANCED HIT FOR THE GEFFEN BY JOR DA N R I E F E

I T BE G A N W I T H a quarantine,

For last year’s Stephen Frears Sundance series, State of the Union, you did a deep dive into how marriage and relationships work. What was that like? > Chris O’Dowd and I had a great time playing a couple analyzing their relationship. Nick Hornby’s scripts are very clever. He gets the absurdity of relationships, but Nick’s humor is never meanspirited. The piece is so personal. I think all good drama has to be personal really. You won an Emmy for it—then missed getting it! > I’d gone to Toronto to screen Radioactive, which seemed more pressing. I landed back in Prague to the news I’d won an Emmy. Then it was held in customs, described as “bronze statue.” I replied, “I didn’t order anything like that.” Now it’s downstairs. Some of the awards I’ve won we buried in the garden in London. I thought it would be funny if someone buys the house and some day digs them up—I just don’t think you can have them displayed in your house. Sometimes there’s a bit of them sticking up out of the soil. But the Emmy’s so beautiful, I couldn’t do that.

Guimarães believes it falls mostly in the not the current one, but the one latter camp. “It can’t be television because illusionist Helder Guimarães it’s interactive with the people that are experienced as a boy in his hometown of seeing it,” he says. “That makes it somePorto, Portugal, after being hit by a car thing new and unique.” and spending three days in a coma. More Geffen artistic director Matt Shakman recently, ﬁnding himself under a similar says the production’s success has lockdown in his Glendale apartment, the prompted the theater company to look 38-year-old was inspired to reach out to at future projects in fresh ways. “We are an audience in a new way, via Zoom. The thinking of other shows that will work result is the Geffen Playhouse’s unexpected in a new environment that will create a hit, The Present, which sold out its worldsense of communal experience that all of premiere run within 45 minutes, and, after us are hungering for,” he says. two extensions, is now running through While the Westwood playhouse plans August 16. to present a cabaret show in October in The Present is a series of magic tricks, its smaller Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater with audience members playing along with proper social distancing observed, with their own decks at home, shuffling its main stage won’t open until January. and tearing their cards as commanded The 2021 season is scheduled to include by Guimarães—to astonishing effect. “The fact that I could interact with people, and magic can happen in people’s hands, it’s something I’ve been thinking of for a while,” he says. “I thought this was the best time to explore that possibility and make something new.” Tickets are $85 per household and include a Zoom link and a mysterious box sent PICK A CARD to patrons’ doors filled with In the virtual show The Present, illusionist Helder Guimarães performs magic tricks for a live audience. secret goodies needed for the spectacle. Legendary film and Broadway producer and frequent Spielberg collaborator Frank Matthew Lopez’s critically acclaimed twoMarshall directs the proceedings, which part gay-themed epic, The Inheritance. feature a narrative element, portraying “We’re cutting back on all expenses— the young Helder in quarantine getting to reduced salaries across the board,” says know his estranged grandfather. Shakman. “I was thinking, ‘Let’s embrace the forAs for Guimarães, he’s happy to do The mat. Let’s use it to help tell the story,’ ” Present for as long as there is demand to the 73-year-old Marshall says of entersee it—and would love to bring it to auditaining via Zoom. “We built a little set in ences beyond L.A. “I think it would be a his apartment in Glendale. His fiancée great experience,” he says, “to have people [Catarina Marques] is his camerawoman.” from the U.S., Europe, and Asia all in the The Present walks an intriguing same show proving that if we want to conline between TV and live theater, but nect, we can connect.” L A M AG . C O M 23

The Inside Guide

STREAMING

Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood Hustle

NETFLIX LURED THE PROLIFIC PRODUCER WITH A RECORD $300 MILLION PAYOUT. BUT AFTER HIS LATEST MUCH-DERIDED CONCOCTION, IT MIGHT DEMAND A REFUND BY STEVE ERICKSON

shows tend to be jerks or fools or bullies recent Netflix series Hollywho are engaged in shallow quests for wood says many things fame or power or beauty. His first bigabout the state of televibudget Netflix bonanza, The Politician, sion these days. Set in postwar Los was greeted with a collective shrug when Angeles and following an assortit premiered last fall—despite being ment of young aspiring stars as they heavily promoted and having a big-name navigate the caprices of the movie busicast that includes Ben Platt, Gwyneth ness, the show is good-looking and Paltrow, and Lucy Boynton. Picking up glossy—like most big-budget TV these on themes better explored in Alexander days—photographed in an amber glow Payne’s Election 20 years ago, the show and production designed to the last fails to grasp what drives someone like resplendent digital bit. There is solid Platt’s presidency-fixated lead, maybe acting from veterans like Joe Mantello, because so many of Murphy’s characters Patti LuPone, Dylan McDermott, Holland are narcissists that their creator doesn’t Taylor, Mira Sorvino, Rob Reiner, seem to know the difference between Michelle Krusiec, and Jim Parsons, Platt’s kind of self-obsession and all the who steals scenes effortother types. lessly as a ruthless agent Increasingly Murphy’s wielding power when writing has shown an he’s not Salome dancing inclination to get not His writing his way through each but lazier, and has shown an better of the seven veils. Too Holly wood is a perfect inclination to example: a first-draft bad the writing careens between the barely acceptget not better mishmash where people able and the defiantly the 1940s say things but lazier, and in awful—startling given like “I’m livin’ the dream” Hollywood is that the show’s creator is 60 years before people Ryan Murphy, two years said that; where handthe result. into a widely publicized some young men become $300 million deal with rent boys to buy houses the streamer. because apparently no GI Despite his big payday and half dozen Bill exists; where racial sensibilities feel Emmy awards, Murphy has been overstraight out of 1997 rather than 1947— rated for decades. Go all the way back to not because Hollywood doesn’t know his network breakthrough, Glee, and he racism existed but because it’s oblivious already was penning lines like, “Music about just how deep it went. sets my soul on fire.” Watching earlier But Murphy has succeeded because successes like Nip/Tuck and American he’s a zeitgeist writer. Whether it’s Horror Story, it was already evident that the lure of celebrity, politics, cosmetic he can’t write original stories or real charperfection, or the ultimate kink, Murphy— acters, by which I mean the sort defined a journalist before he got into TV— by the depths and contradictions that possesses a knack as keen as anyone’s distinguish all of us from stereotypes. for reading the hive mind. He personAs a result, almost all the people in his ally finds irresistible the same things H E W I D E L Y PA N N E D

24 L A M AG . C O M

the rest of us find irresistible, and he’s been canny enough to populate his concepts with first-rate performers who carry the writer’s load for him: Jane Lynch, who deservedly became a star in Glee; Jessica Lange, who jump-started her career with American Horror Story; Angels in America’s Mantello plumbing depths as Hollywood’s not-so-clandestinely gay studio boss, the walls of his closet closing in on him. It’s on matters of gender and sexuality that the new Netflix show is most persuasive and on which the series progressively anchors itself to better effect, though it’s no revelation by now that a secret gay history of the movies was written by directors like George Cukor and composers like Cole Porter and stars like Rock Hudson. Hollywood plays as farce early on—Glee as a 1940s period piece with I L LU S T R AT I O N BY C H R I S M O R R I S

grown-ups—but gradually becomes more serious as it explores that history. Since the outset of his career, Murphy has gone where few have before when it comes to material regarding sexual identity. The barriers he’s broken are no small things, and for that alone he’s earned at least one of those six Emmys. Nonetheless, Murphy is also emblematic of everything that’s going wrong with the medium. Twenty years ago, as movies began to fade into overblown comicbook adaptations, we entered a fabled “golden age of TV” based on the notion that TV had become a writer’s medium in a way ﬁlm hasn’t been for nearly a half century. This was proved most consistently by The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Battlestar Galactica, more sporadically by The Sopranos, Mad Men, and Game of Thrones, and more recently by Atlanta,

The Handmaid’s Tale, and Killing Eve. To be fair, if Murphy represents the ultimate in concept TV, all those other shows had their concepts, too. In those cases, however, the concept was a premise not a pursuit, a place where narratives were born rather than where they went to die. “Big-budget TV” was an oxymoron before Game of Thrones became a phenomenon; its production values and ﬂat-screen TVs grew in tandem. Now TV—albeit on a smaller scale but also a more accessible one—risks becoming the medium of spectacle that movies have become, especially in an era that will remain socially distanced to some degree for as long as we can foresee. The result is the glossy mediocrity of shows like Westworld, The Mandalorian, and, yes, Hollywood; all the money is for the eyes to see and occasionally the ears to hear and

almost never the brain to think about. I don’t begrudge any writer getting wealthy. I begrudge the shoddy writing Murphy has done with his fortune that further corporatizes creativity. Networks, studios, record companies, and publishing houses make these doomed deals because they don’t understand creativity and have for it the contempt that comes with incomprehension; creativity remains some dark alchemy they resent all the more for how much it can’t be bought. Studios never pay for the next great idea. They pay for the last good idea that they hope to God will be as much like the next idea as possible. Ryan Murphy earned his $300 million not by virtue of his writing but by virtue of convincing Netﬂix to give it to him, which might have been the most creative endeavor of his life. L A M AG . C O M 25

MUSIC

Uneasy Listening BOB DYLAN’S SURPRISING, CHART-TOPPING NEW SONGS FIND THE 79-YEAR-OLD GRAPPLING WITH LIFE, DEATH, WALT WHITMAN, THE EVENTS OF 1963, AND THE MYTHOLOGY SURROUNDING HIMSELF B Y D AV I D YA F F E

B O B DY L A N, B O R N in 1941

(the same year as Bernie Sanders), still walks the Earth, a spry 79. On March 26, seemingly out of nowhere, the Nobel Prize-winning Malibu resident released his ﬁrst original song in eight years—a 17-minute ditty called “Murder Most Foul.” Soon after it dropped, the single earned Dylan his ﬁrst ever No. 1 on the Billboard chart. The tune is from Rough and Rowdy Ways, his 39th studio album, released June 19. The track’s title is a line uttered by the Ghost in Hamlet, and its subject, sort of, is the Kennedy assassination and all that happened in 1963, a big year for the musician. His “Blowin’ in the Wind” was the anthem of the Freedom Summer; the singer-songwriter was

Dylan has always run in the other direction when people thought he had the answer.

set to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show but then stormed off the set after clashing with network censors; he would sing with Joan Baez at the March on Washington before Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech; and then he nearly derailed his career in December when he remarked that he identified with Lee Harvey Oswald. With rumbling drums and rubato chords, the glacially paced “Murder Most Foul” feels like a prayer of mourning. At first the lyrics are violent, forensic: “The day they blew off the brains of the king/ Thousands were watching, no one saw a thing.” But then, it’s no longer really about the assassination—and definitely not about 1963. It’s about an anachronistic crew coming to mourn Kennedy but actually to grieve

for much more. Dylan sings “Rub a dub dub” before the mourners gather and makes lots of requests: “Play Art Pepper, Thelonious Monk/ Charlie Parker and all that junk” before mentioning the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Who, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and Queen. The playlist travels across space and time. In case you think he might be serious, he quips: “I’m a patsy, just like Patsy Cline.” Dylan has lived a million lifetimes since 1963. He went electric and survived a motorcycle accident, marriage, children, Rolling Thunder Revue, divorce, Jesus, disappointments, setbacks, comebacks, constant touring, constant reinventions. His voice has dropped to a cement-mixer croak. And, in a gift to the quarantined, he revisits the Oswald comment that nearly destroyed him. Is he sorry? Please. On another new tune, “I Contain Multitudes,” Dylan likens himself to Walt Whitman, a comparison others have made for years. “I am large,” Whitman famously wrote. “I contain multitudes.” Dylan plays with this idea, singing, “I fuss with my hair/ I fight blood feuds/ I contain multitudes” before summing things up with a corny joke: “I drive fast cars and I eat fast foods/ I contain multitudes.” Even at his most reflective, the great one can be silly. Of the three new tracks Dylan released at press time, perhaps the least ambitious but most revealing is the down-and-dirty blues of “False Prophet.” Dylan has always run in the other direction when people thought he had the answer. “I never wanted to be a prophet or savior. Elvis, maybe. I could easily see myself becoming him. But prophet? No,” he once said. Now he’s telling us he’s also not a false prophet. In the final lines he sums up the song as if he were summing up his life: “I ain’t no false prophet/ No I’m nobody’s bride/ Can’t remember when I was born/ And I forgot when I died.” As Dylan said long ago, “It ain’t me, babe.” Now he says he’s already dead, and he sounds like he means it. But I wouldn’t bet on it. David Yaffe is a professor at Syracuse University and the author of Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell.

26 L A M AG . C O M

I L LU ST R AT I O N BY P I X E L P U S H E R / W I L L I A M C L AXTO N P H OTO G R A P H Y

The Inside Guide

TV/STREAMING For those who couldn’t get their hands on a ticket to Hamilton, the blockbuster musical debuts July 3 on Disney+. On July 8, CBS’s new competition show, Tough as Nails, puts people who work physically demanding jobs to the test. In the streaming world,

FA M I LY A F FA I R

Brandy’s new album features collaborations with Chance the Rapper; Daniel Caesar; and her daughter, Sy’rai

THE GUIDE CAN’T-MISS ENTERTAINMENT IN JULY B Y Z O I E M AT T H E W

B R A N DY: G I L B E RT C A R R AS Q U I L LO/G E T T Y I M AG E S ; T H E B A BY- S I T T E R S C LU B : CO U RT E SY N E T F L I X ; F I R E WO R KS : M I C H A E L R O B I N S O N C H AV E Z / LOS 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 ; D E S C A N S O G A R D E N S : I R FA N K H A N / LOS 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 ; A F T E R L A N D : CO U RT E SY M U L H O L L A N D B O O KS ; R U F U S WA I N W R I G H T: S COT T D U D E L S O N /G E T T Y I M AG E S ; WA LT E R M E R C A D O : G I OVA N CO R D E R O CO LO N

Walter Mercado

Mucho Mucho Amor, the critically acclaimed doc about the life of extravagant Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado, hits Netﬂix on July 8. The next day, The House of Ho, a Crazy Rich Asiansinspired docuseries about a wealthy Taiwanese family in Houston, premieres on HBO Max. Plus, NBCUniversal’s streamer, Peacock, launches July 15 with faves like Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and (eventually) The Office as well as original shows like a Saved by the Bell reboot and a series that looks at L.A.’s own Angelyne.

MUSIC

OUTDOORS OU

On July 10, English pop outﬁt Glass Animals serve up dreamy, nosostalgia-tinged escap-ism on their third album, bum, Dreamland, while Rufus ufus Wainwright offers up p Unfollow the Rules, featuraturing songs that he says ys “bubbled up” during g his opera years. All The Time, the third album from Canadian avantpop songstress Jessy Lanza, drops July 24 with effervescent beats, while beloved R&B icon Brandy—who was raised in Carson and famously went to prom with Kobe Bryant—returns with B7 (July 31) after an eightyear hiatus.

It’s more m important than ever to get some fresh air, and an there are plenty of pa parks and trails around the city c that offer lesscrowded alternatives crow to Lululemon-swarmed Lu faves like Runyon Canyon. Head H ead to Debs Park near the A Arroyo Secco in Pasadena for sweeping views and a serene lake with ducks and turtles. Or, for a more leisurely outdoor experience, pack a picnic and park yourself in the pastoral meadows of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Baldwin Hills. Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, famous for its lush ﬂoral arrays, is open for visitors in a limited fashion, as is the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia.

Rufus Wainwright

BOOKS Charlie Kaufman’s debut novel, Antkind—ﬁlled with the same surreal humor as the Oscar-winning screenwriter’s movies—tells the story of a ﬁlm critic’s quest to recreate a lost stop-motion masterpiece in order to save humanity (July 7). In You Again by Debra Jo Immergut, a 46-year-old woman begins stalking the spitting image of herself at 22 (July 7). Utopia Avenue, from best-selling Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell, chronicles a British band’s rise to fame and struggles with stardom (July 14). In Lauren Beukes’s post-pandemic thriller Afterland, a mother tries to protect her 12-year-old son—one of the last human males on Earth (July 28).

Descanso Gardens

The Baby-Sitters Club

KIDS Camp canceled? Conga Kids—a local nonprofit dance program—has been producing free interactive videos with dance and music lessons, arts activities, and more (congakids.com). Check out the California Science Center’s website to take advantage of Stuck at Home Science, a series of experiments for families using household supplies (californiasciencecenter.org/stuck-athome-science). Once it’s TV time, bond with your kid over Netﬂix’s nostalgic series reboot of the beloved The Baby-Sitters Club (July 3), in which Alicia Silverstone plays the mother of one of the tweener girls.

PLUS > The Grand Park July 4 celebration—one of the city’s most popular public ﬁreworks shows—goes virtual this year with three hours of family-friendly entertainment, including comedy, music, and appearances by local chefs (grand parkla.org).

L A M AG . C O M 27

@LosAngelesmag @lamag @LAmag

The Inside Guide

E AT

L I G H T STA RC H

The shrimp bowl with cauliﬂower “rice” from Skinny Fish

Against the Grain A JAPANESE SUSHI CHEF BUCKS TRADITION BY EXPERIMENTING WITH CAULIFLOWER “RICE”—AND THE RESULTS ARE SURPRISINGLY DELICIOUS BY HAILEY EBER

S A S US H I chef with more than 20 years’ experience in the craft, Ei Hiroyoshi, an alum of Beverly Hills’ acclaimed Sasabune, never expected that he’d be making rolls with a rice substitute. He didn’t even like it when calorie-conscious patrons asked for slightly less rice in their rolls and nigiri. “I’m Japanese. I’m all about rice,” says Hiroyoshi, who is in his 40s. “I had a hard time understanding the customer’s side of this story.” But after getting requests from friends and sushi-counter regulars on the ketogenic diet, he relented. He spent nearly a year

developing a special cauliflower “rice” suitable for sushi before launching Skinny Fish in April. The delivery-only concept offers toro rolls, salmon sashimi bowls, and the like, made with an ersatz rice that, remarkably, is nearly as satisfying as the genuine article. Hiroyoshi cuts and then boils the cauliflower in small batches to get the perfect texture, then seasons it with rice vinegar and salt just as he would with sushi rice—minus the usual sugar. The chef, once unfamiliar with the keto diet, is now a low-carb convert. “I ended up loving this cauliflower rice,” he says. skinnyfishla.com L A M AG . C O M 29

Crème de la Cream BY HAILEY EBER

H E S E D A Y S T H E scoop

everyone is screaming for is the strawberry ice cream at Antico (4653 Beverly Blvd., antico-la.com). Since it opened last summer the east Larchmont Village trattoria has garnered acclaim for both its pastas and its ice creams, which have drawn food-world glitterati like Grant Achatz and Ruth Reichl to its rustic dining room. When restaurants had to cease dine-in operations in midMarch amid the pandemic, Antico pivoted dramatically, transforming into a focaccia pizzeria and ice cream joint that’s proved quite popular. “It’s all in all a really great success,” says chef-owner Chad Colby. On a busy 30 L A M AG . C O M

Saturday the shop sells as many as 300 pints of ice cream, which is the work of master pastry chef Brad Ray and ranges in price from $14 for honeycomb to $20 for the renowned strawberry. Colby, the former executive chef at Nancy Silverton’s Chi Spacca, says his old boss was quite impressed with Ray’s ice cream when she tried it. Silverton has “almost like an upset reaction when things are really good within her wheelhouse,” he says. “You could tell that there was some of that with the ice cream. It’s really good.” What makes it so great? Colby and Ray say it’s all about attention to detail. Here, a breakdown of how the amazing strawberry ﬂavor is made.

THE BASE Ray makes a traditional ﬁor di latte base from sugars, milk powder, a stabilizer, Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and milk and cream from Clover Sonoma’s dairy—but no eggs. “I think it allows the ice cream ﬂavor to be cleaner,” he says of his yolkless custard. Ray also notes that he uses a decent amount of salt to balance the sweetness of the strawberries and sometimes employs a refractometer to test the sweetness.

THE BERRIES The ice cream uses strawberries from Harry’s Berries, an Oxnard farm with a devoted following for its uniquely sweet and juicy fruit. They’re “the best strawberries in the country,” says Colby. Ray purees them, raw with sugar, and folds them into the base. The ice cream served to diners eating in is completely smooth, but for the packaged product, Ray adds chunkier macerated strawberries for texture.

J U L I A YA N G /CO U RT E SY A N T I CO

IN A TOWN WITH PLENTY OF AMAZING ICE CREAMS, ANTICO’S SMOOTH, RICHLY FLAVORFUL STRAWBERRY HAS RISEN TO THE TOP

The Inside Guide

TA K E O U T

Not Like Home Cooking

C H I C K E N P OT P I E : CO U RT E SY D I A LO G U E ; B OX E D M E A L : CO U RT E SY R O SS O B LU

TRUFFLES, EDIBLE FLOWERS, MULTIPLE COURSES, AND HARD-TO-SCORE RESERVATIONS: S: PANDEMIC TAKEOUT IS GETTING G INCREASINGLY ELABORATE

THE MACHINE Antico relies on a top-of-the-line Carpigiani ice cream maker from Italy. It’s “literally the Ferrari of ice cream machines,” says Colby, who personally ﬁnanced the $16,000 appliance after Ray, a top talent who has worked at Eleven Madison Park and the NoMad, came aboard. “If I were to purchase a shitty ice cream machine, it’d be like [hiring] a race-car driver” without a Ferrari for him to drive, Colby says.

W I T H T H E L O C K D O W N dragging d i on and on, fine-dining chefs are taking takeout to new levels—and there’s a hunger for it. “Initially we just wanted to give people comforting things to feel safe and homey, but now that experience has to evolve,” says Dave Beran, the chef at Santa Monica’s Dialogue and Pasjoli. In May he offered an at-home take on Pasjoli’s famed pressed duck, an elaborate affair that, at the restaurant, involves a fowl carcass being crushed tableside in a turn-of-the century gadget to yield a juice that’s made into a savory sauce. The $155 take-home version for two includes seared duck breast, salad with crispy duck skin bits, duck leg confit bread pudding, rice pudding for dessert, and an instructional video and ingredients for making the sauce at home. The first time the meals were offered, they sold out within 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Dialogue, known for its lengthy tasting menus, has been making elevated chicken pot pies with black truffles. When Beran took them off the menu to try other fare, there was an outcry, and he had to add them back. “We got so many requests,” he says. West L.A.’s Kato also reports a strong positive response since the Tawainese restaurant began selling $60 multicourse meals and $125 chirashi boxes, which serve two or more, in May. The popularity hasn’t surprised chefowner Jon Yao, who says he’s been craving haute cuisine himself. “I’m super itching to eat a tasting menu,” he says. “Everyone is so bored at home, food just shot higher on the list of entertainment options.” Some are taking packaging to beautiful extremes. In May, Rossoblu, the beloved downtown Italian joint, started offering boxed, flower-garnished $49 seven-course dinners. “We wanted it to feel very much like it was

H AU T E P I E

Dialogue’s chicken pot pie with black truffles

t d and d th ht putt iinto t it. And curated there was th thought it wasn’t just like some pieces of chicken thrown into a box,” chef-owner Steven Samson says of the packaging, which costs the restaurant about $6 per dinner. “It’s not really about making money for us,” he adds. At n/naka, takeout comes in gorgeous bento boxes sourced from Japan. The roughly 150 takeout meals available each night, priced at $38 or $85 a person, sell out in minutes. Chef Niki Nakayama thinks she will likely continue offering them for some time to come. “We will actually stick to the takeout model until it is safe and comfortable for guests to dine in without extreme safety measures,” she says. —HAILEY EBER

S P E C I A L D E L I V E RY

Rossoblu’s weekend supper features seven distinct courses L A M AG . C O M 3 1

The Inside Guide

TRENDS

Green With Envy AFTER THE SUCCESS OF WEHO’S FIRST CANNABIS CAFE, MORE RESTAURATEURS ARE GETTING IN ON THE TREND WITH STYLISH, SMOKING-HOT NEW BOÎTES BY B R A D JA P H E

“There’s no turning back now.”

3 2 L A M AG . C O M

CO U RT E SY O G C A N N A B I S C A F E

WHEN WEST HOLLYWOOD’S

Cannabis Cafe opened its doors last T O TA L LY L I T autumn, the restaurant was the first Before the establishment of its kind in the country. Finally, pandemic the Cannabis Cafe enthusiasts had an outpost where they could averaged 850 order both an Indica preroll and vegan nachos— customers on and it seemed to be satisfying a hunger. Before weekends the COVID-19 shutdown, the café, formerly known as Lowell Farms, said that it averaged an impressive 850 customers per weekend. “The first time I went ... it felt pretty surreal,” says Nicolas Juarez, who works for Weedmaps, an online guide to pot purchasing. “I looked around to see people smoking weed out of pipes and bongs The Soho-House-plus-sativa concept will have a workspace, a in a restaurant setting, and it was treated as completely spa, a coffee shop, and a vegan-friendly restaurant. Farther normal. I couldn’t help but be kind of blown away.” afield, the Grape House—a boutique cannabis hotel with a Although marijuana for recreational use is now sold smoking lounge offering gourmet fare—is under construction legally in 11 states, consuming it in public remains a murky in Palm Springs and set to open in 2023. matter. In 2017, West Hollywood made things less cloudy In the absence of eat-in dining in city restaurants, private when it approved the licensing of a handful of cannabischefs are cooking up the trend. Rachel Burkons and her serving eateries where patrons could partake on the premises. brother, chef Holden Jagger, cofounded Altered Plates in As businesses reopen in the wake of the pandemic, weed 2016. The company holds underground cannabis dinner restaurants could prove a major dining trend. parties in homes and catering halls, and it’s popular with This fall, Monica’s House is set to bring a sleek Modernist A-listers around town. Food courses are paired with specific aesthetic to cannabis dining. The 7,500-square-foot lounge strains of cannabis smoked at set moments in the meal. at Santa Monica Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue will feature Burkons says the parties are both fun and a chance to learn. private cabanas, waterfalls, and a koi-pond garden. The It “gives the guest an opportunity for education that they menu, yet to be released, was planned by Jeff Danzer, a chef can’t get anywhere else,” she says, going beyond the informawho’s been called the Julia Child of weed. “Consumers want tion gleaned from a dispensary “budtender” about strains more choices than just beer, wine, and liquor,” says Monica’s and products. “That’s like going to a liquor store and House CEO and cofounder Jon Locarni. “We’re incorporating expecting the sales clerk to be able to walk you through the THC and CBD into the experience at approachnuances of a specific wine,” says Burkons, who is able doses.” consulting on some of the upcoming restaurants. Just four blocks west, Aeon Botanika is also “If we can prove that cannabis can enhance a planning to launch before the end of the year. dining experience—which it definitely can—then Designed by the team responsible for local favorwe give our guests a new outlook on the plant ites Little Door and Cliff’s Edge, the restaurant is that they’ll carry with them and share with their going for a Moroccan-tea-lounge look with whitefriends.” SARAH DALE, tiled walls and vaulted ceilings—a sort of Café Cannabis Cafe cofounder Sarah Dale agrees. CANNABIS CAFE Gratitude with more to be thankful for. Down“Businesses like ours are shaping how we access COFOUNDER town, a member’s-only experience called Mota in and relate to cannabis,” she says. “There’s no the Jewelry District is now accepting applications. turning back now.”

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The Inside Guide

CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

R E TA I T K T K K T K T

Cloc n a product-scouting trip ttktkttktk tktk

The Gold Standard THE 29-YEAR-OLD HEIR TO THE MOST EXPENSIVE MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S STORE IN THE WORLD IS READY FOR THE RECESSION B Y L I N D A I M M E D I AT O

A L L I M AG E S CO U RT E SY H O U S E O F B I JA N

H E H O U S E O F B I JA N

opened its doors in 1976 on Rodeo Drive as an appointment-only boutique catering to the rich and powerful with its over-the-top, one-of-a-kind handmade goods. By the early ’80s founder Bijan Pakzad, who immigrated to L.A. from Iran, had created an empire based on exotic extravagances like kangaroo-leather blazers, crocodile horse saddles, and python golf shoes. It served up a particularly West Coast brand of swank to clients from Sinatra to Jay-Z, serving every presiE M P I R E OF T H E S ON dent from Nixon to Trump. ReguClockwise from top: the new House of Bijan boutique’s custom atelier; a crocodile saddle currently on display; the Bijan that Pakzad built; a Baccarat bottle of perfume; Nicolas with his father, Bijan lars have included Trump aide Paul Manafort, who was charged by Robert Mueller with dropping $48,000 on question that Pakzad’s 29-year-old son, a blue lizard jacket, paid for by wire him and Jeff Bezos alternate with selfNicolas Bijan, will have to address. transfer from an offshore account. ies with Michael Jordan and the king After his father’s death in 2011, NicoNajib Razak, the former prime minof Jordan. To celebrate 44 years in oplas took over the family business (and ister of Malaysia, got into hot water eration, Nicolas oversaw a two-year retook his father’s first name as his surafter spending more than $38,000 of design and a move across Rodeo Drive, name). He was just 19 at the time, and his people’s money in a single day at with a grand reopening slated for last over the past decade he has grown the the House of Bijan, including a “special March. But the pandemic quashed his company exponentially—expanding its order” jewel-encrusted crocodile handplans. The formal unveiling has been women’s line and adding models to the bag that was seized from his home durrescheduled, but Bijan is quietly back. company’s fleet of luxe cars, created in ing a raid by the Malaysian police. During the lockdown the city of Beverly collaboration with automakers from Sky-high price tags are no surprise: Hills allowed the store to serve its cliBugatti to Rolls-Royce. The boutique bills itents on an appointment-only basis. During his father’s time, self as “the world’s most “Like so many other retailers we’ve Bijan was a hot spot expensive men’s store,” had to adapt and make some changfor Saudi princes and where the average cuses in order to weather the storm,” says “Like so many creaky Hollywood legtomer spends $100,000 Nicolas. “For the first time in our hisother retailers we ends, but Nicolas has a visit. But now that tory our products are available via ehave had to worked hard to diverwe’re in the midst of the commerce.” And the larger question: adapt and make sify the company’s aplargest economic downHow will it survive during this crushpeal, adding hip-hop turn since the Great Deing economic depression? Perhaps some changes in stars and sports legends pression, where will the with some subtle rebranding. “Bijan order to weather to its roster of devoted house, once the epitohas always been about craftsmanship the storm.” clients. On his popular me of luxury, fit in the and uniqueness,” says Nicolas. “It’s Instagram feed, snaps of retail landscape? It’s a never been about extravagance.” L A M AG . C O M 35

The Inside Guide

GEAR

Sweat Equity WHETHER YOU TOOK UP RUNNING DURING THE LOCKDOWN OR JUST TOOK UP SPACE ON THE COUCH, THIS ROUNDUP OF AT-HOME GYM EQUIPMENT WILL HELP YOU SHED THAT COVID 15 AND KEEP YOU FIT LONG AFTER QUARANTINE ENDS

S TAT I O NA RY B I K E

A D J U S TA B L E W E I G H T S

Missing your SoulCycle sessions? Peloton bikes (above) have a 22-inch touch screen that allows you to join live classes with experienced instructors and sweat with fellow cyclists. At four feet by two feet, your wheels can stash in a corner until you’re ready to put your mettle to the pedal. $2,245 for the bike; $39 a month for an all-access membership at onepeloton.com

PowerBlock’s dumbbells adjust fro 3 to 24 pounds in three-pound from increments. They save loads of room in by replacing eight pairs of dumbbe bells—or 216 pounds of free weights— with just one pair. $350 a pair at wi am amazon.com

36 L A M AG . C O M

A L L I M AG E S CO U RT E SY B R A N DS

B Y L I N D A I M M E D I AT O

JUMP ROPE

TREADMILL

LifeSpan’s commercial-grade treadmill has a 62-inch-by-22-inch deck, enabling longer strides. Four environments are replicated including sidewalks, dirt roads, and various inclines. The console displays your speed and distance covered, while handlebar sensors monitor heart rate. $2,999 at lifespanﬁtness.com

MMA ﬁghters, boxers, and endurance trainers know the g cardio beneﬁts reaped from jumping rope. Fitness Factor’s take lets you adjust rope length, and ball bearingss in the handles keep the line free of tangles. It also comes with a manuall of pulse-raising routines. $13.99 on amazon.com

G O L D ’S GY M H O M E M AC H I N E

The all-in-one Gold’s Gym XRS 50 home gym gives you plenty of options for comprehensive muscle building, including a ﬂy and chest press, a leg developer, a lat bar, low pulleys for seated rows, high pulleys for shoulders and arms, 112 pounds of enclosed weights and up to 280 pounds of resistance. $499 at walmart.com

R OW I NG M AC H I N E

S U S P E NS I O N K I T

TRX’s GO suspension kit, lightweight and portable, comes with anchors and straps so you can plank, push, pull, lunge, and squat for an intense core workout anywhere. Head to Griffith Park (if exercising in public is your thing) or just rig it up at home. $129.99 at dickssportinggoods.com

Explore the world’s most breathtaking waterways through immersive POV videos—with real-life sounds— on Hydrow’s state-of-the-art rowing machine. It’s built for comfort, and each stroke is nearly silent. Take classes onscreen or join a virtual row team and work out together. $2,199 at shop.hydrow.com

L A M AG . C O M 37 3

The Inside Guide

HOT COMMODITIES

PASTEL PINK

SETTER SWIM SHORTS

» A pair of Orlebar Brown Setter shorts are sure to raise your tan line since this pair is on the shorter side of the spectrum. Designed with a blue tape stripe on crisp white nylon, Orlebar brings a pop of color to this classic look. “Vibrant colors and classic styles always work really well,” says an Orlebar brand representative. $295 at neimanmarcus.com

» Solid-color shorts can never go wrong, but the pink hue of these pineapple-bedecked trunks gives a fresh look. “It’s a classic that can be worn with pretty much any shirt,” says Retromarine president Juan Pablo Jaramillo. $79 at bananarepublic.com

PRINTED TANK SWIMSUIT

» “An abstract wildﬂower pattern brightens this classic,” says Tory Burch’s Madeleine Hulstrom. This pattern with a splash of yellow adds some fun to the staple swimsuit cut. $198 at toryburch.com

L.A.’s Most Wanted

AITUTAKI ONE-PIECE

» The full-coverage cut of the bottom provides modesty, while the plunging neckline ﬂaunts what’s on top. The vertical stripes lengthen the ﬁgure, pairing well with jeans shorts. “It’s a fun way to mix up my athome wardrobe,” says Kalani Miller, cofounder of online retailer Mikoh. $218 at mikoh.com

THE BEST-SELLING SWIMSUITS AT LOCAL STORES AND SITES ACROSSS TOWN BY K E N N E DY H I L L

GAVIN BIKINI

38 L A M AG . C O M

PALM SPRINGS MAILLOT

» Marysia’s dainty onepiece radiates elegance while its leotard cut screams ballerina on the beach. Bonus: It’s reversible. “You’re getting two suits in one,” says designer Marysia Reeves, $345 at saksﬁfthavenue.com or curbside pickup at 9600 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310-275-4211

ENVY PUSH-UP RIB CROP-TOP BIKINI

» This Voda Swim set channels ’70s diva glam. Designer Yulia Drummond earns marks for adaptability as the top can also be worn with jeans. $158 at Skybar at Mondrian, 8440 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 323-848-6025

STRETCH PLANING BOARD SHORTS

» “Our most versatile board shorts” are perfect for “surﬁng, bodysurﬁng, and warm weather,” says Patagonia’s Coley Glasgo. The Tasmanian teal is a standout, minimally decorated with wave-evoking squiggles and a shoelace closure. $79 at patagonia.com

REEF WARRIOR BIKINI

» “The print was designed to pay tribute to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef,” says designer Camilla Franks. Crystal embellishments mirror the shine of the sea. A hip-hugging bottom and a tri-strap bra top lend support and comfort to this queenof-the-oceans look. $236 at Bleu Clothing Co, 7378 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax District, 323-9392228 or camilla.com

A L L I M AG E S CO U RT E SY B R A N DS

» While this Malibu brand is known for its boho ﬂair, the minimalist Gavin, a sports-bra top paired with a cheeky waistbanded bottom, offers comfort without sacriﬁcing sexiness. “This style is a bit more of a sporty look,” says Frankies Bikinis’ Makay Wright. $175 at frankiesbikinis .com

MADE IN THE SHADE IF YOU’VE SPENT ALL SPRING SHELTERING IN PLACE, ODDS ARE YOUR SKIN TONE IS MORE LIKE KYLIE’S THAN KIM’S. LUCIKLY WE FOUND A FEW SELF-TANNING PRODUCTS TO TOUCH UP YOUR TAN WHEN YOU FINALLY HIT THE BEACH B Y L I N D A I M M E D I AT O

MIDNIGHT LACE BIKINI

» Borrowing from lingerie, this lacy ensemble by PQ Swim obscures nudecolored fabric with scalloped black lace. The see-through effect and a small-coverage bottom are unapologetically sexy. “Anything lace becomes a fan favorite,” says PQ Swim’s Samara Khudir. $156 at Everything But Water, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, 310-843-9734

ZEPHYR DEEP-V ONE-PIECE

» L.A.-based Wolven makes its patterns in-house, and the Zephyr’s black-and-gold geometric style is a crowd favorite. The backless suit is reversible, switching from patterned fun in the day to sleek black at night. The suit’s serpent motif “represents the power of transformation,” says Wolven marketing director Chanel Currey. $154 at wolventhreads.com TEAM USA FLAG SUNGA

» Offering barely more coverage than a Speedo,, “this isn’t for the modest,” t,” says Carioca CEO Gil Even. Show some skin along with your patriotism. $90 at cariocawear.r. com or curbside at Cario-ca, 8155 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, 323-745-0028 323 745 0028

MONROE BIKINI

» Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but a classic bikini is a runner-up. Exuding the retro style of Ms. Monroe, the cut ﬂatters all ﬁgures, making it “the little black dress of swimwear,” says Unique Vintage marketing coordinator Abbi Graddy. $76 at unique-vintage.com and curbside pickup at 2103 W. Magnolia Rd., Burbank, 818-848-1540

RIVIERA RECYCLED SWIM TRUNKS

» Made primarily of recycled polyester, these eco-conscious swim trunks come in nearly 30 colorful patterns. “Men have become much more comfortable wearing bright colors and patterns,” says Bonobos fashion director George McCracken. The Riviera seven-inch trunk, featuring chili peppers on a sky-blue background, is a popular purchase. $78 at bonobos.com

Jergens Natural Glow Billed as a moisturizer, this cream slowly creates a buildable tan. Subtle results can be seen after just one day of application. For a darker hue, three days of use is recommended. The beauty is, you can stop whenever you feel you’ve reached your bronze comfort level. Bonus: Your skin will be hydrated in the meantime. $5.99 at most drugstores Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs This isn’t a “self-tanner” per se. But it’s great in a pinch when you don’t have time for traditional products to work their magic. Technically it’s more like body makeup. Minutes after applying you can go from quarantine pallor to looking like you just spent the summer in Ibiza. Best of all, you can take a swim or a shower and know your new tan will hang in there while you hang out. $7.99 at most drugstores St. Tropez Self Tan Classic Bronzing Mousse Long the gold standard of self-tanners, this is what supermodels like Kate Moss use when they want that deep, dark glow without the aging effects from actual sunbathing. The mousse is the easiest St. Tropez product to use, especially when applied with the brand’s foam mitt, which protects hands from those telltale signs of bottle bronzing. $32 at sephora.com

L A M AG . C O M 39

Politics

JA S O N M C G A H A N

The Case of the Crooked Councilman

CONNECTED AND CHARISMATIC, JOSÉ HUIZAR BECAME ONE OF THE CITY’S MOST POWERFUL POLITICOS. NOW HE’S EMBROILED IN THE WORST CORRUPTION SCANDAL IN ALMOST A CENTURY

the Korean Air chairman wasn’t Huiin June 2017, hundreds zar’s only foreign fan. The councilman of Los Angeles grandees was equally popular with Chinese depacked together downvelopers who were building skyscrapers town to salute the latest downtown. In 2009, after the Chinese addition to the city’s skyline—a billiongovernment loosened restrictions on dollar behemoth with a soaring glass outside investments, mainland Chinese crown that lit up like a futuristic pedireal estate speculators lined up to put ment. The Wilshire Grand Center had their stamp on the L.A. skyline, pumping opened to great fanfare. Yang-ho Cho, billions of dollars into landmark projects the chairman of Korean Air, had perin the city’s reviving urban core. sonally overseen the construction of the Between 2014 and 2016, two out of evnew building, which housed the airline’s ery ﬁve land deals closed in downtown North American headL.A. were financed by quarters. Rising 1,100 Chinese investors, genfeet, it was the tallest erating headlines like building in the western the one in The Real Deal Reelected by United States. Among that asked, “Is L.A. the increasingly the boldface names and New Shanghai?” corporate chieftains who Thanks to a fractious wide margins, addressed the crowd political culture and a he loved was a politician most of laundry list of cumberthem had never heard some regulations, Los the trappings of—a then-48-year-old Angeles has long been a of power. Los Angeles City Counnotoriously tough city for cilman named José Huiinternational developers zar, who represented the to crack. The Chinese had Eastside and downtown. all the money the market In a frothy speech the councilman toastcould absorb, but little know-how. Huied the mammoth project as a “true testazar was happy to lend a hand. ment to downtown Los Angeles’s bright Huizar was not only the council disfuture and vibrant culture … a building trict representative for downtown L.A.; that shines beautiful light—literally and he was also the chairman of the Planfiguratively—on our entire city.” Cho, ning and Land Use Management Comwho ﬂew in from Seoul for the occasion, mittee, the powerful panel that reviews stood next to him, nodding and beaming. the city’s biggest development projects. As would soon become apparent, A former Huizar staffer says the coun40 L A M AG . C O M

cilman recognized two things about the Chinese: first, they didn’t know how things were supposed to work in America; second, they were used to how things worked in China, where bribing government officials was viewed as a normal part of business. Huizar thought he could be helpful on both counts. It is an unwritten rule of Los Angeles real estate that a council district is a ﬁefdom and a councilmember its lord, which made Huizar, a son of Mexican laborers, an improbable Medici of the downtown renaissance—a powerhouse at the center of the city’s greatest construction boom since the roaring twenties. A N I V Y L E A G U E - E D U C AT E D real estate lawyer with a dimpled smile and a weakness for pricey suits, Huizar, 51, comes off in person like an affable urban planner. But his smooth charm belies a hardscrabble childhood. When Huizar was four years old, his father, a seasonal laborer, resettled the family from a small village in Zacatecas, Mexico, to the Eastside barrio of Boyle Heights. As a child, José lived with several brothers and sisters in a tiny stucco home beside the 4th Street Bridge, a ﬁve-minute drive from City Hall. People who knew Huizar then describe him as ambitious and impulsive. As a boy in the early 1980s, he would ride his bike through the neighborhood’s run-down warehouses and artist squats to deliver Japanese-language

G E T T Y I M AG E S

O N A B A L M Y evening

U N US UA L S US P E C T

José Huizar at a Council meeting in 2012, two years before the FBI probe

newspapers in Little Tokyo to afford the $80-a-month tuition at a Catholic high school after getting kicked out of public middle school for fighting. By his early teens he had seemingly turned his life around. Huizar attended UC Berkeley, then Princeton, where he earned a master’s degree in public policy. He met his future wife on the admissions committee for La Raza Law Students Association at UCLA. He was elected school board president, appointed a Princeton trustee, and chosen among the “100 most influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business Magazine. In 2005, after a brief stint on the LAUSD school board, Huizar won a special election to fill the 14th District seat vacated when Antonio Villaraigosa became mayor. Adept at courting powerful pals, he got Villaraigosa to back him for the job. Thrice reelected by increasingly wide margins, Huizar loved the trappings of power. Night on Broadway, a phenomenally successful event he helped create, was decorated with massive photos of the councilman. But, for the most part, friends say, he tried to stay out of the spotlight. That low profile did not shield him from the scrutiny of the FBI, which became interested in Huizar in connection with reports of a massive “racketeering enterprise” that was being run out of City Hall by a renegade councilman. While the councilman’s identity has not been publicly revealed, it’s clear, based on details in the court filings, that the target

of the investigation is José Huizar. For at least six years, federal investigators have been closely monitoring Huizar’s financial dealings with some of the wealthiest real estate developers in China. Since 2014, the feds believe that the councilman has received more than a million dollars in bribes from Chinese investors for his assistance in the approval of large-scale high-rise projects poised to extravagantly reshape the L.A. skyline. The alleged bribes have taken the form of cash, political contributions, concert and sports tickets, flights on private jets, stays at luxurious hotels, casino gambling chips, expensive meals, and spa services. A Chinese billionaire hoping to build a 77-story skyscraper in Huizar’s district allegedly facilitated the payment of $600,000 to help the councilman resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit. (Huizar declined requests for comment.) The feds’ interest in the councilman was sparked in 2016, when a Huizar assistant was caught converting thousands of Australian dollars to American dollars while evading bank reporting requirements. The FBI served a search warrant on Yahoo, requesting access to Huizar’s personal email account, and quietly began interviewing some of his closest associates. Among other things, they wanted to know about Huizar’s involvement in a 20-story condominium tower slated to be built on a dingy parking structure near the Ace Hotel. A shadowy union group with ties to Huizar had filed a legal challenge against the project, threatening a costly delay. The developer reportedly paid Huizar a bribe of hundreds of thousands of dollars to convince the union to back down. Huizar’s aide George Esparza, who admits to being part of the scheme, says he stuffed $200,000 of the developer’s cash into a liquor box that he dropped off at his boss’s Boyle Heights residence in March 2017. At the time, Esparza says, Huizar instructed him to store the money somewhere for safekeeping. But nine months later the councilman needed it back. Three days after Christmas, on Holy Innocents Day, Huizar and Esparza met at City Hall, which was in recess until the New Year. The subject of the meeting was so sensitive that they huddled in the councilman’s private lavatory to

discuss it. By then the councilman must have sensed that his hard-won career was at risk: The FBI was turning up the heat, and news of the grand jury investigation was spreading. Visits from the feds that summer had spooked Esparza. Huizar was sympathetic but nonplussed. Term limits were threatening to separate the councilman from everything he had built in the 14th District. In three years’ time he would be just another lame duck, and so he was eager to pass the mantle to his wife, ensuring that his lucrative council seat remained in the family’s control until 2032. F O R T H E PA S T few months, as much

of the city has been distracted by the pandemic, many of the city’s political players have been laser-focused on the burgeoning corruption scandal that threatens to topple some of the most powerful people in the city government—the worst disgrace to befall City Hall in almost a century. The “persons of interest” described in the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation include at least four current and former members of the L.A. City Council; a former deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and a former Public Works commissioner. Other targets include a former chief of the Department of Building and Safety Code Enforcement Bureau; three current and former city staffers; a Korean American investment group; at least four of the biggest Chinese developers in L.A. real estate, among them the chairman of one of the top real estate companies in China; a political fundraiser; a politically connected law ﬁrm; a real estate consultant; a labor organization; three lobbyists; and a businessman. At press time, four people have pleaded guilty to the government’s charges and have been cooperating with authorities. Among them is former 12th District Councilman Mitchell Englander, who admitted that he accepted envelopes of cash from a businessman seeking official favors. John Lee, Englander’s former chief of staff and his successor as councilman, is also cooperating with investigators. Lee told them about a lavish, all-expenses-paid trip he took with Englander and others to Las Vegas courtesy of a real estate developer. Their playingL A M AG . C O M 41

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A L L I N T H E FA M I LY

Huizar and his wife, Richelle, in March 2015. The councilman was determined to have Richelle succeed him, keeping the lucrative seat under his control

property owners and pick up checks … in order to get licenses and things like that.” Eric Hacopian, who managed Martinez’s campaign, says the 2011 allegations were “chickenshit stuff” compared to the hair-raising sums described in the FBI’s recent racketeering case. After redistricting gave Huizar a foothold downtown, Hacopian says, “his corruption became industrial-scale.” H U I Z A R WA S R E E L E C T E D in 2015,

but term limits prevent him from running again. The councilman owed that victory to a Chinese billionaire who put up $600,000 to help settle a sexual harassment suit just before the election. Now the billionaire was threatening to collect. The youngest of Huizar’s four kids was ill with leukemia. As Huizar’s money woes and family stress mounted, sources say, a blatant pay-to-play system in Huizar’s office escalated. Major developments were stalled or approved on a whim over “labor disputes”; oversight of the $700 million Luxe City Center project was transferred to Esparza, who had no background in land use. Huizar became paranoid and moody—former staffers say even signing off on a routine permit application could send him into a fury. “No, no, no, they need to meet with me!” a former staff member recalls him raging. Huizar would praise the staff of another member of the City Council who refused to approve an alcohol permit unless the owner paid $10,000 to a deputy. “He wanted to be more like [that councilmember],” the ex-staffer told me. More than a year before the campaign, Huizar began publicly positioning his wife, attorney Richelle Huizar, as his successor. At a Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum in 2017, he let it slip that his wife was considering a run, commenting that she’d make “a great councilwoman.” Signage at public events was

changed to “Team Huizar.” Richelle began appearing prominently at his side. Kevin de León, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, was also eyeing the open council seat. Huizar was planning a shock-and-awe campaign to dissuade him. He assiduously cultivated the support of labor and big business, and wanted to raise a serious campaign war chest. But he needed Esparza’s help. The 33-year-old Esparza grew up in Huizar’s neighborhood. He started off as the councilman’s chauffeur and soon became his most trusted aide. He managed the Huizar family Christmas card list, met with developers seeking to do business in the district, and accompanied his boss on more than a dozen trips to casinos in Las Vegas and Australia between March 2013 and November 2018. On December 28, 2017, Esparza and Huizar huddled for the fateful meeting in the councilman’s exquisite private bathroom at City Hall, their conversation captured on a listening device nearby. In hushed tones, they discussed Esparza’s interviews with the FBI, and a cash bribe from the Korean developer that Esparza was holding for safekeeping. “I have a lot of expenses now with [Richelle] running. [Richelle’s] not going to be working anymore. I’m gonna need money. That is mine, right?” Huizar asked, referring to the bribe. “Yup,” Esparza replied. A year later, federal agents raided Huizar’s home and offices, carting off stacks of paperwork. Soon after, Richelle ended her campaign and Huizar was stripped of his committee assignments. ThenCouncil President Herb Wesson, who once proclaimed Huizar “my best friend,” removed him from all committees that handle planning, economic development, election rules, and state legislation. In May, new City Council President Nury Martinez asked Huizar to avoid council meetings until the investigation was over. He reluctantly agreed. As of May 28, he was still drawing his $200,000 annual salary, and no charges have been ﬁled against him. The results of the search warrant of his property remain undisclosed. Greg Coleman, a retired FBI special agent who took down “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort, says there are two likely explanations for the government’s uncharacteristic restraint. Either prosecutors are being extra cautious about reeling in such a big ﬁsh, or he’s been charged and is cooperating to help them bag someone bigger. Either way, stay tuned.

G E T T Y I M AG E S

around money included $10,000 cash in an envelope, $1,000 in casino chips, $25,000 in nightclub bottle service, and “services” from two escorts. In addition to Esparza, two other Huizar associates—a political fundraiser and a real estate consultant—have admitted to their roles in the bribery scheme. But court papers identiﬁed the investigation’s central target as a councilman who is running a criminal racketeering enterprise involving bribery, extortion, money laundering, and fraud. The records do not mention the councilman’s name. But as soon as the documents were released, it became clear that they referred to Huizar. The mild-mannered councilman seemed like an unlikely criminal mastermind. But his meteoric rise has long been clouded by vague rumors of misconduct. Over the years he has been hit with lawsuits from former staffers for harassment and retaliation, twice accused by female staffers of sexual harassment, and admitted to a messy extramarital affair. In 2011 the Los Angeles Times reported that his office had compiled “power lists” ranking community members based on their clout and their level of support for Huizar. LA Weekly described him as a councilman with “a walk-in closet’s worth of skeletons.” But despite occasional missteps, his popularity in his Eastside district kept increasing. However, his rise to real prominence began in 2011, when a city-appointed panel moved Little Tokyo, Skid Row, the Civic Center, Grand Avenue, and Bunker Hill out of the 9th District of Councilwoman Jan Perry and into Huizar’s 14th. Perry, who was termed out in 2012, says the seed for the ongoing federal corruption probe was sown during the redistricting ﬁasco. “The essence of transactional politics is reward and punishment,” she says. Rudy Martinez, a onetime A&E reality-TV star and an old friend of Huizar’s, also remembers those years as a turning point. Their friendship frayed after Huizar refused to pay Martinez for work he had done on his rental property. Then, Martinez says, he received an unexpected visit from the FBI. Agents were mainly interested in what he knew about a possible pay-to-play scheme in the councilman’s district. Martinez, who ran against his old friend in 2011, claims that disgruntled Huizar staffers fed him information about a scheme to “extort business and

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L.A. Stories

A N NA B E L L E G U RW I T C H

Peeps Show HOW A ZOOM WRITERS’ ROOM BROUGHT ME UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH QUIRKY STRANGERS—AND SAVED ME FROM MY QUARANTINED SELF

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I ’ D B E E N O N social media, scrolling past heaping homemade family meals of risotto ai funghi and strawberry rhubarb tarts, while I hunched over my kitchen sink eating tuna straight out of a can. I’d always feared it might come to this: I was becoming Blanche DuBois. A Streetcar Named Desire ends with Blanche—unmarried, ﬁnancially insecure, beauty fading, and, horror of horror, dependent on the kindness of strangers—unceremoniously carted off to the loony bin. Clearly, I was headed in that direction. An empty nester in the midst of a destabilizing divorce, I’d been feeling upbeat about keeping my inner Blanche at bay. I was taking in boarders to meet my monthly nut, volunteering at the local high school, busy with freelance work, and hiking daily with a friend. I had a desk in a shared workspace that provided me with watercooler camaraderie. In a matter of days, my tenant had hightailed it home, gigs evaporated, the office space shuttered, and my hiking buddy started running a little house on the quarantine for her ﬁve young children. My own kid, a college senior (preferred pronouns: they, them, theirs), was sheltering in place near their campus on the East Coast. Alone, distracted, I L LU S T R AT I O N BY D O M I N I C BU GAT T O

PROMOTION

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untethered to a daily schedule, I found time was folding into itself. Writing complete sentences seemed a Sisyphean task. In a manic panic, I fired off an impromptu email to 180 or so writers, some I hadn’t spoken to in years, others with whom I had even more tenuous connections, to join me for three hours of writing together over Zoom. I imagined something like the festive bustling green room of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, but that’s not quite what I got.

DAY 2

Two returning writers and three I’d never met—one from Tampa, one from Chicago, and another Westsider —materialized at the appointed time. Dispensing with the chat altogether, we muted ourselves and got to work. Chicago was seated on a twin bed in a child’s bedroom, and every so often a spritely girl, maybe 7 in age, swooped in for a hug and skipped away. This simple interaction elicited what I can only describe as a Handmaid’s Tale heart-wrenching response. A child! Do we still have those? DAY 1 Suddenly, I was treated to a close-up I changed out of my night pajamas of Tampa’s crotch. Oh, no, is he going and into my day pajamas and opened to disrobe and masturbate? I held my my Zoom session expecting to find dozbreath. What was I thinking inviting ens of writers stationed at their desks. strangers? He was merely rising to take Five showed up. There was one stranger, a stance at his standing desk. three acquaintances, and a Westside During those dull, aching hours comedy writer friend I hadn’t seen in of writing, our expressions varied ages because I live on the Eastside and between looking like we were suffering this is L.A. gastric distress, had just I laid out informal learned that our IRAs rules of engagement had tanked, or were for what I hoped would experiencing the sort I also realized become a productive of blankness you see in that it wasn’t writing session. After dementia patients. just Zoom chatting for 15 minSometimes a quizzimaking me look cal look would pass over utes or so, we’d mute jowly; the Botox someone’s face. Only ourselves, write for 90 minutes, break for a later did I realize that had fallen out chat, and write again the whiteboard in my of my face and for 90 minutes. Fifteen this was actually office was visible behind minutes turns out to be me. It read: dry vagina, how I looked. an interminable length divorce, cat lady. I wept—more of time in live cyberWestsider sent me a like howled— space with veritable message: “It feels a little virtual strangers, and weird having cameras for several we began writing after on, but it’s also comforthours straight. just five minutes. ing. I’m sure once I get The Westsider kept to know everyone I’ll be us entertained with even more comfortable.” Zoom green screen globe-trotting, I didn’t have the heart to tell her which seemed novel at the time. One how much I was hoping to not get to minute, he was writing in front of know anyone. My daily check-ins with the Eiffel Tower (OMG!), the next, on friends and family were essential, but the Golden Gate Bridge (hilarious!), also emotionally fraught reminders and finally, in a Trader Joe’s aisle of my isolation. The anonymity but lined with empty shelves (funny and intentionality of our intimate vacuum uncomfortably close to home). proved a salve, our silent transactions When I was able to tear myself buoying my spirits as if surfing the away from the crepey way my neck energy of a crowded street. looked onscreen, I stole glances at DAY 3 the others, delighting in seeing living I was the only writer to sign on. For people. For the first time in a week, a moment, I felt the relief of a grade I was able to resist Googling “where’s school snow day reprieve. I was temptDr. Fauci?” every ten minutes. I dashed ed to sign off and break into my stash off haphazard invitations for the next of dark chocolate with sea salt, but on day over email and on social media.

50 L A M AG . C O M

the off chance that someone might turn up, I reprimanded myself to “Go to your Zoom and don’t come out until you’ve gotten something accomplished!” Thankfully, Tampa, another Chicagoan, a newbie from Pasadena, and two new Westsiders trickled in. One of the last, an inveterate caféwriter from Topanga, wrote into the chat, “Being able to see your names on the screen means I already knew more about you than I’d know about the people sitting around me in a Starbucks.” Before making a bathroom run, Pasadena couldn’t resist inquiring, “Will you be here for a little while? Would you mind watching my stuff?”

DAY 4

A strange new normal of signing on, greeting each other, and getting to work set in. I stopped bothering to put on makeup. Tampa, Chicago, a Westsider, and two newcomers from Brooklyn joined in. One of the Brooklynites asked, “What is this?” with the confused expression of someone who’d stumbled into the wrong party. But after hearing the brief rundown, they remained for the entire session and an additional hour, closing the joint down. That night I sent a text to my kid, on a whim. “I’m all alone in the writers’ Zoom room I told you about, might you join me?” At 22, they’re in that curious individuating stage. Under normal circumstances, we rarely speak; instead, I’ll receive texts: “Can you add money in my account until my paycheck clears?” or “What do you clean piercings with?” I wasn’t even aware they had a piercing, much less ﬁve. Since college moved online, they seemed to be majoring in Rubik’s Cube and minoring in sourdough starter, so I was certain they were otherwise occupied. In what might be the most compassionate act bestowed on me as a mother, my child signed on. I didn’t mute this session. I wrote accompanied by the gentle click-clacking of the cubes sliding into place, as soothing as ASMR. It was only when I took a break from rapturously gazing up at my child—a stranger to me now— that I spotted her in another window. A young woman entered the screen and took off the majority of her clothing. We’ll never know who was more shocked, us at witnessing this striptease together, or our hapless Zoom

bomber who’d gone to the trouble of plotting a disruption only to find an audience of two, a mother and her child.

PROMOTION

DAY 5

I spent the early morning hours mourning my IRA, haggling with my insurance company over an outrageous medical bill, and talking with my spouse about conducting a mediation over Zoom so we could ﬁnalize our divorce during the pandemic. Oh, and I received official notice that my kid’s graduation ceremony was canceled. I also realized that it wasn’t just Zoom making me look jowly; the Botox had fallen out of my face and this was actually how I looked. I wept—more like howled—for several hours straight. If not for the possibility of a Zoomful of strangers waiting for me, I might still be howling. “I thought there’d be hundreds of writers,” said DTLA, a new addition, upon entering and seeing only four others. “Me too. I’m going to mute you now,” I said, reveling in the modicum of control afforded a Zoom host in the midst of worldwide chaos. The last hour of my Zooming that day, it was just Tampa and me. I don’t know anything about Tampa except that he’s a librarian who prefers writing at night, but it’s possible that during those five days I spent more time with him than I did with my ex during the last year of our marriage. I’d always resisted that phrase “something is everything” because there’s always a new something and if all those somethings are everything, then everything is everything, and if everything is everything, then everything is meaningless and everything is nothing. It turns out that Zoom is everything. And Tennessee Williams might have gotten it wrong as well because the kindness of strangers rescued this Blanche’s sanity. Three months into lockdown, for several hours five days a week, my virtual Zoom writers’ workroom persists. Each time I hit “end meeting for all,” I feel grateful for both the online company and the fact that in a muted Zoom, no one can hear you scream. Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress and best-selling author. Her next collection of essays, You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility (Counterpoint), is out in spring 2021.

JUL

Nina Ansary presents Anonymous Is a Woman, co-hosted by Los Angeles magazine

Tuesday, July 7, 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles

Nina Ansary will be in conversation with Maer Roshan, Editor-in-Chief of Los Angeles magazine, about her new book, Anonymous Is a Woman, which illuminates women’s hidden achievements from the past 4,000 years, and exposes the repercussions of centuries of gender inequality and cultural bias to advance an unconventional argument for equality and inclusivity. The event is free and includes a reception, light refreshments and book signing. -VY [PJRL[Z HUK TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU ]PZP[ ninaansarypresentsanonymousla.eventbrite.com

JUL

wineLA presents

the 6th Annual STARS of Pinot Wednesday, July 22 6:00 p.m. for VIP, 7 p.m. for General Admission, & 9 p.m. for After Party with DJ Richard Blade Tesse Restaurant, West Hollywood

Los Angeles’ most celebrated Pinot event! We’re working with authorities to remain inbounds on the rolling rules that will apply, and tickets will go on sale July 1st to better communicate the rules of engagement. This is intended to be LA’s REOPENING party! An outdoor charity tasting with social distancing and public safety in mind. Taste dozens of top Pinot examples, enjoy exquisite Tesse catered cuisine, and toast with Master of Ceremonies Ian Blackburn and DJ Richard Blade. VM [OL ZPSLU[ H\J[PVU ILULÄ[Z ;OL ; 1 4HY[LSS -V\UKH[PVU M\UKPUN *OPSKYLU»Z Cancer Research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. -VY [PJRL[Z HUK TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU ]PZP[ starsofpinot.com

AUG

15th Annual LAWineFest Saturday, August 8, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday, August 9, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. The Pike Outlets, Long Beach

:PW ,_WSVYL ,UQV` ;OL [O HUU\HS 3(>PUL-LZ[ ^PSS IL celebrating in Long Beach. Gather your friends for a fun and Z\U ÄSSLK KH` H[ [OL 3( /HYIVY :PW O\UKYLKZ VM *HSPMVYUPH and International wines plus artisan beers from around the globe. With live music, games, lifestyle goods and gourmet food vendors to check out and buy, and much more. -VY [PJRL[Z HUK TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU ]PZP[ lawinefest.com/squadup-tickets

L A M AG . C O M 5 1

L A M AG .C O M 53

ZOOM BOOM > While Palos Verdes might have the peacocks, horse trails, and ocean vistas, the commute to downtown or Century City is a deal killer for most, a fact that has suppressed prices relative to otherwise comparable communities. But the sudden uptick in remote working could have post-lockdown implications for the peninsula. “The area has the schools, the views, and amazing prices for what you get,” says real estate agent Tami Pardee, adding that clients were already decamping from Venice and Mar Vista before the pandemic. Anthony Poon migrat54 L A M AG . C O M

ed to Palos Verdes last year after owning homes on the Bird Streets in the Hollywood Hills and Bel Air. “I sought out a tranquil neighborhood of nature and birds, wide streets, and rejuvenating calm,” says the architect, who purchased a 2,800-square-foot midcentury with exposed beams, tongue-and-groove ceiling planks, and a split-level open plan. “If this house was in my past neighborhoods, it would be literally three or even four times the price to obtain the same square footage, size of lot, canyon views, and architectural character.” And while Palos Verdes’ Valmonte district doesn’t boast ocean views, it could hold the biggest potential for appreciation. “This is a neighborhood where people are walking up and down the streets. You see old people, young people, strollers, and dogs. In the evenings adults are on lawn chairs, and in general there are a lot of red Solo cups,” says real estate agent Cari Corbalis. “There’s a Little League ﬁeld here with a snack shack that’s the social hub, even for people who don’t have kids.” That bygone charm has lured buyers from Manhattan Beach who don’t want to spend $6 million for a house with no yard, says Corbalis. “Here, they pay a fraction of that,” she notes of the approximately 400 homes that start in the mid-$1 millions. “If people are going to start

CO U RT E SY T H E LUXU RY L E V E L

L.A. real estate in the post-pandemic era is about to undergo massive changes as millions work from home, hipster hoods falter amid retail meltdown, and the city’s newest hot spot might be monopolized by the richest man on Earth. Will massive home equity growth come to a crashing halt? Or will the residential market reset to its pre-pandemic self this summer? With millions sheltering in place, here’s what’s hitting home.

< This Mount Washington A-frame listed during the lockdown sold within six days for its asking price of $1.375 milion

working from home, even part-time, suddenly Palos Verdes becomes one of Los Angeles’s most desirable places to live.” A SHIFTING CENTER > Amazon’s impending occupation of Culver City—Jeff Bezos’s behemoth will soon expand beyond 700,000 square feet of office space there—is just one of many tech giants moving into the area. Together with Apple, TikTok, and HBO, more than 7,000 new employees are scheduled to work in the incorporated city of 39,000 in the next two years. “That’s a remarkable amount of new jobs with remarkable companies,” says Eric Willett, a research director at CBRE. “[Neighboring] West Adams has a unique conﬂuence of factors: a combination of cultural attractions, access to tech and creative talent as well as infrastructure. We don’t see underlying risk factors there, only huge potential for growth,” he says. Massive developments like Cumulus, which features a 31-ﬂoor high-rise and a seven-story building, will add 1,210 rental units this fall, while an additional 400 from a variety of projects are in the pipeline, says Willett. Many of the people moving into these new properties will be coming from Culver City, says Lina Lee, associate vice president of development at CIM. “These are people whose apartment has changed hands or whose rent has gone up dramatically.” But they won’t be heading to just West Adams. Leimert Park, View Park, Ladera Heights, Baldwin Hills, and Windsor Hills have all seen double-digit annual price jumps in the past three years. “There is nowhere else to go to the west, and there are hills to the north. The migration we’re going to see is to the southeast of Culver City,” says Lee. “Four years ago you could get a small three-bedroom home in West Adams for half a million dollars. Now it’s more like $850,000 or higher. That’s a year-over-year increase that far exceeds the rest of Los Angeles during the same time period.”

ond-tier alternatives are gaining status. “What you don’t get on the city side are the mountains. People are starting to appreciate the beauty of valley views,” says Compass real estate agent Tori Horowitz, who reports a surge of interest in Laurel Hills, a small section of Laurel Canyon off Mulholland Drive, which provides “wide views with layers of mountains. When the San Gabriels are snowcapped, it’s stunning.” Horowitz says home buyers are also attracted to the Laurel Canyon lore without the logistical hassles. “Laurel Hills has nicely paved streets and sidewalks as well as a proper sewer system,” she says of the area, where vista properties start in the mid-$2 millions, a “fraction of what it would cost in the Bird Streets.” Agent Tami Pardee says landlocked Westsiders in Venice and Marina del Rey are seeking higher ground in Baldwin Hills. “You can get space and land for a lot less money there,” she says. “There are homes from $700,000 to $1.5 million, some of which have amazing city views.” Edel Legaspi and her husband, Christopher Courts, paid less than a million for their 1,600-square-foot midcentury ranch in Baldwin Hills three years ago. “At that point we were priced out of Culver City,” says Legaspi. “It was this great surprise to discover this neighborhood. It’s quiet, with great walks,

“The CEO may still be in Beverly Hills and the Palisades, but the rank-andﬁle millennials are settling in the center of the city. Where the decision-maker lives is no longer relevant, which explains why the center of the city is alive, from Culver City to West Adams, up through Hollywood to Los Feliz. The balance of power has shifted east.” Carl Muhlstein, International Director, JLL commercial real estate company

Cumulus District in West Adams will have 1,210 apartments and its own Whole Foods

S I X- A N D S E V E N - F I G U R E V I E WS > Since the last recession the L.A. real estate market has become vista-obsessed, with promises of jetliner views commanding eight- and even nine-ﬁgure prices in places like Trousdale Estates and Sunset Plaza. Can’t afford those downtown-to-ocean panoramas? SecL A M AG . C O M 55

Open-air spaces at a development in Long Beach’s East Village are a post-COVID selling point

“If you think of retail as providing the kindling to ignite real estate developments, that’s in trouble right now outside of daily-needs retail such as grocery and drugstores.” Paul Habibi, Professor of Finance and Real Estate, UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management

and our house has great city views. We can see the Hollywood Sign and sometimes the Griffith Observatory.” The higher streets, known as the Dons, have become a hotbed of activity: “Since we moved in, two houses next door and one across the street have been purchased by developers and flipped.” A FA L T E R I N G F R O N T I E R ? > “Last recession the frontiers of new real estate development included East Hollywood and the Arts District. As they were not fully stabilized when the recession hit, they experienced higher levels of distress than certain mature submarkets,” says Paul Habibi, professor of finance and real estate at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. “Now it has moved outward to places such as Northeast L.A. The frontiers are often the most vulnerable during a recession. The last to deliver is typically the first to suffer,” says Habibi of areas that include Highland Park, Mount Washington, Glassell Park, and Eagle Rock. “These are all tied together and have been appreciating for the last few years. But as they’ve gentrified, other undervalued neighborhoods are going to take over in terms of appreciation,” says CIM’s Lina Lee. “If you bought a house in Mount Washington in 2014, for example, its appreciation would have been about half as much had you purchased that same home in West Adams.” Non-chain restaurants, shops, and studios have led the evolution in many of these areas, but the full impact of the pandemic shutdown on real estate will

take a while to materialize. “If you think of retail as providing the kindling to ignite real estate developments, that’s in trouble right now outside of daily-needs retail such as grocery and drugstores,” says Habibi. Deasy Penner & Podley agent Scott King says Mount Washington might be more recession-resistant than its neighbors. “Mount Washington Elementary is one of the highest rated on the Eastside,” he says. “That’s a huge difference during times of decline, when families may choose to go from a private to public school.” Add in greater architectural diversity and far fewer retail outposts than other northeast areas, and, King says, those factors translate into less downturn vulnerability. CA P E C O D A P O CA LY P S E > According to real estate agent Bret Parsons, an architectural correction is on the horizon for the supersize East Coast-style piles that have proliferated in Westside areas like Santa Monica, Brentwood, and Cheviot Hills. “These Cape Cods sell well the ﬁrst time because they are new,” says Parsons, who has written many books about L.A.’s architectural history. “After that, the cavernous, wall-less rooms with

“ R E L AX . T H I S I S N OT 2 0 07.” Christopher Thornberg PH.D., FOUNDING PARTNER, BEACON ECONOMICS, AND DIRECTOR, UC RIVERSIDE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CENTER FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING AND DEVELOPMENT

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The hysteria over what’s happening right now is simply out of line with reason and reality. The Great Recession was driven by the collapse of a $15 trillion subprime bubble. Back then the housing market was vastly overinﬂated, we had a massive oversupply of housing and record consumer debt and a record low savings rate. None of that is happening now. Instead, we’re coming into this mess with one of the fundamentally strongest economies in 30 years. But when it comes to conversations about the economy, hysteria has become the new normal. And while this is surely a shock to the system, it’s important to remember that this is a sharp bump, not a protracted hole. Depending on how quickly we get in front of this pandemic, real estate is going to pick up where we left off.”

the just-cooked-dinner odors permeating every room just won’t sell as well.” The kicker? “They cost a fortune to cool and heat,” he notes. Furthermore, historical neighborhoods bring a better real estate investment, according to Parsons. “I recommend Hancock Park-adjacent neighborhoods including Lafayette Square, Wilshire Park, and Country Club Manor, all [historical protection overlay zones]. These areas are desirable as teardowns are scant, and residents love knowing their communities will look the same tomorrow.” The rampant Hamptons-ization of Paciﬁc Palisades has helped drive real estate values up in Sunset Mesa, an enclave above the Getty Villa that has escaped much (but not all) of the East Coast mania. “In the ’80s the neighborhood was known for its rowdy skateboarders, but now it’s a well-kept gem, almost a time capsule with its 1960s homes,” says resident Margot Jones. “Three years ago the average price was $1.6 million. Now it’s around $2.5 million and more.” T H E N E XT A RT S D I S T R I C T > Outdoor space beyond the balcony might be the ultimate pandemic selling point for apartment dwellers. At the Linden in Long Beach, top-ﬂoor units come with private “sky gardens,” while residents of all 49 apartments have access to communal outdoor lounge areas. “Outdoor space is at a premium in highdensity areas,” says architect Michael Bohn of Studio One Eleven, which designed the East

“A P O C A LUX E ” L I V I N G : PA N D E M I C T R O P H Y H O M E S Remote > Ditch the density at this mountaintop compound (top). Located 2,400 feet above sea level and with a Malibu ridgeline almost all to itself, the lone structure offers 360-degree views of the city, mountains, and ocean with an infinity pool that seems to float above the Pacific. $5.9 million, listed with Chris Cortazzo, Compass. Resilient > Live off the grid in this 8,700-square-foot Kim Gordon Designs home in Pacific Palisades (below). With a twostory pantry, swimming pool with drinkable water, and rooftop

vegetable gardens, the openplan, ocean-view compound is an autonomous oasis. $14.8 million, listed with Justin Alexander, Teles Properties. Rx > A home with medical beneﬁts? That’s the concept at Mandarina luxury hotel/residences on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit coastal jungle (above). Residences start at $4.5 million, with up to 19,000 square feet of fully furnished space with private swimming pools and private chef’s meals as well as a less-expected amenity: emergency airlift transportation with GlobalRescue. Represented by One&Only Resorts. L A M AG . C O M 57

P E A KS & VA L L E YS : L.A.’S WILD REAL ESTATE RECESSION RIDE OR AN EXTREMELY MODEST GAIN?

MASSIVE APPRECIATION?

> From the last recession’s lows to the current market’s highs, L.A. homes appear to have almost doubled in value. Overall price increases in Los Angeles County from 2012 (the trough of the last recession) to now:

> Look a little closer, however, and that massive appreciation looks far more minuscule when viewed peak to peak. From 2006 until now, the typical Los Angeles home appreciation percentage barely breaks double digits:

81%

11%

[April 2012 to March 2020]

[2006 to February 2020]

Appreciation

L.A. COUNTY TYPICAL HOME PRICE $800k $700k

602k

664k

March 2020

2006

$600k $500k $400k $300k $200k

367k

April 2012

$100k

Village Arts District building. “During the last recession this was an area that you wanted to walk through as fast as you could,” says Bohn. “But we wanted to avoid the typical model of ‘Tear it all down and sell it to a developer who has nothing to do with our city.’” So Bohn and his partners decided to invest in the area as well as reimagine it, starting with a trio of warehouses owned by Black Flag guitarist and SST Records founder Greg Ginn. Today those properties are home to restaurants, shops, and offices, while a parking lot on the same block is now a low-density 49-unit residential building. “In an age when developers consolidate parcels and maximize proﬁts by scaling up, we were able to scale down,” says Bohn. Similar village-scale projects are planned throughout the area, where the city has planted trees and created parklets. “In downtown Long Beach we have 10 sites with either market-rate or affordable-housing developments comprising just over 2,000 units, many with ground-ﬂoor retail. None of these sites displaced any residents, though we did displace almost 280 vehicles.”

WESTSIDE STORY: THE RICH GET RICHER

> The exception to the city’s real estate ups and downs? Wealthy zip codes where home values are protected from downturns and beneﬁt enormously in a recovering market. “Home values in L.A.’s top zip codes recover faster and [higher] and don’t fall as hard during a recession. In the last one, they fell less than 20 percent. That is a very soft landing.” —JEFF TUCKER, ZILLOW ECONOMIST

90210: BEVERLY HILLS

90402: NORTHSIDE SANTA MONICA

90232: CULVER CITY

February 2007: $1.9m

February 2007: $1.4m

May 2006: $718k

February 2009: $1.6m

May 2009: $1.14m

May 2012: $622k

February 2020: $5.6m

February 2020: $4.2m

February 2020: $1.5m

Trough to now:

appreciation

250%

268%

141%

[ALL DATA FROM ZILLOW, WHICH USES THE TERM “TYPICAL HOME” PRICE AS OPPOSED TO “AVERAGE” OR “MEDIAN” PRICE] 58 L A M AG . C O M

First-Time Buyer’s Market at Last? L.A.’S FASTEST-RISING REAL ESTATE STARS COULD CORRECT TOWARD AFFORDABILITY

I N G L E WO O D “The [SoFi] stadium is supposed to open this year. The Super Bowl is scheduled for 2022 and the Olympics in 2028. There’s also the coming Crenshaw Line as well as the central location, all of which means this is one of the fastestrising areas in Los Angeles. Last year you could get a tear-down for $500,000. Now it’s more like $700,000 or $800,000.” YANA BERANEK, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

A L TA D E NA “With a huge range in prices, from bungalows starting in the $600,000s up to country-clubadjacent compounds in the $3 millions, Altadena is attracting young buyers who want to be

close to nature. It’s got the cafés and the walkability, but it also has the San Gabriel Mountains right there. From a starter bungalow you can walk to trails. Not baby trails—world-class, amazing hiking and biking trails.” SCOTT KING, DEASY PENNER & PODLEY

F R O G T OW N “Five years ago you could get a house in Frogtown for $400,000 all day long. It was a place where younger couples who couldn’t afford Silver Lake or Atwater Village came as well as older investors who were buying duplexes and triplexes because they knew the rents were going to jump. Now you’re seeing homes for $1.4 million and rents for $3,500 to $4,500. If you had said ‘Frogtown’ ﬁve years ago, people would say, ‘Where is that?’” JUAN LONGFELLOW, DEASY PENNER & PODLEY

Lina Lee, Associate Vice President of Development, CIM

TONY MARIOTTI, RUBYHOME

V I R G I L V I L L AG E “Since it’s at the lower end of Silver Lake, ﬁrsttime buyers can feel like they’re in the mix without having to go to Eagle Rock or Highland Park. And in three years houses here have gone from supercheap to expensive— from $500,000 to upward of $1.4 million. Someone just ﬂipped a house for $1.4 million that they bought for $700,000 just over a year earlier.” JUAN LONGFELLOW, DEASY PENNER & PODLEY

SoFi Stadium is behind Inglewood’s 63 percent rise in home prices since 2014, the largest in L.A.

G E T T Y I M AG E S

D OW N T OW N “For most of 2019 DTLA has been ﬂat in terms of appreciation. While areas like Highland

Park and Playa Vista have seen 10 percent increases year over year, that hasn’t happened in downtown, primarily because of the large inventory of condos on the market. In terms of the overall outlook for the L.A. real estate market, I’m preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. If prices stayed ﬂat, or even if we took a modest 15 to 20 percent dip, I’d be relieved.”

“Every residential market in Los Angeles is readjusting right now. People who have been waiting years to get into the market will have a huge opportunity in the coming one to two years.”

L A M AG . C O M 59

DINING DYNASTY Michael McCarty and son Chas in the garden at Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Santa Monica in May. A Frenchtrained chef, Michael opened the restaurant in 1979

BY CHAS McCARTY

6 0 L A M AG . C O M

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y D A N B U S TA

E X T E R I O R : CO U RT E SY M I C H A E Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S

Devastated by the COVID-19 crisis, the launching pad for California cuisine faces an uncertain future. Amid the shutdown, the son of founder Michael McCarty reflects on the realities of running a beloved restaurant

CLASS OF ’79 Michael’s launched the careers of a generation’s most inﬂuential chefs and shaped the casual-elegant dining experience that endures today. Above, from left: The original Michael’s team poses in the restaurant’s garden—Jonathan Waxman, who later opened Jams in New York; founder Michael McCarty’s New York Michael’s became the canteen for Manhattan publishing swells; Mark Peel met Nancy Silverton in the Michael’s kitchen before they opened Campanile and La Brea Bakery; Ken Frank today runs the Michelinstarred La Toque in Napa. Right: Chas McCarty at Michael’s during the shutdown 62 L A M AG . C O M

V I N TAG E P H OTO G R A P H Y: CO U RT E SY M I C H A E L’ S

H E T H O U G H T running through my head, as my dad and I raided our restaurant’s wine cellar after Santa Monica implemented its COVID-19 stay-at-home measure, was: at least there’s toilet paper. I grabbed three rolls for myself and gave the rest to the prep cook vac sealing and pickling what little provisions were left from the weekend. There wasn’t much, as we’d cut ordering by 75 percent the week before. Loading up on a few bottles of golden balsamic vinegar courtesy of our executive chef, Brian Bornemann, I had a feeling we weren’t looking at two weeks of social distancing. “Better grab the good shit,” my dad said. “2015 Cahors?” “Fantastic!” My father, Michael McCarty, started Michael’s, his restaurant in Santa Monica, 41 years ago, when he was 25, with my mother,

SALAD DAYS From left: The forerunner to Michael’s, near the corner of Third Street and Wilshire Blvd.; Michael McCarty prepares to turn on the new restaurant’s power for the ﬁrst time in 1979; Jonathan Waxman at work in the Michael’s kitchen, note gym shorts; McCarty and his young staff in the restaurant’s early years— the minimalist decor, cordial service, and fresh, innovative California cuisine would be emulated by restaurateurs around the world; McCarty with Julia Child—between them they shaped the cooking and dining expectations for two generations; an early magazine feature. Michael’s tapped the youthful brio that was reinvigorating Hollywood and the record business at the time

64 L A M AG . C O M

1994 recession, on the brink of closing Michael’s, he did a sweep of his head management and brought in 22-yearold Sang Yoon as chef (now of Father’s Office and Lukshon) and David Rossoff (formerly of Mozza, now at Hippo) as general manager.

ichael’s survived for the next 14 years, but the 2008 recession leveled its business. Five years ago I came in and cleaned up a heavily coke-snorting staff in a dead-empty restaurant. I beat the shit out of my already severely compromised body by running the ﬂoor every night (I was born with a spinal cord injury and deal with severe chronic pain). I ﬁgured out how to run a restaurant with very little experience. I had uneasy conversations with cooks and managers and waiters who couldn’t pull their weight, and got chewed out by my fair share of oldguard diners. Night after night, getting yelled at for not being a tapas restaurant or not having brussels sprouts. Learning when to back down and take the heat and when to tell someone they can’t sit in the garden on a Saturday because they made their reservation that afternoon and every school in the city just graduated. Saying, “Yes, I know, we’re all friends of Michael.” I came to understand that if a staff member had a weak point, it was my fault as their leader. I experienced epiphanies out of sheer exhaustion while driving back to Echo Park in the middle of the night,

V I N TAG E P H OTO G R A P H Y: CO U RT E SY M I C H A E L’ S

the painter Kim McCarty. His restaurant in New York City, also called Michael’s, is comparatively youthful at a mere 30 years old. Michael’s served as the springboard for an uncanny number of celebrity L.A. chefs: Jonathan Waxman, Mark Peel, Nancy Silverton, Roy Yamaguchi, Sang Yoon, Ken Frank, and Brooke Williamson all got their start here. Trained as a chef in Paris, Mike was hyper and enthusiastic, Armani-suited, talking to every guest about the inspiration behind his food—clean, cutting-edge, a California twist on French nouvelle cuisine—the walls of the restaurant resplendent with California modernist art curated by my mother. Decades before farm-to-table, Mike worked with local farmers to plant French heirloom seeds and even had his own duck farm with Jean Bertranou, his mentor from L’Ermitage. Michael’s promoted the first digitized wine list—produced on a supercomputer the size of a room by a mad scientist named Phil Reich—and was the first to offer seating in a lush outdoor garden and waiters dressed in Burberry ties and pink Ralph Lauren outfits instead of tuxedos. Depending on your point of view, Michael’s is an overrated piece of history or nothing short of the birthplace of modern American cuisine. However you lean, the restaurant has been difficult to kill off no matter who the executive chef was at the time. Before the shutdown in March, Michael’s had survived fires, recessions, riots, the ’80s, earthquakes, 9/11, both Bushes, and almost the entire first term of Donald Trump. Mike is a master at reinventing his restaurants. During the

Michael’s served as the springboard for an uncanny number of celebrity L.A. chefs, from Jonathan Waxman to Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel. hallucinating faster platings and easier service techniques and smiling wide when I finally cracked the expediting problem that was destroying the nights service. I spoke to everyone—friends, partners, coworkers, parents—about quitting to take care of my body, then talked myself into saying the answer lay in finding the right team. If we had the right chef and right manager, I wouldn’t have to beat myself to a pulp. The problem was, chefs and managers were increasingly hard to find and at most lasted two years before they burned out or opened their own place. Even with my dad as my partner, I never could find stability, and I never could quit. I stayed because I had worked very hard to create a place I enjoyed being at, with people I enjoyed being around and cared about—I had known many since I was a kid. The cooks taught me kitchen Spanish, how to peel beets, and how to hold three plates. In my twenties, our staff taught me how to run a restaurant, and it troubled me knowing my employees could make more money somewhere else. Often if felt like our neighborhood didn’t catch our message, favoring factory chain takeout instead. Whenever I confessed this to a staff member, they said, “Why? I like working here. Most people are assholes.” There was at least some form of acceptance in the shared sentiment. The vibe of the place kept me: sitting outside, in the insanely overgrown garden, the Cy Twomblys on the walls and actual good music playing in the background and not in your face, watching people sit for hours talking and

enjoying their food; the team I had worked so hard to put together never quite nailing every move but every second performing better than the previous; every talking head at the restaurant personable, but never too many words. The majority of the nights something went wrong: the internet blew out, or some hothead wanted to bring in nine bottles of $14 gas station wine and didn’t want to pay corkage. But we sprinted forward to high publicity, near profit, and praise from our previous chef, the very inventive and talented Miles Thompson, before ﬁnding a balance of CalMediterranean with Brian. The only thing I had failed to do was to regularly get the guest count up to at least 100 every weeknight—we were in a sleepy neighborhood. Finally, the week before the COVID-19 closure, we had gotten it there. We had found stability. My team had made Michael’s a destination restaurant one would want to eat at every night. This coronavirus was a different beast, though. It was going to bleed us out and forever change dining in every city across the globe. The news alone of the pandemic had a massive impact on guest count and proﬁt. Two weeks before the shutdown, we saw our numbers plummet by 80 percent, from our highest dinner count of the past nine months—240 guests—to 40 by the following Saturday. I had the staff wearing gloves and went heavy on the sanitation for their protection as much as the guests’, but it felt like we were fooling ourselves. I was waiting for the city to call the shots just so we could stop hemorrhaging money and putting our staff at risk. L A M AG . C O M 65

SHOULDERING A LEGACY Chas McCarty in the Michael’s dining room. With his father’s blessing, McCarty ran Michael’s for the past ﬁve years and restored its reputation after it had faltered. “A week before the shutdown we had gotten it there—my team had made Michael’s a restaurant one would want to eat at every night”

When the mayor called it, I was relieved. We furloughed all of our employees, including myself. We advised the team to get on unemployment as soon as possible. The last two weeks had already cut their tips in half. Jorge Romero, a food runner I have known since I was six years old, asked me what he should do: “I don’t want to panic, Chas, but should I stock up on groceries?” I wondered how it came to be that in the absence of appropriate presidential leadership, I was now the go-to for advice in a pandemic. Julian Adame, our general manager, canceled the internet and phones before he locked the door behind him. He was a godsend of a manager—I almost cried when we’d hired him the month before. I’d worked for ﬁve years to ﬁnd the proper team for the restaurant. Now they no longer worked for me. All my dad and I had was a big empty room with a rent check due. At our managers’ meeting the day before, we had groused about restaurants being expected to reopen at 25 percent capacity. We all laughed, as I’m sure every other restaurant team did, both out of sheer nervousness and at the presumption of those who think restaurants print money, when in reality most restaurants can’t break even while operating at 100 percent capacity. Factor in a $15 minimum wage for frontof-house employees, high city and state taxes, increasingly expensive sustainable and guilt-free product, Trump’s wine tariffs, workman’s comp, repairs and maintenance, and best of all, incredibly expensive metropolitan rent. Asking restaurants to open at 25 percent capacity, like it’s a favor, just doesn’t make sense. As Mike put it, “Talk about beating a dead horse.” We sighed. About a million dollars a year in sales—just enough to pay our rent—comes from private events. With all of our weddings and large gatherings canceled for the year and customers demanding their deposits back, we just sat in silence. We struck down the possibility of staying open for takeout even though Brian had whipped up a three-page “to-go” menu in about six hours. Julian signed up the restaurant for delivery services, all of them mandating a 30 percent chunk of the sales for themselves. Calculating how many roast chickens we’d have to sell just to cover the hourly grill cook while risking his health and, by proxy, that of his family, we said, “Fuck that.” The grill cook is

Two weeks before the shutdown, we saw our numbers plummet from 240 guests to 40 the following Saturday.

6 6 L A M AG . C O M

already the sacrifice of the restaurant. Laws that prohibit sharing tips with back-of-house employees allow a cook’s pay to be capped at 20 bucks an hour; most cooks work doubles to support their families and never take vacation time. There’s a common saying that your restaurant is only as good as your grill cook, but, of course, you can’t run a restaurant with just one cook, even in a pandemic. Mike wisely added, “It goes against the point of keeping people safe at home if we’re calling them in to work.” The majority of our front-of-house employees are tipped, so they’d make more on unemployment with the $600 weekly stimulus than from any measly job we’d be able to provide one or two of them fishing out bags of cappelletti with housesmoked salmon roe to some guy excited to eat cold pasta when he got home. My head raced to the most panic-inducing part of all this. Documented workers would be fine if they were capable of

that everyone steals after you publish the recipe in a cookbook, no one will ever pay you royalties. With business as usual, a restaurant owner is just surﬁng on blind luck for a couple of breaths until the chef or manager quits. A few nights of low guest count because of a Dodger game or a debate are enough to push you into debt. All these years we’d been curling our toes against the edge of the cliff. Coronavirus pushed us off. Maybe it’s good to see that after years of working so hard and confusing stress with security, we’ve been kidding ourselves all along. Ask any dishwasher or busboy—they’ll say that’s a lesson they’ve always known.

W receiving unemployment insurance. (After about six weeks of furlough, 80 percent of my employees, including myself, still hadn’t received checks, but would eventually.) Undocumented workers, and it doesn’t help to fool ourselves into thinking they don’t exist, make up a signiﬁcant portion of food service employees. In 2017, it was estimated that 37 percent of America’s small-restaurant owners were immigrants, while 22 percent of food service workers were foreign-born—more, I imagine, in California. These were the people who would be forgotten by the country and treated with disdain. I spoke with a DACA recipient, unsure if he could go on unemployment, as he expressed fear of dipping into the savings he’s accumulated since he was 16. DACA recipients can technically apply for unemployment insurance, but the majority of foreign-born workers do not hold any status at all. We set up a GoFundMe campaign and called our attorneys to see what could be done. California ﬁnally passed a motion to acknowledge that undocumented workers exist in the midst of a pandemic. COVID-19 is just another testament to the truth of the restaurant industry. Unless you’re a Bestia or a République or one of the other successful restaurants you can count on one hand, it’s not the ’80s and you can’t make a killing anymore. If your place hits a grand slam with a scallop dish

hen the city ordered us to shut down Michael’s, I collapsed and so did my dad. It was the vacation we had both dreamed of and dreaded, and it was creepy. No alarms tripping in the middle of the night and no pipes blowing out. No lost soul fresh from a bender to babysit. Just the bureaucracy of trying to get an SBA loan, which was a job and a half in itself. I had spent five years trying to make the restaurant work and to support my employees who looked to me for a living because they believed me when I said I was bringing in a chef or a manager who would move the place forward. I had bled myself to do whatever I could for the restaurant. Now I couldn’t do anything for anyone anymore if it wasn’t safe outside. All my farmers were down 80 percent, slaughtering their pigs because it was cheaper than feeding them. I checked in every week with the vulnerable members of my staff. Everyone was fine, bored, and eager to get back to work. The relinquishing of responsibility, by global collapse and by force, is a weird thing. The news never got better, but the upside was that the average person started to understand how hard it is to run a restaurant because so many restaurant owners have finally come out and confirmed it. Amid the thrill Mike and I felt in looting the remains of our restaurant’s stock—an oddly cathartic experience I can only imagine is the same as smashing a guitar after playing a great set with it—we both silently assumed that the restaurant would probably be there when we popped out of this. We had no reason to take the thought seriously, as we didn’t own our real estate, had no corporate or financial backing or even money left of our own, and I definitely didn’t trust the Trump administration to properly bail us out or handle the pandemic responsibly. But we are crazy people—restaurant people through and through—and even though Michael’s had not made any money in ten years, we just assumed we’d be back because it’s the only thing we know how to do. As I piled my notebooks and work clothes, along with a pack of nylon gloves, sherry vinegar, and a few bottles of mezcal into the trunk, a strange rush overtook me from the past two weeks of chaos, and really my past five years trying to make this place work. Whatever sweeping sentimental thought I had was interrupted when Mike walked by, chuckled out loud at the trunk, and said, “It’s lookin’ like LaGuardia on a bad day!” L A M AG . C O M 67

Escape From Synanon Mikel Jollett and his brother, Tony, spent their early years raised by strangers at the Venicebased cult. One night a nervous woman arrived to whisk them to a hazy future. She told them she was their mom. An exclusive excerpt from the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most anticipated book

BY M I K E L J O L L E T T

THE LOST BOYS Mikel Jollett was ďŹ ve and his brother, Tony, was eight when they left Synanon. Now 46, Mikel, the lead singer of the Airborne Toxic Event, recounts the surreal journey that followed in his new memoir, Hollywood Park.

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PROPHET AND LOSS Synanon began as a wellrespected drug rehab, but under the leadership of its charismatic founder, Charles Dederich, it became a controlling cult. Children were regularly separated from their parents and members were required to shave their heads. Above: a women-only dance party in 1975; right: the boys with their father, an ex-con who found sobriety at Synanon.

just “eat my face.” They’re big and soft, like warm pillows I can fall into. Clubby talks in a strange way that doesn’t use any R’s. “Well, waddya think, kid? You gonna get in yo jammies o’ wut?” She says it’s because she’s from a place called New Yoke. Which is far away from California. The woman I’m told to call Mom cries when she comes to visit. She reads me a book, or we walk around the compound, the big golden ﬁeld, or I sit in her lap as she sings songs with words I don’t understand—“Fair-a, jhock-a, fair-a, jhock-a, door may voo, door may voo.” She combs my hair, tells me she misses me. “Don’t be sad, Mom,” I tell her. I tell her that most of all. “Don’t be so sad all the time.” She stares at me when I eat like she’s trying to memorize something, like she’s about to say something but decides not to. “I love you, Goo. My little boy.” Tears in her eyes fall on the bib of her clean blue overalls. Everyone wears overalls here. I have three pairs. Then she disappears again, and I ﬁnd Clubby and Bonnie and we laugh and build things out of Popsicle sticks or play hide-and-seek with the other kids until bath time, then song time, singing: “There’s a land that I see where the children are free ...” Then bedtime when there are stories of

PREVIOUS SPREAD: COURTESY MIKEL JOLLETT; SYNANON: GETTY IMAGES; HOLLYWOOD PARK: COURTESY MIKEL JOLLETT

WE WERE NEVER YOUNG. WE WERE just too afraid of ourselves. No one told us who we were or what we were or where all our parents went. They would arrive like ghosts, visiting us for a morning, an afternoon. They would sit with us or walk around the grounds, to laugh or cry or toss us in the air while we screamed. Then they’d disappear again, for weeks, for months, for years, leaving us alone with our memories and dreams, our questions and confusion, the wideopen places where we were free to run like wild horses in the night. It happened all at once, my brother and I sitting naked in the bath, playing with our toy boats, listening to the music and the sound of muffled voices from the next room. We are swaddled in red-and-green wool blankets and readied for sleep: story time, pajamas, the rubbing of tired eyes. Good night, canyon. Good night, mountain. Good night, building. Good night, stars. Crayons are put away; cubbies cleaned; teeth brushed. I drift to sleep but then I’m rattled awake, surprised to see my mother’s face with her shaved head, her hazel-green eyes, her round Dutch cheeks, and crooked, coffee-stained yellow teeth: “Hi, Goo. Wake up. We have to leave. It’s not safe here.” I’ve been told this woman’s name is “Mom.” That’s what I’m told to call her. I know the word is supposed to have some kind of special meaning. She comes to visit me. She’s sadder than the others. She wears overalls and squeezes me, talks about how she misses me, her eyes forever darting around the room like a nervous bird. My eyes are ﬁlled with sleep, my head heavy. “But I’m tired.” Bonnie and Clubby are the other women. They’re with me every day. They’re funny. They talk in strange voices and always have a game to play or a slice of apple or crackers and juice. They call me “Son.” Pronounced “Suuuuuun” in a low baritone on account of my deep voice, round belly, and overbite that makes my top lip stick out in a funny way. They always say they could

dry, and I feel a blankness spreading from my stomach up over my chest, going out over my arms and legs to my fingers and toes. “To the car, to go see Grandma and Grandpa.” A car? I don’t understand. I’ve seen cars driving in and out of the long driveway at the front of the building, but I’ve never been in one. They look so big and fast. I wonder if it will feel like flying. When Dad comes to visit, he rides a loud twowheel car called a motocycle. He leans back on the seat with his hands on the handlebars, which makes it look exactly like he’s floating on air. The world is as big as the playground, the field, the forest on the far side of the road, and this room where I sleep with Dmitri and Cassidy after song time, as big as Clubby and Bonnie with their funny voices and tomato soup and toast. The woman I’m told to call Mom is looking for my shoes. Debbie goes to the cubby closet and opens the door to the cubby where I keep my overalls, underwear, socks, and the baseball Dad gave me signed by Steve Garvey, who is a professional baseball player. Dad likes baseball, I think. I have a bag where I keep my toothbrush and a yellow plastic comb that’s too big for my shaved head. I have marbles and chalk and the pictures I drew with Bonnie on construction paper. I don’t have any toys. None that are mine anyway. All the kids have to share our toys, and no one can even

FAMILY PHOTO: COURTESY MIKEL JOLLETT; SYNANON: GETTY IMAGES

Tony is mad. I’m told he’s my brother. I see him in the playground, but he never plays with the other kids.

dragons and castles and baby birds and moons that talk to children and children who talk to cats and blue butterflies that talk to lions. Then they say good night to me, to Cassidy, to Guy, to Dmitri—my best buddy—then Noah. When I wake up, when all the other kids are still sleeping, Mom shakes me and says, “We have to go. We have to go now. You have to be quiet, honey.” I tell her I need some water. She has a look I’ve never seen as I feel my chest sink into itself like there’s something sharp and hot at the bottom of my throat. “What about Clubby and Bonnie?” “Shhh ... We can write to them. I promise.” She picks me up. The other kids are fast asleep. There’s a soft yellow light coming from the doorway of the bathroom with the low toilet next to the craft tables. Debbie, who watches over us at night, stands next to the woman I am told to call Mom. She looks scared. My brother, Tony, is in the doorway, already dressed, his arms crossed. His head is shaved just like mine. “Where are we going, Mom?” My throat is

keep a bike if someone brings you one. Debbie puts my things in a paper bag and hands them to Mom. We start for the door. “Wait, Mom. No one will know where I am when they wake up.” “It’s OK, sweetie.” “Shut up, dummy!” Tony says. “Shhhhhh!!” Mom pulls him to her hip. “But why do we have to leeeeeave?” She lets out a deep breath, puts me on the ground, gathers us like a mother hen. She squints, holding her eyes closed tight, her hands over her forehead, then opens them and looks at me, grabbing my hands in hers. She reaches for Tony, but he turns away. “Listen, I L A M AG . C O M 71

know you don’t understand, but we have to leave right now. And we can’t let anyone ﬁnd out, OK? So I need you guys to be quiet. We’re going on an adventure.” Her eyes move wildly from me to my brother and back to me. “You can sleep in the car. And when you wake up, you’ll be at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and we’ll all have Dutch rolls and cheese.” There’s no reasoning with her. I try to imagine what the house looks like. I’ve never left the School, which is what everyone calls this place. I wonder if it’s got a big door. Mom once told me they had lots of music boxes, that Grandma was crazy for small boxes that play music when you open them. I look at Tony’s face for clues, but he’s got his chin pressed against the door frame, holding the paper bag with his stuff in it. My head feels woozy as my eyes fall on the buttons of Debbie’s blue overalls. She’s nice, but she’s new. I miss Clubby because she used to be with us at night and would hold me when I had a bad dream and call me Suuuuuun. She would tell me we were safe here, all of us here in Synanon, living together, a great big family, a tribe of humans who love each other and love the world and love the little babies most of all. Debbie whispers something to Mom. Tony is mad. I’m told he’s my brother. I see him on the playground, but he never plays with the other kids. He sits by himself. I sit by him sometimes, but I don’t think he likes me because he pushes me and tells me to leave him alone. He’s three years older and twice my size. People say we look like each other, but I don’t see it. Mom picks us up. She seems so much like a giant bird. Like she swooped down from the sky and got us. I want to tell her not to worry, that I can ﬂy, too. I’m strong enough,

speakers of the Wire, the in-house radio, with its crackle and hiss letting us hear the sounds of people laughing, people crying, people yelling, people dancing, a jazz band playing music. The Punk Squad, the mean teenagers with their cursing and cuffed jeans getting punched in the face if they ever talk back. Every week one of them runs away, and everybody gets so mad. The sound of Chuck, the Old Man, the leader, talking about things we don’t understand. He says he loves us, but he’s always so angry. And the bird, we are told to call her “Mom,” flapping furiously, eyes locked on some faraway point as she clutches her chicks and we fly up over Tomales Bay with its streams draining into the Pacific Ocean, the giant redwoods on the hillside, the big waves crashing against the rocks on the coast, slowly breaking them into tiny pieces, fracturing them, pulling them apart— until they’re soft to the touch, portable and broken, easy to walk on, to place into a small plastic bag for a tourist visiting with sunburned ankles from some ancient city to the east.

THE BIG ROAD There’s a brown car waiting in the parking lot at the front of the compound. The driveway looks different at night. I’ve seen stars before, when Bonnie and Clubby would take us outside to lie on our backs and look up at the sky. Bonnie and I have chosen a star for me. It’s easy to find, hanging over the pine trees at the edge of the field. But I don’t see it. I wonder where it’s gone. I want to point at it and name it and say hello. All I can hear is the shuffling of our feet, a soft cooing from the woods, and the rumble of the engine in the parking lot. The air smells damp, like concrete and pine needles, a big cloud of steam bursting from behind the long brown sedan. There’s a man sitting in the front seat with a short blond mustache that goes halfway across his upper lip. I can’t believe my luck that I get to ride in a car. “Is that your car, Mom? Who’s that man?” “That’s your grandfather.” She opens the rear door and helps us in. “Hi-dee do,” says Grandpa Frank. I see his eyes in the little mirror. He looks like an older, short, mannish version of Mom. Same round cheeks, which I’m later told are something called “Dutch.” Mom has told me stories about him, that he was on the Olympic team for Dutch but that he couldn’t go because they canceled the Olympics because of the war. Mom says Grandpa has the strongest hands in the world because he was a gymnast, that he was in two different armies for two different countries, America and Dutch. She told me he was far away fighting the Germans when she was born and that Grandma Frieda sent him a picture of her. She showed it to me once: It was a round-cheeked baby

It’s strange to hear a man speak. Men don’t come to the School very o en, and when they do we stare at them like wild beasts from our storybooks. and sometimes, when I’m dreaming, my ears get big—big enough to be like wings—and I can fly anywhere I want. I just flap them and soar way up into the sky. I tell myself, “Remember, you have to remember this when you wake up. You can fly.” And I’m remembering now because I just woke up. I want to tell her, but there’s no time. She beats her wings, and we take flight over the School, the playground, the yard, the field, the buildings, the entire Synanon compound where we played games and ate and sang and slept. Where we heard the adults screaming through the 72 L A M AG . C O M

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girl sitting on a chair in a white apron, a bonnet on her head. “Daddy carried this on his ship. Carried it in his pocket.” He would look at the picture, crouched in a hole in the ground when the Germans would drop bombs on him and his friends in a place called the Bulge where there was a big battle and awful things happened but Grandpa won’t talk about it because it was so terrible. All he’d ever say is that he would look at the picture and whisper, “Gerredina, Daddy loves you.” “Hi, Dad.” Mom climbs into the front seat. She looks around, scanning the parking lot, the woods, the driveway that leads to the Big Road. “Where are we going?” Tony says. Grandpa Frank is frozen in his seat, staring straight ahead, hands on the steering wheel. Mom turns around. “We’re leaving, honey.” “Will we be back by lunch?” “No. I’m sorry. We won’t.” “But Noah has my baseball card!” Tony yells, stomping his foot. “I’ll get you some new cards,” Grandpa says. It’s strange to hear a man speak. We’re so used to the women. His voice is deep and certain. The men don’t come to the School very often, and when they do, we stare at them like wild beasts from our storybooks. They have beards or mustaches, big muscles, and leather boots. Some are bald with hair on their arms, necks, and chests. They’re so tall, and when they play with us, they throw us in the air to show us how much stronger they are. It’s fun to be small next to something so big. “OK,” Tony mumbles. I can tell he’s just as stunned as me. We aren’t used to the men. Mom closes her eyes and puts her hands over her ears. She rubs her temples. She looks exactly like Noah when he got stuck in the big tree behind the School. “Are we going to live with Grandma and Grandpa?” “For a little while, yes. But then we’ll probably live somewhere else.” “But what about Bonnie and Clubby?” I ask. “And Dmitri? Will I see them? Are they leaving, too? Are they coming with us?” “I don’t know if they’re leaving. I hope so. We can write to them.” “What does that mean?” I can write letters. I know my alphabet as well as Dmitri, and we read books together, at bedtime, and sometimes during the day. But I don’t understand why writing matters, what the letters on a piece of paper have to do with sitting on Bonnie’s lap naming stars or playing with Clubby and being called Suuuuuun. “You’re just gonna have to trust me, honey. We have to go now.” The ride down the driveway is bumpy. I’m amazed as I’m pushed back into the seat. I look back at the School. The rear window looks like a giant movie. I think about my friends asleep in their cots, the time I woke up in the middle of the night to ﬁnd Dmitri talking with his eyes closed. I got out of my cot and put my ear right up next to his mouth to hear what he was saying, but it was just pieces of words. “He’s dreaming,” Clubby whispered. I looked over my shoulder and saw her smiling face, the deep-set eyes with heavy

FACING THE MUSIC After an early career as a journalist, Jollett decided to become a musician. Since 2006 he has been the frontman for a popular, L.A.-based indie band, the Airborne Toxic Event, which just released its latest album in conjunction with the book.

black circles, the short clipped hair, the massive shoulders protruding up in swells from beneath the straps of her overalls. “Sometimes when people are dreaming, they talk and sometimes they don’t.” “Will he hear me if I talk to him?” “Nah, he can’t hear you. He’s not really there. He’s somewhere in his head. That’s what a dream is. When you imagine you’re somewhere you’ve never been while you’re sleeping.” The stars are moving so quickly behind the Synanon compound as we turn onto the highway. The Big Road! Wow! I try to flap my ears so I can fly back. I want to hug Bonnie and sit next to Dmitri’s cot to see if he’s dreaming right now. Maybe we both are. Maybe this is his dream. How can you tell? My brother sits on the other side of the back seat. He keeps pushing down on his knuckles with his cheek until they pop. Our brown paper bags are stacked between us. I feel a pull toward the playground and the yard, a tug like a string stretched to a breaking point. I want to crawl into Bonnie’s lap, to sleep. But the highway—there are other cars on it going so fast they look like blurs, like the wings of a hummingbird. The green signs go by overhead with names of places on them: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento. It feels exactly like flying in my dreams, like my arms stretched behind me, legs tucked, and I’m leaping, higher and higher until I’m up above all of it, looking down. And there, from that perch above the clouds, I see a stone wall that rises to a gray tower. I can just walk across the cloud and let myself in. When I close my eyes, I see all the people from Synanon: crying and dancing and laughing and screaming and riding swings and eating macaroni and cheese. Bonnie, Clubby, Dmitri, (CONTINUED ON PAGE 78) Cassidy, Guy, Noah. And Dad. I close L A M AG . C O M 73

LA MAGAZINE

Pasta fresca kits from Felix P. 74

EATING IN A GUIDE TO GREAT TAKEOUT AND DELIVERY ACROSS THE CITY E D I T E D

H A I L E Y

E B E R

WEST Birdie G’s SANTA MONICA » Eclectic $$$

James Beard Award-nominated chef Jeremy Fox has dramatically retooled his sunny restaurant, named after his young daughter, for the moment. There’s prepared comfort food aplenty, from matzo ball soup to Reuben sandwiches, along with pantry items and sundries both basic—all-purpose ﬂour—and gourmet—Spanish Bomba rice. Family style “hot plates,” like a grass-fed beef meatloaf and noodle kugel, feed up to six people. Finish things off with the beautiful chocolate layer cake. 2421 Michigan Ave. (310-3103616, birdiegsla.com, @birdiegsla). Takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery via ChowNow, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Postmates. 12-7 p.m. Sun.-Thu. 2-8 p.m. Sat.Sun.. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

Broad Street Oyster Co. MALIBU » Seafood $$ Hit the road. Christopher Tompkins, aka “the Oyster Man,” has transformed his clam shack overlooking Malibu Lagoon State Beach (and across from a SoulCycle, if we’re being honest) into a drive-through concept. You can grab the lobster roll that ﬁrst brought Tompkins acclaim, fresh oysters, or uni spaghetti. There’s plenty for the seafood averse as well, including a burger sprinkled with shio kombu (dried kelp)

T H E B R E A K D OW N At press time, the city’s restaurants were still closed for dine-in service amid the COVID-19 crisis. As such, our dining listings continue to focus on some of our favorite options for delivery and takeout meals. W EST

EAST

Includes Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Culver City, Malibu, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, 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

T H E VALLEY DOWNTOWN Includes Arts District, Bunker Hill, Chinatown, Historic Core, Little Tokyo, South Park

Includes Agoura Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Encino, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Van Nuys

CENTRAL

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

TIP

> For the most current info on what beloved restaurants are offering— from curbside takeout to meal kits— check their Instagram accounts along with their websites, both of which we’ve listed. Many spots update their social media more frequently than their home pages.

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$ $$ $$$ $$$$

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.

2020

and Brussels sprouts in a bacon vinaigrette. 23359 Paciﬁc Coast Hwy. (424-644-0131 , broadstreetoyster .com, @broadstreetoysterco). Takeout phone orders and delivery via Grubhub. 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.

Colapasta SANTA MONICA

» Italian $$

Fresh, affordable pastas topped with farmers’ market fare shine at this sunny, casual spot. The colorful, poppy-seed-sprinkled beet ravioli is delicate and delicious, while the gramigna with pesto and ricotta is hearty and satisfying. 1241 5th St. (310-310-8336, colapasta.com, @colapasta.restaurant). Takeout and delivery via Grubhub. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Beer and wine to go.

Dialogue SANTA MONICA » Modernist Cuisine $$$$

Dave Beran has dramatically pivoted his 18-seat tastingmenu restaurant concept for those looking for ﬁne dining to go. Each day, he offers two ever-changing threecourse meals—a meat and a vegetarian option—for takeout. Enjoy options such as beef short rib Wellington with market greens and a slice of Basque cheesecake with an equally splurgey bottle of wine. Meals come with heating and seasoning instructions. 1315 3rd St. Promenade (dialoguerestaurant.com, @dialogue.sm). Takeout via Toast. 4-8 p.m. Tue.-Sat. Beer and wine to go.

Felix VENICE » Italian $$

Evan Funke is a pasta purist who can slip Italian lessons into any meal, so it’s no surprise that his takeaway options include pasta kits that come with the sauce, fresh noodles, cheese, and instructions to assemble dishes like rigatoni arrabiata and casarecce with pesto Genovese at home. Not up for DIY? There are hot pizzas, antipasti, desserts, and Felix’s famous foccacia all ready to go (and eat). 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd. (424-387-8622, felixla.com, @felixlosangeles). Takeout and delivery via ChowNow. 12-8 p.m. Tue.-Sun. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

Pizzana BRENTWOOD

» Italian $$

It’s not easy to make over the local pie joint, but 35-year-old chef Daniele Uditi has reimagined an

CO U RT E SY F E L I X

JULY

urban standby with equal parts purism and playfulness, becoming a neighborhood favorite in the process. Most impressive is the open-mindedness that has him deftly transform 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. The pizzeria is also making its famous, limited-edition sub sandwiches more readily available (check Instagram) and has been making free meals for doctors and nurses. 11712 San Vicente Blvd. (310-4817108, pizzana.com, @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).

Sichuan Impression WEST L.A. » Chinese $$ The Westside spin-off of the Alhambra original serves a selection of dishes intended to be nostalgia-inducing for expats of Chengdu, the largest city in China’s Sichuan province. The cooking balances spiciness with subtlety, showcasing a cuisine that tantalizes the tongue while foreheads perspire and lips go numb. The handmade wontons will make you understand why the dumplings are a crowd fave. 11057 Santa Monica Blvd. (310-444-7171, sichuanimpressions.com, @sichuan_impression_). Pickup and delivery via Postmates. 5-9:30 p.m. daily. Also at 1900 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra (626-283-4622).

DOWNTOWN

WEST

Cassia SANTA MONICA

Southeast Asian $$$

› At this grand Southeast Asian brasserie, Mozza vet Bryant Ng mines his Chinese Singaporean heritage, honors wife Kim’s Vietnamese background, and knows the secrets to making delicious food that travels well. It’s easy to ﬁll up on starters like chickpea curry with tandoori bread or a Vietnamese riff on Caesar salad, but save plenty of room for mains such as a sublime laksa soup bursting with fresh seafood. Bright cocktails, like a Thai basil margarita (below), are worthy accompaniments. 1314 7th St. (310-393-6699, cassiala.com,@dinecassia). Takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery via DoorDash, Caviar, ChowNow, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats. 4-8 p.m. Sun.-Thu., 4-9 p.m. daily. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

» 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, spiced 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. (213221-7466, badmaashla.com, @badmaashla). Curbside pickup and delivery via Caviar and DoorDash. 12-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go. Also at 418 N. Fairfax Ave., Fairfax District (213-281-5185). 4-7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat.

JA KO B L AY M A N /CO U RT E SY C ASS I A

At his modern Mexican-American spot near L.A. Live, Ray Garcia is offering a multicourse family dinner with dishes like hand-pressed tortillas with landrace organic corn, refried lentils with epazote and queso cotija, and pork belly chicharrón. You can also grab tamales by the dozen, and, on Tuesdays, there are tacos. 1050 S. Flower St. (213749-1460, brokenspanish.com, @brokenspanishla). Curbside pickup via Tock. 12-7 p.m. Tue.-Sat. Wine and cocktails to go.

Guerrilla Tacos ARTS DISTRICT » Mexican $-$$ Fear not. The haute taqueria is serving Emergency

» Mexican $

They still have tacos—really great ones—at this downtown spot known for its ﬂour tortillas. Order à la carte or opt for affordable family-style options to make your own tacos, burritos, or chimichangas ﬁlled with chorizo, carne asada, or mesquite-grilled chicken. Wash it all down with a six-pack of Tecate or seasonal aguas frescas. 208 E. 8th St. (213-6283710, sonoratown.com, @sonoratownla). Curbside pickup by calling the restaurant; takeout and delivery via Caviar. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Beer to go.

CENTRAL Angelini Osteria BEVERLY GROVE » Italian $$$

LARCHMONT VILLAGE » Italian $-$$

ARTS DISTRICT » Middle Eastern $$$$

Broken Spanish SOUTH PARK » Mexican $$$

FASHION DISTRICT

Antico

Bavel Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis will send the deliciousness from their popular downtown spot home with you. Their menus for elaborate, multicourse family meals change week to week, but the offerings always look promising, leading to prime weekend slots sometimes selling out days in advance. Meals often start with olives and the restaurant’s famed hummus, progressing to vibrant veggie preparations like tabouleh with green almonds and dried apricots and mains like a half duck for two, then perhaps a cardamon apple prune cake for dessert. Pro tip: Tack on some hummus to your dinner order for later. 500 Mateo St. (213-232-4966, baveldtla.com, @baveldtla). Takeout via Tock 3-8 p.m. Wed.-Sun. Wine to go.

Sonoratown

Gino Angelini grew up on his grandma’s lasagna in a town outside the Adriatic city of Rimini and came to Los Angeles to cook with Mauro Vincenti. His extensive to-go offerings are both comforting and reﬁned, from the ever-popular Gino’s meatballs to tagliolini limone to sautéed Maine scallops with Riso Venere and aged balsamic vinegar. 7313 Beverly Blvd. (323-297-0070, angelinirestaurantgroup.com, @angeliniosteria). Takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery via Postmates, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Caviar, and DoorDash. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. Wine to go.

Badmaash HISTORIC CORE

butter. If that sounds like too much work, opt for prepared options that are ready to go. There are multiple lasagnas (comforting), meatballs, and even chef Steve Samson’s famed Parmigiano-Reggiano dumplings in broth, which were recently featured on Top Chef. The restaurant also has a number of wines priced under $39, along with negronis for two and grocery staples like sugar, ﬂour, and anchovy butter. Perhaps that last one isn’t really a staple, but it should be. 1124 San Julian St. (213-749-1099, rossoblula.com, @rossoblula). Curbside pickup via Tock. 3:30-8 p.m. Wed.-Sun. Wine and cocktails to go.

Taco and Emergency Nacho kits in various sizes along with margaritas for these trying times. The kits feed many and feature proteins like roasted chicken and carne asada. And, of course, they also include chef-owner Wes Avila’s delightfully complex salsas, which are some of the best in town. À la carte tacos and burritos are also available. 2000 E. 7th St. (213-375-3300, guerrillatacos.com, @guerillatacos). Pickup and delivery via Caviar. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

Lasa CHINATOWN

» Filipino $-$$

Brothers Chase and Chad Valencia are offering meal kits for customers to whip up the restaurant’s tasty, market-driven Filipino fare at home. Don’t forget to grab a bag of salt-and-vinegar taro chips to munch on while you cook and a bottle of biodynamic wine to go with your meal. 727 N. Broadway, Ste. 120 (213443-6163, lasa-la.com, @lasa_la). Takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery; call to place your order. 12-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Beer and wine to go.

Rossoblu FASHION DISTRICT

» Italian $

After closing completely for a few weeks, downtown favorite Rossoblu has returned with curbside takeout that can be ordered via Tock. You can grab pasta kits with premade sauces and whip up your own tagliatelle Bolognese or tortellini with sage and brown

Take comfort. Some of the city’s best ice cream is now available to pick up. Chef Chad Colby has 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 last year— and rightly so—but Colby and chef de cuisine-pastry chef Brad Ray have also been introducing ﬂavors like cookies and cream and pistachio. 4653 Beverly Blvd. (323-510-3093, antico-la.com, @antico__la). Pickup and delivery via Caviar. 12-8 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Wine to go.

Guelaguetza KOREATOWN » Mexican $-$$ An authentic Oaxacan restaurant located in a former Korean banquet has made for a happy jumble for decades. The tlayudas, giant tortillas, are irresistible when spread with aciento, a traditional condiment that could pass for whipped lardo. Thick with pounded almonds, olives, and roasted chiles, the seven different types of moles are a tapestry of interwoven elements. And now, the delightfully authentic ﬂavors can be had at home thanks to the restaurant’s take-home meal kits. 3014 W. Olympic Blvd. (213-427-0608, ilove mole.com, @laguelaguetza). Takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery via Postmates, DoorDash, Caviar, and Grubhub. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu.-Sun.. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

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. And, the transporting food is now also transportable. The crawﬁsh étouffée in spicy gravy will

L A M AG . C O M 75

have you humming zydeco, while the bourbon bread pudding will leave you with a Sazerac-worthy buzz. 2920 W. Jefferson Blvd. (323-735-9023, haroldand belles.com, @haroldandbellesrestaurant). Pickup and delivery via Grubhub. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.-Thu., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Jon & Vinny’s FAIRFAX DISTRICT

» Italian $$

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s homage to the neighborhood pizza joint is an in-demand reservation that translates well to the comfort of your couch. The Italian American canon is prepared with the signature gusto of their ﬁrst venture, Animal, but there’s also a more rarely seen delicacy in everything from the chicken parm to meatballs. 412 N. Fairfax Ave. (323334-3369, jonandvinnys.com, @jonandvinnydelivery). Pickup and delivery via DoorDash. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go. Also at 11938 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood (310-442-2733).

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FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Cal-Italian $$

Daniel and Caitlin Cutler’s chic pizzeria retains its fun-loving spirit with delicious takeout specials like a $25 margarita-margherita combo with a cocktail and pie. Don’t sleep on the nonpizza items, like a great stinging nettle risotto or a French dip calzone inspired by Philippe’s. There are also kids’ menu items, pie-making kits, and loaves of sourdough bread. 7315 Melrose Ave. (323-917-5100, ronanla.com, @ronan_la). Curbside pickup and delivery via Caviar, Postmates, and DoorDash. 4-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 4-6:30 p.m. Sun. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

Republique

FAIRFAX DISTRICT » Cal-Italian $$

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Margarita Manzke’s pastry case (above) lives on in the era of social distancing. Her carb-y delights can be ordered for pickup, while her husband and savory-cooking business partner, Walter Manzke, is making family-style dinners that start with baguettes and French butter and progress to dishes like cacio e pepe rigatoni and rotisserie chicken. The restaurant is also selling boxes of produce from one of its suppliers, Fresno’s Thao Family Farm. 7624 S. La Brea Ave. (310-362-6115, republiquela.com,@republiquela). Takeout and delivery via Grubhub and Postmates. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue.-Sun. Wine to go.

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7 6 L A M AG . C O M

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. Many favorites from the eat-in menu are available for takeout and delivery, including a salad of snappy wax beans sluiced with vinaigrette and fettucine with heritage pork ragù. Keep an eye on Instagram for fun specials like pickle-brined buttermilk fried chicken and custom cocktails, where bartenders shake something up for you based on your favorite spirit, preference for shaken or stirred, and one word of inspiration. 5916 ½ N. Figueroa St. (323-5453536, hipporestaurant.com, @hippohighland park). Pickup and delivery via Caviar. 5-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 4-8 p.m. Sun. Wine and cocktails to go.

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 now have a brick-and-mortar location on a quiet, charming Eastside corner next door to Psychic Wines. Maury’s is currently not offering sandwiches, but you can grab its excellent whole bagels, cream cheeses, and smoked ﬁsh to make your own at home. 2829 Bellevue Ave. (323-380-9380, maurysbagels.com, @maurys_losangeles). Takeout and delivery via Caviar and ChowNow. 7 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. weekends.

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), pla salid tod (fried gourami ﬁsh). For those unfamiliar with the region’s distinct cuisine, the illustrious sticky rice is still a staple. Need more incentive? Everything on the menu is less than $10. 5301 Sunset Blvd. (323-474-7212 or amphainorthernthaifood.com). Takeout and delivery via the restaurant’s website. 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily.

Porridge + Puffs HISTORIC FILIPINOTOWN

EAST LIGHTING

Hippo

All Time LOS FELIZ » California $$ Tyler and Ashley Wells’s cozy bungalow café has long been a local gem, but it’s really something now. In addition to faves like the superb breakfast sandwich and salmon bowl, it is offerings grocery survival kits packed with tasty necessities, pasta kits with house-made tomato sauce, bake-at-home lasagna and pot pies, and much more. The Wells have also been offering a limited number of free boxes of market produce for those in need. 2040 Hillhurst Ave. (323-660-3868, alltimelosangeles.com, @freakinall time). Takeout and delivery via Toast. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. Wine to go.

Bar Restaurant SILVER LAKE » Eclectic $$ A night at the pale-pink “neobistro” in the old Malo space in Sunset Junction always feels like a party, and now the restaurant will send you home with one. Chef Douglas Rankin, who worked under Ludo Lefebvre for years, cooks up three-course family meals nightly with eclectic mains like duck fried rice and lobster grilled cheese. There are also DIY boxes that allow you to make restaurant-style dishes at home. If you really want to go big, opt for the $225 premium with jamón ibérico, cheese, olives, aged strip steaks, and smoked tomato bordelaise sauce. 4326 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-347-5557, barrestaurant.la, @barrestaurantla). Curbside pickup via Toast. 12-8 p.m. daily. Wine to go.

» Pan-Asian $

Minh Phan’s beloved restaurant is still cooking up porridge and puffs, along with bahn mi and a set meal named in honor of the late Jonathan Gold. Proceeds from the latter go toward providing free meals to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle. Various provisions—from miso caramel to apricot habanero—are on sale to help jazz up your home cooking. Look out for a Mother’s Day brunch special. 2801 Beverly Blvd. (213-908-5313, porridge andpuffs.com, @porridgeandpuffs) Takeout via Square Up. 12-6 p.m. Thu.-Sat.

Spoon & Pork SILVER LAKE » Filipino $$ The go-to for Filipino comfort food offers a variety of dishes, all featuring one shared ingredient: deliciousness. Spoon & Pork puts an innovative spin on some Filipino favorites—just try its adobo pork belly, pork belly banh mi, or lechon kawali. The dishes elegantly mix decadence with some authentic soul. 3131 W. Sunset Blvd. (323-922-6061, spoonandpork .com, @spoonandporkla). Takeout and delivery via the restaurant’s website. 12-3 p.m. Wed.-Sun.

Union 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 available to go, and family-style meals for four are also available. The pastas all impress, but don’t miss the wild

took the helm in 2018, the fare is really great. Keep spirits up with the Handroll Party home kits (there’s even one for kids) or splurge on an omakase to go. You can also order à la carte or get nonsushi items like soy-glazed grilled chicken. 21418 Ventura Blvd. (818-456-4509, thebrotherssushi .com, @thebrotherssushila). Curbside pickup and delivery by calling the restaurant. 12-2 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 5:30-8 p.m. Tue.-Sun. Beer, wine, and sake to go.

Gino’s East SHERMAN OAKS

NATALE E T H A I

C U I S I N E

» Pizza $$$

Carbs don’t get any more comforting and indulgent than deep-dish pizza—at least if you have ties to Chicago. This new location had fans waiting hours for a table in prepandemic times; now you can order spinach-artichoke dip and a deep-dish Meaty Legend to enjoy at home. 12924 Riverside Dr. (818-788-5050, ginoseast.com/los-angeles, @ginoseastla). Takeout and delivery via ChowNow. 12-9 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go.

SOUTH

CENTRAL

HOLLYWOOD Thai $$

› Vibrant ﬂavors and spices abound at this strip mall favorite from two Phuket natives. The crab curry, with whole crustacean swimming in a creamy pool of deliciousness, is not to be missed (and 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, @luv2eat.thaibistro). Takeout and delivery via SappClub, ChowNow, or phone. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

mushrooms and polenta with a sublimely delicious sherry vinegar and truffle butter sauce. 37 E. Union St. (626-795-5841, unionpasadena.com, @unionpasadena). Curbside pickup and delivery via Toast and Postmates. 5-9 p.m. daily. Wine to go.

THE VALLEY

JA KO B L AY M A N /CO U RT E SY LU V 2 E AT T H A I B I ST R O

Black Market Liquor Bar STUDIO CITY » New American $$ Most nights it seemed half the Valley was here huddled at the bar. Sure the world has changed, but you can take comfort in still being able to enjoy Top Chef graduate Antonia Lofaso’s crowd favorites— meatballs, crispy spring rolls, and sticky toffee pudding. The market is also selling fresh pasta and handmade sauces. Popular cocktails like the jalapeno-infused, vodka-based Red Hot & Bothered have been bottled up for home use. 11915 Ventura Blvd. (818-446-2533, blackmarketliquorbar.com, @blackmarketliquorbar). Takeout and delivery via Caviar, Grubhub, Postmates, and Seamless. 3-9:30 p.m. daily. Cocktails to go.

The Brothers Sushi WOODLAND HILLS » Sushi $$$ At least there’s still sushi, and at this hidden gem, which was reinvigorated when chef Mark Okuda

The Arthur J MANHATTAN BEACH

» Steak House $$$

David LeFevre’s take on the American steak house is worth a takeout splurge. Treat yourself to a top-grade Japanese Wagyu or a petite New York strip. The overhauled menu no longer includes seafood dishes (except a daily special), but more casual options like fried chicken, pastas, and burgers are now on offer. 903 Manhattan Ave. (310-878-9620, thearthurj.com, @the_arthurj). Takeout and delivery via DoorDash and ChowNow. 12-8 p.m. daily. Beer and wine to go.

Costa Manhattan Beach MANHATTAN BEACH » Spanish $$$ At his neighborhood joint, Josiah Citrin is offering “TV dinners” for customers to reheat at home. The limited menu features tasty classic dishes such as chicken parm and lamb cavatelli with roasted carrots and Broccolini. 1017 Manhattan Ave. (310-376-1536, costa-mb.com, @costamanhattanbeach). Takeout by calling the restaurant or emailing info@costa-mb.com. 4-6 p.m. Thu.-Sat. Preorder by 6 p.m. the previous day.

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» Spanish $$$

Mozza alum Chris Feldmeier has revamped his tapas menu to offer a selection of family meals and booze, including gin-and-juice Jell-o shots. Feldmeier has even given the meals cute names like the Netﬂix & Grill, which includes an arugula salad, steaks, french fries, and chocolate bread pudding. 1810 S. Catalina Ave. (310-540-4884, gabijamesla .com, @gabijamesla). Curbside pickup and delivery via DoorDash. 12-8 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.Sun. Beer, wine, and cocktails to go.

Hotville BALDWIN HILLS CRENSHAW

Photo by Lara Rabinovitch

Luv2Eat Thai Bistro

» Fried chicken $

Kim Prince has fried chicken in her blood. She is the niece of André Prince Jeffries, owner of Nashville legend Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, where hot fried chicken is said to have originated. If you are craving what Prince calls her “ﬁery fowl, brined to burn,” you’re in luck. The restaurant is still operating for takeout only. And the full menu is available, including sides ($5 and up) like spicy mac and cheese and kale coleslaw and lemon pound cake and banana pudding for dessert. 4070 Marlton Ave. (323-7924835, hotvillechicken.com, @hotville chicken). Takeout by calling the restaurant. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue.-Sun.

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Discover Jewish Delis with the Skirball Summer 2020 Get ready for the mouthwatering exhibition “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli by going on a virtual road trip with the Skirball Cultural Center’s curators as they detail their research trips to delis across the country. Devour all things deli food, history, and culture! skirball.org/deli-road-trip

L A M AG . C O M 7 7

Escape From Synanon C O N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 7 3

my eyes hard to see Dad, but I can’t. He’s blurry like the cars on the highway. So I open them and see Mom hunched over in the front seat, her round Dutch cheeks covered in tears and my brother with his mouth tight and his fists clenched, staring out the window at the strange cars and highway signs. Mom was right about the music boxes. Grandma and Grandpa’s house is filled with them. There is one in the bedroom that has a picture of a blue windmill and one in the living room made of old wood. They play pretty songs when you open them. There’s another in the kitchen where we eat Dutch cheese and rolls. In the living room there’s something called a grandfather clock. There are some small clocks sitting on shelves, some are made of crystal, some of metal, one is made from a green stone and has a white face with no numbers. That one’s my favorite. In Synanon we had tables and chairs and poster board and a big swing set and dishes made of plastic. We ate and made crafts at short wooden tables. This house is filled with paintings and furniture that’s been carved to look like waves or flowers or faces or buildings. There’s an old fisherman in a ratty hat staring down at the dining-room table, a cat made of glass that prowls on the shelf in the living room. There’s a painting on tiles of little rivers that go right through a city in Dutch. The couch is creamy white with little green flowers and stuffed thicker than any pillows I’ve ever seen. I wonder if a king lives here since Grandpa’s golden chair looks like a throne. I like Grandpa Frank because he talks to us, and whenever we leave to go somewhere, he gives us a “smack on the fanny,” which means a hard hit on the butt. He’s funny about it, lining us up one by one. It’s true that his hands are very strong. He lets me grab his fingers and 78 L A M AG . C O M

squeeze as hard as I can while he laughs. He’s always making little jokes with us. We’ll say, “What are we doing today, Grandpa?” And he’ll say, “Today, we are going to the dump.” We’ll laugh and say, “No we’re not! We’re gonna play!” Because we know he’s going to take us to collect golf balls in his golf cart or to see his boat, the little white one he keeps at the dock. Grandma will lean in and say, “Stop teasing the boys, Frank.” “Jokes! It’s important to laugh, you know.” Grandma is skinny with blue-white hair and small teeth so that you can barely see them when she smiles, if she smiles. Her face is bunched up, like she’s hiding something, something that escapes little by little through the day as she sits in her favorite chair in a thin blue robe across from Grandpa, drinking from a tall cup ﬁlled with ice and “Dutch.” That’s what she calls it: “Frank, dear, will you reﬁll my Dutch?” Grandpa gets up from his throne and walks over to a small counter where he pours an orangish-brown liquid from a crystal bottle into the tall glass. It smells like sweet gasoline. She drinks the Dutch all day long every day, and as she gets sleepier, her meanness leaves her like air from a balloon so that by the time dinnertime comes she wants us to come sit by her. She smiles with her little teeth and says, “Hi, shweety, are you happy here? Would you like a piece of candy?” Mom says Grandma’s family lived in America before she moved to Dutch. Her dad was a coal miner, and their family did something called quaking, which made them Quakers, so Grandma couldn’t do fun stuff like dance or play cards. One day she moved to New York to become a nurse, which is where she met Grandpa who took her back to Dutch. The mornings are worse for her. She says, “I have such a headache. Frank, dear, will you bring me my pills?” She shuffles her feet when she walks like she’s afraid to take steps too big while Grandpa Frank gets her pills or her slippers or her breakfast or another sweating glass of Dutch delivered at 11:15 a.m. sharp. Mom is gone in the afternoons when Tony and I play outside on the grass. Grandpa sits on his chair and calls out, “A dit dit dit ... Watch out for the bees.” I don’t know if this is Dutch, or if it’s just how grandpas talk because I’ve never known another grandpa. They were in our storybooks with their white hair and

bent backs. They have something to do with the moms and the dads. They seem permanent, like the trees. Grandpa tells us we have to be nice to Mom. She’s been through so much. Grandma says at least she “ﬁnally got away from that awful place and that drug addict ex-husband of hers.” I know she’s talking about Dad, but in Synanon everyone was a drug addict so I don’t understand why she’s so mad about it. Anyway we never used the words “drug addict.” We would just say someone was a “Dope Fiend.” People said this with pride, and I’m pretty sure that’s what we are. And if someone were to ask us whether we are white or black or Dutch or Italian, I’m not really sure, but I know we’re all Dope Fiends because that’s all anyone ever talks about. Tony draws monsters. I draw superheroes. Tony draws big battle scenes with tanks and soldiers and explosions, beasts with horns and big teeth that drip blood. They hold axes and clubs and guns in their claws. My superheroes fly through the air trying to kill the monsters. It’s never clear who wins. Grandpa says we should draw something nice for Mom so I draw a picture of her with long hair because even though it’s shaved all the way to the scalp and everybody stares at her when we go to Goodwill, she says it used to be long and pretty, and that’s the way she likes to see herself in pictures. Plus she says men like long hair and she wants to be pretty for a man and no man wants a single mom with a bald head. Mom gets an album and shows me photos from when she was growing up in Holland. She shows me the house where they lived. She says she grew up speaking Dutch, which sounds like if you speak with peanut butter and crackers in your mouth. She didn’t come to the United States until she was 14, and there was no one to speak Dutch with anymore so she spoke English or she didn’t speak at all. She tells me there were bomb craters all around the neighborhood that she used to play in. They were like giant tears in the Earth, like a piece of the Earth had been scooped out. There was a war and Grandpa fought in it and that’s when she was born and afterward she lived in a big house but there was still rubble everywhere and those giant holes in the ground right in the middle of where everybody lived. I ask her if she ever saw the bombs go off. She says it was all over by then, but craters from a war are a good place for a kid to go and hide.

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Not Pictured: Roy Eckstein, J.D., Moe Ghanaat, Marketing Director, Alexia Velissaropoulos, Of Counsel.

*2020 RISING STARS HONOREE

A LITIGATION DYNAMO IN BEVERLY HILLS Founded in 2009, Jalilvand Law Corporation (JLC) is a preeminent boutique law ﬁrm located in Beverly Hills. Over the past decade, JLC has grown from a solo practice to a well-respected and reputable ﬁrm serving the multicultural needs of the Los Angeles community. JLC focuses upon representing individuals having suffered serious and catastrophic injuries arising from automobile, trucking, motorcycle, and slip and fall accidents. In addition, JLC attorneys represent clients, who have been injured, in the context of landlord tenant disputes and cases involving mortgage lender misconduct. To better understand and advocate for their clients, JLC attorneys and staff are multilingual– speaking Spanish, Farsi, Hebrew, German and French. With remarkable attorneys leading the way, the support of its relentless staff, and using cutting-edge technology, JLC’s core beliefs are focused upon aggressive advocacy, obtaining justice, and making sure that

clients receive maximum recovery, whether in settlement or after a trial. JLC clients enjoy an individually tailored litigation plan, direct communication and participation in the decision-making process, and the peace of mind knowing that all cases, big or small, receive the same level and quality of representation. With decades of combined experience, JLC attorneys easily and comfortably navigate the tricky waters of high-stakes or complex litigation, making strategic maneuvers along the way, and constantly balancing and evaluating the risks and rewards involved for their clients. Every case is prepared for trial, though most cases are also mediated or otherwise settled when it’s viable. Contact JLC today to see why they are the best at what they do. To see client testimonials, please visit www.jlcla.com.

“Our clients become our family! We advocate for them, we provide solutions to their legal issues and problems, and our top priority is to maximize their recovery. We have recovered millions for our clients, and we do not leave money on the table!” – Kamelia Jalilvand, JLC’s Founder

Jalilvand Law Corporation 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 445 Beverly Hills, CA 90211

PH: (310) 478-5800 FX: (310) 388-5538 EM: info@jlcla.com

www.jlcla.com SUPER LAWYERS | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS 2020

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2020 RISING STARS

UP-AND-COMING 100

AN ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE LAWYERS WHO RANKED TOP OF THE LIST IN THE 2020 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS NOMINATION, RESEARCH AND BLUE RIBBON REVIEW PROCESS

Aizman, Diana Weiss, Aizman Law Firm, Encino

Hughes, Bradford, Clark Hill, Los Angeles

Alwill, Julian F., Rothschild & Alwill, Santa Barbara

Ikuta, Benjamin, Hodes Milman, Irvine

Andrews, Ryan M., Venable, Los Angeles

Jass, Jeremy, Jass Law, Newport Beach

Reisman, Daniel A., Reisman & Reisman, Beverly Hills

Argos, Jason, Burke | Argos, Irvine

Johnson, Arwen, Boies Schiller Flexner, Los Angeles

Rhee, Jean Y., Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles

Atighechi, Maryam, Atighechi Law Group, Beverly Hills

Jones, Colin M., Wilshire Law Firm, Los Angeles

Riccobono, Santo, Ellis Riccobono, Manhattan Beach

Azadian, Ani, Azadian Law Group, Pasadena

Joy, Matthew K., The Dominguez Firm, Los Angeles

Bazikyan, Arminé, Bazikyan Law Group, Glendale

Jurkowitz, Nicholas D., Fenton Law Group, Los Angeles

Richardson, Heather L., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles

Benowitz, Louis, Smith & Benowitz, Sherman Oaks Bergman, Brian J., Bergman Dacey Goldsmith, Los Angeles Bonholtzer, Eric C., Ball Bonholtzer & Evans, Pasadena Brady, Matthew S., Selman Breitman, Santa Ana Braun, Nathaniel S.G., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles Brock, D. Aaron, Brock & Gonzales, Los Angeles Bui, Thy B., Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete, Los Angeles

Kaba, Moez M., Hueston Hennigan, Los Angeles

Rosenberg, Joshua, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica

Kalunian, Monica M., Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Los Angeles

Rothberg, Joseph M., Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber, Woodland Hills

Kim, Helen U., Helen Kim Law, Los Angeles

Rushovich, Eliot, Rise Law Firm, Beverly Hills

Kleindienst, Katherine, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica

Samani, Michelle, Samani Law Firm, West Hollywood

Kruska, Lara M., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles

Sanchez, Jason, Rizio Lipinsky Law Firm, Riverside

Leventhal, Andrew B., The Leventhal Firm, Pasadena

Schlecter, Daren M., Law Offices of Daren M. Schlecter, Los Angeles

Burgis, Michael, Michael Burgis & Associates, Sherman Oaks

Liang, Jason L., Liang Ly, Los Angeles

Casey, Ryan, Panish Shea & Boyle, Los Angeles

Lipski, Jennifer, JML Law, Woodland Hills

Clark, Tyler F., Clark Employment Law, Encino

Ly, John, Liang Ly, Los Angeles

Cole, Marshall R., Nemecek & Cole, Encino Cronin, Justin, Jamison Empting Cronin, Los Angeles

Mahoney, Patrick R., The Law Offices of Patrick R. Mahoney, Beverly Hills

Davis, Michael W., Brutzkus Gubner Rozansky Seror Weber, Woodland Hills

McAllister, Aaron P., Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister, Los Angeles

Delshad, Jonathan J., Law Offices of Jonathan J. Delshad, Los Angeles

McArthur, Stephen C., The McArthur Law Firm, Los Angeles

DuVan-Clarke, Barbara, Jennifer Kramer Legal, Los Angeles

McCall, Lisa R., Law Offices of Lisa R. McCall, Santa Ana

Easton, Matthew D., Easton & Easton, Costa Mesa

McKibben, Molly M., Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica

Elsea, Zachary, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica

Lim, Preston, Lim Law Group, Los Angeles

Meyer, Nathan D., Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles

Feher, Thomas S., Feher Law, Torrance

Mioni, Lovette T., Mioni Family Law, Redondo Beach

Fund, Cathryn G., JML Law, Woodland Hills

Mirzaie, Reza, Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles

Gehlawat, Neil K., Taylor & Ring, Manhattan Beach

Mossavar, Miranda, Littler Mendelson, Los Angeles

Gharibian, Art, Gharibian Law, Glendale

Mouradian, Maggie, Weinstock Manion, Los Angeles

Glassman, Robert, Panish Shea & Boyle, Los Angeles

Nguyen, Anthony, Shegerian & Associates, Santa Monica

Granberry, Vincent, Lavi & Ebrahimian, Beverly Hills Grant, Gali, Glaser Weil, Los Angeles Gunning, Patrick, Panish Shea & Boyle, Los Angeles Hanasab, Michael B., Jamra & Jamra, Beverly Hills Hapuarachy, Shane, Cheong Denove Rowell Bennett & Hapuarachy, Los Angeles Hinman, John S., Hinman Law Group, Long Beach

Nickerson, Christian, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica Nielson, Samuel P., Sessions & Kimball, Mission Viejo Omofoma, Ese, The Omofoma Law Firm, Los Angeles Ortiz-Beljajev, Neyleen S., Beljajev Law Group, Seal Beach

Holmquist, Marc A., Holmquist Law, Valencia

Owens, Justin N., Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, Newport Beach

Howell, Jonathan E., Pocrass & De Los Reyes, Los Angeles

Passman, Josh, Law Office of Josh Passman, Los Angeles

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Rayfield, (Ashley) Taylor, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica

Schulman, Allison M., Law Offices of Allison M. Schulman, Los Angeles Shapiro, Louis J., Law Offices of Louis J. Shapiro, Los Angeles Sinclair, Kevin S., Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, Los Angeles Skarin, Matthew K., Skarin Law Group, Manhattan Beach Smith, Gregory M., The Maloney Firm, El Segundo Soltman, Nicholas, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica Subramaniam, Tagore O., Matern Law Group, Manhattan Beach Wallin, Taylor B., Feinberg Mindel Brandt & Klein, Los Angeles Wang, Philip X., Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles Wegman, Atticus N., Aitken • Aitken • Cohn, Santa Ana Weinman, Jonathan A., Broslavsky & Weinman, Manhattan Beach Weiss, Jonathan M., KTBS Law, Los Angeles White, Darrell P., Kimura London & White, Irvine Wisner, R. Brent, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, Los Angeles Wright, Jason C., Jones Day, Los Angeles Yahoudai, Yosi, Javaheri & Yahoudai, Los Angeles Yang, Elizabeth, Law & Mediation Offices of Elizabeth Yang, Monterey Park Zograbian, Erik, D & Z Law Group, Glendale

ATTORNEYS SELECTED TO RISING STARS WERE CHOSEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ON PAGE S-2.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

FEINBERG, MINDEL, BRANDT & KLEIN, LLP FAMILY LAWYERS FOR YOUR FAMILY

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS

UP-AND-COMING 100 UP-AND-COMING 50 WOMEN

TAYLOR B. WALLIN RATED BY

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT:

GREGORY A. GIRVAN – FMBK Partner, Certiﬁed Family Law Specialist, again selected to Rising Stars, 9 years practicing Family Law, FMBK Summer Associate in 2009 TAYLOR B. WALLIN – FMBK Partner, Certiﬁed Family Law Specialist, 4th year selected to Rising Stars, 2nd consecutive year selected to Up-And-Coming 50 Women and Up-And-Coming 100, 10 years practicing Family Law, FMBK Summer Associate in 2008 CHELSEA R. STEVENS – FMBK Associate, 1st year selected to Rising Stars, 1 year practicing Family Law, FMBK Summer Associate in 2017

20 Attorneys, 10 Certiﬁed Family Law Specialists FAMILY & DIVORCE LAW | ESTATE PLANNING PROBATE & TRUST LITIGATION | CIVIL LITIGATION

(310) 447-8675 | fmbklaw.com SUPER LAWYERS | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS 2020

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2020 RISING STARS

UP-ANDCOMING 50 WOMEN AN ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE WOMEN LAWYERS WHO RANKED TOP OF THE LIST IN THE 2020 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS NOMINATION, RESEARCH AND BLUE RIBBON REVIEW PROCESS

Aizman, Diana Weiss, Aizman Law Firm, Encino Atighechi, Maryam, Atighechi Law Group, Beverly Hills

McKibben, Molly M., Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica

Azadian, Ani, Azadian Law Group, Pasadena

Mioni, Lovette T., Mioni Family Law, Redondo Beach

Bazikyan, Arminé, Bazikyan Law Group, Glendale

Morrow, Xinlin Li, The Morrow Firm, Los Angeles

Bekas, Zoe J., Akerman, Los Angeles

Mossavar, Miranda, Littler Mendelson, Los Angeles

Branscome, Kimberly Olvey, Kirkland & Ellis, Los Angeles

Mouradian, Maggie, Weinstock Manion, Los Angeles

Bui, Thy B., Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete, Los Angeles

Munyer, Lindsey F., Keystone Law Group, Los Angeles

Carson, Rebecca, Irell & Manella, Newport Beach Chung, Tiffany, Law Offices of Tiffany Chung, Los Angeles Crittenden, Danica, Shernoff Bidart Echeverria, Claremont

Nogle, Megan F., Greenberg Glusker, Los Angeles Ortiz-Beljajev, Neyleen S., Beljajev Law Group, Seal Beach Proctor, Amy E., Irell & Manella, Los Angeles

D'Agostino, Elisabeth M., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles

Rayfield, (Ashley) Taylor, Greene Broillet & Wheeler, Santa Monica

DuVan-Clarke, Barbara, Jennifer Kramer Legal, Los Angeles

Rhee, Jean Y., Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles

Ezra, Erin (Mindoro), Berger Kahn, Irvine

Richardson, Heather L., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles

Figari Cowan, Barbara E., Workplace Advocates, Rancho Cucamonga

Robinson, Emily F., Dion Law Group, Westlake Village

Fund, Cathryn G., JML Law, Woodland Hills

Samani, Michelle, Samani Law Firm, West Hollywood

Grant, Gali, Glaser Weil, Los Angeles

Schulman, Allison M., Law Offices of Allison M. Schulman, Los Angeles

Johnson, Arwen, Boies Schiller Flexner, Los Angeles Kalunian, Monica M., Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Los Angeles Katz, Corinne B., Katz Law Firm, Los Angeles Khalili, Dalia, Matern Law Group, Manhattan Beach Kim, Helen U., Helen Kim Law, Los Angeles King, Tessa, Reisner & King, Sherman Oaks Kleindienst, Katherine, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, Santa Monica Kruska, Lara M., Selman Breitman, Los Angeles Lipski, Jennifer, JML Law, Woodland Hills Lucich, Clare H., Bentley & More, Newport Beach

Solmer, Lilit, Solmer Law Firm, Huntington Beach Stepanyan, Julieta, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Los Angeles Stone, Allison, Dolan Law Firm, Los Angeles Wallin, Taylor B., Feinberg Mindel Brandt & Klein, Los Angeles Watanabe-Peagler, Lisa, Rise Law Firm, Beverly Hills Williams, Shani, Russ August & Kabat, Los Angeles Yang, Elizabeth, Law & Mediation Offices of Elizabeth Yang, Monterey Park Yedidsion, Judith, Yedidsion Seber Yedidsion, Beverly Hills

McCall, Lisa R., Law Offices of Lisa R. McCall, Santa Ana

UP-ANDCOMING 25

Argos, Jason, Burke | Argos, Irvine

Miller, Adam, Pivotal Law Firm, Costa Mesa

Barba, Luis A., CMBG3 Law, Irvine

Moynihan, Kerry A., Moynihan Law Office, Mission Viejo

Bardwell, Eric R., Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, Irvine

Nielson, Samuel P., Sessions & Kimball, Mission Viejo

ORANGE COUNTY

Brady, Matthew S., Selman Breitman, Santa Ana

Oakley, Danielle, O'Melveny & Myers, Newport Beach

Brooks, Samuel G., Call & Jensen, Newport Beach

AN ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE ORANGE COUNTY AREA LAWYERS WHO RANKED TOP OF THE LIST IN THE 2020 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS NOMINATION, RESEARCH AND BLUE RIBBON REVIEW PROCESS

Budhwani, Shamoon A., Core Law Group, Orange

Ortiz-Beljajev, Neyleen S., Beljajev Law Group, Seal Beach

Carson, Rebecca, Irell & Manella, Newport Beach Easton, Matthew D., Easton & Easton, Costa Mesa

Owens, Justin N., Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, Newport Beach

Ezra, Erin (Mindoro), Berger Kahn, Irvine

Polischuk, Wesley K., Robinson Calcagnie, Newport Beach

Gutenplan, Daniel R., Enenstein Pham & Glass, Costa Mesa

Reid, David W., Pacific Trial Attorneys, Newport Beach

Ikuta, Benjamin, Hodes Milman, Irvine

Solh, Chahira, Crowell & Moring, Irvine

Kahf, Baraa, Knobbe Martens, Irvine

Wegman, Atticus N., Aitken • Aitken • Cohn, Santa Ana

Lucich, Clare H., Bentley & More, Newport Beach

White, Darrell P., Kimura London & White, Irvine

McCall, Lisa R., Law Offices of Lisa R. McCall, Santa Ana

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ATTORNEYS SELECTED TO RISING STARS WERE CHOSEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ON PAGE S-2.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Shebby â&#x20AC;¢ Hirashima LLP 11400 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 600 Los Angeles, CA 90064 Tel: (424) 369-5100 | Fax: (424) 369-5130 shebbyhirashima.com

Ryan Mitchell

Jacqueline Cruz, CPA

Jeffery Jacobson, CFLS* * Elizabeth Potter Judith Rushlow Scully, CFLS*

Belinda To, Esq.

David P. Shebby, CFLS***

Kristen Hirashima, CFLS****

Audrey Luu, Esq.

*Selected To Super Lawyers 2013-2020; Selected To Rising Stars 2006-2007, 2009-2012 **Selected To Super Lawyers 2011-2020; Selected To Rising Stars 2005-2010 ***Selected To Super Lawyers 2010-2020 ****Selected To Rising Stars 2020

How can I be certain the attorney I hire is credible? The answer is Super Lawyers The Super Lawyers list is comprised of the top 5% of attorneys in each state selected via a patented process that includes independent research, peer nominations and evaluation.

SUPER LAWYERS | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS 2020

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2020 RISING STARS JULIAN F. ALWILL

MEISA BANH

ROTHSCHILD & ALWILL, APC

LAW OFFICE OF MEISA BANH

27 West Anapamu Street Suite 289 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Tel: 805-695-2827 Fax: 805-456-0132 julian@ralegal.com www.ralegal.com

JACQUELYNN L. HANSEN LAW OFFICE OF JACQUELYNN L. HANSEN, APC

801 South Garfield Avenue 100B Alhambra, CA 91801 Tel: 626-344-8933 Fax: 626-628-1828 mbanh@banhlaw.com www.banhlaw.com

12424 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 720 Los Angeles, CA 90025 Tel: 310-504-1106 Fax: 424-522-1370 jacq@jrlfamilylaw.com www.jrlfamilylaw.com

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF CIVIL RIGHTS

FAMILY LAW IMMIGRATION

FAMILY LAW

Julian Alwill is a leading employment lawyer representing employees in discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, defamation, retaliation, and trade secrets lawsuits, as well as wage-and-hour class action lawsuits. Julian also heads up the firm’s Bakersfield office, where in addition to employment law, he represents clients in sexual assault cases. Bilingual in English and Spanish permits Julian to represent under-represented agricultural workers. Rothschild & Alwill has recovered more than $14 million for clients in class actions and in individual cases. Julian is a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association and the Santa Barbara County Bar Association.

As a female and minority owned firm, Ms. Banh is passionate about assisting her clients by providing the highest level of service to each individual and family. Specializing in family and immigration law, she has cultivated a loyal client base, due to her caring and compassionate nature, in addition to her keen and comprehensive knowledge of family and immigration law. Being a child of immigrant parents herself, Ms. Banh is an ardent supporter of helping immigrants remain in the U.S. Ms. Banh believes strongly in the importance of earning the trust of each client and ensuring they have direct access as needed. Her extensive experience in family law litigation ensures she is able to fully support each case while being able to set the right expectations for each client.

Jacquelynn L. Hansen (“Jacq”), a Los Angeles native, is an attorney who has practiced family law exclusively for 10 years and established her own boutique family law firm in 2015. Jacq is dedicated to serving clients who are navigating complex family law matters and understands the decisions one makes during a family law proceeding will have long-lasting implications for their life, their families and their finances. Therefore, at the Law Office of Jacquelynn L. Hansen, clients are guided and informed each step of the way so that they can make the best decision possible to achieve their case goals and bring their family law matter to an expedient close.

SHANE HAPUARACHY

LAUREN MORRISON

SERGIO J. PUCHE

CHEONG, DENOVE, ROWELL, BENNETT & HAPUARACHY

KESLUK, SILVERSTEIN, JACOB & MORRISON, P.C.

LAW OFFICES OF MAURO FIORE, JR.

1925 Century Park East Suite 800 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Tel: 310-277-4857 Fax: 310-277-5254 shapuarachy@cdrb-law.com www.cdrbh.com

9255 Sunset Boulevard Suite 411 Los Angeles, CA 90069 Tel: 310-273-3180 Fax: 310-273-6137

136 East Lemon Avenue Monrovia, CA 91016 Tel: 626-856-5856 spuche@fiorelegal.com www.fiorelegal.com

PERSONAL INJURY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: PLAINTIFF CIVIL RIGHTS ELDER LAW

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF EMPLOYMENT & LABOR CIVIL LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF

EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAINTIFF

Shane’s approach to litigation mirrors his approach to life: Success comes through thinking strategically, working hard and a willingness to take risks. Since joining Cheong Denove Rowell Bennett & Hapuarachy, Shane has handled hundreds of matters of litigation and has successfully secured multiple seven-figure verdicts on behalf of his clients, including a $9.1 million verdict in a premises liability case, a $2 million verdict in a civil rights case involving a claim of excessive force against the LAPD, a $1 million verdict in a medical malpractice case arising from a lack of informed consent regarding a hysterectomy, and a $1.3 million dollar verdict in a non-impact taxi-cab v. motorcycle accident. Shane specializes in medical malpractice, police litigation and catastrophic personal injury cases.

Los Angeles employment lawyer Lauren Morrison has dedicated her career to protecting the rights of employees. This dedication has earned Lauren the praise and respect of her clients, opposing counsel and judges alike. Lauren specializes in labor and employment law, and has litigated hundreds of cases in this field, including sexual harassment, whistleblower, disability and pregnancy discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage and hour cases. Lauren has primary responsibility for handling cases from intake through resolution. She has obtained large settlements and successful verdicts at trial on her client’s behalf.

Sergio J. Puche is a litigation and trial attorney at the Law Offices of Mauro Fiore, Jr. He represents individuals against corporations in employment and personal injury cases. Mr. Puche is a graduate of California Western School of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, and Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angles and California. He is a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association and board member of the Trial Lawyers Charities. He is a graduate of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Plaintiff Trial Academy. Mr. Puche was selected as The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40, for 2019 and selected to Southern California Rising Stars for 2020. Mr. Puche practices in state and federal courts throughout California.

KRYSTALE LEE ROSAL

RACHEL M. SPOSATO

LAW OFFICES OF MAURO FIORE, JR.

THE HINDS LAW GROUP, APC

136 East Lemon Avenue Monrovia, CA 91016 Tel: 626-856-5856 krosal@fiorelegal.com www.fiorelegal.com

lmorrison@californialaborlawattorney.com www.californialaborlawattorney.com

21257 Hawthorne Boulevard Floor 2 Torrance, CA 90503 Tel: 310-316-0500 Fax: 310-792-5977 rsposato@hindslawgroup.com www.hindslawgroup.com

We’ve redesigned our web experience with our audiences in mind: attorneys and consumers seeking legal representation.

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL: PLAINTIFF

BUSINESS LITIGATION GENERAL LITIGATION: BANKRUPTCY CREDITOR DEBTOR RIGHTS

Krystale L. Rosal manages the injury litigation department at her firm since 2012 and has extensive litigation experience in premises liability, wrongful death, dog bite and auto collision matters. Ms. Rosal also has extensive trial experience and in dealing with insurance companies. She routinely obtains top dollar settlements for her clients and is familiar with the tactics used to undervalue the pain and suffering accident victims are forced to endure. She is a proud member of CAALA, LACBA and CAOC. She is active in charitable causes involving children and is an honorary board member of the LATLC and serves on the advisory committee of the Brain Society of Southern California, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of brain injured victims.

Rachel M. Sposato is an associate attorney at The Hinds Law Group, APC. Her practice areas include bankruptcy litigation, unsecured and secured creditors’ rights, and civil business and commercial litigation. Prior to joining Hinds & Shankman, (now The Hinds Law Group) Ms. Sposato practiced consumer bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation in Boston, MA. Ms. Sposato is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and California, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Central District of California, and Northern District of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

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ATTORNEYS SELECTED TO RISING STARS WERE CHOSEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ON PAGE S-2.

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Who built that scary-looking storybook house on Walden Drive in Beverly Hills?

C H R I S ’S P I C K

Priceless Junkers A NEW BOOK CELEBRATES DISCARDED LUXURY CARS

C O T TAG E I N DUST RY

BISON ARCHIVES

Actress Barbara Bedford and ﬁlmmaker Irvin Willat outside the “Witch’s House”

A: People like to call it the “Witch’s House,” but it was originally built as a movie studio in Culver City for 28-year-old mogul Irvin Willat, who ordered a fantasy mash-up of 18th century Swiss, Belgian, and English cottages that could also be used as a logo for his production company. Five years, four ﬁlms, and a movie star wife later—and with a lucrative offer to direct at Paramount—he sold the house to producer Ward Lascelle, who loaded it onto a truck and relocated it to Walden Drive and Carmelita Avenue. Be sure to visit on Halloween, when hundreds of trick-ortreaters line up for big candy and a big show. Q: Is Mel’s the only restaurant with carhop service? A: L.A.’s carhop culture has come 88 L A M AG . C O M

roaring back with curb service at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, Cafe 50s in West Los Angeles, Route

66 Classic Grill in Canyon Country, and Miguel’s in (eek!) Corona. My favorite is Tam O’Shanter in Atwater Village, one of the ﬁrst spots in the country to offer the service when it opened in 1922. Q: How was L.A. quarantined during the Spanish ﬂu? A: Angelenos who got sick in 1918 were marked with a scarlet letter. Well, actually, a white card

with blue letters that was posted on every home where someone was reported ill. The LAPD enforced the stay-at-home rule but let stores and workplaces remain open. Some of the ﬂu victims were sent to Barlow hospital, makeshift facilities at Ascot Park racetrack, or the Dispensary for Public School Children. I’m guessing they wiped down the dispensary afterward.

O Lost in the industrial section of South Los Angeles, sandwiched between a refrigerator factory and what’s probably a cannabis grow house, is a heavily secured parking lot ﬁlled with hundreds of the rarest and most valuable cars on the planet. The vintage (sometimes ﬁre-damaged and occasionally engineless) Maseratis, Ferraris, and Porsches stacked inside saw very few visitors until the author and the photographer of the new coffee-table book Junkyard: Behind the Gates at California’s Secretive European-Car Salvage Yard talked their way inside to document these tarnished treasures. One unusual custom Mercedes is estimated to be worth $10 million. The mesmerizing curls of peeling paint and twisted bumpers on the time-ravaged cars can be as compelling as their original designs.

VOLUME 65, NUMBER 7. LOS ANGELES (ISSN 1522-9149) is published monthly by Los Angeles Magazine, LLC. Principal office: 5900 Wilshire Blvd., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA, and additional mailing offices. The one-year domestic subscription price is $14.95. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to LOS ANGELES, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other materials, which must be accompanied by return postage. SUBSCRIBERS: If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. Copyright © 2020 Los Angeles Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved. Best of L.A.® is a registered trademark of Los Angeles Magazine, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. SUBSCRIBER SERVICE 866-660-6247. GST #R133004424. PRINTED IN THE USA.

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Los Angeles magazine - July 2020

Articles inside

The Case of the Crooked Councilman

Cash Me If You Can