Third Street Promenade - Santa Monica

There is a three-block stretch of 3rd street in Santa Monica has been sealed off from traffic, tuning it into a pedestrian shopping and dining mecca, which is called the Third Street Promenade. The Promenade's roots date back to the 1960s when three blocks of Third Street were converted into a pedestrian mall. While most people in LA drive, on the Promenade you can always find a crowd of happy pedestrians enjoying sunshine or moonlight, along with the shops, movies, and restaurants.  And best of all, it's free to roam.

In the center of Third Street are free-standing pavilions which resemble Victorian greenhouses, with aged brass roofs.  Colorful flower boxes bloom on many ledges and bright flowers dangle from the old-fashioned, powder blue street lamps. The promenade has a growing number of intriguing book shops, antique stores, and unique memorabilia shops.  Movie going is another main attraction with 3 different theaters which offer a total of 17 screens.  There are also restaurants which range from fast food stands to upscale nightclubs.  Some notable spots in the area include Border Grill II, Bob Burns, Fama, Mesa Grill, and Wolfganf Puck's Cafe. 

Street performers and entertainers are a frequent sight on the street. On a typical Saturday night in the summer, singer-songwriters, classical guitar players, magicians, clowns, hip-hop dancers, lounge singers, session drummers, and other artists line up approximately 40 feet 50 feet apart from each other all along Third Street.  

This is a great place to people watch and hang out if you're both a local and a tourist. You're guaranteed to find something you like!

Capitol Records Building

The Capitol Records Tower is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Hollywood, California. The 13-story earthquake-resistant tower, designed by Welton Becket, was the world's first circular office building, and is home to several recording studios. It is designed so the wide curved awnings over windows on each story and the tall spike emerging from the top of the building combine to give it the appearance of a stack of vinyl 45s on a turntable.  The building is located just north of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine and is the center of the consolidated West Coast operations of Capitol Records—and was nicknamed "The House That Nat Built" to recognize the enormous financial contributions of Capitol star Nat "King" Cole. The building houses the Capitol Studios, a recording facility which includes an echo chamber engineered by guitarist Les Paul. The first album recorded in the tower was Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color.

The blinking light atop the tower spells out the phrase "Hollywood" in Morse code, and has done so since the building's opening in 1956. This was an idea of Capitol's then president, Alan Livingston, who wanted to subtly advertise Capitol's status as the first record label with a base on the west coast. The switch activating the light was thrown by Lyla Morse, Samuel Morse's granddaughter.  In 1992 it was changed to read "Capitol 50" in honor of the label's fiftieth anniversary. It has since returned to spelling "Hollywood".

In the 1974 disaster blockbuster film Earthquake, the tower was shown collapsing during a massive tremor. Thirty years later, in an homage to Earthquake, the tower was again depicted as being destroyed, this time by a massive tornado, in The Day After Tomorrow.

This landmark is very significant in Hollywood and can be seen from miles away.  It is worth the trip for an up close visit!

Musso and Frank Grill

Musso & Frank Grill is a restaurant located on Hollywood Boulevard. Their actual website is under construction however they have a fan site with 7 Chapters of history and stories.  Opened in 1919, it is steeped in Hollywood history, having been the hideout of a host of famous Hollywood celebrities from days gone by. It is named for original owners Joseph Musso and Frank Toulet.  As Hollywood's oldest eatery (since 1919), Musso & Frank is the paragon of Old Hollywood grillrooms. In its heyday it was a popular destination for Hollywood's elite, including movie stars, film directors and producers and the great writers F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Bukowski, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway drank here during their screenwriting days and where Orson Welles used to hold court. Legend has it that Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks raced each other down Hollywood Boulevard on horseback, the loser having to pick up the dinner tab at Musso & Frank's.

We went on a Thursday night, around 7ish, the restaurant was actually pretty empty but the bar was packed.  We scored 1 bar stool so we shared it/Grete stood.  The bartender was nice and anxious to make us a drink...whatever we wanted.  Grete chose a Grasshopper and I had a Cosmo.  They are known for their martini's but I'm not a big fan of straight up martini's so I went with the Cosmo.  I tried Grete's drink, a little too sweet for me.  It reminded me of the Girl Scout cookie, thin mint.  My Cosmo was good but nothing special.  If I were to go back, I would bite the bullet and try a dirty martini.  If it's going to be my first one might as well be at a place that is known to have the best in the city.

Their dinner menu looked good but we didn't get any eats.  They have nightly specials.  The special that night was prime rib and it reminded me of classic Hollywood which overall sums up the vibe of this place.  If you're in the mood to get glammed up (you don't have to) and relive the old days, Musso and Frank's Grill is the place to go.

Palm's Thai Restaurant

I was a little disappointed when I went to Palms Thai. It is a Thai restaurant located in Thai town (in Hollywood.)  The restaurant is know for having a signing Thai Elvis perform, however he wasn't there when we went.

 

We went on a Thursday night, around 8:30ish.  It was packed inside and seating was cafeteria style.  The hostess seated us at a table in the middle of the room and we looked at the extensive menu.  It was slightly overwhelming with so many dishes, but that is almost typical of a Thai restaurant.  We finally settled on two dishes, me the Kee Mao Noodle which is Flat rice pan fried noodles with chili, bell pepper, basil leaves, tomato, and onion served on a bed of lettuce, and Grete ordered Spicy Noodle Soup which is rice noodle with shrimp, squid, ground pork, BBQ pork, fish ball, imitation crab, and bean sprout seasoned with lime juice, chili, and ground peanut. I've had my dish before (sometimes known as drunken noodles) but I haven't found a place that I like in California.  Grete really had no idea what she was ordering but liked it because it had a lot of seafood.

My dish came out first, had we known the portions would be as big as they were, we would have only ordered one dish.  We both really enjoyed the noodles.  It was actually the best I've had since leaving Boston.  Grete's dish came out not that long after mine.  I thought it was fairly good but Grete thought it was too spicy.  We ate dinner while listening to an acoustic guitar performer playing James Taylor covers.  We left with a lot of leftovers which we enjoyed the next day for lunch.  

Overall, the food was good, but not really worth going to unless you're in the area and you can catch the singing Elvis.
 

Chinatown

I previously posted about Empress Pavilion, the Dim Sum restaurant in Chinatown, but didn't really touch on all there is to do in the LA Chinatown. 

The area that encompasses Chinatown was originally Los Angeles' Little Italy.  In the 1920s and 30s, Italians began moving out of Little Italy to elsewhere in the city. When the Italians moved out, the Chinese began moving in.  In the 1930s, under the efforts of Chinese American community leader Peter Soo Hoo Sr., the design and operational concepts for the Chinatown evolved through the collective community process, resulting in a blend of both Chinese and American architecture. The Los Angeles Chinatown saw major development, especially as a tourist attraction, throughout the 1930s with the development of the "Central Plaza", a Hollywoodized version of Shanghai, containing names such as Bamboo Lane, Gin Ling Way and Chung King Road. Chinatown was designed by Hollywood film set designers and a "Chinese" movie prop was subsequently donated by the legendary film director Cecil B. DeMille to give Chinatown an exotic atmosphere. Today, this section of Chinatown is less frequented by ethnic Chinese residents and dayshoppers, though it is where several benevolent associations are located.



This neighborhood is very convenient to the Metro Gold line, if you so choose to venture out on LA's booming public transportation system.  There is a page dedicated to the adventure through Experience LA - Chinatown.





We decided to drive there on a Sunday afternoon.  It was hard to find parking, the streets were crowded, and there were a lot of people out.  We walked the streets looking in the shops for deals on knick knacks, got lunch, and had a drink.  We didn't get a chance to go into the museums, however I recommend if you go to Chinatown, try to check out some of the historical monuments and attractions.  Every 1st Saturday on the month there is a walking tour of Chinatown for $20.

Art galleries are also becoming a big attraction on Chung King Road.  On art opening nights, which occur on Saturdays every few weeks, throngs of LA art enthusiasts come to check out the latest in a the new galleries.  It’s a strange and somewhat romantic scene, with the alley’s lanterns and worn-out gallery facades, as if pulled from some derelict 1950s movie set. Yet, it’s a scene that has become a new center for art in Los Angeles. Some describe it as a displaced Westside arts district — hip, edgy and young. And while the art is breaking boundaries, the galleries are still paying tribute to the culture of Chinatown; many have kept the original storefront names.

All in all, Chinatown is a definite must stop on a tour of LA. There is plenty to do and see, it will keep you busy for quite awhile.

ArcLight Cinema - Hollywood

The Arclight Hollywood is a 14-screen movie theater on Sunset Blvd.  It prides itself on being a different kind of theater, even having a whole website dedicated to describing the arclight experience.

Each theater has reserved seating. When a customer buys a ticket they select their desired seat. The seats in the ArcLight's theaters are wider than average and feature arm rests that are wide enough to support usage by patrons on both sides of the arm rest simultaneously.


Unlike the majority of contemporary theater chains, there are no ads or movie trivia displayed on screen prior to the feature presentation. The only promotional material shown before showtimes are trailers and a brief ArcLight "feature presentation" logo.
At showtime, immediately before the trailers begin, an employee (called an Usher Greeter) introduces the film to the audience and states the ArcLight's policies regarding quality assurance, i.e. two ushers will remain in the theater until a few minutes after the film has begun, to ensure that the picture and sound quality are acceptable. They also inform the audience to turn their cellphones to the silent function, and to refrain from texting. Five minutes after the scheduled start time of a film has elapsed, further seating is prohibited, reducing interruptions.

The ArcLight Hollywood concessions stands strive to serve high quality items, such as all-beef hot dogs, gourmet chicken sausage on baguettes, premium bottled water, decadent chocolates, fresh popcorn with real butter, and caramel corn made on-site.

ArcLight is almost unique among contemporary theaters, as the large lobby area also holds a gift shop with books, magazine, art, clothing items, music, and other entertainment-oriented items. In addition, there is a full-service café and bar, which serves lunch and dinner, and is available with or without purchasing a movie ticket. A smaller bar is located upstairs, which is mainly open on weekends or during special events, and which has a more limited menu. Both feature indoor and outdoor dining areas.
In addition to special event screenings, the ArcLight regularly holds "21+" screenings in which patrons must be 21 years old or older to be admitted and patrons may consume alcoholic beverages purchased from the theater's bar.

ArcLight Hollywood is known to be a good place for celebrity sightings because of its Hollywood location, quality of picture presentation, and myriad of special screenings and events, which often feature Question and Answer sessions with actors and directors.

We went to the ArcLight Hollywood for a special screening of Red Dawn.  We had to stand in line for over an hour but since the tickets were free it was worth it.  We didn't get to the bar before the movie but the experience of the movie theater was noticeably different.

There are additional ArcLights in Pasadena, El Segundo, and Sherman Oaks.

Saturdays Off the 405

I've posted on both The Getty Villa and The Getty Center.  This is a place that just keeps on giving.  Saturday's Off the 405 is an event hosted by the Getty Center in Brentwood that brings together food, drinks, music, and art...oh, and a lot of people.  We went a few Saturday's ago. After reading up on the event online, we decided to try to get there fairly early but park a bit away from the Getty and walk.  Parking, which is usually $15 at the museum is free after 5pm.  The event starts at 6 however cars start lining up very early, clogging the road, the free way exit, and making it plain uncomfortable for all.  On top of that, once parking fills up they stop letting people in.  So we parked in Bel Air, about a mile away, walked, and were stress free.  Technically you're not supposed to park in Bel Air for this event and there are cops around blocking streets so do it at your own risk.

We arrived at the museum and waited in line for the monorail for about 10 minutes, the line moves fairly fast.  Once we got to the actual museum it was still early, about 6:30, but there were people everywhere, sitting down, eating and drinking.  This is yet another event where picnics are welcome, however outside alcohol is not.  They do have a cash bar where they serve wine and Getty-tini's.  We ordered some drinks and found a table to have dinner while the DJ was playing music in the background.  The band, which for the night was Best Coast, was supposed to start at 7, but in true LA fashion they were very late.  We walked around the museum for a bit and came out just as they were starting.

The sound was good, and people were really into the music.  Having walked around we really didn't have a great view of the band so we stood in the background listening to the music.  We left after a few songs, but enjoyed them while we were there.

As we were leaving there was still a long line trying to get in.  At this point, they were turning every car away and traffic was backed up.  They were even turning away people who had walked so if you do plan on walking, get there early.  Once parking fills up, no one gets in, even if people are leaving.

This is just another great event where you can go, watch the sunset, eat, drink, and enjoy the city.  Just keep in mind the logistics, it can be a pain to get there.  The next show is this Saturday, July 30th.