Last month, Sohni, a Sumatran tiger in our care at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, gave birth to a pair of cubs, and today, I am thrilled to give you an update on their progress.
Our dedicated team of animal care experts has announced that we have a male and female cub – both weighing about 12 pounds and growing fast. Their eyes have opened since you’ve last seen them, and they are also beginning to learn how to walk on their own. The new family is continuing to bond well, as Sohni has been a great mom, feeding and grooming the cubs throughout the day.
The tigers were bred through the Species Survival Plan, which is overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and ensures responsible breeding and diverse populations of threatened and endangered species. Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, with fewer than 500 existing in the wild due to significant threats like habitat loss, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade.
You can help support Disney’s efforts to reverse the decline of tigers and other animals by taking part in Connect to Protect, a mobile adventure in which guests participate in conservation “missions” with a digital scientist while exploring Pandora – The World of Avatar and helping protect the habitats of at-risk animals here on Earth. Guests have used their adventures and their votes to unlock the first of ten $100,000 contributions from Disney Parks. This first donation is helping protect habitats for elephants in Kenya, but guests can still choose to support gorillas, migratory birds, butterflies and other species.
The tiger cubs will remain backstage for the next few months before guests will be able to see them on Maharajah Jungle Trek, and we look forward to sharing more updates soon.
I take pie seriously. Fall weather ushers in apple pie season, and I welcome baking as much as I can. The classic apple pie is hard to beat, with its sugary filling of soft, cinnamon-scented fruit nestled inside a buttery, flaky crust. But given the recent spate of ridiculously warm weather in New York, I'm caught in that funny phase in between seasons. It's not quite chilly enough to embrace autumn, and the markets are still spilling over with corn and zucchini and peaches.
There's a perfect solution! Instead of unpacking your flannel shirts and baking an apple pie, make a dessert that bridges the seasonal gap perfectly: zucchini pie.
I know, I know. This sounds weird, but bear with me. Zucchini is well-loved as a staple for baking. To wit, we're inundated with zucchini bread and zucchini cakes and zucchini muffins as the summer wanes. So why not pie?
A buttery crust like that should tell you this has nothing to do with wellness.
Photo by Posie Harwood
Years ago, I read about a very polarizing recipe for "mock apple pie" from the back of the Ritz cracker box. The recipe is exactly like a classic apple pie recipe, but it swaps out apples for crumbled Ritz crackers. True Ritz believers swear that it tastes exactly like an apple pie. It sort of makes sense; what we really experience when we eat apple pie is texture (soft) and flavor (cinnamon and sugar). I refuse to believe that the Ritz pie doesn't dissolve into a terrible mess upon baking, and on principle, who wants a cracker-filled pie?
But the core concept resonated with me. When baked, zucchini has a similar texture to an apple; it gets soft in the oven but retains some texture. Add the same warm, fragrant spices as an apple pie recipe (cinnamon, nutmeg, and so on), plenty of lemon juice, extra sugar to compensate for sugar in apples, and you have yourself a very similar dessert to a classic apple pie.
Photo by Posie Harwood
The point here isn't to make a "mock" apple pie. It's to make a similarly delicious pie that uses up this in-between seasonal produce. If you have a garden that's overrun with zucchini, and they're too big to taste good on their own, this is the recipe to use. Apple pie is beloved for good reason! The flavors are excellent and comforting, and I love that there's a way to get the same effect before apple season kicks in.
That being said, I gave my fiancé a slice of this pie for dessert the other night. I told him it was an apple pie, and asked him how it rated on a scale of 1 to the best apple pie he's ever had. He rated it a solid 8. I told him it was zucchini, not apple, and he swore up and down that he could not tell the difference! Try it on someone who loves pie, and see if they can.
New York Post restaurant critic Steve Cuozzo has been in Los Angeles for a few days now, and like most New Yorkers traipsing the West Coast he’s getting some pretty crucial food facts very, very wrong. Mainly he just can’t seem to find any food trucks around Los Angeles.
Not as in “a food truck he likes” or “a big collection of food trucks somewhere;” Cuozzo took to Twitter to say he has not even seen a single truck in five days of looking.
The eye-opening exchange went down on social media earlier this week, with Cuozzo sending out the below (apparently sincere) tweet:
5 days in LA and total # of city's vaunted, much blogged about food trucks spotted in 5 different neighborhoods = 0.
While he’s not wrong that much has been written regarding Los Angeles’s food trucks, street food vendors, and overall underground dining scene, it seems Cuozzo has either been going to bed before 8 p.m. every night, not leaving his hotel room, or only sticking to the priciest residential neighborhoods — or perhaps all three. That’s about the only way one person could spend five days in Los Angeles without seeing a single taco truck on the streets.
Asked for clarification by former LA Weekly critic Besha Rodell, Cuozzo doubled down by saying that it was his “view that (the) entire LA food truck narrative is baloney. How can truck sell to nobody on foot?” Eater did reach out to ask whether or not these tweets were sarcastic, but didn’t receive a response back.
This being the internet, others chimed in to discuss Cuozzo’s misinformed opinion, asking where in the city/county he was spending time — Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, if the geotags on his tweets are to be believed — and at what time of day, seeing as how vibrant the late-night Mexican and Central American food scene is around town.
To be clear, Los Angeles is home to roughly 50,000 street food vendors, from trucks to tamaleros to gourmet outfits that do indeed earn plenty of praise in the pages of glossy magazines. They are less commonly found in neighborhoods like the Pacific Palisades, say, but remain a vibrant and crucial part of the dining equation in other prominent areas like East L.A., Boyle Heights, and South LA. Cuozzo may no longer be in town, and perhaps did find a way to not eat at a single food truck while here, but ultimately that’s just fine for the majority of Angelenos — more tacos for everyone else.
The home of “The Price Is Right” could fetch as much as $900 million, experts say
CBS might be shaking up the future of Television City, an institution that dates to the 1950s and that’s still home to prominent productions, including The Price Is Right and The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Sources tell The Real Deal that CBS Corporation is preparing to put the property on Beverly and Fairfax on the market. It has reportedly already interviewed brokerages for the job of marketing the 25-acre plot.
Though CBS hasn’t yet decided whether to sell, brokers estimate the property is valued at $500 million to $750 million, with one “insider” telling the Los Angeles Times it could bring in as much as $900 million.
It’s not yet clear what’s to come for the campus, designed by Gin Wong at the firm Pereira and Luckman. As The Real Deal notes, there are a lot of unknowns:
The network hasn’t indicated if it intends to vacate the property entirely, sources said. The nature of what will be marketed — a full sale, a sale-leaseback or a ground lease — remains unclear.
The Real Deal reports that here are at least two “major developers” interested in the site, located near The Grove and the Farmers Market.
We drove by here the other night on a mad dash to get late night ice cream.
It's truly charming
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in July 2013 and has been updated with the most recent information.
The chandelier tree of Silver Lake might just be worth all the stupid twee drama that comes out of that neighborhood. It's truly charming, the neighbors enjoy it, and it isn't forced—could anyone but an arty contractor and his aerialist roommate have come up with the idea and put it together?
Now Silver Lake filmmaker Colin Kennedy tells the six-year tale of the tree in a new short video (via Eastsider LA). The story goes that creator Adam Tenenbaum (the contractor) came home from a set-building job with three spare chandeliers one day, then realized they'd look perfect hung in his tree at West Silver Lake and Shadowlawn, then realized they had to be lit. Since then, he's acquired and strung dozens more chandeliers with the help of his acrobat roommate (neighbors donate to the electric bill via a repurposed parking meter).
Tenenbaum says he wants the tree to feel "full and unique, but not overbearing and gaudy."
Late Night host and Saturday Night Live (and Weekend Update) alum Seth Meyers is moving on up. He and wife Alexi have listed their two bedroom condo in the West Village for $4.5 million.
when will it be finished? it's literally anyone's guess.
It can’t be finished fast enough
Those who’ve recently cruised by the future site of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures have probably caught a glimpse of the 130-foot tall, glass and concrete sphere taking shape just north of Wilshire and Fairfax.
The sphere is the visual centerpiece of the forthcoming museum, which will take up space in the renovated 1939 May Company structure on Miracle Mile, as well as in the glassy orb currently under construction behind the former May Company.
The historic Streamline Moderne building in front of the sphere will house museum exhibits like screenplays, an original model of the shark from Jaws, and over 60,000 pieces of “production art” like theruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.
The eye-catching glass and concrete sphere will hold the museum’s theater and observation deck. The sphere is the most technically challenging part of the museum project, which is designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano.
Courtesy of Sterling Davis/Curbed LA flickr pool
A September 16 photo of the under-construction museum.
Delayed multiple times, the project has blown through its initial $250 million budget and is now expected to cost nearly $400 million. The project’s expected completion date has been pushed back more than once. The most recent projection estimates the museum will be finished in April 2019.
If you haven't passed by the site in a while, here's a peek at what you're missing:
Pit bulls, poodles, chihuahuas, and French bulldogs
Los Angeles International Airport is making a lot of changes to terminals and planning a major overhaul to make getting in and out of the airport less stressful. One thing they definitely shouldn’t change is a four-year-old program that allows volunteer dogs to hang out with travelers for the purpose of helping them chill out in the less-than-relaxing environment.
TheWashington Post checked in on the program, called PUP (short for Pets Unstressing Passengers), which deploys a cute team of up to eight dogs in red “Pet Me!” vests and name tags throughout the week.
A tour of the hashtag #LAXpups on Instagram suggests that the dogs are pretty popular. The owner of a PUP dog named Penelope told the Post that her dog “had pink lipstick on her forehead a mere 15 minutes after a recent visit to the terminal.”
To participate, dogs’ owners must pass a background check and get fingerprinted. For the dogs, it’s even more selective. They have to be at least two years old and have experience in a “recognized” dog therapy organization. They also must pass a trio of tests designed to see how they interact with people and other dogs in a variety of environments.
By the end of this summer, there will be 72 dogs in the program. LAX has adorable playing cards for the dogs participating in PUP, but we’ve rounded up cute pics of some participants (and their Instagram handles, when possible) to help travelers identify a PUP dog when they see one.
If you had any doubts about Amazon taking over the food and beverage industry, here's even more evidence: You can now order wine on Amazon Prime and they will deliver it to your door in an hour.
By now you've probably heard of frosé, or frozen rosé — but have you heard of frozecco? Essentially a frozen mimosa, with orange juice, Prosecco, and ice, a glass of frozecco is the perfect thing to serve at brunch this weekend.
The architecturally distinctive restaurant was damaged in a fire
A postmodern-style KFC near the border of East Hollywood and Koreatown—one of the most architecturally distinctive fast food establishments in Los Angeles—was badly damaged by fire Sunday.
Fortunately, Eater LA reports that the restaurant, located on Western Avenue and Oakwood, is “expected to survive and reopen at a later date.”
The fried chicken outpost was completed in 1990 and is an abstract example of programmatic architecture—when a building’s design mimics the shape of a recognizable object, often an item customers can purchase inside.
Designed by Frank Gehry pupils Elyse Grinstein and Jeffrey Daniels, the building roughly approximates the shape of a chicken—and also, weirdly, a bucket of chicken. As the Los Angeles Times reported shortly after the building’s construction, it was “the first architecturally avant-garde Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in the United States.”
It’s been a bad month for LA area KFC enthusiasts. Last week, the Los Angeles Planning Department published new plans for a mixed use project that would replace a KFC in Reseda.
Clarification: A previous version of this article named only Jeffrey Daniels as the designer of the KFC. In fact, the restaurant was designed by the architectural firm of Elyse Grinstein and Jeffrey Daniels.
After years of quietly allowing drivers to leave their vehicles partially or even fully parked on the far edge of the sidewalk, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation is cracking down on parkway parking.
A parkway is the stretch of sidewalk between the walkway and the curb, often covered in grass or dirt. LADOT announced Tuesday that on August 14, it will begin ticketing drivers who stop or park in these areas.
To some, it may seem obvious that parking on the sidewalk would be illegal, but since 2011, the city’s traffic officers have turned a blind eye to the practice, which has become relatively common in dense neighborhoods like Koreatown and Westlake.
The City Council requested an end to parkway enforcement after a series of complaints from residents about the city’s policy of ticketing drivers parked in aprons (the section of a driveway that dips down below the sidewalk).
But widespread parkway parking has drawn complaints from neighbors and concerns from city officials that the presence of cars on the sidewalk could inhibit access to the sidewalk for residents with disabilities and leave the city vulnerable to a lawsuit, as the Los Angeles Times noted earlier this year.
In June, the council voted unanimously to update the city’s municipal code, making parking on the parkway a violation once again. Starting Monday, it will be a ticket-able offense.
We partnered with Goose Island Beer Co. to share Sofie beer-mosa-approriate summer recipes from grilling maestro Paula Disbrowe. We're celebrating Goose Island beer all year long, so stay tuned for more recipes, tips, and stories to come.
Blame it on the dream of a languid, laugh-filled Sunday, but more often than not, my brunch menus follow the lead of the adult beverage that I want to serve. I don’t think I’m alone here—the key ingredient to any fun and festive midday meal is friends, and an enticing elixir, right? Hence the general thinking that Bloody Marys mean flaky biscuits or Benedict, bubbly says a simple spread with smoked salmon, and Palomas or margaritas are followed by spicy huevos (and perhaps a nap).
Photo by Julia Gartland
So, what happens when you want to begin with beer? A crisp lager or aromatic ale might not be the first thing you think of when planning a stylish brunch, but here’s where you should shed those preconceived notions about everyone’s favorite summer quencher, and think outside the box. A “beer brunch” doesn’t have to mean koozies and hot dogs, after all. As any enthusiastic quaffer knows, the proliferation of craft brews has dramatically elevated options in the beer aisle, with cool cans and lovely bottles of ales and IPAs as nuanced as wine. So naturally, your “beer menu” should follow suit. With a bit of imagination, an inspired ale will act as muse to a stellar brunch. Here, are a few ideas to get your wheels turning:
Photo by Julia Gartland; designed by Tim McSweeney
Start with a bubbly toast.
The catalyst to any party is an effervescent beverage, so seek out a crisp, Belgian-style saison or farmhouse ale with citrusy notes and a creamy, Champagne-like effervescence. Add a splash of freshly-squeezed OJ to make beermosas.
Everybody loves brats on the grill, and after they’re poached, they only need a few minutes on the grill to achieve deep, flavorful char marks. Seek out the best fresh sausages you can find (ideally from a market that sources meat from specific farms and ranches), then add another layer of interest by poaching them in an ale flavored with fresh bay leaves, onion, and orange zest. After the brats are charred on the grill, serve them in lightly-toasted pretzel buns with a squiggle of your favorite beer mustard, and a scattering of Sweet and Sour Pickled Radishes for color and crunch. If you want to finish with something fresh and green, top it off with small celery leaves.
I like to pair these hearty sandwiches with a simple shaved vegetable salad made with, say, asparagus and mint, or a mix of zucchini, crookneck squash, and Parmesan, or a mix of firm summer vegetables (using a mandolin to thinly slice assorted varieties of radishes, celery, and carrots) tossed in a bright Dijon vinaigrette and finished with chopped Italian parsley. A simple lentil salad is also classic and delicious alongside savory sausage (and they round out the meal for friends who don’t want buns). For a richer preparation, top the lentils with slices of chevre drizzled with additional olive oil and lightly sprinkled with cumin. Bonus: these salads can be made in advance and improve upon standing.
Round things out with potatoes.
Potatoes: They’re easy allies for sausages. Roasted fingerlings tend to steal the show (toss them with minced garlic and fresh mint after cooking, while they’re still warm). I also love to make salads from Yukon golds that are boiled, peeled, and sliced into thick rounds, and then tossed with your best olive oil, thinly sliced shallots, a favorite herb (like tarragon or parsley), and plenty of salt and better. Or show off your grill chops and finish the sliced potatoes over the grill to give them a crispy edge on each side. (I do this in a hinged grill basket so I can flip the basket and not fret about using the crispy crust.) Just coat the potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss them somewhat vigorously to “rough up” the edges (this will help them crisp on the grill) before you place them over the fire.
And now the afternoon has melted into the evening and your happy guests haven’t left. Surprised? Of course not.
We partnered with Goose Island Beer Co. to share summer-appropriate crowd pleasers to eat alongside bottles of their Sofie Belgian-style Saison. We're celebrating Goose Island beer all year long, so stay tuned for more recipes, tips, and stories to come.
He’s only the fourth cougar to make the crossing in 15 years
A young, male mountain lion known as P-55 has successfully made a “rare” crossing of the 101 freeway, National Parks Service researchers announced today. P-55 was previously roving the western part of the Santa Monica Mountains. Now he’s “roaming the Santa Susana Mountains” along the northern edge of the Valley.
P-55 is wearing a GPS tracking collar, so researchers also know he has crossed highways 118 and 23. The parks service says the mountain lion crossed the 101 near Thousand Oaks. He did so shortly after he was captured on video nearly falling into a Newbury Park hot tub.
Crossing the freeway is a considerable accomplishment for P-55 because most lions come up to the edge of the freeway, then turn around, says Seth Riley, a wildlife ecologist at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTING: A Newbury Park family's wildlife camera caught this footage of a cougar nearly falling into their jacuzzi just after midnight on Saturday. The family lives near Kimber and Knollwood.
Our story: http://bit.ly/2ueiZtW
P-55's move deeper into the Valley is only the fourth successful crossing of the 101 freeway since 2002, when the parks service began keeping track.
The impassability of the freeways around the mountain lions’ Santa Monica Mountains territory is a significant obstacle, especially for male cougars. Freeways confine lions to an area where there are already dominant males, which can lead to fatal conflicts. Most young male lions in the area don’t live past two years old.
Being hemmed in has also led to inbreeding. Unless the genetic diversity of the big cats improves, extinction is a possibility, perhaps in as little as 50 years.
A wildlife overpass, which would allow for animals to safely cross the 101 freeway at Calabasas’s Liberty Canyon, has been in the works for years. Project backers want to see the project open by 2021.
I just drove by here and it looks worse than ever.
The 1907 house still has some original features intact
A Los Feliz Craftsman owned by former Misfit Glenn Danzig has hit the market asking $1.2 million.
The house is famously in need of TLC. Built in 1907, it’s advertised as “awaiting your imagination and creative talents.” On the plus side, the listings says the house still has some original features, and behind the street-facing Craftsman, there’s a two-bedroom detached rear unit.
Though Danzig hasn’t lived in the house for years, it has been a pilgrimage site for fans of the musician for decades. Visitors who stopped by the house likely saw some interesting sights: Danzig apparently kept a large pile of bricks on the front lawn for several years, and he was once caught on Google Street View wearing all black and washing his black Jaguar in the driveway.
Danzig purchased the home in 1989, in the heyday of his eponymous band Danzig, and paid about $275,000. He was living here during the Northridge Earthquake in January 1994, and told MTV News that the home suffered some damage because of the event.
In a video walk-through of the house, the singer-songwriter tells the music news show that the house rocked three inches off its foundation and that shaking knocked down some of the stained glass windows. (The pile of bricks in his front yard was said to be the remains of a chimney felled by the earthquake.)
An October 1994 profile of the musician in the Los Angeles Times described the house as “a cross between the Addams Family mansion and the House of Usher.”
In the early 2000s, Danzig moved to Cheviot Hills where he bought a house once owned by Lucille Ball.
If I went to my dad and asked for $1 million to buy a house he would think I had a stroke.
Last month, cash purchases made up 20 percent of all real estate transactions
As sales prices for Los Angeles homes continue their solid recovery from the recession, the profile of all-cash homebuyers has changed.
In the wake of the recession, foreign and domestic investors made up a good chunk of cash-only buyers in LA. All-cash sales are still happening fairly frequently—last month, 20 percent of all real estate transactions in Southern California were all-cash, Geoff McIntosh, president of the California Association of Realtors, tells KPCC—but the days of investors snapping up homes passed four or five years ago, says McIntosh.
Who are these buyers making all-cash home purchases? KPCC reports that one dominant group is the children of wealthy parents. "They're going to mom and dad and saying, 'We really want to buy something and would love it if you give us the money,'" McIntosh tells the radio news station.
Another is tech industry employees, Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, tells KPCC. He says these workers are often paid well and are offered stock options that they can sell when the company goes public, leaving them with money to put toward a house.
“Fantasmic!” returns to Disneyland park on July 17! If you’re looking for a delicious way to have reserved viewing for this classic nighttime spectacular, reservations for three new “Fantasmic!” Dining Packages are now available. There’s something for everyone, from on-the-go options to extravagant three-course dinners.
Blue Bayou Restaurant “Fantasmic!” Dining Package will include choice of starter, entrée, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage; cost is $65 for adults, $25 for children age 3-9. Starters
New Orleans Gumbo
Blue Bayou House Salad
Louisiana Spiced Shrimp
Entrees
Blue Bayou Bouillabaisse with sustainable fish fillet, mussels, clams, shrimp and spiced sausage
Pan-seared Bone-in Pork Loin
Citrus-marinated Chicken Breast
Surf & Turf, featuring a petite lobster tail and broiled filet mignon
Portobello Mushroom and Louisana Popcorn Rice
Blue Bayou Bone-in Rib-eye
Pan-seared Salmon
Herb-crusted Rack of Lamb
Desserts
Sorcerer Mickey “Fantasmic!” Dessert, with milk chocolate mousse, bananas foster sauce, milk chocolate pound cake and a chocolate glaze
Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlèe with fresh berries
8-Layer Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
River Belle Terrace “Fantasmic!” Dining Package will include choice of starter, entrée, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage; cost is $45 for adults, $25 for children age 3-9. Starters
Corn Chowder
House Salad
Entrees
Pork Spare Ribs
BBQ Tofu
Oven-roasted Sausage Link Combo
Sustainable Catch of the Day
Oven-roasted Half BBQ Chicken
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Pulled Pork Sandwich
Beef Brisket Sandwich
Desserts
Maleficent Dragon “Fantasmic!” Dessert, with a milk chocolate crunchy base, spiced dark chocolate-blackberry ganache center, caramel mousse and orange-vanilla sauce
Strawberry Shortcake
Butterscotch Pudding
Hungry Bear Restaurant will offer choice of entrée and natural soda; choice of entrée and bottled water, juice box or milk for children age 3-9; cost is $29.99 for adults, $19.99 for children.
Cedar Salt Roasted Salmon, with kale and garbanzo bean salad, cranberry-apricot grains and wild rice medley
BBQ Chicken, with kale and garbanzo bean salad, cranberry-apricot grains and wild rice medley
Blackberry BBQ Pork Ribblettes, with kale and garbanzo bean salad, cranberry-apricot grains and wild rice medley
Mushroom and Leek Frittata, with kale and garbanzo bean salad, cranberry-apricot grains and wild rice medley
To make reservations for a “Fantasmic!” Dining Package or to learn more about our premium dining options, visit Disneyland.com or call 714-781-DINE. Stay tuned to the Disney Parks Blog for more “Fantasmic!” fun.
There’s a new chapter in the storied history of the Disneyland Resort horses — the “Happiest Horses on Earth” have a new home! This 5.5-acre ranch includes a spacious barn, outdoor arena, round training pens and large turnout areas where the horses can play. In the video below, join Circle D Stage Manager Jennifer Gable on a virtual tour of this equine oasis and meet some of its residents.
For all the grim, artfully arranged violence that surrounds them, Trent Reznor’s lyrics have always contained a hefty dose of truth. (“Love sucks.” “We all have a tendency toward self-destruction.” “I want to fuck you like an animal.”) So it’s not entirely surprising to hear Reznor—who’s gearing up to tour again, after a long stint working as an (Oscar-winning) soundtrack composer and consultant for Apple—lay out his opinions on our current president in bluntly accurate terms, i.e., “The president of the United States is a complete fucking moron.” That’s the Nine Inch Nails rocker talking to The Village Voice, as part of a much longer profile on his modern-day approach to misery. “That’s what gets me the most” Reznor added, elaborating his opinion on moron-in-chief Donald Trump. “That he’s this vulgar, grotesque dope, everything I hate in people.”
If I had this house I would probably tell this story at every party, no matter how much everyone was bored with it.
The crash was depicted in the 2004 film ‘The Aviator’
Behind the lovely Spanish Colonial Revival exterior of this five-bedroom Beverly Hills residence, lies a modern, marble-clad luxury interior. It has been updated thoroughly, with a shiny new kitchen full of stainless steel appliances, a fantastic hand-painted ceiling in the living room, a statement fireplace with original details, and a heavy-handed application of white marble in the entryway, where a staircase sweeps up to the second floor.
On July 7, 1946, according to the aviation history site Check Six, Hughes was flying his XF-11 airplane but ran into complications. He wanted to make an emergency landing at the Los Angeles County Club, but he didn’t quite make it.
He crashed into the garage and the bedroom of the house while its owners, actress Rosemary DeCamp and her husband John Staler, were both at home. (Hughes also hit another house on Whittier Drive during the landing.)
The crash was depicted in the 2004 film The Aviator:
Just passing the two-year anniversary of self-proclaimed “transracial” woman Rachel Dolezal being outed as a white person in blackface, it’s only completely rational that another white woman come along and try to outdo her. And holy shit, outdone her she has.
According to the Root, a white German “model” by the name of Martina Adam has how taken the crown for most offensive blackface portrayal in modern history.
Adam, known as “Martina Big” for allegedly possessing the largest breast implants in Europe and for her appearances in Botched, claims she’s well on her way to becoming a “black girl” now that she’s undergone a series of “tanning injections” to darken her skin, and has somehow convinced an “African” hairdresser to give her black, textured hair.
In her latest post regarding the offensive transition, Adam says she’ll be undergoing consultation for a butt “enlargement” and for “African facial features.”
I have great news :)I had done the next step in my transformation to a black woman :)Yesterday I was with an African…
Despite arguments previously made by Dolezal (that would almost expectedly be parroted by Adams, too) that she’s “transracial,” there is no psychological proof that black and white Americans are different neurologically (yes, Adams is German, but the argument stands). In no way are the experiences of these white women linked to those of transgender people, who really do experience their gender identity on a neurological level.
Additionally, Dolezal has attempted to bolster her argument that being “transracial” is a thing by claiming that mixed-race women have spoken to her about the frustration they face in identifying as two or more races. Which, yes, is a complete and total thing, especially when it comes to facing colorism or being a white-passing person of color. But Dolezal, much like Adams, is white, and only white, and doesn’t know what it’s like to move through the world as even a white-passing woman of color.
Maybe Dolezal will help Adams out when it comes to picking out her “authentic African” name. The rest of the world surely doesn’t want to be bothered with this mess.
A Los Angeles woman is suspected of drugging and robbing multiple men after meeting them at nightlife venues across Los Angeles, reports LAist. According to the LAPD, the suspect met two men on March 5 at The Argyle club in Hollywood before returning to their residence in Studio City. Detective Joseph Hampton stated that she “singled out some affluent, single men who were wearing high-end luxury watches,” then allegedly mixed an unknown substance into their drink to drug and incapacitate them.
CBS reports that the woman took off with $200,000 worth of jewelry and cash, including three expensive watches and a bracelet. After waking up and contacting police, the two victims found two dissolved pills in their drinking glasses.
Police are seeking help in identifying the woman. She is reportedly around 20 years old, five foot six, and 120 pounds, and is suspected of four other similar crimes in West LA and Beverly Hills. Have information? Please call the LAPD's North Hollywood burglary detectives at 818-754-8377.
Built in 1894, it’s the longtime home of radio DJ Jed the Fish
This exquisite Queen Anne-style home in Pasadena appears to be in great shape more than 120 years after its construction.
According to a thorough history of the house compiled by researcher Tim Gregory, it was built by investor Charles Foster (not that Charles Foster) in 1894 and was later home to wealthy railroad executive Louis Blankenhorn and his wife, Lillian.
Most recently, the 3,017-square-foot residence has been home to longtime rock radio disc jockey Jed “The Fish” Gould, which explains the large soundproofed music studio next to the two-car garage.
Fronted by a large front lawn, the colorful house features bay windows, peaked gables, a wraparound front porch, and a tall turret topped by a shingled dome. Interior features include hardwood floors, a sturdy master stairwell, built-in shelving, and original brass fixtures.
The home includes two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, with several common spaces and a small street-facing balcony on the second level.
The backyard is landscaped with pathways and gardens centered around several unusual mosaic sculptures that light up, per the listing.
The home was last purchased in 1994 for just $425,000. It’s now asking $2.3 million.
This is the building I always tweet about on my way home from work. The best part was for a full day they had barriers so no one could actually take pictures anymore. I'm convinced no one has ever bought anything at that store.
The rainbow will be up until June 11
One of Los Angeles’s most Instagrammable backdrops—the flamingo pink wall of the Paul Smith store in West Hollywood—is even more colorful now for Pride. Painters quickly transformed the wall next to the store’s parking lot into a giant rainbow, as part of a celebration.
The new look is courtesy of Instagram, which is launching a series of murals internationally to mark Pride 2017.
This year’s huge Pride festival in West Hollywood takes place June 10-11 and will be replaced with a protest march, instead of the traditional parade.
The now rainbow-bedecked wall has only been up since Wednesday, says Los AngelesMagazine, but has already spawned many vibrant selfies and portraits, including one with Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The multi-colored mural will be up from now until June 11, the day of the march and the end of the Pride festival in Los Angeles.
There seems to be a Howlin’ Ray’s ripoff restaurant preparing to make its debut soon, all the way out in Australia. Not only is the red-lettered eatery with the modern chicken logo preparing Nashville-style hot chicken, they’ve taken the name Howlin’ Jay’s.
Yep, Howlin’ Jay’s.
As if the rhyming name weren’t enough of a tell, you can see the similarities across the spectrum between the two brands. While the uber-popular Chinatown shop Howlin’ Ray’s has modified their logo and font over time, check the text in the back of this photo:
Of course, there’s nothing illegal about a different restaurant in Queensland, Australia serving their own version of Nashville hot chicken. Heck, the Dave’s Hot Chicken team in Thai Town offers a unique late night version themselves right here in Los Angeles, and were long fans of owners Johnny Ray and Amanda Zone before starting their street operation.
Howlin’ Jay’s seems to be the work of one man named James Burman, who also seems to own a spot called Jimmy’s Burger & Co. in the city of Cairns. Eater reached out to him on multiple fronts to ask about the similarities, but so far hasn’t heard back. The Zones don’t want to say much about it either, as they seem content to keep serving hours-long lines in Chinatown instead.
Plus a Frogtown closure and a Valley opening that involves tacos
Is Umami’s new Impossible burger actually vegan?
Apparently some vegans are running into issues when ordering the new Impossible Burger being rolled out across Umami Burgers in Los Angeles. The problem: They may think they’re getting a vegan burger, but that’s not actually the case.
Despite the patty itself being vegan, some meatless bloggers have reportedly run into issues because the bun, sauce, and parts of the finishing process are decidedly not so. Eater reached out to Umami to confirm, though regardless it is worth noting that the Impossible Burger team isn’t focused on making a fully vegan burger (bun and all), but instead catering to regular meat-eaters with a more sustainable and similar alternative. There was some apparent confusion when vegan bloggers got served Impossible Burgers with cheese on them at a recent event in Los Angeles, but Umami says only a handful of those in attendance even wanted their burgers made that way.
Here’s what Umami has to say:
The Impossible Burger patty was created entirely from plants making it vegan, yes, but it’s intent is for people who love meat, not vegans. It's a delicious option with sustainability benefits – using 95% less land, 74% less water and creates 87% less greenhouse gas emissions, while being 100% free of hormones, antibiotics, and artificial ingredients. While their standard preparation isn't vegetarian or vegan, it's easy to order it that way. We’d like to note, Umami Burger has never claimed that the Impossible Burger would be vegan, just the patty as created by Impossible Foods, is vegan.
Immigrant dinners
Momed in Atwater Village is making its own mark as a place for immigrants to come share their stories and feed people. As LA Times notes, the tucked-away eatery is doing a series of thoughtful dinners aimed at highlighting America’s immigrant issues.
Cascabel Taco Shop is live
Looks like an official opening this week for Cascabel Taco Shop in the Valley. The casual offshoot is now doing lunch right off Riverside Drive.
Tacolandia’s full reveal
The final, full lineup for this year’s Tacolandia party is live. The annual event lands this year on June 17, and includes some of the best and biggest names making tacos here and elsewhere, from All Flavor No Grease to the famed Zamora Bros.
Paella on the patio
Saturdays are about to get more interesting thanks to La Carmencita on Highland. The seafood-focused West Hollywood-adjacent space is starting their brunch this weekend, including an ongoing paella project that gets cooked off right on the patio.
Talking about tipping
Caroline Styne of the Lucques Group talks all things tipping, service charges, and back of house staffing in this new interview with the LA Times. It’s an interesting insider’s look at just how hard it still is to run a restaurant, even one as successful as the 19-year-old Lucques.
Elysian has closed
The quiet Elysian restaurant in Frogtown has closed for dinner, some six years after starting as a pop-up and occasional restaurant space. They leave behind the below note on social media, on their website.
Turmeric cocktails, cashew cheese, and great vibes
Beverly Hills’ recent restaurant explosion continues with the imminent opening of Gratitude, a plant-based vegan temple from the Café Gratitude family. If they don’t hit any snags, the first day of service at the sunny indoor-outdoor space in the Golden Triangle will be May 24.
Much like the Newport Beach original version of this spinoff concept, expect organic produce and dairy-free fare from executive chef Dreux Ellis. The menu will actually overlap quite a bit with the even more casual Café Gratitude, with options for everything from kelp noodles to a full line of cocktails under beverage director Jason Eisner. That means after a hard day of shopping nearby, guests will be able to tuck into a patio seat for a turmeric mule made with alkaline vodka, ginger beer, and (you guessed it) turmeric that they process in-house.
One of the more gorgeous new restaurants slated to open this spring, Gratitude should add further weight to the Beverly Hills dining scene. Long a somewhat staid area for hotel restaurants, tourist traps, and the upscale gems like Spago, Maude, and Cut, the city-within-a-city has in recent years begun a campaign to draw in new life. Sushi Park is reportedly building out the basement of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Jean-Georges is only a month or so away from opening inside the ritzy Waldorf Astoria, and even Rafael Nadal and Gabriel Iglesias are getting in on the action — all while places like Citizen and Ladurée churn through crowds nightly on their own.
The estate was the location of a mega-fight on the epic TV drama
WA stunning villa whose lily pond was once used for an infamous catfight scene in the 1980s drama Dynasty has hit the market looking well-preserved and glamorous—just like those ladies on the TV show. The Hollywood Reporter says the residence is listed for $28 million.
The estate, known as the Arden Villa, dates back much further than the 1980s. Built in 1913 for railroad and mining mogul William Kennon Jewett and his second wife, the house was designed by Marston and Van Pelt, a Pasadena-based firm that designed a number of lovely mansions in the area.
The main residence is spread across 13,000 square feet, and it still looks very much like a residence built for a Gilded Age railroad baron. There are herringbone wood floors in many rooms, a wealth of elaborate molding, seven fireplaces, and a dramatic staircase at the entrance.
The master suite includes a private sitting room and “dual spa style lavatories,” which reminds us of the old Saturday Night Live sketch called “The Lover’s Toilet.”
In all, the property measures about 3 acres, with gardens, a tennis court, a pool, a second residence with its own pool, and a driveway leading to the house that’s lined with 100 trees.
And for all the Dynasty fans out there who are wondering, yes, the lily pond where that famed fight scene between Krystle (Linda Evans) and Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins) “is still intact,” says the Reporter.
The trains are set to start running again this summer
Editor's Note: This post was originally published on May 11, 2017 and has been updated with the most recent information.
Like the swallows return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, the goats returned to Angels Flight this week.
As the tradition goes, the goats are brought to chomp away at old brush, weeds, and anything that might be flammable in the area underneath the Angels Flight Railway, the iconic funicular that runs up and down Bunker Hill, between Hill and Olive.
In past years, the goats have also visited the hilly Angel’s Knoll park, right alongside Angels Flight. But that was not the case this year, says George Gonzales of Ranchito Tivo Boer Goats, the Chino-based company supplying the animals.
This year, the adorable goats are on Bunker Hill specifically to clean up Angels Flight in preparation for its scheduled reopening this summer.
The funicular has been out of service since 2013—but is set to get back up and running by Labor Day.
Gonzales says his company donated the service to Angels Flight Railway Foundation, the nonprofit that owns the landmark. The cars will be repainted and an emergency walkway will be added to the funicular before its reopening.
The tradition of using goats to do Angel’s Knoll brush clearance dates to 2008. Back then, the Los Angeles Times explained, “It only takes about a week for the goats to clear the knoll, and at no extra charge they fertilize the land naturally.”
The job is tailor-made for goats, who will famously eat anything, and can easily handle the sometimes steep terrain in the area around and beneath the railway.
Gonzales says that he had 26 goats working on the Angel’s Flight site since Monday. Today is their last day in Downtown.
See some of our favorite photos of the cute goats at work:
How can she resist saying "These people are terrible" every episode.
If you've ever sat down to watch an episode (or 47) of HGTV's House Hunters, then you've heard the voice of Andromeda Dunker. BuzzFeed chatted with the actor in her first extensive interview.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9291943/37084026876_e0eb8fb537_k.jpg)
Courtesy of Sterling Davis/Curbed LA flickr pool
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8829263/10.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8829267/12.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8829339/21.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8829343/26.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8829349/38.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8829353/1.jpg)
(1) The before-comparison videoWith firmness test, weighing of my breasts,…
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8654869/Screen_Shot_2017_06_08_at_1.25.58_PM.png)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615027/egpimaging_346Markham_010_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615047/egpimaging_346Markham_016_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615069/egpimaging_346Markham_013_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615081/egpimaging_346Markham_008_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615091/egpimaging_346Markham_039_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615109/egpimaging_346Markham_037_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8615119/egpimaging_346Markham_047_HIGHRES.jpg)
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8529757/1145_Arden_Rd_Pasadena_CA_large_019_52_Dining_Room_1499x1000_72dpi.jpg)
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8529753/1145_Arden_Rd_Pasadena_CA_large_011_69_Entryway_1499x1000_72dpi.jpg)
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8529765/1145_Arden_Rd_Pasadena_CA_large_057_26_Back_Yard_1499x1000_72dpi.jpg)
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8529775/1145_Arden_Rd_Pasadena_CA_large_065_27_Back_Yard_1499x1000_72dpi.jpg)
