GAME ON! AT PARAMOUNT TOGETHER, LET’S BEAT CANCER TERI SHOUSTAL, LEFT, AND SONDI TOLL SEPENUK WITH THE SUPER MARIO BROTHERS ON THE BACK LOT. Page 4
In the May 2022 edition of this paper, I wrote a column about the many houses of Windsor Square (mine included) which had been moved to the neighborhood from elsewhere. Moving houses and buildings has been part of L.A.’s DNA throughout its history, with storied firms such as the Kress House Moving Company performing seemingly miraculous feats of engineering. While rare today, this time-honored method of thrift and preservation has now been resurrected to assist in the rebuilding of Altadena by replacing lost historic homes with other historic homes moved to the site.
The Historic House Relocation Project is a charitable initiative launched by the adaptive reuse architectural firm Omgivning (Swedish for “ambience”). The firm’s
On Preservation by Brian Curran
creative director, Morgan Sykes Jaybush, was inspired earlier this year when looking through demo notices of old buildings. The firm now connects interested homebuyers with properties set to be demolished and assists with permits, relocation and contracting.
The first two houses chosen for the project were a 1911 Craftsman on Taft Avenue in Hollywood and the second house a 1910 Craftsman on Saint George Street in Los Feliz—the latter of which coincidentally had been moved once before! The house from Los Feliz began its journey early last month to become the new old home of Jacques Laramee and Gwen Sukeena of Altadena. To prepare for the move, the second story was dismantled and stored on the ground floor. That floor was then divided into sections and placed onto flatbed trucks. The sections began to arrive in Altadena on Aug. 5.
Houses such as the one on Taft can often be purchased for as low as $1, with relocation, a new foundation, reassembly and connection
to plumbing, gas and electric coming in at over $500,000, depending on size. Further upgrades and renovation add to the cost. It is estimated, however, that relocating and restoring a house costs about a third of the average cost of building a new home. An added bonus is that the process typically takes nine to 12 months as opposed to a three-year timeline for a new build. It is hoped that this is an attractive option for many who lost a home in the Eaton Fire and are looking to return. Omgivning has already located around 80 candidate properties for relocation and many willing buyers.
Landmark winners
Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society named its 2025 Landmark Award winners.
The Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society held its annual meeting Aug. 3 at the historic Gilmore Adobe. As chair of the Landmarks Committee, I was given the honor of handing out this year’s awards to three very special properties.
616 S. Windsor Blvd. was originally part of a larger estate that included the neighboring property to the north, at 606 S. Windsor Blvd.
by Raymond
Windsor was built as a three-car garage and servant’s quarters resembling a Tudor stable, complete with half-timbering. The property split in 1940, and the former garage came into its own, becoming the main residence. Over the years, it transformed from a simple service structure to a French country manor with lush landscaped gardens. The award was accepted by longtime owners Jasmine Bowers and G. Bernard Brown. 601 S. Lorraine Blvd. is a newly restored home designed by famed Los Angeles architect Paul Williams. The house was commissioned by rancher and investor William Henry Collins in 1932.
Williams designed for him a Hollywood Regency house with a French Normandy twist, which resulted in one of Williams’ favorite works, according to his daughter Karen Hudson. The award was accepted by Akilah Releford Gould, the daughter of the current owners, Deb and Bill Releford.
Clinton Manor Apartments 5184 Clinton St., a well-preserved Colonial Revival courtyard apartment complex, received the final award. Built by the Aetna Construction Company in 1940, it was designed by engineer Joseph J. Rees. Its most notable residents were Ruth and Elliot Handler, who after
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By Nona Sue Friedman
The historic Gilmore Adobe, secretly nestled between the Grove and the Original Farmers Market, is where the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society (WSHPHS) hosted its Summer Fiesta and 49th annual meeting. More than 100 people from across the city attended the event on Aug. 3 in the garden of this 1852 structure.
Mariachi music greeted attendees, and tables were colorfully decorated in the cool and quiet yard of the adobe. “We’ve never had permission to enter the gates of this adobe and now we’re here,” commented members Ryan and Elsi Kaiser, formerly of North Gower Street and now living in Culver City. Volunteers wandered the grounds selling raffle tickets like strolling minstrels.
The event was more of a festive party than a meeting. Tacos and margaritas abounded as Brian Curran, of Windsor Square, a Chronicle columnist and one of the vice presidents of WSHPHS, announced three recipients of the organization’s Landmark Award. This award recognizes sites for their historical
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS of WSHPHS and co-founder of the Larchmont Chronicle Jane Gilman (right) with WSHPHS Treasurer Barbara Coad of Ridgewood-Wilton.
or cultural significance. Two homes—one located at 601 Lorraine Blvd. and the other at 616 S. Windsor Blvd.— were honored, as were the Clinton Manor Courtyard apartments at 5134 Clinton St. WSHPHS proposes to collect and preserve the rich history of the area. They organize numerous events throughout the year, including their annual Garden Tour. Currently they have 500 individual members and 300 family members, and more
are always welcome.
Cilgia Halprin, of South June Street, has been a WSHPHS member for over 40 years. When she first moved into her home, she got a flyer in her mailbox that said “If you love history, come on over [to this meeting].” She went to her first WSHPHS gathering and has been involved ever since.
To become a member, visit windsorsquarehancockpark. org. The cost is $65 annually for a couple or family.
Let the games begin! More than 4,000 supporters packed the Paramount Studios Hollywood back lot July 19 to raise funds and awareness for the Concern Foundation for Cancer Research. The lively game-themed night had food, music and fun for children and adults alike.
The 50th anniversary block party, Game On! Together Let’s Beat Cancer, included over 90 well-known restaurants, wineries, breweries, dessert makers and more. Top-of-the-line eateries included Nobu Malibu, Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Pink’s Hot Dogs, A.O.C., Bertha Mae’s Brownie Co., Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Caffe Luxxe.
It was almost a shame that there were so many choices because I couldn’t possibly try them all, much to my great and forever disappointment!
Standout beverage options included Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop, Duvel, Buzzbar, Milagro Tequila, Empress 1908 Gin and Common Space Brewery. (No, I didn’t get to try all of those, either, in case you’re wondering.)
The evening paid tribute to community philanthropists Lisi and Steve Teller, as well as Special Lifetime Achievement Honoree Alexandra M. Levine, a professor of hematology and chief medical officer emerita at City of Hope, who Steve Teller recognized as someone who “has helped make medicine not only a science, but an art.”
The block party experience gave guests the opportunity to play on a Twister board or choose other interactive games such as Jenga and Chutes & Ladders. Others chose to get some retro bowling under their belts, participate in a game show and dance the night away to the tunes of the Tom Nolan
Band, D’ City Sound & Events and the Jason Goldstein Sextet on separate stages throughout the back lot.
But that’s not all! As if the games and food and drink weren’t enough, the event also offered Beauty Bus Foundation glam makeovers, spa services by Fairmont Spa Century Plaza and a digital photo studio by Brian Kramer Photography. As the night and music progressed, guests made their way to an outdoor casino, where dozens of gaming tables, along with
beautiful bow-tied dealers, stood in for Las Vegas itself.
Supporters “gambled” the night away with free starter chips, collecting raffle tickets in hopes of winning big prizes at night’s end.
The fun and merriment paid off when the foundation revealed that the evening raised over $2.5 million during a time when cancer research funds are under assault and needed now more than ever.
And now you’re in the Larchmont know!
By Julia Guillen
Renowned Mexican-American muralist Robert Vargas painted a mural last month in honor of Project Angel Food on the exterior of the organization’s three-story Vine Street headquarters.
The nonprofit provides free meals for people impacted by serious illness. It recently began a $51.5 million project to double its facility size and triple its meal production capacity. Vargas’ mural is the commemoration of this expansion.
The mural was scheduled to be unveiled August 27.
“Robert’s art rises from the heart of Los Angeles and speaks directly to the soul of our mission,” said Project Angel Food CEO Richard Ayoub.
The central figure of a woman in the mural holds a basket of fruit and vegetables in tribute to the service that Project Angel Food provides.
“She looks like someone from the community. Someone that could just be walking right off the street,” Vargas said. “She holds a basket of everything that nourishes the body…which is everything that Project
Angel Food does.”
He worked alongside friend and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. “[Vargas] embodies the community in all of his art,” Horvath said.
Other Vargas works include his mural in Dodger Stadium, completed in July and entitled “Heritage and Heroism”. It commemorates Mexican baseball pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. Nicknamed “El Toro” for his powerful pitch and strong spirit, Valenzuela was the first rookie to start Opening Day for the Dodgers in 1981. He was an instant media icon who later passed away due to septic shock in 2024.
Also in commemoration of Valenzuela is the ten-minute play “Fernandomania,” which will be performed at the Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater, 2102 E. First St. The play will be shown on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and on Sundays at 3 p.m. for four weeks, ending Sun., Sept. 21.
To get involved with Project Angel Food, visit angelfood.org/donations.
Julia Guillen is a rising senior at Marlborough School.
By Helene Seifer
The Ebell of Los Angeles’ barbecue, a popular annual tradition, adopted a carnival theme this year. Held in the Ebell garden Aug. 8, cotton candy-topped margaritas, corn dogs and giant turkey legs joined the more traditional barbecue fare of succulent ribs, barbecued chicken, brisket sliders and grilled corn. The feast was served buffet-style in the art salon, one of the first art galleries to open in Los Angeles. Dessert in the garden included candy and caramel apples, ice cream, funnel cakes and soft pretzels. Colorful circus balls decorated the tables while string lights
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By Suzan Filipek
Activist Sister Judy Vaughan celebrated her 80th birthday Aug. 9 with about 150 friends and neighbors at Serrano House—a healing-focused community for homeless women and children and the people who serve them.
“It’s exciting, but also a little premature,” said spokesperson Pam Hope.
It’s a bit early to celebrate Serrano House, because the two-story, $2.7 million white house with blue shutters is in a 90-day escrow. A major fundraising campaign is underway to finalize the purchase.
The 4,100-square foot home on Serrano Avenue is in a 90-day escrow. Vaughan is optimistic the money will be raised in time to close the
deal.
Luck has been on the nun’s side before. She founded Alexandria House, a transitional home for women and their children and has managed it for close to 30 years largely on prayers and private donations. A few years ago, she raised enough money to open permanent supportive housing nearby in what’s known as the Kenmore Building.
Vaughan’s third project, Serrano Home, will serve women and children experiencing homelessness and the frontline workers who support them. The house has eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms and is on a quiet, tree-lined street within walking distance of markets, schools and public transit. It
is close to community partners including Southern Calif. Counseling Center and Housing Works.
Parts of the house were designed by UC Berkeley Ph.D.’s in architecture.
For more information on volunteer opportunities and how to help financially, call Sr. Judy Vaughan at 213-4457168.
Donations for Serrano House also be made to Community Collaborative, a tax exempt, 501 ©(3) organization, send checks them, at 1207 N. Bronson Ave., LA, CA 90038.
The Windsor Square Hancock Park annual home tour is on Sat., Sept. 27 from noon to 4 p.m.
The docent-led tour will feature homes on Rossmore Avenue in Hancock Park, Tremaine Avenue in Brookside and Lorraine Boulevard in Windsor Square.
Ticket purchase and will call will be at 355 S. Windsor Blvd. or online at windsorsquarehancockpark.com.
Food, refreshments and a raffle are included in the ticket price. Tickets are $65 for members and $85 for nonmembers.
Visit windsorsquarehancockpark.com.
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sparkled above.
Janna Harris, secretary of the Ebell board of directors, welcomed the 150 Ebell members and friends who attended the festivities. In addition to lively conversations and delectable food and drink, many participated in line dancing led by Francisco Martinez, who also will be conducting line dancing and salsa classes at the Ebell this fall.
Godfather of Harlem: Taking on the Genovese crime family in New York City in the ‘60’s? Sounds like a dangerous proposition, and for Forest Whitaker as the lead, it provides a fraught backdrop to showcase his exploits. You can binge all four seasons on MGM+ and be entertained with the various exploits.
Malcolm X (played by Nigél Thatch and replaced by Jason Alan Carvell) getting involved feels very real, although the show is fictionalized. Godfather of Harlem often gets overlooked, but deserves a binge watch to get invested in the characters and what they have to do to rise to the top.
Eddington: Joaquin Phoenix stars in this neo-Western comedy that pokes fun at the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ll find yourself laughing at some things that were very serious not too long ago.
What
by A.R. Johnstone
Written and directed by Ari Aster of “Midsommar” fame, he has assembled here a stellar cast. Emma Stone has a smaller role but it is memorable. Pedro Pascal is perfect for his role as the mayor. Luke Grimes, from “Yellowstone,” has a smaller role but plays it big. There are twists and turns that will have you gasp. You won’t know who to root for, and you will definitely talk about this film when it’s over. If you can catch it in theaters, do so. It will be coming to HBO Max, or you can rent it on YouTube.
Songs for Littles: YouTuber Rachel Griffin Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel to children worldwide, has been crowned the “Mister Rogers
for the new generation” by The Washington Post. Her programming is nurturing and educational, and she approaches social issues with an open heart, always thinking of the children first. This one is for our younger school-age children.
Penguin Lessons: Based on a 2016 memoir, this comedy/ drama tells of a disgruntled English professor who moves to Buenos Aires to teach at a boys’ school at the dawn of a
military coup in the 1970s. To get away, he travels briefly to Uruguay, where he hopes to get laid, but instead inadvertently rescues a penguin from an oil spill. The pair make their way back to Argentina, where lessons are taught, rules are broken and a few tears are shed along the way. Netflix.
Billy Joel: And So It Goes: This two-part documentary is a revealing look into the music business, from the
1970s to today amid the backdrop of Billy Joel, once child prodigy who could replay a classical concert by ear. But rock ‘n’ roll and pop tunes composed and performed by the “Piano Man” take center stage here. Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Jackson Browne make cameos, and we learn of Joel’s marriages and divorces, plus hear family stories, one of which reaches back to the Holocaust. HBO Max.
What everyone will be talking about
I love when a novel completely blows me away, and Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan, did exactly that.
This book hit my radar months ago, when one of my favorite authors called it “the best book coming in 2025,” Then Barnes & Noble named it “our favorite book of the fall.” There’s a buzz around this book. Most recently, actor Tom Hanks described it as “the novel everyone will be talking about this autumn.” With a release date of Tue., Sept. 2, I have a pretty good guess who might be narrating the audiobook after that kind of praise.
this novel is absolutely for you. The author masterfully weaves together the lives of characters burdened by grief, secrets and the aching silences that shape so much of the human experience.
I’m personally drawn to emotional, sometimes dark and heartbreaking stories, and “Buckeye” delivered on every level. If you loved “Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano,
I can’t recall the last time a novel so powerfully connected two generations of Americans who served in war—one during World War II at Omaha Beach, the other when in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley. This is a story about the weight of what goes unsaid and the consequences of everything we leave undone.
The setting: May 1945. As news of the Allied victory in Europe reaches a small town in Ohio, a woman named Margaret Salt walks into a
Katie Urban
hardware store and asks the clerk, Cal Jenkins, for a radio. What happens next will change both of their lives forever. “Buckeye” is a sweeping multigenerational story following the lives of two families from the aftermath of WWII through the Vietnam era, bound together by a complicated betrayal.
Final verdict: I recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction and layered family dramas. I have no doubt this book will land on many “must-read” lists for the year.
Now, I’ll be heading straight to the library to place holds on Patrick Ryan’s entire back catalogue.
By Julia Guillen
Retroformat Silent Films works to promote silent film as a cornerstone of visual art.
To that end, the company will present the first annual Los Angeles Silent Film Festival, taking place Fri., Sept. 12, through Sun., Sept. 14.
The film festival will screen the world premiere of a new restoration of “He Who Gets Slapped” (1924), starring Lon Chaney Sr. and Norma Shearer; “Lovers in Quarantine” (1925), starring Harrison Ford (no relation to the “Indiana Jones” star) and Bebe Daniels; and “Up the Road With Sallie” (1918), staring Constance Talmadge and directed by William Desmond Taylor; among other films.
The film festival will take place at The American Cinematheque, Los Feliz Theatre 3, located at 1822 N. Vermont Ave. Visit www.americancinematheque.com
When the credits rolled on Zach Cregger’s latest horror-thriller, Weapons, I was paralyzed by contradiction— simultaneously terrified and giddy. Despite its devastating and traumatic themes, “Weapons” is wildly fun (respectfully). Think I sound sadistic? Go see it for yourself.
The premise is refreshingly simple: one night at 2:17 a.m., 17 children from the same classroom—save one—opened their front doors, ran into the darkness and vanished. What follows is a tragedy that you can’t look away from; a terror both grounded and intimate.
Nalani Ogawa
This may be due to the fact that Cregger imbued his own deeply personal experiences of loss into this work. But surprisingly, you’ll laugh almost as much you’ll twist in your seat. Cregger does have a background in sketch comedy, and the hot gossip is that Jordan Peele, the sketchcomic-turned-horror-icon behind “Get Out,” fired his managers after losing the bidding war on “Weapons.”
Are there flaws to this film?
Sure. If Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions had been at-
tached as producers, would the social commentary likely have been more profound? Definitely. But is it entertaining?
Absolutely. This is a film that will make you smile, giggle, grimace and squirm. And if you’re a parent, rest assured; it’s far more likely to give you nightmares than your kids.
If you’re not a big horror person, or you’d prefer to watch a poignant film at home, let me put my metaphorical hand on your shoulder and guide you to the indie archives.
Indie archives
This month I’ll be high-
By Helene Seifer
The historic Ebell of Los Angeles has been featured in films and television shows for over 75 years. On Sun., Sept., 14, their doors will open to the public for two guided tours exploring Ebell’s role in Hollywood history. Tours are free, but reservations are required for the 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. tours.
The 75,000-square-foot Los Angeles Historical-Cultural
Monument, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, appears in early Hollywood pictures including the 1938 film “Break of Hearts,” starring Katharine Hepburn and Charles Boyer. In it, the Ebell’s Wilshire Ebell Theatre stood in for a New York concert venue. More recently, the Ebell can be seen in such films as “Oppenheimer,” “Fight Club,” “Forrest Gump,” “The Social
Network,” “The Addams Family” and the television series “Hacks.” Others are: “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Drunk History” and “The Gilmore Girls.” It starred as itself, playing the location of a Cedars-Sinai Hospital fundraiser in the recent hit “The Studio,” starring Seth Rogan. Fascinating Hollywood history will be recounted as guests are led through the
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lighting Good One, India Donaldson’s thoughtful debut that was released in August 2024 after premiering at Sundance. It follows 17-year-old Sam on a backpacking trip in the Catskills with her father and his ill-prepared best friend after the friend’s son bails due to growing tensions over his parents’ divorce. As the trip progresses, the men lose their patience with one another, forcing Sam to mediate.
In the isolation of the woods, that role doesn’t grant her power but instead edges her toward harm. Trepidation feeds the moss and mountains, and the vast landscape
taunts a freedom that does not yet exist for a young girl on the brink of adulthood.
The performances by James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy and especially Lily Colias are deeply humane and refined. Donaldson’s directing is inspired; she captures the helpless circumstances bright young women face and endure while humanizing the mistakes we all make and the way we betray ourselves, especially as we age. I’d recommend watching this film on a hot, languid day when you’re in the mood for some friendly catharsis. It’s tender, it’s raw and it’s 90 minutes well spent.
By H. Hutcheson
This October Laurie Sefton’s dance company, Laurie Sefton Creates, will debut a new piece called “How We Wear Our Art” at LA Dance Project. A collaborative project, Sefton’s multidisciplinary performance work explores the ultimate power of art within the intersection of body tattooing, live music, fashion, film, visual art, sculpture and dance. “I like to mix up my process when I create. Sometimes I start with the music and set movement to only one instrument I single out. Other times I start with the movement and then work with the composer,” Sefton said. It could be a costume or even an observation about the world that inspires her.
“There is an intersection of ideas here—I’m finding it,” said Sefton.
Sefton said “How We Wear Our Art” was inspired by how we, as people, “walk around the world expressing our own art. For some people it’s fashion, for some people it’s makeup, for some people it’s body art or something they carry with them.”
She is a collaborator at heart and invites other artists to partner on her projects. One is Andy Bright, whom she met while choreographing the animal sections for “Onward,” a stage performance featuring Isabella Rossellini’s “Green Porno” films at New Jersey’s ArtYard. Recently Bright has been at rehearsals for Sefton’s upcoming project with a giant limb sculpture he has created out of paper. Yes, as in human limb. The sculpture will expand as dancers interact with it. Two original films by Mikey Higgins will be projected featuring tattoo artist Reiley Johnson
inking art onto a real limb. “I’ve got great dancers, and my costumer, Sophie Isabella Popham, from Canada, has knit the pieces. They look amazing.” The score, a 40-minute original piece by composer Bryan Curt Kostors, will be performed live.
Sefton, of Brookside, grew up here in Los Angeles. She trained in dance in the San Fernando Valley with Rozanne Zimmerman, going on to study the art form at UCLA.
Sefton has the pulse of the dance world. When asked what she thought about the dance scene in L.A., she replied, “Los Angeles has over 350 working dance companies. There are new companies popping up every day. It’s not just contemporary, not just ballet—we have every culturally specific form of dance in existence. We have folklórico, Korean dance; we have stuff from the Balkans— you name it. We have it all here. We have world-class ballet dancers taking open class and culturally specific performers, teachers and choreographers that are masters, like Barack Marshall.”
Sefton heard about the recent passing of Glorya
MYTHOLOGY OF SELF” with dancers (from left) Emily Krenik, Nicholas Sipes, Alisa Carerras, Mizuki Sako and Sidney Scully.
Kaufman while rehearsing for this show at the Vista Del Mar Center named after the dance and arts champion. “I met
her at that space. Her work touched so many dancers in ways they don’t even know.”
Sefton’s hope is to have enough success with this showing that she can run it for two weeks during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in L.A.
“How We Wear Our Art” will be performed Fri., Oct. 17, and Sun., Oct. 18, at 8 p.m., at the L.A. Dance Project, 2245 E. Washington Blvd.
For more information, contact info@clairobscurdance. Tickets are available for purchase at tinyurl.com/ ev7zwywe.
While the Wilshire Country Club undergoes renovations, the Rancho Park Golf Course is open and about a 20minute drive away.
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experimenting with plastics went on to found the plastics and toy manufacturer Mattel in 1945. The award was accepted by Joanna Hinksman, a resident of the complex and co-founder of the Clinton Manor Coalition, which led the effort to get the complex designated by the city.
The Rancho Park Golf Course has 18 holes and hosts over 100,000 rounds annually. A new vision is being explored for the site—the city seeks proposals to design and operate a full-service restaurant and bar inside a 6,000-square foot space. The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks will overlook the construction and cover the build costs up to $4 million. The golf course is at 10460 W. Pico Blvd. Visit golf.lacity.gov.
I love a restaurant that feels as though I entered a friend’s warm home. Lucia , however, is not that restaurant. It’s more exciting.
After checking in at the hostess stand at the Caribbean-inspired eatery, a door is swung open with maximum dramatic effect to reveal a stunning interior, with enormous sculptural, petal-like elements rising behind the bar and personal Hollywood Bowl-esque canopies
HOLLYWOOD BOWL-ESQUE canopies invite diners.
RESTAURANT & COCKTAILS
On the Menu
by Helene Seifer
around each table along one wall, upholstered half-circle booths along another and a soaring wood bow truss ceiling above it all. Despite décor worthy of Architecture Digest magazine, however, one feels welcomed, not intimidated. Everyone, from the hosts to the waitstaff, are just the right amount of friendly and efficient. The menu is a balance of comforting and unusual and the background music is real music, not that dreadful ambient techno or chill house music played in so many of the Instagram-ready establishments around town. The attention-grabbing design ends up feeling warm and inviting in an Art Deco-meets-city-of-tomorrow kind of way. It has a grownup, vibrant atmosphere. The food is vibrant, as well.
Restaurateur Sam Jordan sampled a multitude of dishes on nearly every Caribbean island before opening Lucia, hiring Chef Adam Forte to helm. Forte is no stranger to Caribbean cuisine, having grown up in Kingston, Jamaica. He proved his chops as a Top Chef Canada semifinalist. Forte brings a
Lunch & Dinner Every Day of the Year
Restaurant Hours: Mon.- urs. noon to midnight Fri.-Sat.-Sun. noon to 1:00 a.m.
Bar open till 1:00 a.m. Mon.- urs. ~ 1:30 a.m. Fri. & Sat.
3357 Wilshire Blvd. • 213-385-7275 • thehmsbounty.com
sophisticated approach to island flavors.
Cocktails embrace the theme, featuring such Caribbean ingredients such as taro, jerk spiced agave and Caribbean coconut. My husband’s drink, a mezcal-based riff on a Tom Collins, was made with tamarind, cinnamon, chili and Jamaican lager. I ordered a California Pinot Noir from their well-curated wine list.
Plates are meant to be shared, as is the style in most restaurants these days. We started with salt fish and fig croquettes. Four crispy balls filled with a mixture of the fish and fruit were served with a spicy cheese dipping sauce. We loved the contrast between the exterior crunch and soft interior. It was delicious. Another starter, pepper shrimp toast, was similar to the Chinese version with shrimp paste sandwiched between flavorful fried bread. Two small, four-inch pieces were topped with dabs of chado beni aioli, made from culantro, a leafy green similar to cilantro.
Nearly every table had plates heaping with coconut fried chicken or oxtail pepper pot, but our helpful server, Lian, recommended the snapper. The gener-
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SOLD: This home at 204 S. Plymouth Blvd. in Windsor Square sold for $5.85
Single-family homes
Condominiums
Oswald Spengler, a sofa and a gun—topics for the day!
Spengler, the German philosopher, wrote his “Decline of the West” over 100 years ago. In it (to oversimplify) he posits that societies pass through two long phases: Culture and Civilization. “Culture” is the dynamic, creative phase, while “Civilization” merely “extends” what has been created. Galileo and Shakespeare are Culture; AI is Civilization. The “decline” is the “slop” (the term for low-grade content) of AI-spawned art, music and writing.
My Spenglarian angst was generated recently by two plays: Ashley Griffin’s The Opposite of Love, (Hudson Backstage through Sun., Aug. 31), and the revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Motherf**cker with the Hat, at the Odyssey, also through Sun. Aug. 31. (The asterisks are part of the title.) Both are plays about the trauma Spen-
gler’s Civilization inflicts on people. Both plays claim to be set in New York, but really take place in Spengler’s Caesarian “Megalopolis” (his neologism, not Coppola’s), the city without humanity.
Ms. Griffin wrote the play and stars as Eloise, a trustfund art history grad student who, molested as a child, apparently can’t find intimacy. She hires a male hustler (the charming Evan Strand) to instruct her in the ways of the flesh. The play’s “twist” (which takes too long to arrive), is that she is perfectly fine and just needed to get laid, while the sensitive hustler has fallen for his client. While well acted (especially by Ms. Griffin), the play feels like what a clever philosophy grad student would have submitted for her “Foucault
and Sexuality” class instead of writing her thesis. Tickets: 323-856-4249 or onstage411. com.
Mr. Guirgis’ “Hat” is the better written play, but has not aged well since its 2011 premiere. A formerly incarcerated drug dealer, Jackie, (BET TV’s “The Oval” star Lodric D. Collins) tries to go straight only to find that his AA sponsor is the “Motherf**cker with the hat” who has been ****ing his girl. Veronica’s a junkie, but she and Jackie have loved each other since eigth grade. Life is cruel, and innocent love dies hard. I can see Jackie, unemployable, taking over as Ms. Griffin’s hustler, or his AA sponsor (the very strong Alex Désert), leading a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting. “It’s Megalopolis, Jake.” Despite a strong cast and a sympathetic production, “Hat” runs too long at over two hours. Pacing
Storytelling extraordinaires will return to the stage via GrandSlam with The Moth on Mon., Sept. 29. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the event beginning at 8 p.m. at the Aratani Theatre, 244 San Pedro St., in The Japanese American and Cultural Center.
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ous meaty fillet was moist, sweet and smoky with beautifully grilled skin. It was served alongside a coconut butter sauce and a dollop of creamed callaloo, a spinach-like Caribbean green. We wanted more callaloo and will order a plate of it
The Moth is a nonprofit group that presents an unscripted, first-person storytelling competition across the United States. The Moth events are open mic storytelling competitions open across 27 cities in the United States, including Los Angeles. Ten participants are chosen at
next time. We ordered loaded rice and peas, served with hot sauce, which was a perfect starchy side.
Coconut panna cotta was a refreshing way to end dinner. Denser than the Italian version, it was surprisingly studded with shards of tasty meringue and enhanced by a mixture of chopped mango and little cubes of fruit jellies on the side.
Perhaps most surprising is that Lucia is on Fairfax Avenue in the former Black Star Burger space, just a block south of Canter’s Deli. Just a few weeks ago, the local press reported the “death” of Fairfax owing to most of the hot streetwear shops having moved out, taking with them the snaking lines of
random to tell a true story in five minutes. Storytellers are scored based on the content of their stories and their storytelling abilities. After 10 StorySLAMS, the 10 winners proceed to The Moth GrandSLAM. Visit themoth.org for more information.
customers eager for the next sneaker drop. Lucia might just be the thing to usher in a new phase of the ever-morphing street.
Lucia, 351 N. Fairfax Ave., 213-800-0048, luciala.com.
Open for dinner Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 6 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
would help, but this story of loss and redemption becomes old hat. Visit tmfwith.com.
Now for the gun and sofa. Each play, while well directed, has a problem that points to the challenge theater faces in our era of “Civilization.”
In “Opposite” there is sofa center stage. Our hustler and client discreetly (for the audience’s sake) go behind it to perform a simulated sex act.
In “Hat,” Jackie, violating parole, brings a gun to kill his “MF,” but it’s a plastic prop gun, and when they struggle the gun falls, bouncing along the floor. Am I advocating live sex acts and real guns on stage? No, but theater can’t pretend to be film or streaming TV—and shouldn’t try. We have to create events that can only occur in the theater, in purely theatrical ways, or audiences, other than our friends and family, will stop coming. Given our “Civili-
By Julia Guillen
The annual Autry Block Party will celebrate local emergency responders. The party will also feature carnival games, live music, a car show, market vendors and food trucks. A meet-and-greet to celebrate local heroes will also take place. The main purpose of the event is to thank the community members who aided those in need during the L.A. fires.
The block party will take place Sat., Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m at Autry Museum of the American West, Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way.
zation,” we must get more creative in order to survive. Coming Up: Spengler believed that the West had made a “Faustian bargain” with technology and capitalism: progress now, pay later with plastics & PFAS, or “forever chemicals.”
While Spengler had Goethe’s “Faust” in mind, David Melville and the Independent Shakespeare bring Marlowe’s Faust and his dealings with the devil to life in Griffith Park through Sun., Aug. 31. Free; indieshakes.org
Finally, if Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” is Culture, then & Juliet, at the Ahmanson through Sun., Sept. 7, is Civilization flipping the script.
This jukebox musical Broadway hit asks what would happen if Juliet got over her Romeo and just moved on. Ah, love finally comes to Megalopolis! 213-628-2772; centertheatregroup.org.
For its 40th anniversary, the Los Angeles Opera presents 10 showings of “West Side Story,” starring Gabriella Reyes as Maria and Duke Kim as Tony.
Music Director James Conlon will conduct the company premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s musical theater work.
Productions will take place from Sat., Sept. 20 through Sun., Oct. 12 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave.
Tickets start at $27.50. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit laopera.org.
By Julia Guillen
My family loves to travel, but it’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to do so. With its tiny, winding roads, thousands of years of expertly preserved history, delicious food and beautiful sites, Italy was an incredible place to visit.
Pompeii is the scene of a historic tragedy. In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted and engulfed the city in volcanic ash and pumice, killing thousands. The city disappeared in less than 48 hours. Since the beginning of its excavation in 1748, Pompeii has remained a site for discovery. About two-thirds have been uncovered, and more waits to be seen.
The Sistine Chapel is yet another impressive Italian cultural site. However, in the summer months it is horrifically overcrowded. I cannot understate this. Even if you get a guided tour, there are thousands of people surrounding you inside the chapel. Our tour was rushed, and the information we were given was often abbreviated as our guide ushered us from one room to the next. Despite this, it’s a beautiful historical landmark and I do recommend seeing it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In terms of cuisine, if you’re looking for the world’s best pasta, I recommend a dish called spaghetti alla nerano. The taste of fried zucchini mixed with Parmesan cheese
is one I could experience every day and never tire of.
But don’t just take my word for it—I found out later that this dish is also the favorite of Emmy award-winning actor Stanley Tucci!
As for pizza, head to Naples, where Neapolitan pizza was birthed and perfected. And if you’re looking for gelato? Look no frther than the nearest street corner.
Speaking of street corners: unless you are traveling with someone who knows how to drive in Europe, or else is unafraid of scratching a car when you take a turn on a street clearly made for Vespas and foot traffic, don’t drive. I’m lucky my father is Spanish and could navigate the tiny streets, but I’ll never forget the panic of having to close the sideview mirrors so we could squeeze through a tight bend.
Italy was an adventure, and I highly recommend visiting.
ACROSS 3. Main reason your kid calls from college
4. Backpack at Lycee 8. LAUSD requires Pledge of
9. School was in 53 War of the Worlds
10. _____ says
12. _____ table of chemical elements
14. Friday night lights
16. Needed for dorm showers
18. The show Glee was about this
19. History teacher in Fast Times Mr. _____
20. No. 2
DOWN
1. L.A. High mascot
2. Drop off at Pre-K
5. LAUSD doesn’t allow these 6. Red Light/Freeze, Green Light ______
7. Needed for Freshman P.E.
11. Loyola HS school newspaper
13. Time to watch Bad _____ 15. Need extra help? Get a
17. _____ team, headed to be a lawyer
ANSWERS: Please turn to page 14. Answers will also be on our online edition in early August.
By Jane Gilman
“Those girls will never make it.” That’s the prediction the two women overheard as they left Dippell real estate office and stepped back onto Larchmont Boulevard. The pair was visiting business owners on the street to garner support for a brand new neighborhood newspaper. It was a warm day as Dawne Goodwin and Jane Gilman continued on their mission to enroll advertisers in the Larchmont Chronicle.
The two women had met in 1962 at another newspaper called Industrial News, whose main audience was aerospace executives. Now, a year later, both were unemployed, Jane suggested they start their own paper. “All we need is to find a shopping center,” she told Dawne.
While living in Denver, Colorado, Jane had worked on advertising fliers that promoted shopping centers. When Dawn drove her to a shopping center called Larchmont, it was not what Jane had in mind. But, when she saw the many shops and services along the Boulevard, she decided it was worth a try.
Larchmont is one of the city’s many small neighborhoods. Its retail corridor, Larchmont Boulevard, caters to the surrounding upper-class residents who live in Hancock Park and Windsor Square. The area, about
five miles from downtown Los Angeles, drew civic officials, judges, lawyers, doctors and celebrities including Nat King Cole and Mae West. Retail stores line the Boulevard, which stretches one long block from Beverly Boulevard to First Street. The variety of businesses in 1963 included toys and record stores, banks, a shoe shop, a book store, a small Safeway and specialty food markets and the upscale
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three-story Ebell, including its garden, lounge, library, sunroom and the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, where Judy Garland was discovered in 1934 while performing on stage with her sisters.
As of this writing, tickets for the film tours are going fast. Additional specialized tours are planned and will be announced soon. Presently tours elucidating the general history of the Ebell are offered monthly. To reserve a tour or for more information, go to ebellofla.org or call 323931-1277.
Jurgensen’s, a combination food, wine and gift store.
The next stop on Jane and Dawne’s quest for advertisers was LarchMart, a grocery store, where they received a wam reception. The owner, Dan Silverman, welcomed the idea of a paper that served the neighborhood. “We have the Los Angeles Times, the Citizen News and Wilshire Press, but none of them really tell what’s going on in our area,” he told the pair. He looked at the proposed front page with its headline “Freeway Threatens Hancock Park.” Dawne showed him the advertising schedule, and he agreed to take a full page for $200.
But not every merchant was willing to gamble on these two ladies. The women needed an advertising revenue totaling $1,500 to cover the cost of printing and mailing to 10,000 residents. After a full morning of calling on potential advertisers, the two had lunch at the Boulevard’s only restaurant, Helen’s Coffee Shop.
Helen wasn’t interested in advertising either.
Over the next few days,
been the top salesperson at Industrial News, wielding a talent she first honed at age 8, while observing her father, an aluminum siding salesman in her native Chicago. Jane’s background was in journalism, having worked for Cosmopolitan Magazine in New York City and Outdoor Sportsman in Denver.
the twosome continued calling storeowners. The bank manager at Western Federal Savings was interested but needed to get approval from headquarters. The owner of Bond Cleaners patiently listened to Dawne’s sales pitch but said “no.” She continued, but he still wasn’t interested. Finally, on her third try—and after another “no”—Jane tugged on Dawne’s jacket and told her, “He said no.” She finally gave up. That didn’t deter Dawne. She had
An afternoon visit to Larchmont Pharmacy proved worthwhile. The owner, Bill Schulhof, was already mailing a four-page newsletter to 10,000 neighbors and the women encouraged Mr. Schulhof to incorporate his newsletter into their newspaper. He told them he would think it over. The next day they got an answer—yes, he would take the center two pages for $200 each. That advertising support, plus ad revenue from other advertisers, ensured the birth of the Larchmont Chronicle
Jane Gilman is the co-founder of the Larchmont Chronicle that published its first edition in September of 1963.
Deep in the halls of the Chamber of Commerce of the Italian city of Bologna sits a small wooden box holding a long, thin bar of pure gold. Viewable by appointment only, the artifact, called the “tagliatella d’oro,” measures exactly 8 millimeters (.31 inches) in width. It was submitted by the Academy of Italian Cuisine and registered with the city notary on April 16, 1972, becoming the golden standard against which all tagliatelle pasta in the world must measure. While the length and depth of an authentic tagliatella are not specified, the precise width (measured when cooked) is essential. “Any other size,” the act reads, “would make it lose its inimitable character.”
Can a pasta have personality? Some could be called stately, like the tagliatelle, of course, or the more familiar fettuccine and linguine. Others are curly, swirly and screwy—think radiatori, campanelle, strozzapreti or even good old elbow macaroni. I’m reminded of the long-adored New Yorker cartoon depicting a tube of rigatoni talking on the phone, with, we’re led to believe, another shape of pasta on the other end of the line. Rigatoni exclaims, “Fusilli, you crazy bastard! How are you?” “Inimitable character” indeed.
If one were to recreate the sketch specific to the Emilia-Romagna region (of which Bologna is the capital), the pastas on either end of the line might be the esteemed “tagliatelle,” from the italian “tagliare,” meaning “to cut,”
and its “crazy” counterpart, the irregularly-shaped bits and bobs of dough called “maltagliati”—translation: “cut poorly.”
It’s these shaping methods of the pasta-maker (called a “pastaio”) that often sway a noodle’s name. The aforementioned rigatoni, with its telltale fluted exterior, gets its name from the Italian “rigare,” meaning “to score.” The versatile cavatelli, an export of Italy’s southern regions, is individually rolled by the pastaio with a swift gesture of the thumb. This creates a rough, concave profile, hence its name, arriving from the Italian “cavare,” or “to dig out.” Other pasta names nod to those of us on the receiving end of such delicacies, like the wide, eggy ribbons of “pappardelle,” from the Tuscan dialect word “pappare,” meaning “to gobble up.”
Ziti, a pasta variety hailing from Sicily, is formed in long, narrow tubes that are then broken or cut to size when served with a slowcooked sugo alla genovese or a hearty ragù. The pasta’s Sicilian name translates literally to “grooms” or “brides,” an association owing to ziti having been the pasta of choice at weddings. The celebratory shape was served with stewed pork and cooked in large quantities, fulfilling a tradition in which the happy couple offers a heaping plate of pasta to each of their neighbors. Today, ziti
is the pasta associated with feast days in various regions in Italy, including the area of Molise, where popular belief calls for making ziti dishes on the Feast of the Epiphany to sidestep seeing the devil on your deathbed.
Back down to earth are pastas named simply for the everyday objects they were thought to resemble. Fettuccine, narrower than tagliatelle at 6.5 millimeters, is a Roman export that traces its moniker to the Italian “fetta,” meaning “slice” or “ribbon.” The thinner “spaghetti,” a steadfast companion to tomato sauce and meatballs, translates to “little strings,” from the Italian “spago,” meaning “thin string” or “twine.” The diminutive of “buco,” meaning “hole,” supplies the name for the fan-favorite pasta known as “bucatini,” notable for its tubular, drinking straw-like shape. The stuffed pockets of “tortellini” were thought to resemble little “torte,” or “pies,” and classic penne, with its ends cut at an angle, was developed in 1865 by Genoan pastaio Giovanni Battista Capurro to imitate the steel nib of a quill pen. The name of the modern cupboard staple translates to “pens” in Italian, having evolved from the Latin “penna,” meaning “quill.”
Look to a looking glass for the etymology of “capellini,” meaning “little hairs,” from the Italian “capelli.” Say “ah” and you’ll see the inspiration for the narrow, sauce-loving noodle “linguine,” a diminutive of the word “lingue,”
meaning “tongues.” Orecchiette, a small rounded and bent pasta and a Puglian point of pride, recalls yet another appendage—the “orecchio,” or “ear.”
A shape for a new era
In 2018, American food podcaster Dan Pashman set out to engineer a new pasta shape optimized to adhere well to sauce and have a distinctively toothsome bite. Three years, countless revisions and nearly $10,000 later, he debuted “cascatelli,” a curved pasta with ruffled edges, its name
arriving from the Italian word meaning “little waterfalls.”
The pasta was and remains a hit, quickly selling out its first batch of 3,700 boxes.
With a few simple tools at my disposal, my at-home forays in fresh pasta lack such deliberation—think “PlayDoh” more than “pastaio.” But with an egg, some flour and some water to bring it all together, I take my first bite and am reminded that, in the end, all pasta is perfection, and any shape—and character—will do.
By Suzan Filipek
“Semi-Public Spaces” features photos taken by Cole Harris on his many travels. His debut exhibit opening reception is on Fri., Sept. 12, from 6 to 10 p.m., at Hexi Los Angeles, 5209 Wilshire Blvd.
“Semi-Public Spaces” were places, “I found myself in that were more intimate and private... [but] as I became a part of them... allowed me to capture moments that otherwise wouldn’t exist in photo form,” he explained of his works.
Harris grew up in Brookside and attended St. James’, Millikan Middle and Campbell Hall High before graduating from Syracuse University in New York with a degree in environmental sustainability and sociology. After graduating in 2023, he found work at a resort in Dakhla, Morocco, followed by travels throughout Morocco, Spain, Thailand, Korea, Italy, the U.K. and Bosnia. The exhibit will be on display through September. Visit tinyurl.com/yc8p5jh6.
