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OPINION

Women’s History Month is here

By Ellen Snortland elcome to March, Women’s History Month. If you weren’t aware of that, don’t be surprised, as female historical achievements are nearly invisible to large population segments. Betsy Ross? Everyone knows her. Amelia Earhart? Sure. Harriet Tubman? You bet. Alice Paul? Not so much. Paul is the “Equal Rights Amendment godmother” of the early 1920s. Most caring people assume the ERA is a done deal. Sorry, no. But even more elusive is that March is Women’s History Month — all month, and every year since 1987.

I am encouraged by increasing media awareness regarding women’s history. As of March 8, 2018, the New York Times editors acknowledged the almost exclusive bias their publication’s obituaries had for white men. They started running “post”-posthumous obituaries of women who have had an impact on all of us, which continues. Recently, the legendary Ida B. Wells — who every American should know — finally got her due, along with more female VIPs who are RIP. I am proud to be on the National Women’s History Alliance board, the nonprofit that petitioned Congress to make March Women’s History Month officially. We are a grand resource for educators who want to bring women and girls into their curricula. We know that “if you can see it, you can be it” is much more than a bumper sticker. The girls who see the persistence and bravery of females have shoulders to stand on, rather than having to reinvent the means to attain their dreams over and over.

This week, I conducted an eye-opening experiment in each of the four writing classes I run.

I had everyone engage in a warmup exercise by writing for several minutes on “What Women’s History Month means to me.”

Quite a few of the students didn’t even know that March was Women’s History Month! The answers ranged from “I couldn’t care less, and here’s why” to “I want women’s history all year, every year until having just a month for women’s history seems like an absurd idea.” Yes! Until then, in an attempt to make up for the imbalance, we have a month.

And where do most of the historical narratives we receive, primarily about cis white men, come from? News coverage, for the most part. When editors and reporters neglect large swaths of the population, we miss out on those populations’ stories. That even applies to obituaries, which often provide story ideas for many creative people.

This March, I’m giving several keynotes and presentations where I always include the history of gender equality in the Indigenous cultures. I’m also focusing on female TV and film directors in my off-hours entertainment time. Kanopy.com, a lending platform, is showing films directed by women all during March, free with a library card.

Other signs of progress include an awareness shift over the last three years that appears in surprising places, possibly as a ripple effect from the #MeToo and BLM movements. This change reflects just how ignorant most of us are, often unconsciously, about racism and sexism. Even Words with Friends, an online word game, has gotten into March with female figures. And Rolling Stone magazine, once a male-dominated bastion of my generation, has gotten onto the Women’s History Month bandwagon. That’s Progress with a capital “P”!

Here’s some pandemic-related women’s history: I listened to the radio and heard one of our country’s top epidemiologists, a woman, talking about Edward Jenner and vaccines. She didn’t know that inoculation to protect against disease dates way before Jenner! The earliest instances we know of were with the dairy women of Turkey in the early 1700s. These women figured out

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that they wouldn’t catch smallpox if they took the pus from their cows who had cowpox and deposited some of the fluid in a cut on their own body. Voila! No death, no scarring.

Would it kill the online greeting card giant, Jacquie Lawson, to have women’s history greeting cards? Or Hallmark, for that matter, which now has Black History Month cards but nothing for the women. Hallmark says they have “Cards for Every Occasion,” except women’s history and/or March 8, International Women’s Day. Come on, folks, you could make some money! Meanwhile, you can visit the National Women’s History Alliance online store if you want to send a March gift.

I am aware that I am a pain every March. “Uh-oh, here comes Ellen. She’s going to ask me if I’ve signed up for a self-defense class with Impact Personal Safety yet, or if I’m reading or writing, or how I am commemorating Women’s History Month — run!” I might as well live up to my reputation. How are you going to commemorate Women’s History Month? Even a simple toast counts… cheers!

Ellen Snortland has written “Consider This…” for a heckuva long time, and she also coaches first-time book authors! Who knew? Contact her at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com

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Virtual event focuses on connection between small businesses, homelessness

By Alex Hutton tories from the Frontline” is a unique opportunity for people on the front lines of homelessness to tell their stories. Whether they have experienced homelessness or worked to end it, their stories inspire strength and perseverance.

The Feb. 10 15th installment of the series, “Stories from the Frontline: Small Businesses,” was held as a Facebook Live event that highlighted a handful of small businesses in Los Angeles that do good work in the community.

The event was a joint production between the organizations Stories from the Frontline, Everyone in LA and Inclusive Action for the City. The livestream began with an introductory speech by emcee Rudy Espinoza, executive director of Inclusive Action for the City. Throughout the event, Espinoza spoke to help transition between the speakers and presenters. In his opening comments, he highlighted the importance of small businesses to society.

“Without small businesses, we can’t have an economy,” Espinoza said.

The main portion of the event consisted of presentations from various small-business owners and employees, who showed off their work in a variety of ways. The first speakers were Larae Cantley, Zondre Johnson and Rhiannon Diaz, who were interviewed by Crissy Yancey of Everyone in LA. Cantley, Johnson and Diaz have all been homeless in the past, and they now lead Lived Experience Life Consulting Co-Op, an organization for cultural change.

“We’ve been impacted by the way that systems leave people harmed,” Cantley said. “We wanted to help systems heal the harm.”

Andrew McDowell, founder of With Love Market & Cafe, talked about his store’s focus on sustainability and charity, and gave a video tour of the location.

Next up was Mark Loranger, president and CEO of Chrysalis, a company that helps individuals who face barriers to the workforce find and retain unemployment. Chrysalis has five locations, including Santa Monica and DTLA. Loranger spoke about the importance of having a job and touted his organization’s accomplishments. Specifically, he focused on how work is interconnected with other aspects of life.

“There are a lot of steps in the process of helping someone out of poverty and homelessness, and of course, housing is the first part of that puzzle,” Loranger said.

“But having a job is right behind housing, because without the income and security of a job, it’s difficult to find and maintain a place to stay.”

Additional entrepreneurs and business owners spoke about their own companies. These included Jocelyn Ramirez of Todo Verde, a food business focused on providing healthy, cultural meals to East LA residents; and Tony Jolly of Hot and Cool Cafe, which runs a program that makes meals for seniors.

Urban Voices Project, which creates supportive community spaces with music to bridge vulnerable individuals to a sense of purpose and improved health, also performed “Walk with Me,” a protest song by Maggie Wheeler.

After Jolly, three more speakers from charitable organizations delivered remarks.

They were Gabriela Solorzano of Everyone In, Miguel Lugo of Homeboy Industries and Elise Buik of United Way. Each of them discussed their outlet’s mission and work, and the impact they hope to make in society.

Lugo’s speech was especially noteworthy. He served 18 years in prison and was released in 2015. Shortly after his release, he went to Homeboy Industries in an effort to turn his life around. He talked about how Homeboy Industries helped him make these changes, and now he helps others do the same.

“Here at Homeboy Industries, I’m able to work on my trauma,” Lugo said. “I’m able to work with other people through their trauma. Here at Homeboy Industries, we are the place that changes your life. This is the place that changed my life.”

Espinoza concluded the event by thanking the participants, organizations and companies that made it possible. He finished by emphasizing the importance of community: “I’m Rudy, and I am your neighbor.”

For more information about “Stories from the Frontline,” visit storiesfrontline.org.

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Reported cases in Downtown LA and surrounding areas as of Feb. 28 Chinatown: 697; Little Tokyo: 373; Los Feliz: 993; Silverlake: 3,030; South Park: 7,157; Wilshire Center: 5,394 Total confirmed cases in DTLA: 3,756 Total deaths in DTLA: 46 Total confirmed cases in LA County: 1,190,894 Total deaths in LA County: 21,328 Los Angeles County is slowly easing out of the winter holiday pandemic surge, as daily COVID-19 case rates fall below 5,000. COVID-19 cases have been improving, with a downward trend in daily case numbers. There are currently 3,270 hospitalizations, with 981 in intensive care compared to early January, when there were more than 8,000 hospitalized patients. Although the numbers are improving, the risks remain very high. The county has reported an additional 15 cases of MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children), including one death. There has been a 35% increase in the number of MIS-C cases over the past two weeks. As cases continue to drop, officials are hoping to move to less-restrictive tiers and start reopening the economy.

Recent figures show 1,345,949 doses have been administered in Los Angeles County, with 1,047,074 of them being first doses. About 13.5% of the county’s population aged 16 or older have received their first dose, with 3.8% of the total population fully vaccinated. Starting from March 15, California residents aged 16 to 64 with certain health conditions or disabilities will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. People with disabilities will be able to get doses at mass vaccine sites and other providers, but the state is still determining how their health conditions will be verified and what documentation will be required. About 4 to 6 million additional Californians will be eligible under the new guidelines, which means between 17 to 19 million people will be eligible for the vaccine next month. However, supplies remain scarce and appointments hard to make; it will be up to the local providers to decide who gets the vaccine.

Nearly 8.1 million vaccines have been delivered and nearly 5.3 million have been administered in California. First doses will have to be held back in the coming weeks in order to have enough vaccine doses available to people requiring a second dose. Certain parts of California have had to hold off vaccinations for certain groups because of shortages, and some vaccination sites that were planned to close Feb. 26 ran out of doses sooner than expected and closed on Feb. 25. With the limited supplies, Mayor Eric Garcetti has expressed concern about limited vaccine supplies during such an unpredictable time. The county receives 200,000 doses each week, but it has varied greatly week to week, making planning difficult.

Information compiled by Doyoon Kim

MARCH 8, 2021

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Covered California will help FEATURE Eighteen episodes of Gio Benitez’s “I Survived a Crime” have been filmed. Benitez said it’s the perfect TV show for the COVID-19 pandemic, as it shows the strength of the human spirit and its resilience.

Photo courtesy of A&E

Gio Benitez shares survival stories on A&E

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski io Benitez had a busy week. He headed to Pasadena to cover Perseverance Rover’s descent and touchdown on Mars. Then, the ABC and “Good Morning America” reporter and transportation correspondent covered the United Flight 328’s in-air emergency on its way to Hawaii.

“It’s funny because I landed Saturday morning,” he said. “I had done a story on ‘GMA’ about Mars. I was looking forward to the weekend. I had to turn around to go out.

“It can get kind of busy, but, at the end of the day, nobody was hurt on this plane. That is the best kind of story.”

Benitez is even busier now. He recently launched his A&E channel series “I Survived a Crime.”

The show takes viewers on a journey into the experience of being a victim of a sudden crime, from the moment those attacked first perceive the danger through the potential long-lasting effects. Using surveillance and cellphone footage captured during the crime, the series follows individuals going about their daily lives who were confronted with a dangerous situation and forced to make a quick decision on how to protect themselves or their families.

“It’s funny,” he said. “I have a friend who loves horror movies. Now he’s hooked on this particular show. Survival stories are compelling.

“When I heard about this show, I said, ‘OK, my favorite kinds of stories I like to tell are survival stories We learn so much from people.’

“We could all relate because all of us have different circumstances we have to go through. In cases of survival, we hear what got them through that particular moment and what they were thinking, and how they dealt with that kind of drama and how they deal.”

Benitez said it was interesting to hear that the victims didn’t know how they expected to react. Most fought back and were able to escape.

“I certainly felt like I was talking to survivors in watching the clips,” he said. “I have no idea how I would even react. When faced with a situation, they needed to act and did whatever they could think of doing to escape.

“Law enforcement didn’t agree with some of their tactics. That’s why we show you why they did it and what law enforcement says you should do. I hope it’s a learning tool and viewers are able to put that in their mental toolbox.”

As transportation correspondent for ABC News, based in New York and Washing-

G

ton, D.C., Benitez regularly covers aviation, space, railroads and the auto industry for all ABC News programs and platforms.

Benitez is an award-winning reporter and has covered a wide range of stories for the network, including the Pulse nightclub shooting, El Chapo’s underground escape from a Mexican prison, and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Before joining ABC News in 2013, he was a reporter for WFOR-TV in Miami, where he covered the 2012 presidential election and the Trayvon Martin case.

In January 2010, Benitez traveled to Haiti to cover relief efforts following the devastating earthquake. His return flight to Miami was turned into a rescue mission, as he traveled with injured Haitian evacuees to the island of Curaçao. In June 2009, he was the first reporter to shoot a TV story entirely with an iPhone.

Before becoming a reporter, the Miami-born Benitez was an investigative producer at WFOR-TV and worked on stories involving Medicare fraud, public safety and government corruption. He started at the station as an Emma L. Bowen Foundation work-study scholar.

Eighteen episodes of “I Survived a Crime” have been filmed. Benitez said “I Survived a Crime” is the perfect TV show for the COVID-19 pandemic, as it shows the strength of the human spirit and its resilience.

“We have that human instinct to survive,” he added. “When I was a kid — probably 13 — I lived in Miami and saw hurricanes all over the place. During the hurricanes, I would watch TV and see the power of television and keeping people safe and helping people. Through this medium of television, I’m able to help people. I became obsessed.

“A mentor of mine said knowledge is power. I couldn’t agree more.”

“I Survived a Crime” Wednesday nights on A&E aetv.com

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DINING

Sara and Steven Valdes own Sara’s Market.

Photo by Luis Chavevz

Sara’s Market: Pop-up impresarios

By Frier McCollister ess than a 10-minute drive from Downtown, in a relatively sleepy corner of East Los Angeles on a largely residential stretch of City Terrace Drive, a tiny storefront market has established itself as a vital hub for culinary pop-ups, food trucks and vendors since 2017.

Sara’s Market has been a family-owned and -operated business in the community for more than 60 years. The market’s namesake, Sara Valdes, and her husband, Steven Valdes, represent the third generation of family operators at the store.

They are also responsible for the lively rotation of culinary pop-up events occurring just outside the store that have helped to transform their business and their neighborhood.

“So originally the store belonged to my great uncle Pedro Martinez,” Sara said.

“When he had it, it was called Hilda’s Market. He ran it for about 30 years or so. When he was getting ready to retire, he passed it down to my mom and my dad, so they ran it for another 30 years. So same thing, when they were getting ready to retire, Steven and I had just gotten married. They sat us down and they asked us what they should do (with the store), sell it or hand it down?

They asked us if we wanted to take over. Ste-

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ven always said he wanted to play ‘store.’”

Steven quickly interjected, “I had a Fisher-Price cash register when I was younger, so it automatically came into play.”

In conversation, the pair all but complete each other sentences and there is the sense of an ineluctable chemistry between them.

Steven recalled the beginning of the relationship.

“We met in high school at Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills,” he said. “Sara used to get bused out there. I used to live out there.

“One day — I should have been in class — and she came out and knew one of my friends and I told Sara, ‘You don’t know it yet, but you’re the love of my life.’”

Sara added, “It’s funny because I had never seen him ever before and we had mutual friends. We just never ran into each other up until that day.”

“From that day on, I saw Sara everywhere,” Steven said.

Sara affirmed that he was everywhere.

The couple have been together for 17 years.

They are frequently asked how they get along so well because they’re together all day.

“It just works,” he said. “We’re total opposites. I’m a morning person; Sara’s a night person. I’m up at 6:30 in the morning. She’s

up until 3 in the morning. So, we both still have things to talk about, which is very interesting, even though we’re together all the time.”

In 2012, newly married, the two were both educators. At the time, Sara’s parents — Teresa and Juan Carrazco — approached them about taking over the family business. Sara was a teaching assistant at nearby Harrison Elementary and Steve was a campus aide working out of the dean’s office at Woodland Hills Academy. They each transitioned into working at the store over the course of a year.

The idea of hosting food trucks and popups was born out of necessity.

“Since we’re there all day, it’s sometimes very difficult for us to actually cook something,” Sara said. “So, it got to the point where, whenever we did want to go out to get food, there really wasn’t much around in the area other than your typical fast food and taco stands. I could probably eat tacos every day.”

Steve said the last straw was a Bottega Louie order from Uber Eats that was $160.

He said he would rather support the neighborhood than spend that kind of money on food delivery.

“So, Steven and I started throwing the idea around to invite food trucks and food vendors to come out and see how the neighborhood took it,” she said.

“At the beginning, we got rejected plenty of times. People did tell us the neighborhood wasn’t for them, or some people were asking for a guarantee of 600 or 700 people.

From the get-go, we were very honest. We have no idea how many people are going to show up, just because this is brand new to us and the neighborhood.”

In 2017, Sara’s Market hosted its first popup featuring the Carnitas el Momo taco truck. The owner, Billy Acosta, sold out in an hour and a half.

“I will never forget this, when we met Billy, he came by the store,” she said. “We were able to meet him face to face. We gave him the concept, and I’ll never forget, he did tell me, ‘If I sell just five tacos, that’s five extra tacos I’ve sold in a day and five new people.’

So, he came out and it was a huge hit.”

Acosta’s Carnitas el Momo kicked off a successful pop-up series. The market served as a successful launchpad for a number of successful ventures, notably Bootleg Pizza, which started as a pop-up, moved to a truck, and then opened its own store on West Pico Boulevard in December.

“It’s also really nice to see how some of our vendors have evolved throughout their journeys,” Sara said.

“Some of them, when they come to the store, they tell us, ‘We’re brand new; we’re

starting up.’ We don’t care if you’ve been around or if you’re just starting up. We’re always here to provide that space. There are some vendors that have gained some good momentum, and it’s really nice to see.”

Bootleg Pizza also helped with the pandemic pivot, implementing a timed ordering system for pickup to avoid crowds and appearing on a regular schedule at the store.

Meanwhile, the couple struggled to keep the store shelves stocked and relied on the local community of vendors to help them.

“I’ve really got to say that we wouldn’t be where we are right now if it wasn’t for our small-item vendors that we carry in the store, because they stuck by us,” Steve said.

In addition to a neighborhood market’s usual necessities, the store stocks an intriguing variety of products from local craft vendors like Kernel of Truth tortillas; Tijuana Freddy’s salsas; fresh chorizo and wings from The Chori-man in San Pedro; artisanal prepared teas from Holy Basil; Chinese Laundry brand condiments and sauces; even tortillas and frozen burritos from nearby Burritos Las Palmas. Custom six-packs of local craft beers can be assembled, and there’s a credible selection of natural wines.

“They were also very patient with us,” she said about the market’s customers. “Our hours were constantly changing because we were just trying to figure everything out, and they were very, very patient with us. So we’re very grateful for them as well.”

Pre-pandemic, their pop-up schedule was booked six months in advance and there were no “regular” slots. Now they book one month at a time. The weekly schedule is posted on the Instagram page @sarasmarket.

On Tuesdays, there are two regulars — the Los Dorados truck (@losdoradosla) serving flautas and Hustle n’ Dough (@hustlendough) serving fresh artisanal doughnuts.

On a recent late Tuesday afternoon, patiently expectant customers formed a line halfway down the block as the trucks set up for business.

“We’ve always loved this sport,” said Adam Bunnell, Hustle n’ Dough’s doughnut master.

“It’s been an amazing spot for pop-ups.”

Meanwhile, Los Dorados’ Estiven Orozco worked the line, taking advance orders from customers. He was even more effusively emphatic about the value of Sara’s Market.

“I live in the community,” Orozco said.

“There’s a shortage of food options in the neighborhood. It’s good for the community.

It creates community.”

Sara summed it up, “It’s been very interesting. It’s been a great journey. Come visit us. Come by. We’ll be there. We’ll always be there.”

Sara’s Market 3455 City Terrace Drive, Los Angeles 323-268-6809, sarasmarket.com IG: @sarasmarket

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Amboy Quality Meats: Alvin Cailan retakes Chinatown

By Frier McCollister lvin Cailan’s Filipino-born grandmother gave him the nickname “Amboy,” a word for an American-born person of Filipino descent.

It’s now the name of the chef’s latest venture in Chinatown, Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers — a gourmet burger stand and butcher shop that offers premium cuts, sourced from small suppliers.

Best known for Eggslut, Cailan is now in the breakfast sandwich business. Cailan is happy to be engaged on this new project in Chinatown. He’s very familiar with Far East Plaza. There he launched Ramen Champ, which he sold to a Japanese chef in 2015, and his experimental restaurant incubator, Unit 120.

Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers opened in May 2020 as a direct response to the pandemic. Occupying the former space of Roy Choi’s Chego, Cailan intended to model and launch a Filipino steakhouse.

“That’s pretty much what ‘Amboy’ cuisine is,” Cailan said. “I’m Filipino. I just love steakhouses — the old-school ‘L.A. Confidential’-style steak house, a small intimate place. That’s what we wanted to do. I even had black Naugahyde banquettes installed.”

Having procured the space in December 2019, the steakhouse concept stalled with the advent of the pandemic lockdown in March.

“Things changed, obviously,” Cailan said.

“There was no pressure really on us at all to continue with that concept. Maybe later on we’ll revisit that again.”

His pivot tried to address the realities and new demands of his customers in lockdown.

“Creating a butcher shop or what I like to call a ‘boutique steak shop’ was more important at the time, because a lot of people were working at home, or still are,” he said. “We wanted to be able to provide a relatively affordable alternative to butcher shop quality meats. That’s what we ended up being, and it worked out.”

Born and raised in Pico Rivera, Cailan was introduced to professional kitchens as a high school student, when his mother enlisted him as a dishwasher at a Catholic retreat center in Alhambra. Soon, he was handling all aspects of the kitchen’s operations.

“There were a lot of people in transition in that kitchen,” he recalled.

“We were changing cooks all the time, so

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I was the only one there for that duration of time who was able to do pretty much everything. So, I was relied upon.”

Cailan attended Cal State Fullerton, graduating with a business degree and a concentration in management.

“It’s paid off. I learned a lot,” Cailan said.

He was working as an account representative with a construction company when he was laid off. The result was a generous severance package intended to buy his loyalty and discretion over some of the company’s business practices.

“It gave me the runway to actually pursue what I really wanted to do, which was cook,” he recalled.

Cailan studied at Oregon Culinary Institute and subsequently had an informal apprenticeship in Napa Valley, including stints at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Bouchon.

“It was more a quest to learn,” he said. “I just bounced around. It was mostly for free, just to learn. I had friends out in Napa Valley, and they would take me to work.”

When he launched the Eggslut food truck in 2011, it resulted in hours-long lines for its egg sandwiches and its first brickand-mortar location at Grand Central Market in 2013. It was also among the first new wave of younger vendors opening at the market.

“There were the legacy tenants who were there,” he said. “We were among the new guys who walked in there and tried to do something creative and new.”

Eggslut’s phenomenal success led to nearly four years in New York City.

“I always had the romance in my head of working in New York and walking to work and feeling the energy,” Cailan said. “When the opportunity came to work at Chef ’s Club Counter and Chef’s Club, I definitely took it into consideration, and I tried to live my dream out in New York.

“I eventually opened The Usual (at the Nolitan Hotel) and it opened with really great reviews. We were written (about) in The New Yorker for our fried chicken. We had a great run there.”

In 2018, Cailan began hosting the web series “The Burger Show” airing on YouTube and Hulu, which marked his trek back to Far East Plaza.

“I took over that space because of its legendary status with Roy (Choi) being there and it used to be a Sam Woo Barbecue back

Alvin Cailan, chef and owner of Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers, boasts a successful restaurant career.

Photo by Luis Chavez

in the day,” Cailan said about his present location.

“It’s basically a legacy location. I wasn’t really looking to do anything really crazy. It’s now really a place to do burgers because of ‘The Burger Show.’ I wanted to do fun things and use it as a lab to perfect Amboy the cookbook and Amboy cuisine.”

His cookbook, “Amboy: Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream,” was published

by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in August 2020.

The burger menu at Amboy Quality Meats is basic; however, the selection of burgers is not. He formed relationships with small purveyors to collect the prime-grade cuts that are for sale in the shop’s window.

“I have a relationship with Certified Angus Beef,” Cailan said.

“I’ve been working with them for the last 10 years with Eggslut and all my other projects. For the last five years, I’ve been using the American wagyu from Snake River Farms and I have a relationship with them.

We try to use Demkota Ranch out of South

Dakota, we source their prime-grade briskets, New Yorks, chuck rolls because we use all of that for our burgers. So essentially our burger is 100% prime Demkota Ranch beef, (brokered) from Certified Angus Beef.”

Suffice it to say, Amboy is not serving ordinary burgers.

“Sometimes we’ll have trim from our Snake River Farm stuff, so there’s definitely some American wagyu sprinkled into our burger mix,” he says.

A burger comprised of certified prime and wagyu beef and priced at $10 or less is not an ordinary burger.

A riff on In-N-Out’s Double-Double, the classic double ($7) features two blended burger patties, caramelized onions, American cheese, pickles and sauce, all served between toasted sesame seed buns from Bread Bar LA. The Grizzly ($9) sports two “tallow fried” patties, American cheese, shaved red onions, pickles and yellow mustard “in a squishy bun.”

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MARCH 8, 2021

AMBOY QUALITY MEATS: ALVIN CAILAN RETAKES CHINATOWN, 7 The Picante ($10) has two patties with provolone cheese, sliced red onion, pickled peppers and spicy mayo on a toasted poppy seed bun. For more meat and a thicker single patty, consider the Royale ($12) with American cheese and red onions or the DH Burger ($14), a 10-ounce patty with provolone, caramelized onions and garlic confit.

Don’t forget this is also a steak boutique.

The small window in front displays the freshest cuts.

These can include picanha of American wagyu from Snake River Farms, cut for one person ($20); ribeye, Certified Angus prime ($20); New York strip ($20); cowboy ribeye from Double “R” Ranch ($50); delmonico from Demkota Ranch ($20); or a tomahawk of Westholme Australian wagyu ($159).

There is also Galbi, sliced short rib from Niman Ranch ($18) and marinated asada for tacos ($10). Larger cuts are also available on the online menu and there a selection of seasoning blends and sauces. Any carnivorous connoisseur should find satisfaction at Amboy Quality Meats.

Stay tuned for inventive weekly specials as well.

“We actually did a steak frite week, last week,” he said enthusiastically. “We did the classic au poivre, we did a steak Diane, we did a steak with chimichurri, and then on Saturday we did a Filipino bistek, a Filipino dish made with a soy calamansi glaze with onions. We try to do some type of Filipino-influenced dish whenever we run specials.”

Reflecting on his return to Chinatown, Cailan said he’s excited.

“It’s like a whole crew of food lovers in Chinatown,” he added.

“That’s really ultimately why I always go back there. I love Far East Plaza, what it stands for. A lot of great restaurants came out of that plaza. Working with (Far East Plaza’s) George Yu, who I consider a mentor, really gave us opportunities to fulfill our culinary dreams without breaking the bank.

I’m really grateful for that. Chinatown for me — culinarily — is home. I’m just glad to be back.”

Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers 727 N. Broadway, Suite 120, Los Angeles 213-935-8188, amboyqualitymeatsanddeliciousburgers.com

ENJOY OUTDOOR DINING

AL FRESCO AT FIG on our Plaza Level

@FIGAT7TH

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FIGAT7TH.COM

The classic double with cheese, pickles, caramelized onions and burger sauce with a side of fries is a riff on In-N-Out’s Double-Double.

Photo by Luis Chavez

Amboy Quality Meat & Delicious Burgers occupys the former space of Roy Choi’s Chego in Far East Plaza.

Photo by Luis Chavez

MARCH 8, 2021

DOWNTOWN NEWS 9

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

FLOWERBX features more than flowers. Candles and other gifts are available, too.

Photo courtesy of FLOWERBX

Whitney Bromberg Hawkings worked for fashion designer Tom Ford before starting FLOWERBX.

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Covered California will help BUSINESS

Online floral company finds success is blooming

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski hitney Bromberg Hawkings was working for fashion designer Tom Ford when she became frustrated with the cost and inconsistency of the flowers she was buying and sending.

After 19 years with Ford, she decided to start FLOWERBX, an online flower delivery service that sources the freshest flowers directly from growers. She specializes in seasonally optimal flowers, like peonies in the spring and in the fall hydrangea, followed by ranun-

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FLOWERBX is an online flower delivery service that sources the freshest flowers directly from growers.

Photo courtesy of FLOWERBX

culus in the winter.

“I wanted to create a branded floral offering,” Hawkings said. “As a working mom, I was buying everything online. I bought my weekly farm-fresh groceries online, my clothes online, my beauty online. Yet, I found it was impossible to buy flowers in a simple, chic and fuss-free way online.”

Now in its fourth year, FLOWERBX, as well as Hawkings, is based in London, but recently she opened an LA hub to service California, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Neva-

Photo courtesy of FLOWERBX

da, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.

Her clients include British Fashion Council, Chanel, Conde Nast, Harrods, L’Occitane and Tiffany & Co. “My vision for FLOWERBX was always for it to be a global brand,” she said. “Interflora is inconsistent in all of the territories in which it operates, and the client is at the mercy of whichever florist is fulfilling the order.

“I wanted to create a consistent and beautiful floral experience in all of the territories in which we operate. While the entire United States has always been in the cards, we accelerated our expansion plans to encompass the East and West coasts over the past year, as the desire to stay connected with flowers and live life with beauty has been stronger than ever.”

Hawkings said she learned her entrepreneurial skills from Ford, for whom she would

have worked for another 20 years. She began her career in Paris working for him at Gucci and later became his communications director upon the launch of his eponymous label in 2005.

“Working with Tom was a dream come true,” she said. “The lessons I learned from him are countless, and I couldn’t have learned from a better teacher how to build a successful, recognizable and powerful brand, among the many other lessons I learned from him.

“He taught me the importance of hard work and perseverance but also about the art of creating desire, of telling a story around a product and setting a scene to make it irresistible. I have tried to apply all of these learnings to FLOWERBX in my goal of creating what I know will be the first global flower brand.”

FLOWERBX flowerbx.com

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MARCH 8, 2021

Covered SPORTS California will help

Pitcher Trevor Bauer, left, and infielder Justin Turner prepare for the 2021 season at their Spring Training facility in Glendale, Arizona.

Photo by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers

Dodgers prepare to defend their World Series title

By Ethan Greni inning a world championship is one of the toughest things to accomplish in sports, but there’s one thing that’s even tougher.

Defending that title.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers return to their annual spring home in Glendale, Arizona, their quest to repeat as World Series champions is taking shape.

“I’m just excited to be back out on a baseball field and in this locker room with these guys,” said Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner during a Zoom call from the team’s Spring Training facility.

“Ready to get started on another mission to win another championship.”

The Dodgers had a big offseason, bringing in 2020 NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer on a three-year, $102 million contract. Two other notable “acquisitions” for the team were resigning Turner after allowing him to explore free agency, and getting starting pitcher David Price back after he opted out of the 2020 season.

Price hasn’t pitched since Sept. 1, 2019, which will give the 35-year-old about 19 months of rest by the time he makes his first appearance as a Dodger.

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“I think at this point in my career it can be a good thing, just to kind of let my body reset, let my arm reset, being able to use that time to let my body heal,” Price said. “Doing what we do, especially as a starting pitcher, having all the innings and all the pitches thrown, that can definitely take a toll.”

Manager Dave Roberts echoes that sentiment.

“I think if anything, it’ll affect him (positively), as far as on the physical (side),” Roberts said. “I think on the emotional side, I think that there’s going to be some adrenaline, some nerves, which is to be expected, but … I know he’s willing to help us in any way, and just to kind of get him back working with our guys is just a benefit to everybody.”

Even with all that rest, Price admitted the only way to truly prepare is to get back on the mound.

“To me, that’s what you use Spring Training for. I feel like you really can’t simulate that game action until you get out there,” Price said. “Even whenever I’m playing year to year, those first couple of spring outings, they always feel brand new. You’re out there feeling for things that make you

tick. That’s what I’ll be doing, and everything feels really good right now.”

Turner’s return to the Dodgers wasn’t a sure thing, but after testing the open market, nothing was enticing enough to lure him away from Los Angeles.

“Obviously LA and the Dodgers hold a pretty big spot in my heart. I’ve spent the last seven years here making a ton of memories,” Turner said. “It’s a place that’s always been special to me, and going into the offseason and through this free agency process, it’s something that never, never left my mind.”

Turner coming back was also the Dodgers’ preferred outcome, according to President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.

“For us, all of our kind of ace scenarios, in terms of how things played out, had JT returning,” Friedman said.

“Obviously we had to do our work to kind of line up some alternatives in the event it didn’t work out but that ideally we would let their process fully play out and that we would be there.”

This should be an interesting spring for the Dodgers, especially in the pitching department. With so many talented arms, the

team has already moved a few of them to clubs where they’ll get more opportunities.

Reliever Adam Kolarek was traded to the Oakland Athletics in a deal that brought back infield prospect Sheldon Neuse, who could see time in the majors in 2021.

“Neuse is a guy that is a really good defender on the infield, and we think there’s some offensive upside that we can tap into,” Friedman said.

“I think him pairing with our hitting guys, we have a chance for something really special to click. We’ll take the chance to get to know him better over the next few weeks and figure out the timing of when and how to do those things.”

Figuring things out is what Spring Training is for, but for a team that just won the World Series, there may not be too much left to figure out.

“The amount of talent that we have on this team and in this organization, that was apparent in Spring Training (last year) and it really played true to that the entire season,” Price said.

The Dodgers opened their spring schedule Feb. 28 against the Athletics winning 2-1.

MARCH 8, 2021

DOWNTOWN NEWS 11

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

TRAX

BY BLISS

JOSHUA HENRY, Guarantee (S-Curve/BMG): HHH½

Heads up to Broadway fans of Henry’s performances in “Carousel,” “Scottsboro Boys” and the road company of “Hamilton”: The Tony-nominated actor flexes his muscular baritone for his debut EP, a four-track soul project anchored by a stirring cover of “Stand Up (Show Love)” by his labelmates the O’Jays. Henry also expresses hope, love and uncompromising aspiration in his own songs, notably lead single “Hold Me,” which marries its uplifting message to a memorable hook: “You know all my passions/ The only way I fly/ One hand holding yours/ One hand to the sky/ … Hold me, just don’t hold me back.” instagram.com/joshuahenryofficial

LOST HORIZONS, In Quiet Moments (Bella Union): HHHH

The UK duo follow 2017’s cinematic “Ojalá” with another set of improvisation-rooted collaborations. Cocteau Twin (and Bella Union co-founder) Simon Raymonde and drummer Richard Thomas’ roster of guests includes several who appeared on “Ojalá,” such as Gemma Dunleavy, Marissa Nadler, emotive Horse Thief vocalist Cameron Neal (“Nobody Knows My Name”), and Innocence Mission’s Karen Peris (winsome piano ballad “This Is the Weather”).

“Cordelia” is a psychedelic dream swathed in strings, lap steel, and John Grant’s layered harmonies, while The Hempolics’ retro-soul style brightens “I Woke Up With an Open Heart.” Inevitably influenced by the pandemic, the 16 tracks comprise a moodscape of sorrow, introspection and rejuvenation. bellaunion.com/artists/lost-horizons

CORVAIR, Corvair (Paper Walls): HHH

Part of the flood tide of new music and art rising from pandemic isolation, this Portland husband-and-wife duo’s debut album gilds pop melodies with harmonies between guitarist/bassist Brian Naubert and keyboardist Heather Larimer. Propelled by Eric Eagle’s insistent drumming, the 10 songs ostensibly track a love story across continents and decades with threads of dream pop, classic and ’90s indie rock. But real-life social turmoil could also be the focus of standouts such as “Oceansided” (“See the forest for the trees/ Less is more is what you need”) and “Sunday Runner”: “The lake that lies between us/ When we fight for the light that we’ve never seen/ It won’t mean nothing when we get through.” corvairband.com

CHUCK JOHNSON, The Cinder Grove (Vin du Select Qualitite): HHH

The Oakland pedal steel guitarist’s requiem for what’s been lost to recent California wildfires is a comforting instrumental bath for weary souls and ears. More contemplative than his 2020 release “Mound of Shards,” its five compositions foster a sense of renewal. Cellist Crystal Pascucci channels grief during the gorgeous “Red Branch Bell,” and Johnson blends synthesizers throughout with graceful contributions from pianist Sarah Davachi and violinists Marielle V. Jakobsons and Hilary Lewis. He approaches his pedal steel with expressive restraint, but more of its singular voice would be cathartic. chuckjohnson.net

Downtown LA’s Dual Language Immersion School

Sacred Heart Catholic School A TK-8 school serving Los Angeles since 1890

2109 Sichel Street, Los Angeles www.SacredHeartLA.org

Spanish/English Dual Language Español/Ingles de doble lenguaje Our new English & Spanish Dual Language Immersion Program is now enrolling TK and Kindergarten students. Students spend half their day learning in English and the other half learning in Spanish. They receive personalized attention in a small classroom environment.

Enrolling Now! / ¡Inscríbase ahora!

Call (323) 225-4177 * Financial Aid Available * A Catholic Education Offers an Advantage For Life Una Educación Católica Ofrece una Ventaja para la Vida ✦Strong Catholic Identity ✦Small Class Sizes ✦Boys & Girls CYO Sports ✦School Issued iPads & Laptops ✦Academic Decathlon ✦Counseling Services ✦Music Program TK-5 ✦Instrumental Music 6-8

✦Fuerte Identidad Católica ✦Clases con Menos Alumnos ✦Deportes de Niños y Niñas CYO ✦iPads & Laptops Disponibles ✦Decatlón Académico ✦Programa de Consejería ✦Programa de Música TK-5 ✦Clases de Música Instrumental 6-8

Take a Tour!

www.SacredHeartLA.org

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MARCH 8, 2021