Los Angeles Downtown News 05-02-22

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Margaret Cho eases pain with humor

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Covered NEWS California will help

Women’s March Foundation plans reproductive rights rally

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor n the landmark case of Roe v. Wade that brought abortion to the forefront of American discourse between 1971 and 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state regulations to ban abortion were unconstitutional.

The ruling has guaranteed women’s right to seek an abortion across the United States for nearly 50 years, but has recently come under threat as the Supreme Court has considered a challenge to a Mississippi law banning abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

“This is a state of emergency for women’s productive rights,” said Women’s March Foundation executive director Emiliana Guereca. “In California, we may feel that we’re safe. I think that when we feel safe, it is our duty to fight for the women in these other states, to support them and their fight for reproductive rights.”

Guereca started the foundation in 2016 and will be overseeing the Bans Off Our Bodies reproductive rights rally in downtown LA on Saturday, May 14. As a lifelong activist, Guereca saw that women’s representation was missing from many political and social movements and decided to dedicate her life’s work to advocacy. She has led marches across Los Angeles every year since 2017 and was honored as one of LA County’s Pioneer Women of 2018.

“I want to make sure that we are working towards equity and equality,” Guereca said. “After I graduated college, I just assumed that Roe v. Wade was protected.

I just assumed that women were equal and we’re not. For me personally, I want to make sure that when we leave this world it’s better for women than when we came into it.”

Since starting the WMF, Guereca found rallies can be effective tools for raising awareness to enact large scale social change and for empowering individual women to use their voice and build pathways for themselves into leadership roles.

“For me, it’s about seeing the steps toward empowering women,” Guereca said.

“Women have always been powerful, but we’ve been invisible. The Women’s March Foundation is about bringing visibility, awareness and advocacy to the issues that really speak for women’s equity.”

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Bans Off Our Bodies Reproductive Rights Rally with the Women’s March Foundation WHERE: Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14 INFO: womensmarchfoundation.org

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Women’s March Foundation co-founder Emiliana Guereca is an award-winning event producer who has held advocacy programs for women’s rights, Latino education and gender equality.

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITERS: Andrew Checchia, Andres De Ocampo, Julia Shapero CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Sara Edwards, Kamala Kirk ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Luis Chavez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Myriam Santos ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb Downtown NewsEMERITUS: wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us FOUNDER Sue Laris

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Covered DINING California will help

Rising Chefs series showcases Asian American cooks

By Andrew Crowley LA Downtown News Contributing Writer he month of May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center is celebrating with the Rising Chefs series.

The event showcases four Asian American chefs with careers on an upward trajectory. Diners will enjoy a prixfixe five-course meal at JACCC’s Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center.

Joining JACCC’s chef in residence, Chris Ono, are three other chefs, David Nguyen, Kevin Lee and Tway Nguyen.

Along with cooking, the three guest chefs are popular TikTok creators.

They will have their own week to showcase their culinary skills and cultural heritage to diners.

JACCC Culinary Director Jane Matsumoto said holding the event in May to coincide with AAPI month was an excellent fit.

“Being able to integrate that into AAPI month is a fantastic opportunity for an audience to experience all the unique diverse cultures and cuisines that Asian American chefs have to offer,” Matsumoto said.

The venue is notable for its authentic Japanese garden and commercial kitchen, which affords diners a chance to watch the chefs in action.

Matsumoto said that as a community and cultural center, it was important to “provide a voice and platform for people in the arts,” which also includes chefs.

“The voice they have needs a home or a place from which we can help to nurture, cultivate, transmit and promote who they are as they try to launch their careers and we think that’s a very important part of our being here,” Matsumoto said.

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Chef David Nguyen will be the first chef highlighted at the series. He is a first generation Vietnamese American and was porn in Palawan, Philippines. He trained at French Laundry and Club 33. He will be serving recipes inspired by his childhood in Vietnam and from growing up in the United States.

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Chef Kevin Lee is a Korean American with culinary training in French and Italian cuisines who previously worked for several Michelin starred restaurants. His menu will apply his formal training to Korean cuisine.

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Week 1: David Nguyen David has been asked many times what got him interested in cooking. In his case, it was his mother.

“I grew up around a mom who loved to cook and that’s how she provided for the family,” David said.

His mother made a living cooking in her food stall and that left an impression on him.

David trained at French Laundry and Club 33. As a chef, he blends those techniques with the flavors he remembers growing up abroad as well as in the United States.

When it came to planning the menu, David said he had to decide on what story he wanted to tell.

“I wanted to pick the dishes that represented my culinary journey and just my experience growing up in Vietnam but also the U.S. as well,” David said.

When it comes to his social media presence, David focuses mainly on recipes that are quick and easy to make at home. The TikTok videos became a project for him during the pandemic after he lost his kitchen job.

“I want to share my story and my culinary journey,” David said. “Hopefully it inspires the diners to just keep on going no matter what the circumstances are.”

Week 2: Kevin Lee “My mom was always cooking in the kitchen,” Lee said.

“As a kid, I would hang out in the kitchen. I was a chubby

kid. I was always eating, so food was something that I was always interested in.”

His mother was the oldest of seven sisters and cooked for her family, becoming an excellent cook as a result.

Lee has always been passionate about food. In college, he was a frequent viewer of Food Network programs.

Growing up, he knew he wanted to work with food.

Lee studied French and Italian cuisine at culinary school and makes use of those skills in his preparation of Korean food.

A Koreatown resident, Lee said he wanted to incorporate flavors familiar to diners at restaurants in that neighborhood with the techniques he learned in his formal training.

Like Nguyen, he made TikTok content during the pandemic. He did it to kill time and as a joke. He found success early on, which encouraged him to continue making cooking videos.

Lee is excited for the opportunity to offer something new to guests.

“Hopefully they get to experience a different type of thing,” Lee said. “I don’t want to make the same boring type of things that they can get anywhere else. It’s my job as a chef to create something different. Ultimately, I hope to leave behind a satisfied guest and maybe they learn something from the cuisine and they learn about me as a chef.”

Week 3: Tway Nguyen “My mom was one of those moms who that didn’t really like people in her kitchen,” Tway said.

Her mother was an intuitive cook. When Tway asked her for tips, her mother didn’t have the exact measurements or steps.

When she was preparing to start nursing school, Tway realized she wanted to do something else with her life.

She asked herself what she wanted to do and realized she wanted to cook. So, she switched from nursing to culinary school.

As a chef, she makes use of what she learned in school to prepare dishes.

“You can’t really teach someone the flavors of their culture unless they really grew up with it and they had that food all their lives,” Tway said. “Culinary school did not teach me how to cook Vietnamese food. Eating my mom’s food taught me how to cook Vietnamese food.”

As part of her content creation on TikTok, Tway collaborated with People Magazine on Celeb Eats, in which she recreated dishes associated with celebrities.

She is looking forward to cooking for guests in an open kitchen and she hopes to connect with them through her food and conversation.

“I want to leave people feeling like they know me more and I’m not just somebody they watch online,” Tway said.

“I want them to feel I’m just one of their friends.”

Week 4: Chris Ono Ono is a fourth-generation Japanese American and will close out the Rising Chef Series. Ono has previously worked at Michelin-starred restaurants Providence, Eleven Madison Park and Mori sushi. His approach and

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Chef Tway Nguyen is a Vietnamese American and her menu will focus on Vietnamese comfort foods.

Nguyen said that her goal for 2022 is to hold a pop-up event each month.

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menu will reflect what he learned from his formal training and his work experiences.

His menu will focus on Japanese American cuisine, one that evokes the cuisine as it was developed in Los Angeles in the ’80s. He’s hoping to evoke the season in his menu.

“I do think that the five-course menu is a perfect amount of food to really highlight what you want to do and for people to really remember each dish,” Ono said.

While working at his first job out of school, The Original Roy’s on the Big Island in Hawaii, Ono began to see the artistic element of food.

“Shortly after that, I really became inter-

ested in cooking, that’s what had the initial influence on my career.”

In high school, Ono made ceramics, which still hold a special place in his heart.

As a chef, he considers plating and what plates he uses and how those are all important aspects of presentation.

“The plates I think are so important to food,” Ono said.

Ono said he was looking forward to sharing the experience with the other chefs.

“I think it’s a really great thing that we can highlight our culture and our background,” Ono explained. “We’re all going to sit and try to support each other, eat each other’s food.”

JACCC Rising Chef Series WHEN: 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays from May 3 to May 25 WHERE: Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Center, 244 San Pedro Street, Los Angeles COST: $180; proceeds from the event will be used to fund culinary innovation and entrepreneurship as well as Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center’s Culinary Arts Program INFO: https://bit.ly/RisingChefSeries or jaccc.org

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Chef Chris Ono is JACCC’s newly appointed Chef in Residence. He previously worked for Michelin starred restaurants Providence, Eleven Madison Park, and Mori Sushi. Ono is a fourth-generation Japanese American and his dishes will incorporate his training in French and Japanese cuisine and will feature seasonally appropriate, locally sourced ingredients.

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Covered DINING California will help

Founded by Thai chef Katie Sirikun Danket, Meat on Rice opened on April 4 as a new ghost kitchen concept in the heart of Koreatown.

Photo courtesy of Marqet Media

Thai ghost kitchen opens in Koreatown

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor ince the pandemic began, restaurants across Los Angeles have faced extraordinary financial burdens and adapted to survive. By acclimatizing to the social distancing restrictions that have swept across the county in the past two years, many of LA’s restaurants have embraced new business models, technologies and concepts to stay afloat.

Inspired by the innovations that arose during the pandemic, chef Katie Sirikun Danket founded Meat on Rice on April 4 as a ghost kitchen to bring the Thai comfort food of her childhood to LA’s Koreatown.

Danket’s family has owned restaurants specializing in chicken, pork and seafood dishes in Bangkok for over 30 years. With a bachelor’s degree in hotel and culinary business from Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Danket worked with her family for over 15 years before moving to the United States.

The name “Meat on Rice” was chosen to represent the restaurant’s simplicity, a concept that’s reflected in the menu and a callback to Danket’s hometown culinary scene.

As a city home to approximately half a million vendors, Bangkok is renowned for its street food. Vendors typically boast a menu of between three to five specialty items, prioritizing quality over quantity. With this philosophy in mind, Danket wanted her menu to list a select collection of Thai dishes inspired by the comfort food recipes of her childhood in Bangkok.

“She wants to focus on each individual dish so that every time she serves it, it’s perfect,” Danket’s husband and sous chef Sittichai Jaroensaengphet said.

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With a short and specialized menu, Danket can put more time and dedication into each dish’s preparation.

For example, the chicken for her chicken rice dish is steamed for two hours while she seasons the rice with ginger, garlic and cilantro, all sourced from local markets she visits each week to ensure quality.

After moving to Los Angeles, Danket found that many of its Thai restaurants did not have authentic food. Instead, the eateries catered to a more American palate. The dishes often prioritized sweetness over spice and used more sugar than chilies or herbs.

“At the end of the day, she makes food in the way that Thai people eat,” Jaroensaengphet said. “This is the way it should be, and she is hoping that people here in Los Angeles will try it and love it.”

Thai cuisine is often known for its complexity and balance, finding harmony between sweet, sour, salty and spicy by using fresh herbs to calm burning spices and sugars to temper salty sauces.

It is this complex balance that Danket wishes to convey through her concise menu of Thai comfort foods and share with the Los Angeles community through Meat on Rice. While the ghost kitchen does not have a dining room, guests can enjoy deliveries through online ordering platforms and takeaways from their location at 615 N. Western Avenue in Koreatown.

Meat on Rice 615 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles Meals are available through third-party delivery services 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

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ARTS & CULTURE

Heidi Rodewald is a Tony Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning musician and co-composer of the 2008 Broadway musical “Passing Strange.”

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Obie Award-winning Heidi Rodewald to perform virtually

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor n a moment when the world has adopted a heightened concern for personal health, Tony Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning musician Heidi Rodewald’s newest project, “A Lifesaving Manual,” contemplates how to care for oneself and others in uncertain times.

The record, which will be presented online on Saturday, May 7, through UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, brings together an audio and visual medley of samples from Red Cross Lifesaving Manuals from the past century selected by Rodewald and writer Donna Di Novelli to form thought-provoking songs about aid, safety and care.

In addition to Di Novelli, Rodewald built “A Lifesaving Manual” with video designer Josh Higgason, musician and songwriter Marty Beller, producer Bryce Goggin, vocalist David Driver, guitarist Christian Gibbs, keyboardist Marc Doten and singer Mark Stewart, commonly known as “Stew” from the Negro Problem.

“Being together in a studio was just a dream,” Rodewald said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never been so aware of how grateful I am to get up in the morning and work on this.”

The project began when Rodewald and Di Novelli resident artists at the Eugene O’Neil Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, and came across a Red Cross manual from 1937. They were inspired by the metaphors and alternative meanings they found throughout the manual’s pages and decided to turn the collection into a record.

“The words are universal and they’re poetic,” Rodewald said. “Sadly, it resonates more than ever that these words are about how to save people and how to pull people to safety.”

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Rodewald found a simplistic beauty in the lyrics and chose to pair the manual’s words and phrases with music and visual imagery to compose an audiovisual meditation on health and safety while exploring the dynamics of race present in the 1930s manual.

“It’s full of images of mostly white men,” Rodewald explained. “There’s something about putting these words to music and using these words right now when we know how much black people and all non-white people have been discriminated against in every single way and how long it’s been going on. It’s been really interesting to use the words from this crazy old manual in a very simple way about all living things.”

One page stood out for her. It instructed how to undress while underwater.

“When a person fully clad finds themselves in deep water, they will be hampered by the drag of the water-soaked garments and will soon become exhausted in the deep water. The clothing therefore should be removed,” it read.

While Rodewald acknowledged the literal meanings of the text, she was fascinated by the subtle imagery that such simple instructions could provide. Though the phrase was written to inform readers of the vitality of removing the clothes of a person caught in a distressing underwater situation, the words also speak to the importance of relieving oneself of unnecessary burdens to avoid sinking into a darker place.

“I would like people to take this in a meditative kind of way,” Rodewald said. “I would hope that it feels hopeful, poetic and beautiful.”

A Lifesaving Manual by Heidi Rodewald WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, May 7 WHERE: Virtual COST: Free; registration required INFO: online.cap.ucla.edu

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ARTS & CULTURE

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CLASSIFIEDS NOTICE OF SALE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned intends to sell the personal property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property pursuant to Sections 21700-21716 of the Business & Professions Code, Section 2328 of the UCC, Section 535 of the Penal Code and provisions of the Civil Code.

The undersigned will sell on the 10th day of May 2022 at 11: 00 A.M. on the premises where said property has been stored and which are located at Thriftee Storage Company LLC, 1717 N. Glendale Blvd. in the city of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, State of California, the following: Name of owner: Space number Description of goods Amount Carlos Serrano C44 Personal effects $655.00 Emma Valdez G24 Personal effects $678.90 David Green D3 Personal effects $756.00 Derek Thornsberry E14 Personal effects $1233.40 Stephanie Smith S18 Personal effects $639.80 Nicholas Fittiro L7 Personal effects $1264.67 Fernando Chavez C9 Personal effects $418.00 Mayra Morales G5 Personal effects $781.00 Gabriel Benavidez D5 Personal effects $953.00 Aaron Ray U47,C20 Personal effects $1120.00 Purchases must be paid for at the time of purchase in cash only. All purchased storage units with the items contained herein are sold on an “as-is” basis and must be removed at the time of sale. Sale subject to cancellation in the event of settlement between Thriftee Storage Co. and obligated party.

Thriftee Storage Company LLC Dated at Los Angeles, CA by Felipe F. Islas / Manager April 28, 2022.

PUBLISHED: Los Angeles Downtown News 05/02/22, 05/09/22

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Margaret Cho is starring in the upcoming film “Fire Island.”

Photo by Sergio Garcia/Submitted

Margaret Cho offers hope through comedy

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor argaret Cho is terrified of Asian American hate crimes.

“They’re devastating,” the comedian said. “They’re scary and, as an Asian American woman — an older Asian American woman — it’s a really difficult thing.”

But the “Fire Island” star is using her profession to try to ease tensions and provide hope.

“Humor is a way to find hope in a situation,” she said. “It’s natural. That’s the way that comedians function. No matter what’s going on, you’re going to have a take on it.

“It’s difficult to watch Asian senior citizens attacked and murdered. It’s really horrible. The only way to survive that kind of stuff is to really find a way, not to laugh at it, of course, but to try to find some hope. Humor is really about hope. It gives you the moment

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to survive it and get to the next point of life.”

Cho will share her latest material during “Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration” on Saturday, May 7, at The Greek Theatre.

The show is part of “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival,” which runs from Thursday, April 28, to Sunday, May 8. “Stand Out” also features the likes of Bob the Drag Queen, Eddie Izzard, Fortune Feimster, Gina Yashere, Guy Branum, James Adomian, Joel Kim Booster, Judy Gold, Mae Martin, Marsha Warfield, Matteo Lane, Patti Harrison, River Butcher, Sam Jay, Sandra Bernhard, Scott Thompson, Solomon Georgio, Tig Notaro, Trixie Mattel and Wanda Sykes.

“It’s going to be good,” she said.

“We’ve been trying to do this festival for a long time. It’s really gratifying that we can do it.”

The five-time Grammy- and Emmy-nominated comedian/actress is

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keeping busy this year. She’ll tour deep into 2022; star in Hulu’s “Sex Appeal” with Mika Abdalla and Paris Jackson; and release her Hulu “Pride and Prejudice”-inspired rom com, “Fire Island” with Bowen Yang, on June 3.

“I have a lot of really great things happening,” she said.

“I’m thrilled to share them, whether it’s ‘Fire Island,’ this film that is really great. I really love Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang. They’re such incredible artists.

“They’re all such stars. They’re so much fun to work with.”

“Fire Island” is special to Cho, as she spent many summers there.

“It’s just a beautiful film. It’s really about chosen family. If you’re gay, you end up having your family be a lot of your friends. This was a great project and I’m really proud of it.”

Growing up and yearning to be a comedian, the 53-year-old Cho didn’t have many role models who shared her ethnicity and values. Lately, things have changed.

“This whole new generation of amazing comedians are really just doing such a great job,” she said. “These queer Asian American artists are really special and writing their own work, paving the way for a whole new generation.

“It’s really gratifying and so special to watch them and see what they’re doing with all of it. It’s beautiful.”

Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration Presented

by Netflix is a Joke WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7 WHERE: The Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles COST: Tickets start at $29 INFO: 1-844-LAGREEK, lagreektheatre.com

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SPORTS

Dodgers to donate 80K tickets to community groups

By LA Downtown News Staff he Los Angeles Dodgers, in conjunction with the Commissioner’s Community Initiative (CCI) and the MLB & Players Give Back program, will give away over 80,000 tickets to various community groups in the Los Angeles area during the 2022 season.

Throughout the year, the Dodgers will give away 20,000 tickets through Kids 4 Dodger Baseball, 24,600 tickets to the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to be used in their Dodgers Dreamfields, Dodgers Dreamteam and LADF Gives program and 38,733 CCI tickets equaling the largest number of tickets ever given out during the regular season.

“We are very happy to once again partner with the Commissioner’s Community Initiative and the MLB & Player’s Give Back program to give tickets to those who may never get the opportunity to attend a Dodger game otherwise,” said Naomi Rodriguez, vice president of external relations and community relations for the Dodgers.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to Dodger Stadium.”

The Kids 4 Dodgers Baseball youth

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program is an all-inclusive gameday experience for underserved youth from schools, youth centers, non-profits and similar organizations.

Serving the greater Los Angeles area and reaching youth as far east as San Bernardino and Coachella Valley, the experience will include gameday tickets, transportation to and from Dodger Stadium, a K4DB T-shirt and a meal voucher for Dodger Stadium concessions. Fans can apply for the program online and will be notified if their group is selected.

The Commissioner’s Community Initiative ticketing program is designed to expand the reach of baseball to communities who might not otherwise have a chance to attend an MLB game.

MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association support all 30 clubs through this initiative with the goal of providing a total of more than $2.5 million in ticket distributions to deserving communities leaguewide.

Additional information and applications can be found by visiting mlb.com/ dodgers/community/kids-4-dodgersbaseball.

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