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A+R brings attention to up-and-coming independent brands

Fighting Stigma Dalzell Lance High School offering COVID-19 tests Page 5

Mother-Son Duo YouTube star and his mom

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open Anwar’s Kitchen Page 9

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DECEMBER 14, 2020

OPINION

and Center: All Saints’ year of the woman

By Ellen Snortland ll Saints Episcopal in Pasadena felt like home in the 1990s. Something happened to me there that I never forgot. It’s Christmas Eve, and I am a guest at the midnight service. The majesty of the campus is serene. The splendor inside is uplifting without being intimidating. The inclusive message of a revolutionary Jesus inspires me. Candles flicker, the scent of beeswax mixed with pine boughs. I am gobsmacked by the majesty of live music.

As a mostly agnostic person during my adult life, I found that my spiritual longing is sated by singing in a choir. Almost 20 years later, that is what brought me back to ASC. I, along with my husband Ken, sing in the ASC Coventry Choir since November 2019. Of course, things are different now: Virtual choir singing is weird, as has been almost everything in 2020.

I also appreciate ASC’s stance on social justice and gender, as exemplified by the work of the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney. Intensely intellectual and glowing with genius, I listened to Dr. Gafney as she spoke at the ASC Rector’s Forum via Zoom, then guest-preached at the regular service on November 30. The occasion was ASC being the first church in America to use her “Women’s Lectionary,” starting that day.

The Women’s Lectionary is readings for an entire liturgical year that centers on the girls and women in Judeo-Christian scripture— the ones up to now who have been muted, sidelined and ignored. I get chills thinking how invisible I have almost always felt in structured religion and feel immense gratitude for this project.

“Unmute yourself” is now part of our lexicon. Many of us feminists and womanists have been passionate about unmuting the mostly hidden women of history. The women of the past may be seen but rarely heard.

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They rarely have been told to unmute!

There are histories we don’t even think about because, as the saying goes, “History is written by the victors.” Here’s a prime example. How many of us know there were Underground Railway “codes” for those escaping enslavement in the South sewn onto quilts? This method was ingenious because bounty hunters would never even consider that a quilt—a practical item made by insignificant women’s hands—could be used to fool them.

Dr. Gafney is adept at revealing what’s missing from mainstream religious texts and astute at explaining why an all-woman “cast” of Bible lessons and sermon subjects is vital.

Many congregations, including ASC, have already stopped referring to God exclusively as He/Father. Many have already adopted gender-neutral nomenclature such as “our Creative Force” or simply “our Creator.”

However, to call God “Her/Mother” begs the question: Isn’t the feminizing of names just the flipside of the same thing? Buoyed by evidence, Dr. Gafney points out that to create a healthy balance, if you don’t take the further step of Her/Mother and stay with neutral terms, our unconscious bias automatically fills in a white He/Father instead.

When I first heard Bobby McFerrin’s version of the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd… She maketh me lie down…,” I wept with grief and joy. Not only did it feel authentic, since many shepherds in far-flung reaches of the globe are actually female, but it also pointed out how many people have been so obliterated from texts. And it’s all based on perceived inherent superiority.

When I was a college kid in 1972, I heard white feminist Gloria Steinem and Black feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes speak in Billings, Montana. Together they warned about “culturally correct” authorities pitting women against women, as the white male-dom-

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inated press loved “catfights.” Steinem and Hughes were all about intersectionality and inclusion. And Steinem said, “However sugar coated and ambiguous, every form of authoritarianism must start with a belief in some group’s greater right to power, whether that right is justified by sex, race, class, religion or all four. However far it may expand, the progression inevitably rests on unequal power and airtight roles within the family.” Ideas about supremacy and superiority have their genesis in whatever our parents teach us through word and deed… or our rebellion against it.

When I was a little girl in my lily-white Lutheran church in South Dakota, I wish I’d seen Dr. Gafney preaching. “Glem det”—Norwegian for “fat chance”—even though my parents were progressives and probably would have loved hearing scripture from a feminist/womanist perspective.

The good news is now, in these “safer at home” times, you and your famiEXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ly can join usSTAFF on this year-long journey!

The menDeand boysJulia need to experience a few of the WRITERS: Andrew Checchia, Andres Ocampo, Shapero 111 women in the Bible who have names andKamala whatKirk their voices say to our times. A warnCONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Sara Edwards, DIRECTORS: Olivares, ing: Some of ART these stories Arman involve familyStephanie violence,Torres like rape and incest. ASC is providing an STAFFnontriggering PHOTOGRAPHER:alternative Luis Chavezfor those occasions. age-appropriate, PHOTOGRAPHERS: Myriam Santos While you CONTRIBUTING may not be able to smell the candles or hear the echoes of ASC’s soaring ceilACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb ings, you canFOUNDER still have your spirit soar as you hear the newly created music along with the EMERITUS: Sue Laris newly revealed stories of women.

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

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITERS: Andrew Checchia, Matthew Rodriguez, Julia Shapero, Annika Tomlin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Frier McCollister, Ellen Snortland ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Luis Chavez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Carl Afable, Josef Jasso ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

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A+R is an internationally regarded hub for design culture that brings attention to up-and-coming independent brands.

Photo by Carl Afable

Story by Design: A+R

By Andrew Checchia he story of the word “homebody” has certainly developed during the pandemic.

For almost everyone, the hours of the day spent working, studying, relaxing and socializing suddenly collapsed into one place—often for Downtowners into just the few small rooms of an apartment. The days of spontaneous exploration and stumbling upon new places have been put on hold. Staying in became a virtue, not a vice.

But while many resent this necessary domesticity, Rose Apodaca, a founder of the LA design store A+R, continues to make it her life’s work. Since starting A+R with her now-husband Andy Griffith, the pair dedicated themselves to finding cutting-edge pieces of modern design from around the world.

“We opened A+R in December 2005 in a small shop in a 250-square-foot store in Silverlake,” Apodaca said. “For the first decade of our existence we were a store that carried smaller items. What happened was a lot of the design houses that were doing the smaller things expanded their range.”

Now, A+R is an internationally regarded hub for design culture. Under the guidance of Apodaca, Griffith and A+R’s lean team of design experts, A+R brings attention to up-and-coming independent brands.

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“We have about 90 brands from around the world. There’s an emphasis on Scandinavian brands because of their history with modern design, but there’s a lot of good modern design brands from places like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Milan, Barcelona, Shanghai. Really, we try to emphasize brands that are not available here,” said Apodaca on A+R’s international focus.

With A+R’s prominence—highlighted by its recent move to its current showroom at ROW DTLA—sifting through the daily email pitches from design studios becomes a difficult curatorial task. So, Apodaca and Griffith, previously full-time journalists and documentary filmmakers, respectively, rely on their intuitive sense for a good story.

When design is reduced to pure function, people often lose sight of its powerful expression of culture, heritage and artistic narrative. For Apodaca, her efforts as a writer, as both a journalist and a published author, trained her to recognize pieces’ and brands’ storytelling abilities.

“I’m always interested in the narrative,” Apodaca explained. “When we decided to go into design, it was really about the stories behind the products and behind the designers. That’s what keeps our interest the most about what we’re doing.”

That storytelling focus also guided the A+R team through their important business decisions. From their moves to Abbot Kinney (as part of the wave that revital-

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Rose Apodaca started the LA design store A+R with her now-husband Andy Griffith.

Photo by Josef Jasso

ized the Venice street) to the design stretch on La Brea (now also a hub for men’s fashion in Los Angeles) and to their current space in Downtown, they work with a firm understanding of their own narrative.

“My heart goes out when any store closes or restaurant closes. But those who so often succeed are those that rework the stories they’re presenting,” Apodaca said.

“You can’t just put your sign up and open the door and expect things to work.

Retail is a craft like writing is a craft. You have to constantly improve it and make it more interesting. It’s never the end. It’s about research, about creative directing.

Merchandising the space or hosting parties, those are all creative directing scenes.

Being a writer is a 24/7 vocation and being a retailer is a 24/7 vocation.”

The mindset of a creative director helped A+R through these turbulent pandemic months, though COVID-19’s homebody push kept the demand for design as high as ever. As A+R continues to contract with companies to design modern spaces around North America, from Mexico to New York, its online presence allows it to spotlight brands and pieces like it normally would in its showroom. Its website was actually an early staple of A+R’s business strategy and one of the many reasons for its international success. So, when the pandemic forced everyone else away from brick-and-mortar commerce, A+R was ahead of the curve.

“Creativity tends to flourish when there are a lot of limitations put upon us. We’ve seen this throughout history in terms of art movements. I’m seeing that with my friends who are artists and designers,” said Apodaca of the hurdles associated with COVID-19. “Challenging as the pandemic is in so many ways, it has also provided an opportunity for those who are creative to find solutions. The way you find solutions is by first finding a problem.”

Talking with the architects and designers looking to find such solutions for a post-pandemic world, Apodaca realized that creativity and a fluent understanding of narrative guides forward-thinkers. As they find the necessary changes for office, retail and home spaces in the years to come, Apodaca and the A+R team hope to provide the best modern furniture and design elements that will fit this new world.

Looking forward, Apodaca offered optimism and pride in the Los Angeles spirit to forge ahead into the uncertainty.

“Maybe it’s this country’s optimism, but there are still businesses underway with plans of opening. That’s promising for us as an independent business and our economy nationwide,” she stressed. “(And) I love the history of California. I love how that history informs a very DIY spirit. You grew up here just assuming, ‘I want to do this.

I’m going to do it.’”

A+R 1318 E. Seventh Street, Suite 100, Los Angeles 1-800-913-0071, aplusrstore.com

School offering COVID-19 tests to abate stigma

By Julia Shapero Los Angeles high school has opened a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site to support its students and families, as cases in Los Angeles continue to rise.

Downtown’s Camino Nuevo Charter Academy recently began offering testing at Dalzell Lance High School.

Adriana Abich, CEO of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, said the testing site was started because they are aware that people of color have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Camino Neuvo serves mostly Latino students, as well as many students from low-income families, mixed-status families and immigrant families.

“We are an organization that has been here for 20 years,” Abich said. “We are a part of this community. And we’re dedicated to the total well-being of our students and our families. And so starting a testing site was just like the most natural thing to do to support our families and the community that we work in.”

The testing site sought to reduce the stigma surrounding getting tested for COVID-19 or testing positive, Abich added.

“By hosting this on our school site, we are telling families that we are here to support them, that testing is a positive thing, and our goal here is to slow the spread of this virus in the hotspot, which is exactly where our schools are.”

Los Angeles County set new records on December 6, with more than 10,000 new positive cases in a single day, according to the LA County Department of Public Health. The total number of cases reported in the county has surpassed 475,000.

California as a whole also felt the impact of the latest surge of the coronavirus, seeing the highest number of deaths in a single day on December 8, according to the county health department.

Camino Neuvo’s testing site serves about 500 people a day, said Larry Boone, principal of Dalzell Lance High School. The drive-thru testing is open Monday through Thursday, as well as Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., he added.

The charter school operator partnered with COVID-19 testing startup Curative Inc. to provide oral-fluid swab tests, which are painless. Those who want to get tested can set up appointments at curative.com.

“One of the tenets of our organization is that we believe in social justice, and this is a social justice issue that our constituents need access to testing, and we want to absolutely make sure that they’re not afraid of it,” Boone said. “So again, we just want to invite everybody out to participate and help slow the spread as much as possible.”

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Society helps students exchange their ideas

By Julia Shapero ichard Petrosyan has always had a passion for exploring new questions and knowledge.

However, as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he found there wasn’t a particular platform that allowed students to exchange ideas and ask questions.

“A lot of the organizations have, as a purpose, to execute something—some task, some activity that is dictated by an executive committee,” said Petrosyan, a third-year neuroscience student at USC. This led Petrosyan to create the Philologos Society at USC, an altruistically oriented intellectual society, in July 2019.

“This (society) really enables the student to, whatever their interest is, to explore it, to delve into it and produce some work … and to put it out there on the internet or exchange it with students,” he said.

The student—run organization seeks to promote intellectual growth among its members, while also utilizing this to perform community service in the surrounding Los Angeles communities, said Petrosyan, who is also the society’s president.

The society is split into two main branches—a humanitarian branch and an academic branch, he said.

Within the humanitarian branch, the Philologos Society has partnered with Meals on Wheels West, volunteering weekly to deliver food to those who are homebound, Petrosyan said.

Members also participate in a phone reassurance program where they call program members and check on them, provide mental support, help them access resources and have friendly conversations with them, he added. “(We want) just to show that throughout this pandemic, they’re not alone, they do still have people who are there to support them,” he said.

The society has also formed partnerships with various schools in the area, Petrosyan said. Society members visit about twice a month and prepare presentations or debates. After the presentation, they try to spark debate with discussion questions, he added.

“We try to expose (the students) to new academic horizons, new topics that they might not have been exposed to before so that they can potentially develop a taste for it and pursue it in college,” he said. “So essentially, this widening of their academic horizons is what we try to do.”

Once a semester, the society hosts a formal debate with the schools, he said. They form different teams and, within each team, students at the schools have the opportunity to strategize with members of the Philologos Society.

“That way, they get exposed to new ideas, maybe different levels of thinking,” he said. “They start to learn how to think at a higher level. So there’s an exchange of ideas going on.”

The society also collaborates with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League, where they judge debate tournaments on a monthly basis and provide feedback, Petrosyan said.

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Sean Silvia, vice president of the society, said judging the debates has been one of his favorite events with the society.

“At the end, you give the students involved your comments,” Silvia said. “Just seeing their smiles when you compliment them or notice a cool argumentative trick that they’ve done, or seeing the smiles of the students that we gave the presentations to, the local high school students, where you can tell that they’re learning, they’re getting excited, getting that sort of emotional response is really gratifying.”

In the academic branch, the society brings in professors from different departments and specialties to come speak at meetings, Petrosyan said. They also hold internal debates and documentary screenings, as well as symposiums where students prepare presentations about research topics of interest.

Additionally, the society posts educational content and videos about its volunteering projects on its YouTube channel, he added. Members can also write opinion columns about general philosophical questions or news articles that summarize scientific articles in a way that is understandable for a nonscientific population.

“A great variety of our activities, especially in the academic branch, definitely aim to make easier to understand knowledge that we try to acquire from ourselves, make academics more palatable to whoever exists in the audience and wants to learn more,” he said.

When creating the society, Petrosyan added that he was particularly inspired by the versatility of the Greco-Roman education that he learned about in his Classics courses.

“What they aimed to do was to teach the students about all topics, whether it’s science, whether it’s philosophy (or) rhetoric,” he said. “In the American educational system, there’s a lot of specialization and that specialization takes place very soon so people are not exposed to other topics.”

Since it was founded over a year ago, Petrosyan said the society has continued to grow, both in terms the activities it hosts and scope it covers, and the number of students drawn to the group.

“We give the students the freedom to get involved in what they want,” he said. “Do they want to make presentations to high schools? Do they want to physically volunteer? Or for those who are not in Los Angeles, we give them the opportunity to do it through the (internet).”

Silvia said he initially got involved to help the society expand its YouTube channel and make educational videos.

“And then, you know, seeing all the opportunities that were at hand, I got very excited and really participated and worked my way up the rankings,” he said.

He added that the society provides a fantastic venue for intellectual growth and camaraderie.

“It’s a great space for everyone to share ideas, to learn (and) to grow without judgment, and that’s really fantastic,” he said.

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Reported cases in DTLA and surrounding areas as of Dec. 7 Chinatown: 274; Little Tokyo: 146; Los Feliz: 403; Silverlake: 1,115; South Park: 2,940; Wilshire Center: 1,800; Total confirmed cases in DTLA: 1,507 Total deaths in DTLA: 19 Total confirmed cases in LA County: 449,851 Total deaths in LA County: 7,909 Los Angeles County faces a stark reality as COVID-19 cases drastically rise. For the first time in the pandemic, the county recorded over 10,000 daily cases, shattering the previous record of 8,948, which was set the day before. Currently, there are only 10.3% of available ICU beds in the Southern California region, with over 2,800 people hospitalized. California—the most populated state in the union—leads the U.S. in the total number of cases, with Los Angeles County as the epicenter of the pandemic. The county falls under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new health order that activates as ICU availability drops below

15%. As a result, the county will revert to another lockdown, similar to the one set in March.

All in-person tutoring and special services on campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District closed on Thursday because of the dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases. The closure of the nation’s second-largest school district affects about 4,000 kids from kindergarten to 12th grade. With the closure of campuses and the rise in cases, the school district will most likely push the 2021 reopening of schools even later in the year.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center faces its own COVID-19 outbreak, causing it to cancel all visitations. According to the Bureau of Prisons, out of the 553 inmates incarcerated, 219 inmates tested positive for the virus. In addition, 12 staff members also tested positive.

Information compiled by Matthew Rodriguez.

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Visit Little Tokyo to support small businesses

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski his season, Little Tokyo is encouraging shoppers to support its local and historic businesses.

Whether ordering delivery and takeout from one of the neighborhood’s restaurants, checking off one-of-a-kind gift items, snapping a selfie during a contactless visit with a cardboard cutout of Shogun Santa, or donating directly to relief efforts, there are a number of ways to show love to Little Tokyo this season.

The holidays are in full swing, as Shogun Santa comes to town as a cardboard cutout to bring safe and contactless holiday cheer and festive photo moments to Little Tokyo.

Snap the perfect holiday card photo with Shogun Santa next to the Japanese Village Plaza Christmas tree during his visits from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. December 19 and December 20. The Little Tokyo Business Association, in partnership with Skid Row-Kyo, will collect new and gently used blankets for the local unhoused community.

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Go Little Tokyo has created curated neighborhood gift guides to make holiday shopping and supporting local businesses easier.

Visit golittletokyo.com/holidays to browse gift guides and order personalized gifts online shipped straight to loved ones’ doorsteps.

While celebrating the holidays, Little Tokyo boasts neighborhood markets, boutique specialty shops, LA’s best ramen and sushi restaurants, traditional mochi desserts and matcha drinks.

Stroll through the historic First Street North and Japanese Village Plaza glowing under overhead lighting.

At over 135 years old, Little Tokyo in Los Angeles is the second-oldest historic neighborhood in Los Angeles and the largest of only three remaining Japantowns in the United States. The neighborhood is home to an estimated 400 businesses, with nearly all facing severe impacts due to the pandemic.

For those looking to send love and holiday cheer to the small businesses in Little Tokyo,

Little Tokyo is encouraging shoppers to support its local and historic businesses this holiday season.

Submitted photo

the Little Tokyo Community Council needs help in raising donations for the Little Tokyo Small Business Relief Fund, which aims to raise and distribute $500,000 in grants to atrisk small businesses. To make a donation to the Little Tokyo Small Business Relief Fund, visit littletokyola.org/gofundme.

Restaurants and businesses in Little Tokyo offer a number of convenient amenities, including curbside, in-store pickup and take-

away dining options.

Businesses in Little Tokyo remain committed to the health and wellness of the community and are open and implementing additional safety protocols. Face coverings are required when visiting Little Tokyo, and all guests are encouraged to practice physical distancing. For more information and to view the Little Tokyo gift guides for ideas, visit golittletokyo.com/holidays.

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YouTube star and his mom open Anwar’s Kitchen

By Frier McCollister ouTube star, actor and comedian Anwar Jibawi may not be known to everyone. Those folks are missing out.

The 29-year-old with 6.06 million followers on YouTube opened a restaurant in Downtown’s Fashion District less than two weeks ago.

Those in the know have followed his recent spate of videos on YouTube—20 episodes produced during the pandemic called “Anwar’s Kitchen.” They feature him and his gregarious mother, Amal Jivawi, 53. So the news of Anwar’s Kitchen opening in real life might not be such a surprise.

This isn’t one of Anwar’s comedic setups.

His shawarma and falafel stand on the corner of Eighth and Santee streets has all the earmarks of Anwar’s comic misadventures— particularly when it’s a week following LA County’s ban on outdoor dining and a week before the state’s modified lockdown order.

Anwar’s Kitchen is an outlet for authentic recipes from the Palestinian diaspora and a testament to the ultimate secret ingredient—mom. Though the opening menu at Anwar’s Kitchen is exceedingly simple for now, guests can get a sense of Amal’s sensibility, influences and depth as a home chef by following the eponymous YouTube videos.

With Anwar serving as her able comic sidekick and foil, Amal demonstrates the process of making complex regional dishes like mansaf and mandi, as well as her takes on dishes like lasagna and spicy shrimp. Averaging between 5 and 7 minutes, the videos are professionally produced, instructive and, thanks to the ineluctable chemistry between mother and son, ultimately adorable.

Palestine-born Amal is the eldest daughter in a family of 14 younger siblings. Anwar was born in Chicago in 1991, but the family—which includes his five brothers—soon moved to Southern California. Settling in Bell, Anwar is a Bell High School graduate. He began making short comedic videos in 2016 on the now-defunct Vine app but quickly established his popular YouTube channel and Instagram presence.

When the initial pandemic lockdown was imposed in March, he needed a new video concept that could be shot at home. “What if we made a cooking show (with mom) teaching me how to cook?” Anwar explained. “Anwar’s Kitchen” was born, starring Amal and her trove of authentic recipes.

Anwar quickly discovered a whole new fanbase.

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“There were people just watching the cooking show and didn’t even care to watch my other content,” he said.

The notion of opening an actual restaurant hatched in April, when the show launched. Suffice to say, the ongoing mayhem of the pandemic was not fully anticipated.

“At that time, we thought it (the pandemic lockdown) was all going to be done in April and everything would go back to normal.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” he said.

Although the family had no professional background in the restaurant business, according to Anwar, “My mom would always host very big feasts for five or six families.

Every day is Thanksgiving for her. My mom’s dream, since she was a teenager, was to open up a restaurant. (For me) it was always, ‘One day I’ll open up a restaurant for you.’”

That day arrived on November 30, and though Anwar and his able general manager Steven Vasquez are still working out the details related to website development, delivery logistics and interior décor, Anwar’s Kitchen is open for takeout and delivery. When outdoor seating is allowed again, there will be space for 20 distanced diners.

Downtown residents looking for fresh, authentic flavors from the Middle East should take the opportunity now before the place blows up on the socials.

Three vertical spits for beef and chicken shawarma, as well as one for gyro, are reliably rotating as they form the core of the opening menu. That said, fresh housemade falafel and hummus are always available as well. Here’s how it works: Guests choose a protein or falafel served as pita sandwich, wrap or plate. The pitas and wraps for beef ($12.95), chicken, gyro or falafel (all $10.95) are served with a choice of fries or hummus and pita chips. The beef is served with tahini, the chicken with garlic sauce, the gyro with a classic tzatziki white sauce and the falafel is served with pickled turnip and tahini. For plates that include yellow rice and salad, beef is $14.95 and the other three options are $12.95.

Diners can also choose Anwar style, for which protein is served on a bed of seasoned fries and pita chips with a toss of chopped tomatoes, parsley, jalapeno, garbanzos, hot peppers, thousand island dressing and “special sauce.” It’s a Levantine poutine and only available at Anwar’s Kitchen. The choices can also be committed to salad bowls ($12.95/$11.95). Finally, save room for dessert. There is positive buzz around the Amal’s

Chef Mahmoud Bisher, left, works beside Anwar’s Kitchen owners Anwar Jibawi and mother Amal Jibawi.

Photo by Luis Chavez

Anwar fries, chicken shawarma, tomatoes, corn, sliced jalapeno pepper, special sauce, tahini and parsley.

Photo by Luis Chavez

Steven Vazquez, right, is general manager for Anwar’s Kitchen, owned by YouTuber Anwar Jibawi.

Photo by Luis Chavez

baklava ($4.95), available in either pistachio or walnut varieties. By the way, everything on the menu is 100% certified Halal.

As to his chosen location in the Fashion District, Jibawi is clear.

“I wanted to be in the heart of Los Angeles,” he said. “If you want the most authentic Middle Eastern dishes, come try it out for yourself. We’ve worked really hard on the authenticity of everything on the menu.”

ANWAR’S KITCHEN 217 E. Eighth Street, Los Angeles 213-265-7982, anwarskitchen.com

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DECEMBER 14, 2020

Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas brought Cheurlin Champagne to the United States in 2016.

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Isiah Thomas, Thirstie team to sell Cheurlin Champagne

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ormer Detroit Pistons “Bad Boy” Isiah Thomas has gone from pouring Champagne on teammates to selling it.

Thomas’ award-winning Cheurlin Champagne recently launched an online presence with the New York-based e-commerce company Thirstie. He said the partnership was vital because it reaches beyond the brickand-mortar retail shops.

“Having the opportunity to work with Thirstie and being able to be a bit more intimate with your customer base and supplying them with their needs has been great for us,” he said.

Thirstie CEO Devaraj Southworth added, “We’re honored to be joining Isiah and the Cheurlin family on their mission to bringing this fine Champagne to the U.S. online market. Thirstie’s cutting-edge technology, coupled with our innovative data solutions,

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helps ensure Cheurlin is available for shipping and delivery to 200 million Americans.”

Cheurlin Champagne’s 100% owner and importer, Thomas brought it to the United States in 2016. Bottles range in price from $25 to $299.99.

“When you look at the spirit space right now, there’s a new wine that comes out every month. There’s a new vodka or tequila,” he said. “I always wanted the best of the best—and Champagne is the best of the best.

“With the Cheurlin family, we can’t own the land, so we own all the rights to the grapes. We’re able to give you the first press of the grape every single time. We’re the largest value producer of first-press grape Champagne in the United States and in the Americas.”

Thomas added the Champagne is low in sugar because it’s made with the first-press grape.

Photo courtesy Cheurlin Champagne

“We’re bringing you the lowest sugar Champagne at a very affordable price point,” he said. “That’s what drove me to this space.”

Entering the Champagne business presented a learning curve to Thomas, who called himself a “forever learner.”

“Part of the learning curve was just understanding the process of making Champagne,” he contended. “All Champagnes are made with three grapes. We only use pinot noir grape, the pinot blanc and chardonnay.

“Being able to understand the difference of the grapes—what they are used for and then, most importantly, the difference between first press, second press and third press—was tough.”

Other Champagne companies are so large that they can’t offer a first press with every single bottle, he added. Cheurlin can guarantee that.

Thomas’ company is the largest minority-owned Champagne in the world—and it didn’t come without struggles.

“We bumped our head a lot in this distribution game because it was a new product and the new kid on the block. I’m also the only person of color who’s truly in this space

as an owner-importer. I was told no a hundred times for every one yes.

“Earning the acceptability and the credibility from the distributors who are used to dealing with a very known product (was challenging). They’re used to only dealing with a very known product, so they were reluctant to bring on another Champagne.”

Through Cherlin Champagne, Thomas hopes to educate the public about first-, second- and third-press Champagne. The higher-quality Champagnes do not produce hangovers as easily, he said for example. Cheurlin Champagne only has 1 gram of sugar per glass.

“When you drink it, you shouldn’t get a searing headache,” Thomas said. “Most Champagnes you’re drinking now in the market are so heavily loaded with sugar. The headaches come from the sugar and the high sulfates.

“When you get a headache from drinking, that is your body telling you that what you put in your mouth is not good for you. What I like to do is continue to educate the public about the first, second and third presses of Champagne.”

Cheurlin Champagne cheurlin.com

DECEMBER 14, 2020

“Secret Los Angeles: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure” showcases the hidden gems around the city of LA.

Danny Jensen took his passion for finding the “underground places” of LA and wrote “Secret Los Angeles: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.”

DT New book reveals the

Photo courtesy Danny Jensen

Covered California will help ART & CULTURE

‘secrets’ of Los Angeles

By Annika Tomlin anny Jensen moved to Los Angeles from New York to become an actor more than 10 years ago. His day job as a writer took him in another direction— writing for the likes of Thrillist, Time Out and TravelZoo. Jensen recently released his book “Secret Los Angeles: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure,” which dives into LA’s “secret” spots that locals and visitors might not be aware of.

“I was sort of doing it on my own as I got to know the history of the city and just checking out cool places and just had the opportunity to share those places with more than just my group of friends,” Jensen said.

“It was sort of a natural thing that I used to do living in New York as well as living in

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Boston.”

He previously co-wrote the second edition of “100 Things to Do in Los Angeles Before You Die” in 2018. His co-author, Carrie Kim, followed Jensen’s travel writing and wanted his help when it came time to write the follow-up, “Secret Los Angeles.”

“I guess it would be more essential places to explore in terms of locals and tourist things you got to take off your bucket list,” Jensen said. “Then the publisher approached after that and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do this follow-up book, “Secret Los Angeles”?’ The publisher does a series of other cities across the country, too.”

Jensen completed several other guides for various cities and countries, including Iceland, and was excited to further look for Los Angeles’ “underground places.”

“Having been here and writing about the

city for 10 years, it triggered sort of my preliminary research; and then sitting down and getting ready to write the book and picking out specific places, that took about a year and a half,” Jensen said.

Jensen said it was tough to pick favorite spots. Highlights include Angeles Crest Creamery, a goat farm in Angeles National Forest, and original speakeasies.

“There are actually some of the original Prohibition-era speakeasies you can explore in various ways,” Jensen said. “There are some open where you can go for a tour with a group and it will take you around and you can explore these cool bars.

“Another that has really great history that I was enjoying in sort of digging into was the jazz history of Central Avenue and particularly the Dunbar Hotel, which was kind of the heart and the hub of the ’20s up until the ’50s and ’60s.”

He also touched on jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald and their

Photo courtesy Danny Jensen

stays at the Dunbar Hotel when they performed nearby.

“It’s a really cool piece of history that I think not everybody knows about, so it’s fun to explore and share that with people,” Jensen said.

Before COVID-19, he helped conduct in-person tours around the city. He is now hosting virtual tours and events to help promote his book. Previous online events include a virtual tour of Hollywood and a Zoom call featuring a whiskey tasting and poetry reading.

“I want people who are visiting LA and who live here and maybe who have lived here for their whole lives to get a chance to see the city in a new light,” Jensen said.

“I want them to really explore these hidden corners, and I see (this book) as a launching pad to get them exploring more.”

He hopes to continue the virtual tours and eventually return to in-person events to “continue the exploration.”

“Secret Los Angeles: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure” is available at secretlosangelesbook.com.

The website also lists upcoming Danny Jensen’s events.

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TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

DECEMBER 14, 2020

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