Free Al Fresco Cinema Nights

With summer's blockbuster duds in full season (Miami Vice, World Trade Center) and no upcoming movies enticing me to the theater anytime soon (although I have hopes for The Science of Sleep and The Last Kiss hopefully?), I've decided to get my movie fix outside of the local multiplex--literally "outside" the local cineplex.

L.A.'s warm summer nights are perfect for al fresco movie watChing and these three outdoor cinema series around town make a nice alternative with actual good movies, free admission and even a BYO option (even if you have to sneak it in). The Hollywood Forever Cemetery asks for a $10 donation but the other two cost $14 less per person than the $14 ArcLight movie ticket (and that's before popcorn and a slurpee!) Yup, they're free!

CINESPIA @ HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY: Every Saturday night during the summer.
This has been on my to-do list for a couple summers but for some reason, I've never got around to it (maybe it's the rumored long lines or the hard-to-organize-for-a-Saturday-night activity). Playing everything from Pyscho (last weekend) to Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure (July sometime) and The Warriors (September 2nd), the films are a mix of cult classics and grandious movies fitting to watch under the stars. And above them too. (Many of the stars you're watching on screen are also buried there; Rudolph Valentino, John Huston,Jayne Mansfield to name a few.) This weekend is the John Wayne classic, The Searchers. Movies start at 8:30pm with gates open at 7pm for pre-flick wine and cheese picnicking and DJ-tunes. Since I haven't been there, check out Metrobogging LA's experience for a first-hand account and tips.

www.cinespia.org

SANTA MONICA 'DRIVE IN' AT THE BEACH: Every Tuesday night during August and September at the SM Pier.
The weekly summertime series isn’t your typical drive-in—leave your car at the lot and cozy up on the sand with a beach lounger instead. Noteworthy remaining films on the calendar—“Rocky” (August 22nd), “Anchorman” (September 5th), the 1927 Fritz Lang classic, “Metropolis” (September 12th), scored by a live orchestra and the closing film, "An Inconvenient Truth" on September 26th. Screenings start at sundown (around 8PM) but come early to catch the sunset and a prime sandy spot. Admission is free (although tickets are required), but gain karma points by donating to the Arts Fighting Cancer charity. Proceeds from beach chair rentals and tasty concessions (caramel corn, funnel cake) also support the cause.

www.smff.com
Pick up free tickets at any Santa Monica Visitor Center: 1920 Main Street, 1400 Ocean Ave, Kiosk at 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica

SAN GENNARO PRESENTS CINEMA AL FRESCO: Every Friday night during Month of August at Hancock Park @ the La Brea Tar Pits.
This one I found accidently while randomly looking up italian restaurants "just because" (me? obsessed with food? shocker). Doors open at the 6pm for live italian music with screenings starting at sundown around 8pm. We've already missed two great films, 'Cinema Paradiso" and "Il Postino", but the remaining two films are "Pinnochio"" (August 18th) and "The Italian Job" (the original one with Michael Caine) on August 25th. Italian-themed picnic dinners are available for purchase or you could come with some mozarella breadsticks and chianti for a make-your-own italia noche.

www.sangennarofoundation.org/cinema.html

Another Reason to Move to Venice: Nikki Local 72's 'Venice Residents 25% Discount Night'

Despite the last time I visited Nikki Local 72 in Venice, when the casual beach lounge turned into Friday night at The Avalon at the strike of 11pm, I decided to give the place another chance; one reason was because it was only 7pm, so I figured we had 4 cheese-free hours to enjoy the otherwise fun spot, but mainly it was because the tasty bar food I had last time was as memorably good as the stilleto-heeled table-dancing party-goers were bad.

We just missed happy hour which ended at 7pm, but I found another reason to move to Venice Beach--Wednesday nights is 'Venetian Night' where proof of a Venice residence warrants you 25% off your food. As luck would have it, I was with Jess, a Venice-dwelling resident, so our dining pleasure automatically improved by 25% right there. (another great Venice spot on Abbot Kinney, The Otheroom, is also very Venice-centric; simply flash your Venice ID and skip past all the non-Venetian bar-goers waiting in line everytime)

We settled on the shrimp ceviche (which also has scallops, calamari and whitefish), nacho platter and buffalo wings, our bartender--who didn't know what kind of food experts he was dealing with--highly recommended the ceviche, which is made to order, but suggested 3 plates was a lot of food so we should pick one of the two. We politely dismissed his suggestion and decided to order all three. Again, he urged us to start off with two and order a third if we needed it. Humoring him, we just ordered the ceviche and the buffalo wings.

The generously-portioned ceviche came in an oversized martini glass, with the dressing possessing a perfectly lemony-lime kick. Yum! A definite must-order for future visits.

The buffalo wings had that good sticky-sauced yet crunchy fried coating consistency. The wings weren't too spicy but they also weren't too greasy or fatty either. Besides, it's all about the bleu cheese dressing. Creamy with small chunks of bleu cheese, the way I like it. After our wings, I also ate all the celery and carrots just so I could dip into more of the bleu cheese.

We took a break to comment on how we could still easily polish off a plate of cheesy, beany nachos when we spied our waitress walk by with a cast-iron skillet filled with a single, giant chocolate chip cookie, and we decided maybe it was a good idea we didn't order the nachos. the 'Half Baked' is a warmed-up, deep-dish, 7", half-baked giant chocolate chip cookie topped with two scoops of vanilla icecream and chocolate sauce people!

We were done and out of there by 10pm so I can't say for sure if the place still gets cheesy-bad late in the night, although the flyer we saw for 'Lingerie PJ Party, this Sunday Night' posted on their pillar makes me suspect yes.

Nikki's Local 72
72 Market St, Venice
Wednesday Nights: 'Venetian Nights' 25% off with proof of Venice residence.
Appetizers and dessert: $7 each without a Venice discount, $15.75 total with a Venice discount!
Several fun and fruity martini's: $9

4-Course Lunching in Culver City: Wilson Restaurant

I finally had lunch at Wilson, the highly anticipated Culver City cafe/bar by Chef Mikey Wilson (Pinot Bistro, 5 Dudley) and partners Stefano DeLorenzo & Antonio Mure (Valentino and their own Westside Italian gems Piccolo and La Botte). The fresh and modern decor--lime, orange and white color scheme, white pillar lighting hanging from lofty ceilings, wraparound, floor-to-ceiling windows--matched both the mod vibe of the Museum of Design and Archetecture building which the eatery is housed and the colorful menu of farm-to-table fresh, organic-leaning ingredients.

Serving casual 'global cuisine comfort food', creative dishes included rabbit sloppy joes, chicken enchilada lasagne with pico del gallo and pulled pork with african spices. We ordered the intriguing-sounding B.L.E.T (Applewood-smoked bacon, butter lettuce, avocado, tomato and bbq eel) sandwich and had the chef surprise us with the rest.

The B.L.E.T. was a complementary mix of differing textures and strong flavors, but with so many other interesting-sounding items on the menu, I didn't love it enough to automatically want to order it over trying other new dishes on my next visit.

The escargot special was my favorite dish--drizzled with pesto and walnut-asiago type dressing instead of the standard buttersauce, the sauces were flavorful without overpowering the meaty taste of the plump snails.

We were also served the 'market vegetable lunch plate' (which changes dependent on the Farmer's Market's current freshest offerings). It was tasty pea puree topped with a delicious sweet corn polenta and wilted arugula. The dish was extra pleasurable because the dish probably wouldn't be normally something I'd order on a menu, and it translated way better via tastebuds than verbal description.

Just when we couldn't eat any more, out came the chocolate-cherry truffle cake--dense layers of fresh-sliced cherries, fudgy chocolate truffle and chocolate cake.

To appease longtime fans, Wilson also showcases several faves from his previous 5 Dudley restaurant (baby field greens with proscuitto, goat cheese and eggplant, cilantro-pesto crusted jidori chicken with wasabi mashed potatoes) as well as several of Chef Mure's pasta dishes from his Piccolo restaurant (I was secretly hoping we'd also get the potato and fig tortellini in parmesan fondue which I first tried at Piccolo. Pillowy packages of homemade pasta filled with starchy potato and sweet fig--so good that Jess and I are planning a dinner at Piccolo next week to get our fix).

With super-fresh ingredients and homegrown herbs and spices picked from their back patio garden (where diners can also sit outside), the vibrant dishes are as richly flavorful as they are visually appetizing. I never got the pleasure of dining at 5 Dudley but did enjoy the sophisticated menu at Manhattan Beach's Avenue (who's menu was created by Wilson) and am a huge fan of both Piccolo and La Botte so Wilson definitely has the pedigree. Between Beacon, Ford's Filling Station, Tender Greens gourmet takeout and now Wilson, Culver City is finally coming into its own as a dining destination.

Wilson
8631 E. Washington Blvd, Culver City
310/287-2093
Lunch & Dinner: Most dishes are under $20

Piccolo
5 Dudley Ave, Venice
310/314-3222
Favorite Dishes:Seared scallops in truffle fondue, homemade black ink pasta with lobster, calamari, clams and scallops in a roasted tomato sauce, red beet stuffed ravioli with poppy seeds, brown butter and Parmigiano cheese.

La Botte
620 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica
310/576-3072
Favorite Dishes: sea urchin & sea bass carpaccio, duck proscuitto with gorgonzola dressing, yellow corn zuppa with organic chicken, red beet tagliolini with homemade quail sausage and the creamiest, airiest panna cotta coated with a thick caramel topping

Midweek Malibu Solitude for $4:El Matador Beach

Yesterday, Jess and I donned on our bikinis and headed up PCH to El Matador Beach.

She had a day off and I logged in my 2 hours of work earlier indulging in a decadent 4-course lunch at Wilson, a restaurant I'm profiling for a magazine, but it still felt like we were playing hooky for a day knowing most everyone else was Dilbert'ing it in an office while we drove towards the beach for a spur of the moment, pre-sunset laze-about in the sand.

Just north of Point Dume, the semi-secluded El Matador does get its share of beachcombers during the weekend but is nothing like Zuma, Malibu Lagoon or any other more high-profile Malibu beach and it's relatively isolated during the work week, (we spied less than 10 people total and nobody in the water). High cliffs and a series of craggy mini-coves adds to the faraway, "I can't believe it's only 20 minutes away from Santa Monica" vibe.

Bring a magazine
camera (beautiful photo-worthy scenery)
optional bathing suit (most beach-goers are covered but the further down the coves you go, the more bathing-optional peeps you see)
and $4 (parking is self-paying and looks like it's rarely checked so it's tempting to just skip filling out and depositing money into the envelope, but the threat of bad karma convinced us to slip in the $4).

El Matador Beach
32100 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
Look out for the tiny sign about 5 minutes after the Point Dume turn-off

Celebrating Doggie Style: Tobie's Birthday Puppy Party

It's kinda sad that the turnout for Tobie's (a puppy) birthday party was far superior than any b'day shin-dig I've ever organized for myself. On Saturday, a couple dozen of Tobie's (the b'day dog) and Cira's (the b'day dog's owner) closest human friends and dog acquaintances gathered at Cira's apt. to celebrate Tobe's 6th/42nd birthday.

To get into the canine spirit, we headed to Party City earlier that day to load up on dog-adorned decor (a wall mural, banners and hanging mobile depicting frolicking puppies, a regal-looking tinsel crown for Prince Tobie, doggy bags--get it?!--and a rainbow crepe-paper disco ball thingy too festive to pass up.



By the time I arrived bearing organic chicken'n'liver flavored dog cookies (Happy Birthday Tobie! please share with your puppy roomate Guyb), the puppy party was already in full force. Many pooch-lovin' party goers were already well on their way to being fully tanked thanks to Tracey's 100% proof plus Sangria and beer (humans), and pig ears and raw hide galore (the menagerie of Shi Tzu's, Malteses and Weiner dogs).

Tobie & Guyb

The rest of the pups








Although the bulldog-themed wall calendar came a close second, I'd say the giant pig's snout puppy treat was won for best/worst birthday present.


Tasty seven layer dip, super-potent sangria, interesting conversation about satanic sadist current events, "bawls", a couple of ill-placed deuces and pee pees (Nugget!) and pig snout snacks--Tobie's celebration into his 42nd dog year was nothin' but high class all the way.

Action-Packed Sunday Part 3: Flaming Lips & Thievery Corporation @ the Hollywood Bowl

After eating and drinking for a couple hours, I left Chaya and headed to Meriam's to meet up for another couple hours of eating and drinking at the Hollywood Bowl (oh, and also to see the Flaming Lips/Thievery Corporation concert.)

The traffic and parking along the Bowl entrance on Highland is as stab-in-the-eye painful as the Hollywood Bowl summer concert series is enjoyable--luckily Meriam conveniently lives walking distance to the Hollywood & Highland shuttle pick up (Actually, in the parking lot on Orange St., a block W of Highland)

We got in line around 6:30pm for the 7pm concert. We arrived $3 and a 5 minute bus ride later. We got to our $13 dollar seats (Section T, middle area; high up but a great view and great deal) and proceeded to unpack our Trader Joe picnic goodies.
We polished off two bottles of Yellowtail Label wine (really good for it's $4.99 price), cheese and crackers, cherries and chocolate covered pretzels as we listened to the eclectic worldish, dub, electronica, triphop, bossa nova sounds of Thievery Corporation, and, since the Flaming Lips were shooting footage for their DVD and went all out, we also ate and drank while watching as the lead singer of the Flaming Lips sing inside a big plastic bubble being rolled over the audience, bopping our heads along to FL faves as 'Do You Realize?', 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' and 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song', hitting giant balloons released into the crowd, marveling at the pychedelic prettiness of the fluttering canoned confetti and waving our glowsticks like we didn't care.
Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne singing in his bubble

Flaming Lips on Stage with their Dancing Santas

Flaming Lips/Thievery Corporation Tix: $13 (no Ticketmaster charges if bought at the Hollywood Bowl box office)
$3 roundtrip bus shuttle
$10 wine and snacks
Total for a picnic and concert at the Bowl: $26

Action-Packed Sunday Part 2: Gluttony at Gladstones in Malibu

After our 5 mile hike and 15 minute swim--practically a marathon--Chaya and I were ready for lunch. We decided to stop at the closest restaurant on PCH. We ended up veto'ing Duke's (an hour wait for not that appetizing lunch buffet), Moonshadows (the 2pm red velvet rope wasn't the scene were looking for), Reel Inn (although we love it, and I hear they may be closing soon if they don't get enough petition signers) and ended up at Gladstones.

After being informed of the hour wait, we walked inside and immediately found seats at the bar. Negating any positive effects of our earlier hike, we ordered sweet, high-school appropriate frozen drinks (Pina Colada and Mudslides), oyster shooters (Gladstone's Original: Oysters topped with Bloody Mary Mix, vodka and olives) and ate about a pound of salted peanuts (this Malibu spot is down-home enough to allow patrons to throw shells onto the floor!) while we waited for our gigantic bowls of salad (El Paso Shrimp Salad with mango, avocado and jicama for Chaya, Seafood Cobb with smoked salmon, oysters, crab meat and shrimp for me).
Sitting at the bar has it's perks. Our awesome bartender threw in a cosmo shot and the most magnificent, glistening bowl of sweet, fresh strawberries topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I was expecting Gladstones to be touristy, cheesy and overpriced--and in some ways it was--but it's a fun enough atmosphere with strong enough drinks and generous enough portions to more than make up for it. We were very glad to have our post-hike lunch at Gladstones.
Gladstones
Drinks, shooters, unlimited peanuts and lunch: $30 each