Stuff to do this week

Since most people are not working(me) or partially working (most others), here's a rundown of stuff going on in LA that I would probably do if I had an endless supply of time, money, and energy.

Tuesday Dec 30
All You Can Drink @ Velvet Room
Korean nightclubs are a unique species indeed. If you've always wanted to try one out, revisit , or just feed your daily clubbing habit, this seems like a good deal to me. AYCD is never a bad thing. And while VR isn't the premiere ktown nightclub like Le Cercle, if memory serves me right from my last visit almost 2 years ago, this place is pretty flash. Expect to see lots of hot underaged asian girls and guys too chicken shit to ask for their numbers without the assistance of "booking."

I would call ahead to either confirm this deal or make a reservation if I were you.

$20 Ladies
$100 Gents
DANCE CONTEST,CASH PRIZES,RAFFLE DRAWING

Velvet Room

3470-1 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010

(213) 381-6006

Wed Dec 31
Giant Maximus
Giant used to be this weekly mega party in Hollywood back when raves where all the rage and people were dropping E and spreading that PLUR bullshit (Peace Love Unity Respect). While Giant is long gone, they do throw some awesome sounding parties each NYE. Been wanting to go every year for some reason. Maybe because of the awesome headlining djs (Paul Oakenfold this year), the idea of a gigantic mass of people just out to have a good time... almost an entire city populations' worth. I will make it out to this, one day....

From their website: Under 3 Climate-Controlled Big Top Arenas, the 3rd Annual GIANT MAXIMUS continues its reign as This Planet's Largest 21+ New Year's Eve Celebration!

Situated on a seven-acre private site in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles with the soaring skyscrapers towering above, GIANT MAXIMUS offers 3 Stages with an indoor capacity of 8,500 and a 1,500 capacity courtyard featuring the ‘Monster Midway,' presented by Monster Energy, with High Flying Acrobatix, Psychedelic Circus Antics, Amusements, Games, Carnival Rides and, of course, the GIANT Ferris Wheel.

Price $75+
7pm - 4am (!!!)
Giant Maximus
835 Francisco St
Los Angeles CA 90017

Thurs Jan 1
Pasadena Tournament of Roses
If you're still sober enough, this is a SoCal institution that I think everyone should experience at least once, kinda like the ball drop in Times Square NYC on NYE. You will likely have to camp there the night before, but even that part of it sounds fun and appealing to me. Especially if you're with the right people and either a winnebago or good camping gear :) I won't be making it out this year (again), but one of these days....

8am - 10:30am
Ellis Street & Orange Grove
Pasadena, CA

Why LA is better than SF - Father's Office v. The Toronado

The whole "which city in Cali is better - LA v SF" is a topic that all Californians (and some non-Californians) have probably treaded more than they'd like. Yeah, I'll admit it, I think the Angelenos do a lot of things better. In fact, I think LA is waaay better than SF. At least in the things that matter to me :)

Aside from the 10 months a year of awesome weather, I've discovered yet another reason why LA is awesome (at least compared to SF)... the better beer pub.

Monday night, the last night of my epic SF visit, I was fortunate enough to visit the Toronado. Apparently this place is an SF institution in the lower Haight for beer and truckers and a kitschy cool that can never be replicated by high-powered chain restaurants. Everyone was raving about this place - my friends, the people I met up with inside, everyone. Indeed, it is a sight to behold and the crowd flowing through the night varied from local yuppies, guys finishing their shifts at the auto body shop, and later - the underage hipsters who probably used fake ids to get in.

The locals who brought me here were raving about the historic significance of this place and how it had "so many" different types of beer on tap. But I still think that at the end of the day, Father's Office (FO) is simply the superior brew pub. I certainly enjoyed my time at the Toronado, but here's a head-to-head comparison

1. The Beer - obviously the most important part of a beer pub. Toronado certainly had a respectful and carefully selected variety. But in terms of quantity, FO definitely wins. There may be 100s of different tap-pulls on the walls, but the actual beers you can order are only listed on the far wall and number about 20 on any given night. FO has closer to 50 different just as carefully selected beers. Though I did have a glass of hot spiced meade which I quite enjoyed at Toronado...

Winner - FO

2. The Food - Toronado doesn't sell food, but they let you bring your own or order from the sausage joint next door. Which is all cool and dandy. But really, can anything compare to the FO burger?! I think not!

Winner - FO

3. The Atmosphere - Toronado is this weird cross section of blue collar joes, urban hipsters, and just plain freaky weirdos off the street. FO Santa Monica is a casual woodsy neighborhood pub whose popularity outgrew its physical size. FO Culver City is a sleek bar/lounge that still retains the casual feel of the SM location with a mix of locals stopping for dinner, groups of friends, and random couples on dates, and the occasional celebrity sighting (I saw Evan Handler aka Harry Rosenblatt of SATC fame here once).

Winner - tie

Overall score: FO 2, Toronado 0.

You do the math.

Restaurant reivew: Whist at The Viceroy in Santa Monica

Let me preface this post by first saying that I'm glad I didn't have to pay for this dinner.

At my company, we get one really good dinner a year. And by a series of events beyond my control, Whist was selected (my first choice was Providence on Melrose. I will eat there, someday...).

Valet parking was easy, but it costs $8 with validation. Again, if I was paying, I would say try to find parking on the nearby streets. It's definitely doable. But since I wouldn't be paying for this, heck why not.

Entering the lounge portion, it's really dark. So dark that I barely found my compadres as they were waving at me from their little corner spot. Upon sitting on the white leather-ish wingback chairs, I surveyed the room and found it to be upscale retro elegant. It's like a thrift store gone highbrow, on acid.

Service in the lounge area was quick. I ordered a.... shoot, can't remember the name. But it was made from Skyy vodka, and muddled blackberries and St Germain (elderflower liquer) for $15. It was really fragrant without being overly sweet. My coworker said the taste kinda reminded him of a lychee martini. I think I have to agree with him. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Fortunately, the dining room was illumated a bit better. Not by a whole lot, but enough. It's a pretty enough space. Not like breathtaking, but good enough. I'm here to eat, not to be in a pretty room anyways. Surveying the menu, I started to get excited..... salads with black truffle, grilled sweetbreads, a charcuterie selection. Maybe my misgivings were unfounded.

The middle charcuterie section is $15 for 3 items. As we had a big group, we ordered everything down that middle column. It was hit or miss, especially with the cheeses. While some were soft and pungent while others were dry and rubbery. Hard cheeses should not be rubbery. But I did enjoy the portuguese sausage and the candied nuts. Those were good.

For my entree, I decided to order 2 apps instead so I won't get overly stuffed. First up was a salad of brussel sprout leaves, grilled brioche, topped with a poached egg with black truffle shavings ($15). The toast and egg were very yummy, but I could barely make out the truffle flavor. I mean, I could see its shavings on my plate, but I couldn't taste it. My coworkers also tried it and agreed that they couldn't taste the truffle - boo :( Truffles are one of my favorite things to eat and usually a little goes a long way, but I guess not here....



My 2nd app was the grilled sweetbreads ($15). It was served on a bed of braised red cabbage. This was pretty good, but not like "omg, i'm going to be thinking about this all week" good. But no complaints with that one.

The other folks got the steak with duck fat fries (steak was too cold, duck fat fries didn't taste duck fatty enough $25), loup de mer (whole fish was not scaled properly and was really difficult and messy to eat $25). The people who ordered the lobster pasta entree said they liked theirs.

We had serveral bottles of wine which were also hit and miss.

I did enjoy my dessert though. It was a pear cake with malt ice cream. Some people that it was too sweet, but I liked the balance of the warm sweet cake with the cool creamy ice cream. I do wish they skinned the pears though, because the skins got a bit chewy dry when baked.

Service was friendly enough, but I thought the pacing was a bit too slow. Towards the end, I kept following our waiter guy with my eyes hoping and praying that he'd ask if we needed anything else so that bossman could ask for the check.

Yeah, so the food was pretty good, but not great. I think this place does have potential due to their awesome location and interesting food offerings. But there are definitely some kinks that need to be worked out before they can compete with places like Osteria Mozza or Providence or even a Comme Ca. Bossman declared that we're eating at Providence next time. I hope he keeps his word.

Whist Restaurant
1819 Ocean Ave
Inside the Vicery Hotel
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 260-7511

Fun things going on this week

Monday

Half Price food at Citizen Smith
I don't know why I always forget about this deal. It's so good my friend CarolineonCrack and I went twice in a row back in the summer! It's half price on all their yummy foods every Monday at this usually highbrow hollywood hotspot.

Citzen Smith
1600 N Cahuenga Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
Dinner 6pm-2am every day


Tuesday

Free screening at the Arclight of The Wrestler
I actually rsvp'ed for this thing thru Yelp, but am probably not gonna go. But sounded pretty fun and it's FREE! :) Message me if you want my rsvp.

From yelp: Director Darren Aronofsky (of PI fame and also Mr Rachel Weiss) presents a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home - inside the ring.

Tuesday, December 16th at 7:30pm
Arclight Hollywood Cinema
6360 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028


Dim Mak Tuesdays at Cinespace
Yet another hipster mecca that happens every Tuesday. I've always meant to go, but never made it out.... yet. Steve Aoki is an awesome DJ and this place is his Tuesday residency. Free vodka drinks 10p-11p for your early birdies.

Tuesdays 10p - ?
Cinespace
6356 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood CA

A Pablove Supreme
I don't quite get how this is supposed to be a charity benefit when it's a free event. But in anycase, Silverspun Pickups will be spinning and there will also be a few acoustic sets. Expect uber-hipster silverlakey crowd here. FYI - this is an all ages event, so be wary of who's drinks you're paying for...

6pm - ?
Space 15 Twenty
1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd
LA CA 90028


Wednesday
Four on the Floor - new residency at Chloe in Santa Monica
It can be difficult to find good DJ music on the westside. And since Chloe is in Santa Monica and one of my fave "intimate" lounges on the westside, they get a shout out just for that. They describe it as "A sweaty, dancey mess of House, Disco, Bangers, Balearic beat, Yacht and Electro"
Interesting....

9:30pm - ? (closing time is 1:45am)
Chloe
1449 2nd St
Santa Monica, CA 90401


Scion House Party
Although this party doesn't offer any free booze (boo), Scion usually puts on pretty good shows/parties. Not sure what to expect with this one, but let me know if you find out :)

Free with RSVP
10pm-2am
Vanguard
6021 Hollywood Blvd
LA CA 90028



Sunday
Snow in LA Music Festival (All ages)
One of these days, I will make it out to The Echoplex. Until then, I'll just write about things that look cool that they got going on, like this Sunday! An all day music fest for $10. I like their little shoutout to the GhettoGloss girls in gorilla masks series ;)

$10 admission
5pm-12am
The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Sunday night blues

I hate Sunday nights. Even more than I hate Monday mornings. But this made me laugh, in a good way :)

http://movies.msn.com/movies/year-in-review/undressed/