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Archive for August, 2010
The famous Miceli’s Italian Restaurant in Hollywood
The famous Miceli’s Italian Restaurant in Hollywood and Universal City, is home of the singing waiters and waitresses. They will serenade you with Italian arias, musical show tunes, classical standards…. all while you dine.
Miceli’s was established in 1949, when Carmen and Sylvia Miceli gathered together their meager funds and, joined by sisters Angie and Millie and brothers Tony and Sammie, opened Miceli’s Pizzaria — Hollywood’s first pizza house.
Using family recipes brought from Sicily via Old Chicago, the Miceli’s had people lined up and down the block, savoring their opportunity to feast with the Miceli family.
Throughout the years, Miceli’s in Hollywood and its sister location in Universal City, have drawn dignitaries and celebrities galore. People from JFK and Richard Nixon and the Beatles to today’s stars like Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, and Julia Roberts. What brings people back, besides the terrific food, is the unique atmosphere and super-friendly service, not to mention the live entertainment.
On private tours of Los Angeles I like to take people by the Hollywood location off of Hollywood Blvd. on Las Palmas to show them where it is and showcase the Frank Sinatra mural. The white text to the left of Frank are some of his most memorable lyrics……….
” The best is yet to come and won’t that be fine
you think you’ve seen the sun
but you ain’t seen it shine………”
The First Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food and Wine
The First Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food and Wine
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Noon – 8:00pm
Paramount Studios Back Lot
5555 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
From the epicurean to those who simply love good food, this all-day event has every ingredient to satisfy your appetite for new twists and classic favorites. Make plans now to join the celebration at Paramount Pictures studios this Labor Day weekend. Part of being a master tour guide for adventurous reality in LA, aka ”star tours Hollywood” is having your finger on the pulse of fun things to do at any given time so clients can get an amazing experience post tour as well.
Featuring the best of the best from the culinary and beverage worlds and touching 6,000+ people, the Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food & Wine is a can’t miss event!
Find culinary adventures around every corner!
Tickets are going fast, so buy today and guarantee yourself a place at this one-of-a-kind event.
Featured chefs inlcude
• Michael Voltaggio – Winner, Top Chef Season 6
• Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo -Animal Restaurant
• Jimmy Shaw -Loteria Grill
• Mark Peel -Campanile, The Tar Pit, Top Chef Masters Seasons 1 & 2
• Suzanne Goin -AOC, Lucques, Tavern and The Hungry Cat
• Ludo Lefebvre – LudoBites
• Betty Fraser – Grub, Top Chef Season 2
• Chris “C.J.” Jacobsen – The Yard,
Top Chef Season 3
• Alex Reznik – Ivan Kane’s Cafe Was, Top Chef Season 7
• Aida Mollenkamp – Ask Aida, Foodcrafters
• And many more
Plus:
• A full concert set from indie-pop duo She & Him (musical pairing of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward)
• Mixologist demonstrations
• Book signings
• Beer, wine and spirits tastings
• Panel discussions
• Food Network Food Truck Lounge
• Food trucks
General Admission
Admission into the event, a branded wine glass, 8 “drink” tickets for sampling, access to two cooking stages with chef demonstrations, panel discussions, as well as the opportunity to interact with numerous exhibitors. Sampling will be provided by all restaurants in the Main Area and select food trucks. The General Admission ticket also includes the evening concert with headliner She & Him and opening act Angela McCluskey!
General admission $55 now ($65 at door)
VIP Admission
A VIP ticket allows access to the VIP Tasting Area as well as the General Admission Area. In addition to receiving the General Admission ticket details, VIP guests will also have access to top restaurants, wineries and spirits with unlimited tastings. Please check out our website for a list of the most updated participants! The VIP Tasting Area will also have special presentations and discussions.
VIP Admission $125 now ($135 at door)
Tickets sold at: http://latimesfoodandwine.eventbrite.com/
Acclimating to LA
When I visited Europe in college, I was completely prepared for the culture shock that ensued. After all, it’s not fair to expect the residents of a foreign country to speak my language and conform to my cultural expectations. However, I was taken unawares when my husband and I moved to California. It really is true what they say: the West Coast of America is unlike any other place within our borders.
While it took some getting used to at first, we soon fell into the trappings of the L.A. lifestyle. During our first weeks in the city, we took a couple of LA guided tours to get acquainted with our surroundings. Since we’ve settled in, we’ve explored acupuncture, started doing yoga and generally adopted a healthier way of living. I still haven’t fully embraced the idea of spending so much time in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way to work each morning, but you’ve got to take the good with the bad.
Interim Cafe, Santa Monica
How has a cafe been around for more than 2 decades and has not been on my radar? This place is an organic gem with a menu selection that is overwhelmingly tasty, in addition to being extremely vegan and carnivore.
I found this treasure prior to beginning one of my private Hollywood tours last week. This will be my new favorite Santa Monica breakfast location. Interim Cafe is the kind of place where the food is amazing, the service is warm and friendly, and you simply feel like you want to stay awhile…….and come back the next day at the same time. Know what I mean?
Word of mouth has fueled the patronage at this establishment endlessly……..and it seems that after a few visits, everybody will know your name! Good eats. Check it out!
Interim Cafe
530 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 319-9100
hours:
monday – friday 8am to 8pm
saturday and sunday 9am to 3pm
Chinatown Summer Nights – Every Saturday this August 2010
China Town Summer Nights will take place every Saturday this August ( 14th, 21st and 28th) from 5pm – Midnight.
I love LA’s China town! Somehow Chinese food just tastes a little better being among the culture and the sights. The Community Redevelopment Agency and the Chinatown community has partnered with KCRW in conjunction with Community Arts Resources to showcase one of L.A.’s most unique neighborhoods. I never miss the chance to pass through on my private LA guided tours that pick up in downtown LA. This festival will feature dancing in Central Plaza to KCRW DJ’s, cooking demonstrations, food trucks, family friendly activities, shopping, cultural workshops, outdoor bar patios, temporary art installations, large scale video projections and more.
American Ninja Warrior tryouts at Venice Beach 8-7 & 8-8
I was wondering when they were going to do a Ninja Reality Show! This weekend we’ll see some real(?) ninjas doing their thing as G4 brings their “American Ninja Warrior” tryouts to Venice Beach. Los Angeles guided tours that we provide never lack spice and variety no matter when you visit LA! NBC Los Angeles has the scoop:
“This weekend, the Southland’s finest ninja hopefuls will take their talents to Venice Beach for a chance at total victory.
G4 is hosting tryouts for “American Ninja Warrior,” a reality series that follows aspiring stateside ninjas on their quest to eventually attempt Japan’s most prestigious obstacle course, Mt. Midoriyama. Thousands are expected this weekend at Windward Plaza (map). Only the top 15 contestants will move on in the competition.”
2010 Summer Pool Parties @ The W Hotel Westwood
Chad Hudson Events invites you to do something different this summer and ESCAPE into an evening of lounging, swimming, music and friends at the W Hotel in Westwood , 930 Hilgard Ave tonight, and again on August 27th from 5:30-10:00PM. Enjoy the tropical, heated, outdoor pool or sneak away to a private cabana, and sip cool cocktails as you lounge, listening to the sounds of DJ Michelle Pesce spinning poolside. Often times when on our private LA helicopter tours, evening pool parties glow and twinkle from the sky! Happy Hour runs 5:30-7:00PM with discounted food and drink specials – towels provided so head straight from work! Just 8 minutes from WeHo OPPOSITE the flow of traffic.
Annual Sri Lanka Day / Saturday 8-10-10
Sri Lanka Day is perhaps the only day of the year people in Los Angeles are able to have a taste of Sri Lankan food in a fun and festive environment, which is cooked live in the most exciting of ways. Thousands of families living in Santa Monica have fallen in love with the food offered at Sri Lanka Day since the first Sri Lankan Day in 2006 and now people from San Francisco and even Canada make this their annual pilgrimage to quench their appetite for Sri Lankan food. Whether I am doing a private tour or one of our private Los Angeles Helicopter tours, I intend to suggest this to all of our clients that are visiting LA this week!
The favorite Sri Lankan foods available are Hoppers-crispy pancake type item made with many a twirl. The edges are crispy and the middle is soft. Usually eaten with meat or vegetarian curry. Rice and curry-made Sri Lankan style. Kottu Roti-similar to a mongolian barbecue-made with eggs, meat and vegetables-a treat to watch the cooking and taste good! String hoppers-soft stringy type item accompanied by curry. Pol rotti-bread made of flour and coconut-served with spicy onions or curry. Sri Lankan savory short eats-that’s the name for Sri Lankan snacks similar to Tapas and Empanadas-once you start with these you can’t stop! No Sri Lankan food festival would be complete without Sri Lankan Sweets-Colorful and sweet.
LACMA “Muse ’til Midnight” August 21, 2010
On August 21, Muse will be hosting its annual summer event, Muse ‘til Los Angeles—The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s (LACMA) Muse program presents its fourteenth annual Muse ‘til Midnight on Saturday, August 21, 2010, from 8:15 pm — 12 am.
Muse ‘til Midnight is an evening event featuring live music, drinks, and food that celebrates the exhibitions currently on display at LACMA. When I tour Los Angeles with our private clientèle, I often point out the the entertainment industry can sometimes upstage the impressive museum district called Miracle Mile to our visitors. This year’s theme is derived from Manly Pursuits: The Sporting Images of Thomas Eakins and will feature an atmosphere to match Eakins’ late nineteenth-century paintings. Live music, video projections, vaudeville performers, and steampunk-inspired crafts will enhance the scene to create a truly unique and spectacular environment. Presented in two acts, the first half of the night welcomes guests to “The Eakins Arena” in the Los Angeles Times Central Courtyard and will feature exclusive after-hours access to Manly Pursuits and Catherine Opie: Figure and Landscape, plus a live performance by Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, a circus of vaudeville activities, and Opie-inspired photo stations.
Venice Beach starts Art Crawl on August 19th, 2010
The 1st Monthly Venice Art Crawl will be kicking off on August 19th and continuing, all year round, every 3rd Thursday in Venice. The monthly event will take place from 6pm – 10pm. The free monthly event is about celebrating Venice, a place that has long been synonymous with art, through showcasing the local artists and their work. Throughout the year there is always a potpourri of different ongoings like the Art Crawl that we can share with clients on private LA Tours, in addition to all of the annual sights
The Venice Art Crawl is a free monthly exploration of the Venice Beach area and the world famous Venice artist community and spirit. Over 20 venues will be participating including Hotel Erwin, James Beach, The Canal Club and Danny’s Deli. Each venue will house a different artist and offer discounts on food and drinks.