The West LA Farmers Market
Sundays, 9am - 2pm
11338 Santa Monica Boulevard at Corinth Avenue,
on the Court House/Civic Center Plaza

Conveniently located just two blocks from the 405 is the highly expansive West LA Farmers Market in Santa Monica. I read about it by chance on the internet, and surprisingly have come across no word-of-mouth recommendations for this noteworthy market. Not only did it have a great assortment of fresh produce, prepared food, crafts, and WiFi, the welcoming bandshell off of Corinth housed live jazz. This one is even open an hour later than most weekend markets, until 2pm instead of 1pm, giving you an extra hour to get there if you are not a morning person. The city really needs to learn how to publicize this stuff better.

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• Santa Monica teacher feared to have drowned - A Santa Monica High School English teacher was swept off a Panama beach Thursday and probably drowned, reports CBS. Joey Lutz, 25, was standing in shallow water in the Bocas del Toro region when a wave swept him up and carried him out to see. Lutz was seen struggling in the water by witnesses, who also told his family that his travel companions couldn’t aid him and that the Panamanian police failed to help them look for Lutz. His brother and father have traveled to Panama to see if the body can be recovered.
• Off-duty LAPD Officer injured at San Pedro club - An off-duty LAPD Officer, whose name was not released was stabbed and wounded during a fight with several men outside San Pedro lounge Crimson early this morning. The stabbing occurred shortly after midnight, according to Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department’s media relations office. The officer was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition.
• Firefighters remain on the scene of blaze that destroyed 15 acres - A fire that was reported about 5:30 p.m. Friday night on a hillside near West La Tuna Canyon Road and the 210 Freeway took firefighters several hours to control. To prevent a future blaze, firefighters have stayed on the scene. Although some firefighters fighting the fire were exposed to poison oak, no reports came in of any injuries or property damage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Photo by VeryBadLady

I have mentioned before that I’m always on the lookout for good late night dining. There seems to be a surprising shortage of it in Los Angeles, a city where I would expect to find it on every other corner. There is a small beacon of hope, however, in this vast, barren landscape of impossibly early restaurant closings - Swinger’s Diner.

Swinger’s is the L.A. version of an Americana diner. It has good food and wonderful hours. It will be open at three AM when you’re done partying and you want something to eat. It will be open early in the morning when you and your friends need an easy breakfast. It’s open when you’re on your lunch break and when you’re trying to find a place to eat dinner at midnight.

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VISUAL ARTS

• Glow: Dusk to Dawn Festival | Saturday, July 19, 2008 | 7 p.m. | Free | Santa Monica Pier - Map | For 12 hours, experience media art, performances, music and sculpture installations at the Santa Monica Pier. GLOW is the only event that has ever gotten ever gotten permission to open the pier and beach to the public all night from 7 pm to 7 am.

FASHION

• Collective Souls Yard Sale | Sunday, July 20, 2008 | 10Collective Souls Yard Sale | El Nene Restaurant Parking Lot - Map | You won’t want to miss this (even though it’s cash only). Collective Soul will have vintage clothing, jewelry, art and L.A. Brands for your buying pleasure at this event. And if you get hungry, you can pop on over to El Nene for some tasty Mexican food.

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While LA might be able to boast a place like Abbot’s Pizza Company as the city’s best, but I don’t think anyone will seriously argue that we can even come close to matching pizza from that one city over on the other coast… You know… New something. Apple something.

Anyhow, it looks like the Pizza Gap might be closing, at least a little bit.

LA is now home to it’s very own Joe’s Pizza, owned and operated by none other than Joe Vitale (of the original Joe’s Pizza in NYC).

And while I’d be hard-pressed to do an accurate comparison of the two, Serious Eats  sent it’s very own, honest-to-god authentic New Yorker to check it out.

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Love Hurts: May I have another? Love Hurts: May I have another?

Suicide- Abortion- Homosexuality: Aaahh youth!
Like a stiff salesman traveling thru Tulsa: Teens needs sex no matter what the face of fate.

This highly imaginative production paints a moral space as an illuminated womb where the only way out is by kicking and screaming. Is there anything more sensual than curiosity? A trio of youths rage to find romance hoping to conquer what their parents feared most: Satisfaction.

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The Pico Market in Santa Monica
Virginia Avenue Park at Pico and Cloverfield
Saturdays, 8am-1pm

If the notorious and therefore heavily foot-trafficked Saturday Santa Monica Farmers Market on 3rd Street is at all off-putting to you, you can head to Virginia Avenue Park on Pico for a less crowded Santa Monica installment of fresh produce. Hardly a destination except for local shoppers and families with young children, the market was smallish and intimate with hardly an inconvenient crowd in sight. Definitely lacking in the hustle and bustle department, and the first market in the series without some form of live music, the Pico market is ideal if you are in the area and want to make a quick stop.

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While it might not be quite as exciting as a straight-up free cupcake giveaway, this is still worth noting: Vanilla Bake Shop in celebrating their one year anniversary with a giveaway of sorts.

For anyone that purchases $10 or more of goodies from this Santa Monica bakery, you’ll get your very own FREE cupcake. Ok, so it’s not really that exciting, until you consider that that’s essentially buy 3 get a 4th one free. Good if you’re having people over for dinner, or you just recently went through a breakup and you need that comfort food.

This Thursday, June 10th, from 9am to 7PM, buy $10 worth of stuff and get one free cupcake!

Yay!

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While we may have just had our “Best Coffee in LA” competition, there are still a number of places that are very much worthy of mention.And here’s why:

This week I discovered the most incredible coffee I have ever tasted. Before Tuesday morning, I did not know that it was possible for me to pleasantly sip an espresso without first defacing it with milk and sugar. I was unaware that coffee isn’t, in fact, a bitter drink. My standard for good coffee has been raised so high, I don’t know how I’ll ever show my face in Starbucks again.

Caffe Luxxe is an espresso bar whose philosophy is grounded in the older, European view of coffee - a smooth drink that is meant to be sipped and enjoyed over easy conversation, not a drug to keep you awake. You won’t find any venti caffeine jolts here. Instead, you’ll find absurdly high quality, delicious, rich espresso drinks that will make you wonder how you ever drank the other stuff.

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If summer days = beer, then summer nights = dining al fresco.

Thursday Twilight Dance Series at the Santa Monica Pier starts tonight at 7pm, July 26! You’ve got two options: 1) fight the crowds for a good spot on the Pier and watch The Bonedaddys and Crown City Rockers from just a few feet away, or 2) Sacrifice the view for a spot on the beach with a picnic dinner in the sand. While not a spot that comes immediately to mind when you think picnic, Joe’s Pizza (famous for it’s Manhattan Bleecker Street location) couldn’t be more convenient. A full pie boxed up and just a short walk to the Pier and you’re ready to groove. Pizzas start at $2.75 for a slice, and $18 - $22 for a full pie. 111 Broadway, Santa Monica, 310.395.9222

For the Cinespia lover, treat your date to a picnic box from the Little Next Door. The baby sister of high-end Little Door restaurant, this market-deli-café specializes in local, organic goodies. Order the classic movie box to-go, including a charcuterie plate, sandwiches, Kettle chips and pickled cucumber salad ($65 for two people). Or design your own picnic basket from their extensive menu. All picnic orders include a bottle of water and a baguette, and sandwiches range in price from $10-$15. 8142 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, 323.951.1010 

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For a long time, I have wanted to try Wildflour Pizza on Main St. in Santa Monica. I was always drawn to the restaurant’s cheery yellow exterior and hole-in-the-wall vibe, and a sign outside says “#1 Pizza LA Times” (although it does not mention when). This week, I finally got to sample their pie. The verdict? I was hoping for better.

The inside of Wildflour Pizza is very tiny and dark. The walls are heavy brick and the floors are covered with wood shavings, a throwback to another era. A few rustic tables and chairs crowd the space. The building itself looks incredibly old, so from an atmospheric standpoint it gave the restaurant a somewhat enchanting feel.

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Take everything that describes the cusp of Santa Monica and Venice Beach - arty, beach-breezy with hidden flashes of homelessness and a bit of hippie “crunch” - roll it into a dark, wooden-laced cathedral of a cafe for young, laptop wielding men and women and you’ve got Novel Cafe.

I used to visit my own hardworking-writer-friend here and it still maintains that Beatnik breathiness that I remember: quiet and peaceful yet lending an impression that for some reason I’m being watched. Double-deckered with an intimate balcony overlooking the bottom floor, Novel Cafe creaks like the den in your grandfather’s house, colorful paint worn smooth and chipped, tables sticky without being gross, and paved with shelves crammed full of weathered books that may or may not be read. The aesthetic recalls some of the well-worn, chalk-menu cafes I know and adore in Northern California but with a touch of Los Angeles’ edge that make it feel a bit more ‘too cool for school’.

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