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January 31, 2008
Stylish Six: Great Hot Dogs in L.A.
Filed under: San Fernando Valley, Best Of, South Bay, Westside, Midtown, Eat — StyleGuide @ 7:46 pm
Hot dogs are the perfect StylishGuide food — carefully prepared with pride, yet inexpensive enough to indulge without breaking the bank.
We’re blessed with so many stand-up dogs in Los Angeles, I’ll honor them in shifts. First, favorites in L.A. Soon I’ll share the greats in the Valley — a virtual hot dog heaven.
1. Pink’s of Hollywood: This is the closest thing to a hot dog institution in town. There’s something about sitting in the cheap patio chairs in the tiny parking lot on a glistening Southern California day, settling into a chili cheese bacon dog topped with cool fresh tomatoes, and dripping fluorescent constellations of grease across the paper tray — it kindles something profound. It doesn’t make any sense, but it somehow fills me with a feeling of connection, like finding home. That feeling may explain the long, long lines. That, and the wildly inefficient counter service system, of course.
2. Carney’s: Eating in a converted train-car on the Sunset Strip can bring out the 6-year-old boy in anyone, and the dogs are great too. Visit a second location in Studio City.
3. Skooby’s: You’d expect this tiny Hollywood Boulevard stand to be a typical tourist rip-off operation. But the red and white bedecked, cute as a button, clean as a whistle shop with the tattooed and pierced staff actually slings some of the best dogs in town, as well as perfectly seasoned fries with aioli dipping sauce. A second location opened in Hermosa Beach.
4. The Stand: This is the black-tie dining experience of hot dog joints, with gourmet toppings and an upscale ambiance. Bring a date to the Century City, Encino or Westwood locations. Monday nights feature one-dollar dogs.
5. Let’s Be Frank: This is no ordinary catering truck outside Helms Bakery in Culver City. The 100 percent grass-fed beef hot dogs and organic toppings come with a foodie pedigree — Sue, who works the stand, came from the legendary Chez Panisse. At $5/dog, each bite is an investment in guilt-free eating (the dogs have no hormones, antibiotics or chemicals and are lower in calories than typical hot dogs).
6. Dodger Stadium: Grilled, nearly a foot long, and the perfect accompaniment to a game, it’s not surprising that Dodger dogs are among the most popular dogs in baseball. For the truly glutenous, $35 will buy you a ticket in the right field bleachers and unlimited Dodgers Dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and Coke.
Honorable Mention
As a global chain, Costco is no “L.A. Original,” but I can’t ignore the fact they’ve asked only a buck and a half for a meaty Polish dog and soda for as long as I can remember. Top with sauerkraut, relish and onions before sinking into that sweet dog. It soothes the soul after the madness of Costco shopping.
January 29, 2008
Stylish Six: Great Hot Sandwiches
Filed under: Pasadena, Best Of, Westside, Downtown, Eat — StyleGuide @ 9:29 pm
Bread + Meat = Art? With these six hot sandwiches, you betcha.
1. Eastside Market: The universal sign of good cheap eats? Watch where government employees go. Sanitation workers in orange coveralls, City Hall staffers in suits and ties, firemen in uniform — they literally spill out of the door and onto the sidewalk at this odd, ancient downtown sandwich shop. Try the #1. It packs two links of the best homemade sausage in town into a soft Italian roll, then tops them with tomato sauce and grilled peppers and onions.
2. Philippe’s: This is a Chinatown oddity — a cavernous old school, All-American sandwich shop with sawdust on the floor. The line for the counter can number in the scores, but still moves along at a good clip. It seems an unexpected choice, but the turkey sandwich, paired with rich blue cheese and dipped in aromatic broth, delivers big-time.
3. Spring Street Smoke House: While Eastside Market and Philippe’s have been around forever, a new downtown treasure opened last year. Legend has it that on the other floors of the same building that houses Spring Street, the owner cooks for inmates in County lock-up. But this ain’t no prison grub. For a sliced brisket sandwich, they low smoke the beef in a Texas smoker, then deli slice it, pile it high atop a french roll, and smother it with homemade BBQ sauce.
4. Langer’s: If I could eat just one sandwich for the rest of my life, it would be Langer’s #19. Rough-hewn pastrami with bits of fat still clinging to the edges is served on soft rye bread; a thick layer of creamy cool coleslaw completes it. A $12 sandwich may seems excessive, but Langer’s sandwiches transcend that ancient equation of bread and meat. It is an experience that touches your soul. In MacArthur Park, no less.
5. Europane: It’s not surprising that this Pasadena bakery is legendary for pain au chocolate, since the owner formerly baked for Campanile and La Brea Bakery. What is surprising is that they also serve a stunning meatloaf sandwich. The sandwich is toasted, topped with tomato and lettuce, spread with homemade mayo and mustard and finished with tender grilled onions. There’s a choice of fresh, homemade breads for your sandwich – the rosemary currant bread was unbelievable. Another perk of getting lunch from a top-notch bakery? The free cookie on the side.
6. Bay Cities Italian Deli: Hit this Santa Monica strip mall deli and grocery for knock-your-socks-off sandwiches. You can skip the super-long line at the deli (even though there are amazing cold sandwiches there, too) and head to the much shorter hot sandwich line near the entrance. Their sausage sandwich, served steaming and tightly wrapped in foil, is nearly as good as Eastside Market’s, but their hours are much better.
January 23, 2008
Two great fabric stops
Filed under: House + Garden — StyleGuide @ 8:16 pm
It is a curious coincidence that two of my favorite fabric stores are shaped, oddly, like little fabric store archipelagos. Each:
- Has three storefronts (an upholstery shop, an apparel shop and an outlet shop),
- Within walking distance,
- With the same name.
The formula seems to work — these two gems have been around for decades:
1. Michael Levine’s: This is the 60,000 square foot granddaddy of fabric stores, located in the downtown garment district. The shop with apparel fabric could fit a jetliner inside, and the upholstery shop across the street is only slightly smaller. Slip upstairs for the no-frills outlet, where fabric remnants are sold not by the yard, but for $2 a pound.
2. F&S Fabric: For a quick fix, F&S Fabric is a convenient Westside stop. The store was featured on Project Runway, but I go for their outlet, where fabric starts at $5/yard.
In addition to stocking both high-end designer fabrics and more affordable choices, each shop is staffed by fabric-savvy salespeople.
Great prices, huge selection, and the help of people who know what they’re doing — why bother leaving the island?
Want to make curtains from Indian sari fabric? Learn more from Stylish Guide here.
January 15, 2008
This Weekend: Pets in the Park
Filed under: Play — StyleGuide @ 8:23 pm
Finding the perfect dog or cat, plus helping to control the pet population — what’s not to love about adopting from animal shelters?
And now is a good time of year to meet your match. The winter holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for shelters and rescue organizations.
It’s sad, but pets purchased as gifts frequently fail to last with new owners — mostly because the person who gets the pet isn’t prepared for the responsibilities of the pet. Discarded animals will flood shelters and rescue facilities throughout January and February.
The good news? Pet adoption couldn’t be easier. This Saturday, January 19, 2008, “Pets in the Park” in Hollywood is like match.com for aspiring pet owners seeking adoptable animals.
The free event also features a children’s show on pet safety, information on free sterilization for feral cats through a “Trap-Neuter-Return” program, and a veterinarian and a canine coach to answer your questions.
Should be a great day — regardless of whether you have two legs or four.
When: Saturday, January 19, 2008, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: De Longpre Park in Hollywood, at the corner of Cherokee and De Longpre
Related links | more pets:
January 10, 2008
Feed Ducks in L.A.? Try Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
Filed under: Play — StyleGuide @ 10:14 pm
When the librarian mentioned that there was a place to feed ducks in the middle of L.A., I didn’t realize how odd it was until I tried to remember the last time I fed ducks in L.A. It was never.
I checked it out, and indeed you can feed ducks in L.A.
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area is along my favorite (secret) airport shortcut — La Cienega between the 10 and the 405. If you are like me and know this route, you’ve seen the park on the hill mainly as a blur at 60 mph, and maybe devoted an idle moment to wondering what it was.
Turns out, aside from duck feeding, the 300+ acre park in Baldwin Hills offers fishing, playgrounds, picnic areas, a lotus pond, a stream, sport courts and lots and lots of hiking.
Me and my loaf of stale bread swung by one weekday, and it was a slice of rural summer, impossibly located just seconds from the madness of La Cienega.
Where: 4100 S. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles 90056
When: Sunrise to sunset
Price: $ (Free parking weekdays, $4 fee weekends)
Call: 323.298.3660
www.lacountyparks.org/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033276.asp&Title=Kenneth%20Hahn%20Recreation
Where do you feed ducks in L.A.?
January 8, 2008
Little India for Low Cost, Highly Cool Sari Curtains
Filed under: House + Garden — StyleGuide @ 7:55 pm
Drives in Los Angeles seem to cross borders completely independent of geography. Signs migrate from Armenian to Korean to Farsi, from Thai to Chinese to Spanish. Sometimes it is nice to go where things are in English, and by that, of course, I mean in Little India.
Little India is a collection of stores along Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia where I can get my fill of Indian groceries, music, fancy dress clothes, jewelry, Bollywood movies, beauty shops and restaurants.
But my best find there was a set of curtains.
I’d been jonesing for curtains since I moved into a house with 22 windows, every one of them a peepshow for the neighbors. Nowhere was I more exposed than in my bedroom, and I thought that curtains made of sari fabric would give me and the neighbors a break while creating an exotic ambiance.
We stopped at every sari fabric store on Pioneer, examining bolts of sari fabric and learning about the range in quality and price. In the end I found I needed the cheapest one I could find that matched the room and had enough saris on the bolt to cover four windows.
For my 3×4 foot windows, I cut one sari in half and hung the pieces side by side. Custom iron curtain rods were made in Mexico (likely the subject of a future www.StylishGuide.com tip), and I was lucky enough to have my sister sew up the fabric.
An easier way to hang the saris is to create a pocket at one end with iron-on fusible tape (from fabric stores), then insert a drapery rod (find cheap ones at Ross or Tuesday Morning). Of course, go more elegant if you know how to sew, but if you know how to sew, you don’t need my help.
Price: $$-$$$$
Where: Pioneer Boulevard between 183rd and 188th streets in Artesia
January 3, 2008
Go green at home with Linoleum City’s Marmoleum
Filed under: House + Garden — StyleGuide @ 9:14 pm
When we started work on our house, we agreed to try some green products. (If you can’t experiment when you’re fixing up an abandoned crack den, when can you experiment?)
We were beyond thrilled with our Marmoleum linoleum floor from Linoleum City.
Linoleum has been saddled with a sad association with those tattered, stained, pastel flower-printed vinyl squares you’ve probably seen in apartments and dumpy houses like mine. The truth is that the term has been bastardized. True linoleum is a biodegradable product made from natural renewable resources like linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, jute and limestone.
There are so many things to love about linoleum that I decided to write a song — I mean, a list (that incidentally can be sung to the tune of “I Feel Pretty”).
Linoleum is:
- Easily cleaned
- Naturally antimicrobial
- So durable they call it “40 year floor”
- Barefoot friendly — especially compared to cold tile floors
Linoleum can also go low-end (including materials and installation, linoleum tiles can end up on par with the price of inexpensive ceramic tile), or high-end (choose custom colored inlays designed by linoleum artists, or professionally installed sheet linoleum).
My main Marmoleum source — Linoleum City — is a gem in itself. After 60 years on the same block, the family-owned behemoth with a small-town-hardware-store vibe just moved to a new, even larger warehouse. I hope its charmingly simple handpainted signs and mom-and-pop mentality made the move, too.
Price: $$$$
Where: 4849 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Call: 323.469.0063