Caroline on Crack | February 2006

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Monthly Archives: February 2006

February 28, 2006

Party Like a Movie Star: Oscar Viewing Parties

I really don’t care about the Oscars. It feels like watching an awards show for an industry I am in no way a part of with people I have no emotional tie to so I don’t care who wins…oh wait, that’s exactly what it is. But combine Oscar show viewing with a party and I’m there. I like filling out the ballots, the room full of people making catty remarks about what presenters are wearing, and who doesn’t LOVE appetizers and drinks?

But if for some reason you wanted to get all dressed up this year and rub elbows with displaced Angelenos who weren’t invited to the Oscars, consider the following shindigs:

Lights Camera Glamour at Seven-Degrees

Check out the second annual Lights Camera Glamour Oscar viewing party put on to benefit the OC’s Pacific Symphony. Held at the schwank multimedia complex, Seven-Degrees, guests will be able to enjoy Jon Stewart’s Academy Award antics on MANY large TV screens as well as partake of the open bar, dance to fave movie soundtracks and bid on a movie-themed auction.

891 Laguna Canyon Road
Laguna Beach, California 92651
(714) 876-2364
EVENT: starts at 5pm, $150

“The Envelope Please” at the Abbey

How about partying with the Ghost Whisperer, Jennifer Love….ok, I’ll be nice…Hewitt at the Abbey? She’s throwing a sit-down dinner co-hosted by Esquire magazine to raise money for AIDS Project Los Angeles. You gotta be dressed paparazzi-fabulous though as you’ll be mingling with the stars if you stay for the after-party.

692 N Robertson Boulevard
West Hollywood, California 90069
Reservations: (213) 201-1439
EVENT: Starts at 4pm, $250

Lodestone’s 6th Annual Oscar Party Fundraiser at the Orchid

Or for something more low-key, Lodestone Theater Ensemble is having its Oscar Party fundraiser at the Orchid Restaurant & Cafe in K-Town where you can watch the show, dine on an all-you-can-eat buffet and then perform karaoke.

3900 W. Sixth Street
Koreatown, California
(323) 993-7245
EVENT: Starts at 4pm, $25 at the door; VIP $35, includes reserved seating, access to VIP karaoke room and a gift bag

Categories: Lists, Los Angeles, Nightlife

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February 27, 2006

Full Moon and Sunset Rides: Horsebacking in L.A.

Sunset Ranch

I’ve always wanted to go horseback riding, especially the Sunset Dinner Ride with Sunset Ranch…even though I don’t know the first thing about getting on a horse and staying on.

Every year when I start to think about what I want to do for my birthday, I consider doing the dinner ride. How much fun would that be? On a Friday night, go on a sunset ride through Griffith Park to a Mexican restaurant in Burbank’s Equestrian Rancho district where you actually hitch your horse to a post and then drink margaritas, eat and be merry.

You’d get back to the ranch around 10:30pm with still plenty of time to carry on the urban cowboy theme at the Saddle Ranch Chop House in West Hollywood. But you might want to stay off the mechanical bull due to any saddle burns you may incur from your previous ride.

Sunset Dinner Rides to Viva Fresh Mexican Restaurant (where dinner is about $6-$12 a person) take about 90 minutes. Reservations are required every night except Friday night when you have to sign up at 4:30.

There seem to be mixed reviews about the ride where people complained about being required to overtip or that the rides are too long. But otherwise, most writeups name the Sunset Ranch dinner ride as the thing to do on romantic dates or for unusual birthday celebrations.

You can make a reservation for a dinner ride of up to 55 people (!) on any night except Friday. Under 10 riders, cost is $75 a person; 10+ riders is about $50 a person.

3400 N Beachwood Drive
Hollywood, California 90068
(323) 469-5450

Cost: $60 a person (with recommended 20-25% gratuity, dinner cost not included)

Los Angeles Horseback Riding

For a different experience, try a horseback ride during a full moon with Los Angeles Horseback Riding, which Los Angeles Magazine has dubbed the best riding stable in L.A. The ranch’s next full moon ride will take place from March 11th-17th, the last full moon of the winter.

The ride is about 90 minutes long in Topanga Canyon going through the Santa Monica Mountain Backbone trail, so you may see lots of wildlife. Rates aren’t listed on the site but you have to call to make reservations anyway as the maximum for group rides is six people to keep it small and manageable. If you want your own little party, the ranch can accommodate a private group of up to 15.

For directions, click here.
2623 Old Topanga Canyon
Topanga, California 90290
Reservations: (818) 591-2032

For either ride, make sure to wear long-sleeve shirts, long pants and flat, comfortable shoes appropriate for the trip, meaning no flip-flops or high heels. The full moon ride won’t let you bring purses and packs, only a camera and your driver license.

Categories: Los Angeles, Recreation

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February 25, 2006

Blood, Mayhem and Twins! The Shining at the Arclight

And twins

“Come play with us!”

I really think it must suck to be a kid right now, with everyone trying to shield you from all the evil in the world. They won’t let you watch cartoons, music videos or scary movies for fear that you’ll go out and try and take out your little brother.

Growing up, my parents let us watch all things gory, like Night of the Living Dead, Friday the 13th and The Exorcist. They loved scary movies, so we always watched them together. And I think we kids turned out just fine. Ahem.

Anyway, this brings me to one of my favorite childhood movies: Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. We watched it so many times that the quotes from the movie became part of our little-kid lexicon during playtime. “Come play with us, Danny” my sister and I would always say to freak our little brother out.

So I’m really excited that for AFI’s “100 Years…100 Movie Quotes” screening series, one of the movies they’re screening at the Arclight is one of Jack Nicholson’s best work, The Shining. I’d LOVE to see this gem on the big screen. So many images from Kubrick’s creepy work will just, um, shine in that medium: the sea of blood coming at you in the elevator lobby, the icy grandeur of the Overlook, Danny being chased down in the snowy maze.

Go see it with your loved ones, I say.

EVENT: Wednesday, March 1 at 8pm

6360 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, California 90028
(323) 464-4226

Tickets: $10

Categories: Los Angeles, Movies

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February 24, 2006

Places I’ll Never Show My Face in Again: Asahi Ramen

Flickr shot by disneymike

Asahi Ramen was the first noodle shop I went to on Sawtelle, but once I was introduced to Ramenya around the corner I had forgotten all about it. And with good reason, I found out recently.

One Wednesday when I was craving my fave Ajo Ramen (garlic ramen) from Ramenya, my co-worker and I drove on over to discover that, to our dismay, they were closed on friggin Wednesdays!

Having already driven all that way (OK, 2 miles), I suggested Asahi Ramen to sate our noodle cravings. Bad idea! Looking at the menu posted outside the door, nothing really struck a chord with us. The menu selection was so limited compared to Ramenya, although the prices were cheaper.

Nothing drew me in, and yet I went against my instincts and went inside anyway. I wanted ramen, dammit! Plus, since it was packed during this lunch hour, I figured it must be good stuff.

My co-worker decided on the miso ramen and, frankly, I don’t even remember which one I ordered, I think it was the won ton ramen. All I know is that there were pieces of pork, green onions, a hard boiled egg, and won tons (which seemed like too much noodly texture when combined with the ramen noodles) in a soy sauce soup.

Eh. It was just average. Nothing really stood out about it. My friend felt the same way about her order. She was really disappointed that it didn’t taste the way she had expected it to. And she thought that maybe they mixed up her order since she didn’t get two of the ingredients her soup was listed to have on the menu.

Anyway, suffice it to say that we were less than impressed. No leftovers for us. I only ate about a quarter of the stuff before I just had to chuck it. What was the point in saving it if I didn’t like it the first time?

2027 Sawtelle Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 479-2231

Categories: Other, Places I'll Never Show My Face in Again

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February 23, 2006

Team Turbo Blasts Off for the Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon

Flickr shot by Arnold Pouteau

I don’t consider myself a runner at all. Sure, I run on the treadmill at the gym when I can, but I don’t run outside, I don’t have fancy running shoes, I don’t even run after taxis.

But a couple of co-workers for some reason asked me to be on their team for the upcoming Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon on April 23rd. Even though the team name is “Team Turbo” they said they don’t expect to win and that this will be more for fun than anything. Well, since they had low expectations like that, then I have nothing to lose so I was in.

The race will take place in Griffith Park. Teams of five runners divide the marathon distance of about 26 miles. Each person runs the same 5.2-mile loop then passes the baton to the next team member. So this would be great for a newbie runner like me. As the race’s site says, “[It's] all the fun of a marathon with only one-fifth of the pain! What a deal!”

Other firsts for me come race day?

Wearing a race number
Grabbing a water bottle from fluid stations while running. I always wanted to do that!
Being part of a team with “Turbo” and a purple 911 cartoon on their T-shirts

Participation will raise funds to support the programs and services at Saint John’s Health Center, so in addition to all in good fun, it’s all for a good cause.

Go, Team Turtle! I mean, Turbo!

Categories: Los Angeles, Recreation

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February 22, 2006

Realize Your Inner Robin Hood: Free Archery Lessons in Rancho Park

Flickr shot by roo.db

One of my favorite classes in high school physical ed, apart from square dancing, was archery. I loved wearing the arm guard, making sure the string didn’t thwack my forearm and hitting a bull’s eye. I always felt like an Amazon or something–so empowering.

And imagine my joy when I discovered that Rancho Park in Cheviot Hills offers free safety and introduction archery classes at 11am on Saturdays and on the second Sunday of every month at 1:30pm in the rear of the park, near the bocce ball area and the dog park.

You can use the range’s equipment for free during open shooting on Saturdays 9-11am, Sundays 12-2pm and sometimes Mondays 7-9pm. But if you have your own gear you can shoot whenever the rec center is open.

I took the one-hour introduction class on a Saturday and was surprised to see all kinds of people show up, kids and old folks alike. The park provided everyone with arm guards, bows and arrows as well as an instructor who gave us tips on how to stand, hold up our bows and aim for the target. It was so fun! I swore to myself that I’d keep it up, one day buy my own fancy bow and arrows and become an expert archer. Heh, still working on that dream.

Rancho Park Archery Range
2459 Motor Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90064
(310) 839-1516

Categories: Los Angeles, Recreation

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February 21, 2006

Margaritas and Ukuleles at Lares

It was after a couple of drinks at the Air Conditioned Lounge, my new favorite place, when we sauntered over to Lares for some late-night margaritas since we didn’t want to get in the car to drive to the Arsenal and it was too far to walk down to 310 on this intermittently rainy night.

Once inside the restaurant area we happened on this large table surrounded by a group of quirky-looking older people just sitting around and chatting. The restaurant was empty save for them. So we immediately made our way to the upstairs bar but saw that it was close.

A waiter had run up after us to find out what we wanted. “Are you guys closing down?” we asked, but he assured us that it was all right and that we were more than welcomed to stay to eat or partake of their full bar. We were immediately sat next to the group of theater-looking people with their bowler hats and feather-trimmed coats.

From LA.com:

In an atmospheric room furnished with Mission-style furniture and a great carved bar, this family-run place offers better-than-average Mexican food and polite, attentive service.

Once our basket of warm tortilla chips, salsa and a pitcher of margarita ($21, pretty good for about six glasses) were brought over, the old people broke out with the ukuleles and mandolins and just started singing. It was awesome! We just sat back amused by the surrealness of the scene–a quaint Mexican restaurant late on a Saturday night and quirky old people singing “Me and My Shadow.” It was just one of those impromptu moments that just makes me love L.A.

As for the restaurant, I had eaten here years ago and remembered it was pretty good for authentic Mexican food but couldn’t say now since this time I only had the chips and salsa. But I’ll definitely return to check it out.

2909 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90405
(310) 829-4550
Cross Street: 29th St.
Hours: 8am-12am

Categories: Cocktails, Los Angeles, Nightlife

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