Flickr Shot by Huro Kitty

Before Crack (BC) when I was still a newbie Angeleno without many friends or city savvy for that matter, my siblings and I would venture over to the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval when we were all ghouled up with no place to go. WeHo’s Halloween street party was the safe and sexy bet for great costume ogling as people go all out with the taffeta, paper mache, feathers and makeup there. One year we saw a group of guys doing a living tableau of that famous painting, Dogs Playing Poker. Twas awesome.

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Exploring our new neighborhood, Dre and I had stopped by Hurry Curry of Tokyo, not to be confused with the Indian Hurry Curry in Mar Vista, for a quick lunch. At a little after 1pm on a Saturday, there were ample seats available so we were seated promptly. Looking at the menu, I skipped over the popular chicken cutlet curry for the chicken curry since when I had tried it years ago I vaguely remember being less than impressed by it. A chicken filet that’s lightly breaded and fried, it’s like fried chicken…but it’s not. However, looking around the restaurant it seemed all the other patrons thought otherwise as most everyone there was eating the chicken cutlet curry.

I don’t know if it was because I was hungry or what, but my order of chicken curry was sooo yummy! I got the spicy Chicken Curry ($7.50) which is a bowl of chicken curry with a plate of rice. There’s also a Light Eater’s special for a dollar less but it’s basically a smaller portion with fruit (aka two orange wedges). I had no expectations whatsoever, and true, I’m not a connoisseur of Japanese curry but for me good food is good food. The shredded chunks of chicken were tender but although I ordered spicy, it wasn’t burn-my-mouth hot. But it was still very savory and flavorful. Some people might not like the graviness of the curry sauce but I loved it. Just doled out a spoonful on a corner of my rice mound and mixed it up thoroughly.

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Flickr Shot by Splorp

I was spending an evening hanging out with my bro and his bf when we got a hankering for some shishkabobs. They decided to order online through L.A. Bite, a delivery service that picks up from restaurants that don’t deliver themselves. Sounds cool, right? Especially if there’s an eatery out in L.A. you want to order in from but who doesn’t deliver.

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From the same lovely people who brought you Grilled Cheese Sandwich Thursdays, Campanile is offering a lovely way to avoid rush-hour on a Friday: Friday Night Flights, wine and food pairings hand-selected by the restaurant’s esteemed wine director Jay Perrin and executive chef Mark Peel. The menu changes every week and for $38 per person you get three small three-course menus of Peel’s creations accompanied by wine from one of the best wine lists in L.A.
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Flickr Shot by dotsara (detail)

Tonight the Bigfoot Lodge is having a special on my favorite beers: Newcastle and Guinness! Get these frothy, yummy drinks for just $3 a pint all night looong. And to celebrate all things British (nevermind that Guinness is Irish), DJ Lee will be spinning some British tunes, whatever that means, and the Lodge will be playing British films on the Bigfoot screen for your Anglophiliac viewing pleasure. Raise a pint and toast to nothing in particular…except maybe that these import beers are only three bucks!

Bigfoot Lodge
3172 Los Feliz Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90039
(323) 662-9227

Flickr Shot by Base10

On a personal note, I got invited to a Halloween costume party this weekend where the theme is simply “Good & Evil.” Sounds easy enough, right? Nope! At this particular party, the usual angel and devil aren’t good enough.

Scouring all the online costume shops like buycostume.com and halloweenmart.com, nothing grabbed me. And since I’m not the type of girl who likes to show all her goods, my prepackaged costume options are limited. (Why do the women’s costumes always have to be so slutty? Even Marie Antoinette’s 18th-century gown isn’t safe. If the bar is set that low, how is a normal girl supposed to get any attention?)

Considering what’s out there (and what I got in my closet), I’m thinking of doing one of the following:

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Contrary to popular belief, Los Angeles does have history. And what better way to celebrate it than with a toast? Join history appreciation group, The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, in one of their monthly cocktail hours at various historical L.A. landmarks. They’ve had it at the elegant Cognac Room at the Biltmore and next month’s will be Traxx at Union Station. But this Friday, ADSLA will honor the world famous Trader Vic’s in the Beverly Hilton.

The last remaining tiki bar on Route 66 has been around since 1955 and picked up in popularity in the ’60s, frequented by the likes of Ronald Reagan and JFK. Taste a bit of tiki history by ordering up a delish Mai Tai the way it’s meant to be served a la Trader Vic, the creator of the famous tropical concoction, and enjoy the kitschy Tiki decor while you still can.

From ADSLA:

Famous as a favorite hangout for Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, the Polynesian-themed restaurant, along with the rest of this Welton Beckett-designed complex, could be facing the wrecking ball if the results of an upcoming EIR looks favorable on the hotel’s owner’s proposal. So come join us as we Art Decophiles see what the modern world has in store for us–and support the L.A. Conservancy’s Modern Committee (www.modcom.org) in opposing the demolition.

This event is open to the public but feel free to dress Deco or casual. Either way, look for the greeters wearing boutonnieres.

EVENT: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27 from 6-8PM

Trader Vic’s at the Beverly Hilton
9876 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California 90210

After a lovely evening of dinner and drinks at the California Yacht Club, my friend Kevin and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were dressed to the nines so we went for cocktails at Casa Del Mar’s Veranda Bar in Santa Monica.

I haven’t been to the Veranda Bar in ages because their specialty cocktails are overpriced. But since Kevin was buying…. On a Saturday night after 11, the place was buzzing and yet not too crowded. We were still able to find a nice table for two with a view of the Santa Monica Boardwalk.

Once settled into our wicker chairs, we surveyed the elegant surroundings of palm fronds, plush couches and warm lighting. The opulent 1920s architecture was right out of a Fitzgerald novel. At the next table a group of 30-something friends popped a couple of champagne bottles with glee.

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Flickr Shot by Brunoat

Go to London roundtrip for under $500! You just have to book your travel by October 24 for departure from L.A. anytime December 19 and January 15 to March 25. For the lowest fares, travel on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, stay over a Saturday night and return within 30 days.

- Los Angeles … $475 R/T (total price including taxes)

To most easily find these fares, go to Expedia.com:
1) Click this link
2) IMPORTANT: Check the “Nonstop only” box (!)
3) Enter either “SFO” or “LAX” as the from city
4) Enter “LON” as the to city
5) Select your desired dates

Remember when puberty forced you to hang up your Halloween candy pail? I know, that sucked. Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy what made the holiday fun for you when you were a kid, namely trick-or-treating.

Trick of the eye: The El Capitan Theatre will be showing Halloween/Christmas classic, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D! A great Hollywood movie theater, 3-D glasses and the heartfelt tale of the Pumpkin King of Halloween highjacking Christmas. Full price tickets are $15 but you can get ‘em for $9 through Goldstar Events for the October 30th 7pm and 9:15pm shows. Tonight there is also a special opening night witching hour show with a costume contest to boot!

6838 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90028
(323) 467-7674
Cross Street: Highland Avenue

Treat for the tummy: Sprinkles has a special treat for kiddies young and old now through Halloween: a cupcake inspired by that Halloween fave, the caramel-covered apple. Mmmmm! This one is a Granny Smith-studded spiced apple cupcake with a buttery caramel cream cheese frosting and a cute orange sugar ghost on top ($3.25). Sweet!

9635 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, California 90291
(310) 274-8765
Cross Street: Bedford Drive

Flickr Shot by ‘SeraphimC

When I first moved to L.A. 15 years ago, I used to visit the Griffith Observatory a lot. It offered the perfect view for a newbie Angeleno to get a lay of the land, get some perspective, and take a breath from the hustle and bustle of the city — something, as a Northern Californian suburbanite I wasn’t accustomed to. Plus it’s where James Dean got in a knife fight, where Arnold Schwarzenegger bared his ass walking around its parking lot and where Keanu did a music video with Paula Abdul. You could say it’s where stardom is born and I felt closer to the stars up there in more ways than one.

And after a $93-million four-year renovation, the legendary, hard-to-miss Griffith Observatory is finally reopening next month. But you have to reserve a spot to be able to visit this legendary L.A. landmark in the coming months. This will only be a temporary setup until the buzz dies down, I guess. But until then, they’re not allowing any cars to drive up there. Instead, visitors will have to catch a shuttle from either the L.A. Zoo or Hollywood & Highland. Hiker and cyclist timed-entry reservations will be available 48 hours in advance. Parking for those guys is in the lot near the Greek Theatre.

A lot of the tickets still available for opening day on November 3 are for the daytime hours (with the lastest time at 6:10pm), but who wants to go to an observatory when the stars aren’t visible yet? And I don’t understand why they only have reservations until 7 when the Observatory doesn’t close until 10pm. Hmm. (The soonest available 7pm time is Tuesday, November 7.) It would be really cool if they had evening events, like the Getty Center. Ah well.

Griffith Observatory
2800 East Observatory Road
Los Angeles, California 90027

Lat = 34° 06′ 46.8″ N; Long = 118° 18′ 5.5″ W
elevation = 1134 ft = 345.5 m
magnetic deviation = 14° 7.5′ E

General admission: $8

I’m really sad that I didn’t start listening to Radiodread, the Easy Star All-Stars reggae re-vision of Radiohead’s OK Computer, until the end of summer because it would have been the perfect accompaniment for beachy days and warm nights. Ah well, I still likes it and I’m not all that crazy about reggae to begin with! So that’s saying a lot.

When OK Computer first came out in 1997, I couldn’t get enough of it and played that beautiful CD into the ground. Although the Thom Yorke-approved reggae dub doesn’t have quite the same hold on me, it’s still an interesting and compelling interpretation, and props should be given to Easy Star All-Stars for even taking on what I think is the best album of the 20th century. But I guess if they could do an homage to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, they can pull off anything.

The reggae songs aren’t mere covers set to a kettle drum beat but, rather, so successfully interpreted from vocal stylings to instruments that they could be mistaken for originals. They still stay pretty close to the original album which is fine by me but other people cite that as a flaw. My absolute favorite reggae revisions on Radiodread are “Let Down” by Toots and the Maytals, Morgan Heritage’s “Electioneering” and “No Surprises” featuring the Meditations.

So I was really excited when I saw that the Easy Star All-Stars are doing a show for their Radiodread tour at the Malibu Inn this Friday the 20th. Perfect location for beachy tunes. It may be a season too late but it’ll be a fun show nonetheless.

EVENT: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 at 8PM

Malibu Inn
22969 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
(310) 456-6060
Tickets: $15

Bored of browsing through car wash convenience stores to pass the time while your car gets cleaned? Read all the greeting cards you could and spent more time pondering on all the different air fresheners than you care to share? That’s what’s great about Outdoor Grill. You can enjoy a tri-tip sandwich ($6.95 a la carte) while sitting on a balcony overlooking the car wash lot and watch your baby get dried off.

Located just down the street from my now old apartment in Mar Vista, the Grill was great for a quick fix of something savory and filling without having to succumb to the nearby Jack in the Box. I don’t care too much for the Grill’s sides. Their rice is dry and their macaroni and cheese was sadly disappointing to me (you call that cheese?) but other online reviewers rave about it for some reason. Me? I love the tri-tip sandwich alone with meat slathered in their own brand of bbq sauce, which they also bottle and sell.

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Allure, the beauty magazine for shopping and beauty tips, is taking its know-how on the road. Tomorrow at an undisclosed private Bel Air estate, the magazine will be hosting a party where you can enjoy makeovers, mani/pedis, sunless tanning, skin care consultations, style tips and hair styling by top experts in beauty and fashion all for $45. Extra treats include the requisite gift bag as well as candy for the ears and eyes, DJ Splyce.

Since online tickets are no longer available, catch the Allure shuttle at UCLA Parking Structure #3, on the corner of Hilgard and Charles E. Young Drive East.

10% of all ticket proceeds will benefit Clothes Off Our Back.

EVENT: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 from 1-6PM

Private Bel Air Estate
Tickets at the door: $45 cash