Last Remaining Seats...

Orpheum
Flickr photo from eNRGeee.

More than a few bloggers have already mentioned this festival, but it's important that we get the word out on a Los Angeles Institution, the Last Remaining Seats Film Festival. It's one of the few chances we have to see truly classic films in wonderful historic venues including, this year, the Orpheum and Alex Theaters. Here's the schedule:

2007 Schedule (Wednesdays at 8 p.m.)

May 23 North by Northwest Orpheum Theatre
May 30 Roman Holiday Los Angeles Theatre
June 6 Flesh and the Devil Orpheum Theatre
June 13 Yankee Doodle Dandy Los Angeles Theatre
June 20 La Balandra Isabel llego esta tarde John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
June 27 Scarface Alex Theatre

On the one hand, Hitchcock at the Orpheum sounds like a sure bet, but whose idea was it to show Scarface? It's fun watching Pacino do his schtick, but Scarface a veritable film classic? I guess this gives Angelenos a good opportunity to revive the debate...

Poker Challenge

Alright, it's Saturday night, it's Koreatown, you're probably expecting a fully-reported evening of careless carousing at the local watering hole/karoake parlours. However, the Koreatown Chronicler's wonderful Westchester friends always throw a well-attended Ten Dollar Poker Night every couple of months, and the thought of a friendly, yet cost-effective, evening of booze-fueled competition is always impossible to resist, especially since it always offers me the opportunity to casually visit one of my favorite grocery stores, Bristol Farms, in order to pick up some pre-poker competition goodies. This time, I decided that the wonderfully-breezy Spring weather demanded that we drink Jamaica's very own alchoholic brew, Red Stripe. Of course, you think of beer when you think of Jamaica, right?

Of course, the party itself was spectacular, with Jenn Fong adding to the festivities with a delicious Raspberry Mousse Cake from Glendale's own Porto's Bakery, always a party highlight.



As far as the poker itself goes, well, Gary Hoggatt has promised to send me a full write-up of the top four players and their winnings, which pretty much tells you how far my "subtle, conservative" approach to poker got me last night: let's just say I was playing Solitaire and making repeated appetizer bar trips pretty early. Suggestion: We could have a Mah Jong table for poker drop-outs supplemented with readings from various Amy Tan novels including, but not limited to, The Joy Luck Club, for inspiration(I also have the Original Broadway Cast Album of Rodger and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song which gives me an idea...)...Any takers?

Restaurant Review #3-Versailles

It's with great pleasure that a recent trip into the environs of Encino resulted in my being able to savor the samplings of the tasty Cuban restaurant, Versailles. Now, I have always been a huge Versailles fan, having had a few birthday fiestas at their Venice location, and this has always been mainly because it is such a singular experience of an interesting, varied cuisine rarely sampled in the United States outside of Little Havana in Miami, a shame because Cuban food generally tends to be both just hearty enough for a full meal and just exotic enough, especially with its hints of citrus, to be interesting, thus making it an ideal impress-your-date food.

Although there are four locations in Los Angeles, I vouch for the Encino location providing the most superb overall dining experience, especially after a recent interior design. Parking's still rough, though, and you might find yourself parking over at the crowded strip-mall next store to find a parking space, especially during lunch hour and weekend evenings, times when you should also expect to wait twenty minutes for a seat.
All meals at Versailles begin with a serving of buttered garlic bread, enough to whet the appetite, yet leave one waiting for the main course. Those expecting tortilla chips and salsa will be bitterly disappointed...

As far as entrees are concerned, probably the most popular dish is the famed Garlic Chicken, covered in a thick layer of onions and lathered with a refreshing garlic-citrus marinade. On the side, fried plantains and moros y cristianos(black beans and rice) round out the meal, a relative bargain at under ten dollars. Round out the meal with an appetizer of fried yucca, and you may have the best Cuban dish in the city.

Also to be considered are the ropa vieja, a sort of beef stew that's incredibly spicy, and the paella, a Cuban spin on the Spanish dish well-worth the forty minute-plus prepration time. There are also a few vegetarian options, so vegetarians do not need to feel entirely left out of the feasting fun.
If dinner is not enough, dessert options are varied as well; Versailles is not the type of restaurant to be abandoned after the main course in favor of Ben & Jerry's. I personally prefer the homemade flan with a coffee apperetif.
It's rare in Los Angeles to find an interesting, yet neighborly, restaurant where dinner for two comes in at under twenty-five dollars, but Versailles definitely fits the bill. Furthermore, be sure not to be intimidated by the long lines: they move rather quickly, especially considering the extreme friendliness of the staff, many of whom have worked there for what seems like forever and who take extra care to make sure your experience is ideal.
So whether it's an inexpensive date or a get-together with college buddies, definitely consider Versailles as an option. After a first visit, you will not need much convincing in order to return.

Little Tokyo Beats Us to the Digitized Punch!

little tokyo
Flickr photo from miafaye.

OK, so we've broken ground(as of tomorrow) on city-wide Wifi in Little Tokyo of all places, and, ironically, this on the day while Antonio is giving his State of the City Address downtown. Thus, we have three blocks of L.A. now covered by a wireless "cloud", while the rest of us pay cable companies, T-Mobile, and Starbucks for our digital fix.

So we here at the Koreatown Chronicle have to ask our quite photogenic, yet not-always-very-available, mayor, "Why, Mr. Villaraigosa, does Little Tokyo now have a municipal WiFi umbrella, while the rest of Los Angeles is left to its own devices? Wasn't it one of your much-hyped projects to produce a completely wireless Los Angeles, or did that idea get lost at the last City Council Meeting?"

Thanks for the Memories

Mom & Dad doing taxes
Flickr photo from Joey Harrison.

Now that the day's over, let's remember that we are collecting fond, tender memories for generations to come.

Thanks IRS for giving us the opportunity to turn a tiresome, computer-laden chore into an annual ritual of forms, numbers, and postage stamps.

Thank You, State of California

Opening my mailbox this afternoon, a mysterious Franchise Tax Board check tumbled out.

Eighteen bucks. Nice.

Anybody for a lunch at Denny's? I'm buyin'.

Three Cheers for Orange County(The Taco Gods Are Pleased)!

As the majority of the people in the social circles I belong to slowly move toward the supposedly life-changing event of turning thirty, it gives me immense solace to know that we still have it in us to throw outstanding...taco parties. Chicago has its pizza, the Carolinas have their pulled pork, Seattle has its coffee, and we in Los Angeles have the diminutive, yet fiesty, taco. We even have a blog called "L.A. Taco" dedicated entirely to the "Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles." Yes, friends, tacos are not just a mere assortment of chilly iceberg lettuce, processed cheese gunk, warmed ground beef, and yellow fried corn shell;rather, they are the culinary representation for the Los Angeles mindset: unhurried, confident, appropriate without being stuffy...

Food aside, Mike and Phaedra always throws a wonderful birthday party annually in the city of Tustin. You heard me right friends...great parties in Tustin, a city firmly within the firmanent of the Orange County gods(and, formerly, the U.S. military), yet the local kids still manage to do right by their tacos. Of course, the best indication of the success of a party is how late the last guests leave, and I must say, last call came sometime past one with guests leaving with plenty of taco leftovers in arm. It's good to know that even though Mike's now a proud parent, that will not serve as an excuse to put the tortillas away early.