The former chef and general manager of some Westside and West Hollywood restaurants has taken over the short-lived Cafe Lobos in Highland Park and plans to serve “contemporary, tapas-style fare” and operate a full bar. Huntley See, who was the general manager of Tart on Fairfax Avenue and head chef of the Office and Micky’s nightclub in West Hollywood, is planning a Feb. 29 grand opening for HPK – Highland Park Kitchen. See is working with Rudy Martinez, who owns the building and operated Marty’s Bar at the location before closing it last year in advance of Cafe Lobos. “We have worked together on re-tooling and re-vamping what we believe this neighborhood is looking for,” See said in an email. That revamping includes a new window that opens up the dining room and bar to York Boulevard.
Click on the link below for more details about the menu – which ranges from Pomegranate Ceviche to Carne Asada Sweet Potato Fries – and drinks.
A Taiwanese modern dance company will makes its Los Angeles debut on Saturday with a performance at Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Center in El Sereno. Cloud Gate 2, founded by choreographer Lin Hwai-Min, is the first of three dance companies – from Australia, Taiwan and the U.S. – that will take the stage at the Luckman Center this season. Cloud Gate 2, according to a Luckman press release, has been hailed as presenting “some of the most innovative and creative contemporary dance to come out of Asia in decades.”
In March, Melbourne, Australia’s Chunky Move arrives at the Luckman with a “technology-driven and genre-defying dance performance,” and the Robert Moses’ Kin Dance Company from San Francisco will perform on May 5.
Click on the link below for more details about the shows.
If you live in the Northeast corner of Los Angeles (and you’re like me), you’ve probably been jonesing for some serious ice cream. It seems to be one of the glaring omissions in the area—if you live in or around Highland Park, and you’re in need of a scoop, you’re pretty much stuck at Rite Aid.
Not that I have anything against Thrifty Ice Cream. I grew up on Chocolate Malted Crunch, and I still crave it now and again, but a drugstore is not an ice cream parlor. For that experience, I usually trek out to Alhambra for a Fosselman’s fix because nothing really fills that niche around here.
Or so I thought…and then I found Oasis Ice Cream.
Oasis is a proper Mexican ice cream parlor and juice bar hidden away on Monte Vista Street. And, get this: the ice cream and frozen yogurt are made in house every day by a very nice woman named Doris, who serves up over 20 flavors. She also takes a lot of pride in her fresh juices—she has a concoction for everything from acid reflux to weight loss—as well a huge menu of raspados, milkshakes, candy apples, chocolate bananas and even candy-coated marshmallows.
The Highland Park building that housed the short-lived Cafe Lobos and before that Marty’s bar is now sporting a new name – HPK – and a picture window overlooking York Boulevard. Some of the reader comments on a previous Eastsider story said the windowless building was not welcoming and suggested that a window would help. Said a commenter named Marino:
He needs to tear down the front wall and open it to the street like the York or his own Mia Sushi and/or take some of the huge parking lot and turn it into outdoor dining.
It seems the building owner, Rudy Martinez, owner of Eagle Rock’s Sushi, also thought a window would help and applied for a permit to replace a window that been covered up. What will diners be eating behind that window? Stay tuned.
Photo courtesy Silver Lake Arts Crafts & Vintage Fair
The big news at this Saturday’s Silverlake Art Craft Fair & Vintage flea market is not about a new vendor or food truck. It’s the introduction of “swanky valet parking for the rich and lazy.”
Brazilian Yoga & Pilates - which offers pre-natal yoga, Capoeria, mat pilates and yoga workshops – at the Atwater Village Crossing complex is offering a $69 unlimited monthly membership. “Take as many classes as you like,” said yoga teacher Stefani Manger.
Tavin boutique in Echo Park celebrates Valentine’s Day with bubbly, chocolates and a 10%-off sale on lingerie and gifts this Saturday, Feb. 11.
Soul Cup Cakes of Echo Park will selling Muddy Water Chocolate, Peanut Butter Cup, Lemon Drop and Strawberry Swirl cupcakes on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Say Cheese Cafe in Silver Lake.
It’s been a long time coming but Elf Cafe, the tiny Echo Park vegetarian restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, has acquired the storefront next door as the owners prepare to apply for a beer and wine license. But don’t expect the new space to be crowded with tables. Instead, owner Scott Zweizen said much of the additional 600 square-feet to the east of Elf will allow him to expand his kitchen and provide other amenities. “Though it will probably not translate into that much more seating, it will offer us the opportunity to build up our kitchen’s capabilities and give us a second restroom,” Zweizen said.
From Echo Park to Lincoln Heights, new 7-Eleven stores have opened or are in the works for several Eastside locations. Recently the home of the Slurpee and Big Gulp staked a claim on yet another street corner: Alvarado Street and Beverly Boulevard in Historic Filipinotown. Representatives for the chain are seeking permission from the city to turn a former Valero gas station (recently re-branded into a Chevron) into a 24-hour store selling beer and wine. What’s behind all these new stores? In 2009, the company announced an aggressive expansion across Southern California to take advantage of low real estate prices, said the L.A. Times. But the chain in a press release added that it also wanted to join the coffee houses, yoga studios, galleries that are opening in up-and-coming urban and downtown neighborhoods:
The company also wants to be part of re-gentrification efforts in neighborhoods where it plans to grow that are undergoing revitalization.
With the chain planning to open 600 new 7-Eleven stores across the region, expect to see more people sipping Slurpees instead of cappuccinos.
The Silver Lake Jubilee, an indie music and street festival, had set itself apart from the much larger and controversial Sunset Junction Street Fair – which was cancelled last year – by keeping it simple and cheap; admission had been only $5. But the third annual Jubilee, scheduled for May 26-27, will cost a lot more to attend: $20, which equals Sunset Junction’s much criticized pricing. In an interview with Buzz Bands, Jubilee Executive Director Mark Martinez said he expects complaints:
“That’s something that going to happen naturally,” he says. “But all the complaints people had about Sunset Junction — I feel like we’ve stepped up and addressed them. We’re a very transparent organization as far as where the money goes, and what we contribute to the community. We’re really proud of that.”
Martinez said the price hike is necessary to make sure the festival The group provided a break down of where that $20 will go. In addition to the higher ticket prices, Martinez said the festival, once located on Myra Street, will move to Santa Monica Boulevard.
* Correction: A previous version of this story said the Jubilee announced this year’s musical line up. That’s wrong. The musical acts won’t be announced until March.
With the orange Home Depot signs shining overhead, the southern edge of Figueroa Street in Cypress Park is better known for building supplies than boutiques. But at Figueroa and Avenue 28, the opening of Finster Studio, a vintage furniture and home accessories store, next to Footsies bar and across from Maintain skate shop has helped attract those searching for hipness instead of hardware. Cypress Park resident Sharon-Kate Sancer, a former photo producer and prop stylist, opened Finster, named after her Doxie Terrier mix, in December to pursue her longtime interest in vintage items and get out of a long commute.
Sancer said she was attracted to the location partly because Footsies “has a following of the same kind of customers we would draw.” Finster has also attracted customers patronizing other nearby businesses.
“I think [Maintain] customers have found us from spotting us across the street, and I hope vice-versa,” Sancer said in an email. “And I can’t neglect mentioning El Atacor #11. We’ve had many new customers walk in from being over here for their potato taco fix!”
A decent donut is a fairly easy find, but a stellar one? That can be an enigma unless you’re willing to drive to Inglewood or Glendora, which is quite a commitment to quench one little donut craving. It’s not like there’s a shortage of donut shops on this side of town. They’re as ubiquitous in this corner as any other in Los Angeles—just pull into any strip mall, and you can probably emerge with a bearclaw or cruller in seconds. No sweat. But, let’s be honest: it will most likely be just so-so, all kinds of ho-hum, a little waxy, on the dry side, too dense, or just plain eh.
You deserve better.
That’s why I’m letting you in on the best kept donut secret in Hermon. If you passed by it, you wouldn’t even give it a second glance. There’s no gigantic, beacon-like donut sign to reel you in, no buzz to spark your curiosity… nothing.
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It’s been a long time coming but 
From Echo Park to Lincoln Heights, new 7-Eleven stores have opened or are in the works for several Eastside locations. Recently the home of the Slurpee and Big Gulp staked a claim on yet another street corner: 
With the orange Home Depot signs shining overhead, the southern edge of Figueroa Street in Cypress Park is better known for building supplies than boutiques. But at 
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The Eastsider publishes stories and news from the northeast corner of the City of Los Angeles and neighboring East Los Angeles. Who is the Eastsider? Where does the Eastsider roam? 