reliving the cherry blossom festival
The following is a guest post from reader Michelle Pierce.
One of the ways to celebrate the coming of spring is to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival of Southern California. It was a great way to spend quality time with family and friends while taking in a variety of entertainment, vendors and food.
The yearly festival takes place in Little Tokyo on San Pedro between 1st and 3rd streets. The location allows one to explore more of Downtown Los Angeles, including Little Tokyo and Chinatown.
During the two-day event, tons of performances took place- from demonstrations of the martial art form Aikido, taiko (Japanese drum playing), to Hawaiian/Polynesian dances. For adults, demonstrations for making origami balls with strips of long paper are available.
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April 7, 2008 No Comments
where is the foodie food?
The following is a guest editorial on the local dining scene by Peter Johnson.
Am I the only foodie who is broiling mad about the Downtown dining scene?
Sure, we have expense account standouts like Patina, the Water Grill, and Blue Velvet, but where are the really great, delicious, neighborhood haunts? We’re ahead of the game in bars. Block for block, we’ve got bars to compete with any neighborhood in the city. But – with a few notable exceptions like Tiara Café, Colori Kitchen, and Wood Spoon — the restaurant scene in Downtown is severely lagging behind.
The sad truth is you’re more likely to get a transcendent, appropriately priced meal from a taco truck on the streets of Downtown, than you are from some of the new restaurants that are opening up. Admittedly, we have some really fine taco trucks, but that’s not the point. I have enormous respect for the gutsy people who put their heart and soul into opening a restaurant. It’s far from easy and too often doesn’t pay off or pan out.
February 28, 2008 29 Comments
ralphs feeds flowers, lets hungry starve
The following is a guest post from reader Laura Evans. Please leave your comments below.
RALPHS SUPERMARKET TO THE STARVING: “I’D RATHER FEED THE FLOWERS.”
One late evening, my husband, Drew, was shopping at the new, convenient, high-end Ralphs Fresh Fare supermarket at Ninth and Flower in Downtown Los Angeles.
He noticed the copious amounts of prepared food that had gone unpurchased and asked the Ralphs employee what was to become of it all at the end of the day. The employee replied that it all gets thrown in the garbage. It was a LOT of food.
I did some research and discovered that the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank has a person, Clarissa Velasco, whose job it is to arrange for product donation pick-ups from companies that have donations. They accept, among other things, prepared food and will pick up the food for free.
What about liability? Gifts to Los Angeles Regional Foodbank are covered by national Good Samaritan laws which encourage the donation of food and grocery products for distribution to needy individuals by protecting donors from liability when donating to a nonprofit organization. Also, donation to the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank generates tax benefits for participating companies.
February 20, 2008 48 Comments
