K&L Wine Merchants

Posted by M. Johnson on May 17, 2012

My favorite Wine Store/Tasting place in Hollywood.

Katsuya (and Katsu-Ya)

Posted by M. Johnson on Mar 20, 2012

Really, and I mean REALLY high-end Sushi in Glendale, and other locales.

Los Balcones del Peru

Posted by M. Johnson on Mar 4, 2012

A fantastic…let me say that again…a FANTASTIC Peruvian Restaurant in Hollywood.

Magnolia

Posted by M. Johnson on Dec 8, 2011

A sleek, first class bar in Hollywood.

Museum of Death / Hollywood Forever

Posted by M. Johnson on Dec 5, 2011

There truly is some morbid @#$% going on in Hollywood, personified by these two…ahem…landmarks.  I have been to neither, and I only know where the Museum of Death is because its across the street from my Toyota dealership.  I’ve driven past the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which apparently boasts some notables among its…ahem…residents.  The night I drove past it was Halloween a couple of years ago, and the place…was…packed.  They were showing old Horror Movies and people were partying it up.  It actually looked fun.

Off-Vine

Posted by M. Johnson on Jan 18, 2012

American style Bistro cooking in Hollywood.

Oscar Alert! Oscar Alert! Oscar Alert!

Posted by M. Johnson on Feb 25, 2012

To a great number of you, the Oscars are a fun night in, a chance to gawk at celebrities, check out ladies fashion, and make bets on who’s going to win or lose.

To us in Los Angeles, it’s also a headache.

It’s a couple weeks of trying to find out when they’re going to shut down that stretch of Highland Avenue (a block from the former Kodak Theater), and generally make life a nightmare for people who actually live in Hollywood.

From the USA Today, pretty much boiling it down:

“The 84th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday, and as we all know that means a traffic cluster**** for those among us who aren’t being escorted down Hollywood Boulevard by helicopter or limousine or something else that we don’t even know about,” whines the local blog LAist.

 

The Los AngelesTimes is a bit more subdued, stating that “Hollywood street traffic and subway operations were being disrupted Sunday in preparation for the evening’s 84th Academy Awards ceremony.”

 

The website says several blocks of main thoroughfares Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue are closed to vehicles and pedestrians. Several streets around the Hollywood & Highland Center — home to the venue formerly known as the Kodak Theatre, site of tonight’s show — also will be closed.

 

Some streets aren’t scheduled to reopen until Tuesday, the Times reports.

 

Public transportation won’t help much, either. The Times says the Hollywood/Highland Station subway stop is closed today.

Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles

Posted by M. Johnson on Jan 12, 2012

An L.A. institution that combines Fried Chicken…and waffles. Yes, waffles.

Umani Burger

Posted by M. Johnson on Dec 8, 2011

Another chain of first class Burger Joints in Hollywood, and elsewhere.