#9: Art Walk in Downtown

My fabulous friend Jacob (who also gets credit for enlightening me on Drag Queen Bingo) has been telling me for years about one of his very favorite things to do in Downtown LA - the Art Walk. I see him commenting about it on his facebook every month, and seeing as Jacob is really a Downtown Guru of sorts, I took note that this must be something to check out.

I did a bit of research into this "Art Walk" before making my plans. It turns out the Art Walk is part of an effort spear-headed by community organizers to bring art, culture and involvement back to Downtown. Just like most big cities, parts of once-vibrant Downtown LA have become run-down, dirty, and just unappealing to people in general, to visit or to live. Over the last 10 years, Downtown has had a bit of a revival, and millions and millions of dollars have gone into revamping old buildings into super-trendy lofts, cleaning up the streets (literally!) and organizing events that will bring people into Downtown. The Art Walk is one of those efforts, aiming to highlight local and independent artists, galleries, musicians, shops, restaurants and cafes, to not only Downtown residents, but to visitors (like me) as well.

So what started as a map-guided tour of the independent and unusual art galleries has since turned into a once-a-month block party. It's actually more like 7 blocks, so you can imagine how much fun it is.

The Art Walk happens the 2nd Thursday of every month. I decided to go with my good friend since middle school, Sona, in March. She has recently moved Downtown to attend med school at USC, and hasn't had much time to explore. From her apartment, it was only about a 10 minute walk to Spring and Main Streets, where the majority of the action happens. We at first weren't quite sure how much further we had to go, because we didn't see anyone around. But we turned a corner and were greeted with the smell of taco trucks, loud music in the distance, and lots and lots of people on every corner.

We walked towards one of the crowds and were kind of swept into a gallery. The gallery was actually more of a clothing store, with racks of (surprisingly) fairly affordable clothes, with some for-sale paintings on the wall. On top of this high platform, probably 20 feet up, a DJ was spinning some hipster sounding music.

The next gallery was similar, but was more art-focused instead of clothing. My favorite from this gallery was a painting of an owl with a jetpack in outer space.

Our next stop was a little out-of-the-way cafe, where their nightly special was $3 sangria, which was pretty delicious and hit the spot. We took a seat on a couch next to a group of people from Planned Parenthood (who, like many other organizations, take Art Walk as an opportunity to spread the word about their work, services, etc to young adults). It was an open-mic night so we got to hear some good, and some really bad, poetry.

While sipping our sangria we came across a pamphlet for the MONA, aka Museum of Neon Art, which was located just around the corner. I insisted we go. The museum was really really small... like smaller than some of the galleries we had visited, but the stuff inside was so unusual and interesting. Huge wall-sized installations, sculptures, signs and other random pieces, all done with neon lights. There was a back room with more art that you had to pay to see, which we skipped, but I definitely plan on going back there on my next trip.

After the MONA we walked through a few more little galleries. The best part about this is that even though people hand out maps and guides of all the galleries, they are all just next door to each other, and you can hop from one to the next. Some other highlights from the next few galleries included a pile of cookies in the corner of a room (Sona ate one, I had a bite), and very graphic and close-up photographs of different types of piercings.

We decided to hop over to another street, but on our way we passed a cupcake shop, and I have to give them credit for an awesome tagline. When I see a bake shop with the words "FRESH MOIST FANTASTIC CUPCAKES" proudly displayed in their window, I will most likely stop in. There's nothing like some effective and efficient marketing. The shop was called Big Man Bakes, and they were giving out free mini cupcakes. We got a free carrot cake cupcake and bought a large red velvet cupcake to share. I must say, the frosting was AMAZING and both cupcakes were delicious. As we were leaving the shop, a very large black man in an apron walked in and everyone started cheering. Apparently he was the "Big Man" and owned the bake shop, and all the cupcakes were his recipes.

Along the walk, there are lots of people walking around handing out fliers and free stuff. We each got free tank tops from American Apparel and lots of literature about different galleries and events in downtown. But the funniest exchange happened when a good-looking Latino guy handed Sona a brochure for an eyebrow threading shop, and she wailed out "OH NOOO!! Does this mean my eyebrows look bad?!??" and hurried to pull out her mirror to check her brow situation. The guy was just handing out fliers to everyone, but Sona thought he was trying to hint something to her. I was cracking up, but this guy genuinely felt SO bad that he had offended her. They later bonded over talking about Indian dancing, apparently he was a dance major in college and had taken particular fondness to the type of dance that Sona partakes in occasionally. This is an example that there really is every type of person at Art Walk.

After that we walked through the first floor of a very old looking building, which had been transformed from an abandoned, useless space into a mini-marketplace where people could sell their wares. It was like a more hipster version of the Venice Beach boardwalk, with a very eclectic selection of hand-made jewelry, vintage clothes, records, and even bicycles, among other nick-knacks. I bought a really awesome necklace for $10 and Sona got a shirt and pair of earrings. In one corner, a guy was free-styling, and on the other end of the room there was another DJ.

It was after this that Sona and I decided to call it a night. As we left the last gallery to head home, we passed by a person on the street that was dressed as a green furry duck-looking thing. As in, you couldn't see their face and they were completely inside this duck-platypus-bird costume. Sona was completely enamored and insisted we chase it down to get a picture. Of course the platyduckbird was running away from us and I was laughing so hard the picture actually came out pretty blurry, but I'm sure she still cherishes it.

I am finding it very difficult to explain to you here the types of people you see at the Art Walk. You are constantly working your way through crowds of people, and they seemingly come from every walk of life. Some of the more scene-ster types obviously live in downtown, but there are plenty of normal people, business men, hippies, etc all enjoying the local art and music scene. It was really so much fun and when I got home I felt like I was on a cloud. Sometimes I get stuck in my little bubble and I forget to experience things outside of it. But going to Downtown always is an exhilarating experience for me, because at heart I'm still a small-town suburbanite who wonders how she ever made it to the Big City. Being a part of the Art Walk makes you feel like you belong to this big-city scene, no matter what your interests are, where you live, what you do, where you're from, etc. It was a truly awesome experience and I can't wait to go back again!

Sona with the green furry bird creature

"Installation art"... I don't get it, but it sure was tasty!Art at the MONA

Outside the Museum of Neon Art

#20: Chinatown

The other day while driving to my closest Home Depot, I drove through Little Ethiopia, Koreatown, and Little Armenia. And that's just around Hollywood. This city has dozens of cultural neighborhoods, like Little Tokyo, Leimert Park (African), Historic Filipinotown, Fairfax (Jewish), Olvera Street (Mexican), Thai Town, Little Moscow, Little Saigon, and of course, Chinatown.

Only a few of these made my final list, but Chinatown was the first one I wanted to visit. Not to mention the fact that my boyfriend is Chinese and has been dying to show me some "authentic" Chinese food. After San Francisco's Chinatown failed us with "Americanized" food, we set our eyes on LA's main Chinese neighborhood. Ronny picked out three restaurants, one for dim sum, one for noodles, and one for seafood.

We drove through the Dragon Arch, found parking, and began our tour. I wanted to go to dim sum first... because to me it is the tamest and has the most options. I wouldn't call myself a "picky" eater per se... but when it comes to unusual things I've never seen or heard or tasted before (and when I can't even read the menu to find out what's actually in it!), I have some hesitation. We met my friend Marsha at the dim sum place, which... Well, I think it's best described by Ronny's Yelp Review:

The place is very dirty, tables cleared off with a quick swipe of a wet rag. There was a dude just sitting in there tweaking out and asking people for money. Nothing looks too sanitary.

But... unusual cleanliness standards and strange patrons aside, the dim sum was DELICIOUS and according to my Chinese boyfriend, incredibly authentic! Ronny, Marsha and I ate till we were full, for less than $15 total. We got steamed BBQ pork buns, pork shu mai, shrimp har goa, and this weird sweet crumbly pastry that was neon yellow. It was all delicious and filling. Oh, and Ronny gave it 4 stars on Yelp, and that's saying something.

After dim sum we walked around some of the obviously touristy gift shops. I wanted to get a little souvenir, and went through several shops deciding between a small Buddha statue, a paper lamp, a money tree, along with lots of other super random Asian things, before settling on a small red good luck charm keychain thingy. There were actually some pretty interesting, inexpensive things around, but I didn't want to push it.

The "strip" of Chinatown, since it's really just one street with all the shops and restaurants, seemed to be centered around Mandarin Plaza, which is a mall of sorts, filled with Asian-interest shops and vendors. Though it all seemed a bit touristy to me, there was one thing that made it feel more Chinese. A woman was playing some sort of flute instrument on the steps of the Mandarin Plaza. I don't know what the instrument was called, but I'm pretty sure it has been featured on every single Asian movie soundtrack released in Western culture. It just sounded very stereotypically Chinese. I also thought the lady looked like Wing (from South Park, and an actual Chinese celebrity) but Ronny said that was racist.

It is worth noting, also, that I saw something I've never ever seen before. You know how MOST restaurants have a big blue A posted in their windows, showcasing their Health Inspection rating? Well for the first time in my life, I actually saw a C in a window. In normal LA, a "C" would put a company out of business in a minute. But in Chinatown this stuff doesn't matter as much, because the food is so good!

One of these lovely "C" restaurants was our Noodle House. The three of us ordered 2 bowls of noodles and soup. One was egg noodles and one was rice noodles, and both had meat and seafood. By that time in the afternoon, it had gotten a bit cold and overcast outside and the noodle soup was very satisfying. Only downside is we had to order cans of Coke because the water glasses were very dirty.

After that we were so full, we didn't even go to the seafood restaurant. And honestly, noodles is one thing, but I REALLY don't want to order fish from a place that probably has rats in its kitchen. Marsha left, and Ronny and I walked the length of the street, then turned around to go back to our car.

My takeaway from Chinatown: if you want to find authentic and incredibly cheap Chinese food, this is the place to go. But if you are expecting banners and buildings that make you feel like you are in China (or even in a touristy Chinatown!) you will be let down. It was really only one street (Broadway) and I really didn't get a taste for Chinese culture. Honestly, having a meal with my boyfriend's mom teaches me more about Chinese culture. It certainly wasn't as quaint as the Chinatown in SF, and it's not NEARLY as big as expected (in my perception, it's a fraction the size of Koreatown). But I had a lovely afternoon trying new food, and was definitely a great experience! I look forward to checking out other ethnic neighborhoods in the future!

The most "Chinatown-esque" decoration in my opinion: banners on the light post reminding everyone that this is the year of the Rabbit.

I was too busy stuffing my face to take a picture of the dim sum when it first came out.

The Dragon Gate that you drive through to enter official Chinatown

#6 Lakers Game

My friend Meaghan is from Iowa, and though she complains about it constantly (all the snow, no cell service, horse-and-buggies instead of cars) according to her, the hands-down #1 worst thing is that she doesn't have a single professional Iowa sports team she can root for!! As my favorite Real Housewife from Atlanta, Dwight, would say, HOW DREADFUL!! Truly, one of the blessings of living in Los Angeles is that you can be a fan of the LA Dodgers, Lakers, Galaxy, Kings, Angels OR the Clippers!

I love being a sports fan. A good game on TV can spice up an otherwise boring day, the fan community is exhilarating, and when your team wins, you feel the win too! The only reason I had never seen a Lakers game at the Staples Center is because they are pretty expensive, but 2011 is the year that I focus on spending my money on making memories, not just filling my closet. When my BF told me he had found decent tickets to the Lakers vs. Bobcats game for an affordable price, all I had to do was customize my yellow Lakers shirt and dig out some purple Mardi Gras beads and I was set!

We decided to skip the expensive mess of parking in downtown, and instead took the subway from Hollywood to the 7th St. station in downtown. I had only taken the subway once before, and it was so easy and inexpensive... I really look forward to the day when public transportation is a viable option in this city!

Once we got downtown, it was an easy 10 minute walk to LA Live and the Staples Center. We found our seats (first row of the upper section) and eagerly watched the teams warm up. Even from high up, the players looked like beasts! Much bigger than they look on TV. We enjoyed the game, especially the Camacho Nachos that Ronny ordered. I'm sure that meal was about 2,000 calories of cheese, chips, guacamole and pure deliciousness.

The Lakers ended up winning the game (of course they won... come on). The game wasn't very eventful; both teams scored under 100 points, no one was injured, there werent even many major disputes or fouls. Honestly, one of the most exciting parts of the game (for me) was when they showed Roger Federer and Pete Sampras sitting next to each other, courtside. (Also, thanks to Facebook status updates, I found out my friend Sona was at the game, and we were able to meet up briefly in the 3rd quarter so she could meet my bf.) And, since the Bobcats scored under 100 points, we got coupons for free tacos from Jack in the Box. Towards the end of the night, the "LETS GO LAA-KERS" chants turned into the "WE WANT TAAA-COOS!" chant. (Side note: I ended up giving my tacos coupon to a homeless guy at the downtown artwalk the next week).

After the game we met up with some good friends at one of my favorite downtown bars, 7 Grand (on the corner of 7th and Grand, of course) for a celebratory drink. My friend gave us a ride back to my car, so we didn't have to brave the subway at midnight.

Overall, the Lakers game was a blast, and I really think every LA fan should go to at least one. However, I don't think I will splurge on tickets very often. Watching the games on TV is almost as exciting for me, and much, much cheaper! I will spend my next $80 on another item from my list!

View from our seats

Kobe free throw!