With a pie shop set to open in a few days in the Arts District, you'd think things couldn't get any sweeter downtown but you'd be wrong. Sharlena Fong is closer to opening her brick and mortar "Semi- Sweet Bakery" on 6th Street. How much closer to opening? How does a couple weeks sound?
Sharlena Fong outside her bakery space at 6th and Main earlier this year.
You may know the Old Bank District resident by her famous maple bacon glazed donuts that put the Nickel Diner in the spotlight those early days. Maybe you've had her chocolate chip cookies, a favorite treat at all the past bookclub meetings at Metropolis Books. I spoke with her on the record back in March for a BlogDowntown article.
At the time she was hoping for a summer opening. Things don't always go according to schedule, especially when it's a storefront you're trying to open on your own, all while keeping your bakery company going. Passing by the shop every few weeks you knew something was progressing but what?
Husband Sean and I passed by Semi Sweet yesterday after lunch (at the Nickel of course) and we struck gold. Sharlena was in and we were able to get a quick tour and update on the bakery.
The shop's entrance is at an angle as the bakery is sandwiched between P&P and Las Perlas. As you walk in, your eye goes to the beautiful new bakery display case:
Here's a fuzzy view (it's with my iPhone and we were just leaving) of the neat wooden cases on the wall behind the bakery case:
The walls are painted blue and a beautiful crown molding and medallion effect is installed in the seating area (the medallions will be replaced with wall sconces before opening). Here's a quick shot of that really nice long bar for window seating out front:
The reason for the rushed photos is that while we were chatting about the kitchen and looking at the neat convection ovens and the six burner gas stove, the gas company showed up to turn the gas on. We had to cut our little impromptu visit short. Great excuse, no?
Before the gas man showed up Sharlena shared that if all goes as planned (and it should at this point hopefully) she may be soft opening Semi-Sweet the week of 17 October... So keep an eye out. Better yet, "like" Semi Sweet on facebook and see the neat photos of their kitchen area (including those convection ovens) and see the updates as they are posted there.
Semi Sweet Bakery 105 E. 6th Street (in the Sante Fe Lofts building) L.A. CA 90014
Tomorrow spotlights two separate exhibitions closing at the home of Gallery Row, 5th and Main. Bert Green Fine Art (BGFA) hosted artists Jeff Gillette and Scott Horsley. Edgar Varela Fine Art (EVFA) whose gallery fills the back space at 5th and Main, hosted Ivan Limas. I was lucky to speak to all three artists at their respective openings last month on September 22nd.
Jeff Gillette
Gillette standing in front of his piece "Charpi" (2010)
Jeff Gillette got inspiration for his "Slumscape" series from his experiences in the Peace Corps in the late 80s. Having spent two years in Calcutta, India seeing the immense filth of the slums he found a beauty in the "cacophony of debris" and compared it to modern art sculptures. Since then he's made several trips back to India and Nepal getting new ideas and material for his series, which he first painted in 1995.
Gillette's new series of "Slumscapes" might have people questioning. "What's with the Mickey Mouse?" Noting that many, if not all of his current "Slumscape" works incorporate the mouse icon in some way or another.
"No one likes looking at this (stuff)." He says "They hate it, they try to go around it. This is like an access to it. It forces people to indulge. People will be like "look it's Mickey!" and they'll be drawn into it.. and what are you getting drawn into? It's a toilet."
"Dread/Coca" (2010) Jeff Gillette acrylic and collage on canvas $2,000
"Everyone loves Mickey Mouse," Gillette insists. Using the Disney icon as an access point to his art, it brings social awareness and allows the art-goer to see everything. He further explains that while people don't like to look at slums and the filth and garbage, they will look at Mickey. "It allows them an access point to engage."
Scott Horsley
Horsley with Recreation I and Recreation II
Horsley, who grew up in New York,received his graduate degree at UC San Diego. He met Bert Green at a show a few years ago and has been in a few of his shows including the LA Art Show.
Horsley now spends most of his time at the University of Florida at Gainsville where he teaches.
Having got his start with painting, he found it became busy and he's cut down to the basics. "Paper and pencil appeal to me," he says, expressing the purity and raw nature of graphite on paper. His graphite on Luxe paper drawings explore the relationship of sex and the absurd, how fear and ecstasy intermingle when faced with death or tragedy. His current series are full of "ecstatic joy in the grip of a sinking ship."
Many of his works seem to book-end each other, whether it's "The Expression of Truckliness" a duel piece about the concept of what truck-ownership might envision.. or "Recreation" a somewhat startling image of what seems to be duel hangings were actually contrasting images Horsley happened upon in the news. He explains on one page was an image of several soldiers witnessing an execution in Kabul, and on the opposite page, a group of people watching Patriots cheerleader tryouts. In both images the heads were cut out of the photos, "It was like the exact same photograph," said Horsley. "The images were so similar and so diametrically opposed, that like 'death' and that ecstatic sexual moment so those things back to back.. I couldn't believe it that they existed together."
Again, the shows end tomorrow, the 30th of October, which will culminate in an artist's talk with Jeff Gillette at 4pm. Don't miss it as Gillette will be sharing slides from his travels to the various slums that are the inspiration for his art.
Bert Green Fine Art
102 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013 ·
213-842-8574
EVFA presents Ivan Limas "Free to Behave"
Ivan Limas at his show's opening last month.
In the EVFA Gallery, Ivan Limas filled the room with his vibrant project-based works. Limas, who lives and works in the Santa Fe Art Colony, is a life-long Angeleno. He spent his childhood growing up in various parts of LA like Compton (and later La Merada) and says it had a big impact on his life. While some of the kids he grew up with were into the gang culture or graffiti art, he stuck to drawing comics, but his drawings eventually moved him to explore ideas in culture, and experience.
"A lot of my work is about defiance, exploration and self-perception.. cultural perception."
Immersed in the comic culture in his youth, he was surrounded by various subcultures whether it was anime, the machismo of Mexican-American, gang culture or graffiti art. He brings his personal experiences to bare. He'll get many ideas from his walks around LA or the conversations he hears. He said a lot of his work might be about the polarities of those sub-cultures and understanding those persona.
Most of his work in this show are oil on canvas paintings. He explained how he learns from his environment, often "doodling" while listening to lectures or conversations when growing up. He used this technique for several of his paintings in his current show. When going to a location, he would create several drawings based on the sounds and voices he hears and then photographing the environment. "I let the environment affect me," he says. He creates the larger oil paintings based on the drawings he created earlier at the project's location.
His work varies from video or mixed media sculpture, or performance pieces where he wrapped himself up in bandannas.
"Bandannas to me are like these mini flags.."
He talks about visual signifiers, like those communicated through items like a common bandanna. The bandanna having many meanings in different cultures, and he thinks about where the bandanna originated from, whether it's from Mexico,Spain or somewhere else. His hope is to "contextualize it into contemporary dialogue.". He has created a series of 3 bandannas with ironed transfers that might hint different places to different people. Discussion of the pieces range from the language expressed in the wearing of bandannas, the color significance in gang culture, or any number of things.
He wants his work to be available to everyone, not restricted to any one group. Bringing the idea of an item that's not necessarily considered art and having people think about it in a new way, or bring their own experience to the interpretation. Whether it's a synthetic ostrich skin-encased vacuum cleaner or a video installation of Ivan cutting off his own tongue.
His show also wraps on 30 October, when Limas is scheduled to have an artist talk in the EVFA gallery where he will discuss more about his history and background. It's possible he may bring up his earlier work on a comic book that he wrote and illustrated for use as his college thesis. While the work never got published, "It made me realize I wanted to go from a painter to multimedia."
Yesterday I wanted to watch the Germany/Spain match so headed over to The Down & Out where I met up with neighbor Sara J. and had a very peaceable time watching the match. There was a good crowd and after the first half we were able to move up to the bar to sit and watch the three screens.
It was my first time at the Down & Out and based on my experience I would definitely go back. I still got to find out what that pear cider I had was. It was alright. =)
Babycakes NYC has been open on 6th near Los Angeles for a while now, and since I have a friend that was interested in gluten-free options, I meant to get there eventually. I had heard not-so good things about them, so it wasn't on the top of my list. Then I happened to be in the area.. so what better time?
they have quite a selection of vegan and spelt cupcakes..
I wasn't sure what to choose, so I got a carrot cupcake since the carrotcake is my favorite at "Big Man Bakes" ('compare what you know' is my default).
I also got an agave brownie, and a slice of banana bread.. the total came to about $10 for the 3 items.
carrot cupcake..
you can see the bits of carrot..
The frosting was sweet.. and the carrot cupcake was rather dry and bland. The frosting didn't make up for it, but at least helped it go down.
Agave brownie
at 1.50 you won't feel too guilty wasting your money on one of these.. but your taste-buds might complain. Of the three items, this was the most "diet" tasting. It was small and gritty and just not tasty. I love chocolate and brownies are one of my favorite treats. From experience, I know brownies can vary from being just good to moist & tasty to sweet & decadent. IMHO, this was just nasty. I'll stick with my boxed brownie mix, thank you!
Banana Bread!
you can see a piece of actual banana in the bread..
This last one was my favorite of the three. It was moist and tasty. It actually tasted like banana.. I didn't like that the chunks were big enough to see (that kinda grossed me out, actually) but however they make it, it's the one I would order again if I was in the neighborhood.
Babycakes NYC
130 E 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 623-5555
Cupcake Update: Since I last did a cupcake post, Lot44 Coffee has closed up and is no longer a cupcake option. Pitfire Pizza hasn't had it's Aunty Em's cupcakes in ages, and so the local options are limited to Big Man Bakes and BabyCakes NYC.
Babycakes NYC is the only vegan/gluten-free/spelt option downtown, but if you, like me, are not limited by what you can ingest, Big Man Bakes is the better (if more limited) option. The carrotcake cupcakes and pumpkin spice @ Big Man Bakes are still my favorite.. I'm still hunting for a truly moist & delicious red velvet (since I can't get Aunty Em's downtown). Suggestions?
Yesterday, I was walking back to the Historic Core from running errands in South Park. I was heading to Starry Kitchen for lunch and was about to turn off Broadway & Hill (the escalator was running up to Cal Plaza) when I spotted a most excellent reason to take the stairs up Angels Knoll..
Angels Flight Testing!!! Yes.. they were running the cars intermittently.. I video-taped it a few times but my cell phone did a pretty good job too...
Walking around the neighborhood..
cleaning up the Rosslyn Hotel sign..
This side all done!
7-11 7-11!
opposite Rite-Aid..
future location of a new 7-11 at 5th & Broadway.
and lastly, (but NOT least!) in the Old Bank District..
Old Bank DVD will be headed around the corner..
sometime soon** ("AUGUST") Old Bank DVD will be relocated.. They will be in the same building (San Fernando Bldg @ 4th & Main) but taking over the currently empty former home of MJ Higgins Gallery.
**update: 22 August 2009 After talking to Old Bank DVD it may be late August or early September for the relocation of the store.
Big Man Bakes cupcakes are now being sold at Ray's Old Bank District Market near 4th & Main.. "Extra Large Cupcakes" go for about $3.25 and $1 ea for the 'mini' cupcakes..
Went in there around lunch and they had their carrot cake cupcakes & the red velvet cupcakes. I'm a big fan of the carrot cake capcakes as they are very moist.. The red velvet was good too.. but the frosting was a little too sweet.. in a sugary-y birthday cake sort of way.. but still good. Yes, I'll be back..
There are many cupcake options out there. Please note some really good cupcakes can also be had at Pitfire Pizza at 2nd & Main. The Nickel Diner has an amazingly yummy red velvet cupcake. New options coming soon: Blue Cupcakes opening on the 20th of July (in cooperation with Lot 44 near 3rd & Spring). Babycakes NYC bakery coming to 6th & Main hopefully later this year.. The Historic Core is becoming cupcake central! Pace yourself and start checking out these new places.. Go to Big Man Bakes first!
Tonight is Art Walk.. and while I probably won't go there myself (it's so crowded!) one of the really good, but not so recession friendly options around town in the evening is The Must!
The Must opened late last year as a wine and comfort food bar in the back of Weeneez at the corner of 5th & Spring. We ended up eating there several weeks back (Mar 10th) when we wanted to go for cheeseburgers at Weeneez and it was closed.. but the The Must was open. We were hungry so we attempted dinner here.
The total bill came to about $60 for 4 items, drinks and a dessert.. A lot more than we were planning to spend. The food was pretty good but in the end it's ideally a wine bar. A great place to come and have a drink and try one of the many small plates-- if you're meeting friends after work or you want to stop here during art walk or any number of events you'll be attending downtown.
Service the night we were there was spotty.. that night they could have used at least one extra server. We probably wouldn't have noticed so much if we were there to socialize rather than have a nice dinner. Dinner was indeed nice.. just not something I would do very often in this economy.. wine & snack? yes.
Rather than go into details here's some pix of the yummy dishes we tried: sauteed wild mushrooms ($6) and my least favorite.. tasty but not too exciting.
Sweet Potato tots with Ranch Dressing ($6).. Very GOOD!! order 2 of these as you won't want to share.. seriously.
Mini Chicken Sliders: Crispy fried chicken breast, smoked mozzarella, ranch dressing, and pickles on mini biscuits. $4 each or 3 for $10. These were excellent!
For dessert they had 3 options the bread pudding appealed to us but they were out. We ended up ordering the fluffernutter which I've never tried before ever..
The Fluffernutter.. with chocolate dipping sauce. High on the naughty treat level but not exactly what I was really wanting.. (when you got a craving for bread pudding fluffernutter isn't a good substitute).
All in all it wasn't a horrible meal, and I would definitely recommend the place to anyone wanting to get a glass of wine and bite to eat. If you want Tapas, go to Warung. If you want a yummy cheeseburger and Weeneez is closed, go the extra block to the Nickel. It'll cost you a LOT less than The Must.
If you want a great glass of wine with a tasty treat such as the sweet potato tots and the chicken sliders.. go for it! We'll be back one of these days to try the bread pudding but it'll be a while. Our wallet is still a bit bruised.
If it looks like all I do is go around the corner and stuff my pie hole then you could be right. Except that's not the case. I haven't gone out to eat since I had those great sandwiches at Weeneez earlier this week on Monday. Before that I think there was a trip to Rubios while at the AMC 30 on Sunday the day before that.. and at some point.. maybe a trip to L&L. These last two are chains and you can go there pretty much anywhere.. you don't need me giving reviews of McDonalds do you?? (L&L is definitely not McDonalds.. you get the idea though, right?).
So yeah, breakfast.. full on breakfast is served at Weeneez on Saturday from 9-noon. As I'm typing this it's a couple hours later & I'm still stuffed. SeanYoda ordered the body builder special which is: 2 eggs, 2 sausages (or slices of bacon or ham), home fries, toast & 2 pancakes. forgot the camera so you get this poor quality celphone shot.
As for me, Julie was saying they were making some really good pancakes from scratch (and I was all set to have the "earlybird special" which is similar to the bodybuilder minus the pancakes).. Twist my arm!! (heh heh) I ordered the pancakes and a side of bacon.
omg these pancakes were huge! (the bodybuilder pancakes were normal sized) With two of the slices of bacon (I 'shared' one of my slices with Sean) I was stuffed. Actually I ended up having Sean eat like a 1/6th of my pancake. It was too good to not eat, but I was so full from what I already had.
I'm glad I ordered the pancakes, but they are indeed filling. Total for breakfast with 2 sodas not including tip was around 17 bucks.
One would think I have forgotten about them since I haven't talked about them for a while. I admit I have a problem with mornings, I'm not so good at them. I'm good if I know I need to be somewhere, but without structure, I seem to slow down quite a bit.
Suffice to say this post is benefiting in a way by my not getting my act together in time for breakfast. ;P So instead, it's an early lunch today at Weeneez. It's been long enough that there were a few changes:
NEW HOURS
Weeneez is now open Monday through Saturday 9am to 4pm. Breakfast is served 9am to 11am and is limited to egg sandwiches. Full Breakfast is served Saturdays from 9am to Noon.
NEW DELI SANDWICHES
Julie is now featuring fresh made Italian Sub and Roast Beef sandwiches..
Sound good?? YES!
So good in fact that we ordered one of each.
Roast Beef with Cheddar cheese and the mayo and horseradish mustard.
The Italian Sub.. lots of meat, a savory Italian flavor.
Speaking for myself, I had to take a "halftime" between the two halves as it was a very satisfying, filling sandwich. The sandwich served me well for both my breakfast and lunch.
Suffice to say I fell off the Weight Watcher wagon a few weeks ago, but this is easily a sandwich I would want to order yet again... I could have one half for lunch and save the other half for my dinner. It is quite filling.
Julie noted that she may be getting some fresh baked La Brea bread in the future. I found the sandwich fine regardless, but fresh La Brea Bakery bread would make an excellent sandwich even better I would think.
The total for 2 sandwiches and drinks came to about 17bucks, so still very affordable and very delicious.
Vegetarians need not worry.. there's a soy dog and a tofurky dog available on the hotdog menu.. and the breakfast has some non-meat offerings. With Ash Wednesday coming up it might be something to consider to stop by and I may try one of the soy dogs finally.
As one may have already read from NewDowntown (yahoo group), BlogDowntown or other blogs, the Nickel opened for it's first official Dinner hours tonight, the 23rd. Before the Nickel experimented with dinner hours on the monthly art walk nights.
Nickel Diner opens for dinner from Tues through Saturday from 6-11pm.
Checking in at The Nickel shortly after 6pm, there were already a couple tables seated for dinner. Apon sitting, ordering a couple glasses of water and perusing the menu.. we saw that there are many items one will see on the regular lunch menu. However, a list of dinner entrees are now offered including: a double stuffed chicken, a salmon dish, catfish dish, flatiron steak with arugula & tomato salad, and a couple veggie leaning options.
Lunch regulars will see they have the pulled pork sandwich, the Nickel Burger, and Lowrider among many other favorites. (Smac and Cheese anyone??). Knowing I could get one of my favorite lunch items.. during lunch, I made sure to try one of the new dinner options.
"Eat Your Vegetables" hashed bacon Brussel sprouts with green beans, sauteed spinach, and roasted parsnips and carrots over a bed of buttermilk mashed potatoes. OMG! This was sooo incredibly delicious.
The hashed bacon brought a gently salted savoriness to the Brussel sprouts. The parsnips & carrots worked well together.. the parsnips providing a meaty texture and the carrots a sweetness. I was happy with the green beans and the spinach. Perfect!
SeanYoda ate with me of course (he's been wishing The Nickel opened for dinner only slightly more than myself, and probably was more vocal about it though). He chose the beef stew. I tried his and having been slices of beef with vegetables on buttermilk mashed potatoes, it reminded me ever so slightly of Shepherd's Pie (which Sean says 'no it's beef stew!!') so yeah, it's got a hearty thickness that I imagine would be very filling and hearty.
Ok.. getting over the "It's stew!" "It's Shepherd's Pie" argument.. let's move on to everyone's favorite.. dessert! Yes, we had dessert.
Tonight's options included the Red Velvet cake, tres leche cake, tapioca pudding, cheesecake, lemon pie (with the entire lemon!), and the salt peanut cake.
"Salt Peanut Cake" chocolate cake layered with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting & potato chips. YES! Potato Chips.. omg crunchy sweet, salty, chocolatey.. **Please note the above photo is 1/2 a slice (we split the serving down the middle).
With a Diet Coke & Cherry Soda, the entire dinner came to about $34 (not including tip).
The Nickel has been doing fantastic since day one, and if our dinner was any sampling of what will come from the future dinner service schedule, all is well at 5th & Main. There's no question I'll be coming back for dinner again.. and again.. and.. well, you get the idea!
Biscuits & Sausage Gravy served Saturday only.. so that's what I had. A very nice hot breakfast on a cool Saturday morning.. a nice welcome back to the neighborhood.
**please note: Weeneez will be closed Christmas Day and through the weekend after in celebration of the holidays.
Just when I'm complaining nothing exciting ever happens (besides a lucky shoe find at Payless just when I needed it) there was a horrible little incident at 6th & Broadway. While I didn't witness it myself, (I was in the shoe store after all) I heard the brakes of a car as it tried to stop at the intersection.. That didn't sound good at all, I said out loud to the store clerk.
As it was, there was a crowd gathered at the corner and the LAPD and a few seconds later, the LAFD was on the scene. I stayed and took some shots while the LAFD assessed the lady's vitals and the police took their statements.. then the paramedics gently walked the lady over to ambulance.. and took her away. This all in maybe a stretch of minutes.
Tease me if you will, but our LAFD and the LAPD are the good guys..
See entire flickr set HERE
After Big City Poz & I had a filling lunch at Fallafel Express we were making our way back toward Main Street when we ran into our friend the LA Town Crier, fresh from another City meeting.
Don was looking model smart in his suit. We caught up and then we were all on our way. That's how it is in the Historic Core. There's always someone to say hello to and pass the time.
As for Joe..
if you see him say hello and wish him well. He's Eureka-bound very soon. We'll miss him very much...
