Latest news with #Angeleno
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Celebrated Angeleno Artist Greg Ito Unveils Short Film in Homage to Kikori Rice Whiskey
Celebrated Angeleno Artist Greg Ito Unveils Short Film in Homage to Kikori Rice Whiskey originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Fresh off a starring role at Frieze L.A., Angeleno native Greg Ito unveiled his latest art installation Wednesday night: a short film that pays homage to his grandmother and the nature that inspired the female-owned spirit brand Kikori Rice Whiskey. The event, held at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Little Tokyo, featured installations created by Ito and Japanese-inspired cocktails sponsored by Kikori Rice Whiskey, which was founded by Korean-American Ann Soh Woods, whose childhood adventures in Japan inspired her brand. The film is centered on following a lantern carried by Kikori's Woodsman logo as it travels through the mountainous forests of Kumamoto, where the whiskey is distilled, along with volcanic lava symbolizing the region's rich soil in which the rice used to make the spirit grows, and delicate cherry blossoms - part of the nature that inspired Woods to open her company in 2015. Now as one of the only Asian American women in the liquor industry, Woods is also expanding her reach and brand into the art community. As part of that, and to celebrate Asian American Heritage Month, she collaborated with Ito, she says, to "explore heritage, resilience, and the spirit of craft through a new short film inspired by Kikori's roots in Japan. Kikori is proud to support creative voices like Greg's and champion stories that celebrate culture with heart and purpose."Ito's wife and young daughter were in attendance at the event. The little girl's favorite rocks were part of her daddy's installation. As the evening came to a close, Woods made the announcement that Kikori had made a $10,000 donation to the JACCC a vital donation that will fund their ikebana program, as well as other creative workshops. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Los Angeles Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
A Taste of Australia: Curtis Stone Welcomes Fellow Chefs to Malibu for a Culinary Celebration
The Great Australian Bite is set to bring the diversity of Australia's home-grown ingredients, cosmopolitan cuisine and world-class hospitality to L.A. on May 31, when this evocative dining event returns to Malibu for its second edition. The food-focused event is both an enlightening introduction to Australia's hospitality and an appetizer for a trip across the Pacific to experience its dining, wine and spirits – and mingling with their creators – all set against spectacular scenery. Evolving from last year's sold-out debut on Malibu Pier, the Great Australian Bite 2025 is helmed by Aussie chefs Curtis Stone (of L.A.'s Gwen and The Pie Room) and Clare Falzon (of South Australia's staġuni) and hosted al fresco by Stone at his picturesque Four Stones Farm. A partnership between the Los Angeles Times and Tourism Australia, the Great Australian Bite – its name a play on The Great Australian Bight, the vast bay that spans much of the country's southern coastline – offered Angeleno foodies, in its first year, an immersion in the innovative contemporary cuisine emanating from Australia, with a focus on seafood. This year, land-based proteins will be at the fore as the event once again presents a farm-to-table menu reflecting the country's fresh produce and award-winning wines born of its nuanced terroirs – all served with a side of signature warm Aussie hospitality. Get tickets now for this year's Great Australian Bite. Australian cuisine today embodies a melting pot of influences and ingredients evolved over generations of immigration and cultural cross-pollination to create a rare breadth of sophisticated yet robustly flavorful dishes and drinks. 'Here in Australia, we're so spoiled for choice,' said Melbourne-raised, L.A.-based Stone. 'What I love about the ingredients in Australia is they're so unique, so different.' From ingredients like Kakadu plum, which has been utilized as both a food and medicine for centuries by Indigenous cultures, to the sensuous herb lemon myrtle, native Aussie ingredients offer a unique flavor set that chefs like Stone love to work with. Among his favorite native Australian foods is marron, a freshwater crayfish that is widely known for its delicious taste and perfect texture. The Great Australian Bite conveys the multicultural backdrop and ethos behind Australian cooking: a tapestry of influences including artful unions of Indigenous Australian, South Asian, and European cuisines seldom experienced outside of Down Under itself. And every region of Australia – a country nearly 19 times larger than California – brings its own geography, ecosystems, characteristics and cultures, quite literally, to the table. For example, Falzon's native Barossa Valley is a revered wine region draped in rich soil and abundant produce, known for world-class reds including the prized Shiraz. 'What I enjoy the most about being able to create a menu in the place where I live is I can see the produce and get inspired by that,' said Falzon, whose Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, staġuni references her Maltese heritage. 'You get all these smells and flavors and textures, and you can already start thinking about the plate.' This year's Great Australian Bite menu has just been released. Michelin-starred restaurateur Stone recently took a trip to Melbourne to seek ingredients and inspiration from the city's influential dining scene. These include contemporary Australian butchery concepts that he will bring to Southern California at a time when dedicated butcher shops are becoming rarer across the region. 'Let's just say we Aussies love our lamb, but we also have incredible beef,' Stone teased. 'I've been importing Blackmore Wagyu to the butcher counter at Gwen since we opened.' As perfect pairings to the sunset Great Australian Bite meal, world-class wine, beer and cocktail selections will be curated by Australian drinks expert Mike Bennie of P&V Merchants. Additionally, culinary entrepreneur Daniel Motlop of Seven Seasons will serve his signature vodka made from native yams grown in Australia's Northern Territory, while event partners Four Pillars Gin and Starward Whisky will pour their celebrated libations. The Great Australian Bite will also feature Australian DJ Oliver Blank, and insightful discussions on just what makes Aussie hospitality so special, including an appearance by innovative vintner Kim Chalmers from Victoria's Chalmers winery. It's as close as you'll come to elevated Aussie eats this side of the Pacific. 'The culinary community in Australia is a vibrant group of creators and thinkers but we don't take ourselves too seriously,' said Stone. 'I hope that showcasing our history and deep reverence for ingredients, with Clare cooking by my side, will spark guests to fall in love with the culture and pay Australia a visit.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Volunteers continue beautifying Los Angeles ahead of large-scale events with ‘Shine L.A.' program
Community members are coming together to help spruce up Los Angeles as part of Mayor Karen Bass' new monthly initiative to beautify the city. The mayor's 'Shine L.A.' program was officially launched on April 26 with the goal of revitalizing city neighborhoods in preparation for large-scale events that will bring the world to the City of Angels, such as the FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. Last month's ceremony consisted of volunteers working at 16 sites across the city, including Hollywood, South L.A. and the South Bay. Coyote encounters in Santa Monica on the rise in wake of Palisades Fire 'I am grateful to each and every Angeleno who took pride in their city today and came out…to ensure L.A. is at its best and ready to welcome the world,' Bass said on April 26. 'We are building a movement that calls upon each of us to show up for the city that we love, and to show up for each other.' The 'Shine L.A.' program popped up in Sherman Oaks on Saturday, where hundreds of neighborhood volunteers doing exactly what they set out to do: making the community cleaner and safer for all, including visitors who have yet to arrive. 'We are going to be planting trees today and beautifying, which is cleaning up the tree wells and picking up trash, all along Ventura Boulevard and Van Nuys Boulevard,' one volunteer told KTLA 5's Jennifer McGraw early on Saturday morning. 'It takes a village…and if everyone is doing their part to clean — not only today, but every day — anything can help beautify,' said another volunteer, who is on the local chamber of commerce. 'Help us keep everything safe and clean for everybody.' Student loans have been confusing lately. Here's a guide to know where you stand Saturday morning's cleanup started at 8:30 a.m. lasts until 12:30 p.m., and those looking to participate are requested to meet at the Gelson's parking lot located at 4520 Van Nuys Boulevard. 'Shine L.A.' has their next cleanup — the 'Shine L.A.' AAPI Day of Service in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — on May 31. It will take place in multiple neighborhoods 'from San Pedro to the San Fernando Valley,' the program's website states. Click here to sign up for the May 31 event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Salvadoran cookbook makes history with Beard nomination
'The SalviSoul Cookbook' by L.A. author Karla Tatiana Vasquez on Wednesday became the first entry by a Salvadoran chef or author to be nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award. The significance is not lost on Vasquez, a fiercely devoted Angeleno who like many others came to the United States from El Salvador as an infant with her family fleeing the Salvadoran civil war. In 2024, after years of research and rejections, she published 'The SalviSoul Cookbook' with Ten Speed Press. It is a detailed and lovingly rendered compendium of recipes for classic and regional Salvadoran dishes, a hardcover that feels sprinkled with a touch of L.A. finesse and sensitivity. The book is anchored by richly reported profiles of the women whose recipes have inspired Vasquez's cooking, and taken together, offer a testament to the resilience and poetry of the Salvadoran diaspora, one that is integral to L.A.'s modern identity. Vasquez, a contributor to The Times, is vocal in her commitment to place Salvadoran American culture and cuisine in the pantheon of U.S. cooking. She received the Beard news with a barrage of ecstatic early-morning messages from her agent and editor when the 2025 nominees were announced. 'These are spaces we're not normally in, and it just feels exciting to think about what this can mean for more Central American stories, certainly Salvadoran stories ... [on] such a huge gap on the cookbook shelf,' Vasquez said a day later. 'This is just another brick we are putting to build that world.' The moment I heard the news, I immediately thought of Vasquez's salpicón de res. Technically a salad, similar to a larb, Salvadoran salpicón could go head-to-head with any plate in Latin America for perfecting the balance between coolness and intensity of flavor, especially so with Vasquez's approach. It was one of the dishes she made at The Times' Test Kitchen a year ago. After that shoot, I took a large portion home as leftovers and had it for dinner and then lunch the next day, with a fresh bolillo — confirmation of my instinct that Salvadoran salpicón de res is one of those dishes that tastes better and even cooler a day or more later with a fresh splash of lime. The salpicón is defined by the strength of mint and lime with the minced meat and minced radish. Vasquez says in the book that she identifies the dish with a satisfying Saturday morning: 'It marked the pinnacle of rest.' Salvadoran rice and beans are essential for a full plate of salpicón, but if you're in a rush, you could just as well eat it plain with crumbled tostadas to scoop up bites, or with tears of fresh bolillo from any mercado or panadería in your part of L.A. I know I did. Get the recipe. Cook time: About 1 hour. Serves 4 to 6. There's been an upward sprouting of 'Salvi' identity and energy lately in California. In food, new generations are taking Salvadoran cuisine to other planes as seen in restaurants like lauded new Popoca in Oakland or La Pupusa Urban Eatery in L.A., which joined the 101 Best Restaurants of Los Angeles list by Times critic Bill Addison in 2023. It got me thinking about the abundance of Salvadoran and Central American family restaurants we have. And what I like eating when I visit one. It's not pupusas, though pupusas are always nice. It's Salvadoran breakfast and comfort foods. When learning to cook Salvadoran food, Vasquez also argues: Skip the pupusas. Point taken — have you ever watched one being made? 'I get this question a lot: What's a good dish to start? All they know is pupusas. And I always tell folks, 'Do not start with pupusas.' First of all, it is hard. A lot of these pupuseras are athletes, masters,' Vasquez said. 'Get some basic skills under your belt. Learn how to make an olla de frijoles. Learn the life of an olla de frijoles. … Start with desayuno.' 'The SalviSoul Cookbook' contains a recipe for Platanos Fritos con Frijoles Licuados, but in most places, this dish is casually called breakfast. It is fried plantains, smoothened beans, a hunch of queso fresco, crema and slices of avocado. Versions of this meal also constitute desayuno from Guatemala to Colombia. I love the simple array of distinct, core flavors, and combining them in varying amounts on each forkful. Once or twice, I've made an improvised version of this meal at home. If I'm craving a Salvadoran lunch, I always go for a pan con pollo (or con pavo). This is the iconic Salvadoran sandwich, similar to Vietnam's bahn mi, or like a good Italian sub — the sort of sandwich that feels like it's telling you something about a people. The marinated turkey or chicken is stuffed into a French roll intended to soak up the recipe's recaudo or marinade, along with slices of tomato, cucumber, radishes and sprigs of watercress. As Vasquez describes in her book, a pan Salvadoreño is a marriage of textures that brings joy in each bite. Get the recipe. Cook time: 2 hours. Makes 6 sandwiches. The women who are featured in her book, she said, offered her an education that she could not have gotten at any university or institution. Upon hearing of the book's reception and mounting recognitions, Vasquez said her subjects sometimes politely congratulate her, but easily shrug off the topic. Mainstream stardom is not their concern. 'The lucha that they go through is kind of the language that they speak,' the author said. 'It's good, because these accolades can really blind you sometimes. … They would say, like, 'But did you learn what we told you? In listening to my memories, did you learn how to live when this part of life gets hard?' 'That's the part that tells me that we're made of something that teaches me about living,' Vasquez said. The connectivity to the history, the culture, as well as the collective traumas of the Salvadoran diaspora pulses throughout the cookbook. The mainstays of Salvi cooking feel reenergized here, even a dish as homey and familiar as sopa de res. When Vasquez's mother 'randomly' gets the urge to make sopa de res, she writes, the extended family somehow hears the rumor, and quickly gathers for 'the warmth, laughs, and arguments.' 'Sopa de res isn't just a meal,' Vasquez says in her book. 'It's an event you don't want to miss.' Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Los Angeles Times
11-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
When did you start calling L.A. home? Transplants and natives share their stories
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know: There's a moment when a Los Angeles resident becomes an L.A. local. Sure, you may have been born here or moved here or grew up here, but most people have a story about when they became a true Angeleno. Most people have a feeling when Los Angeles became more than a place to live in, but a home. My colleagues on the Lifestyles team, led by Kailyn Brown, asked dozens of readers to share the stories about the moment they felt like an Angeleno. Some L.A. transplants said they felt like a local after experiencing their first wildfire season or when they mastered the freeways. We also heard from people who were born and raised in L.A. but only began proudly claiming it as their hometown after learning about its rich history or returning after leaving for a while. All of the responses felt like a love letter to the City of Angels. Here's a snippet from the full article. Parking, driving and getting around Los Angeles The day I knew I was an Angeleno was when I drove through a yellow/red light and checked my rearview mirror for cops but instead saw the seven cars behind me also go through the light. It was like all the lights came on in my little Angeleno head that day. — Lisa Valdez, originally from Santa Barbara, has lived in L.A. for 20 years It was when I started to think of travel in the city in terms of time rather than distance. I spent several years exploring and this was a turning point for me. — Jose Cabanillas, a Navy brat so from 'pretty much everywhere,' has lived in L.A. for 44 years Living through L.A. milestone events I felt like a 'true local' for the first time during the [Pacific] Palisades and Eaton fires. Coming from the East Coast, you've obviously heard about fires on the West Coast. But this was my first actual experience living through one — actually packing a fire bag. I was glued to the news, learning all the weather patterns associated with the region, fielding calls from friends and family checking in. I was past my surreal honeymoon phase. I was here, a resident, living through all the uncertainty and fear. I'd earned my first L.A. stripe (maybe even two). — Patrick Jergel, originally from New England, has lived in L.A. for 1.5 years Seeing my hometown with new eyes I really didn't have an appreciation for the culture or what it meant to be an Angeleno until my senior year of high school. That year, I was given California literature as my English class, and over time my love grew not just for Los Angeles but for California. From history to art, to Steinbeck and Raymond Chandler, I quickly learned how much the city of Los Angeles contributes to the product of being an American. Toward the end of the course, and just a few weeks away from graduation, I had so many feelings for the city I was born in and the pride I felt being a natural-born Californian. Now, when people ask me where I'm from, I proudly say that I'm from L.A. — Izaiah Medina, originally from Huntington Park, has lived in L.A. for 18 years Flying back into the city When I would travel back from visiting my ancestral home in Tennessee and upon deplaning at LAX, I couldn't wait to smell the salt air. Or when deplaning at Burbank directly onto the tarmac and you feel like you're home as you step off the ramp and walk a few quick steps to the terminal entrance, subsequently awaiting your luggage at the open-air baggage-claim carousel. It's sooo L.A., to walk by the newsstand kiosk with the statuettes of Oscar for sale. (Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport is iconic!) It is that familiarity with all things Los Angeles that signals being a local, and in my case, a native Angeleno. The appreciation for the fruteria stands on the corners and the taco trucks that pop up and quickly become permanent fixtures. When you're looking up from Sunset in Los Feliz to see the Hollywood Sign so close, you can practically touch it, then turning your head ever so slightly to see the stunning masterpiece, the Griffith Observatory, looming on the hill. — Cindy Roche, originally from L.A. Those were only a few of several stories. For more, check out the full article. Trump administration policies and reactions Los Angeles fires rebuild and clean-up California living More big stories Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. Column One is The Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this past week: Across the six players on the tennis court at noon on a Friday in Beverly Hills, I clock two Cartier watches and one Rolex. There are tennis skirts paired with chunky cable-knit sweaters and white sneakers and tote bags with collegiate embroidery. From behind sunglasses and baseball caps, members appear to be in their mid-20s to early 30s. But no matter how much the scene may resemble a legacy country club at first glance, this meetup exists almost in opposition to the city's handful of expensive clubs with years-long wait-lists and lengthy membership requirements. More great reads How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Going out Staying in Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage. She had written off the idea of falling in love in Los Angeles. Dating in this city felt like an exhausting game. Plus, she had been trying to finish law school and keep her head above water. That's when she met him at Amoeba Music. Tony had just returned to employment at the store, freshly sober and needing a job. He was older and outgoing, loved by those who knew him. She was younger and reserved. They connected over their mutual love of movies and music. Would this be the beginning of a love song or are tour dates still far down the road? Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team Andrew J. Campa, reporterHugo Martín, assistant news editor Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
