December 30, 2008
December 29, 2008
Now Open: Glendale's Newest Zankou Chicken
NOW OPEN: Zankou Chicken's latest location shares space with Sidewalk Cafe, 901 W. Glenoaks Blvd. in Glendale. We lunched there today, ordered from Sidewalk's huge menu at one counter (w/ Coke products) and got Zankou's shawerma and other garlicky goodies at the other counter (w/ Pepsi products). Pay separately, eat together. Just don't expect to lounge in that comfy sofa area. It's gone. As is the former occupant of Zankou's space, Cold Stone Creamery. (They've seen better years.)
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December 28, 2008
Nice Day for a Walk Around the Neighborhood
WITH TEMPERATURES climbing mercifully back toward the 70s today, feeling more like the LA we bought into, Mrs. Newbie and I did a lap around central Awater Village:
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December 26, 2008
Atwater Village Signs: 'Wrong Kind of Visual Bleakness'
FROM A DETAILED recap of the Dec. 18 Good Design LA event comes this critique of our 'hood's evolving business mix:"LA's graphic conscience Geoff McFetridge began by describing his Atwater Village neighborhood as a kind of Anytown, USA, with its easy rhythm of liquor store, nail salon, check cashing, nail salon, tacos, pack and ship, drinking water, liquor store, nail salon. |
December 25, 2008
The Christmas Eve River Rescue That Wasn't
FROM THE always informative Los Angeles Fire Department alerts:
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December 24, 2008
December 23, 2008
Goodbye Cold Stone Creamery, Hello Sweets for the Soul
CENTRAL ATWATER VILLAGE loses a chain ice-cream shop but gains a mom-and-pop bakery. First the bad news:And now sweeter news from across the street:Cold Stone Creamery Atwater [3134 Glendale Blvd.] will be closing its doors for good on December 21, 2008. The current economic circumstances and cold weather has definitely made its impact on our location. I would like to thank the community for its support and patronage over the passed 3 years. Thank you Atwater Village. Best Wishes, Eugene De Guzman, Manager The bakery offered sneak treats to neighbors en route to the Atwater Village Tree Lighting a few weeks ago. (Hence the storefront photo.) Judging by the empty shelves, the soft opening was a hit.Sweets for the Soul handmade desserts, announcing the grand opening of our brand new bakery! January 14th. Open 11am - 7pm, Wednesday - Sunday. 3169 Glendale Blvd. |
December 18, 2008
Valleybrink Road: Speed Humps Instead of Cul de Sacs?
SOME RADICAL elements may be calling for a dead-end strategy on Valleybrink Road, but this is the latest in what real community leaders are doing to fight drive-through trouble in Central Atwater Village. From a neighborhood email:The office of LA City Council District 13 tells me speed humps are proven to slow traffic on residential streets. (Speed bumps are shorter, usually found in parking lots.) Let's hope this strategy leads to fewer grab-and-dash-type crimes on Valleybrink.Update on the Valleybrink between Dover and Sunnynook speed hump request: |
December 16, 2008
This Saturday: Movie Night at the Golf Course
LET'S HOPE it warms up a bit before this Saturday's Atwater Movie Night. It is outdoors, after all, at a time of night when the temp's been in the chilly 40s. Brr! Bring someone you like getting cozy with.
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December 15, 2008
Have Yourself a TJ's Little Christmas
DO YOU HAVE friends and family unfortunate enough to live in one of the 20 states without a Trader Joe's grocery store? Here's what we do. Stuff their stockings with these perfect little TJ's yummies:
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Set Your TiVo: Woof Dog Boutique on Style Network
ATWATER VILLAGE'S own Woof Dog Boutique (3172 Glendale Blvd.) is set to appear on the Peter Perfect reality show, sort of an extreme makeover for mom-and-pop businesses, Jan. 10, 2009, on the Style Network. That's channel 130 on Time Warner cable in the 90039. More on the AV forum about how Woof plans a community mixer as warmup to the show that night. |
December 14, 2008
Send in the Christmas Cows!
LAST NIGHT'S performance of Charles Phoenix' Moonlight Rollerway Holiday Jubilee may have been the best 3 hours of Christmas-related fun we could have without standing directly under mistletoe. Get tickets to today's 3:00 p.m. matinee, even though it's standing-room only ($20 at the box office, 5110 San Fernando Road). You'll get to see the shockingly retro Americana slide show, and a holiday extravaganza that includes Christmas cows and, for reasons you have to see to believe, a bottle of tequila on roller skates. |
December 11, 2008
LA Times Goes Digging Into Atwater Village Politics
BACK IN OCTOBER the Los Feliz Ledger picked up this story of intra-neighborhood politics surrounding the 17th annual Atwater Village tree lighting, and tomorrow's LA Times runs a marathon with it:Hey, an Atwater Village story that talks about "newbies" and doesn't mention me? The nerve.Peace and love cause a big stir in Atwater Village: "'Newbies' and old guard alike agree the tree-lighting was beautiful, but the arguments that took place behind the scenes - over war stances, gay rights and eco-friendly lights - were far from pretty." [LA Times, Dec. 12, 2008] |
Sunnynook Drive: Potty Time is Over
FIRST THERE appeared a lone toilet on Sunnynook Drive. Then 3 weeks later came the second bowl, single-file style, on the same curb. We are sorry to report since then that both bowls have been collected by someone(s) and that visitation(s) to various meth-producing and/or -selling residences in central Atwater Village must make alternate evacuation plans. Thank you. |
December 10, 2008
These Are (Most of) the People in Your Neighborhood
ONE OF THE highlights of our neighborhood tree lighting last week was the big-screen premiere of Atwater Village's new anthem and video, created by a group of talented neighbors including Seth Freeman and Tom Bishel. They had contacted me for permission to use my Flickr photos (The Roost, Tam O'Shanter, the chapel) in the video, so keep an eye out for them. And here are the lyrics (my fave: "you can sing and dance or get a short term loan") to your new neighborhood anthem: "Atwater Village" |
December 9, 2008
Mugging at Gunpoint? Turn Valleybrink Into Cul de Sacs
IT'S BEEN A bad year for Valleybrink Road in Atwater Village, and this past weekend was another shameful example. Reported on the AV Forum and from a Newbie reader:Valleybrink gets more than its fair share of breakings and break-ins, and I think I know why. This narrow residental street offers nearly 1,600 uninterrupted feet of drive-by potential. I'd guess it the 'hood's longest stretch sans intersections, stop signs or speed bumps. It's way too easy to do the deed on Valleybrink and then hop on I-5, long gone before anyone calls 911."The story is that a friend was leaving a house on Valleybrink (just north of Sunnynook Dr.) on Sunday around 1:30pm. He walked to his car ... when a small vehicle rolled up filled with gangmembers (I don't have a description of them) and they put a gun to the waistline of the guy and took his wallet. They quickly drove off leaving the man unharmed, thank god. But this is some scary SHIT! Middle of the day on a Sunday!" How about we blockade Valleybrink and turn it into 2 dead-end streets? Landscape the new back-to-back cul-de-sacs. Call them pocket parks. Have 400 community meetings about it. But do something. Cut off the flow. |
Neighbors, Let's Skim Those Pools!
JUST LIKE with its restaurant ratings, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health posts its pool inspections online. This year, it seems, a couple of Atwater Village apartment complex pools needed some TLC. The pool at Rancho Los Feliz Apartments (3250 Los Feliz Blvd.) had 7 violations May 21, including the lack of "adequate skimming action." (Skimming is "the process of filtering out dirt and unwanted materials.") |
December 8, 2008
Newbie Endorsement: Crispy Crust Pizza
UNLIKE THESE FELLOWS in SaxEno's video, we don't get that excited about the mathematical possibilities of different pizza sizes. ("The area of the circle is not being expressed!") But very much like these fellows, we do enjoy ordering dinner from Crispy Crust Pizza (3111 Glendale Blvd.) in Atwater Village. We live close enough to pick up our extra-thin-crust chili con carne pizza and overflowing antipasto salads, and cheesecake and tiramisu slices (with an excuse to pick up a bottle next door at 55 Degree Wine). But if you don't live in the 'hood, Crispy Crust delivers for no extra charge. Tell 'em the Newbie sent ya. |
December 7, 2008
December 6, 2008
Shops Open Till 10pm for Block Party Tonight
More Reviews of 17th Annual Tree Lighting
HERE'S WHAT OTHERS have to say about Thursday night's tree lighting:
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December 5, 2008
Welcome New Readers! (And Thanks, Catherine Dent!)
WE MISSED ONE of the Big Moments at the tree lighting last night. Apparently the talented actress and neighborhood resident Catherine Dent, mistress of ceremonies, gave a celebrity endorsement from the stage to yours truly, the Atwater Village Newbie. She even implored 1,000+ holiday revelers to visit this blog. So if you mindlessly obey commands from talented actresses, welcome! And read on: |
December 4, 2008
City's Best Tree Lighting?
AN ESTIMATED 1,000 neighbors came out for tonight's Glendale Blvd. tree lighting in Atwater Village. It was 10 times the attendance, said LA City Council President Eric Garcetti from the stage, of City Hall's tree ceremony downtown. Also: kids choirs, fashion shows and Santa himself, delivered by LAFD. Take that, The Grove. |
NBC 'Blog' Backhand-Compliments Tonight's Tree Lighting
WITH AN EXTRA touch of snark, the NBC Los Angeles Around Town blog-like thing reports about Atwater Village's tree lighting tonight:Atwater Village Lights Tree, Ups 'Village-y' Quotient: "Atwater Village starts its seasonal festivities with a tree lighting, on Thursday, December 4, at 6:30PM..."Let's not be jealous of Atwater Village. Sure, the neighborhood is plunk in the middle of the sprawling metropolis, and yet they still have 'Village' in their name. And it truly seems like a tight-knit, let's-celebrate-the-good-stuff kind of community, so calling itself a village does not seem like a stretch..."Okay, we're jealous." |
December 2, 2008
Favorite People Seen on the Great LA Walk, Part 2
AT THE KICKOFF to the Nov. 22 Great LA Walk we heard there'd be a water main (gas main?) break somewhere along the route. Sure enough, as Santa Monica Blvd. descends from Sunset Junction, we found this guy. He was waist deep in a fresh hole. And he was indeed attending to some kind of utility-related issue. It must have been disconcerting on a sidewalk that normally sees light foot traffic to watch more than 100 pairs of knees pass by within minutes. He seemed quite amused by it all, good-naturedly answering the various versions of, "How's it going down there?" |
December 1, 2008
Atwater Chatter: Leftover Turkey Edition
Video for 'Peace on Earth,' song to be performed Dec. 4 HOPE EVERYONE is fat and happy after Thanksgiving weekend, and ready for some news from in and around this northeast LA neighborhood we were happy to come home to.
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