Shooter Emperils Late-Night Taco Lovers

A = Taco Stand; B = Shooting

NOT COOL, MURDERER. Our "off the hook" neighborhood taco stand is around the corner from where you shot Steve Garcia last Friday morning. How are we supposed to feel safe procuring $1 tacos al pastor in the middle of the night, if you're running around doing stupid shit like that? Knock it off. And turn yourself in. Thanks. Atwater Village Shooting [LA Times Homicide Report] Atwater Village Experiences Its First Homicide for 2008 [Friends of Atwater Village]

The Newbie Endorsement: 55 Degrees Wine

IF YOU FIND WITHIN Los Angeles city limits a better Italian varietal and French bubbly wine shop and basement tasting room (with a wine locker kept at, you guessed it, 55 degrees) - co-founded by an Iranian expatriate who currently lives in Hawaii - buy it! Unless you just bought it. In which case, welcome to the neighborhood. 55 Degrees [Thrillist] "You can pop into for nightly-changing, sommelier's choice wine flights" 55 Degrees [Iron City Ex-Pat] "Go down a flight of steps and you'll find this gorgeous, exposed brick and wrought-iron tasting area. It's kind of like learning about wine, whilst on break from a 19th century British factory." The Dish: 55 Degrees [Eater LA] "Expect lots of color coding, take-away info cards and other 'idiot proofing' measures for wine shopping." 55 Degrees in Atwater Village [Miles Think] "The staff is incredibly nice, the owners outgoing and the look and feel of the place is quite inviting." Wine Store and Tastings in Atwater [Eater LA] "In addition to what owner Ali Biglar says will be a rotating selection of some 2000 Italians, he's planning a nice selection of Spanish bottles, 500 rotating small-production sparkling wines and eventually beer, cheese and condiments." On opening day this weekend, the staff urged Mrs. Newbie and I to stop by at least 4 nights a week to take advantage of the changing wine flights. (Wouldn't want to miss one!) And when they sold us $85 worth of Italian reds, they also sold us a story that one of them has been bottled for 1,000 years and was once reviewed by Leonardo da Vinci. By the last drop, we didn't really care if it was true. (55 Degrees Wine, 3111 Glendale Blvd., next to one of the Starbucks stores in Atwater Village; store 11:00am to 10:00pm, tasting room 6:00-10:00pm)

She's a Rocker, She's a Knitter

SHE DRUMS, she sings, she plays keyboards. She also runs our neighborhood's own Little Knittery. And today she talks with LAist.

Glendale Target Needs to Stop Asking for Receipts

Former Robinsons-May, now a Target, originally uploaded by Tortuga One.

COSTCO CAN ASK FOR for your receipt on the way out the door because Costco is a membership retailer. As a Costco member, you agree to the paper pat-down. The Target store in Glendale Galleria, on the other hand, is not a membership store. Anyone can shop there. But Target still posts guards to check receipts at the exits. How it went down today: Rent-a-cop: "May I see your receipt, sir?" Me: "I don't have to show it." Rent-a-cop, pointing to my 35-pound tub of cat litter: "If it's not in a bag, I need to see your receipt." Me: "This isn't a membership-based retailer." Rent-a-cop, figuring no one's stealing a 35-pound tub of cat litter: "OK, you can go." There's no reason to put up with it, fellow Target shoppers. A New Mexico Walmart ceased its receipt-checking practice when one of their customers complained. And, truthfully, I don't think the Glendale guard's heart was in it. Maybe he knows deep down that no one has to comply.

Free Wine? 55 Degrees Opens Feb. 16

IN A RETAIL STRIP that seems to enjoy drawing out the welcome wagon (remember Starbucks' 9-month-old coming-soon banner?) we finally get to taste Atwater Village's new wine shop: Complimentary tasting 55 Degrees Wine 3111 Glendale Blvd. Feb 16., 11:00am to 11:00pm Thanks to Miles and the FAV for the sip. I mean, tip.

Buy Your Way into Atwater Village's Stomach

For sale: Whole Food for Life Market (not Whole Foods Market)

THERE MAY BE A HOUSING crisis in Southern California (and elsewhere) but what does it mean when a neighborhood also has a rash of retail establishments on the market? For a mere $5.25 million, some enterprising moms-and-pops could take a commanding lead as Atwater Village gastronomists. (And unlike Whole Food for Life's original listing in November, it looks like the market now includes that cash-cow billboard above the yellow building.) $300,000 - Indochine Vien - 3110 Glendale Blvd. - Resaurant serving Vietnamese comfort food ... "great reviews and ratings" ... "'The Grove' will be coming soon to its neighboring area" ... "Starbucks and Wine Tasting Company is in construction across the street." $4,600,000 - Whole Food for Life - 3070 Los Feliz Blvd. - 9,800 sq ft ethnic grocer with possibly confusing brand - "In addition to the super market income, owners receive approx. $3000/m. for the signage above the supermarket." $350,000 - 55 Degrees Wine - 3111 Glendale Blvd. - Before it's even open, this has been listed a couple of times for sale on Craigslist; it may be sold now, and our friends at Franklin Avenue suggest the brown paper window covers may be coming down soon.

Forget That Football Game, Here's a Much Tastier Bowl

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR, where avocado lovers match pits to see who can build the tastiest, craziest guacamole. From LA CityZine: On a quiet street in Atwater Village, Guac Bowl creator Adam Pava will host the guacamole competition, which is invite only, but has a web site, guacbowl.com, dedicated to showing viewers how to throw their own Guac Bowl. The web site was inspired by Pava's quest to eventually have Guac Bowl Day recognized as a national holiday. Not having received an invitation myself (ahem), I nevertheless look forward to photos of this year's award-winning Cloverfield guac monster. Guac Bowl Hits LA [LA Cityzine] GuacBlog [GuacBowl 08]

Atwater Village's Snowcapped Peaks

CHA_0056, originally uploaded by miles10001.

THE BEST PART OF SNOW: Looking at it. Not being in it.

Eye of the Storm?

FROM WHAT LOOKS LIKE Los Feliz Blvd. above the 5, this ABC 7 reporter gives the wet details of last night's on-and-off rain. Being from a land-locked state in the middle of the country - where "winter storm" means you die from 5 minutes of wind-chill exposure - I still get a kick out of the histrionic TV coverage of LA's "heavy showers." (I say that now, of course, but heaven forbid the Griffith Park hillsides start sliding into my neighborhood.)

Missing Motorcycle Mystery Solved

A FLURRY OF CONCERN this weekend about an apparent theft in Atwater Village: According to this Guns N' Roses fan site, the band's tech lost his 1950 custom Triumph in front of Club Tee Gee, just after midnight Saturday. Words like "stolen" and "reward" were bandied about. But within 48 hours, the site reports, "The bike has been found and returned to its owner." Thank goodness. Atwater Village has a proud musical heritage - even with techs! - and no one wants it tarnished by an incident like this.

So Much Neighborhood News, So Little Time

THANKS, EVERYONE, for your kind comments and emails. All is well in Newbieville. In the last month, a lot of travel, most of it out of town. So bear with Mrs. Newbie and I as we catch up to the happenings in Atwater Village. Stay tuned.