Food & Nightlife

Hotel Cecil Applies for Liquor License

By Eric Richardson — Yesterday, 05:12 PM — 3 Comments

Eric Richardson

Since launching Stay, the boutique hotel-hostel hybrid now running on three floors of the Hotel Cecil, operator Lanting Hotel Group has been busy. On the hotel's ground floor they've opened Arty, an art gallery space, Marty, a convenience store.

Now the hotel's transformation attempt is in for its biggest test. The company has applied for a Conditional Use Permit allowing the sale of a full line of alcohol for on-site use in Tuck, a restaurant space currently under construction, and in room service to the hotel. — Continued Inside...

New Year's Eve, Steam Punk Style

By Jeannine Denholm — Yesterday, 07:52 AM
2 Comments

I never used to do anything special on New Year's Eve. That all changed the year I moved downtown. There always seems to be so much to do that if stay home I feel like I’m missing out on something unique. This year proved my point, as a trip to the Edison ended up exposing me to the fascinating world of steam punk.

Finally an Encore for Oliver

By Stan Lerner — Sunday
2 Comments

After being turned away at Encore by an Asian security guard, even though we had a perfectly legitimate appointment at the spa, (and because I was hallucinating, as was Dave The Jew -- I must insist you read my previous blog “No Encore For Oliver” as even now it is too painful to delve back into that part of my seriously damaged gray matter) at Dave The Jew’s...

The Nickel Opens 2009 on a High Note

By Ed Fuentes — December 30, 2008
3 Comments

The January 2009 issue of Los Angeles Magazine places Monica and Kristen’s Nickel Diner as the third best new restaurant in L.A. The Palate in Glendale, and Gjelina in Venice, are respectively listed as number one and two in the list of ten selected restaurants.

Looking for Last Minute New Years Plans? *

By Ed Fuentes — December 29, 2008
6 Comments

Those having second thoughts about staying at home on New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop have a plethora of options for activities that don't involve leaving the neighborhood. Whether it's multi-course dining or a bass-thumping rave, Downtown's got you covered. And how do you get to all those options? Why via the Late Night Holiday DASH, of course. The...

No Encore for Oliver

By Stan Lerner — December 28, 2008

“Whooooo Shiiiiiiit!!! Look what the cat done dragged into Vegas!!!!” screamed the large, handsome, cowboy looking fellow that had come to greet us at the airport. I staggered off of Stan Peters’ Gulfstream V and watched as the cowboy fellow lifted Stan off of the floor in a hug that would have crushed a hearty grizzly, no doubt. Hopefully you’ve read the last...

First Bar Hop Proves Better Idea than Execution

By Eric Richardson — December 22, 2008
8 Comments

My last twitter message from blogdowntown's first bar hop, held on a cold but dry Friday evening, sums up the night: Buses slow. Battery dying. We detoured to whiskey. Indeed, logistics were not our friend on Friday night, but a group that peaked around seventeen made our way to four Downtown drinkeries.

Oliver Visits a Whiskey Bar

By Stan Lerner — December 18, 2008
2 Comments

I don’t really vibe with Seven Grand, too many people, too many guys, and a college hipster feel around the pool tables that I didn’t even like in my college years. Those would be the three years at UCLA before I dropped out for no reason. But Seven's Grand's where I ended up. I sat in the front booth, the only spot that frankly doesn’t feel like a sausage...

Friday: Bar Hop With blogdowntown

By Eric Richardson — December 17, 2008
13 Comments

On this last Friday before the holidays, come out and enjoy some Downtown nightlife with blogdowntown. Every time we've done an event, the number one question I get asked is when we're going to the bars. I don't know what that says about Downtown, but this Friday we're giving in and hitting up five drinking establishments accessible via the Late Night DASH...

Gram and Papa's Offers the Basics, Served Well

By Ed Fuentes — December 17, 2008
2 Comments

When Mike Ilic opened his cafe this fall, he named the place after his grandparents, nicknamed Gram and Papa. Since September, the eatery at 9th and Santee has marked a new outpost in the push to bring upscale casual into the Fashion District. Ilic honed his skills in hospitality under Danny Myers of New York’s Union Station Cafe. He says that making people...