This’ll Warm Us Up: Drinking Rum With Richard Foss
Richard Foss wanted to write a book about pickles. But the editor of The Edible Series, which is published by Reaktion Books in Britain, countered that proposal with one of his own: How about rum? Foss, who is known around these parts as a gourmet and a hale fellow whose previous incarnations included being the […]
Never Let Me Go!
Jill Smolinski’s latest novel is about “stuff” – what you keep, and what you let go “A lot of people assume this book is about hoarding and how someone is cured of her hoarding, and that’s not the point at all. The point,” says Jill Smolinski, “is more like deciding what is worth keeping, whether […]
The Voice’s voices sing at Saint Rocke
Two years ago, Justin Hopkins made a decision. After years on the road as a touring musician, he was calling it quits – not to music, but to the music industry as he’d thus far lived it. He’d just become a father and was loving life in the South Bay, so he decided to stay […]
A sailor’s last sail
Theo Mavromatis always felt most at home on the sea. Mavromatis had come to America from the harbor town of Alexandroupolos, Greece, where he’d been drawn to the sea since he was a child. Later, among family and friends, he would fondly recall his early attempts at sailing. “As a teenager, he’d made a simple […]
The Nightlife: Cinco de Mayo at Hermosa Ink Tattoo
Naja’s Place kicks off its 4th annual weeklong IPA Festival today at 2 p.m. Ends May 10. Over 40 IPA’s on tap. Some of the featured breweries include: Ballast Point, Firestone, Mikkeller, Flying Dog, Beachwood, Great Divide, and newcomer Strand Brewing Company. Limited commemorative glassware available. Happy one year Anniversary! Hermosa Ink Tattoo has Cinco […]
RBUSD awards Knob Hill bid
The Redondo Beach Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday night awarded a bid to lease its property at 320 Knob Hill to Fountain Square Development West, a developer and operator of assisted living communities for senior citizens. The school board voted unanimously to award the bid to Fountain Square, whose offer of $614,250 […]
“Best Exotic Marigold” – might be an exaggeration
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is so very promising on paper with its exotic location, best cast imaginable and director of high pedigree. The characters are as disparate as their aspirations and reasons for ending up at the ramshackle “best exotic marigold hotel for the aged and beautiful” in Jaipur, India. To a man, and […]
Luna Rossa’s traditional fare shows promise
In some of my columns I have lamented the quality of service in the South Bay. I have encountered waiters who didn’t know anything about the food they were serving, and who seemed puzzled that someone thought they ought to learn. When a diner asks for a recommendation and is told that “everything is good,” […]
Dozens of Manhattan Village trees threatened
When Sidney Sheres woke up one April morning, he noticed a large red ‘X’ spray-painted on the melaleuca tree standing just outside his bedroom window. For the nine years he’s lived in his Manhattan Village townhome, the tree had brought him shade and privacy. Upset, he peeled off the papery bark until no trace of […]
Cinco de Drinko with Special C
Ring, ring… “Hello, can I take your order, amigo?” “Yeah, I’ll have a Special C with an Horchata, and can you make that with rice please?” This imaginary phone call with El B.J. is representative of two characteristics attributable to a particular South Bay band: It’s uber-local, and it’s rebellious. For one, it wouldn’t be […]
New Mayor Wayne Powell emphasizes community, transparency
Wayne Powell always carries a handful of city pins in his pocket – whether while helping this year’s Leadership Manhattan Beach class spread mulch over the soil of their sustainable garden-to-be, or observing disaster response volunteers extinguishing a fake fire. One recent morning at Peet’s Coffee, the new mayor of Manhattan Beach handed a city […]