Go West, Young Person

Loose Land

— 7 min read
Go West, Young Person
Dennis Stock, Venice Beach Rock Festival, 1968

I recently started a new job in Venice. Venice, California, I mean. (Though the commute from Atwater Village to Venice, Italy might be shorter.)  After working from home for five years, the full-time job and constant driving has been a shock. Likewise, as a longtime East Sider, having a regular presence on the West Side has been fairly shocking as well. But if I’m being honest—and I am only now just admitting this—it’s pretty great. The commute is horrible, of course, but I’m trying to treat it as a kind of rite of passage in my LA career. So yes, I listen to a lot of podcasts in this season of my life. Slide into my DMs if you have favorites; I’m never not taking recs.

The great part about having a new pole in your life is that your world opens up in ways you otherwise wouldn’t experience. Case in point, I have actually been to RVR —Travis Lett’s restaurant in the former MTN space. (In VNC we don’t use vwls.) It’s one of the best recent additions to the LA scene and I now feel like it’s my neighborhood spot. There’s also Si! Mon where I had the best tuna tostada I’ve had outside of CDMX (coincidentally, the restaurant feels like it took inspiration from Roma Norte, with trees and plant-life growing in abundance inside). There are many more on the list to try: Michael Fiorelli’s wood burning pizza at Cook’s Garden, Beethoven Market from everybody’s pal Jeremy Adler, the 40-year-old Casablanca (you had me at margarita cart), and the infamous, and infinitely surprising, cookies from a gas station.

While I’m waiting out traffic, I’ve gotten to explore beyond the food scene as well. Thanks to my friend Laura, I saw Jacob Jonas’s company perform in a warehouse in Santa Monica. I discovered Bergamot Station and caught an immersive performance by the iconic Penny Slinger. I found myself celebrating the 4th anniversary of Syng’s speakers in a stylish Venice abode, and bought a piece of art from Arcane Space, from an exhibition by the brother-sister duo and grandchildren of LA ceramic legends Magdealena Suarez & Michael Frimkess. And to add to the excitement, I have a pending date to meet my friend Sarah at the Santa Monica Pier to watch her do the trapeze. 

The best part—in addition to strengthening my karaoke voice during all the solo car time—has been how often I get to see my best west side pal, Gillian. We go for impromptu walks on the boardwalk, we eat tortilla chips from Gjusta in her car, and when I pick her up at her house her two daughters welcome me with a dance performance (which rivals Jacob Jonas anyday). She knows everything there is to know about Venice and most of my discoveries have been thanks to her. She even jumped in the car with me one night to keep me company on my way back to the East Side. So really, the commute isn’t all that bad when you consider all I’m getting in return. 

This month, I encourage you to explore a neighborhood you don’t know. Try a different route on your commute. Change up your standing takeout order. We are creatures of habit, but we thrive on change. Try something new—maybe something from the list below—and watch yourself (and your gas tank) expand. 

-Meredith Rogers

Cultural Events

Clockwise from L to R: Lunar Sentence I (Maquette) 1978, Leandro Katz. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum; Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook; Shakespeare by the Sea; Face for Arcimboldo, 1973 © The Estate of Luchita Hurtado. Photo: Jeff McLane; Rasarumah; Noah Davis, Isis 2009.
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Anytime - Rasarumah (Historic Filipino Town) I’ve been to Rasarumah three times since we last wrote our last newsletter and I’m already scheming my next trip back. This Malaysian restaurant from Chef Johnny Lee (RIP Pearl River Deli) and the discerning folks behind Found Oyster and Barro Santos offers a ton of grilled, sambal dotted, and funk forward dishes. The crudo, Gado Gado salad, and Branzino, in particular, are not to be missed. And the room is welcoming, perfectly lit and hitting the right balance between designed and relaxed. (BK)
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Wednesdays - Karaoke Grande Gueule (Evangeline Swamp Room) Typically I’m more of a private karaoke room kind of gal. But I’m dying to try this mainstage karaoke night, hosted by Loose Land friend Geoff Plaguer at Chinatown’s newest spot, a Cajun cocktail bar owned by the same folks behind The Little Jewel of New Orleans (deserving of its own spot on this list!). According to Geoff: Karaoke Grande Gueule (which translates to Big Mouth) “is big, easy, and a guaranteed bon temps!” (MR)
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July 17th - As You Like It (Manhattan Beach, Polliwog Park) BYO chairs (and whatever else: ale, oysters, cold chicken, etc.) to this outdoor production from the Shakespeare by the Sea repertory company. They’re also doing Julius Caesar at their various venues across LA, but your taste for that may vary with the week’s news, whereas the comedies, somehow, are evergreen. It’s free, it’s from a nonprofit, and it’s a guaranteed great time, for thespian-appreciators and philistines alike. (DH)
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Anytime - Yo Soy: Luchita Hurtado (Hauser & Wirth DTLA) I had the great gift of meeting the late artist Luchita Hurtado at her studio some years ago, thanks to an organized visit by The Hammer Museum. She said something that has stuck with me since: "I always said yes to life." And she certainly did, the Venezuelan-born, Los Angeles-based painter died in 2020 just short of her 100th birthday. This exhibition will revisit her exploratory Linear Language series from the 70s. On view through October 5th. (MR)
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July 19 - ONE-MAN WHODUNNIT (Dynasty Typewriter) I have a soft spot for a one-man show, my friends. It takes endurance, range, and a maniacal kind of commitment to pull it off. And if you throw a murder mystery into the mix, you couldn’t keep me away. Nathan Tylutki’s show centers on one lovelorn Francis Grey, who's investigating his boyfriend’s murder and is “joined by a host of not-so-perfect and incredibly suspicious family members.” This chaotic puzzle on a stage is only showing for one night, so preorder those tickets now! (BK)
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Anytime - Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook (Baldwin Hills) It’s gonna be a long hot summer, I realize. But when you’re feeling worn down, and like you just can’t take another day of this 103 degree bullshit, consider getting up early or knocking off late, and challenging yourself to surmount a local hill situation. The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is hard to miss, given the ambient flatness, and rising to the top feels like a real accomplishment—because it is, goddamn it. It is. (DH)
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Anytime - Noah Davis (The Hammer) As someone who has the blessing/curse of working from my eastside home, I generally only ever make it to the west side to go to the ocean, the airport, or to something I just can’t bear to miss. The retrospective at The Hammer of the bright but brief career of painter Noah Davis is just that. Davis was prolific in his 32 years and created a huge body of work that often depicted the everyday life of Black Americans with a mix tenderness and surrealism. On view through August 31st.(BK)
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Anytime - Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts (Getty Villa, Malibu) In addition to their permanent collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, the Getty Villa is offering a ton of family events and performances in July, but I’ve got my eye on this Symbols and Signs exhibit that promises to uncover hidden messages within centuries-old manuscripts. (In summary: Monks get silly when monks get bored!) (DH)
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Anytime - Bia Om (Echo Park) When I first moved to LA from New York I had a long list of complaints — foremost among which was the fact that, for a city that was perpetually (oppressively?) summer, there were not enough places to eat and drink outside. That has changed in the decade since, but honestly, there’s still room for improvement. But thanks to Bia Om (from the folks behind Speranza), we now have a generous, impeccable garden patio in which to sip beer. This is the perfect spot to gather with a big group for a drink, have an early dinner with friends with kids, or just hang solo under an olive tree and read. (BK)

Ode To A Strip Mall: Gower Gulch

An Early Illustration of Gower Gulch (Courtesy of Aaron Paley)

Excuse me for saying so, but Gower Gulch is an indictment of every other strip mall in Los Angeles. Why (I ask the strip rentiers, as they cock their bowler hats just so) would you simply collect checks from ambitious small businesses (lazy! exploitative!) when you could join in on the entrepreneurial fun and market this shared project under one unified theme (wacky! capitalist!). Gower Gulch took the latter/better path. 

This location endures as Gower Gulch (rather than Gower Business Plaza) not because its businesses are necessarily wild or western (far from it), but because it chose to honor its history. Once upon a time, a bunch of extras used to hang out at this location and also sometimes murder each other. Does that quirk of history require that the current landlord pay for upkeep on a fake medicine wagon in the parking lot? Absolutely not. But does it lure in a few extra customers each month? (No! Wrong question!) But is it whimsical as all heck?! Oh baby, you betcha! Plus, it’s a great place to pretend you’re on a road trip when you’re actually just halfway through your commute. The sooner we all have random underwater-/space-/sports-/safari-themed strip malls, the better. (But no more “dry-gulfings”, please.)

  • One Essential Neighborhood Business: Vala Kitchen – a Persian/Mediterranean joint, and another excellent entry in the Los Angeles Strip Mall ecosystem. 
  • Whimsy Factor: High as the fake second floor.
  • Variety Level: Abysmal. Maybe it’s the passed-on costs of all the Western design elements, but your options at the Gulch are basically chains or chains. 
  • Life Expectancy, if Forced to Take Residency for an Extended Period of Time: 75+, if dressed as a contemporary Angeleno in contemporary Los Angeles; <30 if dressed/active as a cowboy in the middle of the last century. 
  • Quality of Life Under Same Conditions: High, and great people-watching, too.

-Dan Harmon

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