Maria’s Thursday Three

1. The Story: As a long-time listener of NPR, I was thrilled to discover American Public Media’s “The Story,” hosted by Dick Gordon, while we were driving through Vermont and New Hampshire a few weeks ago. Filled with first-hand accounts, “The Story” gives listeners a chance “to understand events through the experiences of real people.” Their recent series on “Bankers, Brokers and Bandits” gives a good perspective on current events– I originally thought it would be depressing to listen to but it somehow made me think positive on the outcome of our economy. Podcast download? Check.

2. Amai Tea House: If you are ever in New York City, please visit Amai Tea House. Their Matcha Tea Latte is just heavenly and the baked goods are extraordinary, you’ll probably not see their offerings anywhere else. I’ve been following Kelli’s blog for years and her spot in the Gramercy Park area is a sweet haven in a big city.

3. Los Angeles Magazine: Los Angeles Magazine still floats my boat. Sure they have the best guides in restaurants and shopping but their editorial is just superb on all things Los Angeles. Chris Nichols’ column is riddled with all the nerdy details about L.A. you always wanted to know and their investigative story on the Zankou Chicken empire, for instance, provides you with a rare insight on a complex family. The celebrity content? Minimal– how refreshing!

Rendezvous at Union Station

It all started with a plain, Manila envelope, complete with old-fashioned, typewritten label. “What is this?” Maria asked, a tad concerned.

Inside, a letter from “Deputy Chief of Police W.H. Parker,” dated June 1, 1949 and on City of Los Angeles stationery (Fletcher Bowron, mayor. Phone number MIchigan 5211.), suggested that we help apprehend a criminal at Union Station. An enclosed invitation from Southern Pacific Lines also invited us to the inauguration of their newest Pullman Club-Lounge car, the Overland Trail.

A third piece of information detailed the State Prison of Southern Michigan escapee: A Detroit farm laborer who looked suspiciously like historic preservationist — and Los Angeles magazine associate editor — Chris Nichols.

Of course, Chris emailed us a few days ago to get our address, so it didn’t actually take us long to figure it out. But nonetheless, with an invite this cool and this elaborate, it called for a baby sitter. We were heading to Union Station — yep, the scene of our wedding more than five years ago — to help celebrate Chris’ birthday.

We actually didn’t finally commit to doing so until the day of the party. (Getting a sitter is such an ordeal, we hemmed and hawed until finally deciding we should.) As a result, we didn’t have any time to find actual 1940s style wear, as the invite subtly suggested. I wound up wearing a suit, and Maria a nice dress, and I think we did OK.

Whatta well thought-out party. We parked at the MTA tower and walked behind Union Station and up a ramp, past the Mosaic apartments and the old Post Office building to find several old, lovingly restored Pullman cars. Turns out there are several private railcars parked near Union Station and available to be rented for events, including the Overland Trail.

Classic cars greeted us, and we were soon walking between parked Pullman train cars, and eventually found ourselves in line for…

… Philippe’s dip sandwiches. Damn, I told you Chris thought of everything. As you may have read, I’ve been jonesing for a Philippe’s lately — so how perfect was this?

The Overland Trail was crowded with folk, mostly in the proper 1940s wear. Someone chastised me for using a digital camera — not quite in the spirit of the era. But I saw plenty of people taking cell cam shots, so I was pretty discreet in comparison.

Highlights on the Overland included an actual barber cutting hair in the train’s mini barber shop. Gotta wonder how many bloody nicks and scratches resulted from actual on-board train haircuts through the years.

Meanwhile, the other rental train car, the Tioga Pass, was once a sleeper car. Among the highlights:

Bunk beds! and

Shower!

Thanks to Chris for the invite. We had an awesome time, and even ran into a few familiar faces, including Eating L.A.’s (and oh yeah, Variety’s) Pat Saperstein.

Los Angeles Magazine’s Website Goes Live

Los Angeles magazine has finally taken the wraps off it’s long-awaited website revamp — check it out here.

The site contains several stories from this month’s issue (including the exclusive Mirthala Salinas profile), as well as selected columns and features.

Meanwhile, the site is so far sticking to three themed blogs: The Digest Blog (food-related), The Chic Leak Blog (shopping) and The Spyglass Blog.

My favorite part of the new site, however, is the LA to Z section, which collects some of LA mag’s most recent lists. Besides the current “64 Greatest Things About LA” feature and recent “75 Best Restaurants” list, it includes: “The 40 Best Places to Furnish Your Home in LA,” “25 Ways to Go Green and Stay Sane,” “The City’s Top 25 Beauty Secrets,” “What’s Not to Like? LA’s Top Ten Delis,” “Cheers! The Best New Bars in Town” and “The 122 Most Influential People in LA.”

Executive editor Mary Melton weighs in on the relaunch:

With the official launch of lamag.com, we hope to do what the city itself has done—extend our reach to the rest of the world. This site will complement the magazine. We promise our readers award-winning feature articles, insightful criticism, investigative reports, and expansive guides that transcend mere listings by being both discerning and objective. We bring out the Best of L.A. every month in the magazine, and on lamag.com, we’ll deliver the Best of L.A. every day.

Ex-Mayor Gal Pal’s Fiance Wants Everyone to Know: Mirthala’s Back To Her Senses

The site’s front page — “I am Marrying my Best Friend!” shortened from the original line, “I am Marrying my Best Friend now That She has Stopped Banging the Mayor!”

There’s no better web find today than Curbed LA’s discovery of the cheesy online wedding site for Mirthala Salinas and b.f. Yanni Raz.

Mirthala, of course, made headlines last year when she started dating Antonio Villaraigosa — all while reporting on Villaraigosa’s separation from his wife as an anchor at Telemundo’s KVEA/Channel 52. (Check out Los Angeles magazine’s profile of Mirthala here.)

Well, she and the mayor broke up at the end of last year, she parted ways with Telemundo and eventually landed a new job as a morning host on Spanish talk radio 690 AM. And… she’s now engaged to marry real estate agent Raz.

Now, their site. For starters, the headline “My Woman Is Back on Track again” links to a few graphs on Mirthala’s new job at 690 AM… as well as a link to an ABC7 story about the gig. The ABC7 story’s lede? “Mirthala Salinas, the mayor’s ex-girlfriend, is back on the air and back in the news.”

OK, really? You want everyone visiting your wedding website to be reminded of Mirthala’s tawdry year in the headlines?

Now, this:

Yanni Raz Really didn’t know that his basically locking him self in “SALINAS PRISON” That’s, um, sweet?

And this:

Mirthala Salinas Understands today that the world is YANNI CHINGASSSSSSSSSSS Take that, Mayor V!

Ex-Mayor Gal Pal’s Fiance Wants Everyone to Know: Mirthala’s Back To Her Senses

The site’s front page — “I am Marrying my Best Friend!” shortened from the original line, “I am Marrying my Best Friend now That She has Stopped Banging the Mayor!”

There’s no better web find today than Curbed LA’s discovery of the cheesy online wedding site for Mirthala Salinas and b.f. Yanni Raz.

Mirthala, of course, made headlines last year when she started dating Antonio Villaraigosa — all while reporting on Villaraigosa’s separation from his wife as an anchor at Telemundo’s KVEA/Channel 52. (Check out Los Angeles magazine’s profile of Mirthala here.)

Well, she and the mayor broke up at the end of last year, she parted ways with Telemundo and eventually landed a new job as a morning host on Spanish talk radio 690 AM. And… she’s now engaged to marry real estate agent Raz.

Now, their site. For starters, the headline “My Woman Is Back on Track again” links to a few graphs on Mirthala’s new job at 690 AM… as well as a link to an ABC7 story about the gig. The ABC7 story’s lede? “Mirthala Salinas, the mayor’s ex-girlfriend, is back on the air and back in the news.”

OK, really? You want everyone visiting your wedding website to be reminded of Mirthala’s tawdry year in the headlines?

Now, this:

Yanni Raz Really didn’t know that his basically locking him self in “SALINAS PRISON” That’s, um, sweet?

And this:

Mirthala Salinas Understands today that the world is YANNI CHINGASSSSSSSSSSS Take that, Mayor V!

The 64 Reasons You Love L.A.: Round Three

And then there were 16.

Los Angeles mag’s irreverent attempt to find the best thing about L.A., March Madness elimination style, continues. Biggest news: Langer’s has survived another round of voting.

The Sweet 16, according to the mag:

Amoeba Music, which beat In-N-Out
Disney Hall, which beat Getty Center
Grauman’s Chinese, which beat Studio Back Lots
Langer’s, which beat Central Library
Capitol Records, which beat Topanga Canyon
MOCA, which beat ArcLight
Huntington Gardens, which beat Palm Trees
Spaceland, which beat Trader Joe’s
The Beach, which beat Farmers Market
Pink’s, which beat Union Station
McCabe’s, which beat Griffith Park
Chateau Marmont, which beat the Hollywood Sign
La Brea Bakery, which beat Venice Canals
Hollywood Forever Screenings, which beat KCRW 89.9 FM
The Weather, which beat Taco Trucks
Pacific Coast Highway, which beat The Light

Sorry Pinks, Union Station should have won this round. And I gotta also say, I’m disappointed the weather beat down taco trucks. And no one should ever have to choose between Amoeba and In-N-Out. But alas, the voting moves on.

Voting continues until the ultimate winner is revealed in LA mag’s August issue.

The 64 Reasons You Love L.A.: Round Two

And then there were 32. Los Angeles magazine’s 64 Greatest Things in L.A. smackdown is in its second bracket of voting, which will continue until March 24. And some good news: executive editor Mary Melton let us know that our fave Langer’s is still in the running. A look at some of the match ups:

Disney Hall vs. Getty Center
Amoeba Music vs. In-N-Out
Central Library vs. Langer’s
Grauman’s Chinese vs. Studio Backlots
MOCA vs. Arclight
Spaceland vs. Trader Joe’s
Pink’s vs. Union Station
KCRW vs. Hollywood Forever Screenings
The Weather vs. Taco Trucks

The list will continue to narrow into the summer. Head to the LA mag website to vote.

The 64 Reasons You Love L.A.

Los Angeles magazine is getting interactive, asking readers to vote for their L.A. faves in a mock, March Madness-style elimination tournament.

Some of the matchups make sense: Disney Hall vs. the Magic Castle? Indie 103.1 vs. KCRW? Apple Pan vs. In-N-Out?

Others are purposely quirky: The Vincent Thomas Bridge vs. Trader Joes. Central Library vs. Vin Scully. 99 Cents Only Stores vs. Topanga Canyon. Rooftop Neon vs. Taco Trucks.

The idea is to get people talking about their Los Angeles faves. And the list purposely leaves out plenty. Our friend Mary Melton, who’s acting editor at LA Mag right now while Kit Rachlis is on sabbatical, writing a book, emails us with more details:

Out of this first round of voting, which lasts until February 25, we’ll narrow the field to 32 (to be announced in the April issue and on the web site), then 16 (May), 8 (June), the final four (July), and then one winner (August, in our Best of LA issue). Each month readers will be able to vote anew, and find out the results in the magazine and on the web site.

I’m already campaigning to make Langer’s the ultimate winner. And if you’re wondering why, then clearly you’ve never ventured to MacArthur Park for pastrami. Shame on you.

Go to lamag.com and vote right now. Your thoughts on the above face offs?