This Ugly Beautiful City Newsletter–issue 19s

My favorite L.A. summer things

May 17, 2024

This Ugly Beautiful Newsletter is a reader-sponsored and supported publication. This is a FREE issue.

Dear friends, (Welcome new subscribers!)

I thought I would take a moment to reintroduce myself and this publication.

My name is Kristen. I am a former Minnesotan from the Iron Range and now a long-time Angeleno. I started my blog This Ugly Beautiful City as a place to put all of my Los Angeles recommendations–travel tips, best places to eat, and small business alternatives to national chains.

I talk about art, food, and culture. I am excited to share that I have added travel booking to my services and can help you plan your trip to Los Angeles or anywhere in the world. (Learn about me and contact here.)

If you are into those things, you are in the right place.

Before I get to my list, I wanted to let you know I will be taking a break in June. I hope this mega issue of summer things to do holds you over until the July issue. I just need a little time as I have been running on all cylinders for the last six months.

Let me know your tips for burnout.

My favorite summer L.A. Things

These are the events I look forward to all year. These events could be your next date night idea or your group summer hang.

Grand Performances

The schedule is now live⬆️

I’m a long-time fan of this FREE summer concert series. I have seen amazing bands like Talib Kweli, Kinky, Yuna, and Quantic to name a few.

Starting June 1st, Grand Performances will take over California Plaza on Saturdays and some Friday evenings to bring you live music and a feeling of community in the middle of the city. Sit and listen to music from bands and DJs that hit every genre from blues, hip-hop, world pop, and cumbia punk. (There is a cumbia punk genre, I didn’t miss the comma.)

My tip: Grab something to go from Grand Central Market, take Angel’s Flight to the top, find a space to picnic at California Plaza, and listen to some music.

Note: If you have a few dollars to donate for the event it is suggested, but not mandatory. THIS EVENT IS ON MY Los Angeles on a Budget list . This is also a kid and dog-friendly event.

Barnsdall Wine Nights

Tickets are now available for purchase⬆️

After a five-year hiatus, the summer wine tastings are back at Barnsdall starting May 31st! I am so happy!!!!

This fundraiser for Barnsdall Art Park is a Friday night series with wine tastings, music, and food trucks. Your ticket gets you some liberal pours of natural wine from long-time partner Silverlake Wines, access to the grounds around the Hollyhock House to picnic, plus you can add an optional tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home. BYOP (Bring Your Own Picnic) grab something from a food truck or get something in Los Feliz to-go. This event is 21+ and there is a non-drinking ticket. Stay to catch the sunset.

THIS PARK is on my Los Angeles on a Budget list and a stop on my in-person Los Feliz Tour.

Cinespia at Hollywood Forever

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I lived within walking distance of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and I loved packing a picnic, getting a bunch of friends together, and watching a movie in this piece of Los Angeles History. I like the original location best, but you do have a chance to catch an outdoor film around Los Angeles. (Check website for details.) Screenings started this month.

Last Remaining Seats

This fundraiser for The Los Angeles Conservancy is your chance to see a classic movie inside one of the historic movie palaces in DTLA’s Historic Core. Did you know that the term “to gaslight” comes from this movie? Screenings take place in June.

Hollywood Bowl

Now ticketing for individual shows.

The Bowl is my favorite concert venue in Los Angeles. Why? They always have the best line-up, the sound is always good, you can picnic and BYOB*, and they have FREE LA Phil practices throughout the summer.

*Read my post for house rules and FAQs.

I haven’t been but want to go

Dance at the Music Center

This FREE dance night is around a music genre–Bollywood, Hip-hop, etc. and comes with a dance lesson where you can apply your skills with hundreds of other people. It is the 20th anniversary of this event. This is a kid-friendly/family-friendly event.

Silent Reading Clubs

These have become all the rage and I am excited to participate! There is one on June 3rd at Los Angeles Ale Works starting at 6:30 p.m.–their calendar kind of sucks, so I pulled out the details above instead of you having to forever scroll.

If you can’t make that meet-up, here is another local group.

Also taking place this summer: Skirball Sunset Concerts (to be announced), Getty Off The 405, and Jazz at LACMA.

What event(s) will you go to this summer?

In this issue

New things to This Ugly Beautiful City
Updated posts
Los Angeles in the News
Best things I ate or drank

New to This Ugly Beautiful City

If you are looking for something to do, I am experimenting with a new format for my self-guided itineraries. Since it is an experiment, it is a pay-what-you-will itinerary—the minimum of $1 is for Stripe fees. It is a foodie tour of Culver City around the Expo Line station with some art and architecture stops to work off all that food.

This tour is now part of my Culver City Guide and available in my shop.

Buy it!

Let me know what you think if you buy the tour.

Updated

Where to eat in Downtown Santa Monica–I finally tried Xuntos and I loved it. It is filling the void of Spanish tapas places in Los Angeles. It feels a little formal inside, but it is better for having a conversation with friends over tapas. The wine list is filled with Spanish wines that you should get to know better. They just started a happy hour M-Sa, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Services–This is what I now provide as part of my business. If you have a trip you want to plan, I would love to chat about it. Contact me.

Los Angeles in the News

Dismantling LACMA–It looks like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will have a satellite location in Las Vegas before it finishes its museum in L.A. Michael Govan’s legacy will be dismantling LACMA.
Brightline to Las Vegas–We are finally getting a high-speed train. It sort of connects Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I say sort of because it will start at Rancho Cucamonga. I hope someone, not me, does a “who gets there first” video with someone who drives, another person who flies, and the last person who takes the Brightline from Union Station to see how long it takes. Honestly, I am so excited that high-speed rail is becoming a possibility.

The Best things I ate or drank this past month

Here are some notable bites from last month.

Photo 1: Man cutting brisket, Photo 2: plate with a stuffed pepper with edible flowers and a small tart with breadcrumb topping — Brisket from Moos, stuffed piquillo from Xuntos, and artichoke tart from camphor

No Kid Hungry, Taste of Los Angeles–I attended the fundraiser for No Kid Hungry in Culver City on May 4. It was a great collection of local restaurants who donated their time and a dish for this ticketed food fest. It was great to try restaurants that I have wanted to try, but are on the opposite side of town. I want to thank the restaurants who lent their expertise to this cause.

My favorites:

Moo’s Craft BBQ–This has been on my list for a long time. I think their brisket is amazing and is now on the top of my BBQ list.
Camphor–They had a delicious artichoke tartlet. This was a welcome vegetable dish during the festival.
Be Sweet—Dirty Ube Latte. All of my favorite things—ube and espresso.

Pikuniko–When I am at the Row, I tend to hit Smorgasburg or Pane Bianco, but decided to give Pikuniko a try. The long-time resident serves Japanese fried chicken. Their classic is a new favorite—crunchy, juicy, and their chili oil really brings it. I recommend a tasting at Flask & Field (free) followed by Pikuniko.

Ladyhawk–Top Chef All-Stars with Chefs Charbel Hayek & Buddha Lo–Are any of you watching Top Chef? I love this show and when I found out that there would be a pop-up at Ladyhawk, I needed to go. It was a great menu of dishes from the World All-Stars season. My favorite was the full English breakfast.

Omakase Cocktails–I was really sad when The Walker Inn, the speakeasy inside of the The Normandie Club closed. The cocktails were inventive and at times interactive. I’ve been looking for a similar experience ever since. I finally found it at the Maybourne Hotel and their namesake bar’s Bespoke menu. This menu pairs expertly crafted cocktails with bites from the kitchen. For example, I had a cucumber margarita made from a spirit distilled from Doritos–I do recommend getting dinner in the area before so you aren’t completely schmammered when you leave.

This is a special occasion experience, but their regular cocktail program is both fantastic and a more approachable price point. I suggest it if you have cocktail lovers or want to kill some time in Beverly Hills. (Maybe while your out-of-town guests stroll Rodeo Drive.)

Thank you for reading to the end! It means a lot to me.

Paid subscribers are going to get my ALWAYS ON list on May 31st There are also two paid-subscriber meet-ups on the books. (Contact me if you don’t know what I am talking about.)

It is never too late to upgrade to a paid subscription. If you have a friend in Los Angeles, refer them to get upgraded.

Refer a friend

I am almost to my next subscriber perk! 106 more subscribers and I will release my things to do around the Expo Line Station: Stop 1 itinerary.

Thank you,

xoxo-Kristen

This Ugly Beautiful City