Elise Thompson

The Pacific Asia Museum sits unobtrusively on a corner of Los Robles in Pasadena, the front door hidden by trees. The points of pagodas and a large mural beg a second look. According to the website, the museum inhabits a historic building "constructed in 1924 by pioneering collector and entrepreneur Grace Nicholson." In the center of the museum lies a restful courtyard. Blooming lotus and three enormous koi add to the picturesque scene.

The first of 22 Komodos hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo on August 8th. According to the zoo's press release, "Less than 10 zoos in North America have been able to breed Komodos; this marks the L.A. Zoo’s first success at breeding them." It was especially exciting for the zoo after a disappointing attempt in January, when only 22 out of 23 eggs hatched.

Eddie North-Hager is a man with a mission, and he is not alone. The communities of Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, West Adams, and surrounding areas have dedicated themselves to the redevelopment of The Santa Barbara Plaza, often referred to as "Marlton Square." The Plaza has become a blight in the center of a vibrant community. Just a block away jacaranda trees shade a picture-perfect neighborhood

Greek Fest 2009/Elise Thompson for LAist Opa! It's time to sing, to dance, to eat pastries rich with honey at LA's Annual Greek Fest. Once again this year the beautiful St. Sophia Cathedral will host this spectacular event. The cathedral building is open for visitors during the event from 2pm to 9pm, with audio presentations on the hour. Once again Tom and Rita Hanks will serve as the official celebrity sponsors. But for us,...

Domenick's Pizza House has been located right next to the railroad tracks in Carson since 1955. Whether it is on the good side of the tracks or the bad side of the tracks on Avalon Boulevard has changed more than once in the 45 years that my family has been patronizing the family-owned pizzeria. I won't ever forget a childhood spent drinking root beer out of of their red plastic cups while playing "Billy Don't...

What is happening to our mannequins? First they got all slutty in front of children, no less, and now this. Remember that Twilight Zone episode where the mannequins all got to take a vacation and be people for a month? I think we can all tell what this mannequin was doing during her vacation. Getting seriously fucked up. "C'mon man, just one hit more before I have to go back in the window? Please?...

Caesar Salad at Waterloo & City, one of 300 restaurants taking part in dineLA Fall 2010 (Lindsay William-Ross/LAist) Foodies around Los Angeles start to buzz when the biannual dineLA Restaurant Week announces its participating restaurants. Today it's officially time to pore over the list and get out the calendars. Now the largest Restaurant Week event in the nation, there are 300 participating restaurants--up from 233 last Winter--that will offer special menus October 3-8 and...

Merchants and locals are grumbling loudly over the seemingly endless Pier Avenue Improvement Project as construction crews rush to make sure there will at least be sidewalks for the large crowd expected to attend this weekend's Fiesta Hermosa. According to the the city's website, the Hermosa Beach City Council originally awarded the construction contract to Pima Corporation on December 8th of last year with an expected completion date before June of this year. Due...

What better place to spend a beautiful summer afternoon than... a dark bar on Pico? Liquid Kitty's semi-annual Punk Rock BBQ is happening today, a working man's special featuring free hot dogs, $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon, and no cover charge despite a heady selection of musical acts. Musical entertainment runs the gamut from minimalist hardcore weirdos Chotto Ghetto, the radio-ready guitar attack of Bikos, the Bloody Brains' trip through the book of proto-punk and garage standards, the vintage power trio sound of Backbiter.

Burbank is rife with coffee shops, yet somehow good food manages to elude them. At least Frank's makes real milkshakes from real ice cream, but I'm still pissed off that the attached motel tore down the zigzag Googie roof. And don't even get me started on the Coral Cafe and Lancers, where the customers all look like Ralph Steadman drawings. Then Bea Bea's opened this year to save our mornings. There is no other place...