Christmas is Coming

In the 2009 installment of "Festive or Tacky," we present some of the South Bay's finest displays of holiday decor. You be the judge...

Christmas in Southern California: festive or tacky?

All Hail the GastroPub

There's been a rash of new restaurants opening in and around Los Angeles. The formula: relatively cheap eats, one or two steps above bar food; a great wine menu and even better beer selection. Mix it all together and what do you get? The GastroPub.

My personal favorite: Simmzy's in Manhattan Beach. The pulled pork panino and ginger chicken sandwiches are sure bets. Be sure to order the Haystack as well - a mound of shoestring fries with bleu cheese and chives.

The same owners have added a similar restaurant to the Manhattan Village Mall. Tin Roof Bistro has a great selection of salads and sandwiches, excellent service and nice patio for outdoor dining. Stick to lunch. Dinner was pricey and slightly less appetizing.

Hudson House holds down the fort just over the Hermosa border.

They have a ridiculously cheap Taco Tuesday special and so many creative appetizers, you won't know where to start. It's nondescript. Locals love it.

Bouzy's at Chez Melange - the fine dining restaurant staple near Riviera Village in Redondo - is also getting in on the action. More pub than gastro, this one; there's great food and a nice selection of drinks. Try the truffle parmesan fries and their enormous portion of mac n' cheese. Their creative snack menu includes deviled eggs and spiced pecans.

If pinching pennies is your plan for 2010, consider a GastroPub for a good, hearty meal and relatively inexpensive tab.

Steimel On Stage

Live this weekend for one show only in Los Angeles, St. Louis musician Mike Steimel performs at Molly Malone's. His style has been described as "Jimmy Eat World meets a modern Tom Petty."

Come see for yourself.

Where

Molly Malone's

Molly Malone South 575 South Fairfax Los Angeles, CA 90036

When

Nov 8, 2009 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm (Sunday)

Band bio: Cunningly layered instruments and big sounds penetrate the soul on the freshman solo release “Committed” from veteran performer and songwriter Mike Steimel. With radio-ready tracks and meticulous production, Committed offers up a road less traveled by Steimel but one ready to be discovered by the listener. Stand-out tracks, “Without You” and “Lost and Found” drive home the rock influence of Steimel’s alternatively inspired writing while “My Apartment” synthesizes and shakes you into the dance floor anthem revolution.

Beauty Bargain

Check out the latest beauty bargain sweeping Southern California. (Thank you economic recession.) Several spas in the South Bay and Orange County are offering an unreal promotion of their services in order to attract new business in these trying times.

I can personally vouch for one of the participating centers, Contour - a certified medical spa in Hermosa Beach. I purchased the voucher for $65 and received five treatments. There is no obligation, no hidden fees (except tipping, of course). After one laser hair removal treatment, the voucher paid for itself! For the 30 minute facial, I opted to add on an upgrade and, for a mere $30 more, treated myself to my first ever microdermabrasion. Also experienced my first ever laser genesis for sun damage. (Normally $150 per treatment).

You can sign up as many times as you like (once per spa). Vouchers expire six months from date of purchase.

Now go on. Get beautiful.

Www.spapromotions.com

The Local's Napa

Last weekend, I had the privilege of going to Napa Valley to visit a friend's parents.

Long-time residents and full-time oenophiles, they arranged private wine tastings, tours and lunches with winemakers. We harvested and crushed grapes, experienced a river tour and hiked through the Vaca Mountains behind their home.

Our gracious hosts also shared multiple bottles of wine from their vast collection. Here's a snapshot of many of the wines we enjoyed.

Havens Albarino 2008

Clark Claudon Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Havens Merlot Reserve 2007

Frank Family Vineyards Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine

2007 Viognier | Pride Mountain Vineyards

Ridge Vineyards Zinfadel 2006 Old School 2006 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel

2006 T-Vine Cellars Napa Valley Zinfandel
HDV Syrah 2007

HDV Chardonnay Estate 2007

1999 Antinori Tignanello Toscana

1999 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco Conca by Renato Ratti

2006 Jaffe Estate Metamorphosis Cabernet Sauvignon

Due Sorelle Vin Santo
Cosentino Pinot Grigio 2008

Tom Eddy Elodian Sauvignon Blanc (2006)

Tom Eddy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Tom Eddy Pinot Noir Elodian 2006

Tom Eddy Pinot N

oir Elodian 2004

2008 HDV De La Guerra Chardonnay
Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard

DuMol Pinot Noir Russian River Valley -- 2004

Jaffe Estate Transformation (2005)

2006 Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain

Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Cave Collection 2003

Far Niente Cave Selection Chardonnay 2006

Far Niente Estate Bottled Chardonnay 2007

Far Niente Cave Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Far Niente Dolce Late Harvest 2005

hope & grace Chardonnay 2006

hope & grace Pinot Noir 2006

hope & grace Malbec 2005

The Little Lab That Could

I lost my best friend on Friday, Oct. 2, just three days after her sixth birthday.

After eight months of fighting, Crimson - our brave, energetic labrador retriever - lost her battle with an aggressive form of cancer.

In spite of everything - the time, energy, money, prayers, hope, dietary and lifestyle changes, research, procedures and "state-of-the-art-treatment methods" - the fibrosarcoma recurred and thrived quickly - boring its painful, spindly tentacles throughout her mouth and jaw.

Crimson was an amazing companion, a beautiful soul; trusting, protective, intelligent. Sweet, loyal, yet refreshingly independent. Athletic. Adventurous. Intuitive. Patient. Confident.

My husband and I loved her immensely every day she was with us and are devastated by the loss. Our hearts are heavy as we face each new day without her.

Rest in peace, my sweet girl. ♥

Travel Rx

According to a recent report in Condé Nast Traveler, Your Next Vacation Could Save Your Life.

Suggestions for getting the greatest health benefits out of your next escape?

• Take at least a week's time off
• Keep travel through various time zones to a minimum to avoid jet lag
• Maximize your free time - don't check email, call home, etc. It cuts into "me" time
• Chose somewhere that offers some social interaction opportunities (i.e. a resort over a remote cabin in the woods). Making new friends has been shown to "increase the restorative powers of vacation."
• Engage in a moderate level of exercise - even if it's just walking
• Choose a place with long, lazy sunny days. (Way better than a place with cold, dark ones. Duh.)

The report also digs the knife in a little deeper when comparing the U.S. to other countries - like Germany - where a six-week vacation is mandatory for all full-time workers. According to the report, 34 percent of American workers never use the meager vacation time they do have!

It's time to start. Your life depends on it...

Sweet Treats

SusieCakes, an "All-American Home-Stye Bake Shop," is now open in Manhattan Beach. Check out their signature frosting-filled cupcakes (red velvet and mocha are personal favorites)!

They've got other stuff worth trying: lemon bars, cookies and the like; but skip the whoopie pie-flavorless sugary filling enveloped in too-soft cookies.

My recommendation: save the calories for the cakes.

SusieCakes

3500 N. Sepulveda Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 303-3780

Six? All.

Perhaps the most debauchery-filled weekend in the South Bay is none other than the first weekend of August. The event: Six Man.

Six Man (noun): The Coachella of volleyball tournaments, the event spans one weekend in the middle of summer in the upscale community of Manhattan Beach. Each team is comprised of six players, either male or female (no co-ed). It’s about $500 for each team to enter. Professional players are welcome, but the majority of participants are amateurs. Many of the teams get sponsors. Many of those sponsors are alcoholic beverage companies. Or bars. The teams dress up in costumes to promote their brand. Costumes range from the hilarious, to the clever, to the beyond provocative. Creative themes include naughty nurses, sexy ballerinas, Oompa Loompas, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now I know what you’re thinking, how could an event that revolves around half-naked, totally trashed men and women – and volleyball - be all bad?

Think of the South Bay as one big college campus – with older students. Manhattan Beach (and parts of El Porto) to the north are like the main hall, and Redondo Beach to the south is kinda’ like the old annex. Like any college, there are cliques, rumors, illegal substance abuse and the overt juggling of significant others.

With the first month of summer in L.A. being so overcast it’s earned the nickname “June Gloom” (and it consistently delivers year after year), the beach communities have a lot of time to make up in the remaining summer months. Fourth of July festivities kick it off, but Six Man… Six Man is when the party reaches its apex. It’s a time when inhibitions are low and libidos are high.

Nearly 34,000 people live in Manhattan Beach and almost 40 percent of the population is between the ages of 25 and 44.

It’s a siren call for everyone – young and old, locals and more increasingly, international visitors, to converge in this tiny enclave of Los Angeles - crushing an area that is normally a quiet little beach community. Despite the increase in the police force, Six Man-goers have been known to revel in the streets, urinate on the beach, dance on tables, have sex in public places, and imbibe their body weight in alcoholic libations.

That is, of course, when they’re not watching the volleyball tournament.

Spotted this year:

- A beyond-intoxicated man repeatedly climbing a light pole outside of Ercoles on Highland Ave.

- A thirty (or forty)-something woman strolling on the beach near the Pier; wearing her neon pink bikini bottoms backwards

- An underaged girl "accidentally" stumbling into the middle of a game as she searched desperately for her bike. (In her defense, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Probably couldn't see through the tears.)

- Two men taking a dip in the ocean - wearing only boxer briefs

- Several “straight” men dressed up like a modern-day droogs, with a Southern California twist

- Two women dancing on a makeshift "stage" while a man inflated an inner tube - which was around one of the girl's waists.

Needless to say: a great time was had by all.

You Heard It Here First

In November 2008 I predicted, based on limited research, that the U.S. was in the throes of a baby boom in recent years. And lo and behold, the New York Times confirmed it. There were more births in 2007 than in 1957, the height of the original baby boom.

Now, whether or not a boom of "Obama babies" was spawned on election night remains to be seen. Just a few more weeks and we should know...

Update: August 11, 2009

...In 2007 alone, American women birthed more than 4.3 million babies — the highest number ever. More than a quarter of those were to women having their third or fourth child, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Photo credit: Gawker.com