Month: May 2023

A devastating end to “Succession” wakes up to the truth about the Roys: “We’re nothing”

A devastating end to “Succession” wakes up to the truth about the Roys: “We’re nothing”

Published by Sam Flores

Succeeding in business is all about the right relationships, we’ve heard. If that is true, then we should have known Kendall, Roman and Shiv were never going to pull out a victory at the end of “Succession,” whether individually or as a team. Jesse Armstrong dangled the possibility of either scenario in front of our noses many times throughout the final season, which made for a fetching distraction and a whole lot of empty betting about who would “win” the twisted competition to inherit Daddy’s company Waystar Royco. Logan (Brian Cox) coaxed Roman (Kieran Culkin) back to his fatherly embrace one more time before croaking; then Roman weaseled his way into the newsroom, seemingly to tilt the election in favor of an autocratic bigot. But he cracked in the presence of his father – his embalmed dad, certainly, but more than that, the heart of his legacy, spelled out by his uncle Ewan (James Cromwell). Standing in the presence of a giant, Rome caved with a whimper, as he always does. Shiv (Sarah Snook) was always …

Best rooftop restaurants and bars with views in Los Angeles

Best rooftop restaurants and bars with views in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

Nothing beats a view of Los Angeles from above. Peer downtown and you’ll spy City Hall and the US Bank Tower. Head toward Hollywood and you’ll glimpse its rolling, mansion-dotted hills and its eponymous sign tucked between them. Keep going west and you’ll eventually spot the Pacific coastline with its jutting piers, foaming shores and jagged cliffs. And there are countless more neighborhoods between those horizons that boast their own spectacles. As for where to soak in the sights, you have a slew of options. There’s the reward of hiking to the top of a trail, but as summer approaches, L.A.’s rooftop restaurants and bars prove more tempting, offering incomparable vistas alongside sparkling pools, creative cocktails, prime people-watching and, of late, memorable meals. While delicious food can be a bit of an anomaly for rooftops, where the focus is often on socializing and drinking, several newcomers stand out with worthwhile culinary programs in addition to remarkable views. In downtown, a hospitality group led by Issa Rae is offering a lush, Mexico City-inspired nightlife option, complete …

Best restaurants and bars to visit in Tokyo

Best restaurants and bars to visit in Tokyo

Published by Sam Flores

Are you headed to Japan this year? The country reopened for tourism in October, all but predetermining a flood of travel in 2023. Yes, screeds will be written by December about how no one wants to see any more shots of noodle bowls and tonkatsu in their social media feeds. For now, though, glimpses into one of the world’s most thrilling culinary destinations still feel uplifting. I spent a week in Tokyo in March as part of a story about the city’s influence on L.A.’s evolving sushi culture, particularly some of our best omakase chefs and their inspired return to fundamentals. It was part of an all-in project by the Food team covering all things sushi in Los Angeles. But I couldn’t not eat and drink broadly and with abandon in Tokyo. Let me state clearly: I claim no expertise in the city’s foodways. What I have is the privilege of discerning Japanese friends on the ground in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, who graciously offered guidance at every turn. I thank them profoundly, and …

14 things to do in the magical little town of Los Olivos

14 things to do in the magical little town of Los Olivos

Published by Sam Flores

At the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, with its wooden floors from the late 1880s, western-themed oil paintings and plaques bearing the names of the historic ranches in the Santa Ynez Valley, you feel as if you’ve landed in another time. That is, until you see someone grab their iPhone 14 Pro to snap a photo of the picturesque Los Olivos landmark. The renovation and preservation of the heirloom property, once a 19th century stagecoach stop, was completed this year after the Auberge Resorts Collection acquired it in 2020. Set on 6½ acres of land that houses the town’s iconic water tower, this new version of Mattei’s comes in the form of a buzzy five-star resort. But the owners’ mission is to stay “true to the heritage” of the iconic destination. Blending old and new has been a theme in Los Olivos, a charming town just two hours north of Los Angeles that’s known for its vineyards, lavender farms, orchards and horse trails. You’ll find a vintage gas pump outside the Los Olivos General Store, a …

Where to take life-changing pole dance classes in Los Angeles

Where to take life-changing pole dance classes in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

The pandemic led me to the pole. Let me explain. Prior to 2021, I had never been strong in my life. In fact, I was pretty damn weak. It was so bad that from the moment I booked a flight, I would start actively worrying about having to lift my carry-on into the overhead compartment by myself. As someone who is self-reliant in most other aspects of my life, that sense of physical helplessness felt embarrassing. Like many people, the pandemic’s shelter-in-place mandate made me start to go stir crazy. That’s how I found myself considering doing something I had never given much thought to before: dedicating time, energy and money to fitness. I started out by getting a basic gym membership with a friend. As long as I had an accountability partner to work out with, I was consistent. But once our schedules no longer aligned, I found myself returning to a sedentary lifestyle. Now that I knew how it felt to be strong, it didn’t feel as good to go back to having …

The 15 best places for afternoon tea service in Los Angeles

The 15 best places for afternoon tea service in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

As Los Angeles prepares for the imminent reopening of the Huntington’s prestigious Rose Garden Tea Room, on May 24, expect that tea as a social engagement will only become more popular. Many Americans associate formal tea with Britain and the pomp and circumstance of the monarchy. But a tea party, at its core, transcends the court of the queen. . Traditional British tea service takes place midafternoon and involves tea poured from floral china pots, finger sandwiches and scones, but in and around Los Angeles, California variations on the theme and a formal Chinese tea ceremony have also cropped up. Steep LA co-owner Samuel Wang is quick to remind us that tea is from China, and the British tradition derives from that history. “We’re not trying to be snobs about tea,” he explained. “Our way is not the only way. We’re sharing our knowledge, not teaching.” Wang and co-owner Lydia Lin hand-select all of the tea that’s poured at Steep, sourcing from farmers in China and Taiwan. The ceremony consists of first selecting a personal …

21 of the best sushi restaurants in Los Angeles

21 of the best sushi restaurants in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

Los Angeles is the best sushi town in America. We know this, even if that’s the only thing around the subject we may agree on. Are you in a traditionalist or maximalist mood? Do you want maki filled simply with kanpyo (dried gourd) in the strictest Edomae fashion? A few moments of rapport with the chef shaping pieces of nigiri just for you? Or are you headed out for a deep-fried roll filled with spicy tuna, cream cheese and avocado and zigged with sauces that match the Lakers’ team colors? What’s the occasion: blowout omakase, takeout chirashi or a wind-down evening at your neighborhood strip-mall sushi bar? There are no wrong answers. But I have been eating a lot of sushi lately, so I have many fresh opinions. My tastes lean classical and stripped down, and I’m in luck: So many of our best sushi chefs have been reconnecting with the roots of the cuisine, wedding their creativity to a focus on immaculate seafood and, of equal importance, fragrant and exactingly seasoned rice. (The rice …

10 fascinating buildings in L.A. that you can actually tour

10 fascinating buildings in L.A. that you can actually tour

Published by Sam Flores

While not officially a tour, taking yourself up to the observation deck of Los Angeles City Hall gives you a new perspective of a building you may have visited numerous times (by choice or not). I first made my way up there after getting excused from jury duty — a fellow prospective juror couldn’t believe that I, a native Angeleno, had never been, and urged me to experience the feeling of being “on top of the world.” I took her advice, and it didn’t disappoint. The City Hall building has an impressive pedigree: built in 1925, it was a collaboration between three of Los Angeles’ leading architects, John Parkinson, Albert C. Martin and John C. Austin. Parkinson also designed the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Union Station, and Austin was part of the design team responsible for the Griffith Observatory and the Shrine Auditorium.. To begin your journey to the top of the building, check in at the lobby with security, who will direct you upstairs. After two elevator rides, you’ll arrive on the 26th …

Best hand roll bars to try in Los Angeles

Best hand roll bars to try in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

The Los Angeles hand roll is delicious, populist sushi. Fresher than supermarket sushi without the commitment of omakase, the hand roll is the perfect fish-and-rice fix. Sudden craving for hamachi? Want a light, sit-down sushi lunch? A quick weeknight temaki dinner? The hand roll bar is the answer, and there are ever more of them — they seem to be multiplying by the week. The hand roll bar as we know it is the brainchild of one of the city’s most legendary sushi chefs and an entrepreneurial partner who so precisely dialed in a sushi-for-the-people format that it completely changed the way L.A. eats raw fish with vinegared rice. A simple cylinder of crispy seaweed is wrapped around warm sushi rice and seafood, popularized by the blue crab temaki that famously punctuated Kazunori Nozawa‘s omakase at his erstwhile Ventura Boulevard spot Sushi Nozawa. This is your guide to what the best sushi city in America has to offer, from the ultimate California roll to spectacular omakase. KazuNori, when it opened in 2014, translated an intimate …