Ann Whatever

Maid cafes are all the rage in Japan. LA's very first maid cafe has opened in Culver City, down the street from the arts district. Royal/T is also a gallery and Japanese pop culture store. Here are reviews from PingMag and my friend, Tokyo ala Mode.

Miso chicken sandwich at Royal/T

Spicy tuna open-faced sandwich at Royal/T

My dining companion J took me to Furaibo, an izakaya on Sawtelle. J is a real foodie and pushed me to try strange new things like chicken gizzard and beef tongue. Both were not as bad as I thought it would be, but I would never crave it again.

Jean Harlow photographed by George Hurrell

This is the final week to see Lights! Camera! Glamour!, an exhibit of George Hurrell's photography at the California Heritage Museum.

The name George Hurrell probably doesn't ring a bell, but I'm sure you've seen his work. His work captured the essence of Hollywood glamour of the 1930s. He is credited as the first photographer to use boom lighting to light his subjects. His photos are brilliant paintings of light an shadow. He once said his secret was that he used only one light during his photo shoots. Remarkable, if that's true.

Hurrell was also a master at touching up his negatives to emphasize minute details like eyelashes. Here's a photo of Joan Crawford, followed by a close up of her eyelashes.

Photo by Hurrell signed by Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford eyelashes detail

One of my favorite artists, Amy Sol, is back with another solo show. This time she's at Thinkspace with Karmic Magic. So dreamy... Her signature muted palette returns, but it's more airy than her Tonight We Travel By Dream show.

Luna Park is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. That's probably because every time I go there I have such a great time with the company I keep. Oh, and the food's pretty good.

Last week I had brunch with the lovely ladies of S. I ordered from the prix fixe menu their popular goat cheese fondue (I scrapped out all the cheese from the ramekin), a grilled chicken BLT (for the bacon), and a delicious coconut milk creme brulee. 

Goat cheese fondue at Luna Park

Grilled chicken BLT at Luna Park

Coconut milk creme brulee at Luna Park

Chicken with wasabi at Bincho

Yet another yakitori.

I'm not telling you where it is though because it's a super small place and some things should stay hidden.

UPDATE: Well, our beloved Bincho was shut down. The place was like one of those small places you'd find in a hidden alley in Tokyo. It was smokey, with live burning wood coals and the "man" doesn't like it. And, probably, all our love tipped them off that something good (which must be bad) was going on.