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Elf Cafe Reopening After Renovations

Elf Cafe is re-opoening tomorrow, July 28 (according to the sign on the front door), after a week-long closure for renovations. While we haven’t gotten the final word from the restaurant about what exactly is going on with renovations, they told the Huffington Post last February of plans to expand the restaurant into the space next door (perhaps Branche Boutique, pictured above), which they had just acquired.

We’ll have to see what happens when Elf Cafe re-opens tomorrow!

Elf Cafe is located at 2135 W Sunset Blvd. Click here for the menu.

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Midsummer Flock Block Party

While it looks like the Echo Park Art Walk may be on hiatus, Feeding Birds still wants Echo Park residents to get out and enjoy the community (and the great weather!) this summer. And so came forth the “Midsummer Flock” block party, located in the area around Feeding Birds from 1825-1830 Echo Park Ave. So far, there will be food trucks, live music, art, sales, and maybe even some silkscreening or stenciling at Feeding Birds. Booked so far is:

  • Summer Fling Truck (print t’s, phone cases and Cool Haus)
  • Over The Moon Cookies (Echo Park baked cookies)
  • I ♥ EP merchandise from artist Bill Rangel
  • Musical guests: DefSound and others, Miles Moore (Earthman)
  • Large photography displays and other art to come

Click here for the Facebook event info as they will be updating it as more activities come up.

Midsummer Flock
August 8, 2010
12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
1825 – 1830 Echo Park Ave.

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Monday Menus: Elf Cafe

Elf Cafe
2135 Sunset Blvd.
213.484.6829
Wednesday – Sunday 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Reservations: email elfcafe@gmail.com
Website

v= Vegan, gf = Gluten Free
Cash Only. Elf uses only organic, sustainable, locally grown products and only local rennet-free cheeses.

The restaurant is currently under construction to expand its kitchen, but we can still expect the great menu below!

Starters

Mediterranean Lentils: A crock of organic lentils topped with mushrooms and carmelized onions (v, gf) – 9
Baked Sheep Feta and Tomatoes: Served with thyme and oil cured olives (gf) – 12
Soup du Jour: Our soups are made fresh daily with vegetables, olive oil and spices (v, gf)
Vegan Fondue: Pan-roasted vegetables and herbs served with a walnut romesco dip (v, gf) – 9
Labneh: California goat yogurt cheese with date, kalamata olive tapenade & warm pita (gf) – 12
Tahini Avocado Puree: Creamy avocado hummus served with garlic and warm pita (gf) – 9
Roasted Flatbread Shawarma: Similar to a shawarma sandwich served open-faced with crispy oyster mushrooms, spicy hummus and savory cabbage salad (v) – 12
Roasted Beet Carpaccio: Served chilled with savory pickled salsa and grated horseradish (v, gf) – 10
Spiced Moroccan Olives and Roasted Almonds: with rosewater infused organic dates (v, gf) – 6
Cornmeal and Herb Dusted Spicy Oyster Mushrooms: Our version of ‘hot wings’ crispy oyster mushrooms served with marinated celery salad and bleu cheese cream reduction (gf) – 10

Salads

Spicy Moroccan Kale Salad: A mountain of kale topped with charmoula dressing, harissa, avocado & sheep feta (v without feta, gf) – 13
Greek Village Salad: Traditional Greek salad of sheep feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives & onions (gf)- 12
Lebanese Cabbage Salad: Made with organic cabbage, dried mint, sumac, garlic and lemon (v, gf) – 8
Elf Salad: Mixed greens with dill, avocados, potatoes, olives and green beans (v, gf) – 11
Raw Organic Kale and Avocado Salad: A mountain of kale with avocado, hemp seeds and fresh blood orange dressing (v) – 12

Main Course

Spanakopita: Traditional Greek spinach and sauteed greens pie served in a filo shell with wild rice, tomato coulis and seasonal vegetables – 17
Braised Portobello Mushroom: Stuffed w/ seasonal risotticelli & smokey mozzarella on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes (gf) – 18
Moroccan Vegetable Tagine: Moroccan vegetable stew served over red quinoa with a side of spicy homemade harissa (v, gf) – 16
Baked Tart with Thyme and Garlic: Served on a bed of mixed green salad (choose two fillings or add a third for $1). Roasted tomatoes, mushrooms or red bell peppers, rosemary potatoes, carmelized onions, feta cheese, blue cheese & smoked mozzarella – 14
Stuffed Mediterranean Dolma: Sauteed chard filled w/ lentils, wild rice & mushrooms served with seasonal vegetables (v, gf) – 14
Savory Crepe and Chevre Butter: A chickpea crepe filled w/ spinach and cheese gratin & topped with a dollop of homemade goat cheese butter – 17
Roasted Beet and Braised Fennel: Served with aromatic wild rice and port wine reduction (v, gf) – 16

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Tuesday: GEPENC Meeting, Community Outreach Agenda

Community Concerns, Outreach, Housing and Transportation Committee Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 8:00 pm

GEPENC Office and Community Center: 1572 Sunset Boulevard

ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS:

  1. Call to Order
  2. Roll Call – Committee Members
  3. Adoption of Committee Meeting Minutes

PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS**:

Comments from the public on non-agenda items within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Two minutes per speaker.

REPORTS:

  1. Chair
  2. Vice Chair
  3. Committee Members

MOTIONS & RESOLUTIONS (Discussion Items/Possible Committee Action):

  1. Discussion and/or Possible Action on development of a GEPENC Outreach strategic plan.
  2. Discussion and/or Possible Action on request for the committee to recommend the allocation of neighborhood council funds for outreach materials and collateral.

FUTURE COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEMS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ADJOURNMENT

Click here to view the GEPENC website page. The Board of Governors is also meeting tomorrow, same location, at 6:30 pm.

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Newcomers Guide to “Local Treasures”

While exploring Feeding Birds Boutique yesterday (they have some great vintage glassware), I picked up this nicely designed map of local businesses and services in Echo Park (Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Atwater Village are also included) by MapHawk. The map includes, according to the cover, “hand picked local treasures” in the neighborhood, from accommodations and restaurants, to clothing and beauty spots.

While the seasoned Echo Park resident may not find this useful, newbies to the area would want to stick this up on the fridge to help them discover all the little spots to check out in Echo Park.

You’ll probably be able to pick up the map at other locations like Masa and Delilah’s, but I know for a fact Feeding Birds has a stack. Enjoy!

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July Library Programs and Fun

Now that it’s really feeling like summer out there, give your AC a break and cool down at the library for a change! Both the Echo Park and Edendale Libraries have some FREE special programs for kids, teens, and even some for adults all summer long. It might be nearing the end of the month, but there are a ton of things going on, so here are the remaining events for the month of July:

For Kids

  • Knight Time Reading: Every Wednesday at the Echo Park Branch from 3 – 4:00 pm. Stories of dragons and other magical creatures. Create a fire-breathing dragon to take home.
  • LA Kings Hockey Mascot Storytime: Wednesday, July 28 at the Echo Park Library from 3 – 4:00 pm.
  • The Reptile Family: Animals to see and touch at the Edendale Library on Thursday, July 29 at 2:30 pm.

Other great activities:

  • Family Playtime at Echo Park Branch: Mondays from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
  • Infant & Toddler Storytime: Tuesdays at Edendale from 10-10:45 am
  • Bilingual Baby & Toddler Storytime at Echo Park Branch: Tuesdays from noon – 1:00 pm
  • Making Books Fun at Edendale: Every Tuesday at 2:30 pm
  • Stories & Crafts: Thursdays at Edendale from 2:30-3:30 pm
  • Book Buddies at Echo Park Branch: Thursdays from 3 – 5:00 pm

Read more

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Mohawk General Store Moving Sale

This might be your last weekend to shop at Mohawk General store in Echo Park  – the store will leaving Echo Park to open shop at Sunset Junction by August 1.

What do you think will pop up in its place when Mohawk moves?

Mohawk is located at 1102 Mohawk Street.

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Little Birds #3 at Tavin

Join Erin Tavin & Stefie Nelson at Tavin for Little Birds #3 on Thursday, July 29 from 7-9:00 pm

Featuring:
N.Y. Times Bestselling Author Janelle Brown, reading from her novel “This Is Where We Live”
Jillian Lauren, reading from her memoir “Some GIrls: My Life in a Harem”
New poems by Mandy Kahn

Reading starts at 7:30 pm

Tavin is located at 1543 Echo Park Avenue. Click here to view the store’s website.

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Sunday: “LAB” at Fix Coffee it Echo Park

It’s that time again! Fix Coffee in Echo Park is hosting another Local Artisan Bazaar (LAB) tomorrow (Sunday, July 25).

Local artisans and crafters will be selling their wares, sidewalk chalk artists will be coloring up the area, and band African Cowboy will be playing starting at 4:00 pm. Bring your families, friends, and even dogs are welcome. For the kids, they have sidewalk chalk and a face painter.

The monthly bazaar is free, goes from 2:00 – 8:00 pm.

For more information, please contact Veronica Hunt at screamingchica@mac.com

Fix Coffee is located at 2100 Echo Park Ave (at Baxter).

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Echo Park Library summer book sale

Flickr photo via Nickels_Photography

Echo Park Library Community Group (EPLCOG) is having its Summer Library Book Sale!

Saturday July 31, 2010 from 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm

Complimentary Coffee & Donuts

Average book costs are .25 -.50 cents

Specialty books under $5.00

Located in the Echo Park Library Community Room, 1410 West Temple Street

Donations welcome, drop off at the Echo Park Library

For more info contact Lisa Palombi (213) 250-7808 or Lisa Baca (323) 660-7234, bacasigala@earthlink.net

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Flashback Fridays – Room 8

All this talk about the oil spill and approval ratings is turning me prematurely gray. Let’s discuss something lighthearted and fun this Friday, shall we?

Once upon a time, way back in the early 1950s, there lived a cat called Room 8. He was a stray tabby that wandered into Elysian Heights Elementary School one day in 1952. He lived there throughout the school year only leaving when the children did at the beginning of the summer. And every year for over fifteen years he would return in September in time for the start of class.

The children of Elysian Heights loved him dearly as did people across the country. He is said to have received thousands of fan letters in his lifetime and was featured in both Time and Look magazine. Leo Kottke even wrote a song about him. Wait. Really?! Leo Kottke is awesome!

According to the Wikipedia entry (yes, he even has his own Wikipedia page), “as he got older, he was injured in a cat fight and suffered from pneumonia, so a family near the school volunteered to take him in. The school’s janitor would find him at the end of the school day and carry him across the street.”

Room 8 passed away in 1968. He received a lengthy obituary in the Los Angeles Times and in publications as far away as Connecticut.  Today, a mural outside of the school still bears his likeness. And every new class is read the book A Cat Called Room 8 by Virginia Finley and Beverly Mason.

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Photo: Sunset from the Baxter Stairway

Baxter Stairs Sunset / Flickr photo via andysternberg

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Rest in Peace, Walking Man!

Silver Lake mural / Photo via Eastsider LA

We don’t normally step outside of the Echo Park area for a post, but this one’s definitely worth venturing out. Anyone who’s ever ventured out to Silver Lake has seen and known or wondered about the tanned man walking briskly, wearing nothing but shoes, short shorts, and carrying a newspaper in one hand. This morning we learned the iconic Silver Lake resident and family practitioner had passed away, found yesterday according to the LAFD in the hot tub at his home.

Called the “Walking Man,” 58-year-old Marc Abrams has taken to the streets in all kinds of weather since the 1980s. I usually saw him walking along Hyperion or Rowena, which was part of his 15-mile walking route.

He will be missed!

Here’s a great audio slideshow from the LA Times (click on the image below):

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Tonight: GEPENC Executive Committee Meeting

The Executive Committee of the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC) will meet tonight, Thursday, July 22, at 7:00 pm

Meetings take place at the GEPENC Office and Community Center located at 1572 Sunset Boulevard

The agenda is extremely long, click here for the full agenda. Here are some “highlights”:

Allocation of NC funds of:

  • $1,650 for the 2009 and 2010 Echo Park Community Parade
  • $750 for the 2010 Echo Park National Night Out Festivities, which takes place on Tuesday, August 3 from 5-800 pm
  • $2,500 for the upgrade and maintenance of the GEPENC website (which is so badly needed!)

And a couple of other action items:

  • Discussion on the approval of a full liquor license at Rodeo Grill, as well as on proposal to extend hours to 7:00 am-1:00 am.
  • Discussion on the approval of establishing a monthly district “walk to focus on identifying bulky items, graffiti and other public works needs in the GEPENC area.”

The public is welcome to attend Executive Committee meetings (speaker cards are provided).

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Super Summer Explorer starts at Vista Hermosa Park

In addition to holding Family Campfire nights, the The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority have teamed up again for the Super Summer Explorer – to be held every Thursday at 4:00 pm at Vista Hermosa Park. The Explorers will meet at the Grotto Amphitheater, and will last 1.5 hours.

Start collecting your merits for the Super Summer Explorer. Each week we will perform scientific experiments, explore natural phenomena, or investigate more about our park and its inhabitants. Collect 6 merit stickers in your passport by the end of summer and earn your Super Summer Explorer certificate.

All programs offered are free of charge!

For information contact Judy Perez Soto at (213) 250-1100 and judy.perezsoto@mrca.ca.gov

Vista Hermosa Park is located at 100 N. Toluca Street (near Glendale and Beverly Blvd.)

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