Celebrating 50 years on the job at Taix

Bernard Inchauspe, Fernando Gomez, Jose Fragoso

Wednesday night, Taix employees, family and long-time patrons attended a special celebration featuring three of the restaurants long-time employees and the 50 years they’ve dedicated to the job.

The flyer for the event reads, “This is NOT a retirement party,” but it was a party indeed! We stopped by to say hello and congratulate the trio, which included Bernard Inchauspe (dining room waiter), Fernando Gomez (bartender), and Jose Fragoso (banquet waiter). They’ve seen the restaurant change so much over the years – which actually started out near downtown Los Angeles, serving family-style dinners, until moving to its existing location in Echo Park in the early 1960s.

Taix used to be one of those places we’d only go to if our roommate’s mother was in town, treating us to a fancy dinner at the window-less, old-school style restaurant. But now we’ve frequented Taix, usually once a month, to grab an Eagle Rock Solidarity from the tap and nosh on a basket of fries. A little flirting action with Bernard, and we’re set!

If you’ve never been, go! Taix hosts music events throughout the week in the lounge, and even stand-up comedy on Sunday night. They have great happy hour deals, and fabulous staff. And in case you’re wondering, it’s pronounced “tex.”

Related articles:

  • Taix Employees Celebrate 50 Years of Service. Echo Park Patch, March 1, 2012
  • After 50 years on the job, Echo Park restaurant workers still ready to serve. The Eastsider LA, February 22, 2012
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Long-time Echo Park resident claims winning lottery ticket

The Eastsider LA reports this morning that the $15 million winning lottery ticket purchased at our very own House of Spirits has been claimed by an Echo Park resident!

Victor Caube, a sushi chef, just learned on Monday he had the winning ticket when he stopped at the House of Spirits to buy another ticket. The long-time resident will be sharing his winnings a friend.

Congrats!

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“Parenthood” turns Echo Park into San Francisco

Screenshot via Hulu - click to view larger image.

Tuesday night’s episode of Parenthood opened up with a strangely familiar – but different – scene. As the characters walk into the frame, we realized this is the episode they filmed in Echo Park in front of The Echo, Two Boots, and then inside Origami Vinyl (you can see The Echo on the left in the above screenshot).

But there’s something a little different with the skyline – the colorful apartments on the right hand side, and the steep hills going up are all added in. While the first hill in the distance might actually be Reservoir Street, the rest is a graphic. It’s pretty strange to watch the clip as the camera pans over!

Another part later on in the episode is filmed at 1134 Lemoyne St. in Echo Park (where the pregnant character is standing outside). Both locations were filmed on or around January 23, 2012, and rumor-mill has it the production interfered quite a bit with surrounding businesses (they take up quite a bit of parking).

While Echo Park isn’t a stranger to filming, recently there’s been a surge of filming in Echo Park, Angelino Heights, and Elysian Park, including Taco Bell commercials, and other TV series like Southland and Up All Night.

Click here to watch the episode and pay attention to the first couple of minutes.

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In case you missed it: Headlines from around Echo Park

Amish journey from homespun to hipster – LA Times
How Refuge salon and Form Academy owner Miriam Jones went from an Omish upbringing to Echo Park.

Capping an era of L.A. oil exploration – LA Times
This week the city started plugging an old oil well just south of Glendale Boulevard and Rockwood Street to make way for a 45-unit apartment complex. Just up the street, where the Echo Park Pool is now, was the first oil well in Los Angeles.

Robert DeLong’s electronic dance music residency, Monday nights at Los Globos – Examiner.com
If only we didn’t have to work on the weekdays! The Examiner.com gives out rave reviews for Echo Park resident Robert DeLong’s Monday night residency at Los Globos: “He is salvaging what is left of everything great about electronic music and creating something fresh and so immediately appealing that you can’t help but start moving to the music as soon as he starts playing.”

Planning board supports Elysian Heights coffee house plan to serve wine and beer – The Eastsider LA
Fix Coffee in Elysian Heights is one step closer to serving beer and wine after an appeal failed to convince the planning board to block the application. The coffee shop will still need to obtain a state beer and wine license from ABC.

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Mark your calendars: Redistricting meetings tomorrow and Monday

Every ten years, the city takes a look at the borders of each district to ensure those commmunities are getting fair representation in the city. That’s the idea anyways – and that’s why we’re getting involved. There have been rumors about combining Echo Park into one council district instead of two – a very small but not forgotten portion of Echo Park is represented by CD1, which is Reyes’ district. The redistricting process could affect Echo Park, and it’s up to the members of the community to make sure any changes in the borders are in our best interest.

The commission in charge of redistricting is holding a series of public hearings where we can share our thoughts and opinions on the redistricting. As Echo Park residents, we should be attending both CD13 and CD1 meetings, which are on Saturday and Monday, respectively:

Council District 1
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 11:00 am
St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church
1039 N. Broadway 90012

Council District 13
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Los Angeles City College Theatre
855 N. Vermont Avenue 90029

Click here for the full schedule PDF, which includes all council districts and the meeting dates. Public comments can also be submitted ahead of time by downloading this PDF, and email the form to redistricting.lacity@lacity.org

You can also follow the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission on Facebook and Twitter.

h/t Cindy Marie Jenkins for keeping us informed!

We’ll see you tomorrow!

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A look back: Echo Park’s year in review

A lot has happened for Echo Park in 2011… Our personal lives got a bit busier – I got married and had a grand celebration, and have been spending all my free time this year involved in many civic activities. We’re still living in the same spot, for about 6.5 years now, doing laundry across the street from Masa, but we’re hitting up some new watering holes. And that’s the big news for our community – Echo Park became a destination for our libation of choice (if there’s no tequila): Beer! Redefining Echo Park as a beer destination are two new establishments, Mohawk Bend and Sunset Beer Company, along with a slew of new beer/wine permits at existing locations. Xoia and Fix Coffee are the most recent ones, and about to join in on the fun are Red Hill and Cookbook’s new restaurant on the eastern end.

Land-use issues defined a lot of our time spent on civic activities, including the proposed 74-unit complex at the former Echo Park Community Gardens, 7-11 vying for a spot on Glendale Boulevard, and lots of community cleanups. Next year there will be a lot of new places to dine at (Cookbook, Red Hill, a new pizza place, and probably more), and hopefully we’ll get some more food trucks coming through.

And in case you missed it all, here’s a few things to get you updated – our top three posts of 2011 (based on how many times you all visited).

Top posts of 2011:

What they found at the bottom of Echo Park Lake

We got the scoop on what (and how many) they officially found at the bottom of the lake after the lake draining and some dredging. So if you were taking bets, they found 20 trash cans, one toilet, and two guns (and no dead bodies, guys).

A modern Echo Park Lake draining in pictures

As much as we want our lake back, the two year rehabilitation project (which started in August 2011) started off with a slew of images from many Echo Park residents. We’ve even got our own webcam of the lake progress, courtesy of a couple of nearby residents and their camera. Unfortunately the article sparked some debate, for a reason we’re not sure about, the comments sparked debate about the whole eastside vs. not eastside, which we won’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Maria the Goose takes up new residency away from Echo Park Lake

The infamous Maria the Goose was moved away from the lake in March 2011 to her new pad at the Los Angeles Zoo. The impending Echo Park Lake rehab project was, at that time, scheduled for that spring (it didn’t end up starting until August). Her bestie, Dominic Elhrer, was on the zoo guest list and was allowed to visit. But of course, once she got to the zoo, the veterinarians discovered she was a HE – and aptly renamed the goose Mario. We’re still partial to Maria…

Resolutions for 2012

Last year we made some promises of “Echo Parkian” things to do in 2011. We still haven’t read the Madonnas of Echo Park, but we’ve been reading a lot more after joining a book club. We haven’t climbed all the stairs year either, but got really close during the pre-wedding intense workouts I was doing. We have been doing a lot more farmers’ market shopping, have supported local businesses, and even wrote a lot of articles. We did the most amazing thing ever as an Angeleno and saw the lunar eclipse and sunrise at Griffith Park – that’s going to be hard to top!

For 2012… well, we got a new camera this year, so we will be taking a LOT more photos of Echo Park to document its place in the digital history books. We hope to write more articles on the sister blog, Atwater Village Now. We’d still love to have some more writers contribute to the website, so if you’re looking for an excuse to get out there in Echo Park and write about something or someone, do it! There’s no better way to get to know your community better!

A lot of people keep asking about advertising on Echo Park Now, and I’ll just say it’s not looking like that’s going to happen any time soon, but you’ll be the first to know if we do!

And finally, we’d like to wish everyone a wonderful new year. May 2012 be the best year yet!

Happy New Year!

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How to recycle your Christmas tree

Flickr photo via patrick_cates

Turn your Christmas tree into compost and mulch!

You can still enjoy your Christmas tree for a few more days until the next trash collection day, during which the Bureau of Sanitation will collect all those curbside trees (just make sure to place it by your cans on collection day). If your tree is small enough, you can also place it in your green bin for collection. Multi-unit residential houses can also place the trees curbside for collection.

Of course, make sure to remove all your ornaments!

Fire stations and Parks and Rec will also collect your trees, but only on Sunday, January 8, 2012 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. The closest station near Echo Park to drop off your Christmas tree is Griffith Park in the LA Zoo parking lot.

Click here for more information and additional locations for drop-off.

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Celebrate New Year’s Eve in Echo Park

Flickr photo via sirimiri

Each year we put together a little guide for Echo Parkians to take advantage of local places to celebrate. There are some usual spots, and some new places to go, so if you’re going to head out Saturday evening make sure to support the local economy. And remember, if you do venture outside of Echo Park, the City of LA is providing free metro transportation on New Year’s Eve from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am, so don’t you dare drive under the influence!

Here are your dining options for earlier in the evening, and local spots for the new year countdown:

Taix

It’s a bit of a local tradition to have a little New Years Even dinner at Taix restaurant. In addition to serving their normal menu, News Years specials will be served from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm with a reservation. Specials include Crab Cakes, Roasted Veal Rack, Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass and other appetizers and desserts. Taix has a full bar, so be sure to enjoy some bubbly with their specials. Call (213) 484-1265 for reservations.

The Park Restaurant

The New Years Eve dinner special is six courses for $60, and includes scallops, oysters, lobster, duck and lamb for the omnivores. Tasty artichoke, Butternut Squash, Mushroom, and Gruyere courses for the veggies. And of course, The Park always has a great wine and beer selection, so we’re sure they’ll have some bubbly for you to enjoy! Seatings are between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm, be sure to call for reservations! (213) 482-9209

Mohawk Bend

This will be the first New Year’s Eve celebration for the new bar/restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, and there’s a great dinner menu planned. $65 gets you Mohawk’s omnivore and vegan-friendly menu, along with specialty items like Roasted Porcini Mushrooms with potato gnocchi and in-house ricotta; Lobster Orecchiette Gratin with sea urchin and chive; and Lamb Chops with herbed polenta and tomato pine-nut gremolata. You can also add white (3g/$55; 6g/$100) or black truffles (6g/$35) to any dish.

By-the-glass and by-the-bottle bubbly will be available, as well as a beer toast in keepsake glasses at the countdown.

Reservations are required, and seatings are between 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The 10:00 pm slot will guarantee your seat until 1:00 am. Email nye2012@mohawk.la for reservations!

City Sip

We’ve spent a New Year’s Eve here before, and it was an amazing place for a chill way to celebrate.

They’ve got a pretty good deal for New Year’s Eve: for $50 a person you get bottomless bubbly, a plate of artisan cheese and charcuterie, and a panini dessert.

Allston Yacht Club

The short version of the menu: Lobster and fish terrine, warm olive oil poached beets, grilled beef tenderloin, wild mushroom fricasse, dessert, and wine pairings. Seatings are at 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Call 213.481.0454 for reservations.

The Echo/Echoplex

The annual Bootie LA New Year’s Even 2012 at the Echoplex  from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. DJ Paul V., DJ Shyboy, DJ Faroff are the resident DJs spinning the mashups, with a midnight countdown and performance by resident dance crew R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance). Tickets are $20 in advance, $30 at door.

Funky Sole New Year’s Eve with Breakestra, Music Man Miles, and Clifton AKA Soft Touch. Starts at 10:00 pm at the Echo. Tickets are $15 until midnight (champagne and a toast for the countdown), $10 after.

Club Bahia

They’ve been hosting New Year’s Eve celebrations for over 30 years, and at a great deal – party all night for only $25. Click here for more info.

Masa

Masa will be hosting its annual Masa Fancy Pants Pajama Party on New Years Eve. PJs aren’t required, but are encouraged! They’ll be watching the ball drop in New York at 9:00 pm, along with a toast to ring in the new year.

Did we miss anything? Share the info in the comments section below!

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LAPD cracking down on holiday drunk driving

Don’t hit the spiked egg nog if you’re driving over the holidays, the LAPD is cracking down on drunk driving offenders with several sobriety checks around Los Angeles through January 1.

There will be a checkpoint on Friday, December 23, 2011 on the west end of Echo Park at Sunset Boulevard and Coronado Street (which is unusual as they usually set up at Sunset and Portia… perhaps trying to catch all those Mohawk Bend goers from the west?). The checkpoint will start at 8:00 pm and last until 2:00 am.

Click here for more information about the checkpoints over the holidays.

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Where to celebrate the holidays with Santa and light displays

Christmas in Echo Park. Flickr photo via Alex de Corboba

With all the sewer construction going on in Griffith Park right now, the traditional holiday lights put on by the LADWP were canceled this year. But there are a few options in the Los Angeles area still worth checking out!

Train Rides and Santa at Travel Town Museum

Take a Holiday Train Ride and visit with Santa Claus himself at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park, where they’ve got the train route decorated with all sorts of holiday lights. The train rides go through December 23, leaving around 5:00 pm each night until 8:00 pm.

Tickets are $7.00 per person (infants 18 months and under are free) – which you should probably purchase ahead of time online. While you can purchase them at the Travel Town ticket booth, things might get a little crowded!

Digital photographs with Santa are available for $5.00 each. Kids will also get a candy cane!

Click here for more info.

Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena

So you’ll have to get on a freeway to get there, but it’ll delight the kids to see a real pretty Christmas Tree Lane. A bonus: It goes through January 1! Click here for more info and for directions.

For other holiday lights and events around Los Angeles and as far as Orange County, check out this Santa Clarita web page.

Where will the desire for twinkling holiday lights take you this year?

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7-11 returns to the Echo Park Improvement Association tomorrow night

The Echo Park Improvement Association is holding itss regularly scheduled Neighborhood Issues Committee meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, December 21). The agenda includes a presentation by representatives from 7-11, who were also present at the last committee meeting. They’ll likely be addressing the same concerns by the neighborhood, including parking, the beer and wine permit, and traffic, among other issues.

With an approval by the neighborhood council, and the corporation’s willingness to work with neighborhood organizations means our magic ball predicts 7-11 will get the space. We’ll see what happens with the vote by the city after the start of the new year.

Also on the agenda are the developers from the Morton Village project, which has been left uncompleted for quite some time now.

Echo Park Improvement Association Neighborhood Issues Committee meeting
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Williams Hall, Barlow Hospital, 2000 Stadium Way
Agenda

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Where to express your love in Echo Park

This temporary art installation caught our eye as we sipped $5 mimosas at Lot 1 Cafe during the Echo Park Community Parade last Saturday. Nothing but a yellow mail box hanging from the tree by a chain, with a blank notebook and pen attached. With no directions or how-tos, but without a second thought, we professed our love to Echo Park, dropping that white piece of paper into the yellow letter box, wondering where it would turn up.

Along with my own letter, contributions to the yellow “Love Letters” box are published online at echoparkloveletters.blogspot.com. There’s already nearly 20 love letters published since the November beginning, with love letters ranging from deep poems to personally addressed letters and general love letters, like “What I love is happiness and peacefulness, as well as dirty sexy stuff!” Some of the first set of published letters are transcribed on the back of Lot 1 Cafe beer coasters.

Still no word on who’s behind the art piece and why, but we’re very fascinated with the different types of letters being published on the website that we’re keeping a close eye!

P.S. Click here to read our love letter to Echo Park from last September.

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The lunar eclipse and Los Angeles sunrise from Griffith Observatory

Saturday’s lunar eclipse ended up being probably the coolest thing I have ever done in Los Angeles.

Despite the 4:00 am wake-up call, I managed to grab some coffee and a few layers of clothing before heading off to Griffith Park to witness a complete lunar eclipse from the Observatory. It was, of course, PACKED with people, so parking was pretty crowded and I ended up lugging my tripod, camera, and all the other necessities about a mile up the windy road before arriving at the Observatory lawn. News crews, Angelenos, and tourists crowded the area, but I some how managed to find an okay spot to test out my new Nikon DSLR.

Somehow, I managed to catch a few decent shots – although I am by no means a professional photographer (in fact, I’m hoping to sign up for a class next spring). Although it was frustrating I couldn’t get a great shot of the shape of the actual moon as it was eclipsing (the clouds diffused the light and I didn’t have much of a lens for it), I had to try and not condemn the point-and-shoot photographers for using their flash when taking photos of the moon (yep), thus interrupting my own images.

The crowd and flash photography aside, this was one of the coolest things ever. By around 6:00 am, you’d seen everything the eclipse had to offer, so it was time to move to the other side of the Griffith Observatory to snag a good spot on the balcony for nighttime Los Angeles skyline photos, and to watch the sun rise. I am happy to report that I now officially feel like a true Angeleno. And if you haven’t done sunrise at the Observatory yet, better put that on your LA bucket list because it is a required activity.

Click here to check out the full Flickr set (including shots from the sunrise) from our early morning adventure!

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Echo Park Community Parade in photos

We hate to admit this is only our second Echo Park Community Parade that we’ve been able to attend, but so far it’s our favorite!

There were over 60 entries in this year’s parade, themed “‘Tis the Season.” In addition to local schools, drill teams, cheer squads, and elected officials, there were a few Echo Park businesses and organizations participating in the parade lineup. Amongst those were The Echo Park Time Bank, Edendale Library Friends Society (ELFS), The Warehouse and The Classroom, Mi Alma, 826LA, and others. Maryanne Hayashi of the Central City Action Committee was accompanied by three generations of her family – her daughter, grand-daughter, and her two-year-old great grand-daughter!

Community members that have greatly contributed to our Echo park were give special recognition as ambassadors. Mitch O’Farrell from Eric Garcetti’s Office was honored as the Grand Marshal. Parade Ambassadors included Holly Calhoun of the Echo Park Farmers’ Market, the Echo Park Improvement Association, Masa of Echo Park Bakery & Café, and Albert Torres of Recreation & Parks.

And, as parade committee members told me today, everyone was a winner! All entries received a trophy for participating. It would have been hard to pick any winners, all the entries were fabulous!

Check out our photos below:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer


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Sustainable supper club holiday meal on Sunday

The Green Beacon Foundation is hosting a very special Food For Thought holiday dinner on Sunday to raise money for SEE-LA’s Veggie Voucher Program.

The Food For Thought is a sustainable supper club, part of the non-profit organization’s fundraising activities, which includes a monthly dinner series in a “pop-up” style. This dinner (as with many others), is located at a beautiful private property in Elysian Heights, and the entire meal is made up of sustainable, local ingredients. City Sip LA has partnered with the Food For Thought dinners and will be providing the wine pairings. The guest chef for Sunday’s meal is Gloria Feliz of Reservior Restaurant in Silver Lake.

100% of the proceeds go to SEE-LA’s Veggie Voucher Program, which helps low-income shoppers of the Echo Park Farmers’ Market afford a health diet, as well as helping a local California farmer bring fresh local food to Echo Park.

The four-course menu includes: Tuna tartare on a wonton crisp with a spicy aoli and avocado crema, cauliflower soup, braised oxtails (veggie option available), and Nutella Creme Brulee. Click here for the full menu description.

‘Tis The Season sustainable supper club
Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Elysian Heights (exact location provided upon ticket purchase)
Tickets: $68 (RSVP required)
Click here to purchase tickets! Spaces fill up fast.

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