I’m a snob when it comes to good writing, so when it comes to crime fiction, I’m in the camp of PD James, not Steig Larsson. So stumbling upon Kate Atkinson’s When Will There Be Good News? — a beautifully written novel that slowly reveals itself to be a mystery (and even part of a [...]
The dedication in I Love You and I’m Leaving You Anyway, a memoir by Glendale-based writer Tracy McMillan, says most of it: “To my dad, who never let me go. And to my fourth husband — wherever you are.” But did we mention that McMillan’s charming, charismatic father was a pimp and a drug dealer who brought [...]
The east Altadena stop for a treat (a cookie, a slice of chocolate truffle cake, a cup of coffee), Patticakes is really famed for its special-occasion, made-to-order cakes. They are spectacular, and they taste every bit as good as they look. You’ll find a gallery of them on the website, but if you don’t see [...]
Tibet-born mountaineer and photographer Karma Tenzing Bhotia trained in Austria as a chef, and he brings a gourmet sensibility (rich cream sauces, lovely presentation) to Tibetan and Nepali cuisine. Reminiscent of both Chinese and Indian food, but with more subtle flavors, the menu spans the Himalayas, from lowland curries and dals to highland yak, noodles [...]
Gale Kohl, owner of the eponymous Gale’s Restaurant on Fair Oaks, and her friends have put together a quietly remarkable fundraising night, A Taste of Art, for the past few years. The warm and bustling restaurant is transformed overnight into an art gallery, with dozens of works for sale at eminently reasonable prices. The parking lot [...]
If Randy Newman lived in Altadena, he’d write a song called “I Love North Lake.” Our stretch of Pasadena’s iconic avenue is in many ways the mirror image of South Lake. Where they have upscale chain stores, we have quirky mom and pop shops. Their spiffy houses on tidy lots contrast with our farmhouses, old [...]
A “lacuna” is a hole, an empty place in a stone or bone — and a metaphor for The Lacuna‘s central character. Harrison Shepherd moves through Mexico and America in the first half of the 20th century, aching to be a part of a family, and a nation, but never quite fitting in.He’s too bookish for [...]
I am an oozing, drooling undead groupie for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so I rushed out to buy Seth Grahame-Smith’s latest mashup, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. The premise is deliciously dumb: In addition to his other accomplishments, Honest Abe is a hunter of vampires, who are depicted in “historic” photos throughout the book in [...]
Put on your overalls and grab your wellies; Danny’s Farm is having a Barnyard Benefit this Saturday. Located high in Altadena, Danny’s Farm was inspired by a young man named Danny Gott, who has an incredible fondness for animals as well as autism.His parents, former Dodger pitcher Jim Gott and his wife, Cathy, created this [...]
A new documentary, Race to Nowhere, skewers high school students’ overly demanding academic and extracurricular schedules. The result of so much stress, according to the film, is sleep-deprived, time-starved, overtested and, incredibly, under-educated American kids.
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