Best Activities To Do In LA This Week - July 18
A little food, a little music, a little comedy, this week's got it all. Food event favorites like Summer Restaurant Week and 626 Night Market return to feed your belly, while a comedy show celebrating its 6th anniversary will feed your soul. The Hollywood Bowl's got a special performance of music from West Side Story, the Skirball will kick off their Summer Concert series with some eclectic folk pop rock, and The Ahmanson is presenting "Grey Gardens" the Musical. A summer week wouldn't be complete without an outdoor movie screening, with this week's pick at the Pasadena City Hall. Enjoy all the best L.A. has to offer!
Celebrate dineLA Restaurant Week
Multiple Locations
www.discoverlosangeles.com
Foodies get your forks ready, because today is the official start of dineL.A. Summer Restaurant Week! With restaurants around the city offering prix fixe menus with some of their best items, it's the perfect time to try something new. Restaurant Week favorite FIG & OLIVE will offer a summery fruit and vegetable four-course prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus with a unique Strawberry Vacherin dessert. Other returning favorites like Lawry's The Prime Rib and Alimento will be joined by newcomers Charcoal Venice, K Ramen. Burger. Beer., and more. Also new to this year is a partnership with the California Avocado Commission to welcome a select group of Chef Ambassadors who will create avocado inspired dishes showcasing the fruit in familiar and unexpected ways. The dineL.A. Exclusive Series will return for another season of some of L.A.'s most coveted chefs offering specially priced menus starting at $95.
West Side Story
Hollywood Bowl
2301 Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90068
(323) 850-2000
www.hollywoodbowl.com
Pack a picnic, grab a bottle of wine, and head to the Hollywood Bowl tonight for an evening music like only the Bowl can provide. Gustavo Dudamel will conduct some of Leonard Bernstein's most famous songs from the musical West Side Story. The emotionally powerful musical takes place amidst the racial and social tensions of the mid 1950s, and still remains poignant today. Whether you're a fan of the musical, or just the music from it, you'll love hearing songs like "Maria," "America," "Somewhere," and "Tonight" performed lived by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The Super Serious Show 6th Anniversary
The Virgil
4519 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
www.superseriousshow.com
Tonight's Super Serious Show is not just any show - it's a 6th anniversary celebration. The monthly comedy show brings together top notch comedians for a night of laughs, food, and fun. Host Jimmy Pardo will be joined by great comedians like The Sklar Brothers, Reggie Watts, Ian Abramson, and more, including a short film screening by Andy Landen. The show starts at 8:00pm, but get there early for music by Marion Hodges, some sweet happy hour drink specials, including $15 whiskey flights, and eats from Taqueria El Huracan Food Truck. Tickets are just $10 at the door, or $7 in advance online.
Skirball Summer Concerts: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-4500
www.skirball.org
Tonight the Skirball kicks off their 20th anniversary season of Sunset Concerts with San Francisco-based band Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. Known for an eclectic sound ranging from folk to rock to pop, the band will perform new material from their recent critically acclaimed album A Man Alive. The show starts at 8pm, but arrive an hour early to catch a DJ set by Tahl K. And, if you really want to party like a pro, call in a reservation for a Sunset Supper before the show at 6pm. Each week, Skirball's Chef Sean creates a unique feast inspired by the evening's artist and their music, with seasonal salads, entrees, and desserts. Reservations are required, so be sure to call ahead, or take advantage of a special pre-pay promotion and book online.
626 Night Market
Santa Anita Park
285 W. Huntington Dr.
Arcadia, CA 91007
www.626nightmarket.com
626 Night Market has expanded its reach into other area codes, but this weekend it's all about the original 626, as America's largest Asian food market takes over the front Paddock Gardens of Santa Anita Park. Bring your appetite and enjoy over 150 Asian street food and booze vendors, live music, art, games, merchandise, and so much more. The fun starts at 4pm, and runs through 1am, giving you night owls the perfect place to grab a midnight snack. 626 Night Market will run through the weekend (ending early on Sunday at 11pm), and admission is just $3 for anyone over 6. Be sure to bring cash, as many vendors don't accept credit.
Eat See Hear: (500) Days of Summer
Centennial Square at Pasadena City Hall
100 N Garfield Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
www.eatseehear.com
This week's pick for outdoor movie watching takes you to Pasadena's Centennial Square outside the City Hall building to see (500) Days of Summer. Doors open at 5:30pm, with food truck favorites like Border Grill, Coolhaus, Cousins Maine Lobster, Grilled Cheese Truck, and many more feeding the masses. As the sun begins to set at 7pm, live music by local band Dutch Party will provide a little pre-party before the movie starts at 8:30pm. Tonight Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star as Summer and Tom in a movie that is "not a love story. It's a story about love." Feel free to bring along Fido, as this event welcomes dogs at the door with a free biscuit.
"Grey Gardens" The Musical
The Ahmanson Theatre
135 N. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 972-4444
www.centertheatregroup.org
The highly anticipated "Grey Gardens" The Musical has finally opened at The Ahmanson Theater. Touted as Time magazine's number one Broadway production of 2006, and garner of multiple Tony Award nominations, the musical is based on the cult classic documentary of the same name. The production stars Rachel York (City of Angels) and Tony Award-winner Betty Buckley (Cats) as the eccentric relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who go from glamorous aristocrats to notorious recluses. Set in their East Hampton estate, the two end up living in a crumbling house filled only with memories and cats. The musical is directed by Michael Wilson, and runs through August 14th.
