CARISSA MARSH
A&E Editor
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a seven-part series featuring fun, out-of-the-ordinary activities to do each day of the week. It is the perfect guide for those who find themselves searching for new ways to spend their nights.
Thursdays are busy days. The week is almost over, and there is so much to do before the weekend. But the nights are usually reserved for relaxing in front of the TV and not doing much else. But there is a reason to peel one’s eyes away from “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Office” and “CSI.” The following are reasons to get off the couch.
Family Dinners at Angeli Caffe
7274 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood
Angelicaffe.com
This modern family restaurant has a contemporary vibe and upscale cuisine fitting its Melrose location. Established in 1984, the restaurant has been serving up rustic Italian food with a California twist for more than 20 years. The dishes are fresh and simply prepared as owner and chef Evan Kleiman follows the Slow Food movement, which focuses on supporting local farmers and products, using the freshest ingredients and basically slowing down and enjoying food.
The restaurant features the Italian restaurant staples guests love and expect: bread, salad and pasta. Loaves of chewy, fresh-baked bread served with olive oil are delivered to the table as soon as diners are seated. Guests can start their meal with the Insalata Forte, a salad made of locally grown organic baby greens, fennel and Belgian endive dressed in a garlic parmesan vinaigrette, or the Insalata Caprese, made with Heirloom tomatoes when in season.
All types of pastas are available, including lasagna with Bolognese sauce, spaghetti tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, hot chile and garlic, or spinach and cheese ravioli. There are also paninis, pizzas and what the Web site calls Angeli Caffe’s famous garlic lemon roast chicken.
Thursday at 7 p.m. is home to Family Dinners, which features a special menu of dishes created by Kleiman. Guests sit at long family-style tables to enjoy the food and company. The theme of the dinner changes each week. The dinner includes an appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert (like chocolate chunk bread pudding) for $30 per person, not including gratuity, wine or beer.
Angeli Caffe’s complete menu is available for delivery and take-out, so one can enjoy the regional Italian cuisine at home anytime. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, and Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner. To get in on the Thursday night fun, reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling (323) 936-9086.
Grilled Cheese Night at Campanile
624 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles
campanilerestaurant.com
Built in 1929 by Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin, this restaurant was once intended to be Chaplin’s office space. But in the late 1980s, architect Josh Schweitzer modified the building for its new owners, including Executive Chef Mark Peel. In 1989, the dual bakery and restaurant Campanile opened its doors.
Also specializing in Italian cuisine, the restaurant looks a bit like an Italian village with rustic looking wood, brick work and tiled fountain. But there is also an air of sophistication with its white linen tables and stemware. Campanile features a courtyard, with a bar on one end and a small bakery on the other. A casual dining area faces an open kitchen but there is also a formal dining room at the rear.
The dishes created by Peel have both French and Italian influences but it is grilled cheese Thursdays that are most popular with L.A. crowds. The menu features 12 different sandwiches — including patty melts, Reubens, roast beef, and Sloppy Joe’s — as well as a selection of appetizers, such as the fresh bean salad ($9) or beer battered squash blossoms ($10), and desserts. The classic grilled cheese sandwich costs $14, and marinated onions and whole grain mustard can be added for $1.
Reservations are limited and the menu is subject to change without notice. Call (323) 938-1447 to save a seat.
Hot Country Nights at Borderline Bar & Grill
99 Rolling Oaks Drive, Thousand Oaks
Borderlinebarandgrill.com
Better bust out those burnished cowboy boots and 10-gallon Stetsons, because if you have ever wanted to learn how to line dance, Thursday night at Borderline is the place to be. Described as “Country music with a shot-a-pop” on the Web site, Borderline is the perfect place for newbies to learn the electric slide or old-timers to two-step, and it is open to ages 18 and up.
Established in 1993, Borderline claims the largest dance floor in Ventura County and lives up to its title as “the great American dance bar.” Borderline offers themed dance nights every night of the week, including salsa, two-step, hip-hop and freestyle.
The venue has the feel of a mountain cabin with 20-foot ceilings and two large fireplaces. The bar also boasts 10 TVs, two of which are big screens, three pool tables and dart boards.
The full-service restaurant offers up late night food for hungry dancers. The sampler ($11) is perfect for sharing and includes cheesy quesadillas, spicy Buffalo wings, celery sticks and prairie pockets — Borderline’s spin on potato skins that come topped with cheddar cheese, bacon bits, salsa and sour cream. For those who want a juicy burger, the grill also serves up 100 percent Angus beef burgers on dusted Kaiser rolls.
Afro Funke at Zanzibar
1301 5th St., Santa Monica
zanzibarlive.com
Named after a small island off the eastern coast of Africa, this bar pays tribute to its roots every Thursday night with Afro Funke. According to the Web site, this Indian/African-themed lounge is usually filled with a diverse lineup of DJs who play an exotic mix of global beats and electronica. But on Thursday nights, DJ Jeremy Sole’s Musaics take over, offering club-goers bongo beats and world rhythms that make them want to dance.
There are plenty of comfortable and stylish places to take a break, with pillow-filled seating areas throughout the club that continue the African motif with long red drapes, wooden benches and floor cushions.
The weekly “Afroboogie ritual,” as Afro Funke is called on the Web site, opens its doors at 9 p.m. to guests 21 and over. Cover costs $7. Zanzibar is open every night Tuesday through Sunday.
Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino
huntington.org
This museum has something for everybody, with art to be admired, gardens to be explored, research libraries to be browsed and afternoon tea to be sipped. And with free admission the first Thursday of every month there is no reason not to go (except, maybe class).
Opened to the public in 1928, the grounds were once the private property of railroad and real-estate mogul Henry E. Huntington. The museum is now home to such amazing items as the Gutenberg Bible, a manuscript of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” Benjamin Franklin’s handwritten autobiography, first-edition folios by Shakespeare and more.
According to the Web site, the library’s rare books and manuscripts constitute one of the world’s largest and most extensively used collections in America outside of the Library of Congress.
But the botanical gardens are by far the most popular thing to see at the museum. The 120-acre gardens are sectioned by type and origin, and there are more than 15,000 species represented. The Rose Garden itself features more than 1,200 varieties of the fragrant blossoms. There is also the Japanese and Zen Gardens and the Desert Garden, which boasts the largest outdoor grouping of cacti and succulents in the nation.
For those who enjoy an afternoon tea ceremony, for $20 visitors can enjoy limitless cups of hot brewed tea and a basket of freshly baked scones in the Rose Garden Tea Room that overlooks the rose garden. Reservations are needed in advance to participate.
A new exhibit opened last week called “First Freedoms: The Los Angeles Times and the Right to a Free Press, 1881-2006,” which highlights the history of the newspaper and its role in defending First Amendment issues.
On Sunday, Feb. 24, the library will celebrate the Chinese New Year with lion dancers, a traditional flower market, martial arts demonstrations, folk dancers, crafts and more.
Admission for the Huntington Library normally costs $10 for students and $15 for adults. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
02-15-2007