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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
FOOD AND DRINK
Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 9, 2016
PICK 5 FOR SANTA ANITA RACE TRACK
They are off and running at Santa Anita, so where do you dine with all your winnings?
Here are five places that I really like.
Panda Inn is a mainstay and Father of the Panda
Express restaurant chain is a full service restaurant
fresh with white linens and a full bar. No you won’t
find ducks hanging in the window, but you will find very above average Chinese Food, complete with
a full bar, you might find trainer John Sheriffs or Hall of Fame Jockey Laffitt Pincay chowing down
on Orange Flavored Chicken or having a Mai Tai at the bar, bartender Kim is always quick with a
joke and is the best in the business. I recommend the Won Ton Soup. 3488 E. Foothill Pasadena.
Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ has been called by many as the best BBQ this side of Texas, and I agree, the
Beef Ribs are meaty and the tri-tip sandwich literally melts in your mouth. Full Bar and open lunch
and dinner. 395 N. Rosemead Pasadena (626) 351-8885.
For you steak lovers and I know there are plenty the Derby Restaurant is a must, Choice and Prime
steaks are offered at this racing and restaurant Institution. Besides the great steaks and chops take
a few minutes to walk around the restaurant and marvel at all the old pictures and a display case
located in the front, it hosts many old trophies, boots and ribbons. The owners tell me that George
Woolf himself made the Derby his home away from home in the early 1930’s and became a partner
in the restaurant in 1938. 233 E. Huntington Arcadia.
Something different you
ask? I have it in Din Tai
Fung, The San Gabriel
Valley has a large Asian
population and this
restaurant has customers
waiting in line for their
Dumplings, I consider this
the best Dumpling House
in the area, order the
Xiao Long Bao, dumpling
packed with minced pork,
I order the fresh crab
meat as a topping, simply
irresistible, caution you
may move to Arcadia just
because of this restaurant, I recommend coming off hours, it can be busy. 1108 S. Baldwin Arcadia.
Nikki C’s just a few minutes from the Race Track has been the meeting place for many winning
betters, trainers and owners for just short of ten years, I have to say that the Ciaopino is about the
best in town, full of seafood including, mussels, scallops and crab, a meal in itself, the staff is mostly
on the friendly side , so after a fun day at the track I often will head over to Nikki C’s, the lighting
is slightly dark, if they had enough room they’d have a piano bar, get the picture? Locals have been
coming here for years, and call it their secret spot and home away from home. Well, the secrets out.
470 S. Rosemead Pasadena.
Peter Dills Hosts a one Hour TV Show on PBS Los Angeles KLCS 5 PM Sunday. Channel 25 Charter & Channel
58 ATT /Direct TV you can reach him www.peterdills.com
On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra Madre Playhouse
TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills
thechefknows@yahoo.com
THE CRUNCH TIME
By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano
By now you must know how much I love
putting up shows for you, our loyal patrons. It
just delights me to create theater and Deathtrap
is filled with so much fun stuff that sometimes I
can’t believe I am allowed to do this! And I’m
not alone. Hard to explain the dedication and
hours of time that so many people are putting
into mounting this show - from the actors to the
designers to the producers to all the technicians
working long hours doing sometimes tedious jobs
for the thrill of thrilling you!
This is crunch time for Deathtrap. The set
is being completed – every day I walk into the
theater to find another wonderful surprise
awaiting me – today it was the wallpaper hung.
Last night was our “Dry Tech” – that’s where
the Sound and Lighting Designers and the Stage
Manager and I go through all the cues (the
technical aspects for each moment, i.e. the car
door slam and the flickering lights of the fireplace
which flare up when paper is thrown into it) –
it’s called a Dry Tech because there are no actors
present. If there were actors it would be called
a Wet Tech. Tonight the Costume Designer and
the Properties Designer (props are anything an
actor holds in his hands or sits on) will arrive with
blood to test under the lights and with the actors
– it is important that it can be applied quickly
and wash out of the clothing easily. The Fight
Choreographer was with us on Tuesday for a final
coaching session on stage – and to drop off his
loan of daggers, and rapiers, broadswords, maces
and more that we’ll be using both practically and
as set dressing. And just before I sat down to
write this the Composer sent me his final versions
of the music he has written for the show.
Saturday it all comes together at the Q2Q as the
actors learn the timing of all the effects and try
on their clothes and drink the fake ginger ale (one
actor is allergic to the real stuff) during a very
long day at the theater. All of us keeping in mind
our goal – to scare you, to thrill you, to make you
laugh, and surprise you and to make Deathtrap
come to life.
I’m grateful to each member of the team who is
working so hard but I have to offer a special thank
you to Erin Walley, our Assistant Set Designer,
hired originally as our Properties Designer and
still doing that job, who when our Set Designer’s
commitments to the TV show he works on meant
he wasn’t able to finish the design stepped in – and
then became our de facto Production Manager
coordinating all the aspects of the build. If it
wasn’t for her there would be no show to open.
Deathtrap is selling briskly – it opens January
15 and runs through February 20. This one is
going to be great fun – don’t miss it. Please visit
our website at SierraMadrePlayhouse.org or call
Mary at 626.355.4318 to arrange your purchase.
Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown
The Lost Tudor Princess:
The Life of Lady Margaret
Douglas by Alison Weir
Acclaimed historian Alison
Weir comes the first biography
of Margaret Douglas, the
beautiful, cunning niece of
Henry VIII of England who
used her sharp intelligence
and covert power to influence
the succession after the death
of Elizabeth I.Royal Tudor
blood ran in her veins. Her
mother was a queen, her
father an earl, and she herself
was the granddaughter, niece,
cousin, and grandmother of
monarchs. Lady Margaret
Douglas, Countess of Lennox,
was an important figure in
Tudor England, yet today,
while her contemporaries—
Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen
of Scots, Elizabeth I—have
achieved celebrity status, she
is largely forgotten. Margaret’s life was steeped in
intrigue, drama, and tragedy—from her auspicious
birth in 1530 to her parents’ bitter divorce, from
her ill-fated love affairs to her appointment as
lady-in-waiting for four of Henry’s six wives. In an
age when women were expected to stay out of the
political arena, alluring and tempestuous Margaret
helped orchestrate one of the most notorious
marriages of the sixteenth century: that of her son
Lord Darnley to Mary, Queen of Scots. Margaret
defiantly warred with two queens—Mary, and
Elizabeth of England—and was instrumental in
securing the Stuart ascension to the throne of
England for her grandson, James VI.The life of
Margaret Douglas spans five reigns and provides
many missing links between the Tudor and Stuart
dynasties. Drawing on decades of research and
myriad original sources—including many of
Margaret’s surviving letters—Alison Weir brings
this captivating character out of the shadows and
presents a strong, capable woman who operated
effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels
of power.
The Road to Little
Dribbling: Adventures of
an American in Britain
(Notes From a Small
Island #2) by Bill Bryson
The hilarious and loving
sequel to a hilarious and
loving classic of travel writing:
Notes from a Small Island,
Bill Bryson’s valentine to his
adopted country of England.
In 1995 Bill Bryson got into
his car and took a weeks-long
farewell motoring trip about
England before moving his
family back to the United
States. The book about that
trip, Notes from a Small
Island, is uproarious and
endlessly endearing, one of the
most acute and affectionate
portrayals of England in all
its glorious eccentricity ever
written. Two decades later,
he set out again to rediscover
that country, and the result is The Road to Little
Dribbling. Nothing is funnier than Bill Bryson on
the road—prepare for the total joy and multiple
episodes of unseemly laughter.
Old Glory: A Voyage Down the Mississippi
by Jonathan Raban
The author of Bad Land realizes a lifelong dream as
he navigates the waters of the Mississippi River in
a spartan sixteen-foot motorboat, producing yet
another masterpiece of contemporary American
travel writing. In the course of his voyage, Raban
records the mercurial caprices of the river and the
astonishingly varied lives of the people who live
along its banks. Whether he is fishing for walleye
or hunting coon, discussing theology in Prairie
Du Chien or race relations in Memphis, he is an
expert observer of the heartyland’s estrangement
from America’s capitals ot power and culture,
and its helpless nostalgia for its lost past. Witty,
elegaic, and magnificently erudite, Old Glory is
as filled with strong currents as the Mississippi
itself.
SEAN’S SHAMELESS
REVIEWS:
BEST NEW SONGS TO KICK OFF 2016
By Sean Kayden
Old Man Canyon – “Hollow Tree” – Vancouver
singer/songwriter Jett Pace crafted the indie rock
outfit’s much-anticipated debut LP, “Delirium”. It’s
due out on January 15th. One of the tracks is “Hollow
Tree,” a shimmery, vintage synth driven masterpiece.
It majestically soars with beautiful arrangements
and the overall sounding vibe is the closest thing
to heaven I’ve heard in quite some time. The fresh
approach includes a solid melody and complex
textures that are guided by Pace’s enriching and lilt
vocals. With a penchant for deep pop sensibilities,
discreet synthesizers, and reflective lyrics, Old Man
Canyon’s debut record may be a gem among a sea of
pearls.
Matt Kivel – “Violets” – “Janus,” the third solo
album from ex-Princeton member Matt Kivel debuts
next month. The recent single, “Violets” is a joyous,
meditative, and fragile. At the same token, it is both
sharp and more intricate than your normal indie-folk
track. Kivel has proven to be a solid storyteller over
the course of his first two records, “Double Exposure”
and “Days of Being Wild”. His words do more than
just pull you in; they have a propensity of sticking
with you long after the songs conclude. However, it’s
Kivel’s solo guitar arrangements that leave a deep
imprint on one’s own mind and heart. The sound is
so wisely put together that each note, each layer feels
just right at every moment.
Cullen Omori – “Cinnamon” - Former Smith
Westerns front man Cullen Omori has just released
the first single, “Cinnamon” off his solo debut “New
Misery,” which is out March 18 via Sub Pop. The
inspiration for the record derived from listening to
Top 40 radio during his long shifts at his medical
supply company day job. The strange hybrid of
sorts works effectively well for his new single. It’s
his most pop orientated song to date as a musician
with glimmering, dreamy guitars that swirl around
and around. It’s a sunny pop tunes amidst a cold
and dreary winter. It definitely has all the essentials
to be a huge success. If this is any indication of what
the record may sound like, Cullen Omori may find
himself becoming much more known in the coming
months.
Mothers – “It Hurts Until It Doesn’t” – With an
array of bands featuring edgy female singers was
all the rage for the past two years or so, Kristine
Leschper and her band Mothers may become the
most talked about indie band of them all in 2016.
An untitled debut LP is planned for this year and
one of the definite cuts will be “It Hurts Until It
Doesn’t,” a painstakingly beautiful and shattered
piece of work. With lyrics like, “I don’t like
myself when I’m awake” and “I felt your love for
a little while but never had the guts to give myself
up,” you know you’ll be traveling into dark and
personal terrains. However, the Athens, Georgia
foursome does more than just mourn and display
catharsis. Their utterly original and nebulous
sound is riveting as they come off as hardened
pros. Leschper’s harrowing vocals spark a balance
of vibrancy and complexity. There’s something
profound and meaningful behind not only her
words, but also the craftsmanship of this 5 and .
minute song. The multi-layered rock gem sounds
like nothing like you have ever heard before and
that’s what you need looking forward into 2016.
Jeff’s History Corner By Jeff Brown
The last sugar plantation in Hawaii is set to close at
the end of 2016. Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. A&B
announced Wednesday that this year will be the last
sugar harvest on its 36,000-acre sugar plantation
on Maui. The sugar plantation incurred a $30
million agribusiness operating loss in 2015, and
continuing significant losses have been forecast.The
675 people employed by its subsidiary, Hawaiian
Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S), will be
laid off progressively starting in March as their
responsibilities come to an end. The company will
then move toward more diversified agriculture, such
as energy crops, agroforestry, livestock, diversified
food crops, and orchard crops.”This announcement
marks an end to plantation agriculture that shaped
our state’s history,” Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
told NBC News. “Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar
Company has been a source of economic stability
for the County of Maui, pioneered technical
innovation in the field of agriculture, and served
as a catalyst to a labor movement that improved
working conditions for Hawaii families.”A&B
was founded 145 years ago by descendants of
Protestant missionaries. Sugar became big business
in 1876 when plantation owners were allowed to
export sugar to the United States duty-free. White
plantation owners played a large part in the 1893
U.S.-backed illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian
monarchy and the subsequent 1898 annexation of
Hawaii as an American territory. In 1993, President
Bill Clinton acknowledged and apologized for the
U.S. role in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian
monarchy.Plantation owners were also responsible
for bringing large numbers of workers to Hawaii
from China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and
Portugal, shaping the unique ethnic makeup of
the islands.”Much of the state’s population would
not be in Hawaii today, myself included, if our
grandparents or great-grandparents had not had the
opportunity to work on the sugar plantations,” said
Stanley M. Kuriyama, A&B executive chairman,
in the announcement.The sugar industry began
to decline after the islands became subject to U.S.
labor laws,and cheaper labor was found in India,
South America and the Caribbean. According to
Civil Beat, A&B also faces continuing litigation
over air pollution from the burning of 400 acres of
sugar cane every week from March to November,
and over Native Hawaiian water rights. But in a
statement following the announcement, Hawaii
Governor David Ige said that A&B’s move toward
diversified agriculture was “a golden opportunity
for the state to focus on renewable energy and food
security.”
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com
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