Art Battle Los Angeles

Art Battle Los Angeles

The 2018 US National Art Battle® Live Painting tournament is hosting its first official event of the eight-city National Championship series with Art Battle Los Angeles City on Wednesday Oct 17th, 7:30pm, Downtown at Exchange LA.

The competition will feature 16 Art Battle Los Angeles champions, finalists, and all-stars. The winner of this event,  determined by audience vote, will become the  2018 Art Battle LA City Champion, and they will advance, as a National Finalist, to the Championship event on November 28th, also in Los Angeles.

Come watch the paint fly together with culture enthusiasts, painters, art collectors, and art party lovers to vote for your favorite artist in each of three rounds. Each round is only 20 minutes in length, and artists will compete with equal materials and a blank Fredrix® Canvas.

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Avital Foodie Tour

Avital Foodie Tour

*This is a Sponsored Post*

Los Angeles is very big. 

From the Westside, where I live, to Downtown Los Angeles, it can take a good hour and half in the middle of rush-hour traffic to get there. That’s why I sometimes stay, play and dine within a few short miles of where we live. 

Who wants to fight traffic?

Downtown LA has been booming!

New shops, new restaurants and watering holes; and, more and more people are moving to Downtown LA to experience what the city is now offering. This is truly an exciting time to live in Los Angeles! 

And frankly, it’s hard not to want to experience at least some of that.

But for those of us not willing to move, but open to exploring, there's a unique way to experience the Downtown LA culture, learn a little about our history, and of course, enjoy some of the most celebrated and sometimes underground restaurants the LA dining scene has seen:

Avital Tours.

Avital Tours is a three-hour walk-and-dine experience that’s hosted several times a month in Downtown LA (also in Venice, CA and San Francisco, CA) for either Sunday Brunch or Lunch. 

Not only did we get to try the perfect food portions during our four courses, we found that walking with perfect strangers gave us the opportunity to connect with a new part of the city while learning a little bit more about L.A.

We were told that each Avital Tour has a different theme and visits different restaurants, but when my hubby and I went we discovered a woman-owned Brazilian restaurant, an Italian pop-up restaurant, and tried ice cream that's made with Bicycles!

While each course was different and each restaurant added a unique element to our tasting experience, it was the Avital Tour guide that made our tour memorable and something that I wholeheartedly recommend for you to experience.

She made sure that each of us enjoyed our meals, walked at a comfortable pace for everyone, and ensured that we enjoyed each others company. 

Excited to rediscover LA (or discover San Francisco on your next visit to Nor Cal)?

Get 10% off your own Avital Tour in Los Angeles or San Francisco by entering "cabezadecoco" at check-out.

Ana Lydia

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Holiday Dining at City Tavern

Holiday Dining at City Tavern

*This is a Sponsored Post*

There's something about the Holiday's that makes all of us long to break bread with those we love while eating quintessential comfort food and sipping on festive drinks - more so - than any other time of year.  

But with everyone's busy schedule and long commutes, it sometimes makes better sense to meet somewhere special instead of cooking at home. That's why City Tavern, which is conveniently located at FIGat7th in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, is the perfect place to celebrate the Holiday's in Los Angeles.

Located in one of my favorite places in LA because of its convenient location and idyllic urban setting, City Tavern offers something for everyone to either enjoy a casual dinner after a show, or grab happy happy hour with your colleagues, or even a reason to stop by on a weekend to enjoy a leisurely meal after Holiday shopping.

With friendly service and a varied menu that now includes holiday classics, such as the seasonal ham-steak dinner we all crave and love; traditional tavern fare, like burgers and fries, are presented with a twist and elevated with a more upscale flavor profiles not usually found in casual settings.

Even the appetizers, including the deviled eggs, which are a locals favorite, the honey-glazed brussel sprouts and the truffle fries are reason enough to stop by for a quick bite.

The full bar at City Tavern offers a varied list of beers on tap, and many of the California wines we have come to expect in Los Angeles, but it's the inventive mixed drinks that make City Tavern a must go-to location for anyone looking for Holiday-inspired drinks that go beyond eggnog.

Make sure to stop by City Tavern after enjoying a day of shopping the FIGat7th Holiday Odd Market, scheduled for On December 11 and 12.

XOXO,

Ana Lydia

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Meet me at 7th and Fig in Downtown Los Angeles

Meet me at 7th and Fig in Downtown Los Angeles

Let me tell you a secret...

I used to work in Downtown Los Angeles in the late 90s...and. I. hated. it.

At the time, there was nothing to do other than work and walk to a handful of very dated and expensive restaurants for lunch; stomach a bad sandwich from the building lunch counter; order from a limited number of dives that would brave the drive to downtown; or, order from what we called the roach coach. This was, as you can tell, Downton pre-revitalization.

Downtown has needed cleaning-up and updating for some time; and slowly, but surely, Angelinos have seen the changes Downtown LA has made to create an urban hub that we can be proud to call our own.

Nothing is more significant in this new era for Downtown LA than the new FIGat7th, a once pitiful corner on, you guessed it, 7th and Figueroa. 15 years after I quit my job in Downtown, 7th and Fig is looking very nice! 

Completely updated with a central courtyard that faces an upscale food court, FIGat7th has become a Downtown open-air shopping & food destination.

Clean, modern and housing a curated food experience for the cosmopolitan nine-to-fiver, FIGat7th has also become a hotspot for local residents not only because of the unique dining options, but also because of the many retailers that have chosen to create a unique Downtown experience at FIGat7th.

On a recent weekday I headed east to have lunch with my friends at FIGat7th, who were just as excited to curate my lunch experience as I was to having an elevated sandwich tasting.

I tried sandwiches that were completely unique to Los Angeles, such as the "Not So Fried" chicken sandwich from Mendocino Farms, and a throwback to my years living and traveling to Mexico, the Poblano Torta, from Loteria's Grill "Torta Company."

To end a perfect lunch, we had Los Angeles-native Sprinkles cupcakes. All yummy, but the S'mores Chai Tea cupcakes both being my absolute favorites.

Kurobuta Pork Belly Banh Mi Sandwich
Mendocino Farms

"Not so Fried" Chicken Sandwich
Mendocino Farms

Torta Poblana
Loteria Grill's Torta Company

Torta Cubana
Loteria Grill's Torta Company

The Mac Daddy
The Melt

Cupcakes
Sprinkles

If you haven't toured the new Downtown LA, I highly recommend that you visit.

FIGat7th is a convenient stop in your excursion of Downtown LA, not only because of it's central location, but for their free seasonal events, and validated parking. (Parking is only $5 with validation or free after 5 p.m., and the metro is a short walk away.)

But the best reason to visit FIGat7th? The food! 

Where else can you dine among the beauty of the downtown skyline and pick your lunch, or dinner, from a selection of eateries unique to LA?

Ana Lydia

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FROM HER, an Exhibition by Women about Women

FROM HER, an Exhibition by Women about Women

"Throughout history and across cultures, women have often been associated with a connection to the land, to "Mother Earth." As givers of life, this connection to nature is frequently perceived as being inherent to the female experience." - FROM HER

In honor of National Women's History Month, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and El Pueblo Park Association present FROM HER: An Exhibition by Women about Women.

This years From Her exhibition explores womanhood through art by bringing together artists and photographers that attempt to answer How do women see themselves with relation to nature? Is it a connection women embrace, or is it one that has been thrust upon us? How has this relationship been interpreted historically and culturally? What is - or isn't - a woman's nature.

This exhibit is especially meaningful to me because my friend, Pauline Campos of Aspiring Mama fame, was selected to showcase one of her photographs.

While being a room filled with beautiful artwork is touching, being in a room with only female-created work that visually gives meaning to the female existence was awe-inspiring.

These are just a few of my favorite pieces...

Don't miss this incredible exhibit, now through March 22nd, 2015, at the Pico House Gallery
424 N Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Ana Lydia

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Los Angeles' Newest Gelateria

Los Angeles' Newest Gelateria

One of my fondest memories of living in Mexico was spending Sunday afternoons at a plaza and sitting to eat raspados or helados, to enjoy a lively conversation with my cousins.

As many ice cream and froyo shops that Los Angeles has, its upsetting to not be able to find one that gives me the experience I had in Mexico...until now.

Located in the beautiful 1920s Spring Arcade Building in Downtown Los Angeles, Gelateria Uli opened just a few months ago and already has legions of fans singing its praises.  Not only for its location, which is just so fitting of a gelateria, but for the unique gelato combinations that its owner, Uli, creates to perfection. The space gives foodies a reason to lounge, European-style, while eating some of the best gelato I've tasted myself. 

Smooth and creamy, every spoonful will fill your mouth with flavors as unique as the names they have. Poblano, a traditional pepper used in Mexican cuisine is one. 

Who knew this spicy pepper would one day be the flavor profile for a gelato that can, very much so, identify the city of Los Angeles?

Made fresh daily with a rotating selection of 16 sorbeto's and gelato's, Uli also has a few mainstay flavors that are becoming her trademark Poblano Gelato, which Uli proudly introduces as a signature flavor that celebrates Los Angeles.

Other gelato and sorbeto flavors include pistachio, chocolate, salted caramel, stracciatella, and European yogurt.  While, rotating flavors include bee pollen, maple pecan, coconut lemongrass, saffron and summer stone fruit sorbet.

Uli's also serves fine drip coffee and espresso drinks, along with various fresh pastries, and invites its customers to suggest a flavor...and if chosen, you may win a free pint! Go here to submit your gelato and/or sorbeto suggestion.

I was happy to introduce my hubby at the way to enjoy eating ice-cream without having to hop on a plane and go to Mexico or Europe. While my hubby was incredibly smitten with all the yummy flavors Gelateria Uli has painstakingly created for our enjoyment.

Gelateria Uli

541 Spring St., Suite 104

Downtown Los Angeles

(213) 900-4717

Hours: 
M-WED: 11:30am-10:00pm
TH-SAT: 11:30am-11:00pmSUN: 11:30am-9:00pm

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Do let me know if you stop by Uli Gelateria - I would love to hear about your experience in enjoying a gelato the way I grew up enjoying ice cream!

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