LOS ANGELES Friends founder Emmely Avila, top left, with Mary Delgado. Above, Frankie Osorio, left, Sabrina Sandoval and Oscar Alba. I N THE SPRAWLING metropolis of Los Angeles, home to nearly 4 million people, making friends is no easy feat. Especially if you’re an adult. Research shows that people over 21 are more likely to face extra hurdles in forming friendships. The building blocks — time, proximity and scheduled opportunities to socialize — are harder to come by when juggling all the responsibilities that come with building a life. ¶ But on a Saturday afternoon in late March, more than 200 adults are packed into the back patio of a Culver City yoga studio in an attempt to beat the odds. ¶ Inside the studio, an open bar serves drinks. Outside, the air is filled with the smoky aroma of sizzling carne asada. A DJ is playing a remix of TLC’s “No Scrubs.” Some people chat in threes and fours, balancing paper plates of tacos and cocktails. Others gather around a giant Jenga tower, which is balanced precipitously on a picnic table. ¶ It’s everyone’s first time meeting, but they’ve learned each other’s names with the help of the name tags stuck to their shirts. Someone pulls a critical block loose and people snatch their drinks out of the way as the Jenga tower tumbles. A few wander off, but most stay to pick up the pieces and rebuild. A new game starts. ¶ This is just one of many icebreakers at the one-year “friendiversary” of Los Angeles Friends, a growing cohort of native Angelenos and recent transplants searching for deeper connections in L.A. A YEARNING FOR CONNECTION Emmely Avila, 27, created the group last year in an effort to make friends. She had recently returned to the city with the hope of curing the loneliness she’d felt living in Atlanta, where the only people she knew were her boyfriend and his pals. But she found the feeling harder to shake than she expected. “I came home thinking things would pick up where they left off, but that wasn’t the case,” Avila said. In the six years since she had left for college, many of her childhood friends had moved away. She’d grown distant from those who remained and working remotely made it difficult to meet people. Once again, Avila found herself in need of community. At first, Avila tried the friend-making app Bumble for Friends. But her conversations never made it off her phone. One day in early February 2023, she took to TikTok to express her frustration. “I’m kind of lonely because my friends don’t live in Los Angeles and so I figured why not turn to TikTok and see if there are other people who feel like me,” Avila said in her TikTok video. “If you also live in Los Angeles and if you’re a little lonely and you want to meet friends or just meet people in general, let me know. I’ll put something together.” To Avila’s surprise, 157 people commented. Their answer was a resounding yes. BRINGING THE FEED TO LIFE It was the push she needed. That month, Avila started Los Angeles Friends and soon after announced the group’s first meetup in Elysian Park on TikTok. The video for that announcement got even more attention, receiving over 4,000 likes and 400 comments. But Avila still worried no one would come — rain was forecast for the day of the first event. Nevertheless, 45 people showed up. As they mingled, it became clear that many attendees were out of their comfort zone. “It was very awkward at first,” said Avila. “But I think we were able to overcome that because everyone felt awkward. So we just started asking each other trivia questions to get people to open up.” She said that, even after the event had technically ended, people didn’t want to leave. So about 30 of them went to Golden Road Brewery to hang out for a few more hours. After that, the group took off. The monthly park meetups grew to 90 attendees, then 150. Avila started a Discord server, and people began using it to chat online and organize their own outings. While the official LAF events continue to take place monthly, people fill the time in between with dinners, trips to a local botanical garden and beach bonfires. FROM ACQUAINTANCES TO BESTIES A year in, many in the group have found real, lasting connections, some even best friends — including Avila herself. She met Mary Delgado, 31, at an LAF event in Echo Park, which kicked off what they both describe as a “slow-burn” friendship. In early summer 2023, a couple of months after Delgado joined LAF, the two began chatting on Instagram. Discussion of the bestselling romantasy “A Court of Thorns and Roses” quickly turned into talk about their summers, jobs and Avila’s vision for LAF. At the next group event, a ’90s-themed soiree, Delgado and Avila spent two hours catching up at the bar. That August, when she joined Avila on her birthday to celebrate, Delgado said she realized Avila had become one of her closest friends. “Every time her and I talked, it felt like someone I’ve known my entire life,” Delgado said, her voice shaking. “Sorry, I get a little emotional because I really love Emmely. She’s very special to me.” Their friendship was cemented in early fall when Avila’s father died unexpectedly. Delgado kept her company. They ate together, walked Avila’s pug and golden retriever and grieved. “She validated a lot of my feelings because she had also felt them before with the loss of her parent,” Avila said. “We cried with each other while she was telling me about her parent and I was speaking about mine.” In the months since, they have only grown closer. “I feel like she’s my family,” Avila said. “And I just feel lucky and grateful that my TikTok video popped up on her For You page, and that she was interested and that she took a shot on the community. I feel like I hit the lottery friendship-wise.” SHARED INTERESTS, SHARED LIVES Avila isn’t the only one who built a community from LAF. Frankie Osorio, 24, Oscar Alba, 31, and Sabrina Sandoval, 29, joined LAF in search of new friends. Last spring, after meeting each other individually at various LAF events, the three connected on Discord. Osorio said they bonded over their shared music taste and cynical, sarcastic humor. By summer, their friendship had left the chat. The trio attended EDM concerts together and spent nights bar-hopping across the city. At events, people would stop Osorio and Alba to ask if they’re brothers. It happened often enough that the friends decided to play along. Now all three of them tell people they’re siblings. “At this point we’ve even tried coming up with a last name,” Sandoval said. “They’re my brothers. It really feels like they’re my brothers. “ Over the past few months, the trio has attended raves together, supported one another through breakups and celebrated New Year’s on a ski trip in Utah. Last weekend, Alba surprised Osorio and Sandoval with floor tickets to see Excision, a Canadian DJ and EDM producer, in concert. Next up on their calendar is a Tiësto and Illenium show for Sandoval’s birthday in July. Music also connected selfproclaimed best friends Lili Jacob, 27, Eliana Mata, 34, and Erika Bernal, 33. Their love for musician Peso Pluma sealed their bond. And when they got to talking, they realized they had a lot more in common than that. Each of them was going through a life transition and had joined LAF looking to put themselves out there and form new friendships. Like Osorio, Alba and Sandoval, the three women met separately on Discord and at various events before Bernal formed a group chat to unite their individual friendships. Now, Jacob and Bernal are roommates and Mata lives just five minutes away. “People will say, ‘If you invite one, the other two will come.’ That is how tight-knit we are,” Jacob said. “I’ve heard people say, ‘They’re a package deal.’ I mean, you’re not wrong.” Since becoming close friends, the three do everything together — Halloween costumes, college traditions, eating fistfuls of grapes on New Year’s for good luck. They’ve made some of their core memories in the mosh pits of emo concerts across the city. Sprained ankles haven’t deterred them yet. “I cannot imagine going through big things in life without having them,” Jacob said. “I am so grateful to have them as my closest friends.” Sometimes, Jacob, Mata and Bernal remember that they met through meetups inspired by a single TikTok and laugh. “I was just thinking of a comment Lili made after we moved in. We’d settled in a bit and then one day she was like, ‘Do you ever just trip out how we just met online and then moved in together?’” Bernal said. POWER IN VULNERABILITY Asked what in particular helped them connect through LAF, all eight echoed one another’s advice: Put yourself out there, even when it’s uncomfortable. Start with the smaller meetups. Join a Jenga game to break the ice. Be active on the LAF Discord. “People are afraid of the unknown, but sometimes that unknown is the best choice for you,” Sandoval said. “You don’t know what’s going to be at the end of that, but you just have to [not] be scared and put yourself out there. There’s going to be people you might not mix with and then there’s going to be people that you do mix with, but that’s just the beauty of it.” The future looks bright for LAF. The group has held at a steady attendance of about 150 people, and Avila notices new faces each month. As it continues to grow, Avila has plans to expand the official events. While the monthly park meetups will remain a staple, she will introduce ticketed events to give people other ways to connect. Some in the works include a group yoga class and a night at a local bar. Reflecting on the past year, Avila said she can’t imagine where she’d be without the LAF community. “I know I’ve made my best friend and I know that people here have made their best friends,” Avila said. “It’s honestly like the best thing that I can witness this thing that I started randomly on a Wednesday works and people have found me.” LONELY IN L.A., SHE TURNED TO TIKTOK EMMELY AVILA DISCOVERED SHE WASN’T ALONE AFTER ALL. HUNDREDS HAVE JOINED LOS ANGELES FRIENDS IN SEARCH OF CONNECTION. BY CLAIRE O’CALLAHAN Dania Maxwell Los Angeles Times Wally Skalij Los Angeles LATIMES.COM SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 L5
L6 SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 LATIMES.COM HERE’S STILL MAGIC in Topanga Canyon. ¶ The fabled mountain community famed for its bohemian sentimentality and artistic mythos has, for decades, garnered a reputation as L.A.’s funky, hippie, commune-happy enclave that bridges Woodland Hills and Pacific Coast Highway. The notoriety is wellearned. A restorative drive through the canyon’s roughly 20-mile main road reveals art installations, roadside vendors and sun-dappled oak trees through twists and turns and vistas each more scenic than the last. It’s a drive worth making, especially now. ¶ After a particularly rainy season, multiple mudslides have blocked Topanga Canyon’s entry from PCH for more than a month. Shops, restaurants and other businesses that depend on visitors are struggling, with access more or less limited to Route 27’s northern entrance, in Woodland Hills. ¶ It’s a great time to explore the canyon and support its tight-knit community and natural beauty. According to linguist, author and Native American language specialist William Bright, the Tongva tribe, who originally occupied the land, named the canyon, though he could not provide a translation. Multiple scholars have speculated it could mean “a place above” — fitting for a region that, on overcast days, can feel above the clouds, its mountains peeking out just over them. During Hollywood’s Golden Age, some of the world’s most famous stars commissioned homes in the canyon, using Topanga as a weekend getaway. Will Geer and Woody Guthrie created an artists commune that blossomed into a beloved theatrical stage. Neil Young famously recorded “After the Gold Rush” at his home there, and countless other musicians of the 1960s, ’70s and beyond — including Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, Marvin Gaye and Colin Hay — have looked to Topanga for inspiration, if not a place to dwell. It’s seen darkness too, including the Manson Family murder of Gary Hinman in 1969. Accusations of healers and spiritualists veering into cult leadership. A collection of burned-out ruins that could have housed a commune of Nazi sympathizers. Topanga’s juxtaposition of light and dark only adds to the mystique and the mythos of one of L.A.’s most scenic locales. But its intrigue and popularity, as well as its location, could have contributed to making the enclave more inaccessible. In many ways, like much of Los Angeles, the canyon’s demographics have shifted and metamorphosed in recent history. What was in decades past a mix of homes and ranches accessible for musicians, visual artists, actors and other creatives of varying levels of success and fame has gradually set an increasingly high bar for financial entry. Luxury homes have begun to replace some of its more humble abodes on the cliffsides, and luxury cars line the boulevard. “Before, people didn’t have fences,” said Patrice Winter, a Topanga resident of more than 50 years and the community fixture behind the Canyon Bakery. “They minded their own business and were neighborly at the same time. In the late ’80s they started building fences, and then the war of how high the fence could be had begun, and that was the change. That’s when I started to notice, ‘You know what? There are people here who think they can move up here into a community and block themselves off because they need peace, and they don’t want to know who their neighbor is.’” Still, in many ways, the canyon remains the same, in part due to Winter and other locals keeping the community spirit alive. In spring, locals and visitors flock to the community center’s sprawling annual fundraiser, Topanga Days, where the music of live bands floats through the air. In fall, roughly two dozen films from residents, indie talent, up-and-coming directors and more screen in the canyon during the annual Topanga Film Festival. Shop owners and restaurants often can be found collaborating with one another and hosting independent artists with gallery shows and live music nights. Earlier this year, a pair of longtime residents revitalized the Topanga Farmers Market to help showcase local vendors and revive the weekly event, which had gone dormant for nearly six years. When it returned in early March, the buzz was palpable; it hosted nearly 40 vendors, many of which sold out of their goods entirely. Topanga’s neighborly mindset also prompts residents to band together to raise awareness for efforts and fundraisers, and regularly use whatever platforms they possess to spread the word about businesses adversely affected by natural disasters and other misfortunes — especially in the wake of the recent mudslides and road blockages. Despite its changes, modernday Topanga Canyon is just as full of whimsy, beauty and neighborly love as it ever was. Here are just a few ways to explore its bakers, artists, yoga studios, restaurants and shop owners — with a few suggestions on how to bring a bit of the Topanga spirit home with you. Start your day with some swells at Topanga Beach One of L.A.’s most sought-after surf spots can be found at the mouth of Topanga Canyon along PCH, lined with palms and other greenery, and brimming with surfers, yogis, sunbathers and divers. For more than half a century, Topanga Beach has proved one of the region’s best surf locales, due in no small part to its point break and more than a mile of coastline. Start your day with some sunrise swells, and the earlier, the better — especially if you’re trying to avoid crowds. With so much demand for the beach, ocean traffic can lead to unwanted drop-ins and territorial spats. Though Topanga Beach’s famous locals-only vibe has receded somewhat in recent years, it’s best to brush up on surf etiquette and defer to the lifers, especially if you’re a beginner surfer. The waves here are most fitting for the intermediate to advanced crowd, but even if you’re not grabbing a board, this beach is a killer spot to lay out on a blanket and catch the sunrise before heading into the canyon. l18700 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, beaches.lacounty.gov /topanga-beach Sip a latte on the mountainside patio of Topanga Living Cafe One of Topanga’s most popular cafes is nestled against the base of a large rockside, making for a scenic place to sip. Fans head to Topanga Living Cafe for its rainbow of fresh smoothies, all-day breakfasts and a rotation of pastries and skillet quiches in the bakery case, though the space also serves as a community center with local art on display as well as a small market for Topanga- and L.A.- made home goods. Peruse the cookies, cinnamon buns, scones, muffins, tartines and other specials in the glass case, or opt for the likes of falafel pita sandwiches with mint tahini, squash tacos topped with curry-vinaigrette slaw or fluffy-egged breakfast burritos — especially with a smoothie, matcha latte, housemade lemonade or any classic espresso concoction. While awaiting your order, note the art and shop the wares such as sage bundles, bags of coffee beans, locally grown honey, tea blends, seasonal jams and bath bombs, then head to the patio for a tranquil space to enjoy the primarily local, organic fare, which often arrives garnished with edible flowers. l1704 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 455-9888, topangalivingcafe.com Sample the local flavors of rustic pastries at the Canyon Bakery The typical draw at Topanga’s famous amphitheater is live performance, but on Sunday mornings it’s the array of Patrice Winter’s baked goods pulled fresh from her tiny oven. Beginning at 9 a.m. the longtime Topanga resident operates her bakery from a small wooden structure on the grounds of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, turning out morning buns, tarts, cookies, croissants, loaves of bread, bagels and pies made from heirloom grains, which she mills on-site, and a sourdough starter made from yeast that she cultivated from canyon grapes roughly 50 years ago. Rustic, hearty and filled with local produce, Winter’s pastries are worth the drive into the canyon alone, and every weekend her customers include travelers, locals, families and even pets who stop by to catch up with the baker and her husband and business partner, Dave Winter. They order at the window, then head to the theater’s picnic benches to enjoy the treats. Can’t make it to the theater on Sunday mornings? The Canyon Bakery also can be found vending at the recently relaunched Topanga Farmers Market on Fridays, but get there early — these sweets disappear fast. l1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 650-6475, thecanyonbakery.com Score funky vintage finds at Hidden Treasures Part Topanga institution, part roadside attraction, Hidden Treasures is a colorful vintage mecca. Step through the entrance — located just under a skeleton pirate manning a wooden ship’s helm on the front balcony — and enter a kaleidoscopic maze of clothing racks, film props, a blacklight room, antique mannequins, disco balls and a large diving suit beneath a shark and an octopus. It’s been this way for decades. Darrell Hazen began his operation as a canyon pop-up stand, which grew to a bricksand-mortar in the late 1980s. In 1993 it moved to its current location along the edge of the Pine Tree Circle shopping center and became the weird and wonderful destination it is today. Fringe leather jackets mingle with 1960s Hawaiian shirts, while ’30s hats, ’50s dressing robes and ’80s evening gowns provide another way to time travel through styles of yore. All items are hand-picked (some date as far back as the Victorian era), with accessories, knick-knacks and occasional home goods tucked into every crevice imaginable. Plan to spend some time here — there’s a lot to take in, and a lot you’ll probably want to take home. Silvia Rázgová For The Times Silvia Rázgová For The Times Topanga Canyon is just magical EXPLORE THE BOHO CANYON COMMUNITY FILLED WITH ART, RESTAURANTS, NATURE BY STEPHANIE BREIJO Mariah Tauger Los Angeles Times Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now. Read all the guides at latimes.com/the-place. What’s included in this guide Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we included gems that may linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.
INN OF THE Seventh Ray, clockwise from top left; Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum; lunch at Reel Inn; shopping at Hidden Treasures; Topanga Farmers Market; the Well Refill; Canyon Bakery; Aimee Strauss at Ethereal Yoga. LATIMES.COM SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 L7 l154 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 455-2998, hidden treasurestopanga.com Shop the canyon’s bounty at the Topanga Farmers Market When the canyon’s farmers market closed its stalls in 2018 due to lack of vendors, the community wasn’t sure it would ever return. In March, it finally did under new management and with dozens of new participants. On Fridays, the split levels of the Topanga Community Center parking lot are abuzz with roughly 40 vendors: There are locally made candles, scented oils, clothes and every crystal imaginable, plus produce from local farms, specialty ingredients such as vegan cheese and frozen curry pastes made in the canyon, freshly baked pastries and prepared foods to nosh while you stroll. Look for stands such as Eli’s Bee Co., which sells Topangagrown honey and pollen, and Aquifer Gardens, which farms fresh herbs, tomatoes, vegetables, citrus and other fruit trees on 8 acres nearby. Keep your eyes peeled for holiday pop-ups, a focus on sustainable and regenerative practices, and special programming such as workshops and live demos. Here some of the region’s most recognizable farms join up-andcomers and hyper-local sellers for a standout blend of vendors, against the backdrop of the Santa Monica Mountains. l1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, topanga farmersmarket.com Eat in the trees at Cafe on 27 There’s almost no patio more picturesque in all of Los Angeles. Spread across multiple levels on a cliffside, under verdant trees, Cafe on 27’s views can’t be beat. This, of course, is far from a secret — especially on weekends, when wait times run long and cars line the boulevard for parking, their drivers hoping for a meal and a few photos. Posing for social media is de rigueur at this American restaurant and cafe, which features almost entirely outdoor seating and dishes such as churro chai pancakes, avocado toasts, vegan club sandwiches, brunchy kofta tagines, steak sandwiches and cauliflower pizza. The best bet is to head to this morning-toafternoon cafe on a weekday and order a meal and a specialty coffee drink, then connect to the Wi-Fi for a treehouse-like remote office with far less mayhem than on weekends. A tandem shop, called what else but Shop on 27, sells incense, hats, jewelry and other trinkets should you want a souvenir from the visit. l1861 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (424) 272-7267, cafe-27 .com Catch an alfresco show at the storied Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum There’s something magical about the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. The amphitheater founded by the actor-musiciansocial activist has captivated the region for more than half a century and provided a haven for the arts, hidden among the trees. Shakespeare is a focus here, where the grounds are planted with vegetation named in the bard’s works, and multiple Shakespeare plays are included in each repertory season. Original works also are produced, as are live musical and improv performances, and the grounds host family-friendly events such as holiday fairs. Given its founder and its early days as an artists commune, the Theatricum Botanicum is heavily communityminded, hosting fundraisers, workshops, youth classes and the Shakespeare-themed “pay what you Will” nights. The theater also honors its founder’s friendship with and legacy of folk hero Woody Guthrie, who for a time lived on the premises; the team is working to build the Shelter, a Guthrie/Geer archive on-site. Geer’s daughter Ellen serves as the artistic director, and his granddaughter Willow participates in acting and directing, keeping the family’s legacy alive and thriving in the canyon. l1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 455-3723, theatricum.com Find your flow at Ethereal Yoga Given the naturalistic history and hippie notoriety of Topanga, the canyon is unsurprisingly home to a range of yoga practices — indoor, outdoor, private, public. At Ethereal Yoga, one of the area’s premier studios, the class size is intimate and the mood is relaxed, whether you opt for the brisk clip of vinyasa flows or the slower pace of a candlelit yin class. Guests slip off their shoes as they enter one of the most tranquil storefronts in the Pine Tree Circle shopping center, and they span demographics; that’s part of the design of Ethereal Yoga, which offers classes for all levels and age groups, such as a flow for older practitioners called Elder Not Elderly. Those looking to recenter without yoga can try meditation tea ceremonies, therapeutic breathwork and sound baths. l120 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 105, Topanga, ethereal yogastudio.com Seek out the pizza, natural wines and record shop of Endless Color When a new-wave pizzeria and wine bar opened in the former home of Topanga’s generationally beloved Rocco’s, more than a few eyebrows were raised. But it didn’t take long for Endless Color to prove itself a new pizza institution and a destination for those living across L.A., with fermenteddough pizzas, tender meatballs and piles of seasonal salad beckoning from a corner of Topanga Center Plaza. An overhaul of the space added funky wallpaper, sleek concrete furnishings, splashes of color, wavy light fixtures and rows of vinyl records, which, along with the Cal-Italian cuisine and bottles of natural wine, are also for sale. During the day, guests enjoy a pared-down menu of small plates, meatball subs, calzones, chopped salads and 6-inch pizzas, with plenty of kids and pups in sight on the patio. In the evening, the bulb lights flip on, the mirror balls glisten and occasional live music sets the scene for a broader menu of larger pizzas featuring seasonal produce and luxe toppings; starters such as roast sunchokes with cashew cream or crab salad lettuce wraps; pastas tossed with canyon ingredients like locally grown chanterelles; and entrées like whole fried branzino in aji verde. l123 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 752-6409, endless colortopanga.com Browse one-of-a-kind home goods — from local to global — at Kinship Station Kinship Station is a stylish treasure trove. The Pine Tree Circle boutique that fills a former auto shop boasts some of Topanga’s most well-curated knick-knacks, home items, jewelries and other curiosities, which owner Hediyeh Nikbakht collects and sources from locales as local as the canyon and as far-flung as Australia, Brazil, London, Papua New Guinea and Guadalajara. Find a dizzying array of incense bundles, bath soaks, natural soaps, tinctures, candles and body oils meant to calm or energize, while items for the home — such as handmade ceramics, woven baskets, stained-glass trinkets, brass bowls and heavy, glossy wooden cutting boards — are always in view somewhere, beckoning. The racks of artisanal shawls and leather goods are just as enticing as the cases glowing with gold and gemdotted necklaces, rings, studs and bracelets. Nikbakht keeps in mind sustainable practices and a fair-trade ecosystem, and she rotates the wares frequently, so drop by often to browse something new on nearly every visit. l106 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 455-3797, kinship stationstore.com Tap into the sustainability mindset at the Well Refill One of the signature tenets of Topanga living is an embrace of nature and the world around you, and one of the canyon’s favorite shops makes it easy to bring that practice home even if you’re heading back through the hills at the end of the day. At the Well Refill, owner Hayley Magrini offers more than 100 products — soaps, body oils, cleaning supplies and lotions — without plastic packaging, meant to be filled and refilled in reusable containers. Simply bring your own sealable jars — even old, used containers you’re giving new life — or pick one up at the shop and peruse the rows and jugs to choose from. There are mouthwashes, hair detangling sprays, dish soaps, baby shampoos, algae face masks, laundry detergents, Epsom salts and more, most priced by the ounce, and all meant to promote a nontoxic and low-waste lifestyle. The Well Refill’s no- to low-waste mission extends to its nonrefillable products, with home items such as reusable beeswax food wrappers, coconut-husk dish scrubbers, vintage clothing, reusable straws, reusable cotton coffee filters and tea strainers and reusable fabric dish covers. l120 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 100, Topanga, (310) 455- 3955, thewellrefill.com Have a romantic creekside dinner at Inn of the Seventh Ray There are few restaurants more romantic in all of L.A. Trellises, hanging lanterns, a gazebo and twinkling lights set the scene for a meal at Inn of the Seventh Ray, a rustic culinary destination tucked alongside a creek. Husband-and-wife Ralph and Lucile Yaney opened the restaurant in the early 1970s and still maintain their dietetic bent: Organic goods, whole grains, seasonal produce, linecaught seafood and grass-fed meats are all but expected now, but they’ve been the practice for decades at Topanga’s most famous restaurant. Look for items such as house-made gnocchetti with sunflower pesto; seared scallops with lemongrass emulsion; roasted mushroom tartine with sherry and tarragon cream; and, at brunch, vegan and omnivorous all-you-can-eat buffets plus a la carte items like brown rice breakfast bowls and duckbacon omelets. Don’t be surprised to see weddings, proposals and other major life events being celebrated on the grounds — it’s a transportive, special place, and a popular one. l128 Old Topanga Canyon Road, Topanga, (310) 455-1311, innoftheseventhray.com Bring home a taste of Topanga from Canyon Gourmet Built as a specialty foods shop for the local community, Canyon Gourmet has become a must-visit for anyone passing through, stocking some of the best wines, condiments, charcuterie, pastries and cheese from as near as Topanga itself to the far reaches of the globe. Peruse the rows of tinned fish, jars of local honey, bags of dried pastas, bottles of salsas and marinades and packs of fresh, heirloom-grain tortillas as you wonder what to make for dinner this week. If you still can’t decide, turn your attention to the cold cases filled with pasture-raised meats, charcuterie and cheese, plus readymade spreads and other items from L.A. icons like Gjusta. In the produce case are small mountains of tomatoes and foraged chanterelles, plus a color wheel of chicories. At the front counter? Freshly baked boules and croissants. Owner Peter Michael Kagan methodically sources his produce and bouquets from local growers and makes multiple trips to the Santa Monica Farmers Market each week, toting his best finds up to the Topanga store. This is the place to find a new favorite local product. l120 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, (310) 455-4200, canyongourmet.com Find shopping scores on the side of the road For all its new stores, restaurants, studios and galleries, a few of Topanga’s most memorable items and experiences can be had on the narrow shoulders and curves of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The bohemian, homespun ethos is alive and well with Topanga’s roadside vendors, who are keeping a century-old practice alive in the canyon whenever and wherever they set up stalls, clothing racks and tables along Route 27. Be on the lookout for roadside stands selling fresh fruit, vintage clothes, crystals and homemade items such as Tiffany’s Torcher Hot Sauce, which owner Dale Tiffany sells out of the back of his Kia on Sundays. The all-natural, sugar-free sauces sprouted from necessity, with Tiffany planting hot peppers throughout his Topanga garden to ward off pests. Ever since his first crop from 2009, he’s been turning these peppers into complex, searing and hyper-local hot sauce. What’s more, with every purchase Tiffany donates 10 meals to those in need via the nonprofit Feeding America. l (310) 663-4609, torcherhotsauce .com Customize your fish dinner at the Reel Inn Malibu is no stranger to roadside seafood shacks, but at the mouth of Topanga Canyon you’ll find one that’s especially fun and funky. Colorful Christmas lights drape from the ceiling and a mishmash of marine bric-a-brac adorns the walls at this PCH fixture, a beloved haunt since 1986. The Reel Inn specializes in customizable fish meals, where customers peruse the case, pick their fillets and then decide how they’d like the fish cooked: blackened, grilled or sautéed, and with choice of side. Fried oysters, steamed clams, fish tacos, crab cakes, pitchers of beer — it’s all fresh and on offer, with the catch of the day scrawled on a chalkboard alongside desserts, soju cocktails and whatever’s on draft. Grab some mussels, fish and chips, raw oysters, shrimp pasta, calamari, a crab cake sandwich or any other of the classic seafood offerings and take a seat at any of the redand-white-checkered tables — ideally the wooden booths near the windows to watch the surfers and the cars go by. l18661 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, (310) 456-8221, reelinn malibu.com Pick up heaped-high sandwiches and cannoli at Cricca’s Italian Deli If you’re leaving Topanga and heading toward the San Fernando Valley — or looking to load up on food before a canyon hike or a day at the beach — there’s almost no better stop than Cricca’s. A Woodland Hills staple since 1969, this Italian deli serves some of the region’s best and biggest subs. Enter the small storefront tucked into a strip mall at the base of the canyon and you’ll come face to face with the sprawling menu of sandwiches: more than 30 classic cold subs, nearly three dozen hot subs and panini, a range of salads and antipasti and, of course, the Cricca’s specialty, the gargantuan “Super Subs.” Owners Kevin and Marla McHenry do classics right — their Italian sub is one of the best in L.A. — but their spins on stalwarts such as their No. 1 seller, the Godfather, which adds roast beef and turkey to the usual Italian-meat lineup, are worth a detour from the usual deli suspects. Perhaps best of all is their meatball sub, with plump, soft meatballs the size of lemons made fresh every morning and simmered in a house red sauce. It’s all ladled into garlic bread and oozing mozzarella. One large sub is ample for two, but don’t skip the deli case of freshly made cannoli, nor the rows of chips, cookies, seltzers and teas — everything you need for a pre- or post-canyon activity. l 4876 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818) 340-0515, criccasitaliandeli.com Christopher Reynolds Los Angeles Times Silvia Rázgová For The Times Stephanie Breijo Los Angeles Times Silvia Rázgová For The Times Stephanie Breijo Los Angeles Times Scan this QR code for more things to do in Topanga Canyon.
Catherine Dzilenski For The Times ALBÓNDIGAS from Briseño-González. LONG BEACH, CA - APRIL 11: Paola Briseno Gonzalez’s Caldo de Albondigas de Camaron on Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Long Beach, CA. (Catherine Dzilenski / For The Times) M EATBALLS don’t always have to be meat. Along the Mexican coast, you can find brighter variations of meatballs made with ground fish and shrimp that shatter your expectations of what albóndigas can be. In Playas de Tijuana, where the border wall delineates the westernmost borough of Tijuana from Imperial Beach and San Diego, you can find a puesto dedicated to shrimp meatballs. At Albóndigas de Camarón Las Originales, chef and owner Miguelina Carrillo, originally from Sinaloa, serves her shrimp meatballs in broth or crisped up on the plancha with melted cheese stuffed into tortillas. You can add as many spoonfuls of her salsa macha, minced cabbage and thinly sliced red onion as you like. Hit it with a squeeze of the kind of ripe yellow juicy limes you find all over Mexico for some of the best eating you’ve done in the street. In Punta Mita, at a tiny restaurant in a gas station called Makai located across from La Lancha, one of the last-standing public beaches left in Nayarit, chef Sebastian Renner starts with albóndigas de camarón that are impossibly airy and tender. He then sears them until golden brown in spots and serves them over a velvety romesco made with dried chiles. They’re drizzled with a variation of a salsa macha called salsa mulata, where the chiles and nuts are finely ground with tiny dried shrimp, adding a layer of intense umami to the dish. Inspired by these sublime coastal takes, I make a version that turns albóndigas into a weeknight dinner, and it takes less than one hour to make. The secret? Some of the shrimp is finely chipped into a paste with onion and garlic to act as a binder when mixed with big chunks of shrimp, offering a range of bouncy, fluffy and tender textures. The breadcrumbs combined with the other ingredients help the albóndigas retain moisture. There is plenty of cilantro in the mixture for fresh, herby flavors. I skipped browning the meatballs and poached them instead in a broth of Sungold tomatoes. It’s not quite peak tomato season, but Sungolds and cherry tomatoes are there for you with their reliable concentrated flavor that some of the big tomatoes are still lacking this early in the year. Have other tender veggies on hand? How about some green beans and peas? Toss them in; they will keep tender and punch up the spring flavors. When the vegetables are tender, the albóndigas are gently poached in the broth for just a few minutes, bringing all of their flavor to the soup. Top with cabbage, cilantro, onions and a squeeze of lime. Then make some guacamole on the side with warm corn tortillas for dunking into the broth. Spring is calling. Photographs by Catherine Dzilenski For The Times COASTAL MEXICO’S MEATBALL DELIGHT SHRIMP ALBÓNDIGAS IN A TOMATO-Y BROTH WITH PLENTY OF FRESH CILANTRO TAKE THE DISH TO ANOTHER LEVEL. BY PAOLA BRISEÑO-GONZALEZ L8 SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 LATIMES.COM Brothy Shrimp Meatballs With Sungold Tomatoes 55 minutes (plus 30 minutes resting time). Serves 4 to 6. These meatballs are tender, fluffy and bouncy, made with shrimp instead of meat, inspired by bright variations found in coastal Mexico. The albóndigas de camarón are gently poached in a broth made with tangy Sungold tomatoes and a handful of chopped cilantro for its fresh herbal flavor. Ladle the brothy shrimp meatballs into bowls and serve with sliced cabbage, cilantro, red onion and limes. ALBÓNDIGAS DE CAMARÓN 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped Kosher salt 1 large egg 1⁄4 cup chopped cilantro (leaves and stems) 1⁄4 cup panko breadcrumbs Freshly ground black pepper SUNGOLD TOMATO CALDO 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral oil 1 small yellow onion, minced Kosher salt 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons double-concentrate tomato paste 1 pint Sungold or cherry tomatoes 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile en adobo 2 bay leaves 1⁄2 small head of cabbage, sliced, for serving 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro, for serving 1⁄2 medium red onion, thinly sliced, for serving 2 limes, sliced, for serving 1 Chop the shrimp into 1-inch pieces. Add ½ cup chopped shrimp into a food processor along with the garlic, onion and ½ teaspoon salt. Pulse until finely chopped but you can still make out the shrimp (10 to 15 times). Add egg and pulse twice to combine. 2 Combine the shrimp mixture with the remaining chopped shrimp, cilantro, panko, ¾ teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Mix with a silicone spatula until well combined; the mixture will feel a little sticky and wet. Using a medium ice cream scooper or a quarter-cup measuring cup, shape into 16 to 18 meatballs, about the size of a lime, with your hands. Place them on a medium baking sheet, and place in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes. 3 Meanwhile, heat oil in a large stockpot over medium low. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt; cook until softened, stirring often so the onion doesn’t brown, five minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, two minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until slightly darkened in color, two minutes. Add tomatoes, chipotle, 1teaspoon salt, 6 cups water and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, stirring until most of the tomatoes soften and start to burst, 10 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. 4 Working in two batches, gently drop the albóndigas into the broth and return to a simmer; cook until they firm up and turn white and opaque, and they reach an internal temperature of 125 degrees (they will continue to cook, reaching 145 degrees due to carryover heat), about four to five minutes. Remove the albóndigas to a bowl, cook the second batch, then return all albóndigas to the broth. 5 Ladle three or four albóndigas and broth into each of four to six shallow bowls. Top with cabbage, cilantro and onion; serve with lime wedges on the side. You can make the albóndigas ahead and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Heat them in the broth right before serving. L ATELY I’ve been reconnecting to my sense of smell, thanks to “Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor” by Arielle Johnson, a food scientist who helped establish the fermentation lab at the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen and has advised some of the top chefs in the world. For several years I studied perfumery because I love, as Johnson puts it, “the deep paying attention” to the way things smell. Johnson apparently loves it too. Smell — our most underrated, underappreciated sense — has everything to do with the way we experience flavor. What we taste refers to salty, sour, sweet, bitter and umami — that’s it, that’s all our tongue has receptors for. “Just about everything else is smell,” Johnson writes. The grassiness of herbs, the anisic notes of fennel, the marine flavors of seaweed, the tropicalness of pineapple ... these come from molecules translated by our scent receptors. “Tastes are single sensations,” Johnson says, “and only a few types of molecules can cause each one.” Meanwhile, I know that “smells are multidimensional sensations” created by a world of volatile molecules, because many of these were parsed in perfumery school — eugenol in cloves, linalool in lavender, gamma-decalactone in peaches. These are the building blocks of patterns in flavor. And these patterns ultimately make up a big part of cooking. Johnson organizes the building blocks into categories — her main ones are fruity, herbal, spiced, meaty and vegetal, each further broken down into subcategories. It’s a deep dive. There’s a lot to read in “Flavorama” about decoding “taste plus smell equals flavor” and the fact that “flavor is molecules,” and it’s all fascinating, but what about the recipes? Johnson wrote nearly 100 recipes, scattered throughout the book as practical lessons. They’re the best kinds of recipes: a handful of ingredients, easy instructions and huge payoff in flavor. They’re written in paragraph form with boldfaced ingredients labeled within the instructions. Here’s an example. From the section “Sour” in “Chapter 3: The Five(ish) Tastes,” I made Sour Orange-Marinated Pork Shoulder, Adapted to Sour Orangeless Circumstances. “To make faux sour orange juice, mix ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice with ¼ cup (60 ml) lime juice. “In a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, combine 6 garlic cloves, ½ cup (120 ml) faux sour orange juice, ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil, 1½ teaspoons (9g) salt and ½ cup (20 g) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves. If it’s too thick, add abit more oil — you want it to be the texture of soft mud, not entirely liquid. “Rub the paste all over a 2- to 4-pound (1 to 2 kg) boneless pork shoulder. Marinate in the fridge overnight, then cook in a Dutch oven with a heavy, tightfitting lid at 250 degrees for 4 to 6 hours, or until very tender. Serve immediately. Serves 3 to 6.” For one, I appreciate the substitute here for the juice of sour oranges, which are hard to come by (maybe we’ll write about that when the next sour orange season rolls around). Two, the flavor of sour orange (or faux sour orange) juice plus cilantro plus garlic is so pow! And three, my kitchen never smelled better. This story is excerpted from the L.A. Times Cooking newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox at latimes.com/newsletters. ARIELLE JOHNSON worked with René Redzepi at Noma Projects. Harvest SECRET TO FLAVOR IS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE BY BETTY HALLOCK
ery, and then manages the bakery’s social media when she gets home. The Korean minimalist cake trend has jumped beyond Korean bakers to bakers of Asian heritage — especially in Los Angeles. Domi, a pop-up bakery owned by pastry chefs Evelyn Ling and Joe Cheng Reed, also makes charming minimalist bento cakes in Asianinspired flavors, something the pair added to their menu during the pandemic. “My sister called me and begged for me to make them so she could gift them to her friends,” says Ling, who is Chinese American. The small cakes, decorated in a minimalist style, quickly took off as celebrations also became smaller. Kylie Miyamoto, the Japanese American baker who opened the Tustin-based online cake shop Kymoto Co. in 2021, BAKER Ellie You spent years perfecting the look of her Koreatown bakery, Harucake, and its recipes. The viral sensation is known for unusual flavors in its “not too sweet” cakes, a key trait of Asian baked goods. LLIE YOU spent years dreaming up the Harucake universe, down to the color of the walls — the same soft, faint yellow as butter that has been creamed for hours. The bakery walls were painted three times to get the color exactly right. ¶ You’s vision for her Koreatown bakery was so clear that she didn’t need to hire an architect. She was meticulous about what she wanted: the chic, large glass front doors, a photo booth near the entrance that prints customers’ happy images on stark white receipt paper, a pastry case at the angular counter displaying her minimalist cakes as if they were jewels. ¶ On weekends, crowds might spend two hours waiting in line at Harucake, located in a strip mall at the corner of 6th and Kenmore streets. (Weekdays are a bit easier to navigate, but the bakery typically sells out every day.) According to You, the bakery is an “accidental” TikTok sensation — though one could argue the aesthetics of the brand primed it for social media success. When she opened in August, a friend of You’s posted a video of her cakes to TikTok, and they watched the numbers rapidly climb. Within days, You’s nascent bricks-and-mortar business had become a viral hit. It’s not surprising that customers are lining up for You’s cakes in flavors such as Green Grape Yogurt, Strawberry Milk Cream and Lotus Mocha. You is a master of the Korean minimalist cakedecorating style popularized by bakeries throughout Korea, images from which have persistently flooded Instagram over the last couple of years. The cakes are a celebration of pastel colorways, cursive writing and decorative elements like tiny hearts, mini fruits or animals, or small flowers with lots of negative space between them. There is often a pop of something playful and childlike like a smiley face, or Harucake’s omnipresent dog-like mascot OO-U (pronounced oo-you), which means “milk” in Korean; OO-U is actually a cookie that loves the milk cream frosting for the cakes so much that he is covered in it. Made from layers of fluffy génoise sponge and frosted with airy milk cream, the cakes hit that “not too sweet” sugar level deeply prized when it comes to Asian baked goods. You sells her cakes by the slice, by the standard full cake and as “lunch box” or “bento cakes,” another popular trend that took off during the pandemic: creating mini cakes that are essentially meant for one to two people. The viral success of You’s bakery, which she started out of her home in 2019, may have been a surprise, but everything about Harucake is intentional. Raised in Korea before relocating to the States to finish her education, You first pursued a law degree, in an effort to please her parents, before pivoting to design school, even though she always loved baking. At 29, miserable in her graphic design job, she decided to quit and work in a bakery part-time as she set about dreaming up what would eventually become Harucake, and a fulfillment of her childhood dream. With Harucake, You highlights and celebrates the Korean flavors she was raised on. “My goal is to make Americans fall in love with Korean cakes,” she says. While the flavors available in the glass pastry case always rotate, they include options like Green Grape Yogurt, which features layers of vanilla sponge layered with a tangy lemon yogurt cream and sliced fresh green grapes; Matcha Strawberry, which has striking layers of green matcha sponge, pure milk cream, matcha cream and fresh strawberries; and Mugwort Injeolmi, which You says is the most popular flavor and her personal favorite. The cake is made with layers of sponge flavored with mugwort, an aromatic green plant used frequently in Korean cooking, stuffed with cream and plenty of injeolmi — or roasted soybean powder — and topped with a house-made injeolmi crumble. The cakes at Harucake might be minimalist in nature, but they are not minimalist in price, with slices going for around $15, standard full cakes retailing for $70 and lunchbox cakes retailing for $30. “It’s the biggest complaint we get,” You says of the price point. “But we only use the best ingredients.” Even though the bakery now has a staff of 15, she still personally shops for the organic dairy it uses and spends extra money on a super fine flour that helps create the texture she loves. Still, the prices have not stopped the crowds, and Harucake, which You says means “from the heart,” sells more than 1,000 cakes a month. It could sell more, but scaling up has been a slow process. The morning team currently bakes the cakes fresh, every single day. Even if it means they run out in the afternoon, You doesn’t want to compromise on quality. More than six months in, You still considers Harucake to be in “soft open.” She is meticulous about the tiniest of details, from how you are greeted (with a smile and an explanation of each cake flavor) to what temperature the cakes are served at (they should always be slightly chilled). You also still insists on hand-lettering each cake herself. “I want to make sure we nail every part of the bakery experience.” To ensure this, You works 16-hour days at the baksays that this style of cake remains incredibly popular — she still sells around 40 cakes a week. None of the bakeries have a plan to stop making these particular cakes anytime soon. Celebrations might be larger again, but this style of cake is fully in demand. Ling says customers buy them to give away as presents, or as smash cakes for babies’ birthdays. Customers also continue to find these pastel colorways “uplifting,” says Miyamoto. “As a cake artist, I strive to create edible works of art that bring joy.” Writer Khushbu Shah is the former restaurant editor at Food & Wine and author of the forthcoming book “Amrikan: 125 recipes From the Indian American Diaspora” (W.W. Norton). Photographs by Jason Armond Los Angeles Times Minimalist cake trend is here to stay. Get in line at Harucake THE VIRAL KOREATOWN BAKERY IS A MINIMALIST PARADISE OF PASTELS BY KHUSHBU SHAH E LATIMES.COM SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 L9 Outdoor All Weather Fabrics Exclusive Designs Largest Selection Anywhere! 10654 W. Pico Bl. West Los Angeles 310-441-2477 fsfabricslosangeles.com
L10 SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 LATIMES.COM L.A. AFFAIRS BY OLIVIA DE RECAT CELEBRATE MOM IN STYLE SOUTHCOASTPLAZA.COM COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA Anthropologie • Baccarat • Buccellati • Bvlgari • Camilla • Cartier • Chanel • Coach • David Yurman • Dior • Diptyque • Fresh • Giorgio Armani Graff • Gucci • Harry Winston • Hermès • Jo Malone London • Läderach Chocolatier Suisse • L’Occitane en Provence • Louis Vuitton • Miu Miu Pandora • Roger Vivier • Saint Laurent • Sandro • Swarovski • Tiffany & Co. • Tory Burch • Valentino • Van Cleef & Arpels • Williams Sonoma partial listing Visit SouthCoastPlaza.com/Mothers-Day for more gift ideas. Make Your Mother’s Day Reservation Caló Kitchen + Tequila, Knife Pleat, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Petrossian at Tiffany, Seasons 52, Terrace by Mix Mix, The Capital Grille, Vaca, Water Grill GRAFF ROGER VIVIER GIORGIO ARMANI SANDRO DIPTYQUE CAMILLA BACCARAT The author is a writer and cartoonist based in Los Angeles. She is the author of “Drawn Together: Illustrated True Love Stories” (Voracious, 2022). She’s on Instagram: @drawingolive L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published 950- to 1,000-word essay. (Occasionally we work with artists and cartoonists on illustrated stories.) Email your essay to [email protected]. You can find past columns at latimes.com/laaffairs. HE SAID HAVING SEX WITH ME WAS LIKE EATING A SALAD. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT? It isn’t easy being green
SUNDAY COMICS H MAY 5, 2024 DOONESBURY By Garry Trudeau CRABGRASS By Tauhid Bondia PEARLS BEFORE SWINE By Stephan Pastis
H2 SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 LATIMES.COM MUTTS By Patrick McDonnell ZITS By Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman BABY BLUES By Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott MACANUDO By Liniers BLONDIE By Dean Young & John Marshall MARMADUKE By Brad & Paul Anderson
LATIMES.COM SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 H3 Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 or 2-by-3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 (or 1 to 6 for the smaller grid). For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk. Solution to last week's puzzle More Online For other brain-teasing challenges, go to latimes.com/games. Level: Impossible ©Amuse Labs ACROSS 1 "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" novelist Jamie 5 Low-end speaker 9 Emulate successfully 15 Cooling units, for short 18 One throwing out the first pitch? 19 — research: some dirtdigging 20 Baseball level just below the Majors 22 Hall of Fame slugger Mel 23 Power line? 26 Parched 27 Two-time Best Female Golfer ESPY winner Ko 28 Leaf wrangler 29 Bewitch 31 Fright 33 Life line? 37 Like some candles 39 Home of many Goyas and El Grecos 40 "Fire" gemstone 41 Unlikely duo? 42 "The Boy and the Heron" genre 44 Gifts at some Honolulu hotels 46 The blue in blue cheese, e.g. 49 Party line? 54 Follower of up, down, and mid 56 Shake 57 Ireland, to the Irish 58 Like some adoption records 60 "The Matrix" hero 61 Train cos. 64 Prehistoric 66 Data on dashboards 68 Opening line? 75 Yoga asana that requires balance 76 MSNBC journalist Cabrera 77 Like this clue's number 78 "Am — time?" 79 Require 82 High point of the "Odyssey"? 85 Meter or liter 89 Dirty 91 Time line? 95 Swap — 97 Room in una casa 98 HS course covering the facts of life 99 Curse 100 Guides with keys 103 —-panky 105 Writer of pastoral poems 107 Dividing line? 111 Didn't cook, but didn't order in 112 Totalitarianism, metaphorically 113 Villain's hangout 115 Rims 118 Relieved (of) 119 Shore line? 124 Female deer 125 Spring agricultural machines 126 Beauty spot? 127 "That could work for me" 128 "Weekend Update" show, casually 129 Restoration poet dubbed "Glorious John" 130 Headed to overtime 131 — pool DOWN 1 Duck or goose 2 Comply 3 Consumer Reports tasks 4 "Merci" response 5 Social media annoyance 6 Goddess of love who had five children with the god of war 7 Fishing tool 8 "— it to me!" 9 Old school crowdfunding org.? 10 Branch 11 Wee drink 12 Pitch 13 Mets slugger Pete nicknamed "Polar Bear" 14 Mocked 15 Vietnamese tunic 16 PC paste shortcut 17 Flair 21 Place for a spiritual retreat 24 Livestock marker 25 Successor 30 KOA option 32 Actress Russo 34 Mickey's co-creator 35 Brainstorming output 36 French wine valley 37 Go like hotcakes 38 Egyptian queen, familiarly 39 Gas, across the pond 43 Nintendo avatar 45 Snail mail need 47 Piece of cake? 48 Square peg in a social circle? 50 Durable twill fabric 51 Ward with two Emmy Awards 52 Director Kazan 53 Big name in car batteries 55 Snoopy 59 Heroic act, say 62 Tug of war need 63 Full of rocks 65 Genetic letters 67 Pop star Paula who was once a Lakers cheerleader 68 "Can confirm" 69 Noise made while playing with a Matchbox car 70 "— Meenie": 2010 pop single 71 Regarding 72 Quaint baes 73 Two half hitches, maybe 74 Verb that comes from a corruption of the ballet term "chassé" 80 Mogul Carl 81 Former TV drama about SoCal attorneys 83 "How's it hangin'?" 84 Get in the middle of, in a way 86 One of Nolan Ryan's record seven 87 Currier and — 88 Words on a page 90 — juice 92 Gran 93 Log flume, e.g. 94 Went up and down, say 96 Many a spring birth 101 Cut back 102 Machine shop alloy 104 Six-time NBA All-Star Lowry 106 — van Beethoven 107 Supports 108 Constellation with a belt 109 Sound that comes from on high 110 Like some unkempt gardens 111 Garlicky sauce 114 Border 116 Flair 117 Ione of "La Brea" 120 — velvet 121 Green Day drummer — Cool 122 Channel for bargain hunters 123 "Gnarly" Last week’s solution: “Obviously!” Edited by Patti Varol By Katy Steinmetz & Rich Katz Name That Tune Tribune Content Agency © 2024 SUDOKU Dear Amy: I have been friends with “Tina” since college; we are now in our 50s. When we met we were members of a campus religious organization. However, as the years passed we both drifted away from our religious affiliations. I now would call myself agnostic. Recently, Tina had a difficult breakup with a significant other. Since the split she has returned to religion and now mentions it often, which makes me somewhat uncomfortable, as it seems she may be trying to get me back in the fold. Over Easter, she went to church and decided that she wanted to be baptized. She scheduled it at a friend’s church three hours away. She said she would like for me to go. I explained that I would not be able to attend due to the short notice. She was forced to cancel due to a family emergency, but then told me she would reschedule her baptism so I could plan on attending. I don’t have any desire to go. While I don’t begrudge her any comfort her faith is bringing her, I am not interested and don’t want to feel pressured to participate. How do I back out gracefully without hurting her feelings? Agnostic Dear Agnostic: In this context, honesty is not only called for but is also the most graceful way to handle this. You need to state a version of the following: “I’m very happy for you to have renewed your faith, but over the years we’ve known each other, I’ve made my own choice about religion and don’t participate. I won’t be at your baptism ceremony, but I hope it is a joyous event for you, and I wish you all the very best as you move forward in your faith.” You can’t control Tina’s response to this, but while she has the right to affirm her faith, you have the right to affirm your stand on religion. Neither of you should proselytize, and you should determine to carry on in an attitude of mutual respect. Email questions to Amy Dickinson at askamy@ amydickinson.com. ASK AMY When watching worldclass poker players in action, it often seems like they “know” what their opponents have, as if they have Xray vision. While many people presume this is some unnatural gift they were lucky enough to be blessed with, in reality, they understand how hand ranges interact with one another. Unless your opponent is especially bad at poker, you should strive to put them on a range of hands and then narrow that range as play progresses based on their actions. Do not put them on one specific hand and trust that guess all the way to the river. For example, when someone raises before the flop, they could have AxAx, 6x6x or KxJx. As long as they play these hands in the same manner, you have no way of knowing which one they have. One of the biggest errors novice players make is to put their opponent on exactly one hand, because in reality, their opponent would play many hands in the same manner. Suppose a tight, straightforward player raises from early position to $25 out of his $500 stack in a $2/$5 cash game. You can immediately narrow the opponent’s range to roughly 6-6+, A-10s+, A-Jo+, K-Js+, K-Qo, Q-Js, and J-10s. You can presume your opponent will play all these hands in the same manner. That said, perhaps your opponent uses a strategy that also involves limping, resulting in some hands being raised and others being limped, but either way, their raising range will consist of the best preflop hands. Suppose only you call for $20 more from the big blind. The flop comes 9♠ 7♠ 6♣. You check and your opponent bets $30 into the $52 pot. Let’s presume your opponent makes the typical mistake of continuationbetting with every hand in their range. If that is the case, your marginal made hands, such as K♥ 6♥ and Ax8x have plenty of equity to justify calling, so you call. Then say the turn is the 5♥. This is an excellent spot to lead into your opponent with your best hands as well as your draws and made hands that are unlikely to be ahead at the moment because you have far more premium hands (i.e. straights) in your range than your opponent. If your opponent will fold all hands worse than threeof-a-kind, they will fold almost everything except 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, and 6-6. Even if your opponent will continue with an overpair, they will still fold roughly 64% of their range, making a lead extremely profitable. Little is a professional poker player and author with more than $7 million in live tournament earnings. POKER Jonathan Little Flop Turn Aries (March 21-April 19): You embrace challenges as steppingstones to growth, but not at first. However you feel, embrace it. Taurus (April 20-May 20): You weren’t the one who made things difficult, but you still want to be the one who makes them better. This is what gives you a reputation for being a lifter and coach. Gemini (May 21-June 21): Spiritual connections will guide your actions and decisions whether or not you are aware of them. Trust your intuition to navigate life’s complexities. Cancer (June 22-July 22): You’re generally openhearted, though you may not realize a boundary exists until it gets crossed. Twinges of caution will teach you what you care about. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Every decision shapes your experience, offering lessons regardless of the outcome. When you get what you want, you learn. When you don’t, you learn. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’re drawn to ideas and to people who are also drawn to ideas and people, so the plot turns in directions you weren’t expecting. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Balancing support and boundaries ensures others appreciate your contributions fully. This week features well-rounded decisions and ultimately will contribute to your success. Scorpio(Oct. 24-Nov. 21): It takes a big person to see the big picture. You’ll also see the minor mistakes, but you’ll ignore them. Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 21): Your version of your story helps you. Your version of another person’s story helps you. Think twice before you share it as an insight that will help them. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are insightful and compassionate, two things you can be without making a single move to fix the problem. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): While action is crucial, don’t rush it. If it seems like you’re waiting around, you can always be refining your focus, which is an excellent use of the downtime. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Some delights seem universal, but none really are. You’ll deal with many types, each with a unique version of fun. Today’s birthday (May 5): Entertaining is a skill you’ll use often, and you’ll become even better at hosting, speaking, networking and more. A project will bring an influx of creative energy and inspiration. Love will take many forms and flow to you in abundance. More highlights: You’ll build bridges of communication, visit distant family and live in music. Aquarius and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers: 5, 1, 10, 21 and 17. Mathis writes her column for Creators Syndicate Inc. The horoscope should be read for entertainment. HOROSCOPE Holiday Mathis
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