White Light White Night

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants
White Light White Night

View Preview

Walk With Sally hosted its annual fundraiser White Light White Night on August 19, 5:30 pm at Campus 2100 on 2100 E Grand Avenue, El Segundo.

Travis Van Winkle hosted the evening, introducing new CEO Tash Brooks.  The Youth of the Year award was presented to Heather Jenkins, and the Mentor of the Year award to Jenn Nguyen.

Supported by over thirty five corporate sponsors, the event featured 17  restaurants serving their signature dishes and cocktails.  They included Bettolino Kitchen, BOA, BuzzRock Brewing, Clarity Lounge, Eddie V’s, Hook & Plow, Japonica, Jimmy John’s, lil’Vegerie, Lobster & Beer: Coastal, Madison Brown, Nomad, Porterhouse Bourbon & Bones, Quality Seafood, ReadyFitGo, and Sushi Roku.

A live auction lead by seasoned auctioneer Letitia Frye and a silent auction featured  high-end fine art, wine, sports memorabilia and travel items.

Live music was provided by local band Identity Theft, as well as the Chargers Marching Band. Muralist Miriam Hellmann provided vibrant backdrops. 

The event was attended by over 700 attendees and over 100 volunteers were on hand for a night of unity and support. All  dressed in white,  the color universally associated with healing and referencing  a person’s own divine nature to heal one’s self  with this white light of healing and protection, as the community came together on a  beautiful, uniquely memorable summer evening  celebrating love, hope, and healing. 

Many of the volunteers were cancer survivors out there in support.  They included Kara, a survivor of two brain surgeries which took her sense of smell and removed memory on the right side of her body, making her unable to write.  About a year after surgery she realized that she could use my left hand instead, though her mom was insists that Kara not give up her right hand, and  continue to use it.  Kara now wears a brain pendant, volunteers for cancer organizations, and helps them raise money.  

Founded in 2004 by Nicolas Arquette, Walk With Sally’s mission supports children and families impacted by cancer providing them with care-centered one-to-one fellowships along with critical programs and services that include mentoring, mental health support, art healing, and financial empowerment.

For more information and tickets, please visit https://www.walkwithsally.org/wlwn

Angels of Comedy

Mona Day Comedy show, Dine

Los Angeles magazine will present its Angels of Comedy Disaster Relief Benefit on Thursday February 13th  6:00 – 10:00pm at Engine Co. No. 28, one of the city’s oldest firehouses.  All proceeds benefit Pasadena Community Foundation’s efforts to raise funds for victims of Los Angeles wildfires – overwhelmed first responders, and displaced families and animals. More than just being a donation the event is about coming together as a community to heal, laugh, and rebuild.

The evening will kick off with a networking cocktail hour from 6 to 7:15pm featuring beef and vegan Firehouse chili, cornbread, cocktails, beer, and wine.  At 7:15, the magazine’s publisher, Chris Gialanella and evening host Sharon Fredrickson will deliver opening remarks.  

The show launches at 7:30pm with Sharon Fredrickson guiding audience through a lineup of stand-up performances by some of LA’s funniest comedians, including Aida Rodriguez, Ashley Burgess, Carla Collins, Erik Rivera, Kim McVicar, Kwame Siegel, Renee Percy, Sandy Stec, Maxi Witrak, and Peter S. Kim. 

The event will also honor Los Angeles first responders, sharing their inspiring stories and recognizing their heroism.  Additional funds will be raised with a raffle offering once-in-a-lifetime prizes. 

Generous event sponsors include Boomtown Brewery, Garrison Brothers, Gelato Festival, Golden Eagle Vodka, Hollywood Creative Alliance, KNEKT TV and Mezcal 33.

The evening is a 21+ event, and the all-inclusive ticket includes entry, Firehouse chili and cornbread, cocktails, wine, beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and full evening of comedy. 

More than just being a donation, Angels of Comedy is about coming together as a community to heal, laugh, and rebuild, and you  can join the effort by buying a ticket for the evening and for the raffle, as well as by spreading the word.

For more information and tickets today, please visit lamag.com/events/angels

YUME

DST Chefs, Dine, Restaurants

Yume Calabasas celebrated the grand opening of its second location in historic Old Town Calabasas on February 10 to showcase the new venue and its offerings. 

Like the original location in Studio City, the new location offers a modern twist on traditional Japanese cuisine with an emphasis on intentional sourcing of ingredients locally and from Japan. The menu includes a selection of classic sushi and sashimi, as well as a dedicated Kushiyaki menu, along with new signature menu items available only at this location. 

Appetizers include Oysters on the Half Shell served with a choice of uni, caviar, or onion and Yume sauce, a house special ponzu sauce. Sunomono is a refreshing Japanese cucumber salad with shrimp, octopus, or crab. There is charred Miso Eggplant.  Similar to a spring roll, Seafood Cigar filled with shrimp or avocado is deep fried.  Crispy Rice comes with a choice of spicy tuna, spicy shrimp or avocado with truffle oil.  Agedashi Tofu is fried tofu with daikon radish & dashi.

The sushi menu includes Unagi, freshwater eel; Engawa, seared halibut fin and delicacies like Santa Barbara Uni. 

Rolls include classics like California Roll; Spicy Tuna Roll; Creamy Salmon Roll with Soy Paper; and Spicy Miso Sea Bass Handroll with Soy Paper. 

Specialty rolls include a Green Dragon Roll, with eel & blue crab with avocado, takuan, sesame seeds, and nori rolled in seaweed paper; Citrus Roll, with spicy tuna, avocado, lemon, garlic chips, cucumber and soy paper; and a Vegan Roll with asparagus, gobo, shiitake mushrooms, avocado, roasted bell pepper, crispy onions and ponzu olive oil. 

Sashimi specials include Halibut Sashimi with Yume Sauce or Fresh Truffle; Octopus Sashimi with Yuzu; Salmon Carpaccio with Mushrooms; and Albacore Sashimi with kogashi soy butter. 

The Kushiyaki section offers two grilled skewers of Negima – chicken with green onion, tare sauce, or lemon & salt, and Chilean Sea Bass with onion or sea salt. 

Rounding out the menu are hot dishes like Grilled Jumbo Shrimp served with sweet spicy sauce and Escabeche shrimp or whitefish with jalapeno, cilantro, onion, and sweet vinegar. 

Signature menu items exclusive to the new location include Kanpachi Crudo with Japanese amberjack with cilantro miso sauce; Hirame Orange Crudo, halibut sashimi with orange marmalade and yuzu vinaigrette; Crispy Whole Red Snapper, a deep fried whole snapper served with a sweet and spicy soy sauce; and Artisan Sushi Block which includes six pieces of pressed sushi with seaweed or soy paper. 

The sushi selection includes Torotaku, Serrano Yellowtail, Truffle Salmon, Yuzu White Fish, Garlic Albacore and Spicy Tuna.  

The beverage menu aims to make the new location not just a dining destination, but also a vibrant hub for nightlife.  It features Japanese-inspired cocktails, rare sakes, Japanese whiskies and other spirits available only at this location. 

Yume’s new location features a sleek, modern design featuring a solid walnut sushi bar with walls alternating venetian plaster walls and custom handmade wallpaper with a gold fish decal design. The light gray onyx cocktail bar with orange accents draws inspiration from the gates of Fushimi Inari in Japan. The 100-seat dining room features a sushi bar and spacious lounge area for cocktails before or after dinner. There is also a 40-seat private dining room with its own bar and private entrance at the back of the restaurant. 

Yume, which means ‘dream’ in Japanese,  opened its first location  in Studio City in 2020, and has been a neighborhood staple ever since.

For more information, please visit https://www.yumesushibar.com

LA Art Show

Mona Day art, Design, See

LA Art Show returns to the LA Convention Center on Feb 19-23, marking its 30th anniversary with over 100 global exhibitors.  The show has sought to democratize art by offering a range of mediums and price points to ensure accessibility while also catering to established art collectors.

As LA’s largest and longest-running fair, LA Art Show has played a significant role in the City’s emergence as a global art epicenter and its ever-expanding global reach will be on full display with exhibitors from Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Canada, France, Taiwan, London, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.  Highlights include:

                  • LICHT FELD GALLERY (SWITZERLAND): Multidisciplinary artist and bestselling poet, Arch Hades – named the highest paid living poet in the world in 2021 – presents her sculpture the ‘Isle,’ a tribute to the island of San Michele in Veneto, where the entire island is a cemetery known as the ‘island of the dead’. This sculpture features poetry ‘poems are like gravestones, marking where love lies’ in Hades’ handwriting on the black, polished ‘lagoon’ plane) and the ‘graves’ of the island represented by many books forming the sculptures.

                  • SNISARENKO GALLERY (UKRAINE): “She, Unbroken” brings together Ukrainian-born female artists whose works express their war experience, resilience and strength.

                  • CORAL GALLERY (MIAMI) will showcase Roberto Vivo’s sculptural works like “The Human Tribe Totem,” a large 77 x 95 inch bronze sculpture expressing human unity and diversity.  Inviting contemplation on form, space, and harmony,  it debuted at the 2024 Venice Biennale.  

                  •  CASTERLINE|GOODMAN GALLERY (ASPEN): Young American artist, Daniel Yocum who has gained recognition for his unique approach to figurative abstract expressionism infused with hip-hop aesthetics, often incorporates imagery of cars and flowers amidst vivid colors and black marks. 

                  

                  •  ART IN DONGSAN (SOUTH KOREA):  Sculptural works from Steel Che (Youngkwan Choi) repurpose industrial materials into artistic forms. The exhibition’s centerpiece Steam Robot demonstrates his mastery of traditional craftsmanship.

                  • COLUMBIA ROAD GALLERY (LONDON, UK):  Capturing East London’s vibrant art scene, the gallery showcases up-and-coming UK artists Kate Boxer, Thomas Gosebruch, Hannah Ludnow, and Jonathan Schofield.

                  •  DANUBIANA MUSESUM (SLOVAKIA): Viktor Freso’s breathtaking 30-foot Bear sculpture  symbolizing power and resilience, will be displayed in the lobby setting the tone for the event as bigger, and more ambitious.

To amplify marginalized perspectives,the show will include a non-commercial section DIVERSEartLA curated by Marisa Caichiolo featuring 8 famed art institutions representing  diversity and inclusion in the arts.  They include Celebrating Diversity by Chiachio & Giannone curated by Gabriela Urtiaga, Chief Curator at MOLAA,  Dactiloscopia Rosa: Video Art and QUEER Constructions curated by Nestor Prieto and presented by Museo La Neomudejar (Madrid, Spain), and Carlos Martiel | Cauce/Riverbed curated By Marisa Caichiolo

For more information and tickets, please visit www.laartshow.com;  15% of proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association’s Life is Why campaign.

Descanso

admin Dine

Descanso restaurant celebrated the  grand opening of its  Los Angeles location on January 23. 

Corporate Executive Chef Jose Angulo’s menu updates Mexico’s culinary traditions with modern techniques. Highlights include the Seafood Tower with oysters, poached lobster tail, Peruvian scallops, snow crab claws, shrimp cocktail, ceviche campechano, caperberries, morita cocktail sauce, cucumber-serrano mignonette, and lemon. 

Enchiladas de Langosta feature butter-poached lobster in tortillas, and Taquitos de Camarón are made with marinated shrimp, blue corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, morita aioli, and mango-habanero salsa. 

The  popular Alambre, allows choice of steak, al pastor, chicken, shrimp or seasonal vegetables, complemented by bacon, onions, bell peppers, tres quesos frito, avocado toreado, serranos, micro cilantro and flour tortillas. 

Located in the heart of Mid-Wilshire, the 9,000-square-foot location accommodates 240 guests and features a central bar, a main dining room, two open-air patios.  In the celebrated Plancha room chefs prepare multi-course meals before guests at a communal table  reminiscent of street vendors. For  special occasions, a private Plancha Room for a more intimate Chef’s Table experience with a special menu of prized dishes for up to 10 people.

The restaurant will showcase artwork by local Los Angeles artists, with muralist Daniel Felechner, Erica Friend, and JP Mural (Juan Reyes) contributing pieces reflecting Mexico’s rich cultural heritage. Friend’s Coatlicue Mother of Gods and Sunflower Eclipse explore Aztec mythology and celestial themes,  while Reyes honors Frida Kahlo’s legacy.

At the center of heart of the space, a show-stopping 38-seat bar will serve a variety of expertly crafted cocktails. The Margaritas Especiales include the classic El Descanso with Milagro Reposado, agave, and fresh lime, and the spicy Bad Hombre with Herradura Reposado, lime, pineapple, serrano, and a salt-and-pepper rim. Other options include the Sandía-Rita and Cucumber y Sal. 

The Descanso’s Casillero Club offers exclusive access to fine limited-release agave spirits. Members can purchase rare Tequilas and Mezcals, with the option to store them in a private locker at the restaurant. Membership also includes priority reservations, first access to limited releases, and special gifts from the kitchen or bar with every visit. 

Founded in Costa Mesa, California in 2018, the new venture marks a significant milestone in Descanso’s expansion beyond its Orange County roots. 

As part of this special celebration, a portion of the sales during Descanso’s Grand Opening week will be donated to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund. 

For more information and  the full Descanso LA menu, please visit descansorestaurantla.com

OWL’S BREW LAUNCHES SPIRIT-BASED TEA COCKTAILS

Mona Day PRODUCTS
OWL’S BREW LAUNCHES SPIRIT-BASED TEA COCKTAILS

Owl’s Brew, a pioneer in better-for-you alcoholic beverages is expanding into the spirit based cocktail sector with four new flavors and two new packs.  The new line expands the brand’s offeringsof boozy beverages using fresh-brewed tea, botanicals, fruit juice, and 1.5oz of real spirits. 

The new line of  flavors includes a Skinny Hibiscus Lime Margarita with Tequila Tromba Blanco for which co-founders Jennie and Maria  worked closely with Jeannie Mai Jenkins, an Emmy Award winning producer and host of America’s Test Kitchen. 

Made with fresh-brewed organic tea, combined with flavors of hibiscus, black tea, lime, and strawberry juice, the Skinny Hibiscus Margarita adds Tromba Tequila Blanco (5% Alc/Vol) for a refreshing sipper  for any occasion.   The award winning Blanco is a 100% agave tequila by Master Distiller Marco Cedano from Jalisco.

The Boozy Tea Cocktails also includes three flavors of Real Tea and Vodka (5% Alc/Vol) – Green Tea & Passionfruit, Blackberry Half & Half, and Black Tea & Pomegranate, all made from fresh-brewed tea, with a splash of juice and 1.5oz of real vodka.  

Available in an 8pk variety pack, the new line can be found at  retailers like Trader Joes, Erewhon, Whole Foods, Aldi, and Total Wine & Mo`re and online at www.theowlsbrew.com/buy-now.

Co-founded by Jennie Ripps, a certified Tea Sommelier and with Maria Littlefieldsought in 2020, Owl’s Brew has won over 17 tasting awards for its flavors. It has expanded to 18 states  experiencing over 918% growth between ’20 & ’21.

The co-founders are also the creators of Wise Women Collective, a women-for-women initiative that partners with Keep-A-Breast, Women’s Voices for the Earth, and has a monthly #BoozyBookClub.  

For more information, visit www.theowlsbrew.com or follow along @theowlsbrew.  #DrinkWise

Owl’s Brew provided a product sample .

Manhattan Beach Food & Wine

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

The upcoming Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Festival kicked off with a preview event at the Westdrift Manhattan Beach hotel on Monday September 30, 6:30pm. 

Participating chefs and wineries shared their excitement with a preview of their Festival offerings. The featured delicacies included an heirloom tomato salad, a mushroom crostini, carne asada on a homemade tortilla, breaded  pork and shortrib on Romesco sauce, a tuna poke from the Strand House, and a  gingery, more Japanese take on the same dish served in a cone from Wolfgang Puck catering. 

Desserts included meringues, macaroons and assorted chocolates flavored with botanicals like rose and lavender.  Of course, there were plenty of libations from wineries, distilleries and non-alocolic beverages to wash it all down.

The inaugural Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Festival is planned as a spectacular two-night strolling culinary extravaganza with an Opening Night celebration on Friday October 11,  and a Grand Tasting on Saturday October 12. The festival  will showcase the industry’s top tastemakers and connoisseurs to celebrate an all-star lineup of chefs, restaurants, wineries, spirits, cocktails,  breweries, and non-alcoholic beverages, along with live entertainment. 

The culinary extravaganza will feature a lineup of 50 of the Best Chefs representing not only the local cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Los Angeles, but state-wide from Solvang, Palm Springs, San Francisco and beyond – from across  North America, from Denver, New York, New Orleans, Vancouver, and Mexico. 

The venue is a 40,000-square-foot outdoor space in Manhattan Village located at the end of the Veterans Parkway Greenbelt Path.  The venue features a beautifully landscaped trail that runs through Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach.

For more information on the Manhattan Beach Food & Wine, please visit www.ManhattanBeachFoodandWine.com.

Parkers’ Lighthouse Celebrates 40 Years

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Restaurants

The iconic waterfront dining destination Parkers’ Lighthouse in Shoreline Village, Long Beach is celebrating its 40-year anniversary.

Established in 1984 with a focus on fresh grilled fish, Parkers’ Lighthouse with breathtaking views of the Queen Mary and the Long Beach skyline, the restaurant has been a beloved Long Beach fixture,  popular with  both locals and visitors. 

The restaurant’s unique dining spaces include a wrap-around outdoor deck, a lively bar and lounge as well as an elegant main dining room with balcony seating.  Known for its fresh seafood, with a focus on fresh grilled fish, innovative dishes and exceptional service, the restaurant underwent significant renovations in 1999 and 2010, transforming its atmosphere and expanding the menu to include a variety of culinary offerings beyond seafood. 

Inspired by the Pacific Ocean, the menu reflects the Southern California lifestyle, featuring shareable appetizers, sushi and sashimi, mesquite grilled fish, steak and homemade desserts.  The bar offers award winning wines, beers, spirits and specialty cocktails.

The Queensview Steakhouse  located at the top of Parkers’ Lighthouse with  a spectacular 360° view of the waterfront offers a supper club dining experience with live music and an upscale menu that includes prime steaks, chops, lobster and freshly grilled fish. 

The restaurant is now celebrating its big anniversary with the introduction of new throwback menu items designed to take diners back on a nostalgic culinary journey. 

Each month through the end of 2024, the restaurant will feature a rotating selection of popular dishes from its storied past, so guests can enjoy new appetizers, entrées and desserts that harken back to the restaurant’s early days.  These specials will be available for a limited time each month. 

The August specials  featured appetizers Tuna Poke Nachos, Crispy wontons topped with Wasabi Aioli, Toasted Sesame  Seeds, Wakame Seaweed and Curly Scallions that were served in 1999.  Entrées included Penne with Rock Shrimp served in 1999 served with a Creamy Rossa Sauce, Basil and Parmesan.  And dessert featured a decadent Mud Pie from 2010.

The throwback menu items are a tribute to our history, giving customers a chance to savor the flavors that have made the restaurant a cherished Long Beach destination for four decades, and the restaurant’s thank you to the  guests who have supported it through the decades, bringing back memories and creating new ones.

For more information visit ParkersLighthouse.com and connect with Parkers’ Lighthouse via Instagram, Facebook or X.

Parkers’ Lighthouse is located at 435 Shoreline Village Drive, Long Beach, CA 90802.  

Women in Security Forum

Mona Day Conference

The LA Chapter of Information Systems Security Association will host ISSA LA Summit 2024 & Women in Security Forum at the Annenberg Beach House on Wednesday, October 9 from 9am – 6pm at the Annenberg Beach House.

Billed as the biggest and most important gathering of information security professionals in Southern California, the all-day Summit will feature opening and closing talks, keynotes, panel discussions  and speakers in multiple  tracks to get you updated by world-class speakers on the latest Information Security trends and solutions.  There will be a  Vendor Expo, Career Center, networking opportunities with up to 8  CPE Credits.

The opening keynote, Behind the Headlines: Understanding the AI and ML Attack Landscape  will provide an overview of the current attack landscape, and walk through risks,  so you can protect against them.

The talk Golden Age of Dystopia will  provide a critical analysis of key events and trends that have led to the current state, exploring how commercialization, mass surveillance and the rise of big data analytics have contributed to the erosion of digital privacy & security.

The once clear-cut world of cybersecurity is now a complex maze of data breaches and privacy regulation that has caused a surge in litigation and enforcement.

The explosion of valuable data and information is of enormous value in marketing and advertising, medical care, banking and finance, hospitality, and product development and what data is collected, stored and secured, used, and disposed of is currently under scrutiny by regulators, governments, and litigators, creating enormous pressure to protect sensitive data from misuse and theft. Talks will arm you with the latest strategies and skills that must be adopted to survive  the courtroom. 

With a nod to the election year comes a talk Cyber Threats Targeting Elections: Disinformation Campaigns, Ransomware Attacks, and the Rise of Political Extremism and Violence.  With US democracy at risk from foreign enemies wanting to disrupt and derail the democratic process, the  presentation explores various dimensions of cyber threats targeting elections such as disinformation campaigns and ransomware attacks to  exploit the rise of political extremism and violence so you can better navigate the political information landscape.

Insights about how data, systems and technology either can promote or undermine legal defensibility, so speakers will share basic principles and strategies for designing and using technology for data handling to help advance legal goals and defensibility with compliance, contracting, audit, investigations, governance, incident management and response, and dealing with government and other investigations.

Contextual entitlements  concept to access and process rights and privileges that users, services or groups have within specific contexts or situations can vary based on the environment, the role of the user or group, device trust, and legal or regulatory frameworks for cloud and on-premise access and differs from traditional static and binary sign-on platforms, so learn to identify and analyze the issues that influence contextual entitlements.

The talk, In-Depth Analysis of a Phishing Email case study provides an example of the kinds of analysis that goes into responding to a phishing email. This includes an in-depth technical analysis of the email, its attachment, and the websites the victim would interact with to show the kinds of digital forensics and online investigation skills when responding to a targeted phishing campaign.

A Law Enforcement Panel will have Law Enforcement agencies report on the latest cyber threats and strategies to counter them.  Finally, of course, a Summit on Women in Security wouldn’t be complete without time for  a talk, Advice for Women Who Want a Career in Cybersecurity.

Information Systems Security Association Los Angeles is a member-supported organization of information security professionals and practitioners.  It provides educational forums and peer interaction opportunities to enhance the knowledge, skill and professional growth of the Cybersecurity and IT Community.  ISSA-LA’s mission is to be the premier catalyst and information source in the Los Angeles community for improving the practice of information security. 

For more information and tickets, please visit https://issala.org