The Trio

Enter Downtown Los Angeles: BUSY, noisy streets, smog, chaos, homeless people, crime, wealth, fashion, culture, you name it, LA has it. That being said, this cultural melting pot is home to some of the finest and diverse dining and culture in the world. Few cities can compare with the vast array of cuisine on any given street, at any given time. Not only that, but where else can you listen crazy Koreans argue while you are eating the best hand rolls on the west coast, stumble into a museum displaying one of Jackson Polluck's best works, and run into Lauren Conrad on your way to the fashion district (All in the proximity of 300 yards!).

The point is, few are able to enjoy and participate in the real Los Angelo experience. For instance, most people overlook the unparalleled dining experiences this great city has to offer because most eateries in LA are hard to find, or are only truly explored by true Angelos. Fortunately for you, I am opening and sharing the discussion with everyone, so that locals, tourists, and visitors alike can all eat at the same tables, enjoy the same food, and take an active roll in understanding the economics and culture of this great city.

For the past two years, I have made a strong effort to familiarize myself with downtown LA, and embrace the culture and the food as much as I could. I am not talking your typical dining experiences or visiting the tourist attractions that we all are familiar with. I'm talking about the unique dining experience and cultural experiences you get from eating the perfect Al-Pastor taco hot off the spit in the Pico Union, to the perfect piece of sashimi you will find on 1st and Beaudry. Not only that, but educating myself on the city itself: the job front, football in LA and its impact, the revitalization efforts, the numerous districts the city has, its ideal location, its challenges etc, etc.

As a result, I have not only have indulged and explored all best spots in LA, but I have observed and embraced a culture that is not even known to those who call LA home. But to sum it up, this blog is more than just a couple of cool food reviews and some neat spots to hit up; it’s a conversation of what goes on in this city, and how we should be informed in what’s taking place outside the bubble we call school and home.

Blog Downtown

Blog Downtown is the online community hub for Downtown Los Angeles, delivering the news and information that readers need to be the most informed and active members of their community. I believe that Blog Downtown will be very helpful in my posts because they are truly are on the right track in terms of commenting on what goes on in this city, from food, culture, news, info, and history.

I admire Eric Richardson’s (a long time writer for the blog) enthusiasm on the subject, as it rivals mine, so I believe this blog will be a great reference for content and information throughout the course of this calendar year. Eric does a great job of giving you more than just an RSS feed on the various activities that are available in the city. Instead, he comments what is taking place as a whole. How restaurants impact the economy of the city, or the effects of a new Stadium in Downtown will have. For example, a writer of the blog talks about the presentation of the AEG deal, commenting:

“The reality of the economic impact of the proposed Farmers Field might be more pessimistic after the Legislative Analyst Office looked over projections of the new stadium and found that studies by the city and AEG “overstated the economic benefits” of the $1.2 billion project.”

Giving insight and adding value to an important discussion is what I really took away from this post. It is very important for me to have a strong voice and take a stance on particular issues that are facing the city of LA. What also makes blog downtown so great is the fact that you can read a post commenting on economic factors the city is dealing with, and click on another tab/post, and you find out some of the best eateries you can find in Silverlake and the people behind them.

Moreover, the amount of coverage this blog gives on current, relevant, and fun topics in Los Angeles is a something that will feed my blog by stimulating ideas and adventures of my own throughout the city. For example, in a different post, Eric starts the post off as:

“Downtown's residential development may have slowed, but food and nightlife continues to explode. We've fallen behind on coverage, but here are 18 bites of catch-up news!”

Eric then goes on to talk about some new and local eateries he visited, etc. But more importantly, blogdowntown has a fun and colloquial tone when commenting on activities such as these downtown dining excursions and nightlife adventures, but keeps the language academic and informative when elaborating on important current events that will shape the cities future.

So in conclusion, appealing to a wide audience by illustrating the best of both worlds is something that will be very important in my blog posts.

Caroline on Crack

This week, I decided to focus on one of my favorite downtown bloggers, Caroline (from Caroline on Crack). She uses a very distinctive voice in each of her posts, and is very enthusiastic abut communicating the subject matter in a creative and interesting way. For example, when Caroline introduces a new restaurant/bar she explored, she describes her experience in a very colloquial manner, saying:

“Being a foodist, you get pretty particular…OK, anal about your restaurant experience. Does the server fill your water glass in a timely manner, does the waitress give you a five-minute warning before last call for happy hour, how’s the price-to-portion ratio? So when I come across a restaurant where the overpriced food is less than stellar, the service horrible and the cocktails blah, I usually never return. Why would I when there are so many eateries in L.A. that actually hit all the marks?”

 What really stood out to my in this brief introduction to Rosewood Tavern was her common, everyday diction she uses in order to paint a vivid picture of what her restaurant experiences are like. In addition, the repetition of questions makes the reader ask he or herself if he/she has ever been in a similar situation, urging them to dig deeper than just an ordinary culinary/dining experience. Instead, Caroline conveys a different dynamic. She uses bold text to highlight her key takeaway, which is when she will never return to a restaurant if they don't fit her criteria. Furthermore, when she uses "blah" instead of ECT, we get a sense that Caroline is passionate about her experiences and twill not accept anything less than perfection. Moreover, she is banking on her audience to know what she is talking about, and uses the colloquial phrases to great a casual conversation without being to critical.

Moreover, Caroline really paints vivid pictures when she describes her unique dining experiences. For example, check out his post when she visits Downtown LA culinary event:

"I, along with four other judges (Razor Slut of the Derby Dolls, Toxic Shakti — former skater, Carl — owner of La Cita and Thomas Refferson aka Enforcer), were sequestered in a cage in a corner of the back patio where we did a blind tasting of the 10 entries, judging it based on qualities like color, aroma, taste and aftertaste."

Frankly there was some chili that caused us to shudder and cry for a tongue brush while others we just couldn’t get enough of.

When I read this, I felt like I was at the event with her. When she says, “we were sequestered in a cage in a corner of the back patio where we did a blind tasting of the 10 enteries,” I could picture her thinking of the event as scary and intimidating. Her tone is very vivid and descriptive. The statement about the chili making her want to cry also shows how passionate she is about food and is almost too over the top at times.

In short, Caroline has a distinctive tone of being upfront and honest to her audience, and invites us the join the conversation in take part in her passion for food, drinks, and fun.