The Urbanite’s Adventure Guide

Get equipped for the urban adventures below--from film to fencing and food.

The Royal Treatment

The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Ball

June 15, $125 per person

Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel

9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills

(805) 480-9845

After the past year’s orgy of star-spangled banners, this summer the empire strikes back. Britain will be en fete next month for Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee, which marks her 50 years on the throne. For the thousands of Brits in Southern California who don’t want to be left out, plus any indigenous Anglophiles and royalists, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Ball will provide the most glamorous way of celebrating. Such luminaries as Dame Julie Andrews, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Anthony Hopkins are expected to attend along with 600 other loyalists. With a full Welsh choir on hand, a Scottish pipe band, florid toasts and everybody decked out in their finest formal wear, this will be a great chance to take a day’s pass on the sun, sea and surf, and experience the joys of a stiff collar and upper lip.

Peter Whittle

*Wide World of Cuisine

New School of Cooking

8690 Washington Blvd., Culver City

(310) 842-9702

www.newschoolofcooking.com

Want to travel this summer? How about a four-week tour of Italy, followed by a one-day swing through Vietnam and supper in the American South? If so, jet over to New School of Cooking, a bright, busy kitchen and site of a cornucopia of culinary excursions, from 20-week professional series to single classes, many geared toward summer appetites: marinades, barbecues and dry rubs; a cavalcade of cupcakes; summer pies (fresh peach pie, fig galette, blackberry pie, coconut cream pie, brown-sugar lemon meringue pie); and the corn kitchen. One-day courses are usually three hours long, less than $100 and hands-on. (You will cook. You will eat.) Those interested in the basics can home in on cheeses, wines, breads and something called Essential Knife Skills, so you’ll never again humiliate yourself or the roast chicken.

Nancy Rommelman

*

Food Emporium

Surfas Gourmet Food and Restaurant Equipment

8825 National Blvd., Culver City

(310) 559-4770

To chill both inside and out, head to Surfas, a gourmet food and cooking emporium in a hangar in Culver City. Massive and air-conditioned, with a nice and knowledgeable staff that won’t look at you funny if you spend an hour cruising the aisles, Surfas is the place to find cold pink limonata from Italy, cool sweet butter from France, frozen shellfish, ice cream makers, highball glasses and several thousand other items to whet the appetite. Fair prices, with none of the froufrou fussiness associated with some foodie shops.

Nancy Rommelman

*

The Secret Garden

Virginia Robinson Gardens

Beverly Hills (address provided with reservations)

(310) 276-5367

parks.co.la.ca.us/virginia_gar dens.html

Harry and Virginia Robinson’s 6,000-square-foot home, tucked behind the Beverly Hills Hotel, is impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the 6.2-acre grounds, which feature a sparkling pool, his-and-hers tennis courts, and enough flora to make Martha Stewart apoplectic. Clearly the department store business was good to this family, which deeded the estate to the county in the 1980s. At one point the Robinsons employed 12 full-time gardeners to tend the multiple rose gardens, Italian terrace garden and dense jungle of Australian king palms--the largest collection outside Australia. Tours ($10, adults; $3, children) are offered Tuesdays through Fridays by reservation only. Hats and sunscreen suggested.

Leslee Komaiko

*The Alterna-Mall

Koreatown Plaza

928 S. Western Ave., L.A.

(213) 382-1234

With neither a Gap nor a Pottery Barn in sight, Koreatown Plaza’s 80-plus shops on Western Avenue offer shoppers international style: Trendii for fashions, Koreatown Video, Nicole’s Coffee for espresso, and European names (Stefanel, Benetton). This gleaming three-level institution also holds surprises, including an unusual Tupperware store, the boutique Dalki, and Strawberry, Korea’s cheeky answer to Hello Kitty. The International Food Court’s bibimbap (sizzling stone rice bowl) at the Gamja Bawi stand will win over foodies from the east and west sides of L.A. Why have a hot dog on a stick when you can dine on Vietnamese pho, Japanese sushi, hot tofu, Korean barbecue, Chinese dumplings and the offerings of a restaurant devoted to mushrooms? The Plaza makes the Grove look like, well ... just a mall.

Heseon Park

*

Juice Straight Up

The Juice Fountain

1616 N. Vine St., Hollywood

(323) 464-8986

Before there was Jamba Juice, there was the Juice Fountain on Vine Street. Here, they squeeze, chop, blend and strain every imaginable fruit and vegetable, and serve it up in the blender pitcher, with a cup on the side, for $3 to $4. The wildly exotic combinations will make you weep, they’re so delicious. Order up the slightly tart, violet-colored Blackberry Cream with blackberries, pineapple, honey and rich whole yogurt, or the Fruit Rainbow, a virtual blended bowl of fruit. If you’re daring, choose the thick Athlete’s Special, a mix of milk, dates, raw cashews, fruit and a dash of protein powder. If you arrive early enough, grab a chunk of the warm, moist carrot cake, with its golden caramelized crust, for $1.75.

Jessica Strand

*

Urban Yoga

Barbara Simon’s Urban

Yoga Workout

at Michael Kohn Gallery

8071 Beverly Blvd., L.A.

(323) 965-1995

www.toltecyoga.com

Who would have thought that yoga, a 5,000-year-old discipline, would be all the rage in the 21st century? At Urban Yoga Workout, a combination of hatha yoga and Toltec teachings, Barbara Simon brings more than two decades of experience to her classes. “I believe the body, the mind and the spirit are avenues of exploration that can be enhanced through the yoga experience,” Simon says. The urban part of the exercise includes push-ups and sit-ups. But what makes it urbane is the setting. Classes are held at Michael Kohn Gallery, allowing pupils to gaze at wonderful art while holding that cobra pose.

Victoria Looseleaf

*

En Garde

Westside Fencing Center

8737 Washington Blvd., Culver City

(310) 204-2688

Whether you’re preparing for your next swashbuckling movie role or trying to firm up those shoulders, the Westside Fencing Center may provide the most interesting StairMaster alternative since Tae-Bo. The largest fencing club on the West Coast, it is run by Roberta Brown and teaches the art of the lunge, parry and retreat to 50 to 150 people of all ages each day. Everybody gets a free introductory lesson. Using your foil, epee or saber makes for a great workout, but, Brown says, the secret is in leaving the boredom of the gym treadmill behind. “When you’re fencing,” she says, “you’re using your brain, and you don’t realize quite how much you’re using your body.” And, of course, the garb is so cool.

Peter Whittle

*

Cool Noodles

Suehiro

337 E. 1st St., Little Tokyo

(213) 626-9132

Dig your chopsticks into this mass of cool, flavorful noodles, dip them into the sake-spiked broth, inhale the delicate aroma, then slurp it up ... the perfect summer noodle dish. Owner Kenji Suzuki, who gets his authentic buckwheat soba from a distributor in San Diego, serves it three ways. The simple zaru soba comes in a bamboo strainer with a dollop of wasabi and green onions along with a tangy dipping sauce. Ten zaru is identical, but with a side of tempura shrimp and vegetables. Finally, his most popular dish, oroshi soba, comes in a large bowl, the noodles already in the sauce, garnished with green onions, wasabi, dried seaweed and pieces of crisp, brilliant yellow tempura batter.

Jessica Strand

*

Love! Valour! Movies!

OutFest 2002

July 11-22, various venues

(213) 480-7088 or

www.outfest.org

“We met at Outfest” is a line you hear with regularity from gay couples, and it’s hardly surprising. The social scene surrounding this huge, internationally important film festival is rightly legendary. (It beats standing around in a bar any day.) This year, for its 20th anniversary, Outfest is pulling out the stops. More than 40,000 people are expected to attend the 200-plus screenings of gay- and lesbian-themed films from 24 countries. Although the schedule is still to be finalized, the opening-night gala is “An Evening of Love, Sex and Romance” in celebration of gay filmdom. One of the festival’s highlights is a special slate of Middle Eastern and Arab films. Not one for Saddam.

Peter Whittle

*

Artistic Convergence

Harmony Gallery

5911 1/2 Franklin Ave., Hollywood

(323) 957-7965

Since its opening last September, the Harmony Gallery has managed to showcase an impressive array of underground superstars such as outlaw writer Jerry Stahl, punk-rock diva Lydia Lunch and Warhol Factory alum Mary Woronov. “We wanted to create a space that would provide readings, music and art,” explains curator Dave Jones, “and the hope is to use the gallery to expose not just established people, but young and emerging artists as well.” Run by Susan and John Polifornio, the same folks who own neighboring Counterpoint Books, the Harmony promises to offer another refreshing slice of counterculture to the parade of Beachwood Canyon-area beautiful people.

Jessica Hundley

*

Museum of the Night

Blitzstein Museum of Art

428 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.

(323) 852-4830

www.blitzstein.com

Across from Canter’s Deli and just south of oh-so-hip Largo lies a one-of-a-kind curiosity--the Blitzstein Museum of Art. Inside, live grotesque, gleeful characters are juxtaposed with serene backgrounds. Endearing, odd pencil sketches rest in unorganized crates on the floor, and paintings of all sizes loom on the walls. Each piece on display and for sale is born of Harry Blitzstein’s imagination. His work, though overtly macabre, always has humor bubbling underneath. Everything is for sale, and prices range from $1 for prints and $10 for smaller original drawings to $30,000 for some paintings. The museum is open nightly from twilight to midnight.

Blake Hennon

*

Film Flashback

Last Remaining Seats

Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway; Palace Theatre, 630 S. Broadway; Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, downtown L.A.

L.A. Conservancy, (213) 623-2489

Tickets by fax, (213) 623-3909 or

www.laconservancy.org

In this movie-mad city, it’s amazing that so many people remain unaware of the 1920s and ‘30s movie palaces that line Broadway in downtown L.A. Some of the best have been restored, most recently the Orpheum, with its brilliant neon sign and grand Wurlitzer organ still up and running. The Last Remaining Seats film series, which is now in its 16th year, starts Wednesday and includes five films: “Pillow Talk” on Wednesday and “From Here to Eternity” June 19 at the Los Angeles Theater (so opulent it has to be seen to be believed); “Now Voyager” June 5 and “Distinto Amanecer” June 26 at the Palace; and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” June 12 and “Girl Shy” July 3 at the Orpheum. Abandon the multiplex and find out why your grandparents are so nostalgic.

Peter Whittle