Features:
50 L.A. StoriesWhen you grow up in Los Angeles, you experience the city differently from those who arrive later. You know what’s missing, what used to be. You don’t just remember how the ocean feels at dawn or what Hollywood Boulevard was like pregentrification—those memories help shape who you are. To commemorate the magazine’s 50th birthday, we asked 50 famous locals—from 17-year-old
iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove to 90-year-old writer Ray Bradbury—to tell us their stories
That’s the Spirit!
Feeling festive? The city’s top ten wine, beer, and liquor retailers can help you with that. From a Westside shop with more than 250 bubbly varieties to an organic spiced rum made in Monrovia, here’s where you’ll find it all. PLUS: How to pick a scotch, and a new line of mixology gift sets
By Lesley Bargar Suter and Sara Wilson
High Times With Anna Nicole Smith
The former stripper, Guess model, Playmate of the Year, and reality-TV spectacle liked her pills. With the help of her physician friends and ex-lover, she would consume as many as 1,500 in a month. Not long after her son’s fatal overdose in 2006, Smith died of an overdose as well. The trial that resulted revealed a life as tawdry as it was tragic
By Steven Mikulan
Buzz:
Ask Chris
Chris NIchols takes a statuesque bull by the horns
By Chris Nichols
The SEEN
All the parties fit to crash?
By Kari Mozena
L.A. Archetype
Personal shopper Nicole Pollard hunts down high-end wares for her affluent and demanding clientele
By Alexandra Nicole Siegel
Street Smart
Sunset Plaza has long been a glamour spot, back to when Garbo and Dietrich patronized its salons and European-style cafés
By Sara Wilson
Tastemaker
Claudia Bestor stirs up programming at the Hammer Museum
By Laurie Pike
Au Courant
Jewelry’s new chain gang and a host of holiday gifts
By Alexis Alagem
Columns:
Open CityThe high heels treading L.A. streets tell the story of putting a bold foot forward in uncertain times
By Anne Taylor Fleming
Speak Easy
Iranian American Reza Aslan, the telegenic professor and writer, discusses Islam and how he’s moving beyond his role as just another talking head
By Ed Leibowitz
Food
At Madame Chocolat in Beverly Hills, owner Hasty Torres weds French quality with American nostalgia: chocolate-covered Cheerios, Oreos, and Rice Krispies Treats. She’s also married to celebrity chocolatier Jacques Torres, who taught her just about everything he knows
By Margot Dougherty
Business
How much money is an executive worth? Apparently tens of millions at Occidental Petroleum, the city’s largest publicly traded company. When its shareholders disagreed, the press-shy corporation suddenly found itself the center of attention
By Mark Lacter
Dine
Chef Roman Petry makes a beeline from Japanese to German at Santa Monica Place’s Ozumo and Sonoma Wine Garden. Mixed as the results can be, the guy’s got chops
By Patric Kuh
PLUS: Radicchio, Ludovic Lefebvre’s pad thai, a Jewish tradition, and reviews of more than 100 restaurants
Web Extras:
The Reading List: December '10
Every month LAmag.com highlights titles of local interest that are hitting the bookshelves. Here’s what’s new
By Wendy Witherpsoon
10 More L.A. Stories
Some of the locals featured in our December cover story share more tidbits about being born and raised in L.A.
L.A. Stories: Bodhi Elfman
The actor, who talks about growing up in Los Angeles in our December cover story, returns to the ArcLight Hollywood to share the story behind his first date with his wife, actress Jenna Elfman