(Buzz)

CityThink
A freeway that’s no longer free. Plus: What we’ll wait in line for     

L.A. Archetype 
A veteran acting coach hits her mark    

Ask Chris
Chris Nichols grows more neighborly      

L.A. Story
Christopher Walken on Brando’s bongos, afternoon movies, and being pedestrian            

The Seen
All the parties fit to crash  

How L.A. Works
Taking apart a cop chopper, piece by piece   

(Shop)

Made in L.A.
From flirty dresses to high-end denim, handcrafted purses to handmade shoes, find out who’s making what in this town and where to get it. Plus: Three local personalities model three local designers whose love affair with this city is no secret 

WEB EXTRA: Behind-the-scenes video from our Made in L.A. fashion shoot  

(Eat) 

Small Bites
It’s for the birds: why so many opt to leave Thanksgiving to the pros; celebrating dinner, midcentury style; bar-hopping for olive oil; Eric Greenspan plans a grilled cheese takeover; make your own kimchi (or try L.A.’s finest); a holiday punch to warm up the crowd plus: Casey Lane’s gastropub is hot and heavy, and new reviews of Osteria Drago, the Sycamore Kitchen, and Kitchen Table 

The Dine Review
Patric Kuh tries to parse Ari Taymor’s cooking style at his restaurant, Alma 

(Do)

Culture Files
An odyssey with Stanley Kubrick; eight hours of Gatsby ; on track with fast horses; writing the big book on 007

Best of LA
Where to ride L.A.’s  prettiest painted ponies    

The Guide
30 things to do this month, from grooving with Ravi Shankar to gazing upon Caravaggio to crying over Morrissey   

(Columns)

Culture
By Steve Erickson
Sometimes it’s better not to know what your favorite artist is thinking          

Open City
By Anne Taylor Fleming
Why the LAPD can still provoke shivers    

Business
By Mark Lacter
Privately built rockets add fuel to the area’s aerospace industry 

Urban Affairs
By Charlie Schroeder
One man’s epic quest to learn the “real” history of Los Angeles  

PLUS: 5 Things We’re Not Supposed To Tell You About This Issue

5,000 stitches
→ Needle-and-thread count necessary to create the logo for our “Made in L.A.” special section. Senior art director Byron Regej sent a digital template to the Sherman Oaks custom service Mr. Stitch Embroidery, and they sewed up the deal.

300 pounds
→ “Live weight” of the slaughtered hog brought to Mozza that’s featured in the “Aging Gracefully” spread of our Food Lovers Guide. Photographer Misha Gravenor even snapped a few of the supine swine. May it rest in grease.

555 ramirez
→ Street address of the C. Erwin Piper Technical Center, where associate editor Chris Nichols spent hours poring over an archive of city records to find the oldest operating bar in Los Angeles. Belly up to his Ask Chris column for the answer.

317 Passes
→ How many times editor-at-large Amy Wallace believes she’s driven by the festooned tree at 7667 Mulholland Drive without stopping to investigate. For this issue she put on the brakes to write “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” our tribute to neighborhood shrines.

1 Ex-wife
→ Number of former spouses mentioned in the profile of artist Chris Burden. What we didn’t say is that the ex was Barbara Burden, the former general manager of this magazine, who retired in 2011 after 33 years with the company.