Although I wasn't planning on it, Thursday night turned out to be a night full of Hollywood events!

Nyla Arslanian, the Editor of Discover Hollywood and President of the Hollywood Arts Council, was presented with a check from the  Hollywood Chamber of Commerce at a mixer they held at  Tekila on Hollywood Blvd.  Oscar-Nyla's husband and the Publisher of Discover Hollywood-joined her, as did Shauna-the Hollywood Arts Council Executive Director-and myself.  I got a bit sweaty running (almost literally) over there from our office at Crossroads of the World, but even walking just a few blocks in Hollywood blesses your eyes with some truly amusing sights.  For example, there was a man outside a bar, wearing sneakers and talking on his phone.  It seemed normal, until we realized he was wearing a Nylon skunk costume?  Hey, whatever floats your boat!

Anyway, after our impromptu evening jaunt we made it to Tekila and I must say, this little annual party is lovely!  I highly recommend that you go next year.  We had hardly said hello to a soul before we were greeted with a GIANT tray of chicken empanadas.  I'm a vegetarian so as amazing as they smelled, I didn't get to try one.  Nyla, on the other hand, tried one and said it was delicious!  After a few meet-n-greets with the nice folks of the Chamber, we entered the building.  With our two free drink tickets, Shauna and I grabbed a couple of margaritas at the bar.  Not only were they delicious, but they were strong-especially considering that they were free.  We definitely left the bartenders some generous tips for treating us all so well.

We all schmoozed for about half an hour, and then they started presenting awards for the night.  We got our picture taken with our check and Nyla thanked everybody.  After finishing up our margaritas and chit-chats, we headed out.

My next stop was the Groundlings theatre on Melrose.  I can't believe I've lived in Los Angeles my whole life and I've never been to a show at the Groundlings!  ( Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on Franklin is closer to me, but still!)  My boyfriend and some of his fellow UCLA teacher's assistants scored group discount tickets to the Crazy Uncle  Joe Show that night, so I met them all there.  The Crazy Uncle Joe Show is actually a really incredible long-form improv show-one of L.A.'s longest running! 


                                                        


It starts off with three suggestions from the audience, and the 7 or so comedians come up with stories based off of them.  Then-and this is where the real fun begins-they begin to miraculously weave the stories together, which makes for some incredible comedy!  They do this for 40 minutes straight-twice!  Wow.  All ten of us were literally crying with laughter the entire show, it was absolutely brilliant.  Grape pickers, butchers, and police officers (the first set of suggestions) are an apparently hilarious combination!

It was nearly ten o'clock and I hadn't eaten dinner yet, so Mathew and I headed down the street to Swingers for some late night snacks with a couple of his friends. 
  
                                                        

The best word to describe Swingers is: hip.  It's super hip.  Hip in that it's flooded with hipsters, but also hip in the mid-century meaning of the word.  Walking in, you feel as though you've walked onto the set of Pulp Fiction , or, fittingly,  Swingers.   A bar wraps around the whole front of the room, and giant booths line the windows.  It's sort of 1950s and 60s themed, but not overpoweringly so.  And the food is awesome.  I haven't been there in years and  the last time I went I only got a milkshake (although I still remember how delicious it was-chocolate/peanutbutter/banana/soy milk!)  This time I was getting a full meal, and my stomach was excited about it!

There are about a millionmenu options, all fairly reasonably priced ($10 to $15 for full entrees, but there's way more than that on the menu) and all delicious.  And for three  vegetarians and a vegan, plenty of stuff for us to choose from too.  One of our friends suggested the veggie sloppy joe, but I had my eyes set on the soyrizo scramble.  So glad I went with it.  Two eggs (although tofu is an option) scrambled with soyrizo (veggie chorizo), blackbeans and salsa.  I added plenty of hot sauce.  It comes with tortillas or, as I ordered, blue corn chips.  So amazing!  Especially with the side of guacamole I happily globbed on top.  It was incredibly satisfying.  My only complaint is that I wanted a second one!

After a hearty meal and an hour or two of politics talk, we decided it was time to go home.  I went to sleep feeling like I had taken advantage of the city for the first time in a long while!  I recommend you go out and do the same.  Enjoy!

Tekila is located at 6541 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, CA 90028
The Groundlings is located at 7307 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles, CA 90046.
Swingers is located at 8020 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA 90048