CULTURE WATCH By Sarah A. Spitz Misses and Hits OK, call me the Grinch. “Something Rotten” at the Ahmanson Theatre just did not float my boat. Having recently seen both “Hamilton” and “Spamilton,” the bar for true theatrical innovation, as well as satire and parody of Broadway, is very high for me. I am vastly in... Read more →

Travels With The Obsessive Librarian By Cynthia Citron How long do you keep an overdue library book on your nightstand before you get around to returning it? Three days? Two weeks? How about 113 years? That's the mystery that confronts the inimitable Arye Gross, who plays the nameless Librarian in playwright Glen Berger's... Read more →

Culture Watch By Sarah A. Spitz GIVING THANKS FOR SPAMILTON Need a laugh? Head to the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City for Spamilton. It’s a both tribute to, and roast of, the creator of Hamilton, as well as a meta-commentary on Broadway musicals. As clever and speedy as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rapping rhymes are, Spamilton... Read more →

What they need and how you can help Lauren Label SMC Corsair/Daily Press Staff Writer When preparing for Thanksgiving, Santa Monica food banks gather traditional holiday ingredients to feed those in need. Local food banks including Westside Food Bank and the Santa Monica Salvation Army Food Pantry are doing everything in their power to... Read more →

Kimchi Pancake From Native restaurant Chef Nyesha Arrington has returned to Santa Monica with a new Downtown restaurant Arrington has a Westside pedigree with specific Santa Monica influences. After graduation from the Culinary School at the Art Institute of California in 2001 she worked for Josiah Citrin at Melisse and opened two... Read more →

  Kate Cagle Daily Press Staff Writer Electric car drivers in Santa Monica can look forward to seeing the City triple the number of public charging stations in the next three years, now that the City Council has approved an aggressive plan to encourage drivers to shift to electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce carbon emissions in the... Read more →

Major homelessness plan to be presented to City Council MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor Council will tackle homelessness with a major discussion at its Nov. 28 meeting. The council will receive its annual Homelessness report at the meeting including dense proposals for addressing the local crisis. The report calls for endorsing... Read more →

From Raphael Lunetta A turkey can be an intimidating bird to cook. You need one large enough to feed your holiday guest list, but small enough to actually fit in your oven. It needs to be cooked through but kept moist on the inside, preferably with a crispy exterior. The white and dark meat cook at different temperatures and yield... Read more →

Candied Yams From The Santa Monica Farmers Market The holidays are a time to indulge but they don’t have to be a time when the value of nutritious, local and seasonal food is forgotten. With some thought, care and maybe a little butter, holiday traditions can be a way to forge lifelong habits in young and/or picky eaters. For Rufiena... Read more →

Hot And Sweet Orange Chutney From Slow Food Preservers Slow Food Preservers of Los Angeles Certified Food Preservationist, Marcella Missirian, celebrates tradition and raises the bar with her California native alternative to cranberry sauce. Growing up among orange and lemon groves in LA and her love of world travel, she’s upped the... Read more →

Miso & herb glazed eggplant From Emma D'Alessandro Santa Monica is home to many lifestyles and specialized diets. Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, Pescatarian, Gluten Free, low carb, reduced sugar, raw or just picky: somewhere in the city, there’s a holiday meal suitable for every appetite and just because you’re not eating a turkey... Read more →

Chicken A La Russe From Sea Wind Organics Holidays are about traditions, passed down from one generation to the next and along the way there are some habits that become cultural touchstones. Turkey at Thanksgiving, a Christmas Ham, pumpkin or perhaps a pecan pie. However, sometimes an untraditional dish becomes its own tradition as is... Read more →

Honeynut Squash and Apple Stuffing From Vucacious Catering For Chef Kim Vu, the main event of a holiday is actually the side dishes and her take on a classic stuffing recipe is all about enhancing taste by selecting peak produce. “Thanksgiving happens to be my most favorite holiday of the year,” she said. “It’s a holiday I... Read more →

Butternut Squash soup with fried Brussel sprouts By Smith Farms When you’re a local farmer, you tend to eat what you grow and that means you’re going to have a highly seasonal diet. Eating what’s in season is just the way it’s done with Smith Family Farms and they said the benefits of synching your stomach to the seasons are... Read more →

From the Santa Monica Farmers Market No matter what you’re planning for your holiday meals, the best place to stock up on the produce you need is the Santa Monica Farmers Market. With four markets on three days spread across the city, everything you need for a holiday meal is available locally. Jodi Low, Market Coordinator for the... Read more →