California Nightlife Gallery Red Balls and Rock N’ Roll

May 13, 2010 - 10:01 am

Who doesn’t think “porn industry” when someone mentions the San Fernando Valley? I mean, maybe other images ping pong back and forth, like lots of pine trees, gangbangers, or just a portrait of general suburban drudgery…but after an orgasmic experience of the edible kind, I will now think “perfect pizza and porn” when I hear it. Because not only is the Valley home to that lucrative backyard business, but residents also have access to an entire 20 inches…of delicious pizza crust, that is! And at Red Balls Rock N’ Roll Pizza, the coolest New York-style pizza joint on the west coast, you get yourself helpful servings of amazing Italian food, wide screen Hi-Def vintage concerts by The Stones, The Stooges, and Black Sabbath, and even live punk rock. All for a fraction of those NY prices.

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Santa Monica Nightlife Opaque: Dining in the Dark

January 7, 2010 - 10:53 am

opaque-2Opaque could best be described as a sort of novelty restaurant in Santa Monica, California — one that a lot of people seem to have heard about through the grapevine but to which few have actually been. If you haven’t heard, it’s where full-course meals are served in a completely pitch-black dining room (yeah, the above pic was taken with a flash-bulb) and plays like a sort of sensory-deprivation experiment that sort of doubles as a gourmet dining experience. One of the first things you notice about the place is how seriously they take their theme — even the outside makes it stand out as the only place on the block in total darkness. So is it worth all the hype?

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