Charles Phoenix
CHARLES PHOENIX MADE UNION STATION COOL FOR A NIGHT
As if the fabulous Union Station in downtown LA wasn’t fun ENOUGH, our friend, the colorful Charles Phoenix, made it a night to remember! Charles has become The Ambassador of Los Angeles – he loves everything about the city – past, present, and future – and he has the vintage slides to prove it! Charles took his standing room only audience on a historical visual tour of downtown –including Chinatown and Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, Clifton’s Cafeteria, and many places that just aren’t around any more. He drew a colorful and varied crowd – unlike the frazzled train passengers with luggage walking by. Of course Union Station is a gorgeous vintage building and worth a visit if you haven’t seen it. It’s in the process of revitalization and will soon have cool new places to eat, drink, and socialize.
(Above: Charles Phoenix, Janet Charlton, and actor Richard Tanner)
VIVA LAS VEGAS ROCKABILLY WEEKEND IS THE ANTI-COACHELLA
Don’t tell me you missed another Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend! It was last weekend and the town was loaded with greasers and women with pompadors, tattoos, pinup girls, hot rods, achingly beautiful custom vintage cars, along with plenty of music and dancing. (Coincidentally or not, the same weekend as Coachella.) Dita Von Teese is a regular, and sometimes she brings one of HER vintage cars. (She usually manages to turn up at Coachella, also.) Our sartorially blessed friend Charles Phoenix entertains the crowd with his classic Vegas slideshows. Every year this event gets bigger and hotter.
CLIFTON’S CAFETERIA STILL HAS RAINBOW JELLO!
Clifton’s legendary Cafeteria had its grand opening tonight (A fundraiser for the LA Conservancy) and if you loved eating at cafeterias when you were a kid, THIS is the place to be! Remember those turkey dinners with mashed potatoes and jello desserts? They are still there. Along with Waldorf salad and creamed cauliflower! All in potentially beautiful downtown Los Angeles. The new owner Andrew Meieran seems to feel the love for the old cafeteria also. Of course he’s adding a modern and pricier “comfort food’ restaurant upstairs and a tiki bar. But the lovable cafeteria retains much of its original charm – and cleaned up. We ran into midcentury historian Charles Phoenix there and he put his tray down to pose for a photo.
CHARLES PHOENIX WOULD WALK A MILE FOR AN ICE CREAM CLOWN
Our adorable friend Charles Phoenix loves California, Americana, and especially anything vintage, as much as we do. He is definitely an authority on kitsch pop culture. Once he even wowed a Hollywood crowd by demonstrating how to make Ambrosia at a party at our own house! When he’s not hosting his amazing “tours,” or presenting slide shows, he’s discovering new places we should all know about. Above, Charles introduces us to Gunther’s Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento, California (since 1949) and their famous Ice Cream Clown Cones.
CHARLES PHOENIX LOVES PANN’S COFFEE SHOP – AND SO DO WE!
Our friend Charles Phoenix sent us this video he did for KCET showing off his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles- and it happens to be OUR favorite restaurant also! Pann’s Coffee Shop is like a trip back in time. It has all the swanky glamour it had when it opened in 1958 and the same family still owns and runs it. You’d think a place with such appealing Googie architecture (our weakness!) would have average food at best – but the fare is home made, delicious, and affordable. What more could you ask? The last time we ate at Pann’s, our waiter recalled that Halle Berry worked as a waitress there for a few days when she was preparing for her role in “Monster’s Ball.” Lots of movies have been filmed there. Enjoy the video.