Sandal season
Leopardo, Palm Springs, lunch at Chateau Marmont, Emi Norris, Bay of Angels Sandals, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Skenes in the game
The Skinny: Chef Joshua Skenes, formerly of San Francisco’s Saison and Angler, turns his attention to wood-fired California fare in a casual, classic LA setting, the longtime home of La Brea Bakery. At Leopardo, he’s putting his own spin on the de rigeur dishes of 2024.
The Vibe: Big budget — and a little bland. The entrance is marked by a script neon pink sign. Inside, soaring ceilings, white walls, and rigid wood chairs anchor a marble bar and Neapolitan pizza oven. Towards the back, a brick wall of posters and celebrity photographs nod to Hollywood.
The Menu: Skenes’ spins include umami-charged caviar (cured with country bacon salt and aged for six months), caprese featuring tomatoes cooked down for 18 hours, and a surprisingly light deer tartare plated with roasted bone marrow. His Neapolitan-style pizzas feature billowing, flavorful crusts and concentrated toppings like a smoky, ham-infused tomato sauce in the “re-marinara.”
The most captivating elements of Leopardo’s menu, however, are the cocktails: extremely inventive and batched to order, devised by the chef himself. After someone at my six-top ordered the rum-based Chocolate Springwater — a tall glass of clear liquid that tastes like ultra-crisp Nesquik — the rest of us swiftly called for our own. It was the kind of surprise only a chef (and mixologist!) like Skenes can deliver.
The Verdict: It’s early days, but we’ll be back for cocktails and the thrill of Skenes’s creative approach. –Emily Wilson
→ Leopardo (Hancock Park) • 460 S La Brea Ave • Tues-Sat 530-1030p • Reserve.
LA RESTAURANT LINKS: Travis Lett, chef who put Gjelina on the map, is back • Following flood, DTLA’s Clifton’s Republic set to reopen next month, kitsch intact • Chef James Kent of NYC’s Saga/Crown Shy is overhauling the food offerings at Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park • Members only Bird Streets Club adding new restaurant • WeHo’s Gym Bar upgrading furniture, food, more • The case for the teeny-tiny tini.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Object
Open toes
Angeleno Denise Morello (the wife of Rage Against the Machine rocker Tom Morello) pays homage to her Italian roots with her Bay of Angels sandals, made of 100% vegetable-tanned outsoles and a traditional, hand-carved technique. Ranging in styles from up-the-knee gladiators to pillow-soft slides, each pair is handcrafted in a family-owned factory in the heart of the Caprese region. Just in time for summer break. –Zoe Schaeffer
→ Shop: Bay of Angels collection, $145-275.
REAL ESTATE • Second Homes
Palm Springs eternal
The pandemic days of Airbnb-investor fueled glory for the Palm Springs real estate market are long gone. The Palm Springs City Council enacted legislation in 2022 capping the number of homes that can be offered as short-term rentals, as well as restricting the number of times those properties can be rented that way each year. And yet, a retrenched market and the traditional Palm Springs buyers — namely, retirees and those in search of second homes — have since reasserted dominance. Good news for them, as shifting policies and stubbornly high interest rates have made for a buyers’ market.
The median listing in Palm Springs sits at $829,000, per Realtor.com. In the more elevated swath above $3M, deals are getting done, but often after price reductions. Indeed, here are three recent Palm Springs sales, all of which listed this year, quickly cut asking prices, then found buyers:
→ 201 Camino Sur (Old Las Palmas, above) • 4BR/4.1BA, 3978 SF • contemporary on corner lot built 2005, sold with most furnishings • Listed: 1/29/24 for $4.05M • Sold: 4/30/24 for $3.65M • Agent: Louise Hampton, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
→ 466 Bella Cara Way (Andreas Hills) • 4BR/4.2BA, 5198 SF • adjacent to golf course at Estancias at South Canyon development • Listed: 3/24/24 for $3.595M • Sold: 5/31/24 for $3.425M • Agent: Michael Erives, BHG Desert Lifestyle Properties.
→ 563 Athena Ct (Tennis Club) • 3BR/3.2BA, 3976 SF • modern home built 2019 in Skye development • Listed: 2/6/24 for $3.295M • Sold: 5/6/24 for $3M • Agent: Keith Markovitz, Compass.
LA WORK AND PLAY LINKS: After landslide, Topanga Canyon Boulevard has reopened, months ahead of schedule • Sawtelle’s West Edge development adding five new retailers • Restoration of Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco trail to begin next month • Trending in Zoom prep: professional makeup artists • Older women rule.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Hotels, greater Palm Springs
Parker Palm Springs (Palm Springs), Jonathan Adler design, complete w/ croquet courts and firepits, $419
Sensei Porcupine Creek (Rancho Mirage), wellness retreat w/ golf and tennis, food by Nobu, $1160
L’Horizon (Palm Springs), William Cody-designed poolside bungalows, $450
Life House (Palm Springs), new property inspired by old Hollywood glamor, $259
Two Bunch Palms (Desert Hot Springs), serene hot springs resort and spa, $425
Casa Cody (Palm Springs, above), historic hotel w/ chic Spanish revivalist decor at base of San Jacinto Mountains, $389
The Colony Palms Hotel and Bungalows (Palm Springs), adult-only property w/ poolside dining and spa, $380
Sparrows Lodge (Palm Springs), restored 1950s lodge w/ massage tent, $539
The Ritz Carlton (Rancho Mirage), five-star resort nestled in mountains, overlooking city, $593
All rates June weekend, one night king. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundla.com.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Big Sur’s Rocky Point to open to public after deal struck with billionaire owner • Paul’s Slide section of Route 1 at Big Sur closed since 2023 sees July reopening • Marriott’s march: Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach becoming St. Regis… and Oahu’s Turtle Bay Resort transforming into Ritz Carlton • Kīlauea Volcano on Big Island erupting again in area quiet since 1974 • World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 (tops in California: SingleThread, no. 46).
WORK • Thursday Routine
Calling an audible
EMI NORRIS • managing director, US • Paradiso Media
Neighborhood you live in: Larchmont
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
As the managing director of a boutique podcast studio, my days vary depending on what projects we have in development or production. On any given Thursday, I may be working on strategic planning with our parent company in Paris, drafting a budget, negotiating crew or talent deals, editing a pitch deck, giving notes on cuts, catching up with partners, or checking in 1:1 with my teams in NY and LA.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today we’re wrapping up delivery on the 52nd episode of a weekly documentary news and culture podcast on Audible (Brutally Informed), meeting with prospective writers for the TV derivative of one of our fiction podcasts, and sending follow-up materials on current pitches.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I work in Hollywood, so my go-to business lunch spots during the week are Iki Ramen, Superba, and Great White on Larchmont. Alfalfa has the best to-go salads. For dinner, the last special-occasion place that really blew my mind is Verse in Toluca Lake — besides excellent food and cocktails, it’s inside a recording studio with live music and perfect acoustics (for us elder millennials who no longer want to shout while we eat).
How about a little leisure or culture?
I recently visited the Mr. Brainwash Art Museum pop-up in Beverly Hills for the first time. It’s in the former Paley Center of Media building, which was acquired by the artist Thierry Guetta (who was featured in Banksy documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop). It’s fun, quirky, subversive, thought-provoking — highly recommend a visit. I love catching concerts with friends whenever I can; just saw Caetano Veloso at Disney Concert Hall and Juanes at YouTube Theater. Otherwise, leisure on the weekends tends to be kid-centric. Recent highlights were the Bluey experience at CAMP and our first family trip to Disneyland.
Any weekend getaways?
My husband and I love driving up to Santa Barbara for the weekend with our daughter and dog. We’ll stop in Ventura on the way, eat tacos on the pier at Beach House Tacos, then have an early dinner at the Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach while the dog roams free on the beach.
What was your last great vacation?
Costa Rica over the holidays. We stayed in Quepos on the Western Coast, spotted sloths and monkeys in Manual Antonio National Park, kayaked through mangroves with Mangrove Tours Nacarcosta, and participated in a baby sea turtle release on Isla Damas. Our favorite restaurant there was Terrazza by Issimo.
Photo: Brandon Barnhart
CULTURE & LEISURE • Null Set
No Values Festival, The Misfits, Social Distortion, Iggy Pop, Bad Religion, more, Fairplex (Pomona), Saturday @ 11a, VIP, $399 per
Janet Jackson, The Kia Forum (Inglewood), section 107, Sat @ 8p, $191 per
Vampire Weekend, Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood), Wed @ 630p, section F3, $80 per
RESTAURANTS • First Person
An iconic lunch
When I learned that Château Marmont was finally accepting lunch reservations, I jumped in my car, drove to Sunset Boulevard, and gave the keys to the venue’s mandatory valet the very next day.
As I climbed the creaky wooden stairs leading to the reception, the place felt more alive than ever, haunted by the spirits of its iconic guests. Seated under a flowery umbrella and with a glass of Provence rosé in hand, I scanned the surroundings: still, the giant palm trees, the red and beige rattan tables, those giant curtains. Still that crowd: On my left, a power lunch between a famous actress and an artsy director (who, as I’ll later read in Variety, signed her to his new movie). At my back, international producers whisper oui or non to adding a YouTube artist on their label roster. A quiet luxury designer at the table next to me interrupts my wandering thoughts, ordering huevos rancheros.
The menu, too, remains full of classics with California flair. Starters include spicy tuna tartare and ‘chikki’ nuggets for the vegans. I indulge in the local shrimp cocktail and a baguette with French butter. In addition to obligatory salads with plentiful add-ons, there’s a burger — made with Wagyu — along with a turkey club, sweet-corn polenta, and linguini and clams.
There is no rush here at lunch. I noticed people lingering long after their last bite, adding new clauses to contracts with each additional cup of coffee. Pictures and selfies are prohibited, adding a vintage vibe to the peaceful atmosphere. Lunch at Chateau Marmont may be on Resy, but it remains a safe haven. –Marine White
→ Château Marmont (West Hollywood) • 8221 Sunset Blvd • Daily 730a-130a • Reserve.
ASK FOUND
Three FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we’re seeking intel:
I’m looking for something special. What are the best jewelry stores in LA?
Where should I be drinking al fresco this summer?
What’s your favorite restaurant in LA (if you haven’t told us already)?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundla.com.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
Dispatches from the frontline, from FOUND subscribers, for FOUND subscribers:
→ A handful of favorite restaurants from new subscribers: Republique (Mid-City) • Providence (Hollywood) • Osteria Mozza (Hancock Park) • Donna’s (Echo Park) • Uovo (Pasadena).