Jessica Koslow

There’s a story that goes along with the Mardi Gras bead-covered grand piano at Evangeline Swamp Room, located next door to the beloved eatery, The Little Jewel of New Orleans. It is the work of John K. Lawson, a New Orleans-based artist, and it was once a fixture at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. In 2023, Brennan’s was looking to rebrand and, in doing so, remove the piano. Since Doug Legacy was the resident pianist for the past five years, it was offered to him.

“Doug would come in over the years,” said Eunah Beniger Kang, one-half of the husband-wife owners of The Little Jewel of New Orleans and Evangeline Swamp Room. “He’s from Louisiana. When he found out that we had the idea for a bar — because we had been talking about this for a long time — he said, ‘I have this grand piano that I think would be a great fit for your space.’ We’re like, ‘How about rolling it on over to our bar and you can play it on the weekends?’ So, that’s what we’re doing now.”

Legacy plays on Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 5 to 8 p.m. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Sometimes being called a hidden gem is a compliment. Other times, being hidden is not the goal.

Take Marina del Rey, for instance.

“Marina del Rey is oftentimes thought of as a hidden gem,” said Janet Zaldua, CEO of Marina del Rey Tourism, “and we don’t want to be so hidden anymore.”

This sentiment rings especially true now that FIFA World Cup 2026 has landed at its doorstep. Marina del Rey is 20 minutes from SoFi Stadium, where eight matches will be held through July 10.

“I’ve been involved with the visitor experiences committee of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board,” explained Zaldua. “We heard from LA Sports & Entertainment Commission about what folks can do to participate. There was a lot of talk about how this is going to bring a lot of energy to Los Angeles. We didn’t want to be on the sidelines.”  . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Hotel June is perfectly located in LA. It’s just minutes from LAX and also near to Venice, Marina del Rey, Playa Vista and Santa Monica on one side and SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum on the other.

Since June 2020, when it took over the 1960s modernist white tower then occupied by the Custom Hotel and originally designed by architect Welton Becket — whose firm is also responsible for the Capitol Records Building and the Beverly Hilton — Hotel June’s restaurant (and bar and pool) has slowly become a neighborhood spot on the Westside. 

Its latest launch, Caravan Cantina is a full re-concept of its previous restaurant, Caravan Swim Club, into a Baja-inspired taqueria and bar, and it may be just what the locals ordered. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

When Lenny Rosenberg and Adaeze Nwanonyiri first met in 2013 at a private event in Malibu, it did not take long for them to imagine a future together. Nwanonyiri discussed her love of design, and Rosenberg relayed his affinity for food and baking.  

“We wanted to learn more about each other’s passions,” said Nwanonyiri, who now handles the aesthetics, interior and exterior, of the couple’s two shops: New York Bagel Deli & Bakery in Santa Monica and New York Bagel Deli (NYBD) Mar Vista, which just changed ownership on May 13. 

When NYBD co-founder Brian Gruntz decided to retire, the married restaurateurs purchased the business. They took over the Santa Monica location in February 2025 and agreed to buy the Mar Vista store the following year. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.