Señior Fish’s soft opening today in Echo Park

You wouldn’t know it from the outside, other than a vinyl banner and a couple of colorful but crudely-drawn signs on the windows, but Señor Fish’s new location in Echo Park had its soft opening today. It still smells like fresh sawdust inside, the walls are bare, and there is likely a bit of furniture yet to be moved in – but the kitchen is 100% ready!

We snuck in not too long before the 9:00 pm closing tonight and snagged a couple of Ensenada Fish Tacos with mayo spread and guacamole. At $3.50 a piece, it’s not your cheapest deal in town. But the tacos are so freaking delicious that it’s worth every penny!

A+ for crispiness, the tangy mayo, a smokey salsa, and super fresh cabbage and guacamole. We honestly left wishing we had ordered about 10 more!

Señor Fish is open at 8:30 am tomorrow morning for breakfast and close at 9:00 pm. Although Echo Park Patch reports they are not serving any alcohol, our server behind the counter confirmed our inquiry by pointing out a display of beer including Corona, Modelo and Negro Modelo. Perhaps some day they’ll get a full liquor license for some margaritas to go along with those delicious fish tacos!

Señor Fish is located at 1701 Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park.

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Tonight: Updates on the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project

Screenshot from echoparklake.com

Tonight, the city is holding an Oversight and Odor Monitoring Committee meeting for those interested in getting updates on and ask questions about the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project. Only 11 months left of the project – we’ll find out if things are moving along as planned.

The meeting is today, Monday, April 30, 2012, at 6:30 pm, at the St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral in the “Joseph and Child” room.

St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral is located at 840 Echo Park Ave.

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Lotus Festival returning in 2012, sans Echo Park Lake

We’ve suffered through Lotus Festivals without dragon-boat races, and the past few years without the lotus blossoms themselves – but a Lotus Festival with no lake?

Planned for July 14-15, this will mark the 34th Lotus Festival in Echo Park – the past couple of years have been “scaled back” versions of the festival (it was canceled completely in 2009). We didn’t expect to have on in 2011, until plans to start the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project were pushed back until later that year and the fest went on.

This year’s Lotus Festival will not be held at the lake, which is currently empty and completely gated up during construction. Instead, the parking lots between Echo Park Avenue and Lemoyne, south of Sunset Boulevard, will serve as the grounds. This will definitely be a “scaled back” version of the event.

The details aren’t finalized, but one thing’s for sure – there won’t be any Dragon Boat races!

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Neighborhood Council installs banner for 10th anniversary

The corner of Echo Park Avenue and Sunset Boulevard has a new addition – an approximately nine foot banner stretched across the intersection with the words, “Celebrating ten years of community service.”

The banner was installed in advance of the ten year anniversary celebration for the neighborhood council, taking place on Monday, April 16 at Taix Restaurant. The celebration has been a bit controversial because of the cost – they plan to spend $1,000 for the “outreach event,” and what one board member called “inappropriate and in bad taste, especially now in these times.” (The anniversary party is a free event that will feature founding members, and past presidents and members.)

The cost of the banner? Approximately $1,000 was allocated (they came “under budget” according to CIO Lisa Baca-Sigala), and while the city waved the installation fees, it’s a pretty penny for a tax-payer funded organization facing budget cuts.

But we don’t mean to complain outright – we don’t attend GEPENC meetings or participate in the neighborhood council (usually only two people show up to their meetings). Maybe it’s time for everyone to get involved so we can have a say in these types of expenditures?

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What to expect in Echo Park on Dodger Stadium opening day

The new season of baseball at Dodger Stadium (with new owners!) is also going to be it’s 50th year – that’s right, the stadium opened in 1962 after bulldozing a whole neighborhood in Chavez Ravine.

But we all know about that – so here’s what you can expect in Echo Park if you’re new to the whole Opening Day hoopla at Dodger Stadium, taking place on Tuesday, April 10 at 1:10 pm in a game versus Pittsburgh:

1. Pre-gaming: Tailgating has started as early as 7:00 am, loud music for us neighbors to hear included. But the LAPD will be in full force, arriving as early as 4:00 am to the command post, to crack down on any debauchery.
2. The Scott Avenue gate will remain open this season for outgoing traffic only on high traffic days (it was just re-opened a few years ago after being closed for a decade).
3. Gates open at 10:00 am – which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
4. Pregame ceremony starts at 12:30 pm, and will include a military flyover 10 minutes before the start of the game
5. As in past years, the Dodger Stadium Express Metro service will run. Service will run from Union Station every 10 minutes, starting 90 minutes before the start of the game, after which it will run every 30 minutes. Ticket-holders ride free, or it’ll cost you a mere $1.50 (better than the $15 parking fee!).
6. Traffic, traffic, traffic: Department of Transportation personnel will be deployed to certain intersections to help mitigate traffic issues. Since the game is pretty much sold out, the 50,000 fans that descend on Elysian Park will certainly cause some heavy traffic before and after the game, so plan appropriately!

As we mentioned, the LAPD will be out in full force to keep everyone under control – it’s been just over a year since Bryan Stow was beaten to near death by some trouble-makers in Dodger gear, so we hope the same tragedy won’t be made again.

Be sure to call the Neighborhood Focus line at 323.224.2636, or the command post at 323-344-5707 if you any issues.

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Why you might want to avoid the Echo Park McDonald’s tomorrow

Photo via The Effervescent Vegan

PETA didn’t just moved its west coast headquarters to Echo Park last month  – they’re apparently going to start making their mark with a protest in the neighborhood.

LA Weekly reports that tomorrow PETA will take a stand against McDonald’s by staging a protest at the Echo Park location on Glendale Boulevard. The 5:00 pm protest (just in time for dinner) will bring out “hundreds” of young animal-loving demonstrators, including some wearing chicken costumes.

The purpose of the protest isn’t exactly about the “pink slime” we’ve all heard about on Facebook, but to demand McDonald’s start using more humane methods when it comes to killing chickens, which apparently European franchises already do. McDonald’s responded in the LA Weekly article:

We appreciate the chance to correct the inaccuracies of PETA’s campaign, and to outline the facts about McDonald’s animal welfare practices. McDonald’s expects humane treatment of animals by our suppliers in every part of the world where we do business. McDonald’s requires our food suppliers to do the right thing – for animals, for humans, and for the environment.

Who knows if a protest at the Echo Park McDonald’s will make a difference, but I guess you gotta start somewhere!

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