The Italian & the Assassination
This weekend brought me a fabulous new restaurant to add to my dining list and one great movie to bring back my Kennedy family obsession.
One of Silver Lake's famous Italian cuisine hipster hangouts, Michelangelo, served up what was probably one of the best Italian meals I've had. They took the standard italian recipes and perfected them, again and again. And the wine, oh, the wine! I had the most perfectly balanced glass of Pinot Grigio, while my guy had the finest Pinot Noir they had to offer. Along with the succulent tastes of the evening, the vibe of the place was unusually comfortable. It was one of those dinners where you could just sit there for hours and enjoy the delicious foods and simple yet swank surroundings.
After prying ourselves away from yet another glass of wine, we headed on to the movie of the night: Bobby. Documenting the events of the day that led up to the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, Emilio Estevez delivers an amazing rendition of how this sad day affected the lives of not only the nation, but those of twenty-two people who were staying at The Ambassador Hotel that fateful night. The superstar cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, Sharon Stone, Elijah Wood, and Heather Graham delivered an Oscar-worthy performance across the board. Since watching the movie, I have become reobsessed with the Kennedy family, and more locally The Ambassador Hotel. Or what remains of it, anyway.
The movie was filmed in the real Ambassador Hotel just before the 84-year old building was demolished late last year. Located just off Wilshire Boulevard in Hollywood, I just now learned that I missed this famously historic site by about a month. Evidently, after many debates and protesting, the building was torn down so that a new school could be built.
Being a native Nashvillian, I was always surrounded by history. Civil War battle remnants, slave plantations and old country towns from the 1800's were a common site. I love having the opportunity to explore these sites and see just what it would have been like back then. In Los Angeles, it's quite the opposite. The furthest back history goes is to the early 1900's and even then it's a stretch. So why on Earth would they tear down one of the city's oldest and most notoriously famous hotels?
One of Silver Lake's famous Italian cuisine hipster hangouts, Michelangelo, served up what was probably one of the best Italian meals I've had. They took the standard italian recipes and perfected them, again and again. And the wine, oh, the wine! I had the most perfectly balanced glass of Pinot Grigio, while my guy had the finest Pinot Noir they had to offer. Along with the succulent tastes of the evening, the vibe of the place was unusually comfortable. It was one of those dinners where you could just sit there for hours and enjoy the delicious foods and simple yet swank surroundings.
*****
After prying ourselves away from yet another glass of wine, we headed on to the movie of the night: Bobby. Documenting the events of the day that led up to the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, Emilio Estevez delivers an amazing rendition of how this sad day affected the lives of not only the nation, but those of twenty-two people who were staying at The Ambassador Hotel that fateful night. The superstar cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, Sharon Stone, Elijah Wood, and Heather Graham delivered an Oscar-worthy performance across the board. Since watching the movie, I have become reobsessed with the Kennedy family, and more locally The Ambassador Hotel. Or what remains of it, anyway.
The movie was filmed in the real Ambassador Hotel just before the 84-year old building was demolished late last year. Located just off Wilshire Boulevard in Hollywood, I just now learned that I missed this famously historic site by about a month. Evidently, after many debates and protesting, the building was torn down so that a new school could be built.
Being a native Nashvillian, I was always surrounded by history. Civil War battle remnants, slave plantations and old country towns from the 1800's were a common site. I love having the opportunity to explore these sites and see just what it would have been like back then. In Los Angeles, it's quite the opposite. The furthest back history goes is to the early 1900's and even then it's a stretch. So why on Earth would they tear down one of the city's oldest and most notoriously famous hotels?
What are our kids going to have to learn from in their history classes?
Where are the tourists going to see the site where Senator Bobby Kennedy was gunned down?
What will our city have to show from it's past?
Posted by Stella @ 6:19 PM
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