October is the one month I actually look forward to here.
I already blocked Halloween Carnaval on Santa Monica Blvd for Saturday the 31st, 6 to 11, and I still want one real patio dinner on the books before the evenings drop. What are you actually doing with it this year?
Annenberg Community Beach House on PCH is my October move!! The pool and the sand without the summer circus, and I can actually get a weekday afternoon there if I go after 2. Parking is easier on a Tuesday than a Saturday, and I want at least two of those in before Halloween takes over the whole calendar.
Let me be honest, I skip Halloween on the Blvd, too much for me now. Early dinner outside at Cobi's on Main, nasi goreng, and I am home.
I skip the costume crush and drive out to Spoke Bicycle Cafe in Frogtown. October evenings there are easy, a beer outside, and you can actually talk.
My girls already picked Crossroads Kitchen on Melrose for a patio night before Halloween. We lock the table by 5, sit outside on the Sweetzer side, and nobody has to shout over a DJ. I like that we can actually talk and still feel like we went out. That is my October, one proper outdoor dinner, maybe a glass of wine, and then the carnival if we still have the energy after.
Si Mon on Venice Blvd is where I want to be while it is still warm at night.
The patio feels like a canyon hideout, fireplace going, and the food is actually better than the setting which never happens. I would rather do that two weekends in a row than fight the Halloween crowd on Abbot. Plus I can walk it from my studio, which is the whole point of living in Venice.
Last Bowl nights of the season are this week and that is my October, honestly. Saturday is the Sound of Music sing-along at the Hollywood Bowl, Tuesday is Erykah Badu, and I would rather sit in the Highland benches with food than pay for another rooftop. You can bring your own picnic, the Bowl food is fine if you do not, and the whole thing is over early enough that I am not wrecked for meetings. Parking on the hill is the only part I still hate, so I just go up early and walk. After that I will let Halloween be WeHo's problem.
Men & Beasts on Sunset in Echo Park is my outdoor default once the evenings cool off. It is at 2100 Sunset, patio tables, and you can actually get seated if you show up around 5:30 on a weeknight. I park on the side streets east of Alvarado and walk two minutes, or I just walk from my place. I would rather do that on a Wednesday than save it for a packed Saturday.
Pretty much the same. Halloween will be fun. 