Pasadena’s Only Gay Bar Boulevard Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Raise $50,000 – Eater LA

With dive bars just allowed to come back online after nearly a year of not being allowed to operate in a meaningful way, gay bars are trying to garner support and stay afloat in light of the pandemic and its related shutdowns. Late last year, supporters raised over $150,000 to help save iconic gay bar Akbar in Silver Lake. This week, Pasadena’s only gay bar Boulevard launched a GoFundMe to raise $50,000 to help the nearly 40-year-old business to stay open. Money will go toward replacing a lot of the equipment and appliances that haven’t been used in over a year, plus finance a small remodel. Boulevard has been a longtime LGBTQ haven for the San Gabriel Valley, and a karaoke and drag performance favorite for decades in Pasadena.

In other news:

• Severance, which used to operate in the old Smoke.Oil.Salt space on Melrose, has finally opened inside the Palihotel just down the block in the former Hart and the Hunter. The wine bar and restaurant will now have day-to-evening service and even a new coffee bar called the Darkest Cup to serve the neighborhood.
• Chicago chef Beverly Kim, co-owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Parachute, is overseeing a nationwide effort to raise funds to fight against Asian hate, which she’s calling Dough Something. Dough-based dishes will help raise funds to donate to the national chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. LA chefs that are participating include Mei Lin at Daybird and Niki Nakayama at N/Naka and N/Soto.
• The Takeout has a piece on LA punk rocker favorite Oki-Dog: “For some of the musicians, producers, zinesters, and scenesters who began to build the city’s punk ecosystem in the late 1970s, Oki-Dog may not have been the first choice for a hangout, or even the last. But its convenient location was a boon for a community largely centered in West Hollywood. The food was cheap, the place never closed, and the punks were never turned away.”
• Yo Venice reviews the bacon breakfast burrito at Main Street Santa Monica’s Holy Guacamole: “This is a testament to the construction of the burrito: from end to end there are no dull patches….there is nothing fancy about this breakfast burrito, but each component is done perfectly.” Sounds pretty tasty for about $10, including tip.
• There’s a pickle hot dog at Disneyland, and Time Out LA just had to investigate.
• Chef Ria Dolly Barbosa of Petite Peso asks, if she starts grilling Filipino barbecue outside the Downtown LA restaurant on weekends from 3 to 7, would you come? Is this a hint to what’s happening come weekends at the small but ambitious Filipino restaurant?