How Darondo got over

PHOTO by MORGAN HOWLAND
For 30 years Darondo had two identities, even though he never knew it. The first was William Daron Pulliam: 62 years old, a retired physical therapist and family man from Berkeley with a voice that immediately sets you at ease and a tendency to tell long, rambling stories about [...]

Ten years of hip-hop with Abstract Workshop

ILLUSTRATION by JOE MCGARRY
Abstract Workshop’s 10 years of hard hip-hop labor stands out as one of Orange County’s most impressive endurance tests. DJ, co-founder and producer Cocoe Tsimahidis said he’s lucky if he and the rest of his crew—DJs Scotty Coats and Josh One and MC Jud Nester—leave a [...]

Moscow Deli takes you on a trip

PHOTO by RICK POON
Moscow Deli’s two tables overlook nothing but cracked asphalt. Stare carefully and you might get a more peripheral glance at the cars speeding down Harbor Boulevard, but it’s a steady black straight ahead. So when you turn back inside, eyes on the Cyrillic in front of [...]

Despite its variety, Anjin is a restaurant devoted to meat. Here, beef is the focus, with one of the best and most economical choices being the prime short rib. Like all of Anjin’s meats, the short rib is of excellent quality, cut thin into practically see-through slices that are obscured only by marbled ripples of [...]

A rich man sits on Deepakalypse’s chest

ILLUSTRATION by JOE MCGARRY
When Deepak Super plays live—as the surprisingly appropriate Deepakalypse—it’s kind of a Bert Jansch/Gram Parsons/Guthrie hybrid, inviting a community to silently rally behind a (sometimes bearded) singer giving away the only thing that’s his to give: the truth! And he’s more than happy for the chance. [...]

Mitsuwa’s cherry blossom mochi
Head to Mitsuwa hungry and you’re bound to walk out with a week’s worth of food, pulled in first by the market’s perfect produce then lured back for a second spin by the inevitable impulse buys. On top of all that, there’s a full food court that supplies everything from restaurant-bettering ramen [...]

Surviving the seven deadly sins at Anjin

PHOTO by RICK POON
Dining at Anjin is a practice of patience, a lesson in how to temper your hunger while you wait at a place so perpetually packed that it logs hour-long lines 10 minutes after opening. But every eater at Anjin knows this. Some decide to kick around [...]

LONG BEACH LOSES ITS DAILY NEWSPAPER AS TORRANCE PUBLISHER TAKES OVER PRESS-TELEGRAM
Dave Wielenga reports on the drastic staff cuts that one veteran reporter called “a fatal shot.”
AVALON BAR’S MIKE CONLEY ROBBED, NOT MURDERED, SAY POLICE
Chicago police have arrested a suspect in the robbery of Avalon Bar owner Mike Conley, Heather Reger reports, but say his [...]

Police have arrested a suspect in the robbery of Avalon Bar owner Michael Conley but believe his death early yesterday morning was not murder and instead resulted from a fall, according to Cook County Sheriff’s Dept. press secretary Penny Mateck.