Bee Taqueria Is Our Lunch Spot, and Join Us for the After-Party at Fat Sal's Venice — Special Deals at Both!

We've got an official lunch spot and afterparty spot for this year's Great Los Angeles Walk!

LUNCH: Bee Taqueria (5754 W Adams Blvd.) has signed on to be our official lunch spot. Chef Enrique Olvera will be preparing a taco deal for all Walk-ers who mention they're a part of The Great Los Angeles Walk. I've heard great things about Bee Taqueria and can't wait to try it (but if you're not in the mood for tacos, there are plenty of other options in the area too).

Here's how L.A. Taco describes Bee Taqueria:

While most self-proclaimed taco-eating experts will stop to tell you what a taco should be, this taco omakase is here to show you how radically chingón a taco can be.

Bee Taquería is a vibrant and colorful space with a taquería vibe serving brilliant culinary splendors on a tortilla. It is also home to one of only two famous taco omakase globally; the other is found at the restaurant Pujol in Mexico City, a restaurant by the gastronomical dignitary, Chef Enrique Olvera.

Through Bee’s taco omakase, chef Alex Carrasco invites you to kick back and leave behind your preconceptions of what a taco should be. The daytime menu does not apply. There are no order substitutions and no “salsa on the side, please.” In an omakase experience, you kick back, let the chef do his thing, and enjoy an experience that will be uniquely yours.

The meal is more than just a random selection of tacos. It’s an experience that challenges the perception of the tortilla as just a thin, flat, circular vehicle that Mexicans use to eat their food. It is an exhibition in the art of the taco as a canvas for flavors, colors, and imagination.

AFTER-PARTY: Fal Sal's (37 Washington Blvd) will be our gathering spot at the end of the walk, and Sal himself has promised a special for anyone who orders a sandwich. Kick back, celebrate with your fellow Walk-ers and end the day in delicious fashion!

Via Eater:

At its brightest, Los Angeles can feel extravagant. The lights of the Sunset Strip, the pulse of Hollywood Boulevard, the revelry of downtown: added together, the city is a lot, all the time.

In some ways, that makes Fat Sal’s a perfect fit. According to Sal Capek, the restaurant’s co-founder and namesake: “We work hard to come up with unique and exciting combinations and flavor profiles that result in mouthwatering, over-the-top culinary creations.”

What does “over-the-top” mean in the sandwich world? How about mozzarella sticks and onion rings as toppings, rather than sides, on the Fat Sal sandwich? Or the barbecue-themed Fat Texas, with a three-animal combination of pastrami brisket, chicken fingers, and mozzarella sticks? Even one of the menu’s salads contains fries.

See you next Saturday!

Welcome The Velaslavasay Panorama to This Year's Walk!

Located at 1122 W. 24th Street, in the old Union Theater, the Velaslavasay Panorama is a uniquely Los Angeles attraction. I remember when it used to be in Hollywood; as a matter of fact, I recently found photos I took of its farewell -- as written up by my blog, Franklin Avenue, back in 2004. I'm sad to admit I haven't had a chance to visit their West Adams location (you know, kids, etc., the usual excuse) -- which is why I'm so happy to reveal that the Velaslavasay Panorama has agreed to fling open its doors and let the Great LA Walk explore its theater and grounds on the morning of Nov. 19! Here's a primer, but check out their full website here.

Drawing on the illustrious history of the great panorama paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries, The Velaslavasay Panorama is an exhibition hall, theatre and garden dedicated to the production and presentation of unusual visual experiences, including those of the 360-degree variety and linear moving panoramas. The Velaslavasay Panorama panoramic exhibition encircles the spectator within a fully enveloping atmosphere; a vast painting of a continuous surrounding landscape, accompanied by sound stimulation and three-dimensional elements, affords the viewer an opportunity to experience a complete sensory phenomenon.

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2022 Official Press Release Has Been Sent!

             

THE 17th ANNUAL GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK HITS THE PAVEMENT FROM HISTORIC WEST ADAMS TO THE OCEAN ON NOV. 19

 

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 7, 2022) -- Hundreds of Angelenos will hit the sidewalks once again on Saturday, November 19, for The Great Los Angeles Walk 2022 – the annual event that dispels the myth that “nobody walks in L.A.” 

 

After last year's event retraced the steps of L.A.’s first settlers (Los Pobladores) from San Gabriel Mission to downtown, the 2022 edition of The Great Los Angeles Walk (http://www.greatlawalk.com) is returning to its traditional hike to the ocean. 

 

This year’s Walk will meet at the Exposition Park rose garden at 9 a.m. on Nov. 19, and then head to Adams and Figueroa (home to both the historic St. Vincent de Paul church and SoCal AAA headquarters), and continue down Adams Blvd. to Culver City, where the path intersects with Washington Blvd. The Walk continues from there, all the way to Venice Beach.

 

The Great Los Angeles Walk last visited West Adams in 2009. Like that event, we’ll once again tour the architectural treasures of the West Adams neighborhood, and hit other historic buildings (plus a few famous structures from TV and film). We’ll also visit attractions including the Velaslavasay Panorama, which will be open for the occasion.

 

Attendees will be encouraged to explore the city in a safe way, and follow proper safety protocols. From there, they should explore the city, document what they see and share that experience with others. It’s not a race – attendees are encourage to take their time, explore, learn about their city and even build community with others. The Walk will end with a celebration at a venue to be announced later.

 

L.A. journalist and blogger Michael Schneider launched the Great Los Angeles Walk in 2006 as a way to celebrate his tenth year in Los Angeles. Inspired by the book “Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles,” by Kevin Roderick (with research by J. Eric Lynxwiler), he decided to walk the street’s entire length. 

 

In 2007, for an encore, he chose another downtown-to-the-ocean route: Pico Boulevard. The 2008 Walk took on Santa Monica Blvd. In 2009, the event kicked off in the historic West Adams district and walked to Venice Beach via Adams and Washington. In 2010, for its fifth edition, the Great Los Angeles Walk reprised its original Wilshire journey. In 2011, participants marched to the ocean via Hollywood Boulevard. In 2012, the Walk traveled across Melrose Avenue; in 2013, Sunset Boulevard; in 2014, the Walk traveled across the San Fernando Valley via Ventura Boulevard; in 2015, the Walk took on Olympic Boulevard. 

 

In 2016, the Walk returned to Pico; in 2017, it tackled Beverly Boulevard; in 2018, in honor of Jonathan Gold, we walked on 6th Street, including through Koreatown; in 2019, we walked down Colorado Blvd. from Arcadia and Pasadena, and then through Highland Park to downtown via Figueroa; in 2020, the socially distanced edition returned to Wilshire; and in 2021, we walked the "Los Pobladores" route from San Gabriel to downtown .

 

The Great Los Angeles Walk grew from dozens of participants to hundreds, and continues to expand each year – always the Saturday before Thanksgiving -- as more Angelenos join in to explore their city on foot.

 

As always, the Walk is completely free. It is up to the participants to decide how much or how little of the walk they want to do. The Great Los Angeles Walk has been featured in Los Angeles magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. Weekly, KCAL-Channel 9, KABC-Channel 7, LAist.com and KNBC.com. In 2012, the LA Weekly recognized The Great Los Angeles Walk in its "Best of L.A." issue. More recently, the Walk was included in the book "The Best Things to Do In Los Angeles: 1001 Ideas" by Joy Yoon. 

 

The official hashtags of The Great Los Angeles Walk are #greatlawalk and #glaw. Social media users can follow along all day on the walk's official Twitter feed, @greatlawalk, as we continually post our location.

 

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PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

CONTACT: Michael Schneider 

323.356.2536

greatlawalk@mail.com

 

 

 

Great LA Walk 2022 T-Shirts Are Ready for Order!

Order soon, so they're in your mailbox before the Walk on Nov. 19! As always, we don't make a dime off these shirts and sweatshirts, they're just a fun way to show your participation in this year's Walk! 

And right now, shipping is FREE through Sunday!

There's a link on the side; below; or just go directly to our Spreadshirt page at https://greatlawalk.myspreadshop.com/.

greatlawalk

Exposition Park Rose Garden and Fountain Is This Year's Great LA Walk Gathering Spot!

We have a gathering spot! Thanks to Exposition Park for allowing us to gather on Saturday morning, November 19, at 9 am at the Rose Garden fountain. It will be from that scenic spot that we will then embark on our journey, heading north on Figueroa to Adams. 

Exposition Park has easy access from the Metro Expo (E) Line, and of course there's also paid parking around the area. (And good news: There's no USC home game that Saturday, so the Coliseum won't be a madhouse.)

A little bit of history from the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks:

The Rose Garden is operated by the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks and has been since 1928. The Rose Garden is visited by hundreds of Angelinos and tourists each year. It is often used as an urban oasis by the local Community as a place of quiet and refuge. On most weekends between April and November, it is the location of choice for weddings and photographs of family gatherings.

See you there on Nov. 19! More details to come. (Photo via the California African American Museum.)

The Great Los Angeles Walk Returns to West Adams, Culver City and Venice For the First Time in 13 Years!

It's about time. One of my favorite Great Los Angeles Walks of all time was our 2009 journey, where we toured the architectural treasures of the West Adams neighborhood, and hit other historical buildings (plus a few famous homes from TV and film!) via both Adams and Washington.

Click here to recount our journey from that year.

Now, it's time to do it again! With a bit of a streamlined route. Rather than hop up and down repeatedly like we did in 2009, we'll take Adams from downtown to Culver City, where it intersects with Washington — and from there, we'll take Washington to the ocean (and Venice Beach). 

Of course, we'll still take a few detours along the way to explore! 

I'm still working out some details, including a starting point, so stay tuned!

But as always, keep the Saturday before Thanksgiving free, as we once again hit the sidewalks and streets of Los Angeles to explore our fine city.

Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 9 a.m.: It's the 17th annual Great Los Angeles Walk, the West Adams to Venice Beach edition!

If you haven't yet, email us at greatlawalk@mail.com to get on our mailing list, for updates and more. 

Stay Tuned: Details Coming Tomorrow!

THE GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK RETURNS ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2022! DETAILS TOMORROW!