aan den rijn

I'm stuck in Suzhou for the summer and what I picked up at the Duty Free's running low. Where can I get some decent, preferably Cuban but not absolutely necessarily, cigars in Shanghai? Thanks.

Costa Mesa Tattoo in Costa Mesa is where my friends go. A tad expensive but good work.

(949) 548-9465

788 West 19th Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Or try Cantor's, it's popular but a good 24 hour deli.

i'm going to boston next week

i'll be there for one day so i won't have much time.

i wanna get some seafood. do you guys know of any good places?

Jasper White's Summer Shack, near Prudential on the Green Line.

Just bought a pair of APCs at Stel's too but Riccardi's isn't open on sundays

This is so Glamorama.

Aria had (not sure if they still have) free entry for girls on Saturday nights, but it's a good deal sketchier than Circus and Stereo. However, I think Circus has some ridiculously high cover so Aria will probably be my usual hangout next year too.

Shopping streets, try Sherbrooke between Cote des Neiges and University (I think, not sure) and St. Laurent between Sherbrooke and Pins, as well as Prince Arthur between St. Laurent and Parc.

even mao tai tastes pretty terrible to me...

The more you drink the less you'll be able to taste it

If you want to watch a movie, the Arclight is the place to be (on Sunset and Cahuenga). I prefer it over the Chinese. The Bridge is also a good place for a flick, but since I typically hang out in OC, the place across from South Coast is my arthouse of choice.

If you can get a car up to Mulholland, drive the whole way, from Cahuenga pass all the way across to Sepulveda, then across into the valley. There are some incredibly fabulous views and awesome houses. It's one of my favorite things to do and I'm a jaded LA native.

Oh and I don't know if this has been addressed yet, but DO NOT go to the Citadel Outlets. It only looks cool on the outside. The stores are pretty much complete shit.

If you want to watch a movie, the Arclight is the place to be (on Sunset and Cahuenga). I prefer it over the Chinese. The Bridge is also a good place for a flick, but since I typically hang out in OC, the place across from South Coast is my arthouse of choice.

If you can get a car up to Mulholland, drive the whole way, from Cahuenga pass all the way across to Sepulveda, then across into the valley. There are some incredibly fabulous views and awesome houses. It's one of my favorite things to do and I'm a jaded LA native.

Oh and I don't know if this has been addressed yet, but DO NOT go to the Citadel Outlets. It only looks cool on the outside. The stores are pretty much complete shit.

Thanks dizzhizz. That's great. I plan on actually stopping and looking at the stuff on Sunset though so...do you recommend I drive, get out take a look and then get back in the car and repeat? And let's say I do drive through Beverley Hills etc. what will I find ther other than people who thinkthey are or are richer than me.

Rosco's sounds good. Aunt Kizzy's...what exactly classifies food as "soul food" anyway? I really never figured that one out.

Thanks also for the insight into Pink's etc. That's the stuff I'm looking for that you'd never normally find in a guide.

And the HOLLYWOOD SIGN!!!. Shit. I completely forgot about that. How hard is that to get to and anyone know of any good vantage points to take photos from?

(Thanks for the reminder miguel).

Keep the info coming. This is really great. I promise I'll make a report of L.A. when I do return (in October) if people are interested. And anyone have any questions about Australia yet? I feel like I need to give something back in return for all this help.....

You can get view of the Hollywood sign from the complex that houses the Kodak Theatre and everything else @ Hollywood/Highland. US101 Highland exit on your left.

Places like Spago are overrated, in my opinion. There are lots of cool options, Citizen Smith with incredible steaks (Selma and Cahuenga), O-Bar's Mojitos (Santa Monica just La Cienega going east), the Vodbox @ Nic's on Canon in Beverly Hills, etc. Try those out but you'll need a reservation for most nights.

Oh and soul food? Grits, gravy, fried chicken, etc. Together as a singular unit they can be referred to as soul food.

The other night (Friday night) I drove by Pink's and the line didn't even stretch to the entrance of its parking lot! It's an interesting experience to say the least.

I hear the shops on Skid Row in LA have specials after dark

Google is your friend. You'll like South Coast Plaza, technically not in LA but then again, LA is kind of like that.

I might be in Shanghai mid to late August. Well, I'll be staying in Suzhou but Shanghai is close and I even speak a bit of the local dialects. Give me a shout, jimtje@gmail

Nice nick. Dutch roots?

Not really, really loved the Low Countries though. Quaint yet cosmopolitan when you want it to be. Would love to live there sometime but for now, New England, LA, and Montreal is enough on my plate.

EDIT: ^^ Good bai jiu like wu liang ye or mao tai is actually pretty awesome, but for a local flavor (I'm not too familiar with Northern China, I spent a lot of time near Shanghai though), the yellow, hot wine that they serve typically in the winter during weddings is really nice. But if you want to kill yourself with Xanax and er guo tou, then be my guest. That shit's vile and I'd say it's like like the Thunderbird of China.

They were bought out by Prada, I think. Same for Jil Sander.

They also have huge KFCs and other various fast food restaurants. I mean HUGE.

Tough luck on the bag but it looks good though. So the whole thing is nylon, no leather? Is it available online?

Yep, all nylon except the handle which was leather. There's a newer design with magnetic clips instead of the plastic ones, so I guess I wasn't the only person who had the clips break off on them. It's on the Banana Republic site and probably in stores too for $88.

I'm probably picking up a Jack Spade leather messenger bag next semester for a change, but the inevitability of carrying my bag long distances outside (no underground tunnels in New England, bah!) in horrible weather is shudder-inducing.

Also, try Vinyl on Bleury just to the south of Sherbrooke. It's hard to find but definitely a very nice, intimate club with awesome music and beautiful people.

I like to drive in Montreal. Apparently I don't have to pay my tickets because of my American plates, so as long as there's no towing sign I park illegally everywhere. Fairly convenient.

Weather will be hot and the pollution won't help, but at least it's not as bad as Hong Kong.

For bizarre fun, check out the preserved body of Chairman Mao, south side of Tiananmen Square.

Past 3+ years I've used this Banana Republic Nylon messenger bag. Fits 3 - 4 books or so, or a laptop + 2 books of average size. It took a beating during an New England winter and the only casualty was one of the plastic clips on the inside.

Someone stole it out of my car right after summer break started though :|