Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, June 8. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:
- How to queer your weekends during Pride month in L.A.
- California’s heat wave breaks records and fuels wildfires.
- The best drag brunches in L.A. to visit during Pride Month and all year long.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
How to queer your weekends during Pride month
Happy Pride Month! The worldwide celebration of the LGBTQ+ community kicked off last weekend. West Hollywood ushered in the month with a parade featuring go-go dancers in jockstraps and gay cowboys in breezy leather chaps.
L.A. Pride festivities begin today with Pride in the Park, a musical experience with singer Ricky Martin as the headliner.
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As the month goes on, there will be more events and celebrations to shine a light on Pride Month throughout Southern California.
But they don’t have to be a parade or concert.
If you’re looking for a different way to honor the LGBTQ+ community, Times contributor Claire O’Callahan compiled a list of 10 joyous L.A. spots to queer your weekend. Whether you’re in town for Pride, a recent transplant or simply looking for a new way to celebrate, this guide has something for you.
O’Callahan’s experience stems from being a newcomer to L.A. two years ago, and in search of community. She soon found it at queer-owned restaurants, bars and shops across L.A. County.
These spots not only give you an opportunity to support local, queer-owned businesses, but they also offer a space to connect and build community — whether it’s over food or a glass of wine.
(Sam Rypinski)
Start your queer weekend with a visit to Everybody in Cypress Park. The trans- and woman-owned gym offers multiple types of exercises like yoga and boxing. The facility prioritizes an inclusive, accessible environment for people of all body types and gender expressions, which starts with reading a social contract on how to show up in the gym during your first visit.
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Your first visit is free and memberships are discounted during Pride month.
Black Forest Bakery owner Djo Maurer is a queer and trans baker originally from the Black Forest in southern Germany.
(Chris Behroozian / For The Times)
Head to Los Feliz for a stop at Black Forest Bakery. On Saturday mornings, a 1971 Ford Econoline uses baked goods to transport customers to the mountains of southwest Germany.
When you approach the window to order, trans and queer baker Djo Maurer will greet you through the van’s pop-out window selling sourdough loaves, pretzel buns and jam-filled Berliners (German jam donuts). You’ll also have the option to do a good deed through Maurer’s pay-it-forward program where customers can pay for a loaf and leave it behind for someone with fewer resources to pick up for free.
Scenes from Ruby Fruit during the bar’s country night.
(Chris Behroozian / For The Times)
You can also queer your weekend with some wine at The Ruby Fruit in Silver Lake. O’Callahan recommends heading there around 3 p.m. when it begins its transition from campy diner to sexy wine bar. The sit-down lunch menu is replaced with a list of snack-while-you’re-drinking options such as warm marinated olives and french fries.
All the wines and beers are from women- and queer-owned businesses. Fan favorite co*cktails include the Martha, an elderflower, citrus and white wine spritz and the Miller Low Life (a Miller High Life served in a glass upside down).
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Honey’s at Star Love, a LGBTQ+ bar in L.A. that doubles as an events space that showcases queer artists.
(Ben Bassu)
Cap off your queer weekend with a lively night on the dance floor in East Hollywood at Honey’s at Star Love.
“A nightlife haven for queer, lesbian and trans folk,” O’Callahan wrote. “The colorful bar is known for throwing a spirited dance party on its checkerboard dance floor into the early hours of the morning.”
Never a stranger to a themed night, the bar has hosted evenings like an emo karaoke and dance party, and a lesbian dating party called Uhaul. You might even see a celebrity dancing alongside you!
The week’s biggest stories
An orange glow fills the sky as the sun sets behind windmills on a triple-digit temperature day in Palm Springs.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
California weather
- California’s heat wave breaks records, fuels wildfires.
- ‘Heat dome’ brings California’s first heat wave of the season, with triple-digit temperatures.
- Extreme heat forecast for Western U.S. may kick off sweltering summer. Here’s the outlook.
- California’s scorcher: ‘Heat dome’ brings broiling conditions. But a few areas will be spared.
Our Queerest Century
- Queer people have shaped America. Why celebrating that fact protects kids.
- America is again stuck in darkness. Queer people of color have always known the way out.
- Americans approve of LGBTQ+ people living as they wish, but their support drops for trans people, a poll shows.
- The U.S. has caught up to California on views of LGBTQ+ rights, a poll shows.
Rebecca Grossman trial
- Rebecca Grossman is a narcissist who deserves life in prison for boys’ murders, prosecutors say.
- No new trial for Rebecca Grossman. Judge cites booze, speed, warning in upholding murder conviction.
More big stories
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill, citing rising business costs, abruptly shuts down 48 restaurants in California.
- Planters illegally bolted to an L.A. street to deter RV parking are gone. Who did it remains a mystery.
- Elon Musk, America’s richest immigrant, is angry about immigration. Can he influence the election?
- Mexico elects leftist Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president in its history.
- Do you return your shopping cart? A psychologist’s answer on TikTok enraged thousands.
- L.A. City Council refuses police dog donation over training firm’s name, shared with Hitler’s bunker.
- California has underestimated the epic potential of future flooding, research shows.
- Stanford protesters arrested, seniors won’t be allowed to graduate, officials say.
- A Christian lifeguard doesn’t have to raise the Pride flag. But he objects to making subordinates do it.
- A single suspect was arrested after three banks are robbed in about an hour in Southern California.
- Need a ‘Hit Man’? Netflix spoofs L.A.’s famous lawyer billboards to market new movie.
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Column One
Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:
(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; photos via Getty Images; screenshots via Craigslist)
Boba Fett, blue fish, and fettuccine: How L.A. fentanyl sales boomed on Craigslist. Whereas other sites and apps almost eliminated drug postings after scrutiny by law enforcement, dealers on Craigslist seemingly remained active using code words.
More great reads
- ‘Clipped’: The real story about Donald Sterling, V. Stiviano and the Clippers.
- After 13 years, a homeless Angeleno broke into her old, vacant home and wants to stay forever.
- ‘Ghosts’ brings on the hijinks of sitcoms past. Even if it makes it hard for its stars.
- A child p*rn conviction and angry ‘Star Trek’ fans: Inside the drama around a new sci-fi museum.
- Can money conquer death? How wealthy people are trying to live forever.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
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For your weekend
Responsible for bringing drag brunch to Southern California, Hamburger Mary’s hosts four drag brunches on Saturday and Sundays.
(Justine Jaime )
Going out
- 🍹The best drag brunches in L.A. to visit during Pride Month and all year long.
- 🍴This is the best restaurant in the world, according to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
- 🍕Revolutionizing L.A. pizza, one cheesy-crusted, Korean BBQ-topped pie at a time.
- 🖼️ New architecture in Pasadena and DTLA, Hollywood Fringe Festival and more to see and do this week.
Staying in
- 🎵 The 24 best songs of 2024 so far.
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for blueberry biscuits with rhubarb compote.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.
(Times staff and wire photos)
What caused this Southern California eatery to shutter 48 restaurants? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
