Mercede's Late Night Supper Club - Stay Classy, Venice!

Mercede's Grille has been a fixture at the end of Washington Boulevard in Venice since 1998. Just steps from the Venice Pier, every time you hang out at Mercede's Grille feels like you're on vacation, even if you just walked there from home, which we usually do. 

    *Photo courtesy of Edizen Stowell/Venice Paparazzi 

Mersedeh Ahrablou immigrated to the U.S. from Iran with her Mother in 1978, who wanted to raise her children in the United States for a better education. Ahrablou got hers at Santa Monica High School and College, all the while working at restaurants, with an eye on opening her own. She even worked at the very space that now houses her Grille, back when it was called "Rotisserie Del Rey"! She had a feeling about the space even then, but it would take a few more years of working at Baja Cantina before she could raise the funds for her own place. 

Once Ahrablou found the means and the space, it was a LOT of hard work put in by her own family to make her dream a reality. She would listen to the Gipsy Kings, and she could see the colors of the place, and taste the food that she would serve. It would be a Caribbean concept, as she loved the brightness and flavors of that culture, and the idea that it did always feel like a getaway. There were plenty of naysayers, but that only gave Ahrablou the fuel to keep going and get it done, and Mercede's Grille has been serving up the good times ever since the doors opened.

Though in business for almost 20 years now (May 28 is their 18th Anniversary!), Ahrablou always keeps things fresh. She learned how to make sushi and opened Naked Sushi in 2005 right next door to her Grille. That was great and delicious until 2009, when Ahrablou decided there were enough sushi places around, and transformed Naked Sushi into her wine bar, Bin 73, which it remains today. Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new phase at Mercede's Grille, as Mercede's Late Night Supper Club kicks up its heels off and gets down!

I say heels because this is going to be a classy affair ... think Ricky Ricardo's Club Babalu. A few years ago, Ahrablou and I went to Costa Rica together to work on a cook book for her restaurant (that we still need to finish!). We had a layover in Miami and we seriously thought about trying to get into Havana from there, as both of us are absolutely fiending to go. Things had not yet opened up with Cuban/American relations though, so we had to settle for the Versailles stand in the airport. But a seed was planted, and tomorrow night is the launch of the Cuban style Supper Club Ahrablou has been picturing ever since.

It's fun to dress up, and it's fun to have somewhere to go to do it. Lots of restaurants in the area tend to close the kitchen early, but the Supper Club will be serving GOOD food until late. We've all grown up (a little), and this is the kind of scene that will be for the grown ups. I imagine it will be dress up and elegant, and then as the night goes, the heels will be kicked off and the dancing will happen until close. I can't wait.

As Mercede's Grille has been such a big part of the community over the years, I asked Ahrablou what she thought of all the changes going on around town these days. "People are getting pushed out," she said. "If we don't support the people and places we love, they'll go away. I've seen more people than ever at The Roosterfish (closing for good next week) ... but what if all of them had been there all along?" A right question to ask. She went on to throw down some more truth, saying, "Venice will always be Venice - you can't touch that, because our roots will always be here. Like any religion (which she believes Venice to be, and I love that), we'll always stand our ground. It's the truth." Yeah.

A few years ago, one of Ahrablou's employees, Guillermo Carmona-Perez, was murdered after work. It was awful, but the way the entire community came together to support his family in an outpouring of support that still brings tears to Ahrablou's eyes. "We all need each other when things fall apart. Grasp yourselves and your neighbors close, because you're going to need each other at some point." So true, and I think a big reason why "Community" is always the main reason people state that they love the most about our Venice. Those are the people that really get it.

Ahrablou walks the beach and does the surf check every morning with her little daughter, Tallah Tiger, and that time is sacred to her. "Anyone who has lived in Venice knows that it is an earned blessing." An earned blessing. I think that's a great way to think of it ... and all the more reason to protect and cherish it.

Mercede's Late Night Supper Club is going to be yet another thing to love about Venice, and yet another thing to make it special. Start thinking about your outfit, maybe tuck a flower behind your ear. and let's kick up our heels together at our own little slice of Havana right here in Venice!

Mercede's Late Night Supper Club
14 Washington Boulevard
Venice
Mercedesgrille.com
10pm - 1 am, Thursday through Sunday

The 2015 Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally - Bands, Beers, Babes. And Bikes

The 2015 Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally is in the books, and it was another total blast of a day in Venice. It was extra HOT, so the rally held on the blacktop of the Farmer's Market was pretty much an inferno, but that only helped to give the beer gardens a brisk business.

Motorcycles and booths lined both sides of the parking lot, with gear heads and cyclists of all ages and backgrounds milled around checking out all the great bikes.

I know about nothing about motorcycles, so I'll just say this was my favorite one, and because it's a great blue, basically.

The revving of engines and the speakers blaring the live music could be heard for blocks, and gave the whole neighborhood that festive feeling that comes with a big community event.

The kid band, Detour, was back this year, blasting out a cover of Rage's "Killing In The Name" just as I arrived. They are awesome, and will only get better with age.

The Whaler had a full bar booth, so that's where you could be sure to bump into someone you knew while they were waiting to quench their pronounced thirst. Here is where I got to introduce two of Venice's best songbirds to each other, Miss Jessica and Lacey Kay Cowden - both from Louisiana, and both carrying their little dogs. I think there needs to be a collaboration here, ladies!

A highlight of the Motorcycle Rally every year is the Venice Vintage Pin Up Girl Contest, and this year brought out a large roster of lovely ladies ready to strut their stuff across the Rally stage. I'm pretty feminist, so I'm usually mixed about these kinds of things, but bikes and babes have always gone together, so it makes a certain sense. And they all looked great, all were talented, and any one of them would be great to represent the VVMC (except maybe the ones from San Francisco. We're in Venice.)

The contest is the baby of Nik Falco (of Trim fame), and she was also a thoroughly entertaining MC. I laughed out loud several times, and not just because the ladies were doing talents like ventriloquy with lips fully moving. One girl said she could fix any of the bikes there, and I thought that might be reason enough to win, but the judges, celebrity locals like Jeff Ho and Brian Van Holt, thought differently.

Several of the gals sang, and they were all pretty good. One lady (Sasha from Venice!) sang "Cool Rider" from Grease 2, and for those two things alone, we felt she really should have won. I thought the girl that laid down and jumped a bike chain with her ass might take the title, but in the end, the honor went to Elizabeth Deo.

Deo told me that she was origianally going to sing too, but as there were too many singing talents, at the last minute she decided to apply her lipstick with her cleavage, and that brought her the sash. She was lovely and gracious, and took a moment after her victory to give some pointers to a future Miss Venice Vintage, Tallah Tiger (the darling daughter of contest judge, Mersedeh Ahrablou). Adorable.

Raffle tickets had been sold all day to win a vintage motorcycle, and when the time came for the name to be drawn, the guy wasn't present. They called him and put him on speaker though, and the excited winner promised to high-tail it down there to claim his bike, putting to rest shouts for a re-draw. I'm sure he was stoked.

With the crowning of Ms. Deo, it was time to now just rock. GLR played a blistering set under the blistering sun, and the crowd was all the way into it.

People partied until the sun went down, and then branched out across town to keep the party going. Another great day in the neighborhood, and another great Venice event, that just gets better every year.

Thank you to Brady Walker, Nik Falco, the VVMC, and all the bikers and babes that came out to celebrate yet another thing we love about Venice.

See you next year!