Letters to the Editor: The employees were as good as the pancakes at Original Pantry Cafe
I stand in solidarity with the staff and their union for fighting for stability and job security. Such a shame that an agreement couldn't be reached, but again, we see that profit triumphed over people. The dedicated and hardworking staff and servers, many of whom worked there for decades, made the restaurant what it was.
For my family, the Original Pantry was a staple. My dad had been a patron for over 50 years, and he made me a regular for the past 20. Like countless Angelenos and tourists, I'll miss the Pantry's pancakes, portions and, most of all, the people.
Tyler Renner, San Diego
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Los Angeles Times
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12 L.A. spots reinventing the classic chicken Caesar wrap
In the 1990s, chicken Caesar wraps dominated lunchtime menus. Aside from the comforting hit of nostalgia for a simpler time, I don't remember them fondly. Often soggy, laden with too much dressing and scant, dry chicken, it was the kind of unfortunate premade meal you'd eat alone at an airport cafe. So you can imagine my surprise to see the Y2K-era sandwich having a sudden renaissance at popular restaurants around Los Angeles. But this time, it's back with some much-needed upgrades: Reputed L.A. chefs and sandwich shops are finally doing the dish justice by using high-quality ingredients and adding their own signature touches — from organic fried chicken to chunks of falafel instead of croutons. While Angelenos' love affair with the Caesar salad has been ongoing since Italian chef Caesar Cardini debuted it in Tijuana in the 1920s, the inventor of the chicken Caesar wrap is a bit more mysterious. California Chicken Cafe opened in 1991 on Melrose Avenue and added a chicken Caesar wrap to its menu soon after in 1993. In 1997, fast food chain Wendy's added its take to the menu (they've since been discontinued), giving the wrap nationwide exposure. At Ggiata, an East Coast-style deli with five locations across L.A., the chicken Caesar wrap is inspired by the ones that co-founders and childhood friends Noah Holton-Raphael, Max Bahramipour and Jack Biebel grew up eating in New Jersey sandwich shops. 'Every neighborhood sandwich shop had a Caesar wrap on the menu — and if they didn't then, they definitely do now,' said Holton-Raphael. Since Ggiata launched its viral version in March 2024, the trend has picked up serious steam, inspiring iconic restaurants like Mini Kabob and Casa Vega to add the wrap to their menus. No longer an afterthought, L.A.'s chicken Caesar wraps are made to order with ingredients like herb-blackened chicken, grain-free tortillas and house-made dressing that borrows inspiration from the salad's Mexican origins. Here are 12 excellent chicken Caesar wraps (including one made with a baguette) to try around L.A. right now.
Yahoo
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IKEA U.S. Concludes 'Sleepeasy' Pop-Up Experience in Los Angeles, Celebrating a Year of Better Sleep Solutions
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, IKEA U.S. is excited to announce the opening of The IKEA Sleepeasy LA, the third and final stop on the pop-up event tour. Open for the next month at IKEA Burbank, the longest of any IKEA Sleepeasy activation and the first time that the event is housed at an IKEA retail location, this immersive exhibition will guide attendees through the six sleep essentials that contribute to a better night's rest: comfort, light, temperature, sound, air quality, and decluttering. "After welcoming thousands of visitors at stops in New York City and Miami throughout the last year, we're excited to bring the IKEA Sleepeasy to Los Angeles - one of our most vibrant and diverse markets," said Paul Anderson, IKEA U.S. Home Furnishing and Retail Design Leader. "With decades of global sleep research and a deep understanding of how people live and sleep in each local community, we've collaborated closely with our LA team to create an experience tailored for Angelenos. It's a unique opportunity to show how small, affordable changes can lead to significantly better sleep." True to the speakeasy concept, guests will enter through a hidden door that's found inside a vintage movie theater, paying homage to Hollywood. The theater opens into a space filled with dreamlike, interactive vignettes that playfully showcase the six sleep essentials. New IKEA products featured at the event include: ÅKREHAMN Mattress – Created with a combination of three carefully selected foam layers and five comfort zones, this mattress supports the hips and shoulders, creating a natural spine alignment and relieves joint pressure. LÄKEVÄNDEROT Duvet Cover - Made with 100% lyocell fabric, this duvet cover is smooth and cool, ideal for warm California nights. AKTEROFTER Ceiling Fan – Launched in March 2025 as part of the first-ever ceiling fan range from IKEA, AKTEROFTER helps create the perfect setting for a comfortable night's sleep with its six speed options, adjustable lighting and changeable airflow. The IKEA Sleepeasy LA, located at IKEA Burbank (600 S Ikea Way, Burbank, CA 91502), is open to the public during normal business hours until August 17, 2025. The event will kick off with special programming from July 18 - 20, 2025, including a family movie night, customized giveaways, relaxing sound baths, aura readers, and more. No entry fees or reservation fees are required for this family-friendly event. For more information, visit About IKEA At IKEA, the vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people by offering well-designed, functional and affordable, high-quality home furnishing, produced with care for people and the environment. Ingka Group (Ingka Holding B.V. and its controlled entities) is one of 12 different groups of companies that own and operate IKEA retail under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Ingka Group has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Ingka Group is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise system, operating 389 IKEA stores in 32 countries – including 50 retail locations in the U.S. For more information on IKEA U.S., see @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE IKEA Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
ICE raids are cruel, but so is an economy built on undocumented labor
Even as Californians protest the crude and often brutal deportation tactics employed by President Trump's ICE and Homeland Security agents, we're giving too little thought to how our state, and the nation, is failing the very immigrant community we want to protect. In the past, particularly in the last century, when the U.S. economy, and California's, was growing at a fast rate, loosely controlled immigration filled critical needs and, over time, moved many immigrants into an increasingly diverse middle class. But now newcomers are getting stuck. According to new findings from USC and University of California researchers, immigrants account for nearly a quarter of the U.S. population living in poverty, up from 14% three decades ago. The immigrant poverty rate fluctuates, but it has been rising in recent years, especially since the pandemic. In 2024, 22.4% of all immigrants and 28.4% of non-citizen immigrants, including the undocumented, were poor, the highest rates since 2008. As well, welfare dependency is more pronounced among immigrants than the native born. A 2023 analysis of census data showed that 54% of households headed by naturalized citizens, legal residents and the undocumented use one or more welfare programs versus 39% of U.S.-born households. In California, the overall situation is only slightly better. A 2023 report from the Public Policy Institute of California put the poverty rate for all foreign-born residents at 17.6%, compared to 11.5% for those born here. For unauthorized immigrants, however, the rate was even higher than the national figure: 29.6%. Undocumented households, notes a separate USC study, have consistently had the lowest median household income in L.A. — $46,500, compared to $75,000 among all Angelenos in 2024. The grim statistics reflect a decline starting in the 1980s in blue-collar industries in California, which traditionally offered upward mobility to immigrants. Unionization in the immigrant-heavy hospitality industry has helped lift some families, but those gains may lead to fewer jobs as employers look to rein in costs, potentially by automating some services. And immigration itself, especially mass immigration, puts downward pressure on many of the jobs newcomers fill — in agriculture, for example, or construction. The dearth of jobs that support families has pushed California toward a model that Michael Lind, a Texas-based historian and author, describes as the 'low wage/high welfare model.' The fiscal implications are severe. The president has signed executive orders denying federal funds to sanctuary cities, funds that would shore up city and state budgets for policing, education and many other services affected by immigration. Those orders have been stymied in the courts, although Trump is sure to try again. At the same time, the budget the president signed into law on July 4 boosts funds for border enforcement but cuts back such things as medical services for non-citizens, even for those who are here legally. This will cause particular distress in deep blue states. California's current budget shortfall has forced Trump 'resistance' leader Gov. Gavin Newsom to scale back healthcare for the undocumented, which is also occurring in other progressive hotbeds such as Washington state, Illinois and Minnesota. The simple truth is that the low wage/high welfare economy dependent on illegal immigration isn't sustainable. Economic reality suggests we need a commonsense policy to restrict new migration and to focus on policies that can allow current immigrants — especially those deeply embedded in our communities and those with useful skills — to enjoy the success of previous generations. What would a commonsense policy look like? It would secure the border, which the Trump administration is already doing, and shift immigration priorities away from family reunion and more toward attracting those who can contribute to an increasingly complex economy. Deportations should prioritize convicted criminals and members of criminal gangs, whose presence is hardly welcomed by most immigrants. Law-abiding immigrants who are here without authorization should be offered a ticket home or a chance to register for legal status based on a clean record, paying taxes and steady employment. In addition we need to consider a new Bracero Program, which allowed guest workers to come to the U.S. legally without their families in the mid-20th century. Even President Trump has been forced to acknowledge that low-wage immigrant labor is difficult to replace in some sectors. 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