La Cienega

Driving around Southern California, you never know where you'll find oil. Drilling platforms, for example, can be seen on the Coyote Hills golf course in Fullerton, in the parking lot of Huntington Beach's City Hall and outside Curley's Cafe in Signal Hill. There's even a derrick tucked inside the Beverly Center, near the parking area for Bloomingdale's. But one of the area's most unusual drilling sites is just a memory now. It was a well that stood in the middle of La Cienega Boulevard from 1930 to 1946, forcing drivers to zigzag around it. "Pictures and stories about it have been sent all over the globe," The Times noted in 1945.

Another basketball season ends in a hard-fought NBA title for Pau Gasol and the Lakers. "I'm still in the process of getting my body back to normal," the Redondo Beach resident admitted. "It takes awhile to adjust from all the crazy activity and intensity and then to not having it." But while Gasol has plenty of R&R penciled in this summer, he's not ratcheting things down completely. First up is a trip to his native Spain to celebrate his 30th birthday on July 6; then there are his charitable efforts, which include the L.A. Fire Department and Childrens Hospital.

Artist Craig Kauffman, a sparkplug of Los Angeles' art scene in the late 1950s and early '60s who captured national attention with bubble-like plastic wall pieces that reflect Southern California's sunshine and car culture, died Sunday at his home in the Philippines. He was 78. Kauffman had a stroke about two months ago, said art dealer Frank Lloyd, who represents the artist. Kauffman attended the early-April opening of his most recent exhibition at Lloyd's gallery in Santa Monica, but his condition worsened after he returned to the Philippines.

The art prospector must have thought he'd snagged a great deal when he purchased what he thought was a $5-million Picasso pastel for less than half its value. Tatiana Khan, owner of the Chateau Allegre gallery on La Cienega Boulevard, claimed the artwork -- called "La Femme Au Chapeau Bleu" (The Woman in the Blue Hat) -- was owned by the Malcolm Forbes family estate and was a bargain at only $2 million, according to court documents. But the art prospector became suspicious several years later and contacted a Picasso expert in 2008.

Need a gift idea? Comedian Doug Benson might suggest his latest album, "Uneven Load," or maybe the DVD of his 2007 film, "Super High Me." And on Dec. 28, when you're all shopped out, he'd recommend kicking back and watching his new comedy special on the G4 channel, "The High Road." "It's a documentary-style film in which the camera follows me around while I'm on the road doing my stand-up act," explains Benson. "And that's really my life -- I'm a road comic. I live in L.A., but I'm out of town 47 or 48 weekends of the year.

At the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards, a green sign points north to "Restaurant Row," a stretch of grand eateries such as Lawry's the Prime Rib that have made La Cienega a culinary magnet since the late 1930s. Within the last year, the boulevard has seen the arrival of scene-stealing celebrity chef establishments, but with new bars, music venues, and design and fashion boutiques, the district has become a destination for much more than just a great meal. Restaurant Row 2.0 The splashy SLS Hotel is home to Spanish chef José Andrés' the Bazaar, a collection of eating spaces featuring traditional and contemporary tapas , inventive cocktails and decadent pastries.

Six years ago, Tim Blum and Jeff Poe opened a 5,000-square-foot gallery on a forgotten strip of South La Cienega Boulevard. This weekend, the team will launch a 21,000-square-foot complex across the street -- at the hub of what has become a major center of contemporary art galleries in and around Culver City. The new Blum & Poe has transformed a grungy hulk of a building into a pristine showcase with sleek galleries illuminated by dramatic skylights, a slightly rougher project space and lots of back rooms for storage, offices, private viewing and entertaining.

The location of the July 26 memorial service for veteran civil rights lawyer Hugh Manes has been changed. It will be at 3 p.m. at Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Manes, who specialized in police misconduct cases, died June 13 at his Los Angeles home after a long battle with emphysema. He was 84.

Every French expat in L.A. knows it too well. Order a Ricard--France's favorite pastis (licorice-flavored aperitif)--and you're likely to get a rocks glass filled to the brim with ice and spirit. Maybe even a straw. It's enough to ruin your day. Why can't bartenders in this town pour a proper pastis--even in many French restaurants where they should know better? We called upon Michel Visciano, owner of Chez Michel-La Brasserie des Catalans in Marseilles, France, to tell us how it's done.

New Yorker Richie Notar, the managing partner of Nobu restaurants, has a new excuse to soak up the left coast's gentle winter rays: he's opening a second L.A. Nobu in the former L'Orangerie on La Cienega. The launch has been pushed back to February, a minor inconvenience that has granted Notar -- an optimistic power player with razor-sharp business sense -- extra time to perfect his formula for success. -- WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE NEW NOBU? We're going to have a reservation-less lounge/bar with an almost-full menu.