LEVEL FURNISHED LIVING OPENING BASH
The pool area. Photo by Karen Salkin.
[Note, right up front: I love that the invitation called this party a “bash.” It’s an old-fashioned word that my mother used to use. So, when I was a hip-hop club promoter some years back, I labeled each of my team’s special nights a “bash.” My young guy partners didn’t even know what that meant! But I insisted, and even after I quit the biz (and still to this day,) all the club people use that term, with no clue that it was I who started that trend! I’m glad my innovation has now made it all the way to downtown LA!]
The opening of Level, a furnished living space that’s the latest downtown LA innovation, was a really fun fete! Those peeps know how to throw a party!
The photo booth pic of Karen Salkin and Mimi Paley.
The crowd was uber-eclectic; my friend, Mimi, and I kept running into people we know from all different areas of our lives. I’ve barely seen any two of them at the same party before, let alone all of them at one!
Level is a swanky complex; it looks like an upscale hotel, but it’s really short-term apartments. (But I have a feeling that tenants will love the units so much, they’ll opt for long-term, if it’s allowed.) Each “suite” has a bedroom, kitchen (with normal sink, etc.,) and small living room area. What I loved the most was the washer/dryer…in a closet! And, I took note that it came complete with detergent! That’s a bonus for every weary traveler!
Photo by Karen Salkin.
The soiree was on the fourth floor rooftop, which is absolutely gorgeous! The pool area is breathtaking, with a view of the iconic Orpheum Theatre right across the street from it. It also features a jacuzzi and several cabanas. Across the wide space is a big gym; I would ask for an apartment on that floor, and never leave it. (Even the bathroom on that floor is nice—there was a basket of little bath gels on the counter!)
Happy-to-serve-us bartender Joey Evans. Photo by Matt Landes.
As we entered the party, we were awed by giant “animals” slowly perusing the area. (It was people in costume, of course, but the effect was wonderful.) You know that I never care about any bars, but the ones here were so attractive that I just have to laud them. They were all curated by Cocktail Academy, which is a caterer…of bars, not food.
Speaking of the food, (none of which I can eat anymore,) it, too, looked fabulous. There were three stations—one of pasta and antipasto, one of fish potstickers and sushi, and the one that was really hard for me to withstand—the dress-up-your-own-burgers one! (I wrapped a lettuce leaf around a tomato, and made believe it was some new, hip appetizer.) In addition to all that, there were also many passed tidbits. I did get to try the eggplant wrapped around tiny peppers in hummus, so I was grateful for those. But I’m still wishing I could have tried to adorable tiny pieces of fried chicken on a toothpick with a bite of waffle. So clever! I would have eaten ten of those!
The kitchen in a suite. Photo by Mimi Paley, as is the big one at the top.
All night, we were entertained by a live band, and DJ in-between. And, of course, there was fun photo booth for us to commemorate it all.
We were invited to tour the fifth floor suites at our leisure. It was hard for me to not just lie down on one of the welcoming beds, and sleep there. Then the next tenants could have found me in the morning, just like Goldilocks. If only there had been porridge on the stove, I may have done just that!
