The gods did me right and lined everything up perfectly- our server went down, the internet connection crashed and the phones lines at the office went dead. I’m sure LADWP ripping up the street in front of our office had nothing to do with this (ahem). This was my perfect storm, something only a mighty Greek god could conjure up. (Could it be that giant, golden Poseidon the middle of the park?)Regardless, I did the only sensible thing left to do- I blew off work and went to TAAB.

First the broad strokes-

A) The good news is that The Hudson is only about 5 minutes from this gargantuan Mecca for food, fun and entertainment.

B) The better news is that we are about 5 minutes AWAY from this gargantuan Mecca for food, fun and entertainment.

Okay, let’s first visit item A. It’s great being this close to shops, restaurants and theatres. Now onto item B. Would you really want to live in all the density? The key here is the word “away.” Hanging at The Hudson is serene, peaceful, uber low density. Lost on the hill, in the middle of a great neighborhood. Away from it all.

Right now, it’s kind of like Disneyland- all that magic mixed with all that traffic and congestion. In fact they seem to be replacing the grass constantly from the daily stampede that treks through. But I digress…

This place brings an amazing vibe and sense of place to downtown Glendale. This is definitely the better downtown. 

First, the parking. Normally, my parking philosophy is all about the escape. I like to park far away and walk, so I can get out quick and easy. But for this excursion, I drove into the belly of the beast, and spiraled my way to the top of the parking lot. By the way, I like parking on the top level- easy as pie and the walk to the elevator is still the same distance as it is on the lower levels. Think about that next time you block all the traffic on level 2, waiting for someone to pull out of a space.

Each level tells you how many spaces are left at that givenlevel, so those days of guessing while aimlessly driving around is history. I’m not sure how they actually keep count; maybe they recycled those flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.? Hey, in Caruso-land (the developer), anything is possible. Again, I digress…

So what exactly is the Americana? It’s a park, fountains, a crazy gold god, and an outdoor shopping and dining experience. It’s also a condominium project where there smallest unit starts at more than twice the price of a townhome at The Hudson. Granted, no one brings your car around for you here, but a small price to pay for living with less than 10 times the density.

I took the elevator down, complete with a real live elevator butler (is that what they’re called?) who looked like he could be Vin Diesel’s uncle. He was actually entertaining, even sounded like him. I'll bet he has his SAG card.

So, after a little exploration, I hit Katsuya for some sushi. An excellent place. Designed by internationally known maestro Philippe Starck, this place has the vibe to match the food. I highly recommend those little ice cream puff balls for dessert- or whatever they're called.

They also have those shops we all know and love- The Coffee Bean, Jamba Juice, and what’s a Caruso project (The same developer who brought us The Grove) without a Cheesecake Factory? The park in the middle of the mall has events all summer- you can visit their website and click on the Entertainment link.