There’s More to Glendale Than Scenes From a Mall

Forget the Glendale Galleria.

Put it out of your mind, even though it has become synonymous with this drowsy suburb nestled against the hills just north of downtown. The so-called “Jewel City.”

Forget the Galleria because there are plenty of other diversions in and around Glendale--from the nostalgic to the scrumptious to the downright quirky.

Plenty of activities to enjoy before, during or after watching golf, should the impulse strike.

Plenty of things that have nothing to do with the mall.

Here is a Top 10 list:

* 10. Take a hike. Just south of Oakmont Country Club, where the Golden State and Ventura freeways cross, lie 4,100 acres of oak, sage and manzanita known as Griffith Park.

There are miles to stroll along the eastern tail of the Santa Monica Mountains and wide expanses of lawn to lay down and relax after a full day of walking the fairways.

* 9. Get romantic. The Los Angeles Zoo, also part of the park, is offering a Valentine’s Day tour of its most successful breeding couples and a slide show featuring “everything you’ve always wanted to know about animal mating behavior, but were afraid to ask.”

The adults-only “Prime Mate Party” is 3 to 6 p.m. and reservations are required.

* 8. Get wild. The Autry Museum of Western Heritage, adjacent to the zoo, ranks as one of the world’s most complete collections of cowboy culture. A new exhibit on Native American art opens Saturday.

Be sure to check out the gift shop.

* 7. Get a haircut. Over at Ivan’s Barber Shop, Ivan Holmoe has been wielding the scissors for almost 50 years. Holmoe is a dinosaur from the days of barber poles and Aqua Velva.

A haircut is $9. No fancy styling or highlights. As Holmoe says: “I don’t pamper them.”

* 6. Drink a beer. They’re pouring various brews from tall copper and stainless steel tanks at the Glencastle Brewery and Restaurant. The drink is cold, the appetizers are tasty and the room is noisy.

It’s a fitting counterpart to a long day of walking--and staying respectfully quiet--on the course.

* 5. Eat a steak. There may be no better place to do so than Damon’s Steak House, established in 1937.

The fare is primarily meat and potatoes, as it should be, but there’s more to this restaurant than the food.

Damon’s is decked out in truly inspired Polynesian decor: the fish tanks, the waiters and waitresses in floral shirts and the island murals painted on the walls. A Glendale classic.

* 4. Eat well. As Times restaurant reviewer Max Jacobson writes: “No local restaurant quite captures the ‘40s feel like Cinnabar.”

With its antique bar and Franco-Japanese cuisine, this restaurant is a regular on the Valley’s annual top-10 list.

Be warned: it’s a bit pricey with entrees that range from $16.50 to $21.50.

* 3. Listen up. The venerable Alex Theatre presents a Valentine’s Day special on Saturday.

Pulitzer Prize-winning pianist William Bolcom and mezzo-soprano Joan Morris offer an intimate show of Gershwin tunes.

The Boston Globe called the husband-and-wife duo “one of the great musical collaborations of our time.”

* 2. Have a laugh. OK, so maybe it’s impossible to visit Glendale without stopping by the Galleria.

Check out a new store called Knuckleheads, where life-size replicas of the Three Stooges greet customers at the front door. Among the extensive line of Stooge products presented here, the most apropos item is probably the $29 golf club head-covers shaped like Larry, Moe and Curly. Squeeze Moe’s hand and he says:

“Hey, back off, you imbecile. Let me show you how it’s done.”

* 1. When in doubt, drive to Pasadena.

Times staff writers Andrew Blankstein and David Wharton, and correspondent Jon Steinman contributed to this story.