Coming into Los Angeles
Look ma, I made a listicle.
Blame it on the memoirs I’ve been reading, Dennis Hopper, Ojai tangerines, Nancy Silverton, Jessica Pratt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Eve Babitz: I wanted to see Los Angeles on a deeper level. And I wanted to visit friends, of course. I’d been to L.A. a few times and relished its persistent breeze, Seussical flora and fauna, midcentury homes tucked up on the mountains, and bungalows by the sea—but I knew the key to having a rich experience would be making time to explore different neighborhoods. I’d also need a car to entertain us across the beach cities while crawling through traffic.
I made a plan to drive out to La-La-land and spend the first half of the trip with my husband Dustin and the second half with my travel wife Christine. During the last evening of my journey, Christine and Yousaf, a friend from work, locked eyes and said, “You should write a travel blog!”
Friends, this missive is for you. These weren’t all of the things we did; just my favorite things from our visit.
Downtown
This hall was designed by the Frank Gehry. It was a lot smaller than I had imagined; everyone had a good seat. Herbie Hancock was playing with his band and we saw him shake hands with John Lithgow, who ejected from his seat—smack dab in the front of the stage—to reach his hand out to the legend after the performance.
This place is a must. In addition to all of the books on the first level, there are a few independent shops on the second floor and a cafe. We walked out with a slim book on birds from the '50s.
We came across this tiki-ish mermaid-themed neighborhood dive because it was next door to where we were having dinner, Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo. An older guy next to us dressed like George Segal in California Split delighted us by drawing a square with his fingers in the air when describing his boring friends.
This historic theater was heaving with hipsters when we watched The Magnetic Fields perform. It's probably the most gorgeous music venue I've ever been to.
Redondo Beach
If you haven’t guessed, Dustin and I are suckers for all things mid-century — and this bar and restaurant hit. Situated right on the pier, the interiors haven’t been updated for decades. Dustin and I ordered Tony’s famous mai tais and walked out with a pair of commemorative glasses.
I'm not saying you should specifically check out this market but you should try and visit one, if you can. California produce, I discovered, is incomparable to what we get in West Texas and even most of the state. This market was a small but satisfying multi-sensory event, from the musician playing the steel drums to the vendors generously offering you samples of citrus and other fruits.
Virgil Village, Silverlake, Echo Park
I didn’t know who Richard Neutra was before this trip. I discovered his old residence in Silverlake after reading he was the architect who designed several famous homes in Palm Springs. The Neutra house reminds me of the ship from Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Everything is compartmentalized, with little buttons here and there to move the outdoor panels when the sun moves and to pipe in music from the record player.
Hot take: Thanks to Courage Bagels being the new cool place in the neighborhood, you no longer have to wait in line to get a table at Sqirl. This is a great place to people-watch because it attracts everyone from real estate brokers to production assistants. Christine asked one of the servers, “May I dare ask if you have Diet Coke?” The server empathetically said that she and her friend once had a Diet Dr. Pepper after one of their runs and she “still thinks about it to this day.”
The guy who was working here is fantastic. We bitched about how young people wear all of the ugly things from the '90s and how everything looks so wrong. “TikTok ruined everything,” he said. Christine got a couple of robes and I found a dreamy Miu Miu purse for the right price that just needed a little TLC.
Before learning that this cafe is where hipsters treat themselves to decadent matchas, it was on my radar because an El Paso barista told me it was pretty great. You can get lattes made with spirulina and bags of coffee roasted in The Netherlands and South Korea. At first, I was nervous that the line I saw outside the cafe wrapped around the block, but it was not for lattes; it was for the opening of Baggu. I laughed and the barista working there said, with sincerity, “It’s the first one in L.A.''
Lemon Frog Shop Vintage Bazaar
This place is soooo cute! The owner divides everything across the shop by price. I scored a flashy, hand-tooled belt from Mexico that I adore.
Larchmont - Hollywood - West Hollywood
“You are magnificent. You are supported. You are warm-hearted,” said the waiter after we ordered our dishes, each named “I am [insert positive adjective].” They added, “The question of the day is what is unfolding in your life?” Apart from the cringe-y ceremonial vibe, the vegan food was welcome sustenance after roaming the grounds of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in Pasadena.
The Shore family’s infamous club did not disappoint. Pauly Shore himself came out as the special guest. It was a Tuesday night and we saw a solid lineup of established and up-and-coming comedians KILL. We also saw a trio in the front get kicked out after being warned repeatedly that they were too obnoxious, and an angry waitress scolded them for having a declined credit card. Where else are you going to see that kind of action?
Vintage enough to be a tad campy, Musso and Frank’s attracts a mix of tourists and regulars, but there’s no doubt this is a solid spot for martinis. The most memorable thing about this restaurant was not what was happening inside but what was happening outside. We saw a man yelling at a hotdog vendor: “Why are you charging $14 for four hotdogs?!” It’s a sign of the time, folks.
This visit was a bit of a whirlwind because we arrived close to closing. We prioritized the John Waters exhibit, and what was interesting was the museum would pump different scents into the room that paired with some of his movies. Odorama!
Cypress Park
I had never tried Portuguese food until we stopped at this bistro, which has a limited number of inside and outside tables. Everything was fantastic. Of note: The music was electronic goth tunes from the '80s and '90s.
After lunch, we walked here to peruse the Record Store Day haul. The tiny shop, which traces its origins to Chicago, carries crowd favorites and esoteric finds, ranging from 1960s French yiyi pop and early punk rock. It was endearing to see the owner give his recommendations to regulars.
Los Feliz
This art deco home is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hipsters and families were picnicking, reading books, and taking in the skyline of Los Angeles right outside while architecture enthusiasts—like yours truly— were inside looking at the ikebana exhibit.
Los Feliz Theater
LA has so many cool vintage theaters but Le Samouraï happened to be playing here so that was that.
There are two physical locations right next to each other. I like the smaller bookstore that has mostly art books and hard-to-find international magazines.
This was my favorite spot to eat, thanks to Annie’s recommendation. I had the best veggie sandwich in my life. The owners do a good job of preserving a fun experience by banning laptops and piping in Motown hits that are just loud enough for you to have a decent conversation. I saw a trio of older Asian women enjoying tea by the outdoor succulent garden who said they had been friends for fifty years, as well Zoomers who were bemoaning the state of the film industry.
During my second visit (yes, I came back again), I asked someone about purchasing the restaurant’s cookbook. This guy jumped up enthusiastically and told me he was going to give me a copy of the book with a bookmark. Come to find out, this guy was the co-owner of the restaurant!
Pacific Palisades
The Eames Home was my favorite landmark in Los Angeles, and April was the perfect time to be there because all of the wildflowers surrounding the house were in bloom. You can’t go into the actual home but the docents paint a good picture of what life used to be like for the creative Eames couple. The docents were so knowledgeable they could probably tell you what the Eames ate for breakfast.
Honestly, I don’t get what the big deal is about this place—but I knew I needed to see what the fuss was about. According to my research, the Pacific Palisades location was the best to visit because it’s large and there's ample, free parking— but the smoothie line was long and the strawberries were $18 a box. I did purchase a nice moisturizing cream that was developed by a woman whose mother was going through cancer and wanted something that could hydrate her skin without having cheap oils and other junk.
There are two things I like to purchase when I’m traveling: Coffee beans and artisanal bread—and the bread from here is worth carrying home. Bonus: You get to see people working outside at the gym across the street, which feels very Venice.
Other neighborhoods
Greystone Mansion and Gardens in Beverly Hills
This was NOT on my radar until Franny told me about it. The manicured grounds are open to the public and movie buffs will recognize that it’s been featured in several movies, including The Big Lebowski.
Griffith Observatory in Griffith Hill
Dustin wanted to visit because the observatory is in the video game Grand Theft Auto, and there’s a famous scene in Rebel Without a Cause that was filmed here. Pro tip: Bring your binoculars to check out the Hollywood sign and other landmarks around town.
The biggest takeaway for me from the trip was how truly friendly Angelinos are. I had only heard them described as flakey, superficial, and jaded. However, people let me pass in traffic, made random conversations with us at bars, and looked us in the eyes while talking about how challenging the past year had been because of the writer’s strike. Any of the ridiculous stereotypes I had about them melted away. They are just like you and me.
Summer Style Inspiration
Local Discoveries
Dustin likes to joke that El Paso is East-East LA. A friend of ours did say that parts of the city remind him of East LA, ha! In any case, El Paso has its own thing going on and it’s getting cooler every year. Here are some of the businesses I love:
This may be my favorite gift shop in town. The owner carries ceramics, mirrors, jewelry, and other hand-crafted odds and ends from makers here in El Paso and Juarez, in addition to clothing and hats she’s designed. She also offers workshops ranging from bead weaving to natural fabric dying.
My friend Janean owns this bag company, which sells sustainable bags made in Juarez online and cia wholesalers. “It’s a bag that goes inside a bag,” she once said of her design concept. I have a couple and I get compliments on mine all the time!
Crate diggers can spend hours in this airy shop, located right above Old Sheepdog Brewery. It probably has the largest variety of used vinyl in town. It's closed on weekdays, but they stay open through midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. El Paso does what it wants.
If you love vintage clothing like me, this place is your jam. It's a jewel box filled with reasonably affordable duds, accessories, and home decor from the ’40s through the ’90s. During my last visit, I snagged a Tom Ford-ish, form-fitting dress from the ’80s with huge buttons.
Pump Up the Volume
Jam out to this evolving playlist of songs I’ve been enjoying this season. You're welcome
