Month: January 2024

14 places in L.A. to take a ‘treat walk’

14 places in L.A. to take a ‘treat walk’

Published by Sam Flores

Tucked off a quiet street just a couple blocks from the dramatic cliff sides of San Pedro, the Corner Store is so much more than its name. Yes, you can stop by for a coffee or to stock up on bottles of wine or snacks, but you’ll also find hundreds of specialty sodas on display and in the freezers, with fun, hard-to-find flavors like prickly pear, guarana and fire-brewed grape. The food menu is just as robust with pastries, a breakfast burrito, bagels, burgers on fresh-baked ciabatta bread, subs, soups, salads and a few vegan options. You’re free to enjoy your selections in the cozy interior with worn-in couches or on the covered patio, but the pro move is to take a small picnic to Point Fermin Park for a spectacular view of the seaside, with nearby landmarks such as the Korean Bell of Friendship and the Victorian-style Point Fermin lighthouse. There’s also a path that takes you directly to the shore, but be mindful that this part of the coast is pretty rocky with …

‘ACOTAR’ author Sarah J. Maas sits down with Jenna Bush Hager

‘ACOTAR’ author Sarah J. Maas sits down with Jenna Bush Hager

Published by Sam Flores

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Best Caesar salads to try in Los Angeles

Best Caesar salads to try in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

It doesn’t seem to matter whether a restaurant is a trusted L.A. standby or a rising destination; you can always count on a variation of the Caesar salad on the menu. Los Angeles’ fascination with the Caesar salad can be traced back as far as the 1930s, about 10 years after the salad’s storied invention, when restaurants like Beverly Hills’ Chasen’s offered the dish with a tableside presentation. The Caesar, commonly composed of romaine lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese and a garlicky anchovy dressing, is said to have originated in Tijuana in the 1920s at Italian-born Caesar Cardini’s restaurant at Hotel Caesar, where it is still on the menu today. It was Cardini’s ties to Los Angeles, however, that secured the dish as an unequivocal local staple. Cardini was a California-based restaurateur who opened his restaurant across the border to escape Prohibition, and it quickly became a popular destination for wealthy Angelenos and San Diegans looking to do the same. Legend has it that one busy night at the restaurant — some say the Fourth of …

10 beloved trees in Los Angeles

10 beloved trees in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

Matthew Teutimez, a biologist and member of the Kizh Kitc Gabrieleños tribe, explained to me why it is that sycamores are so special, “a particularly special tree to symbolize locations for ancient people here in Southern California,” he said. “So much of our landscape is low-growing scrub, and back before the buildings, looking out on the horizon, you’d see the topography, the hills, the mountains, the tree canopies. But the way sycamores grow, they grow to be singular, next to water, growing up like a beacon.” The trees were markers of significant locations, Teutimez said: villages, mostly. And later: burial grounds. “The fact that it’s a hardwood, too, means sycamores provide us with a whole other slew of gifts: They were utilized in the funeral pyre, they were the wood that sends you on to the next part of existence, so part of them becomes part of you.” Also for music. “Many folks have a misunderstanding that every Native American group had drums, but we didn’t have drums in Southern California, because we didn’t have …

Here are 24 Kobe Bryant murals in L.A. and 8 in Orange County to visit

Here are 24 Kobe Bryant murals in L.A. and 8 in Orange County to visit

Published by Sam Flores

Artist Jonas Never was downtown Feb. 24, 2020, the day of the memorial celebration for Kobe and Gianna Bryant at Staples Center. He passed by a mural of Kobe that he and fellow artist Droycela painted four years earlier. It looked different than he remembered. “I couldn’t even believe how much writing was on it,” Never told The Times in a recent phone interview. That spot had become a gathering place for mourning fans in the aftermath of the Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash that killed Kobe, Gianna and seven others. Many of those fans had written simple messages to the beloved icon — like “RIP Kobe & Gigi,” “We love you,” “Thank you for everything,” and “Mamba out” — all over the mural. “I’ve never really seen that done with a mural before,” Never said. “And it’s sort of unique because that mural wasn’t a memorial mural. It was just a straight Kobe mural because he was still alive” when it was painted. But at some point since then, Never said, “it kind of …

A guide to the best bicycle shops in L.A.

A guide to the best bicycle shops in L.A.

Published by Sam Flores

In our car-choked, freeway-stitched metropolis, this might sound strange or possibly absurd, but it’s something I believe to be true: Los Angeles is an amazing place to ride a bike. Yes, there’s lots of evidence to the contrary. In 2022, L.A. reached a grim milestone — 312 people died in traffic collisions, including 20 cyclists. Wide arterial roads filled with speeding vehicles crisscross the city, creating a dangerous environment for people on bikes. And despite much fanfare, L.A.’s proposed citywide network of bike lanes and paths remains largely just an idea on paper (though a proposed ballot measure could change that). L.A. is far from perfect. But if you look beyond the bad news, the City of Angels has so much to offer cyclists. From nearly ideal year-round weather to an abundance of terrain options for riding, the city stands out for many reasons, but none is more important than the incredible community of cyclists who live and pedal in L.A. Don’t believe me? Spend some time in the city’s bike shops. “I’ve been riding …

A guide to Mid-City, Los Angeles: What to do, see, eat

A guide to Mid-City, Los Angeles: What to do, see, eat

Published by Sam Flores

There’s nothing mid about Mid-City. The 3.5-square-mile neighborhood — extending from Robertson Boulevard on the west to Crenshaw on the east, Pico Boulevard to the north and the 10 Freeway to the south — is centrally located, diverse and walkable. Not only does it take about 20 minutes to get anywhere from Mid-City but the parking is plentiful, unlike other parts of L.A. (looking at you, K-town). Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now. Where else can you walk to two different Targets, multiple grocery stores and several fitness studios all within a 3-mile radius? (And that’s just on Mid-City’s stretch of La Brea Avenue!) The historically Black and Latino neighborhood features notable L.A. landmarks including the world’s first LGBTQ+ synagogue, Beth Chayim Chadashim, and the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, which was built on the grounds of the former Ebony Showcase Theatre. The local post office is named after Ray Charles, who had his recording studio …

Need a soak? Try these spas beyond the known Koreatown spots

Need a soak? Try these spas beyond the known Koreatown spots

Published by Sam Flores

Our friendship blossomed in hot water. We met at a destination wedding, and while everybody else did shots, we nerded out about the art of public bathing. We discussed the sad reality of the spa experience in the U.S., which is more about isolated, expensive treatments than communal rest. We talked about the fact that spas were gate-kept for the rich, but that one of the best things in life was to get way too hot, then too cold, and then gossip as your circulation went wild. Instead of never seeing each other again, we both ended up in Los Angeles for work. The city was an exciting spread of food and culture, but the feast of hot water was the hidden delight of L.A. Over the 15 years since that wedding, we’ve spent hundreds of hours in SoCal spas. Sometimes we talk about job woes, sometimes the frustrations of parenting, and sometimes we don’t talk at all. L.A.’s expansive bathing culture has become the landscape not just of a necessary retreat but also, a …

Guide to Elysian Valley (Frogtown), L.A.: What to do, see and eat

Guide to Elysian Valley (Frogtown), L.A.: What to do, see and eat

Published by Sam Flores

Nestled between the Golden State Freeway and the Los Angeles River, Elysian Valley — also known as Frogtown because of the western toads that once inundated the residential streets — often has been described as an “isolated” urban community. Geographically speaking, that makes sense. But if you spend time in the 3-mile-long neighborhood, where businesses and homes butt against one another, you’ll see people from all over town flocking to the river-adjacent area. And for good reason. “We used to feel like we were this somewhat remote outpost,” said architect Tracy Stone, president of the Elysian Valley Arts Collective, who has lived there for 20 years. “You have to come here deliberately. When outward-facing places like Wax Paper opened in 2016, I thought, ‘Who will come here?’ Much to my amazement and delight, they proved it’s possible.” Indeed. On a recent Saturday morning, a long line of bicyclists, couples with dogs and families waited patiently for coffee at La Colombe Coffee Roasters on the Elysian Valley Bicycle & Pedestrian Path, a 7-mile stretch along the …

Best NA cocktails and mocktails for Dry January in L.A.

Best NA cocktails and mocktails for Dry January in L.A.

Published by Sam Flores

After the holidays, like many, we get burned out on the rich comfort foods and sugary drinks that define the season: Come January, a break feels not just necessary but like a welcome refresh. For anyone who is abstaining from wine, beer or spirits, for any reason, the reset is all the better amid a new era of nonalcoholic cocktails. We might gravitate to alcohol as a social lubricant and for its ability to play off the flavors on our plates, telling the stories of multigenerational winemakers, expert distillers or maestros of agave. But as the demand for no- and low-alcohol options grows — the industry surpassed $11 billion in market value in 2022, up from $9 billion in 2018 — brands are determined to deliver an equitable experience with dealcoholized wine and booze-free beer, nonalcoholic spirit replacements and ready-to-drink beverages that tout nootropics, or cognitive enhancers, to help you feel good without risking a hangover. It’s a new frontier for mixologists and chefs who are taking a chemist’s approach to building out their nonalcoholic …