Best of LA: 2013
1886
1250 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 91105
Today Brady Weise shakes up cinnamon syrup with pineapple, grapefruit, and cranberry juices.
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Bars, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat
A Club Called Rhonda
3040 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90026
It’s all about dance-floor desegregation, with legendary DJs and about-to-blow-up acts attracting a diverse crowd.
Neighborhood: East Hollywood
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Do, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Do, Dance Clubs
A.O.C.
8700 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA, 90048
310-859-9859
At A.O.C. Christiaan Rollich’s salad-in-a-glass comes in a vodka version but tastes just as fresh with chamomile tea, basil, arugula, jalapeño, cucumber, and lime.
Neighborhood: Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, West Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Small Plates
Adamm’s Stained Glass Studio & Art Gallery
1426 4th St., Los Angeles, CA, 90401
This lively gallery off the 3rd Street Promenade showcases fragile masterpieces of more than 175 glass artists from North America.
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Art, Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Shop, Best of LA: 2013
Aladin Sweets & Market
139 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90007
At Aladin Sweets & Market, folks stop in for glasses of milky tea with honey-dipped fried pastries, though savory dishes are the main draw.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Southeast Asian
Altadena Golf Course
1456 E. Mendocino St., Los Angeles, CA, 91001
626-797-3821
Altadena Golf Course has you teeing off on a putting green of natural grass that’s been recently upgraded along with the café, cocktail lounge, and shop.
Neighborhood: East Pasadena
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Do, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Do, Golf, Sports & Recreation
Babita Mexicuisine
1823 S. San Gabriel Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91776
Nestled in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it suburban storefront, San Gabriel’s Babita Mexicuisine finds the gracious middle ground with such daintily presented dishes as green cilantro margarita sorbet and tequila-soaked salmon sopes.
Neighborhood: San Gabriel
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Mexican food, Restaurants
Ballard’s Artwork Framing
1568 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90026
Should your print require an artist’s eye and a craftsman’s touch, head to Ballard’s Artwork Framing in Echo Park.
Neighborhood: Echo Park
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Shop, Best of LA: 2013, Picture Framing, Services
Boone Children’s Gallery
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
While grown-ups stroll through LACMA’s galleries and clink glasses at the free outdoor concerts, kids can make their own art at the museum’s Boone Children’s Gallery.
Neighborhood: Mid-City
Category: Art, Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Do, Best of LA 2013: Kids, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Do, Best of LA: Kids
Cal Blend Soils
1270 Arrow Hwy., Los Angeles, CA, 91706
Cal Blend Soils has long been the go-to source for landscape designers making over posh estates, but it’s happy to offer mounds of fertile earth for the casual DIY-er.
Neighborhood: Irwindale
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Shop, Best of LA: 2013, Home & Garden, Home and Garden
Carroll Avenue
Carroll Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90026
Boasting the city’s highest concentration of Queen Anne and Eastlake-style Victorian homes from the late 19th century, Carroll Avenue in Angelino Heights is a gabled architectural oasis.
Neighborhood: Echo Park
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Do, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Do, Local Attractions
Casey’s Irish Pub
613 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90014
Kind on your wallet, the quiz at Casey’s Irish Pub takes place every Monday during happy hour.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Bars, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Do, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Do
Chado Tea Room
369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA, 90012
Few cultural institutions can claim as essential a dining experience as the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Cafe, Restaurants
Chamber Music in Historic Sites
How civilized: classical music in an intimate setting followed by discussions with the musicians and a repast.
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Do, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Do, Music Venues
Cliff’s Edge
3626 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, CA, 90026
323-666-6116
Silver Lake’s candlelit grotto recently brought on James Beard-nominated chef Benjamin Bailly (Fraîche, Petrossian), whose farm-fresh menu is tasteful but doesn’t punish the pocketbook.
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA 2014: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: 2014, Best of LA: Eat, Cafe, Restaurants
Color Me Green
2001 Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90266
Booking a side-by-side appointment is relatively easy, and the staff wielding the brushes are suckers for tykes, propping them up with pillows in oversize chairs.
Neighborhood: Manhattan Beach
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Primp, Best of LA: 2013, Nail Salons, Services
Country General Store
6279 Van Nuys Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91401
Van Nuys’s 57-year-old Country General Store makes us wish we had a hoedown on our calendar, or better yet, a cowboy or cowgirl on our arm.
Neighborhood: Van Nuys
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Shop, Best of LA: 2013, Clothing, Shopping
Crossroads
8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90046
(323) 782-9245
White-tablecloth vegan—it was bound to happen.
Neighborhood: Hollywood, West Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Mediterranean, Restaurants, Small Plates, Vegetarian/Vegan