Best of LA: 2013
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.
Website: http://www.rhondasays.net
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.
Website: http://aocwinebar.com
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.
Website: http://www.adammsgallery.com
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.
Website: http://www.aladinla.com
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.
Website: http://www.babita-mexicuisine.com
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.
Website: http://www.ballardsartworkframing.com
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.
Website: http://www.lacma.org
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., Ste. A, 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.
Website: http://www.calblendsoils.com
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
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.
Website: http://www.chadotea.com
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.
Website: http://www.dacamera.org
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.
Website: http://cliffsedgecafe.com
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., Ste. C, 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.
Website: http://www.colormegreennails.com
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.
Website: http://www.countrygeneralstore.com
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.
Website: http://www.crossroadskitchen.com
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