Best of LA 2012: Do
Automobile Driving Museum
610 Lairport St., Los Angeles, CA, 90245
310-909-0950
If you want to understand why cars end up in museums in the first place, motor to the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, where docents take guests for a Sunday spin in one of the 130 restored vehicles from the collection.
Website: http://www.automobiledrivingmuseum.org
Neighborhood: El Segundo
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Museums
Avenue of the Palms
Stadium Way and Academy Rd., Los Angeles, CA, 90012
For decades Elysian Park’s Avenue of the Palms near Dodger Stadium has been home base for the city’s lowrider scene.
Neighborhood: Echo Park
Category: Automotive, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Recreational Vehicles
Beach Yoga with Brad
Marine St., Los Angeles, CA, 90405
310-826-6958
Watching the waves crash during a session of Beach Yoga with Brad, you’ll forget you’re on the busy border between Santa Monica and Venice.
Website: http://www.bradkeimach.com
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Sports & Recreation, Yoga Studio
Beachwood Canyon
Between 2872 and 2882 Belden, Los Angeles, CA, 90068
Build granitelike glutes and take in the landscape as you hike the public staircases notched into the city’s hillsides.
Website: http://www.secretstairs-la.com
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Family Fun, Sports & Recreation
Bridge to Nowhere
Camp Bonita Rd., Los Angeles, CA, 91702
Few hikes in Southern California make one feel as intrepid as the five-mile haul to the Bridge to Nowhere.
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Family Fun, Sports & Recreation
Dub Club
1154 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90026
213-413-8200
What began as an enclave of old-school reggae lovers sharing music with friends is now one of L.A.’s longest-running dance parties—of any genre.
Website: http://www.dubclubla.com
Neighborhood: Echo Park
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Music Venues
Fire Groove
671 N. Berendo St., Los Angeles, CA, 90004
1-800-755-6423
The quest for a hot body meets hippie spirituality in the burgeoning trend known as fire dancing.
Website: http://www.firegroove.com
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Dance Studio, Family Fun, Sports & Recreation
Fishermen’s Spot
14411 Burbank Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91401
818-785-7306
Convincing a fish that your feather-clad hook is a skittering dragonfly or chad minnow requires an angler’s patience and a golfer’s finesse.
Website: http://www.fishermensspot.com
Neighborhood: Van Nuys
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Fishing & Hunting, Sports & Recreation
Furtographs
7515 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
661-803-9826
You love your four-legged friends and have countless iPhone shots of them mugging in various states of cuteness. Why not preserve their likenesses with professional studio portraits?
Website: http://www.furtographs.com/
Neighborhood: Mid-City
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Best of LA: Pets, Pet Services, Pets & Animals
Grand Performances
350 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90071
213-687-2159
Whether it’s a celebration of George Gershwin or the sounds of Afro-futurism, an accordion festival or throwback Latin funk, Grand Performances at California Plazaoffers an astoundingly diverse lineup.
Website: http://www.grandperformances.org
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Music Venues
Highland Theatres
5604 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA, 90042
323-256-6383
Don’t expect gourmet concessions or reserved seating, but at Highland Theatres you can see a blockbuster on opening weekend for less than half of what it would cost at a premium multiplex.
Website: http://www.highlandtheatres.com
Neighborhood: Highland Park
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Cinema
LAVA Salon
6667 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90028
F. Scott Fitzgerald drank here. So did Faulkner, Fante, Bukowski, Chandler, Saroyan, Huxley, and Isherwood.
Website: http://lavatransforms.org
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Professionals, Writers
Little Bar
757 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
323-937-9210
Flinging winged projectiles at a round board is a sport best practiced at Little Bar.
Website: http://www.littlebarlounge.com
Neighborhood: Mid-Wilshire
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Bars, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do
Maja’s Magic School
2560 N. Beachwood Dr., Los Angeles, CA, 90068
Even if becoming an occultist isn’t on your bucket list, a lecture by Maja D’Aoust can be spellbinding.
Website: http://www.godismyboyfriend.com
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Education, Educational Programs
McCambridge Park Rec Center
1515 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91504
818-238-5378
Croquet is lovely, but we want a sport where cursing in Italian is mandatory.
Neighborhood: Burbank
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Recreation Facilities, Sports & Recreation
Metlox Parking Structure
451 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90266
626-535-0317
Tired of endlessly circling parking meters in search of a spot, only to return five hours later to your sun-baked car?
Website: http://www.metloxmb.com
Neighborhood: Manhattan Beach
Category: Automotive, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Parking Services
Natural History Museum’s Gallery Exploration Tour
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90007
213-763-3466
We played tourist on this one and joined guided groups in museum foyers around town.
Website: http://nhm.org
Neighborhood: Exposition Park
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Museums
Neighborhood Rock School
2602 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91504
818-557-7723
They talk to kids in their language, and newbies are welcome at the three-year-old school, which also holds a summer camp.
Website: http://www.neighborhoodrockschool.com
Neighborhood: Burbank
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Do, Best of LA 2012: Kids, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Do, Best of LA: Kids, Education, Music Schools