City Of Angels…And Palm Trees

I’ve had a very interesting relationship with LA over the last ten or so years — it used to be my favorite place in the world, but when I got a little older (and traveled to more places) I started to think about it much differently. After a trip last week, though, I’m starting to see the City of Angels (and Palm Tree Instagrams) in a whole new light…and not just because the lighting is always really good.

Why I loved LA so much years ago (high school / college mostly) is that I was really into pop culture, so any celeb sighting or trendy hot spot was interesting to me. Now, it’s not that exciting to see Claire Danes in my SoulCycle class (that’s the most LA thing I’ve ever said but it’s true). However, back in the day I was mostly in Beverly Hills and would go to dinner sometimes in West Hollywood. This trip, it was my goal to explore more neighborhoods and really take it all in….which happens to involve many hours in traffic and I now understand why people don’t really leave their neighborhoods.

Previous to this last week, I had never been to Venice, Santa Monica, Malibu or downtown. I’m so glad I hit up all those places because they really give more depth to the city (when you’re only familiar with Beverly Hills, you really view LA in this one-note way). So here are a few (okay more than a few…I was there for a week, after all) highlights that you should check out next time you’re there / if you’re a native, let me know how I did.

Let’s start off with my favorite subject — shopping. I’m not going to lie, the shopping is good but it doesn’t give me that same rush I used to feel going into Kitson when Robertson was cool (oh the early 2000s…) but there are some fantastic boutiques worth checking out. I had been to Satine last time I was in LA but I never knew about the Venice location (shocking, I went to both and did not leave empty handed). I appreciate their mix of known / emerging designers as well as the mix of high-end and contemporary labels (Isabel Marant, Acne, Balenciaga Chloe, A.L.C., etc.) Some of the designers they cary you’ll probably only know about if you browse the racks at Satine. And I love a store that does just that.

A week ago today, I was wearing this outfit, walking the streets of DTLA and happily discovering Poketo and Alchemy Works, who are pretty much neighbors. Poketo ended up being like a trip to Target for me — I bought the most random assortment of things (a candle, a Japanese loofa, a gin making kit and three bars of chocolate because the packaging was super cool…and I love chocolate). Alchemy Works was similar in that it had a little bit of everything but while Poketo was a little more playful, Alchemy Works had a more masculine touch (although pretty much the entire store I’d say is unisex). I got extra excited while spotting The Collective Quarterly on the shelves, as they do have a rad selection of independent magazines. The icing on the cake though? This sailboat.

Like why is there a sailboat in the middle of the store? But really…WHY NOT?

And lastly, I had one store on my list I couldn’t leave LA without visiting and that is the famous Elyse Walker. I browse her site, Forward, almost everyday so I had to see it all in person. I found out they are totally separate entities but because they both have Elyse’s name on it, the aesthetics are of course very similar. Let’s just say that Maison Michel selection did not go unnoticed and a new hat might show up here on CCF in the near future.

So what else? LA is more than just shopping. We can now move onto my second favorite topic (although really tied for first) — eating. Everyone thinks of LA as all green juice and quinoa (which I consumed a decent amount of both while I was there) but there’s some really fantastic food that I was quite impressed with. Let’s start with the healthy stuff — Cafe Gratitude. I already enjoy vegan food but I do know it’s not always done the best it can be. THIS is plant-based done so right. My girl Jessica should open one of these in Chicago, for reals. Their bowls are out of this world (I did have three in one week) and the white marble tables are just screaming PLEASE INSTAGRAM ME.

So I did!

I also became a huge fan of Moon Juice (both Cafe Gratitude and Moon Juice were around the corner from where I was staying in Venice) not only because their juices are delicious but they have this unique vibe that’s really all about the health and spiritual benefits of their juices. They also have some apothecary and other cool merchandise that makes me very happy they have an e-commerce site 🙂

Another Venice must-visit is Gjusta (who also has white marble tables, perfect for ‘Gramming). If you live in Chicago, think of it as a Goddess and The Grocer type of place, where you order at the counter, many things are already made and displayed in glass case, etc. Except their baked goods and lunch options are on another level. Have you ever had a baklava croissant before? Because of Gjusta, I now have. And it was glorious.

Now moving onto the not-so-healthy stuff…of the seven dinners I had during this trip, my absolute favorite was Ink (and not just because Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio is the owner / chef and I am a Top Chef super fan). The menu is one of those where each item has five or so ingredients listed, then you get the dish and it’s nothing like you expected (but in a good way). For example, the best dish of the night (and the trip…perhaps my life) went as follows — octopus, ink. shells, young fennel, pimenton. Ended up being squid ink shell pasta (squid ink is my jam so I was very happy about this) with the most perfectly cooked and flavorful octopus I’ve had in a long time. I’ve had squid ink pasta (never shells, though) and octopus at many restaurants, but never together. So I really appreciated this dish, and the restaurant as a whole for that matter.

So besides Cafe Gratitude x 3, the best lunch I had was at Marugame Monzo in downtown LA.

Remember when I mentioned I wiped out in the middle of the street while wearing those crazy oversized pants? Well, this is the reason why. We barely made it before the place closed their lunch service and although I have bruises and scrapes because of it…it was totally worth it (and it’s the creamy one on the right that’s the uni udon that ROCKED MY WORLD).

And now for the “other” category (so, basically not shopping or eating)… One thing I was adamant about doing on this trip was going on a hike. It seems like a very LA thing to do so I wanted to embrace it. We ended up doing two hikes but the more scenic view was the Westridge Canyonback trail.

You can see a faint view of DTLA. We happened to go on a cloudy day that made the view not as pretty…but it was still a cool sight to see.

Another highlight was checking out LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Once again, our timing was terrible so we only got to be in the museum for a short period of time, but we did get those must-have lamp post shots (and even better at golden hour).

By far the best setting I was in all week was having lunch outside at Nobu. I’ve been to other Nobu restaurants before (and as much as I hate to love trendy restaurants, their food is always delicious) but this was the most unreal view I’ve EVER experienced while dining.

I mean, we literally ate with the sand under us. THIS is what I stared at during lunch. It was pretty incredible.

Although I’m quite persistent with my weekly #ManiMondays, I cheated a bit last week and went to Gloss Nail Spa for some nail art. They do some pretty outstanding stuff. It’s worth checking out their Instagram and also see what they’ve done with my friend, Eva‘s nails.

(taken with a Cafe Gratitude smoothie in hand…I basically belong in LA now, right?)

Last, but not least, I’d say my favorite thing we did was explore downtown LA. Personally, I like a more urban vibe (which is why I live in Chicago and I typically like New York more than LA) but after seeing what DTLA has to offer, I was pretty impressed. Maybe it was all the street art…you know I’m a sucker for that.

Not only was the street art amazing and I already mentioned the shopping and some food, but something I did not expect to run into while downtown? An abundance of piñatas. Like there’s a whole district of them.

There’s this row of shops (really, just overstocked garages) that have the largest selection you’ll ever see of piñatas and bulk Mexican candy. It’s super random but also super awesome.

Let’s just say, ILY DTLA.

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Overall it’s a tie for my favorite neighborhoods either being Venice or DTLA. I stayed in Venice so I spent a lot of time there (also Abbot Kinney might be one of my favorite streets in the entire Los Angeles area) but that one day downtown really blew me away. I think it’s just because I wasn’t expecting it — it was so different from any other part of the city I had been to. And although it was the day I injured myself for noodles and I’m still paying for it, I would do it all over again.

So besides palm trees, pretty sunsets, and the fact that you never have to worry about getting snow / salt on your shoes…do you have any favorite parts about LA? Neighborhoods? Things to do / see? Shopping? Eating? Do you think I’m crazy for ever hating on it?

Side note — I have to give a shoutout to all of those who spend their lives in traffic trying to get anywhere in LA. You all must have the patience of a saint. There should be a day dedicated in your honor…a day spent not in traffic.