Los Angeles: City Travel & Photo Diary
For my birthday weekend this year, I took a short trip to Los Angeles, CA. While I’ve been to the greater LA area before, I’ve never ventured to and around DTLA, as well as the more urban, “LA proper” areas.
I’ve compiled a brief guide of some of my favorite spots we visited during this trip. Of course, there was so much we didn’t get to see/visit and definitely would love to go back to see all of the things missed.
Places to Visit
Marciano Art Foundation - Great museum for modern art. Houses both installation based works as well as two-dimensional pieces. Be sure to buy tickets ahead of time; slots fill up fast.
Row DTLA - Renovated old warehouses/factories turned into boutiques & chic eateries/cafes. Housed next to the old American Apparel Factory. Similar to Brooklyn’s Industry City, but slightly more underwhelming and more high end.
Arts District - Old industrial area turned into young, hip, artist haven. Lots of cafes, small eateries, and boutiques popping up. We stumbled upon H.Lorenzo’s archival store here, which was pretty nice. You can also find Dover Street Market LA & Row DTLA here. Think: Morgan/Jefferson L train stop, but more spread out.
Abbot Kinney Boulevard - A chic retail strip in Venice. Lots of contemporary/high end boutiques, as well as cafes and small eateries.
To Eat
Cafe Gratitude - Vegan & organic restaurant with multiple locations around LA. Very nice interior but not super upscale—airy, spacious, cheery, and inviting. One of my favorite vegan spots I went to; they have a variety of different types of foods for everyone and it had a good balance between health-conscious food and “comfort” food. Super yummy brunch; try their chilaquiles (my favorite) or french toast.
Nong Lá - Contemporary “homestyle” Vietnamese restaurant in La Brea. Food feels “traditional” and extremely comforting—not to mention, their portions are huge! I also love the bright, modern interior. I had the Bun Chay (Vegetarian Tofu/Mushroom noodle salad) and it’s some of the best Vietnamese food I’ve ever had.
Surawon Tofu House - Korean restaurant in Koreatown that makes their own tofu from scratch (both regular and from black soy beans). They specialize in Soondubu (tofu stew), and offer vegan/vegetarian options for their stews by using water instead of fish broth. I got their mushroom soondubu and it was super comforting, delicious, & abundant — some of the best Korean food I’ve had in a restaurant.
Âu Lạc - Vegan Vietnamese restaurant in DTLA with a creative menu that also offers some other types of vegan cuisine as well. Slightly “upscale” but still casual. They offer both cooked and “raw” foods. I tried their Lemongrass “fish” (made from soy) which was a huge meal that came with wild/black rice, vegetables, and soup (the soup was so good). The fish itself was interesting; it was wrapped in nori to imitate the crunchy skin of fish and tasted like it was seasoned with bonito flakes. I would be interested to go back & try their other dishes.
Shojin - Vegan, organic, & macrobiotic Japanese restaurant located in the Little Tokyo Marketplace. Has a nice ambience and slightly upscale. Their rolls are a lot more filling than they appear, at least compared to my previous experiences with vegan sushi (aka Beyond Sushi in NYC). Comforting, filling, and a great concept. Try their spicy baked scallop roll (it’s torched at the table).
Little Fluffy Head Cafe - Cute little boba/bubble tea shop in DTLA that makes bubble tea (sorry, I’m from the east coast) with creamy foam on top of their drinks. I got their buckwheat bubble tea topped with vegan coconut cream and it was so, so good — best boba I’ve had, especially since I’ve never had any bubble tea drinks similar in concept.
Pop-ups
Nike’s Department of Unimaginable - A pop-up event in the La Brea area in LA that served as a creative workshop as well as a celebration of Nike’s Air Max Day. Industry professionals were invited to create projects in the space. Visitors received special badges/passes to be able to view the pop-up exhibition that walked you through the history of the Nike Air Max sneaker, as well as installations featuring local wearers of Air Max’s.
Nike x Revolve - An immersive, instagrammable retail pop-up space located on Melrose Ave. Items from both brands were merchandised in a glowy, iridescent space (similar to all of the new Nike stores). This pop-up featured a fun photo area, glitter makeovers, and a rooftop lounge where people can take photos and relax.
The Other Art Fair LA - An art fair alternative to the Frieze Art Fair, this show pops up in multiple cities across the globe such as London, Chicago, and Brooklyn. Features contemporary artists selling their work (mostly 2D work), as well as light eats.
To Shop: Vintage
Raggedy Threads - Vintage Americana workwear. Located in Little Tokyo.
American Rag Cie - Spacious boutique on La Brea that stocks both new/contemporary pieces as well as vintage items. Great for all-around vintage, specifically workwear pants, windbreakers, denim, and outerwear. Stocks a variety of premium denim as well as workwear/streetstyle inspired designer labels.
Melrose Trading Post - Flea market on Melrose/Fairfax that happens on Sundays. This flea market is a lot bigger than it looks. A variety of vintage and secondhand vendors, as well as small jewelry designers and secondhand housewares.
Wasteland - Secondhand shop on Melrose. Fairly spacious and stocks a huge variety of new & vintage denim, outerwear, blouses/tops, etc. Great for buying secondhand LA-based brands such as Good American, Reformation, Grlfrnd, and basically any brand sold on Revolve.
To Shop: Boutique
Dover Street Market LA - Tucked in the Arts District, DSM is an avant-garde concept store conceived by the heads of Comme Des Garcons. This was the first DSM I’ve been to that is single level and features a parking lot (it is LA, after all). The interior is creatively decorated and extremely airy and spacious, giving you a modern warehouse-turned-art space feel. Compared to the other DSM’s, though, I feel like this one stocks more “wearable” items versus the more avant-garde, eccentric ensembles.
Bodega - To be honest, I really hated this store at first. Located in The Row DTLA, Bodega is hidden behind a fruit wholesale facade. We spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out where the store was, before realizing that it has a “hidden store front” (you’re welcome). Not only that, but any high end place that has a fake “bodega” installation inside of it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, this shop is spacious, featuring two floors of streetwear and sneakers (predominantly menswear). It was nice once we got inside, as it had a good range of brands and product, and was nicely curated/laid out, but I feel that the hidden storefront is a little pretentious.
Poketo - A fun, super cute boutique featuring house goods, gifts, beauty/skincare, jewelry, stationary, apparel, and more. A lot of the products are locally made as well. A perfect spot to check out and maybe pick out a gift or two for someone (or maybe even yourself).
General Store - Cute eclectic boutique in Venice. Sells a lot of locally made home goods, apparel, jewelry, as well as some vintage denim. Has more of a feminine, “LA girl” vibe than Poketo in my opinion, but well curated and a great place to pick up gifts as well.
