(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photos by Michael Blackshire, Juliana Yamada, Gina Ferazzi, Betty Hallock, Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times; Silvia Razgova, Emil Ravelo, Carla Blumenkrantz, Shelby Moore / For The Times; Cedrick Mitchell, Junie Ceramics, Will Adler, Benny Boy Brewing, Daniel Yang and Miguel Miguel Shop)
Father’s Day is almost here. “Great,” you say, “but what should I get Dad? Especially now that he’s decided to stop using Amazon.”
The answer is simple: Shop small from a Los Angeles brand, which is a lot more gratifying than waiting and worrying about when that backpack cooler you ordered will show up.
We receive plenty of gift ideas, and of course, we know dads are about more than just beer, barbecues and bottle openers. That’s why we’ve put together a list of local products and experiences we’ve tried ourselves and know will make the day special.
Some of these ideas also appeared in our recent Mother’s Day gift guide, because we believe treats including chocolate, facials, Dodgers games and Wi Spa are universally enjoyable.
If Father’s Day is difficult for you, whether you don’t have a dad or your relationship is complicated, we hope you’ll keep reading. Also, you can use these gift ideas to treat yourself to something nice.
For the record:
2:59 p.m. June 4, 2026A previous version of this article said SeaVees’ Tiburon Trekker had a plastic sole. It has a rubber sole.
Showing Place Places
Gift him some trendy Baller Hardware merch
Los Feliz Hardware store
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Those cool T-shirts you’ve seen around and read about in the news aren’t from a trendy boutique. They actually come from an old-school hardware store. If your dad likes to keep up with the latest fashion, pick up a T-shirt from Baller Hardware, a Silver Lake favorite for 66 years (2505 Hyperion Ave.), which has another shop at 5040 York Blvd. in Highland Park. T-shirts are $14.99, ball caps are $19.99 and hoodies are $29.99. The store will gift wrap your purchase in a brown paper bag with a bright red Do It Best logo. You can also grab anything else Dad might need, unless his idea of a perfect day is just browsing the hardware store on his own.
You can’t buy this merch online, so you’ll need to visit one of their Los Angeles locations to get it.
You can’t buy this merch online, so you’ll need to visit one of their Los Angeles locations to get it.
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Visit the Rose Bowl for a Father's Day stadium tour and time on the field
Pasadena Sports Venue
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Join Pasadena Heritage for a special Father’s Day tour and explore the Rose Bowl stadium with expert guides. You’ll get to see places most visitors never do, including the original 1922 locker rooms, the press box and the broadcast center. And you can even walk onto the field. The stadium, designed by Myron Hunt, has evolved over time to meet new needs but still keeps its original character. During the tour, you’ll find out how the Rose Bowl operates and how it has changed and hear stories about some of its most memorable events.
Tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. June 21.
Price: $65
Tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. June 21.
Price: $65
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A Jumie Ceramics Mama Papa Dada mug he can't lose
Ceramics Studio
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(Junie Ceramics)
I spotted Jumie Ra’s Mama, Papa, Dada mugs at the Jackalope Craft Fair in Pasadena in April and loved Ra’s bold hand-lettered designs. Does your dad always search for his coffee mug or get annoyed when someone else uses it? Give him a Papa or Dada mug, each one handmade and painted in small batches at Ra’s L.A. studio. If those names don’t suit him, Ra has also designed a “Badass” mug.
Available in gray, black and teal blue.
Price: $70
Available in gray, black and teal blue.
Price: $70
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Take a sourdough bread-making class at the King's Roost
Glassell Park Shop
Roe Sie leads a 100% fresh-milled sourdough class at the King’s Roost.
(Trish Sie)
If your dad enjoys baking bread or pizza with locally milled Grist & Toll flour, a sourdough bread-making class at the King’s Roost could be the perfect gift.
Taught by owner and urban homesteader extraordinaire Roe Sie, this three-hour, hands-on workshop will teach Dad how to mill his own grains, make and feed a starter, mix and shape dough and churn butter from scratch. He’ll leave with dough ready to bake and a bit of Sie’s wild sourdough starter.
The next in-person class is July 12, costs $149 and includes all materials. The online version is $299. Sie says, “The pricing between the online and in-person is a 2-to-1 ratio. It’s $149 for the in-person and $299 for the online. So I tell my customers, it’s the same or cheaper to make at home with two or more family and friends.”
If Dad can’t make it in person, the online class is easy to join. Once he signs up and selects a date, Sie will send him freshly milled flour and sourdough starter so he can follow along from home. Sie also sells a variety of flours perfect for gift-giving to your favorite bakers.
Taught by owner and urban homesteader extraordinaire Roe Sie, this three-hour, hands-on workshop will teach Dad how to mill his own grains, make and feed a starter, mix and shape dough and churn butter from scratch. He’ll leave with dough ready to bake and a bit of Sie’s wild sourdough starter.
The next in-person class is July 12, costs $149 and includes all materials. The online version is $299. Sie says, “The pricing between the online and in-person is a 2-to-1 ratio. It’s $149 for the in-person and $299 for the online. So I tell my customers, it’s the same or cheaper to make at home with two or more family and friends.”
If Dad can’t make it in person, the online class is easy to join. Once he signs up and selects a date, Sie will send him freshly milled flour and sourdough starter so he can follow along from home. Sie also sells a variety of flours perfect for gift-giving to your favorite bakers.
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Deck him out in Sango Studio's Washed Denim Jacket
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(Kai Matsukuma)
I recently sampled this 100% cotton jacket at the In Todo Craft Fair in downtown Los Angeles and can confirm it feels sturdy and looks great. Local designer Kai Matsukuma made it for his Sango Studio line of streetwear and says each piece “is designed for the cultures we live in and passionately care for with our top-of-mind core values: Longevity, functionality and comfort.” The jacket is made from heavyweight 17-ounce graphite denim. There are two exterior pockets: the left has a YKK zipper from Japanese manufacturer Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, and the right closes with a button. Each jacket is made and labeled in Los Angeles, and only 100 were produced in this first run.
Comes in sizes S to XXL.
Price: $125
Comes in sizes S to XXL.
Price: $125
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Shop for specialty foods at Epicurus Gourmet
North Hollywood Grocery Store
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)
If your dad is the kind of foodie who keeps duck fat in the freezer, take him to Epicurus Gourmet in North Hollywood for a fun gourmet food shopping experience. This specialty foods warehouse offers more than 2,500 items, including freezer finds such as lamb merguez sausage, chorizo, rack of lamb and whole ducks. If he prefers pastries, you’ll find frozen ready-to-bake Boulart French bread, croissants and canele in different flavors and Pan de Cristal from Spain. There’s also a wide selection of cheese, French butter, tinned fish, olive oil, vinegar, Asian specialty foods, bread flour from France and handcrafted chocolates. Gift certificates are available too, but note that you have to buy them in person.
If you didn’t pick up anything perishable such as a Smoked Taramosalata Greek-style caviar spread or cheese, you can take your dad on a guided tour of North Hollywood using our great neighborhood guide.
If you didn’t pick up anything perishable such as a Smoked Taramosalata Greek-style caviar spread or cheese, you can take your dad on a guided tour of North Hollywood using our great neighborhood guide.
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Make a statement in a handmade leather belt from Dean Accessories
Los Feliz Leather goods
(Dean)
Danny Dean Davis makes everything from dopp kits ($90) to luggage ($495) at his Los Feliz showroom and studio, but says his belts are a popular choice for Father’s Day. Along with the eye-catching grommet belt ($95), this 1.5-inch-wide full grain latigo leather belt with a brass core buckle in a pewter finish is perfect for dads who prefer a more understated look.
Belts are true to size, but Davis recommends ordering two sizes up from your pant size since the belt is worn over your clothes.
The belt is available in sizes 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 in black and brown leather.
Price: $75
Belts are true to size, but Davis recommends ordering two sizes up from your pant size since the belt is worn over your clothes.
The belt is available in sizes 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 in black and brown leather.
Price: $75
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Treat him to some specialty coffee from Goodboybob
Coffee
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(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)
If your dad loves dogs, treat him to a pound of coffee from Goodboybob, a local roaster named after founder Erich Joiner’s family dog, Bob. There are shops in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach, and Times food critic Bill Addison recommends the “first-rate espresso tonic with a drop of yuzu syrup.” The award-winning House Blend, which has flavors of dark chocolate, lightly roasted nuts, red apple and butterscotch, costs $19 and is sold both in-store and online. If you subscribe twice a month, the price drops to $18.05. For dads who are into cars, you can add the Goodboybob Adventure Series Motoring Mug for $25. As the website notes, “Great coffee and great adventures go hand in hand.”
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Better than slippers: SeaVees' Tiburon Trekker
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(Will Adler)
SeaVees’ Tiburon Trekker is designed in Santa Barbara, and we love the retro Acorn trainers so much that we had to try this leather slip-on too. This pair looks like a mix of clogs and sneakers, with a rubber sole and a fun accent in the middle that sets them apart from basic streetwear. They have an anatomical ridge, a Vibram outsole and a teardrop-shaped footbed for comfort and style that match almost anything. You can get them in six colors and sizes from 7 to 13. If your dad is between sizes, it’s best to go up half a size.
Price: $165
Price: $165
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Gift him the rugged and refined Newcomb tote from Chilao
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(Chilao)
The Newcomb tote from Los Angeles-based Chilao is designed to go anywhere, whether you’re heading to a meeting or a bonfire. (Its tag includes the inscription: “For the fireside and those drawn to it.”) It’s built from water-repellent brown waxed canvas, with deadstock military snaps and zippers, plus sturdy brown leather handles. The bag is tough and stylish, much like Dad. Inside, four deep pockets help keep things organized, but if you need to carry firewood or a heavy blanket, simply unsnap the bottom flaps and unzip the sides. The Newcomb quickly transforms from a sleek tote into a strong flat sling.
You can also get it in plaid waxed canvas.
Price: $365
You can also get it in plaid waxed canvas.
Price: $365
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Hit the outdoors in Camp’d Out’s My Grandpa’s Jacket
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(Camp’d Out)
Does your dad enjoy spending time outside? Camp’d Out, known for its custom, stylish camping experiences, is launching its first Adventure Gear collection with My Grandpa’s Jacket. This piece honors founder Kitty Medina’s grandfather, J.R., who was a lifelong cattleman and loved the outdoors. Made in Los Angeles, the jacket uses 13-ounce, U.S.A. Mt. Vernon natural canvas, is lined with deadstock cotton flannel and has an Italian corduroy collar and interior cuffs.
Available in sixes XS to XXXL.
Price: $480
Available in sixes XS to XXXL.
Price: $480
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Unwind with Lookout and Wonderland bath salts
Plant power shop
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(Lookout and Wonderland)
Give Dad a chance to unwind with Lookout and Wonderland’s small-batch bath salts, created by Niki Tsukamoto, who drew on her herbalist experience while managing her own lupus. “These offerings are shared with the hope that they may bring comfort and relief,” she says. While Tsukamoto is best known for her beautiful medicinally dyed textiles, her bath salts come in scents like Yuzu, Hinoki, Forest Bathing and Medicinal Magic Bath, which is also available with CBD.
Dad can add a handful to his bath or use a small amount as a body scrub. Each 10-ounce package is enough for up to four baths.
$26
Dad can add a handful to his bath or use a small amount as a body scrub. Each 10-ounce package is enough for up to four baths.
$26
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Elevate his drinks with Cedric Mitchell's Clearly Kinetic Glasses
Glassblower
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(Soona Studios)
Cedric Mitchell’s Clearly Kinetic Glass from his Drinkware Collection is inspired by graffiti art, fashion and playful Italian design. Its smooth swivel on an amber sphere with 24K gold leaf inside helps bring out the aromas of whiskey, cognac and liqueurs. This glass makes a great gift for dads who appreciate good design, collect barware or love unique handmade glassware.
Each glass is made to order in Mitchell’s El Segundo studio with a lead time of 10 to 14 business days before shipping.
$125 apiece.
Each glass is made to order in Mitchell’s El Segundo studio with a lead time of 10 to 14 business days before shipping.
$125 apiece.
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Buck Mason's Case Study Camp Shirt offers a relaxed yet refined look
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(Buck Mason)
Buck Mason’s new Case Study Camp Shirt feels like California’s answer to the classic Pendleton. It swaps out wool for lightweight cotton chamois cloth, giving it a sun-faded, worn-in look. The shirt comes in four plaid patterns and sizes from small to XXL.
Price: $188
Price: $188
Learn the basics of blacksmithing with Fell Knives
Welder
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(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Join bladesmith Nicholas Berkofsky of Fell Knives in his Los Angeles studio to learn the basics of blacksmithing and create your own hand-forged piece. In these classes, you’ll practice forging by hand on an anvil, shaping hot steel, controlling tongs and using different types of hammers.
Berkofsky offers several options: Intro to Blacksmithing ($250), where you make a J Hook, a bottle opener class ($140), a one-day Intro to Bladesmithing class to make a utility or paring knife ($450) and a two-day Intro to Bladesmithing class for $800. You can take some classes solo, with Dad or in a group of up to four — maybe you, Dad, some relatives or friends. Classes are scheduled after payment and usually take place Monday through Friday. If you’re giving a class as a gift, please share the recipient’s name, email and phone number with Berkofsky, and let him know whether you’d like him to wait until a certain date before contacting the recipient. The studio’s address will be provided after you sign up for a class.
Berkofsky offers several options: Intro to Blacksmithing ($250), where you make a J Hook, a bottle opener class ($140), a one-day Intro to Bladesmithing class to make a utility or paring knife ($450) and a two-day Intro to Bladesmithing class for $800. You can take some classes solo, with Dad or in a group of up to four — maybe you, Dad, some relatives or friends. Classes are scheduled after payment and usually take place Monday through Friday. If you’re giving a class as a gift, please share the recipient’s name, email and phone number with Berkofsky, and let him know whether you’d like him to wait until a certain date before contacting the recipient. The studio’s address will be provided after you sign up for a class.
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Take him to a ballgame at Dodger Stadium
Elysian Park Sports Venue
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Will Andy Pages stay hot? Is Shohei Ohtani a Cy Young contender? And when will Kike Hernandez’ return from the IL? These are just a few things you and Dad can talk about when the Dodgers play the Baltimore Orioles on Father’s Day at 1:10 p.m.
Tickets start at around $146, and the first 40,000 fans will receive a free Father’s Day Uniqlo t-shirt.
If Dodger Dogs aren’t your dad’s thing, take a look at the L.A. Times sandwich guide. It features everything from tortas ahogadas to meatball subs and even “what might be the best pastrami sandwiches in the world.” You can bring your own food into the park if it’s in a clear plastic bag, so consider packing something he’ll love. Our Food staff has also put together a great list of bars and restaurants near Dodger Stadium before or after the game.
Tickets start at around $146, and the first 40,000 fans will receive a free Father’s Day Uniqlo t-shirt.
If Dodger Dogs aren’t your dad’s thing, take a look at the L.A. Times sandwich guide. It features everything from tortas ahogadas to meatball subs and even “what might be the best pastrami sandwiches in the world.” You can bring your own food into the park if it’s in a clear plastic bag, so consider packing something he’ll love. Our Food staff has also put together a great list of bars and restaurants near Dodger Stadium before or after the game.
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Make a date to close your eyes and breathe in nature while forest bathing
San Marino Botanic Garden
(Yuri Hasegawa/For The Times)
Debra Wilbur’s forest therapy sessions — a.k.a. forest bathing — at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens combine meditation, talk therapy in groups and a series of walking invitationals, as she calls them, meant to help participants slow down, get out of their heads and feel grounded.
What, exactly, is she inviting you to do as you wander at a snail’s pace through the gardens?
To open your mouth and taste the air on your tongue; fondle the plants, grazing their silky smooth leaves; close your eyes and tune into the sound of the wind and the trilling of wild parrots; or observe the ecosystem of the lily ponds filled with koi, ducks and turtles. To stretch. To laugh. To rest.
It’s all in service of connecting, as wholeheartedly as possible, with your natural environment, the moment and, ultimately, yourself.
Price: $40 for members, $50 otherwise.
What, exactly, is she inviting you to do as you wander at a snail’s pace through the gardens?
To open your mouth and taste the air on your tongue; fondle the plants, grazing their silky smooth leaves; close your eyes and tune into the sound of the wind and the trilling of wild parrots; or observe the ecosystem of the lily ponds filled with koi, ducks and turtles. To stretch. To laugh. To rest.
It’s all in service of connecting, as wholeheartedly as possible, with your natural environment, the moment and, ultimately, yourself.
Price: $40 for members, $50 otherwise.
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Sweat and shiver at Wi Spa
MacArthur Park Spa
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
For the first few years of my American life, I associated jimjilbang in Koreatown with old Korean grandparents. But that’s far from the case at Wi Spa, where you run into people of all ages, ethnicities and body types (yes, you have to be in the nude in the pool area).
For just $40, you can spend nearly an entire day here, whether you’re working out a sweat in a fitness center or in a steam sauna. My favorite room is a large, darkened rest area where you can stretch your legs on massage chairs ($1, cash only, gets you three minutes of rumbling and rolling on your back and shoulders). You can also indulge in various services, including a Korean body scrub for $60.
The co-ed area, which has five rooms ranging from the 210-degree bulgama to the 53-degree ice sauna, is also worth spending time in. There’s even a little computer area where kids can play Roblox and a cafeteria that serves all kinds of Korean food. Go for a cup of sikhye, or sweet rice punch, and hard boiled eggs straight out of a rice cooker. You won’t regret it.
From: This must be Koreatown
For just $40, you can spend nearly an entire day here, whether you’re working out a sweat in a fitness center or in a steam sauna. My favorite room is a large, darkened rest area where you can stretch your legs on massage chairs ($1, cash only, gets you three minutes of rumbling and rolling on your back and shoulders). You can also indulge in various services, including a Korean body scrub for $60.
The co-ed area, which has five rooms ranging from the 210-degree bulgama to the 53-degree ice sauna, is also worth spending time in. There’s even a little computer area where kids can play Roblox and a cafeteria that serves all kinds of Korean food. Go for a cup of sikhye, or sweet rice punch, and hard boiled eggs straight out of a rice cooker. You won’t regret it.
From: This must be Koreatown
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Get a celeb-worthy facial at OSEA Skincare Studio
Venice Skin-care services
(Alon Goldsmith / For The Times)
Tucked away on an under-the-radar stretch of Abbot Kinney Boulevard, this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot with a beach-cottage vibe serves as both the headquarters of seaweed-focused, clean-beauty brand OSEA (pronounced oh-see-uh, it’s an acronym for ocean, sun, earth and atmosphere) and a two-treatment-room skincare studio that offers if not life-changing facials, definitely life-affirming ones that deploy the same kinds of cleansers, scrubs, potions and lotions that celebrities like Victoria Beckham, Brie Larson and Emma Roberts rely on for their closeup-worthy beauty routines.
On a recent visit, an aesthetician named Christina gave me something called a cranial wave facial, which started with an assessment of my skin (including a gentle reassurance that my pores, which I believed to be freakishly large, were in fact normal). From there, it was a gentle, almost tender series of steams, slathers and serums interrupted by the occasional pinch of extraction and scrub of exfoliation. From time to time during the 50-minute treatment, Christina cradled my head in her hands and gently kneaded my neck (craniosacral therapy is based on these kinds of manipulations). The result? I left with a glow and a notecard with a detailed daily skincare regimen I could follow to keep putting my best face forward.
From: This must be Venice
On a recent visit, an aesthetician named Christina gave me something called a cranial wave facial, which started with an assessment of my skin (including a gentle reassurance that my pores, which I believed to be freakishly large, were in fact normal). From there, it was a gentle, almost tender series of steams, slathers and serums interrupted by the occasional pinch of extraction and scrub of exfoliation. From time to time during the 50-minute treatment, Christina cradled my head in her hands and gently kneaded my neck (craniosacral therapy is based on these kinds of manipulations). The result? I left with a glow and a notecard with a detailed daily skincare regimen I could follow to keep putting my best face forward.
From: This must be Venice
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Escape to Glen Ivy Hot Springs, just an hour from L.A.
Corona Experience
(Zack Benson)
We know that the word “spa” can sound intimidating. But Glen Ivy isn’t that way. As former Times travel editor Catharine Hamm wrote after a visit in 2017, “it feels accessible, not exclusive, meaning you can sit back and relax.”
Glen Ivy has 19 pools on 12 acres, including some of the same mineral pools that were the star attraction here in the late 1800s. There’s no hotel. But it has a Grotto (when skin hydration happens) and it has Club Mud, where you may be slathered with red clay. You could alternate between the hot and cold plunge pools and grab a bite at the Ivy Kitchen or a drink in Lounge 1860.
Basic “Taking the Waters” admission (access to the pools and Club Mud) is $85-$95 on weekends, $75 on weekdays, reservations required. (Open to guests age 18 and over.) Adding a Grotto visit costs another $45 per person; a 20-minute HydroMassage adds $40.
Glen Ivy has 19 pools on 12 acres, including some of the same mineral pools that were the star attraction here in the late 1800s. There’s no hotel. But it has a Grotto (when skin hydration happens) and it has Club Mud, where you may be slathered with red clay. You could alternate between the hot and cold plunge pools and grab a bite at the Ivy Kitchen or a drink in Lounge 1860.
Basic “Taking the Waters” admission (access to the pools and Club Mud) is $85-$95 on weekends, $75 on weekdays, reservations required. (Open to guests age 18 and over.) Adding a Grotto visit costs another $45 per person; a 20-minute HydroMassage adds $40.
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L.A. Beach straight bourbon for the whiskey lover
Culver City Whiskey distillery
(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
This bourbon is made in Culver City and distilled right next door to the main liquor store that sells it, so if your dad enjoys asking incredibly specific questions about how single-malt whiskeys and bourbons are distilled, you can bring him along to pick it up. The employees are happy to walk you through the minutiae of each bottle and might just let you snoop around the distillery.
From: 15 last-minute but cool gifts for your dad (who is impossible to shop for)
From: 15 last-minute but cool gifts for your dad (who is impossible to shop for)
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Dive into a hotel pool ‘daycation’
Hotel Pool
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(Pasadena Hotel and Pool)
When you want to give pool time but don’t want to pay for a hotel room, think about ResortPass gift cards. With one, you can give somebody day access to pools at more than 80 L.A.-area hotels. For example, $44 on weekdays and $82 on weekend days buys access to the Lanai pool, hot tub and new Royce Pool at the stately Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, along with locker rental, towel service and discounted valet parking. When I arrived at the Royce Pool (which this year replaced two tennis courts), an attendant appeared promptly with a towel and a cup of ice water. The pool, shaped like a flower with five petals, is surrounded by about 100 chaise lounges and a few cabanas (rentable separately, for a hefty price). No outside food, drinks, pets, speakers or pool floats allowed. Most ResortPass day pool passes fall between $25 and $110, depending on how snazzy the property is. The gift cards are digital, can be any amount, do not expire and can be used at hundreds of participating hotels in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
From: L.A. heat getting to you? Cool off at one of these 20 hotel pools offering day passes
From: L.A. heat getting to you? Cool off at one of these 20 hotel pools offering day passes
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Nosh your way through Smorgasburg at Row DTLA
Downtown L.A. Food Market
(Silvia Rázgová / For The Times)
Row DTLA is home to the weekly outdoor food fest Smorgasburg. On Sundays, food trucks and stands representing experimental culinary ventures from across the city come together on the 5-acre site of the Alameda Produce Market at this retail and restaurant complex. Smorgasburg director Zach Brooks orchestrates the congregation, which also serves as an incubator for vendors that might launch businesses beyond the market.
Crowds beeline to Chimmelier’s Korean fried chicken sandwiches. But also try Goat Mafia’s birria tacos in the “L.A. style,” with a cheesy crust; Love Hour smashburgers; pork belly breakfast tacos at Macheen; and Kinrose’s Middle Eastern ice cream in flavors such as brown sugar and spiced walnut, topped with crumbled baklava. The Armenian skewers grilled over almond wood at III Mas Barbecue are spectacular, marinated with Chaldean curry, tamarind and tarragon, and served with aish baladi pita.
The new year always brings a new lineup of vendors. And every quarter, the Smorgasburg L.A. Art Fair, curated by the neighborhood’s Art Share L.A., features artisan vendors and live performances for a day of music, art and food.
Crowds beeline to Chimmelier’s Korean fried chicken sandwiches. But also try Goat Mafia’s birria tacos in the “L.A. style,” with a cheesy crust; Love Hour smashburgers; pork belly breakfast tacos at Macheen; and Kinrose’s Middle Eastern ice cream in flavors such as brown sugar and spiced walnut, topped with crumbled baklava. The Armenian skewers grilled over almond wood at III Mas Barbecue are spectacular, marinated with Chaldean curry, tamarind and tarragon, and served with aish baladi pita.
The new year always brings a new lineup of vendors. And every quarter, the Smorgasburg L.A. Art Fair, curated by the neighborhood’s Art Share L.A., features artisan vendors and live performances for a day of music, art and food.
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Have a beer and catch the Dodger game at Boulevard Gastropub
East Compton Gastropub
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
The family-owned pub is the first of its kind in the city, according to Compton native and avid cook Alejandro Villegas, who opened the spot in 2022. Villegas was tired of having to go out of his community for a nice, sit-down meal with a beer, so he decided to open one himself.
Boulevard Gastropub specializes in burgers, all made with Wagyu ground beef and Villegas’ signature garlic aioli sauce that will have you licking your fingers once you’re finished. Some dishes are inspired by Villegas’ childhood, like the brunch crunchy potato tacos (with soyrizo) and potato taquitos, which are a riff on the breakfast his mom used to make. The pub also carries an array of craft beer from brands including Inglewood’s Crowns and Hops, Gardena’s Eureka Brewing Co. and Bell’s Beer Thug Brewery Co.
In addition to being one of the few places you can enjoy a craft beer while watching a Dodger game (on one of its five bigscreen TVs), Boulevard Gastropub is also one of the few places you’ll find a full-service brunch in Compton. Some standouts from the menu include guava French toast, a brisket breakfast burrito, chilaquiles and a sweet heat chicken and waffle sandwich. Bottomless mimosas are $22.
The lively pub is colorfully decorated with massive murals of Mexican American singer Juan Gabriel and Mexican singer-actor Antonio Aguilar (painted by local street artist Jose Ortiz), plus two dressed-up skeletons near the entrance. Boulevard Gastropub hosts several discounted nights, including taco Tuesday (four tacos and a beer for $10), wings Wednesday ($10 platter with wings and fries) and thirsty Thursday ($2 off all beers, cocktails, wine and appetizers). A baseball or football game is always on the TV screens. Hip-hop-inspired country music is usually playing on the speakers. And the Villegas family, including Alejandro’s wife and two daughters who work at the pub, are typically cracking jokes and having a good time with everyone there.
From: This must be Compton
Boulevard Gastropub specializes in burgers, all made with Wagyu ground beef and Villegas’ signature garlic aioli sauce that will have you licking your fingers once you’re finished. Some dishes are inspired by Villegas’ childhood, like the brunch crunchy potato tacos (with soyrizo) and potato taquitos, which are a riff on the breakfast his mom used to make. The pub also carries an array of craft beer from brands including Inglewood’s Crowns and Hops, Gardena’s Eureka Brewing Co. and Bell’s Beer Thug Brewery Co.
In addition to being one of the few places you can enjoy a craft beer while watching a Dodger game (on one of its five bigscreen TVs), Boulevard Gastropub is also one of the few places you’ll find a full-service brunch in Compton. Some standouts from the menu include guava French toast, a brisket breakfast burrito, chilaquiles and a sweet heat chicken and waffle sandwich. Bottomless mimosas are $22.
The lively pub is colorfully decorated with massive murals of Mexican American singer Juan Gabriel and Mexican singer-actor Antonio Aguilar (painted by local street artist Jose Ortiz), plus two dressed-up skeletons near the entrance. Boulevard Gastropub hosts several discounted nights, including taco Tuesday (four tacos and a beer for $10), wings Wednesday ($10 platter with wings and fries) and thirsty Thursday ($2 off all beers, cocktails, wine and appetizers). A baseball or football game is always on the TV screens. Hip-hop-inspired country music is usually playing on the speakers. And the Villegas family, including Alejandro’s wife and two daughters who work at the pub, are typically cracking jokes and having a good time with everyone there.
From: This must be Compton
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Treat him to some chocolate chip cookies from Doubting Thomas
Westside Bakery
(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
There are many, many delicious chocolate chip cookies in Los Angeles. And it’s no surprise that Naomi Shim’s is among them. The passion fruit tart at her Historic Filipinotown cafe and bakery, Doubting Thomas, is a fan favorite, but the chocolate chip cookie sells out as quickly (so go early). I like everything about Doubting Thomas’ palm-size chocolate chip cookie: the crumpled concentric rings, crisp-crunchy edges, chewy interior, lots of dark Tcho chocolate and requisite flakes of coarse sea salt. There’s so much chocolate in it that it nearly forms an edge-to-edge layer inside the cookie. Also, if you’re looking for a gluten-free version of a chocolate chip cookie, I can’t think of a better one than her oat cookie made with almond flour and milk chocolate.
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Try aerosol art at a graffiti workshop
Workshop Gift card prices vary at Graff Tours
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Need street cred? Graff Tours, opened in 2024, offers graffiti tours, classes, parties and date-night aerosol art sessions in a 450-square-foot studio upstairs in a Boyle Heights factory. Teachers include founder Gabe Schoenberg and artist Shak Smart. An hour-long, $45-$75 lesson covers line technique, mist control, letter structure and two places where graffiti is legal: Venice Art Walls and Santee Public Gallery. Children 8 and under must be joined by an adult.
From: 11 best experiences in L.A. and beyond that make for extremely memorable gifts
From: 11 best experiences in L.A. and beyond that make for extremely memorable gifts
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Paddle a swan boat in Echo Park Lake
Echo Park Experience
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
On warm days, it’s hard to beat a ride on the swan boats at Echo Park. They’re powered by foot paddles, and the pedaling is easy because you’re in no hurry. Maybe you’ll want to do a circuit of the lake (really a man-made reservoir). Maybe you’ll sidle up to the towers of whitewater rising from the mid-lake fountain. Maybe you’ll wait until after dark (because the swans light up).
The boats are managed by Wheel Fun Rentals. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. (Last rentals go out at 10 p.m.) Rentals are $13 hourly per adult, $7.50 for those under age 18. Reservations required. The small boats can seat two adults and two children under age 10.
The large boats can seat up to five people. Hand-crank pedal boats also are available.
About parking: Although there’s a public lot at 1149 Echo Park Ave., it often fills and you may end up seeking street parking. Try Laguna Avenue, just east of Echo Park Avenue.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
The boats are managed by Wheel Fun Rentals. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. (Last rentals go out at 10 p.m.) Rentals are $13 hourly per adult, $7.50 for those under age 18. Reservations required. The small boats can seat two adults and two children under age 10.
The large boats can seat up to five people. Hand-crank pedal boats also are available.
About parking: Although there’s a public lot at 1149 Echo Park Ave., it often fills and you may end up seeking street parking. Try Laguna Avenue, just east of Echo Park Avenue.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
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Enjoy AndSons chocolates in a collectible box designed by Block Shop Textiles
Candy $89-$189 at AndSons
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(AndSons)
AndSons Chocolatiers in Beverly Hills created this spring collection with Dad in mind, drawing inspiration from fresh flowers, including roses, peonies and lavender. The chocolate bonbons are sourced from local farmers markets, fresh dairy and single-origin cacao and come in a floral collectible box featuring California poppies and Matilija poppies by Block Shop Textiles.
The Spring Collection with hazelnut truffles costs $115, while the gift set, including a scarf, is $189 and the box only is $89.
From: The 46 best Mother’s Day gifts and experiences, all made in L.A.
The Spring Collection with hazelnut truffles costs $115, while the gift set, including a scarf, is $189 and the box only is $89.
From: The 46 best Mother’s Day gifts and experiences, all made in L.A.
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Hike Rock Pool and Century Lake Trails
Unincorporated Santa Monica Mountains Park Trail
4.5-mile loop
Easy
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(Deborah Vankin / Los Angeles Times)
Rock Pool and Century Lake Trails is a relatively easy hike in the Santa Monica Mountains that’s fully loaded with all of nature’s bells and whistles: a creek-adjacent trail, wide-open vistas, hillsides blanketed with flowers in spring and shady stretches under a canopy of oak trees. And that’s just to start.
Step out of your car and the drive is suddenly worth it; feel your breath slow and your chest open up.
You do have to pay to park here (do so in the second lot on your left and the hike starts opposite the lot, at the bottom of the stairs) and dogs are not allowed. But those inconveniences don’t stack up against the payoff: a naturally diverse hike that also includes some Hollywood sparkle. Parts of the 1968 movie “Planet of the Apes” were filmed here — the “Planet of the Apes wall,” at the rock pool, is a popular climbing destination — as were scenes from the long-running TV series “MASH.”
While this isn’t a steep or difficult hike, it does include at least one creek crossing near the end. The afternoon we visited, due to recent rain, the water was knee-deep, though the current was mild. Bring waterproof shoes if you have them.
Or just walk right in with regular sneakers on, as the young woman trudging behind us did. She appeared unfazed. Her open-midriff T-shirt summed it up best: “C’est la Vie.” A most appropriate message while on the trail.
From: The 70 best hikes in L.A.
Step out of your car and the drive is suddenly worth it; feel your breath slow and your chest open up.
You do have to pay to park here (do so in the second lot on your left and the hike starts opposite the lot, at the bottom of the stairs) and dogs are not allowed. But those inconveniences don’t stack up against the payoff: a naturally diverse hike that also includes some Hollywood sparkle. Parts of the 1968 movie “Planet of the Apes” were filmed here — the “Planet of the Apes wall,” at the rock pool, is a popular climbing destination — as were scenes from the long-running TV series “MASH.”
While this isn’t a steep or difficult hike, it does include at least one creek crossing near the end. The afternoon we visited, due to recent rain, the water was knee-deep, though the current was mild. Bring waterproof shoes if you have them.
Or just walk right in with regular sneakers on, as the young woman trudging behind us did. She appeared unfazed. Her open-midriff T-shirt summed it up best: “C’est la Vie.” A most appropriate message while on the trail.
From: The 70 best hikes in L.A.
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Enjoy a beer with your kids and dog at the family-friendly Frogtown Brewery
Elysian Valley Craft Brewery
(Jennelle Fong / For The Times)
If you are a fan of unpretentious, casual neighborhood spots where you can enjoy a beer with your dog, friends and kids, head over to Frogtown Brewery.
Homebrewers Adam Kestel and Mike Voss opened the brewery and taproom in 2016 with business partner Gustavo Rojas with the goal of creating a friendly neighborhood brewery that served handcrafted beers.
Today, the taproom offers a rotating selection of beers that you can sample on custom flights, from the popular Kinky Blonde Ale to the Stratasphere IPA with hints of passion fruit and grapefruit.
The dark, art-filled taproom and bar offer a reprieve from the sun, while the outdoor beer garden includes fire pits for cooler months. There is a stage for comedy, drag and other live entertainment, as well as regular food trucks (the brewery does not serve food). You can also grab bottles and beers from the refrigerators inside the taproom on your way out.
From: This must be Elysian Valley (a.k.a. Frogtown)
Homebrewers Adam Kestel and Mike Voss opened the brewery and taproom in 2016 with business partner Gustavo Rojas with the goal of creating a friendly neighborhood brewery that served handcrafted beers.
Today, the taproom offers a rotating selection of beers that you can sample on custom flights, from the popular Kinky Blonde Ale to the Stratasphere IPA with hints of passion fruit and grapefruit.
The dark, art-filled taproom and bar offer a reprieve from the sun, while the outdoor beer garden includes fire pits for cooler months. There is a stage for comedy, drag and other live entertainment, as well as regular food trucks (the brewery does not serve food). You can also grab bottles and beers from the refrigerators inside the taproom on your way out.
From: This must be Elysian Valley (a.k.a. Frogtown)
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Get lost in the labyrinth of the Last Bookstore
Downtown L.A. Bookstore
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
One can get lost in any great bookstore, but get turned around at the Last Bookstore and find yourself, perhaps, face to face with a birdcage holding a skull and a crow model next to military books. Or next to a bank vault leading to a dimly lit room housing old Encyclopedia Britannicas and bound Tax Court of the United States reports. Then, of course, there are oft-photographed spots, such as its second-floor tunnel of books leading to a maze-like labyrinth of bookshelves that tower and curve around visitors. An art piece, David Lovejoy’s “Diagnosis,” tends to stop most visitors on the store’s second floor, as it features books splayed open in a flying pose, as if a magician had called them into action.
The Last Bookstore has managed to turn the bookshop into a tourist attraction, where the act of perusing reading material feels unexpected, somewhat mystical, as shelves will suddenly open up as “portals” into another branch of the store. But beyond its hidden rooms and cozy-looking couches and chairs, this despite tape holding parts of them together, the Last Bookstore is in fact a formidable store, housing new and used books from every genre imaginable. Spy a creepy-looking picture of a young woman, and it’s likely to lead to an extensive horror section. One hidden nook will lead to graphic novels.
You’ll want to budget a fair amount of time to explore all the Last Bookstore has to offer, which includes a small second-floor coffee shop, a vinyl collection and a smattering of art galleries. The tiny Fold Gallery, for instance, is packed with unique gifts, ranging from local artworks to vintage maps, action figures and “Peanuts”-branded glassware from a fast food eatery. There are odd but irresistible gifts aplenty, such as a flask designed to look like a vintage Game Boy.
From: This must be downtown L.A.
The Last Bookstore has managed to turn the bookshop into a tourist attraction, where the act of perusing reading material feels unexpected, somewhat mystical, as shelves will suddenly open up as “portals” into another branch of the store. But beyond its hidden rooms and cozy-looking couches and chairs, this despite tape holding parts of them together, the Last Bookstore is in fact a formidable store, housing new and used books from every genre imaginable. Spy a creepy-looking picture of a young woman, and it’s likely to lead to an extensive horror section. One hidden nook will lead to graphic novels.
You’ll want to budget a fair amount of time to explore all the Last Bookstore has to offer, which includes a small second-floor coffee shop, a vinyl collection and a smattering of art galleries. The tiny Fold Gallery, for instance, is packed with unique gifts, ranging from local artworks to vintage maps, action figures and “Peanuts”-branded glassware from a fast food eatery. There are odd but irresistible gifts aplenty, such as a flask designed to look like a vintage Game Boy.
From: This must be downtown L.A.
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Procure the perfect cut at McCall’s Meat and Fish
Atwater Village Butchery
(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)
Though it’s only been in Atwater Village for about a year, McCall’s Meat and Fish feels like a neighborhood mainstay. It’s one of L.A.’s most curated butchers and fishmongers — on any given day, you’ll find black mussels from Prince Edward Island, blue shrimp, Alaska troll king salmon, Wagyu Picanha from Snake River Farms and locally sourced proteins like Jidori chicken oysters and Superior Farms lamb. The team even makes its own house beef stock. (Co-owner David Sarraf says if they don’t have what you’re looking for — like rabbit, perhaps — you can request it and they’ll try to source it.)
David and Michelle Sarraf took over the culinary haven in 2021 when original owners Karen Yoo and Nathan McCall stepped away to start their restaurant Backbone in Montrose in 2021. The Sarrafs have added to the store’s legacy while keeping it grounded in quality and care. Along with meats and fish, you can also find produce, cheeses, fluffy loaves of bread, seasonings galore and other specialty items.
“I think the general ethos of the store, and this is reflected in the meat and fish as well, is we want to be the at-home chef’s dream pantry,” says Director of Operations Audrey Grewe.
Don’t miss the food pop-ups and collabs that often happen at the shop on weekends.
From: This must be Atwater Village
David and Michelle Sarraf took over the culinary haven in 2021 when original owners Karen Yoo and Nathan McCall stepped away to start their restaurant Backbone in Montrose in 2021. The Sarrafs have added to the store’s legacy while keeping it grounded in quality and care. Along with meats and fish, you can also find produce, cheeses, fluffy loaves of bread, seasonings galore and other specialty items.
“I think the general ethos of the store, and this is reflected in the meat and fish as well, is we want to be the at-home chef’s dream pantry,” says Director of Operations Audrey Grewe.
Don’t miss the food pop-ups and collabs that often happen at the shop on weekends.
From: This must be Atwater Village
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Indulge in a celeb-worthy straight-razor shave
Beverly Hills Barber
(Adam Tschorn/Los Angeles Times)
If you want to feel like a million bucks for less than a hundred, hustle over to Gornik & Drucker’s Barber Shop, a clubby, four-chair shop tucked away in the lower level of the Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel and ask the man who greets you warmly for a straight-razor shave.
He’ll motion you to sit in a vintage Kochs barber chair, tilt you back and begin a 45-minute grooming-meets-pampering ritual that includes two rounds of hot towels, a warm lather of Geo. F. Trumper shaving cream, a meticulous pruning of your facial forest that involves at least two passes with a straight razor (one with and one against the grain), a vibrating face massage, a spritz of bay rum aftershave and a finish that involves the snap of a cool towel inches from a face that’s as smooth as polished marble.
Gornik & Drucker’s (which also has an outpost in the Palisades) isn’t the only place in town to get a straight-razor shave, but it is the only place that dates to 1936 — and has catered to the tonsorial needs of Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles and gangster Bugsy Siegel — the last of whom supposedly stopped in the day he was gunned down in 1947.
Book your $85 appointment in advance online (each barber sees between eight and 10 heads a day, said Carlitos Dosouto, the 21-year veteran of the barbering trade who took my face from grizzled to baby-butt smooth on a recent Tuesday morning), and park for two hours free in the city garage just north of the Maybourne (a door leads from the garage almost directly to the barber shop). Or, if you’re feeling extra fancy, roll into the hotel’s $20 valet and get validated — which will shave $15 off the fee. (Put it toward the tip — because, hey, it’s always a good idea to tip the person who lays a straight razor against your neck.)
Either way, you’ll be leaving with your best face forward.
Gornik & Drucker’s Beverly Hills is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
From: This must be Beverly Hills
He’ll motion you to sit in a vintage Kochs barber chair, tilt you back and begin a 45-minute grooming-meets-pampering ritual that includes two rounds of hot towels, a warm lather of Geo. F. Trumper shaving cream, a meticulous pruning of your facial forest that involves at least two passes with a straight razor (one with and one against the grain), a vibrating face massage, a spritz of bay rum aftershave and a finish that involves the snap of a cool towel inches from a face that’s as smooth as polished marble.
Gornik & Drucker’s (which also has an outpost in the Palisades) isn’t the only place in town to get a straight-razor shave, but it is the only place that dates to 1936 — and has catered to the tonsorial needs of Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles and gangster Bugsy Siegel — the last of whom supposedly stopped in the day he was gunned down in 1947.
Book your $85 appointment in advance online (each barber sees between eight and 10 heads a day, said Carlitos Dosouto, the 21-year veteran of the barbering trade who took my face from grizzled to baby-butt smooth on a recent Tuesday morning), and park for two hours free in the city garage just north of the Maybourne (a door leads from the garage almost directly to the barber shop). Or, if you’re feeling extra fancy, roll into the hotel’s $20 valet and get validated — which will shave $15 off the fee. (Put it toward the tip — because, hey, it’s always a good idea to tip the person who lays a straight razor against your neck.)
Either way, you’ll be leaving with your best face forward.
Gornik & Drucker’s Beverly Hills is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
From: This must be Beverly Hills
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Get your celebrity sugar fix at Edelweiss Chocolates
Beverly Hills Chocolatier
(Alex Justice / For The Times)
It would be hard to find a chocolate maker as steeped in Hollywood lore as this jewel box of a space that’s been crafting sweet treats for famous folks — and the rest of us — since it first opened as Candy Round-Up in 1942. The shop, which makes its chocolates on-site, isn’t shy about leaning into its well-known clientele; the display case includes the names of a handful of famous folks next to their favorite indulgences. Frank Sinatra, it turns out, had a thing for the maple creams, Elizabeth Taylor favored the French truffles and Katharine Hepburn liked the dark chocolate turtles so much she gave them a shoutout in her autobiography “Me.”
Perhaps the coolest Hollywood connection, though, comes by way of Lucille Ball, who, having taken notice of the shop’s chocolate-enrobing machine, used it as inspiration for the famed gobbling-chocolates-off-the-assembly-line 1952 “Job Switching” episode of “I Love Lucy” (a black-and-white still from the episode hangs in the back room of the shop).
You can buy prepackaged assortments off the shelf (each in a signature red Edelweiss box with gold lettering) or mix and match your own (both options are $72.95 per pound). If you do the latter, make sure to build a box that includes include some of the popular chocolate-covered marshmallows (varieties to choose from include rose-water-flavored marshmallows covered in dark chocolate and a dark-chocolate-dipped, caramel-covered marshmallow that Stan Lee had a soft spot for), chocolate-covered pretzels, a few hand-dipped, chocolate-covered Oreos (Oprah’s go-to) and some almond bark (Steven Spielberg). Take it all home and channel your inner Lucy like nobody’s watching.
From: This must be Beverly Hills
Perhaps the coolest Hollywood connection, though, comes by way of Lucille Ball, who, having taken notice of the shop’s chocolate-enrobing machine, used it as inspiration for the famed gobbling-chocolates-off-the-assembly-line 1952 “Job Switching” episode of “I Love Lucy” (a black-and-white still from the episode hangs in the back room of the shop).
You can buy prepackaged assortments off the shelf (each in a signature red Edelweiss box with gold lettering) or mix and match your own (both options are $72.95 per pound). If you do the latter, make sure to build a box that includes include some of the popular chocolate-covered marshmallows (varieties to choose from include rose-water-flavored marshmallows covered in dark chocolate and a dark-chocolate-dipped, caramel-covered marshmallow that Stan Lee had a soft spot for), chocolate-covered pretzels, a few hand-dipped, chocolate-covered Oreos (Oprah’s go-to) and some almond bark (Steven Spielberg). Take it all home and channel your inner Lucy like nobody’s watching.
From: This must be Beverly Hills
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Order the freshest catch of the day at Fish King
Glendale Seafood Market
(Carla Blumenkrantz / For The Times)
Whether you come seeking a wild king salmon filet for a holiday dinner or a bowl of steaming New England clam chowder on a wintry day, if it swims, Fish King is probably selling it.
Opened in 1948, it’s one of the few remaining independent specialty fish markets in the area. Family-owned and operated, the seafood market has expanded over the years to include the Galley, an on-site deli serving plate meals, rice bowls, tacos, cioppino, sushi burritos, poke and more. Purchasing fresh seafood, but worried about cooking it at home? Fish King will fry or charbroil it for you for an extra fee.
The market has a reputation for sourcing high-quality and fairly-priced seafood, and makes its own homemade tartar and cocktail sauces. It also stocks Japanese dry goods and an array of imported and mid-cost wine, beer and sake. Despite the business’ name, Fish King also sells chicken and carries turkey and duck during the holidays.
From: This must be Glendale
Opened in 1948, it’s one of the few remaining independent specialty fish markets in the area. Family-owned and operated, the seafood market has expanded over the years to include the Galley, an on-site deli serving plate meals, rice bowls, tacos, cioppino, sushi burritos, poke and more. Purchasing fresh seafood, but worried about cooking it at home? Fish King will fry or charbroil it for you for an extra fee.
The market has a reputation for sourcing high-quality and fairly-priced seafood, and makes its own homemade tartar and cocktail sauces. It also stocks Japanese dry goods and an array of imported and mid-cost wine, beer and sake. Despite the business’ name, Fish King also sells chicken and carries turkey and duck during the holidays.
From: This must be Glendale
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Bask in the simplicity of a round of mini golf at Castle Park
Sherman Oaks City park
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times )
If you have kids, you may have been to a birthday party at this longtime family fun center near the 101 and 405 interchange in Sherman Oaks. The park has three 18-hole miniature golf courses with fairy-tale decor, including a windmill, candy house, magic castle, and a haunted house with “Psycho” vibes. There’s also a batting cage in the front parking lot that offers pitching speeds from 40 to 80 miles per hour. Inside the “castle,” the arcade has a cafe with kid-friendly staples like soft pretzels, pizza, chicken tenders and French fries. Three shaded banquet areas can accommodate parties, but keep in mind that outside food and drinks, including water, aren’t allowed. The park is busy on weekends and is a popular date-night spot, but it’s much quieter during the week if you want to relax with a slice of pizza and a round of miniature golf without breaking the bank.
Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight; Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Cost: Miniature golf is $8 to $12, and you can replay the same day for just $5.
Batting cage sessions are $6 for 25 pitches.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight; Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Cost: Miniature golf is $8 to $12, and you can replay the same day for just $5.
Batting cage sessions are $6 for 25 pitches.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
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Sip beer and eat a pickled egg at 100-year-old Joe Jost’s
Long Beach Bar/Nightclub
(Bora Chan / For The Times)
If you haven’t heard of Joe Jost’s (it rhymes with “hosts”), where have you been for the last 100 years? It’s nothing short of an institution. There are at least three mounted deer heads on the premises, a thousand framed pictures of people on vacation wearing Joe Jost’s signature T-shirt, and scenic oil paintings that look like they were done by Bob Ross. You can’t fake a vibe like this; it’s accumulated and earned through the process of existing, like tree rings in a sequoia.
And it’s why Hollywood loves Joe Jost’s. Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston filmed a scene for “The Bodyguard” here. Angelina Jolie played a bartender in “Gone in 60 Seconds.” In fact, all the regulars are used to Joe Jost’s Hollywood connection. At least once this past summer, there was a flier taped on the door announcing it would be closed for a few days for filming. This time, it was for the “Dexter” prequel.
When it’s not playing the role of filming location, the oldest bar in Long Beach is the most beloved watering hole in town. How can it not be after a century? Started by a Hungarian immigrant named Joe in 1924, and owned now by his grandson, the bar wasn’t a bar at first. It was a barber shop during Prohibition. After the law was repealed, Joe started serving beer and sandwiches but had to stop cutting hair when authorities decided that sharp scissors and alcohol wasn’t the greatest combo.
It turned out to be kismet. The beer and sandwiches are a fixture to this day, sold for prices that seem to have forgotten inflation. Joe’s Special — a Polish sausage slit lengthwise with cheese, a pickle and mustard between rye bread — is listed at less than $4, a price that hasn’t budged in at least two years. A small beer won’t cost you more than $3. A pickled egg, scooped out of a jar probably older than you, will set you back less than $2 and it comes on a nest of pretzel sticks. Parking is free in the bar’s own lot. But bring cash, because, well, did you expect a 100-year-old bar to accept Venmo?
From: This must be Long Beach
And it’s why Hollywood loves Joe Jost’s. Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston filmed a scene for “The Bodyguard” here. Angelina Jolie played a bartender in “Gone in 60 Seconds.” In fact, all the regulars are used to Joe Jost’s Hollywood connection. At least once this past summer, there was a flier taped on the door announcing it would be closed for a few days for filming. This time, it was for the “Dexter” prequel.
When it’s not playing the role of filming location, the oldest bar in Long Beach is the most beloved watering hole in town. How can it not be after a century? Started by a Hungarian immigrant named Joe in 1924, and owned now by his grandson, the bar wasn’t a bar at first. It was a barber shop during Prohibition. After the law was repealed, Joe started serving beer and sandwiches but had to stop cutting hair when authorities decided that sharp scissors and alcohol wasn’t the greatest combo.
It turned out to be kismet. The beer and sandwiches are a fixture to this day, sold for prices that seem to have forgotten inflation. Joe’s Special — a Polish sausage slit lengthwise with cheese, a pickle and mustard between rye bread — is listed at less than $4, a price that hasn’t budged in at least two years. A small beer won’t cost you more than $3. A pickled egg, scooped out of a jar probably older than you, will set you back less than $2 and it comes on a nest of pretzel sticks. Parking is free in the bar’s own lot. But bring cash, because, well, did you expect a 100-year-old bar to accept Venmo?
From: This must be Long Beach
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Take a ride on a small-gauge train at the Live Steamers in Griffith Park
Griffith Park Children's ride
(Lisa Boone/Los Angeles Times )
No matter your age, it’s hard to resist the soothing clickety clack, clickety clack of the small-gauge steam trains at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum in Griffith Park. For a $4 donation, you’ll ride over bridges and through tunnels, pass tiny Western towns and water towers, and even see the barn from Walt Disney’s Holmby Hills home, where he once ran his own mini-railroad. Lines can get long, so waiting can be tough for small kids, especially on hot days (so bring a hat). Still, the 10-minute rides, run by friendly club members dressed as conductors, help everyone relax the minute they’re on board. Located next to Travel Town and a grassy picnic area lined with sycamore trees, it’s a fun and affordable way for the entire family to fend off the Sunday Scaries.
Cost: A $4 donation is suggested; no reservation is needed. Trains run on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting. Riders must be at least 34 inches tall, and infants in carriers or on laps are not allowed. There’s a 350-pound weight limit. Riders with disabilities need to be able to transfer to a straddle-type car and sit upright for at least 20 minutes. Animals are not allowed on the trains.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
Cost: A $4 donation is suggested; no reservation is needed. Trains run on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting. Riders must be at least 34 inches tall, and infants in carriers or on laps are not allowed. There’s a 350-pound weight limit. Riders with disabilities need to be able to transfer to a straddle-type car and sit upright for at least 20 minutes. Animals are not allowed on the trains.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
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Play a casual round at the Los Feliz 3-Par Golf Course
Atwater Village Golf Course
(Sean Yoo / For the Times)
If the movie “Swingers” is considered a cult classic, you might as well throw the Los Feliz 3-Par in the same category. First, because this goofy course has a cameo in said movie. And second, because its simplistic charm and dive bar vibe have earned it a place in the hearts of Eastside golfers.
At the Los Feliz 3-Par, you need only three clubs: a putter, a wedge and an iron that maybe needs to go 140 yards max. (Most people I’ve seen on this course are usually carrying more tall boys than clubs.) On top of that, it costs a mere $9 to play the nine-hole round. The Los Feliz Par 3 is perfectly suited for beginners who want to build some confidence or players who want to golf a casual round and get away from the world for an hour or two. To quote Rick Paulas’ 2012 piece about the course, “it’s where people in the city whose main export is escapism come to escape.”
If you work up an appetite while doing so, you can grab a bite to eat at EAT, the aptly named cafe next door. Or check out the Morrison for a happy hour beer and burger. At the end of the day, you come to the Los Feliz Par 3 because there’s comfort in a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously — especially in a sport as traditionally snobby as golf.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
At the Los Feliz 3-Par, you need only three clubs: a putter, a wedge and an iron that maybe needs to go 140 yards max. (Most people I’ve seen on this course are usually carrying more tall boys than clubs.) On top of that, it costs a mere $9 to play the nine-hole round. The Los Feliz Par 3 is perfectly suited for beginners who want to build some confidence or players who want to golf a casual round and get away from the world for an hour or two. To quote Rick Paulas’ 2012 piece about the course, “it’s where people in the city whose main export is escapism come to escape.”
If you work up an appetite while doing so, you can grab a bite to eat at EAT, the aptly named cafe next door. Or check out the Morrison for a happy hour beer and burger. At the end of the day, you come to the Los Feliz Par 3 because there’s comfort in a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously — especially in a sport as traditionally snobby as golf.
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
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Get in 50 winning swings at Burbank’s Batcade
Burbank Batting Cage
(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
What’s more satisfying than solidly smacking a baseball or softball? Not much.
The Batcade’s pitching machines have been feeding that quest for bat-on-ball contact since 1993. If you just need a quick fix, for $10 you can buy a token good for 50 pitches.
You can order up baseball pitches (40-70 mph), fast softball pitches (40-60 mph) or slow, arcing softball pitches. Bats and helmets are included (and helmets are required).
Reservations are recommended when it gets busy — “on weekends and rainy days during Little League season,” says the website. There’s also a pool table and a set of arcade games on hand. Bonus: If you get hungry, Central Park Pizza is right there at the same address with carry-out and delivery.
Cost: $10 for 50 pitches
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
The Batcade’s pitching machines have been feeding that quest for bat-on-ball contact since 1993. If you just need a quick fix, for $10 you can buy a token good for 50 pitches.
You can order up baseball pitches (40-70 mph), fast softball pitches (40-60 mph) or slow, arcing softball pitches. Bats and helmets are included (and helmets are required).
Reservations are recommended when it gets busy — “on weekends and rainy days during Little League season,” says the website. There’s also a pool table and a set of arcade games on hand. Bonus: If you get hungry, Central Park Pizza is right there at the same address with carry-out and delivery.
Cost: $10 for 50 pitches
From: L.A. is too expensive. Here are 75 fun things to do for under $20
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Level up and settle scores at Player One
North Hollywood Arcade
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Someday, someone will write the definitive evolutionary history of arcade games: how the long, narrow kind of coffin-shaped pinball machines with their lights, buzzers and flippers gave way to taller, screen-based video game consoles with directional controllers only to be supplanted by bigger, boxier games that players would actually clamber inside to play. Who knows, maybe such an evolutionary treatise has already been penned. The point is, every step of that evolution seems to be on display here — side by side, front to back — just waiting to gobble up your quarters for a few minutes (longer if you’ve got mad skills) respite from reality.
Were you raised on pinball, wizard? Your options include “Austin Powers,” Monopoly and “Jaws”-themed machines. Bowling? Try Lane Master. Basketball? There’s NBA Hoops. Need a Nintendo fix? Take a seat and grab the wheel at one of the Mario Kart Arcade GP machines or get it on like Donkey Kong. The dot eaters get their due and then some with a Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man machine (fun fact: Her first name is Pepper) and a giant-screen, wall-mounted, four-player version called Pac-Man: Battle Royale. And then there’s the T-Rex-topped, two-seat “Jurassic Park” climb-in cabinet with a 55-inch screen and mounted pair of tranquilizer guns beckoning near the door.
This retro-nostalgic, 21+ environment has an important thing the arcades of your youth (probably) didn’t have: booze. So feel free to level up with a cheeky themed cocktail like the Pinkie Paloma or Mega Man Mezcal. It also offers humorously themed game nights like a recent “Severance” Bingo (“all blue bingo cards necessary for refining your data file”) or Tuesday trivia nights.
From: This must be North Hollywood
Were you raised on pinball, wizard? Your options include “Austin Powers,” Monopoly and “Jaws”-themed machines. Bowling? Try Lane Master. Basketball? There’s NBA Hoops. Need a Nintendo fix? Take a seat and grab the wheel at one of the Mario Kart Arcade GP machines or get it on like Donkey Kong. The dot eaters get their due and then some with a Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man machine (fun fact: Her first name is Pepper) and a giant-screen, wall-mounted, four-player version called Pac-Man: Battle Royale. And then there’s the T-Rex-topped, two-seat “Jurassic Park” climb-in cabinet with a 55-inch screen and mounted pair of tranquilizer guns beckoning near the door.
This retro-nostalgic, 21+ environment has an important thing the arcades of your youth (probably) didn’t have: booze. So feel free to level up with a cheeky themed cocktail like the Pinkie Paloma or Mega Man Mezcal. It also offers humorously themed game nights like a recent “Severance” Bingo (“all blue bingo cards necessary for refining your data file”) or Tuesday trivia nights.
From: This must be North Hollywood
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Summer like a silent film star at the Annenberg Community Beach House
Santa Monica Beach House
(Kendra Frankle / For The Times)
In the 1920s, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst snapped up 15 beach lots on this narrow sliver of land between the Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica State Beach and built a love nest for his mistress, silent-film actor Marion Davies. At its height, the compound included a William Flannery-designed Georgian Revival main house and four other homes, boasting a total of 110 bedrooms and 55 bathrooms. Residents and guests were tended to by a retinue of 30 full-time servants.
Today, the property is owned by the state and leased to the city of Santa Monica. It is home to a beachside facility that includes volleyball courts, changing rooms and a community events space. While most of the evidence of that era is long gone, two things remain: a single building — known as the Guest House — and an elaborately tiled pool, both designed by famed architect Julia Morgan. The former is open for tours (free, Friday through Monday, noon to 2 p.m.), but it’s the latter that makes this the ideal place to head to for a you-can-have-it-all beach excursion between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
That’s because, if you’re lucky enough to score a $10 pool pass (sold only in person on a first-come, first-served basis, and you’ll shell out another $12 to park all day), you’ll have access to the very same pool where Davies hosted the likes of Charlie Chaplin, restored to its Gold Coast glory, complete with green and white marble decking, mosaic pool-bottom tiles and an exquisite hand-painted decorative fish motif. What makes this a clutch place to post up is that, should you wish to leave your lounger in the lap of luxury — even briefly — you’re just steps from the sand and a few more steps from the Pacific Ocean. It’s the best of both worlds. No affair with a newspaper magnate required.
Summer hours (June 14 through Sept. 7): Mon.–Thurs: Noon to 6 p.m.;
Fri and Sun, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From: This must be Santa Monica
Today, the property is owned by the state and leased to the city of Santa Monica. It is home to a beachside facility that includes volleyball courts, changing rooms and a community events space. While most of the evidence of that era is long gone, two things remain: a single building — known as the Guest House — and an elaborately tiled pool, both designed by famed architect Julia Morgan. The former is open for tours (free, Friday through Monday, noon to 2 p.m.), but it’s the latter that makes this the ideal place to head to for a you-can-have-it-all beach excursion between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
That’s because, if you’re lucky enough to score a $10 pool pass (sold only in person on a first-come, first-served basis, and you’ll shell out another $12 to park all day), you’ll have access to the very same pool where Davies hosted the likes of Charlie Chaplin, restored to its Gold Coast glory, complete with green and white marble decking, mosaic pool-bottom tiles and an exquisite hand-painted decorative fish motif. What makes this a clutch place to post up is that, should you wish to leave your lounger in the lap of luxury — even briefly — you’re just steps from the sand and a few more steps from the Pacific Ocean. It’s the best of both worlds. No affair with a newspaper magnate required.
Summer hours (June 14 through Sept. 7): Mon.–Thurs: Noon to 6 p.m.;
Fri and Sun, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From: This must be Santa Monica
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Spend the day at Will Rogers State Beach at Temescal Canyon
Pacific Palisades Beach
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
For the ultimate family beach day you can’t beat Will Rogers State Beach, located on a 1.75-mile stretch between Santa Monica and Malibu. The relatively gentle surf and short walk from the parking lot to the perfect spot on the sand is a dream for anyone with little kids and a trunk full of beach gear.
If you like the energy of a crowded beach, set up near the entrance across from Temescal Canyon Road, which will put you near the bathrooms and the Beach Side Cafe. Head south through the parking lot for a more mellow experience.
(Note: While the Temescal Canyon area passes water quality tests in the summer, there have been bacteria warnings further south near Santa Monica Canyon Creek, near what’s known as Ginger Rogers Beach.)
Best for: Families, chilling
Bathrooms: Yes, on both ends of the beach.
Parking: Summer rates (May-September) are $9 on weekdays and $15 weekends and holidays. Winter rates (October-April) are $6 on weekdays and $9 on weekends and holidays. Will Rogers State Beach is one of the few California State Parks that does not accept the Annual Day Use Pass.
Dog-friendly: No
ADA-accessible: There are two beach wheelchairs available on a first-come, first-served basis. Pick them up at L.A. County Lifeguard Headquarters at 15100 Pacific Coast Highway. Call (310) 394-3261.
What’s nearby: Coffee from an Airstream, anyone? Rustic Coffee is about a 20-minute walk away. Take the mildly creepy tunnel that runs under Pacific Coast Highway across from West Channel Road and head up the hill.
From: The 50 best beaches in Southern California
If you like the energy of a crowded beach, set up near the entrance across from Temescal Canyon Road, which will put you near the bathrooms and the Beach Side Cafe. Head south through the parking lot for a more mellow experience.
(Note: While the Temescal Canyon area passes water quality tests in the summer, there have been bacteria warnings further south near Santa Monica Canyon Creek, near what’s known as Ginger Rogers Beach.)
Best for: Families, chilling
Bathrooms: Yes, on both ends of the beach.
Parking: Summer rates (May-September) are $9 on weekdays and $15 weekends and holidays. Winter rates (October-April) are $6 on weekdays and $9 on weekends and holidays. Will Rogers State Beach is one of the few California State Parks that does not accept the Annual Day Use Pass.
Dog-friendly: No
ADA-accessible: There are two beach wheelchairs available on a first-come, first-served basis. Pick them up at L.A. County Lifeguard Headquarters at 15100 Pacific Coast Highway. Call (310) 394-3261.
What’s nearby: Coffee from an Airstream, anyone? Rustic Coffee is about a 20-minute walk away. Take the mildly creepy tunnel that runs under Pacific Coast Highway across from West Channel Road and head up the hill.
From: The 50 best beaches in Southern California
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Let artist Rami Kim create a custom tile portrait of your pet
Ceramics $250-$600 at Rami Kim Studios
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(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
For over 10 years, artist Rami Kim has been making playful ceramics in her Los Angeles garage, bringing animals to life and comforting people who have lost their pets. In addition to her charming custom figurines, Kim also paints pet portraits on ceramic tiles. The tiles come ready to hang in three sizes: small (4-by-4 inches), medium (about 6-by-6 inches), and large (8-by-8 inches). Note the small tile can fit only one animal. Once you place your order, just email ramikimstudio@gmail.com with your order number and photos of your pet, and she will handle the rest.
From: The 46 best Mother’s Day gifts and experiences, all made in L.A.
From: The 46 best Mother’s Day gifts and experiences, all made in L.A.
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Show off your golfing skills — or lack thereof — at Topgolf
El Segundo Golf
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Whether you’re giving Tiger Woods at the country club or you’ve never picked up a golf club in your life, Topgolf welcomes players of all levels, making it a great date night spot. The El Segundo facility, five minutes south of LAX, offers a vast selection of games, including Angry Birds (which feels like a Wii game), Jewel Jam and Top Shot at varying levels. There’s a laid-back energy at Topgolf, similar to that of Dave n Buster’s, that encourages you to just have fun and enjoy the company you’re with. Plus, you can cozy up to your date by helping them get into the right stance to hit a perfect shot.
To avoid long waits, make an online reservation in advance, as Topgolf is usually busy Friday evenings and all day Saturday. But even if you weren’t able to snag a reservation, you can join the waiting list and kill time next door at the Lakes at El Segundo, where you can practice your swinging skills in the designated chipping and putting area. You just need to bring your own balls and clubs to play with. Or you can check out Topgolf’s bar or impressive food menu, which includes such options as injectable doughnut holes, mouthwatering burgers and vegan flat breads.
Price: $47 to $67 per hour
From: Never shout in a bar on a first date again. Here are 11 alternative L.A. date night spots
To avoid long waits, make an online reservation in advance, as Topgolf is usually busy Friday evenings and all day Saturday. But even if you weren’t able to snag a reservation, you can join the waiting list and kill time next door at the Lakes at El Segundo, where you can practice your swinging skills in the designated chipping and putting area. You just need to bring your own balls and clubs to play with. Or you can check out Topgolf’s bar or impressive food menu, which includes such options as injectable doughnut holes, mouthwatering burgers and vegan flat breads.
Price: $47 to $67 per hour
From: Never shout in a bar on a first date again. Here are 11 alternative L.A. date night spots
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Benny Boy Brewing Pippin Pommeau Batch 3 for the beer lover
Beverage $40-$55 at Benny Boy Brewing
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(Benny Boy Brewing)
L.A.’s first combined brewery and cidery, Benny Boy Brewing is an urban oasis for dry California ciders made with local ingredients, minimal processing, zero filtering and natural carbonation. This holiday season, you can gift a uniquely L.A. brew based on a French aperitif — Pippin Pommeau Batch 3 — made in collaboration with craft distillery Loft & Bear. Coming in at 17% ABV, the beverage blends one-year-old brandy with apple juice that uses 100% California Newtown Pippin apples and is barrel-aged for another one to two years.
From: 11 delicious gifts for L.A. food fans
From: 11 delicious gifts for L.A. food fans
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Take a yoga class with ocean views at Sol Seek Yoga — the Loft
Manhattan Beach Yoga studio
(Alisha Jucevic/For The Times)
Here in L.A., you can find plenty of yoga studios that are only a short walk from the beach. But Sol Seek Yoga — The Loft is the only one where, when your instructor tells you to “extend your feet towards the ocean,” you might actually wonder if you’ll get your toes wet.
Perched just above the Strand in downtown Manhattan Beach, this cozy studio has sliding doors that open up to a full, unobstructed view of the pier, beach and ocean only a few hundred yards away. The sound of sea waves infuses the room with nature’s original white noise, adding a sense of marine tranquility to every class.
“Because of our proximity to the ocean, we’re very connected to nature,” says owner Justin Randolph. “To be able to hear the waves and connect to that rhythm, especially during corpse pose — it’s a little slice of calm.”
In fact, calm is something of a specialty at this studio, which focuses less on high-intensity aerobic classes than on restorative, therapeutic methods. Soothing Yin classes are offered nearly every day, and Chair Yoga sessions are tailored for students who are nursing injuries — or just prefer a slower, deeper practice.
To keep your visit stress-free, it’s best to plan in advance for the challenges of beachfront parking. If you’re lucky, you might be able to snag a nearby metered space or a spot in one of the lower pier lots. Otherwise, your safest bet is the large parking structure at Metlox Plaza, about five minutes away by foot.
Single class: $30
New student offer: $59 for 21 days of unlimited in-studio, outdoor and livestream classes
Unlimited monthly membership: $149
From: The 27 best yoga studios in L.A. for stretching, sweating and spiritual awakenings
Perched just above the Strand in downtown Manhattan Beach, this cozy studio has sliding doors that open up to a full, unobstructed view of the pier, beach and ocean only a few hundred yards away. The sound of sea waves infuses the room with nature’s original white noise, adding a sense of marine tranquility to every class.
“Because of our proximity to the ocean, we’re very connected to nature,” says owner Justin Randolph. “To be able to hear the waves and connect to that rhythm, especially during corpse pose — it’s a little slice of calm.”
In fact, calm is something of a specialty at this studio, which focuses less on high-intensity aerobic classes than on restorative, therapeutic methods. Soothing Yin classes are offered nearly every day, and Chair Yoga sessions are tailored for students who are nursing injuries — or just prefer a slower, deeper practice.
To keep your visit stress-free, it’s best to plan in advance for the challenges of beachfront parking. If you’re lucky, you might be able to snag a nearby metered space or a spot in one of the lower pier lots. Otherwise, your safest bet is the large parking structure at Metlox Plaza, about five minutes away by foot.
Single class: $30
New student offer: $59 for 21 days of unlimited in-studio, outdoor and livestream classes
Unlimited monthly membership: $149
From: The 27 best yoga studios in L.A. for stretching, sweating and spiritual awakenings
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Give him Kids of Immigrants 'This is for Our Family' T-shirt
Apparel $50 at Kids of Immigrants
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(Daniel Yang)
With slogans such as “Love has no borders” and “We are our parents wildest dreams,” Kids of Immigrants makes products rooted in a message of community, love and strength. The same can be said for its “This is for Our family” T-shirt, which is made from 100% heavyweight cotton and serves as a love letter to immigrant parents. It comes in black with white lettering and in white with black lettering. There’s also several other styles from which to choose.
From: 11 fresh gifts by L.A. brands that should be on your radar
From: 11 fresh gifts by L.A. brands that should be on your radar
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Treat him to full-body relief at Reboot Organic Spa and Massage
Eagle Rock Massage parlor
(Jess Stephens / For The Times)
This unassuming massage parlor located on Eagle Rock Boulevard offers a full-body massage that — no matter your starting point — is worth the drive.
Although it seemed relatively busy when I got there, my walk-in appointment was accepted and I was quickly led to one of four massage rooms, each bisected by floor-length opaque brown curtains.
At the outset, clients are presented with a diagram of the human body and asked to circle the parts that need the most attention. After beginning with a foot massage, my therapist Vivian attacked my arms and shoulders, brutalizing them to the dulcet tones of a piano lullaby, while applying firm pressure with her fingers, forearms and elbows (who knew a forearm to the thigh could be so... ticklish?)
While I am no stranger to a deep tissue massage (other options offered were combination, Swedish, Thai, office syndrome and prenatal), this one was easily the most comprehensive I’ve ever had. By the end of my 60-minute session, I became aware of several new places where I hold tension and have tight muscles including my hands and the nape of my neck.
After having both the front and back of my body thoroughly worked on, Vivian had me sit upright and massaged my shoulders even more, pushing down on them with her forearms and ironing out the last kinks. By the end of the session, I left feeling relaxed and mildly sore, which I always take as a sign of a job well done.
Starting at $75.
From: This must be Eagle Rock
Although it seemed relatively busy when I got there, my walk-in appointment was accepted and I was quickly led to one of four massage rooms, each bisected by floor-length opaque brown curtains.
At the outset, clients are presented with a diagram of the human body and asked to circle the parts that need the most attention. After beginning with a foot massage, my therapist Vivian attacked my arms and shoulders, brutalizing them to the dulcet tones of a piano lullaby, while applying firm pressure with her fingers, forearms and elbows (who knew a forearm to the thigh could be so... ticklish?)
While I am no stranger to a deep tissue massage (other options offered were combination, Swedish, Thai, office syndrome and prenatal), this one was easily the most comprehensive I’ve ever had. By the end of my 60-minute session, I became aware of several new places where I hold tension and have tight muscles including my hands and the nape of my neck.
After having both the front and back of my body thoroughly worked on, Vivian had me sit upright and massaged my shoulders even more, pushing down on them with her forearms and ironing out the last kinks. By the end of the session, I left feeling relaxed and mildly sore, which I always take as a sign of a job well done.
Starting at $75.
From: This must be Eagle Rock
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Celebrate L.A. with Miguel Miguel's Los Angeles Strong Cap
Accessories $29 at Miguel Miguel
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(Miguel Miguel Shop)
Like the iconic Dodgers baseball hat, designer Miguel Jose Barragan’s wide-wale corduroy cap, in brilliant blue and embroidered with “Los Angeles Strong,” represents hometown pride and love for L.A. Available in a small assortment of colors and logos, proceeds benefit the Los Angeles Fire Relief fund. One size fits all. Made in Historic South-Central L.A.
From: 19 made-in-L.A. gifts that show how creative L.A. really is
From: 19 made-in-L.A. gifts that show how creative L.A. really is
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Pour a glass with Altadena Beverage & Market Wine of the Month Club
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(Kate Vourvoulis)
Altadena Beverage & Market’s physical structure may have survived the Eaton fire, but that doesn’t mean the business hasn’t been through it. The local bottle, food and sundries shop was closed for months after the fire, and the family who owns it not only ended up having to throw out a lot of stock, but also was forced to close Zinnie’s, their neighboring home accessories store that had opened just before last Thanksgiving. If you support the store’s monthly wine club, you’ll help its owners have a sustainable source of income for the months to come. The shop’s picks are always excellent, too, so, really, it’s a win-win for all involved. Email wine@altadenabev.com to sign up.
From: 13 great gifts from shops hit hard by L.A. wildfires
From: 13 great gifts from shops hit hard by L.A. wildfires
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Indulge in one of L.A.'s best foot massages
Self Care $40 at Tibetan Herbal Feet Soak
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(Maggie Shannon / For The Times)
We all know someone who could use a little pampering. The 70-minute reflexology at Tibetan Herbal Feet Soak is a transformative, relaxing experience. There are no private rooms here; instead, guests receive treatments in rows of plush armchairs. For $40, it includes a sublime, 10-minute foot-steaming; a 10-minute foot soak in warm water treated with more than 40 dried and powdered herbs, including ginseng, mugwort and saffron; and a 50-minute foot and leg massage. That’s all while your giftee sits with a warm, buckwheat-filled compress under their neck. Like I said: transformative.
From: Achy feet? 9 relaxing L.A. foot massages to bring relief
From: Achy feet? 9 relaxing L.A. foot massages to bring relief
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Show love for local farmers in Weiser Family Farms Produce T-shirts
Apparel $50 at Papàsweater
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(Shelby Moore / For The Times)
Some Angelenos track the seasons through the vine-ripened fruits and vegetables of Weiser Family Farm, because once these highly flavored items are gone, you’re out of luck until next year. Well, unless you’re wearing your love of Weiser on your sleeve. A recent collab with local designer Samantha Myer prints the farm’s cult-favorite pink radishes, Bonnie melons, romanesco cones and more onto these limited-run tees, which can be purchased at select farmers market appearances and through Myer’s company, Papàsweater.
From: 11 delicious gifts for L.A. food fans
From: 11 delicious gifts for L.A. food fans
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Wander through Lincoln Avenue Nursery
Pasadena Edible, native, drought-tolerant plants
(Jeanette Marantos)
This century-plus-old nursery was started by a German immigrant family in 1903, then purchased in 1923 by the Takemura family, who owned it until it was sold in 2003 to the present owner, Ramon Franco, who immigrated from Mexico and became a landscape contractor and frequent customer until taking over the business. This is a great place to wander for inspiration and bird song, as well as for an enormous selection of garden pots and equipment as well as landscape and fruit trees (including citrus), vegetable seedlings, herbs and other edibles, roses, shrubs, shade and houseplants and a good selection of California native and drought-tolerant plants.
From: 38 fantastic independent nurseries that SoCal plant lovers will adore
From: 38 fantastic independent nurseries that SoCal plant lovers will adore
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