What do U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Don Drapper, Huck Finn, and an Echo Park hipster have in common? A cocktail, of course! The Old-Fashioned — a titillating marriage of ice, sugar, bitters, whiskey, and fruit garnish, circa 1880s Kentucky — receives an updated, creative twist at Mohawk Bend. Cheekily named the “New Old-Fashioned,” every … Continue reading
The Angeleno palate has grown accustomed to baked goodies from Cuban monolith Porto’s Bakery but, in Echo Park, locals prefer a little neighborhood Mexican bakery. Celaya, a cute square-shaped pastry shop on Sunset Blvd., bustles with charm and brims with racks of baked goods. Sure, it’s frontage is plain and straight-forward, but a visit inside … Continue reading
Lucky for us, LA’s first all-beer retail shop and tasting bar is tucked at the corner of a non-descript, ubiquitous mini-mart in Echo Park. A visit can make the palate salivate over local artisanal beers — Eagle Rock Brewery, Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewery — along with a variety of exotic, trusted Belgian ales from Europe and … Continue reading
The Silver Lake gelato establishment opened a 2nd gourmet ice cream shop inside a favorite Echo Park building, the 1966 Rolf K. McPherson 8-storied Citibank monolith. How better to savor Italian ice cream than inside a delightful Mid-Century gem? Long, modular windows frame the cute street-level space, artfully designed with period tables and bright, orange … Continue reading
You may know it as the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, but it’s only a ploy to get you beyond the imaginative store front. 826LA East, brainchild of 826 Valencia — the San Francisco Mission District non-profit organization founded by writer Dave Eggers (memoir: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius; screenplays: Away We Go, Where … Continue reading
A lot of wait and praise have been given to Mohawk Bend, master brainchild of Amy and Tony Yanow, who’ve forged ahead and given Echo Park denizens a new place to wine, dine, and experiment (72 craft beer taps, to be exact). I found myself dining on several delectable, mouth-watering dishes 2 times within a … Continue reading
A line of attendees — spanning the sidewalk from Mohawk to Rosemont on Sunset Blvd. — waited patiently during iam8bit’s Opening Night extravaganza last Thursday, August 11th. Luckily, yours truly was on the “first name only” VIP list (by sheer luck and coincidence). And, what a sight to behold! The art show quietly drew more … Continue reading
For those who frequented 2-BAD! Vintage, the next door neighbor to Tribal Cafe in Echo Park, you may be surprised to find a marijuana dispensary in its place. The retro store specializing in furniture, knickknacks, accessories, and clothing of yore is on vacation until January 2012. Medicine Man Collective, creatively named, is the new kid … Continue reading
With 300 generous billboards strewn across Los Angeles promoting a $200,000 reward — predominantly around Elysian Park, Dodger Stadium, Historic Filipinotown, and Hollywood — for the March 31st Dodger Stadium beating of Bryan Stow, it’s a marvel that no one’s claimed the cash prize, which the LAPD reports as an escalated $250,000. Launched May 17, … Continue reading
I love the Dodgers, Dodger Stadium, and the L.A. summers dedicated to watching a game — cold beer, peanuts, hot sun above, Dodgertown swag, nighttime fireworks for the lucky — so I extend a generous applause to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, the LAPD SWAT team, and the parole agent responsible for the recent arrest of … Continue reading
Echo Park Cool 