When we went to New York in June, we came back and shared a list of things they do right, things they do wrong, and things we do better. One of the most divisive and discussed items we raised was that New York City has so much outdoor dining and drinking opportunities and how we need more of that. We left that issue to rest until it was brought up again yesterday in a meeting and reminded us that, yes, Los Angeles unjustly has a pretty shabby selection of outdoor dining and drinking spaces. Sure, there are patios and, sure, some have “outdoor seating”–but this is not what we are saying: there are very few places that are about you, eating and drinking, and being outside. It’s as simple as that!
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Over the weekend, we were passing through Silver Lake to see some friends. On the way, we popped into a few stores to see what was going on in the area. There are still only OK eating places and OK stores. However, going into these stores we noticed something: there are a lot of “art and design” stores in the area, a new wave of store that is becoming the new bodega. They are these little cubby holes of goods in and around art and design that–while great–are becoming overly abundant. Yes, we are all for art getting out to everyone–but how many stores in Los Angeles do we need selling Ashkahn prints and Pantone mugs? We certainly do not need anymore.
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Things We Need is a new section devoted to pointing out areas within Los Angeles that have not become a “thing” yet, obvious gaps in culture, food, drink, or any other area. They are things we need to make Los Angeles better, from the simplest little details to the large, gaping holes in our city no one seems to be talking about.
A few weeks back, we Tweeted about looking for a place to grab a beer and get some work done. We only got two responses, surprisingly: the guys at Golden Road chimed in that they have great brews and Internet capabilities while a reader pointed us to the Pasadena Intelligentsia, who serve up beers and wine alongside coffee and teas. This was a little bit alarming to only hear about two places, both of which we “knew of” and which were a bit of a trek from where we were. This got us wondering why in the hell there aren’t more places in LA where you can do work *and* get an adult beverage: why?
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