A Real Record Shop

According to music-nerd god Neil Young, if listening to a vinyl record is like taking a shower, listening to a compact disc is like getting a bucket of ice cubes dumped on your head. At best, CDs are a stopgap technology, rapidly outliving its usefulness, that never created the sort of art objects that vinyl records can be. As regular folks shift to iPods and MP3s, hardcore music fetishists are resurrecting the vinyl elpee--it's been a "trend" for the last 20 years or so--and artists such as Bob Mould are offering free downloads to anyone who buys the twelve-inch physical object. Origami Vinyl sells nothing but new analog reprint LPs. They're sealed, and compared to a copy of Whipped Cream and Other Delights as Goodwill, they're pricey. The selection is lovably erratic, ranging from the rock canon through the electronic underground. But OV also styles itself as something of a social center, hosting parties and live performances and getting damned crowded on weekends. Compared to the experience of using a file-sharing service, it's a pop-art gallery.

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Shopping • Silver Lake / Echo Park / Atwater

Woo, There It Is

Sraci Woo is that rare big-shit fashion designer that remembers her past. Just as most filmmakers camcorded their younger siblings and most musicians air-guitared to Toys in the Attic, I'm guessing most fashion designers went through their grandparents' closets and rummaged thrift stores before they created anything they could brand. Taking the next step on that limb, I'm guessing the cozy pseudo-dinginess and deep-discount sales at Woo's LA store are at least subconsciously inspired by the closets and cardboard boxes, and weird scents in her memory. It's a boutique that eats like a small-town resale shop. Whether or not you find anything, the clerks are damned friendly. Even if you're, like me, a screamingly heterosexual dude, you won't regret spending your off-hours around mod-ish women's clothing, if only to practice unhooking the bra straps. Everyone loves an autodidact.

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Shopping • Extended Coverage Area

Ahhhhh...

In a TGIF variation on "one step forward, two steps back," the day spa Dtox and the nearby Bigfoot Lodge have teamed up for a happy hour one-two punch every third Friday of the month. Step 1: Saddling up at Dtox to purify and reboot. For $39 you get to choose from one of eight twenty minutes services, including Stress Relief (neck & shoulder massage), Girls on Heels (a calf and foot massage for the ladies) and Text Message Delete (a hand and forearm massage). It's best to show up early to take advantage of the environment. The spa is centered around a lounge area with chairs and sofa seats where a DJ spins, hors d'oeuvres and drinks are served, and people chat while waiting for their appointment. Then, when you're good and ready, Step 2: Off to the Bigfoot for a free drink. "Whatever you want," the bartender told me, "so order something expensive." I saw many a woman whose ear-to-ear grin made it clear that a spa treatment and a Girl Scout Martini was a no-contest trump to the shop-worn dinner-and-a-movie combo. In what I guess you could call a happy hour mini-crawl, a devilish concept has been unveiled. Instead of unwinding with a drink, why not unwind before you drink? Brilliance.

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Shopping • Silver Lake / Echo Park / Atwater

Affordable & Tasty, LA-Style

My Silver Lake feelers were already a-buzz with the impending opening of Barbrix before I ran into one of the owners. She told me that they wanted to open a great wine bistro with affordable prices. LA sacrilege! In a completely comfortable and warm space, Barbrix offers a wonderful alternative to Spanish tapas. I've long since given up trying to find decent Spanish tapas in LA, but the format itself is always appealing. Barbrix melds the structure with a Euro-fusion menu. Combining plates from a selection of starters, salads and grains, cheeses, charcuterie, fish and meat, and desserts, a deliciously varied and broad spectrum is offered for any curious palates. My fellow diners and I opted to start with a cheese plate and our own attempts at wine pairings--what better way to start a meal?--and then enjoyed a yellow brick road of burrata with olive tapenade, a pleasing roasted cauliflower salad, deliciously salty and sweet wild boar sausage, and Adria's favorite ginger shortcakes. And several glasses of wine. True tapas be damned, Barbrix was a wonder of experimentation. Throw in a love of good wine, and this is a meal to be moaned over--not the bill.

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Restaurants • Silver Lake / Echo Park / Atwater

Food Court Oasis

So you are south of downtown, wandering around, crossing the streets to avoid bums and checking out all the auto-body shops. Voila, you turn the corner, and right there, next to a freeway exit and a U-Haul place, a magnificent mural rises in front of you. Inside the building even more wonders await: a bunch of super friendly food stalls. A bunch of the places are Latin; there is a Thai place and burger joint to mix it up. I had a Oaxaquen sandwich and relaxed. Entering the Mercado La Paloma is like finding an oasis in the desert. You can't get much more NFT than this place.

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Restaurants • South Central East