hey hey! thanks for tuning in to my (d’s!) first substack: where to – a space for travel recs + city guides, food + bev intel and other related things i’m ruminating on.
as someone who shoots food + bev for a living (+ for pleasure!), and loves documenting it all in my infamous google docs, i get a lot of requests from friends, friends of friends and even strangers on the internet for my recs on where to eat + drink, both here in los angeles and elsewhere.
so i’m finally compiling proper guides of my personal recs and go-to spots, and first up is (my home!) la. you can view and download the full where to — d’s guide to la gdoc here with highlights below.
you’ll also get some of my stream of consciousness musings on very important matters like seasonal olive oil cake and the cutest glass to sip your natural wine from, as well as intel on la’s newest restaurant + bar openings.
WHERE TO — D’S GUIDE TO LA
updated 2025 with new additions: picnic coffee, la grocery & cafe, well wishes for silverlake lounge
where to stay:
airbnb or kindred on the eastside, but if you feel like splurging: silverlake pool & inn or hotel lucile (coming soon) both in silverlake, or hotel covell in los feliz
where to coffee:
canyon coffee, picnic coffee + cafe tropical
where to eat:
sqirl, lasita, night+market song, just what i kneaded, woon, kismet, sushi gen, botanica, all time, highly likely, loreto, sogo, la grocery & cafe, etc.
where to drink:
natural wine! at el prado, cafe triste, seco, sam’s place
capri club, well wishes for silverlake lounge, club tee gee, footsies
where to do everything else:
get a stick and poke tattoo at angel kisses
catch a show at permanent records + see a movie at the vista theater
hit up la’s best farmers markets (hollywood, echo park, silverlake, atwater, sm farmers markets, shoppy shops la grocery & cafe + cookbook, natural wine bottle shops psychic wines and boutiques like offe market
—
current obsessions
the iconic wine tasting glass™️
these little wine tasting glasses are so much more fun to drink out of than your parents boring stemmed wine glasses, and are even pocket-sized! you probably found yourself sipping out of one at natural wine tastings like good boy & friends or at your neighborhood natural wine bar. they’re these little retro italian tasting glasses that i got really into after my last trip trip to san francisco that were literally at every restaurant + bar. next time you’re at a tasting event, i rec buying at least a pair so your drinking partner isn’t jealous. i have a few in my collection — a bar part time logo-ed one being my number one go-to.
olive oil cake!
honey hi’s (gf!) persimmon olive oil cake truly blew my mind, and might be my favorite olive oil cake (besides the custom seasonal olive oil sheet cake raspberry jam coconut icing JWIK made for our wedding). speaking of long wedding sheet cakes, they’re having a moment… but back to this beautiful sliver at honey hi, baked with farmers market seasonal fruit (the last of the fuyu persimmons like this slice, or winter citrus), hazelnut flour, salted pistachio & hibiscus dust as a weekend special.
new (la!) openings:
$11 (!) tofu rice bowl
only $11! great flavors, big portion. good-bad pop blaring while i sat in the sun eating bbq + rice’s newest sunset blvd location in the heart of silverlake (rip needle). my only edits: what about a hotter hot sauce option like a nice chili crisp, and you know i love a brown rice option, but that’s just me.
little fish echo park hack: at 10:50am order the breakfast fish congee (ideal congee weather right now) on their breakfast menu, which ends at 11am. browse dada market shoppy shop for 10 min, and then at 11am (when lunch starts), head back to the counter to order their (lunch only) iconic fish sandwich (vegan tofu version avail too!)
want to try:
happy hour drinks at highland park’s new the arroyo club
grab a bottle to go upstairs and a snack plate + glass downstairs at atwater’s new nico’s bottle shop / baby battista bar + venue combo
curious if the DIY ramen situation over at slurp & sip in ktown is worth it – let me know if you’ve had
now playing:
(as i type this) toi et moi by paradis — really into french indie bops right now
thanks for tuning in + more next time 🙃