By Audrey D. Brashich
Despite its reputation, Los Angeles is more than surfers and starlets. Beyond the celebrity sightings and movie premiers, there’s a wealth of restaurants, spas, and shops that are more about feeling good than looking good. The city’s mild, dry weather and proximity to both the ocean and the mountains provides countless options for outdoor activities, while funky communities like Venice Beach and Silverlake balance Hollywood’s high-pressure glamour. So when you are ready to take a rest from power lunches and pitch meetings, check out these L.A. alternatives while they still remain secrets.
NATURAL BATH PRODUCTS
Stroll down Santa Monica’s Main Street to Splash Bath and Body to stock up on minimally-processed products like Milk and Honey Sugar Scrub and Banana Shake Body Lotion. Known for its simple (and cost effective) packaging, Splash products have no harsh additives or perfumes, so they are more gentle for your skin. Help yourself to generous samples of soaps, gels, and lotions then indulge in a Bath Bomb, Body Mist or a freshly made face mask. Choose from ready-made gift baskets like the “Life’s a Beach” package, which includes Margaritaville Coconut Lemongrass soap and salt soak plus Fry Baby Coconut Aloe Lotion, or the “After Workout Peppermint Pack,” with its minty soap and face scrub. Or create your own gift basket to best suit the recipient’s needs. Contact (310) 581-4200 Locations also in West Hollywood and Manhattan Beach.
BEST BEACH SCENE
Santa Monica Beach Forget rubbing shoulders with celebrities. Angelenos know that the endless outdoor options for free, fun fitness is what makes L.A. special. Check out the bike path that stretches along the coast for more than twenty miles, wide sandy beaches, tons of beach volleyball courts, and a boardwalk big enough for strolling, jogging, or roller blading. You can rent cruisers, tandems, and trailers for kids at Spokes ‘N Stuff. Don’t miss the Santa Monica Pier, an old-fashioned amusement park with a traditional carousel, a roller coaster, and a Ferris wheel with an out-of-this-world view. Contact Spokes ‘N Stuff (310) 395-4748
BEST HOLISTIC HEALING HAVEN
For superior massage therapy, intimate yoga and Pilates classes that allow for lots of instructor feedback, nutrition counseling, and healing modalities like breath therapy, check out Strike a Balance on Santa Monica’s charming Montana Avenue. The walls of the two sunny studios double as an art gallery and feature the sensual photographs of Jasper Johal. The creative spa menu includes Thai massage, Jin-Shin Do acupressure, Lomi Lomi (traditional Hawaiian massage), and crystal energy balancing. There’s even a “Mommy and Me” class to foster healthy approaches to interacting with eight-week to two-year-old children. Contact (310) 260-1177 or visit www.strike-a-balance.com
BEST INDEPENDENT BOOK STORE
Nestled behind a rowdy burgers-and-fries café on Venice Beach’s eclectic boardwalk, Small World Books has everything that the mega chains are missing. The knowledgeable staff can provide great recommendations – both face to face and on small cards sticking out from “employees’ picks” cards around the store. The diverse selection includes everything from African American studies to popular contemporary fiction, from classics that shouldn’t be forgotten to unusual cookbooks like The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking. Plus, most sections feature a shelf labeled “Interesting New Books” to keep you current. There’s also the Mystery Annex, an exhaustive collection of thrillers that range from mainstream who-done-it’s to science fiction and vampire literature. If soaking up the sun is more of a priority to you than fighting crime, head to the “Beach Reading” shelf and pick up something to enjoy on Venice’s wide, sandy beach. Contact (310) 399-2360
BEST HIKING TRAIL
A few miles north of Santa Monica, Topanga Canyon is a Bohemian enclave with crystal shops, new age bookstores, and the best trails around. The state park entrance leads to paths that overlook the entire San Fernando Valley, the Palisades, and Catalina Island. Head inland to Eagle Rock for views of the magnificent birds soaring around the canyon, or hike the fire road (also ideal for trail running) to view the Pacific. Contact (310) 455-2465 for maps and directions.
BEST ORGANIC RESTAURANT
Join the uncooked revolution without sacrificing taste and texture! Juliano’s Raw features organic, vegan sushi, burgers, “rawzania” (think lasagna only with thinly sliced layers of zucchini instead of noodles, fresh marinara sauce, veggies, and faux ricotta cheese) and more in a cutting-edge, minimalist setting. Portions are small, so indulge in an appetizer like the Tom Gyi, a spicy coconut cream “soup” with lime leaf, lemon grass, and ginger before moving on to entrees like Pad Thai (julienned vegetables with a spicy sauce) and Meat ‘n Potatoez (a mushroom walnut loaf with cauliflower “mashed potatoes” and mushroom gravy). Don’t miss the Sweet Almond Milk smoothie with almonds, coconut, and dates or the Apple Pie in a nut crust. In fact, eat dessert first! Raw staffers swear it’s better for digestion and absorption. Contact (310) 587-1552
BEST FENG SHUI EXPERT
Calling all clutter queens! Did you know that organizing your belongings and living environment can help move you toward accomplishing your goals? Take it from Jayme Barrett, author of LA Times bestseller Feng Shui Your Life (Sterling, 2003). Barrett has also consulted for Paramount Pictures, such advertising giants as Saatchi & Saatchi, as well as actresses Mary Steenburgen and Alyson Hannigan. Barrett’s book introduces readers to the idea of energy flow and how it can affect your health, work, and relationships. Through pictures, exercises, and suggestions like “Create a ‘manifestation board’ covered with photos, sayings, and mementos to help you visualize your dreams,” Barrett helps readers align their spiritual, psychological, and physical momentum. She’s also available for in-home consultations and corporate speaking engagements to teach how to bring practical and energetic Feng Shui techniques into the workplace. Contact www.123energy.com
BEST OUTDOOR MARKET
Blocks from the beach, the sleepy Venice Farmers’ Market sets up shop every Friday from 7-11 a.m., providing a much saner environment than L.A.’s weekend markets, which tend to be more about mini carnival rides than fresh carrots. Cheap, mostly-organic produce abounds as do flowers, jams, honeys, breads, and pastries. For the past sixteen years, supervisor James Murez has been making sure that a variety of goods are offered so there’s little duplication from stall to stall. You’ll find everything from exotic golden raspberries and juicy “pluots” (plum-apricot hybrids) to potted herb plants and mung bean sprouts. Grab an espresso from the mobile cart to go with your flaky cinnamon bun, but be sure to leave room for the generous samples offered by most vendors. Bonus: prices plummet just before closing.
BEST WALKING STREETS
Far away from the freeways, laid-back Manhattan Beach can make you forget L.A.’s strip malls and smog. Surf shops coexist next to ethnic restaurants, featuring Greek and Indonesian cuisine. The 928-foot-long historic pier at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard houses the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium (two dollar donation), a great place to learn about local marine life, conservation, and water quality. Good Stuff Restaurant features healthy food and an ocean view, and don’t miss the Manhattan Beach Creamery, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor with 100% homemade flavors like root beer, cotton candy, and bubble gum. Contact Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab, (310) 379-8117; Good Stuff Restaurant, (310) 545-4775; Manhattan Beach Creamery, (310) 372-1155
BEST YOGA STUDIO
Since 1978 Bikram Choudhury has been teaching his special brand of yoga in the heart of Los Angeles. At Bikram’s Yoga College of India, the studio is heated to 105℉ to warm muscles and increase flexibility and detoxification through perspiration. Bikram yoga focuses on twenty-six asanas, or poses, that build strength and increase the body’s range of motion. Each posture is done two times, so you always get a second chance to try it, and the order of asanas never varies so as not to strain the spine before it’s fully warmed up. Beginners shouldn’t feel intimidated by regulars who perfectly execute Standing Bow poses – all levels are welcome in every class, and floor-to-ceiling mirrors help students to improve their form. According to Bikram, one doesn’t “do yoga,” but rather “tries it” and what better place to get started than at the master’s studio. Outside L.A.? There are 350 certified Bikram yoga studios worldwide from Tokyo to Tulsa. Contact (310) 854 5800 or visit www.bikramyoga.com
BEST HERBAL APOTHECARY
If you suffer from chronic colds, want to quit smoking, or just want more mental clarity and better memory skills consider traditional Chinese medicine and tonic herbalism. Licensed to practice acupuncture and herbal medicine by the Medical Board of California Acupuncture Committee, Elixir Tonic and Tea’s professional herbalists can recommend tonics and teas to help with a variety of ailments. Located on trendy Melrose Avenue, the shop’s hidden botanical garden is the perfect place to enjoy a Virtual Buddha tonic, which “awakens creativity and joyful serenity” with its mix of peaches, Asian ginseng, epimindium, and reishi. Stop in for an outdoor poetry reading or meditation class, or stroll across the courtyard to Elixir’s House of Little Pleasures for a drop-in chair massage or reflexology treatment. Sessions are $30 per twenty minutes. Can’t make it to L.A.? Then shop the vast catalog online and email an herbalist with any questions. Contact (310) 657-9300 or visit www.elixir.net
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