The Traveling Man: Los Angeles

Sharp August 21, 2014

Los Angeles suffers from multiple personality disorder. Only, “suffers” isn’t the right word, because the fact that it has so many sides is what makes it great—even if all of them are to varying degrees rooted in the entertainment industry. With over 80 neighbourhoods and districts, it can be easily written off as sprawling, empty at its core and too trendy, depending on where you find yourself. But that’s changing. Well, not the trendy thing, but its neglected downtown is enjoying a much needed resurgence. Some homework is required in order to get the most of your LA getaway. We did that for you, so you can travel LA in style.

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Shop: Mohawk General Store

Located in the hip(ster) Silver Lake neighbourhood, Mohawk General Store is a collection of cool. Founded in 2008 by husband and wife Kevin and Bo Carney, the store sells everything from LPs and architecture books to light fixtures, stationary, jewellery and shoes, carrying brands like Common Projects, Engineered Garments, Comme des Garcons and Junya Watanabe.

4011 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles

MohawkGeneralStore.com

Stay: Ace Hotel

Ace Hotel opened this January in the historic United Artists building downtown, just in time because downtown LA after dark can sometimes look, well, a bit like downtown Detroit. The 1920s-era, Spanish Gothic-style building on Broadway was restored to its former glory and then some, offering 182 rooms and 16 suites in utilitarian, minimalist décor; a rooftop bar and swimming pool; an in-house restaurant, LA Chapter, which offers a European-American fusion menu of local and organic ingredients (obviously); and its adjacent heritage theatre, renamed the Theatre at Ace.

929 South Broadway, Los Angeles

AceHotel.com/losangeles

Bar Amá

You can thank chef-owner Josef Centeno’s mother and grandmother for the authenticity of the Tex-Mex classics like pork belly chicharrón, duck confit and lobster taquitos, slow-roasted pork and green enchiladas that grace the menu at Bar Amá. No stranger to success—his two other hit restaurants, Bäco Mercat and Orsa and Winston, are just around the corner—Centeno has found yet another venue locals can’t get enough of.

118 West 4th St., Los Angeles

Bar-Ama.com

Drinks: Bar Marmont at Chateau Marmont

When you spot the starlet—and your chances are as good as they’re going to get here—you’ll have two choices: act like you notice, or act like you don’t. Our advice? Do as the locals do and turn to your companion, cock an eyebrow, and resume drinking your mimosa. This seven-story gothic-chateau-style building in west Hollywood provides the perfect setting for a business meeting or a date (or a bit of both, depending on with whom you’re doing business), with red, dim lighting, bistro-inspired décor and an intimate, buzzy atmosphere. And by buzzy we mean, yes, Lindsay Lohan has lived there.

8221 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

ChateauMarmont.com

Eat: Eveleigh

For a restaurant to be truly great, it has to check a few boxes: an interesting venue, an impressive bar and, of course, great, surprising food (an abundance of meat doesn’t hurt). Eveleigh on the Sunset Strip ticks them all, serving an array of area beers and whiskies with a local, seasonal, market-driven menu in a rustic setting. Stone crab picked from the nearby Channel Islands, or fresh vegetables from their onsite garden served on their incredibly popular back patio—which looks out over the city-facing Hollywood hills—make for a memorable meal. They also serve a one of the best brunches in the city.

8752 West Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

TheEveleigh.com