21 Reasons

Many people who move to the West Coast don’t necessarily find themselves living by or near the beach. When migrating from Eastern Canada to Los Angeles, Echo Park was where I landed. There is so much to be said about the East side of this vast city. Its growth over the past 15 years alone has been especially exciting and vibrant. There is such a tight knit community of artists, creators, foodies and general proprietors that each passing year seems to offer even more reasons never to leave this glorious hub of activity and inspiration. Our gracious friend, writer & advocate Kate Movius gives us a personal run down of her neighborhood which happens to include one of the most talked about streets in L.A. right now: York Blvd. in Highland Park, CA.  (In addition to Kate’s amazing list below, i wanted to mention a few of my favs in the area as well: Platform, Donut Friend and Matters of Space!)

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When we first moved to our little house in Highland Park in the Fall of 2001, there was little to do there except walk the baby and dog up and down our steep street (nicknamed “the Hill”), listen to crickets and occasional gunfire from our deck, and if I was really lucky, have a chat with Josephine, an ancient, mercurial creature, who lived next door and was the only neighbor who talked to me.  Every few days, she would bang on my door, telling me she’d been robbed, which I came to learn was her version of locking herself out of her house. One day, she yelled at me from her front porch, “Just so you know, your dog is dead!” I ran to our yard and saw our mutt, Lulu, running around, chasing gnats. “There! You see?” Josephine shouted over the fence as she pointed to a shredded toy rabbit, “It’s DEAD!”

You can imagine I started to chafe at my limited social life on the Hill. I wondered if we’d made the right choice to live there – not that we really had many options, considering our tiny home-buying budget. Our house was affordable and the Hill was beautiful. But I found myself leaving the neighborhood more often than not. South Pasadena beckoned, with its grassy parks and broad, tree-lined streets. And Silver Lake, our home of four years prior to our eastward move, was hopping. But the main streets of Highland Park – York and Figueroa – felt dingy and a little dicey, too. There were loads of auto body shops, a smattering of old bars, and one terrifying pet store, which sold diseased chickens and fish food. Try as I might, I couldn’t find my footing.

Then after about a year, things started to change. Houses began to sell and people under the age of 80 began to move into them. Eventually, I could walk into most of my neighbors’ houses, drink a beer, take a nap or get schooled in green kitchen renovations (something we have yet to take on). After a few years on the Hill, I felt like I never wanted to live anywhere else. Now, nearly thirteen years later, that sense of belonging has only deepened. And York Boulevard? It’s become a veritable mecca for artists, activists, and longtime neighborhood residents (as well as a fair number of hipster expats). For this blog, I was asked to write about my five favorite places on York. Impossible. Here, in order of street number, are twenty-one reasons to love the place:

1. My Taco 6300 York Blvd: Great for breakfast or lunch, this spotless, brightly painted Mexican restaurant features exceptional Barbacoa de Borrego (lamb), as well as hazardously good carne asada fries.

2. T-Shirt Warehouse 6207 York Blvd: If you fantasize about rows and rows of Dickies jackets, shorts and pants (am I the only one?), this is your place.

3. Los Angeles Police Museum 6045 York Blvd: The oldest surviving police station in Los Angeles offers an exhaustive history of the LAPD, including real jail cells, bullet-ridden vehicles (parked in back), and several fascinating exhibits about LA’s most notorious criminals.

4. Maximiliano 5930 York Blvd: A warning to food lovers – of Italian cuisine, specifically – with no impulse control: STAY AWAY. You just might start popping buttons at this popular, vibrant restaurant.

5. Galco’s Old World Grocery 5702 York Blvd: Where you can gawk at 500 kinds of soda pop AND get a gigantic deli sandwich. What more could you ask for?

6. El Arco Iris 5684 York Blvd: Family-owned since 1964. The food is satisfying (not extraordinary) and the vibe is friendly and low-key. Great margaritas, too.

7. Shop Class 5215 York Blvd: Cool vintage furniture and décor offered by – gasp! – incredibly nice people.

8. La Estrella Taco Truck permanently parked at York Blvd/Ave 54: Carne asada to die for. Might lower the chances of a killer hangover the next day, but the jury’s still out on that one.

9. Sonny’s Hideaway 5137 York Blvd: When you’re feeling classy or just craving an expertly-made old time cocktail, duck into this beautifully designed, dimly lit speakeasy and ask for a Pimm’s Cup in your best Cary Grant lockjaw accent.

10. Scoops 5105 York Blvd: If the word “artisanal” makes you want to run to the nearest McDonald’s screaming “Hipsters begone!” in protest, I implore you to compromise your beliefs for just five seconds and taste the fancy ice cream made every morning on these premises.

11. Elsa’s Bakery 5102 York Blvd: Back in 2001, I walked in here on a Saturday morning and was thrilled to find piping hot tamales. The bakery recently changed hands and has undergone a badly-needed upgrade without losing its identity (or its baker, Benjamin Lopez).

12. The Glass Studio 5052 York Blvd: Offering gorgeous tiles, beads and jewelry, as well as glass-making classes. Owner Cathi Milligan designed the mosaics on York’s first parklet, a communal gathering space located in front of Do-It Best Hardware (see below).

13. Highland Park Billiards 5043 York Blvd: This cash only, old-fashioned pool hall is stocked with plenty of tables, beer, tacos and a good jukebox, to boot.

14. Do-It Best Hardware 5040 York Blvd: An antidote to the Home Depot juggernaut, this well-stocked hardware store is staffed with kind and helpful people who will answer questions like, “What’s a socket wrench?” without any shaming.

15. Thank You Comics 5011 York Blvd: A great selection of both mainstream and indie comics, zines and books, along with my eight year-old’s favorite thing in all of Highland Park: the five for a dollar comics bin.

16. The York 5018 York Blvd: This popular gastropub was a pioneer when it opened in the mid-00’s and remains the epicenter of the Boulevard. Their cheddar burger slays me every time (in the best possible way).

17. Cafe de Leche 5000 York Blvd: Like many of the places on this list, the owners are damned nice people and the stuff they serve (coffee and pastries) is delicious. A great spot for writing your novel or wrangling your progeny in the children’s play area towards the back of the room.

18. The Church on York Performing Space 4904 York Blvd: Where-oh-where but in LA can you see some of the best comedians in the country for $5 or see a band or send your kid to music school to learn from members of Hole, Maroon 5 and Urge Overkill – all in what used to be a sad and abandoned house of worship?

19. Society of the Spectacle 4563 York Blvd: Along with The York, this sibling-owned eyeglass shop was at the forefront of Highland Park nouveau before it was hip. Located in a 1920’s bungalow, the sisters serve cupcakes on week-ends and treat excruciatingly indecisive customers with the utmost patience and respect. Not that I know this personally. I just heard.

20. Gimme Gimme Records 4628 York Blvd: A vinyl-lovers’ paradise in NYC for many years, Gimme Gimme set up shop here last year. They have a great selection at reasonable (non-gouging) prices and of course, they’ll buy your Creed record collection with nary a raised eyebrow.

21. NELA Art Gallery Walk on York Blvd between Ave 50 and Ave 54: On the second Saturday of every month, galleries and shops stay open until 10 pm (or later). Food trucks line the streets, bicyclists abound, and an authentic neighborhood community struts its stuff.

Photos by: Kelly Norris Sarno