The sexy side of Los Angeles
Lost in the immense architectural jungle of iron and concrete that form the highways of The Angels we had a hard time finding Downtown L.A. . This neighborhood is the furthest point to the east of the city, far from Santa Monica, Malibu, Beverly Hills and even Hollywood. The area vibrates thanks to the urban tribe of hipsters.
Your whole territory Spring Street Y Main Street It throbs night and day at such a rate that you can practically hear its speed. In this restored neighborhood that used to be a ghost town, consumed from eight to five by office workers and the rest of the time by homeless people and drug dealers, is today the birthplace of the most authentic angelenos . It all started in 2007 when a community of artists started organizing art walks showing their works in lofts, bars and restaurants. Now downtown L.A. (DTLA) steals the limelight from Williamsburg , the hipster neighborhood of Brooklyn that for several years was the epicenter of this cultural movement.
The art of walking, by Santa Monica
The opening in January 2014 of the Ace hotel has completely altered the inhabitants of the area. The mass arrival of models, actors, musicians, travelers and above all, young people eager for change has caused a generational tsunami in the tenants of the buildings . The Ace belongs to that chain of chic hotels , born in Portland, which goes hand in hand with the hipster culture, something that can be seen in the decoration of its rooms or in the way its employees dress, Taylor is a faithful example.
The arrival of the Ace in DTLA is further proof of the rebirth of the city's most emblematic neighborhood. The Ace landed inside the building that housed the United Artist Theater, a historic place built in 1927 by charlie chaplin Y Mary Pickford . Gothic-inspired, the theater was commissioned by Mary Pickford from her architect in the image and likeness of Segovia Cathedral, a church with which she fell in love when she traveled to Spain. The theater fuses a modern minimalist style with the grandeur of Segovian construction and was built combining style and functionality when talkies prevailed over silent films, forcing the development of a modern acoustic system.
The art director for the hotel, Mike Mills, has created the design of the rooms of the Ace taking inspiration from the social life of the city in 1927 , which has contributed to maintaining the decorative narrative of the place in which it is inserted. Simon and Nikolai Haas are the designers in charge of the reception and restoration of the hotel offices, as well as the hieroglyphic-style restaurant area. A nod to the visual and psychedelic allure of California. The hotel adds a powerful economic injection to the intersection of 9th and Broadway streets, epicenter of the downtown renaissance . Your bike tour, the TokyoRide , is a curious and extravagant way to get to know L.A
in the middle of hollywood
After two hours on two wheels, rest at Eggslut , the stall-restaurant of the Central Market created by Alvin Cailan, it's perfect. His gourmet cuisine is designed to satisfy the true egg lovers , an appetizer that is consumed throughout the day and that has become a success if we take into account the queues it has. In Downtown there are places with their own protocol such as the Broadway Bar dedicated to Frank Sinatra or The Edison with a strict twenties label.
The latter with cathedral ceilings shows black and white movies on its walls. Located in what is called the fashion district In an alley off 2nd St, the Edison is always packed and you need to be on the VIP list to get in. But if there is a sacred must, reserved for the gods that come out in the night of Los Angeles, that place is Perch on Hill Street. The entrance to the sanctuary even has a monumental welcome fishbowl. A first elevator leads the elect to the twelfth floor where they must then take another elevator, much more luxurious , up to the entrance of the premises.
The view from the top is breathtaking with the KRKD tower in front . A jazz group animates the atmosphere from seven o'clock on the roof of this skyscraper where you feel touching the air as you pass by. To animate this atmosphere of Very Important People two emblematic Perch drinks: my fair lady, composed of quinoa, vodka, blueberries, lime and crème de Peché, and Writer's Block , based on Absolut Pears vodka, St. Germain, Lemon Juice & Champagne. Although it is true that every month there is a new place, right now the most trendy are the triumvirate Street Bar, Beelman's Pub and Exchange.
Eggslut, for true egg lovers,
On Main Street is Cole's French Dip , a Downtown institution. Hidden behind a door without a sign, it is one of those places that only locals know, such as The Varnish, which with its more than one hundred years open has welcomed unforgettable characters such as charles bukowski . The place boasts not only of offering wonderful cocktails, but also of being the inventor of the famous sandwich french dip (a hot beef sandwich on baguette bread) .
The Golden Gopher is another iconic bar in the area, frequented by the mobster of the 40s and 50s Mickey Cohen . A gangster who became a celebrity in L.A. (also The Varnish had him among its clients) and whom Sean Penn brought to life in the film Gangster Squad . End the evening thanks to Uber in In-N-Out tasting the same hamburger that they serve in vanity fair party the night of the Oscars makes us imagine that we have almost become a star.
Urban tribes by Venice Beach
The next morning we let ourselves be embraced by the first rays of sun that invite us to walk: an exercise, hiking, so cult in the city of Los Angeles. Runyon Canyon or Fryman They are two canyons between the mountains of Hollywood where hundreds of Angelenos come every day with their pets, their physical trainer, in a group or with the simple company of their music.
The view of the city from the top of the hill is breathtakingly extensive. Runyon Canyon Park It has almost 50 hectares that extend from Hollywood Blvd to the west of the 101 Freeway and the north of Mulholland Drive . You can enter from Fuller Avenue, Vista Street and Mulholland. In 1983 this park was acquired by the city of Los Angeles and since then it has become in the most visited urban park in the city . Fryman's is shorter, three miles easily accessible from Hollywood or Studio City, an alternative to the congested Runyon promenade.
Pech bar restaurant on the 15th floor
Invigorated by the exercise we went to the hotel Château Marmont , a must see. Here Sofia Coppola chose to shoot her film somewhere to define the spirit of Los Angeles. The personality of the city, inexplicable for those who do not live in L.A., finds its reason for being in this hotel where history is palpable and for a moment, appearances tend to disappear, pure mirage. On a morning one can find two actresses taking a private yoga class by the pool , dressed in Lululemon leggings, a must in the city; a rapper drinking cold-pressed vegetable juices from Pressed Juicery or a well-known star looking for shelter in his flight from the paparazzi, everyday scenes before which the rest of the clients remain unmoved: because at the Marmont something is always happening.
When February opens, the names of the best of the year sound. It is the season of flashes, of awards, the moment for the world to look directly into the eyes of tinseltown in love as he is with his flesh and blood superstars.
Behind the Chinese theatre, next to the Highland complex, where the Oscars are held, we find the Yamashiro Restaurant They say that it is the most romantic in Los Angeles (finding a table on Valentine's Day requires reservations months in advance). This mountain palace is an architectural icon that he just celebrated his hundred years of life . A place that is committed to sustainability and that in summer sells local products in its own market. At the head of his kitchen, for a decade, the chef Brock Kieweno . This was where Rob Marshall shot the film Memoirs of a Gheisa.
Speaking of cinema, the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) presents until March the exhibition Hollywood Costume, co-organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The exhibition covers the fascinating world of sewing in the seventh art through more than 150 costumes, which add up to 22 Oscars for best costume. LACMA has just received the largest grant in its history from A. Jerrold Perenchio . A collection that includes works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Rene Magritte . Located in the center of the city, the museum, a source for the study of European culture of the 19th century, has a monumental garden decorated with seven sculptures by the great master Auguste Rodin.
Stroll down Rodeo Drive
The impossible suburb stereotype that accompanies L.A. due to its dimensions, it does not faithfully reflect a metropolis that commitment to the future and quality of life . Although it is true that their cars, their noise and their smoke form part of the scenery, the Daily Farmers Markets , the development of public transport, the commitment to electric cars and bicycles are changing the aesthetics of the city. Moving down Wilshire Blvd , one of the main arteries of the town, we reach Mélisse, the chef's restaurant with two Michelin stars Josiah Citrin . The cuisine of Mélisse, considered by Forbes magazine to be one of the five best restaurants in the United States, is an assault on the senses. Pure synesthesia.
There is no doubt that Citrin's creativity lies behind the provocative new Californian cuisine. “Los Angeles is a changing city where new trends are always emerging. In gastronomy we are seeing how small plates are very popular because it is a way in which chefs can compete with sushi bars”, comments the chef, and adds: “In addition, we try to pair each dish with a good wine and that always works ”. Being guided by their tasting menus (either 10 or 15 courses) is the best thing to do here. “ The menu in our restaurant has a fixed price . For me, the quality of the product is above everything else”, explains Citrin. The local raw material joins the good work: s simplicity and depth . Citrin evokes that perfume that remains infinitely in the memory. Although the dishes change according to the season, there are some permanent ones like the Almond-Crusted Dover Sole served with white corn, chanterelle mushrooms and butter that multiply the excellence. Josiah Citrin plans to open an affordable restaurant on the shores of Venice Beach : “Something casual and fun”, explains the most famous restaurateur in Hollywood.
Precisely Through the streets of Venice we get lost in the afternoon , among the hundreds of tourists who walk among Muscle Beach (beach of the 'musculitos') and Manhattan Blvd, for the paddle tennis courts, the stalls or the skate beach.
Stroll around Santa Monica without a car
Back in Beverly Hills, the obligatory stop is Rodeo Drive . A street that invites you to walk it mischievously from Little Santa Monica to Wilshire Blvd . listening to the overwhelming brilliance of ostentation. It is the avenue of sports cars, of red-soled shoes, of diamonds... A street where there are as many offices of plastic surgeons as luxury firms. Rodeo Drive is intimidating without a camera to give us the tourist stylistic safe conduct or a black card that serves as accreditation. Probably Julia Roberts movie beautiful woman be the one that best reflects what Rodeo Drive means in the genetic panorama of Los Angeles.
There, on the corner of Little Santa Monica, you have the North American firm Brooks Brothers a spectacular two-story store. From its terrace and wrapped in Supima cotton we enjoyed lunch admiring the Hollywood Hills. Going up Coldwater Canyon to Mulholland we arrive at Stone Canyon Reservoir to calm the noise of so much pine-scented wealth. In this protected reserve, which splits the city in half, you can see the San Fernando Valley on one side and Los Angeles on the other.
A billboard announces that the Los Angeles metropolitan area is the only one in the world that a mountain range divides in two. The sun begins to go down and Mulholland Drive, the highway accomplice of passionate drivers such as Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty or Steve McQueen , we head to Malibu to say goodbye to the afternoon on the beach.
The first stop is Matador with a picnic from Españolita Foods: gazpacho against homesickness. This is, without a doubt, the most spectacular beach on the Californian coast. Here we are surprised by several groups of photographers and film and television crews who come to take note of the beauty of Matador Beach , a paradisiacal enclave crowned by long rocks on the sand of the beach, which cannot be missed in any visit to Los Angeles.
Down the Malibu shoreline heading south down the highway Pacific Coast Highway , we arrived at Paradise Cove Beach Cafe , the only beach with a restaurant on the seashore. Another classic: deckchairs and private cabins in the purest style of the Côte d'Azur. Burgers, paella and seafood are the base of the menu of this unique cafe with more than fifty years of history.
Continuing along the coast, it is worth ending the afternoon in Topanga Beach amazed with the talent of the Californian surfers who at that time populate the waves of the sea. Facing the immensity of the Pacific, the senses enveloped by the magnetism of the Los Angeles sunset, the words of Juan Ramón Jiménez return to my memory: “In the blue zenith, a pink caress”
Rooftop pool at The Lodon West Hollywood hotel, very close to Sunset Bld
Why did we go from Rodeo Drive to the Sacramento Valley?
Our journalist, María Estévez, wanted to see in person the place where the best cotton in the world is born and grown. Thanks to Brooks Brothers , our host brand in L.A., it was possible to reach the Sacramento Valley, the deep beauty of California, far from the sophisticated world that bustles on Rodeo Drive, in the trendy restaurants of Downtown, from the surfing beaches, of sunsets on the Santa Monica Pier , of the avenues lined with palm trees.
We leave behind one of the most exciting cities in the world to immerse ourselves in these cotton fields, land spanning ten counties and watered by the mighty Sacramento River . Here it is born in full sun, with respect for the raw material and production, supima cotton , “the cashmere of cottons”, the one that ends up composing the most desired fabrics in the world.
Supima cotton was President Lincoln's legendary coat, by the way custom-made for him by Brooks Brothers, a company that has accompanied iconic moments of the american dream . Today, already present throughout the world, it continues to create trends without losing its stamp of maximum elegance. As Maria told us when she was going back to L.A. after a day learning about the interesting process of obtaining Supima cotton, “ here you can also feel the greatness of America, its vocation for innovation, its pioneering heart ”.
* This article is published in the January 80 issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. This number is available in its digital version for iPad in the iTunes AppStore, and in the digital version for PC, Mac, Smartphone and iPad in the Zinio virtual kiosk (on Smartphone devices: Android, PC/Mac, Win8, WebOS, Rims, iPad). Also, you can find us on Google Play Newsstand.
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Supima cotton fields in the Sacramento Valley, California