High life

SAM GRAVES • Dunsmoor

WORK • Thursday Routine

SAM GRAVES • wine director • Dunsmoor
Neighborhood you work: Glassell Park
Neighborhood you live in: Cypress Park

It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Well, I work in a restaurant, so my mornings start at home. I’ve been making matcha recently and I’m loving it. It’s my closest thing to meditation, a whole two minutes. Despite the recent matcha endeavor, I am a coffee lover at heart. I like to get out of the house as soon as possible, so I’ll walk to Loquat for a cappuccino.

I head into work around noon, and the kitchen is already in full swing. Dunsmoor has no electronics in the kitchen (blenders, mixers, etc.), so it’s peaceful — most kitchens are louder. I normally have tastings, emails, and admin until we sit down for family meal at 4p.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
There are WAY too many places I love to list here (honorable mentions: Golden Deli, Hama Sushi, Ruen Pair, Musso’s for the chicken parm…) but Lanzhou Beef Noodle in Arcadia is always one of my first and favorite meals when I come back into LA. If you want to experience something totally and utterly insane, go to Hayato. I don’t even know how to talk about it (kind of like explaining a dream?), but it’s absolutely worth it.

How about a little leisure or culture?
I love jazz — I’m still missing ETA in Highland Park (shoutout Jeff Parker & Friends) — but I’m so excited for the Blue Note and The Blue Whale V2! Also, I love the Hollywood Farmers’ Market: the amazing farms, the people watching, the crowds. It’s one of those few places in LA where you really remember that you live in a huge city full of people who care.

Any weekend getaways?
Two Bunch Palms, full stop. Once Al Capone’s hideaway, it was one of the first wellness resorts in the world (started in the ‘20s…) and it’s quite literally perfect. In order to relax, I sometimes need to go somewhere where there is actually NOTHING to do besides soak and eat and nap.