Today’s occasion

Duke’s Malibu, best Mother’s Day reservations, Santa Cruz real estate, Bar Betsy, Bruce, Coachella weekend 2, MORE

WORK • Thursday Routine sponsored by Mill

Waste not

HEATHER SPERLING • founder • Botanica
Neighborhood you live in: Mt. Washington

It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Botanica opens at 9a, and I’m there for my favorite morning drink on the planet: a cashew-date milk latte with cinnamon. The team is setting up for service, loading the pastry case with treats, setting up the line in the kitchen. I settle in at my laptop at the bar or a corner table, but get up regularly to say hi to friends and regulars who pop in.

Botanica on weekdays is a real neighborhood hub, with many familiar East Side faces coming in for coffee, grabbing something from the market, having a lunch meeting or friend date. On the weekends, it’s a different vibe (bustling with brunchers!), which I also love for its fast-paced, full-on service energy. But weekday mornings are calm and lovely.

What’s on the agenda for today?
So much going on! I’m sifting through photos from a dinner I cooked on Tuesday night at Little City Farm. I’m overseeing a rebrand of my restaurant up the street, Bar Siesta; that’s coming very soon (next week!) and is going to be fresh and fun. We have a new name, some new dishes, new art!

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Dinner at A Tí tonight with my friend Satya Bhaba (who has an incredible non-profit theater company, Public Assembly — one of the most special organizations in LA), and then hopefully sneaking out for a date with my husband this weekend, likely to Tsubaki or Queen’s, our two go-tos.

How about a little leisure or culture?
This weekend I’ll be heading to two galleries — Charlotte Call to see my dear friend Victor Nwankwo’s show of sculptures, and Francis Gallery to catch Ash Roberts stunning landscape show before it closes. Sunday morning, I always hit the Hollywood Farmers Market — my favorite in town! — to stock up for the week and grab things for my restaurants.

Any weekend getaways?
Ojai and Carpinteria are my favorite easy getaways. In Ojai, I love staying at the Roblar, eating multiple times per day at Rory’s/Rory’s Other Place, hiking, late-night drinks at Radio Roma, and morning matcha at The Dutchess (because they make fresh almond milk!). Carpinteria is my favorite destination during beach season; we rent a place in Gobernador Canyon on Airbnb, go to the beach at Rincon every day, stock up on produce at Farm Cart Organics, and cook.

What was your last great vacation?
Mexico City in February. It was delicious, inspiring, convivial! Stayed at La Valise in Roma, hung with friends every night, walked endlessly, saw great art, had exceptional coffee, ate and drank outrageously well — at Hugo, Cana, Jellyfish, Choza, Comal Oculto, Maizajo, El Hidalguense, and more.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I am a superfan of my Mill food recycler (use code FOUND LA for $100 off); it has seriously changed my composting game at home. My house is set far back from the street, and bringing the compost down to the green bin was always such a schlep. Having a Mill in my kitchen transforms food scraps so quickly, then I just pop them out the back door into our composter, and in no time have incredible compost for my vegetable beds.

What store or service do you always recommend?
A massage at The Raven Spa. An Italian ceramics splurge at Bucatini. A provisioning spree at LA Home Farm.

Where are you donating your time or money?
Whenever possible, I love to have events at my restaurants benefit Regarding Her, a non-profit I co-founded with eight other restaurateurs in 2020.

→ FOUND LA readers can get $100 off your Mill purchase. Use the code FOUND LA.

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GOODS & SERVICES • Intel

BLACK MARKET: Chris Black’s clothing line Hanover is popping up at Castle this week, Thursday-Saturday, 12-6p. The How Long Gone co-host launched the brand, which features everyday essentials made in LA and priced under $300, in 2025. There’s also a party with musical guest Guv, but you’re not invited. Maybe buy an extra tee and tell them FOUND sent you.

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BARS • First Round

Always mai taime

There is something about getting served a mai tai in a novelty tiki glass that feels celebratory, occasion or not. Throw in a tiny umbrella speared through some fruit and wedged onto the rim? Now, that’s a party.

Over the years, I’ve celebrated everything from finding an empty bar seat to my college graduation with a mai tai (or two) at Duke’s Malibu, the breezy haven that reopened last month after a 14-month closure.