Well sourced
Little Fish, best LA gift shops, Todos Santos getaway, Tahoe/Truckee real estate, LEKFIT, King’s Road Cafe, Helms Bakery, MORE
ASK FOUND
First, a bevy of responses to our query, Where’s the best bar to dine alone in LA?
South Beverly Grill
The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Taix
Jay’s Bar
Dudley Market
Everson Royce
Big Dean’s
The Greyhound
Also, one more for Who do you trust to do your eyebrows?
Lana at OKO. Hands down the BEST.
Thanks for all the responses, and please keep them coming. To that end, three more PROMPTS for which we seek your attention:
What’s your favorite Los Angeles spa (and treatment)?
Where are you having your office holiday party this year?
Which restaurant are you booking for New Year’s brunch?
Hit reply or email found@itsfoundla.com with more answers or questions.
FOUND GIFT GUIDE • The Nines
Gift shops, for giving small
Gifted LA (Rancho Park), color-curated gem, something for every generation and every room, gift selection expertise
Shout and About (Echo Park, above), strong greeting card game and ample home goods nestled in quaint digs
Tortoise General Store (Venice), refined selection of items from Japanese culture, home and kitchen-focused, across two-room spread
Ri-Ri-Ku (Highland Park), true brick-and-mortar stocked w/ funky wares and threads from independent designers
+Coop (West Hollywood), founded by local real estate agent, anchored by gifts for host and housewarmer
Goodies (multiple locations), ceramics, wood, and marble well-sourced, beautifully displayed, budget and quality conscious
The Mart Collective (Venice), giant warehouse of vintage, antique, and designer pieces, less about the setting more about the hunt
Lundeens (Culver City), quirky and family-friendly, big on stationery and baby goods
Greenwood Shop (Studio City), inspired by nature with a living plant wall, thoughtful edit of self-care, jewelry, and home pieces
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Going long
From frying fish sandwiches at pandemic pop-ups to running a bustling takeout window serving killer congee and brown cheese toast, Little Fish keeps proving itself ready for a bigger pond. The latest is their ascendence to a new full-service restaurant in Melrose Hill, just steps from Kuya Lord, Ggiata, LA Grocery & Cafe, and around the corner, Bar Etoile, and Etra.
The dinner menu lost their upmarket, sublime take on the Filet-O-Fish — it’s still around, just exiled to lunch — in favor of an ambitious, grown-up tour of mostly surf, along with some turf made for grazing.
The winter menu features warm olives stuffed with tuna rillettes and fennel; a spongy, soy-cured mussel, potato chip, and guindilla pepper “beach” sandwich so zingy and satisfying you can taste San Sebastian within it; a sweet, evenly spiced dish of Kintoki red carrots and whipped tofu, with an aftertaste that delightfully veered toward Lucky Charms; and a poached rockfish with trout roe and a Meyer lemon relish that was smooth like melted butter, but at $35 was small (and could have used the company of a side).
Which is to say: I should have ordered a few more appetizers, which like at so many restaurants these days, shined brighter than the entrees. Instead, I left hungry and made a pit stop at a taco truck on Western to inhale a torta before walking several blocks to my car (parking can be a problem, so Little Fish offers valet on Fridays and Saturdays).
While I skipped wine in favor of a couple tiny bottles of Diet Coke (a chic and apparently popular choice), the selections looked fun, made to be ordered, not overthought. In true Melrose Hill fashion, it leans young, modest, funky, and fairly white, with lots of texture, skin contact, and just enough restraint to appease skeptics. California shows up in force, including two Mendocino-born bottles, a tropical chardonnay from Stagiare and a rare primitivo-sauvignon mash-up from Dorsal. If the menu has a mantra, it’s eat like a bird, drink like a you-know-what.
It’s early days, and Little Fish is still navigating some growing pains in the move from takeout to sit down — hovering and slightly too attentive staff here, a couple half-baked entrées there — but the place is already humming like the ideal neighborhood spot: somewhere to decompress with a friend at the curved bar after an afternoon of gallery hopping, to admire the beaming fish locker and seashell sconces, and to take a beat in the warm cream-and-beige glow of the room while listening to 808 State and Bronski Beat. Give it time: Little Fish is clearly swimming in the right direction. –Shona Sanzgiri
→ Little Fish (Melrose Hill) • 5035 Melrose Ave • Wed-Sun 11a-9p• Reserve (walk-ins welcome).
LA RESTAURANT LINKS: Culver City’s Helms Bakery closing after just a year, last day this Sunday • Holy Basil debuts Santa Monica outpost • Vandell, cocktail bar from Lowboy, Bar Flores, and Donna’s team, opens on Hillhurst • Tijuana taco star Tijuanazo Taqueria taking over former Burrito King space in Echo Park • The CDMXification of the East Side.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three properties that came to market in the Tahoe/Truckee area in the last 30 days.
→ 12349 Skislope Way (Tahoe Donner) • 4BR/4.2BA, 4437 SF • Ask: $2.128M • 2010 build on oversize lot w/ Generac generator • Days on market: 6 • Agent: Sarah Cain, Home and Slate.
→ 3060 Highlands Dr (Tahoe City, above) • 5BR/5BA, 3687 SF • Ask: $2.3M • ski-out 1973 build w/ outdoor kitchen • Days on market: 21 • Agent: Kate Wilkins, Compass.
→ 10645 Carson Range Rd (Schaffer’s Mill) • 5BR/6.1BA, 3795 SF • Ask: $4.554M • fully furnished w/ pet shower and garage sauna • Days on market: 10 • Agent: Julie Brock, Schaffer’s Mill Real Estate.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: Restored by designer Trina Turk, Salkin Residence hits the market in Echo Park • Loquat coffee coming to Silver Lake • Remembering Frank Gehry, and 11 to savor around town • The 50 best clothing stores in America.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Work it out
LAUREN KELBAN • founder & celebrity trainer • LEKFIT
Neighborhood you work & live in: Hancock Park
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Mornings are busy for us. We open the studio bright and early at 630a to get ready for our morning classes. I’m typically at home until about 8a getting my kids off to school, and then I head in to prepare for our live shoots and classes.
At the studio, we pride ourselves on a complete sensory experience. So if you came into LEKFIT, you’d hear curated music bumping from the moment you valet and all through the space, signature scented candles burning, and you’d spot me in my office getting ready to teach and train clients and chatting away with our local community at the space.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We shoot nine new workouts every week for our streaming platform, and today I’ll shoot a rebounder cardio x strength workout along with a barre series. We just launched LEKFIT barre, our signature stretch and tone concept designed to complement our cardio and strength classes. I love the opportunity to continue drawing from my professional background and classical ballet training, and empower others on their own wellness journeys.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Love the turkey burger and sweet potato fries at Cassell’s at Hotel Normandie (that’s a burger in a lettuce wrap, and no sugar on the fries). For a coffee? Since the early aughts, my go-to spot has been King’s Road Cafe for the iced whole milk latte; it remains my favorite today.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Tonight I’ll head to Blue Note, my favorite new concert venue in LA! I try to see a show at least once a week, and I collect original band tees from every show. LA has so many amazing venues; the more intimate ones are the best for getting up close and personal and really experiencing the music.
Any weekend getaways?
When I first moved to LA at 18, I lived in Malibu, so it forever has my heart. It’s super close, but you’re fully able to get away from the craziness of the city and experience the calm serenity of being near the ocean, plus there are so many cute cafes and spots. I love that it’s close by, so you can pop over even for just a few hours.
What was your last great vacation?
I absolutely love Cabo! It’s so easy to get to from LA, and there are many incredible resorts where you can truly unplug and unwind. The One&Only is a top favorite of mine. It’s an absolutely gorgeous space and they bring in special wellness workshops run by amazing guests (I’m biased, of course, especially since we’ve been hosting LEKFIT pop-ups there).
What store or service do you always recommend?
For clothes, RE/DONE and Tanaka Vintage.
CULTURE & LEISURE • In Season
LA Bowl • Boise St v Washington • Intuit Dome (Inglewood) • Sat @ 6p • sec v132, $203 per ($30 lowest avail)
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas • Kia Forum (Inglewood) • Sat @ 5p • sec 109, $290 per
Lizzy McAlpine • The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever (Hollywood) • Sat @ 7p • GA, $715 per
GETAWAYS LINKS: San Francisco’s Huntington Hotel to reopen after six-year closure • Anticipated new hotel Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabos Del Sol has opened • Vegas, baby: NoMad rebranding as The Reserve at Park MGM… new Chase Sapphire Lounge opens at LAS • Netflix kills travel-fave casting option.
GETAWAYS • Baja
Stay wild
