neighborhood watch: silverlake in los angeles

This weekend I took the train up to L.A. to visit one of my best girlfriends, and since she lives on the west side, we decided to use the train station’s downtown location to explore somewhere far east of the 405. We chose Silverlake, and it was a breath of fresh air to be far away from the glitz, ritz and overall sceney vibe I’ve found in places like West Hollywood and Santa Monica.

If you find yourself in L.A., step into the cool little enclave of Silverlake for well-edited boutiques and awesome food choices. Here are some picks:

First things first: Taking the train to L.A. from San Diego is amazing. No traffic, no hassle, and pleasant conductors who sing the California state song and update you on NFL scores during your journey. Yes, really. It’s pricey ($75 round trip), but I don’t go up to L.A. that often, so I think it’s worth it.

Lunch at Gingergrass, a Vietnamese restaurant that’s hip, modern and fresh, fresh, fresh. Based on the interiors you’d think it’s a place that’s all looks and zero taste, but the food was phenomenal. I actually kept thinking about the meal afterwards. The taro fries appetizer was as delicious as the waiter promised and my bahn mi was equally wonderful. Great prices considering the portion sizes, too. But I think I loved the Vietnamese coffee best; you can’t go wrong with condensed milk.

Broome Street General Store is part cafe-part shop, and we went in for the latter. It’s not cheap by any definition and I’m not sure I ever need a large can of rose water, but I can’t say the selection isn’t pretty to look at.

Dream Collective is just that — a dreamy boutique of jewelry, Moroccan rugs, bath products and pottery. It’s pricey for sure but one of those stores with that “special piece” you save up for.

Pillowy soft whipped cream on my berry shortcake cupcake at Lark Cake Shop. I did not mind the 50:50 cream to cake ratio.

I got a kick out of this L.A. alphabet poster by at Stark Waxing Studio, a salon next to Lark Cake Shop. (A is for air kissing, J is for juicing and X is for extra botox, please.) The print is by Mr. Boddington’s Studio, which offers similarly fun prints for Chicago, San Francisco, New York and other cities.

Not a Silverlake pick, but since it’s just down the street from the Amtrak station, I had to check out Poketo’s brick and mortar store after ogling at their online shop for so long. I loved the kitchen products and home decor, but these accessories popped out most of all. I love the simplicity of everything, especially the light leather fabric used to make those necklaces. Good thing the shop is so close to Union Station. I’ll be back for more!