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8 Cool Microneighborhoods You Should Explore - R. Agrotis Travel LTD
These neighborhoods within neighborhoods are the paragon of cool. These are the hearts of already established hot spots of fashion, culture and design. If you need to experience the gist of what’s happening these are the locations to spend a day in. Los Angeles: Fairfax Avenue For more than half a century, Fairfax Avenue was L.A.’s borscht belt, dominated by Jewish delis, bakeries, and tchotchke shops—until 2004, when the New York City cult streetwear brand Supreme [1] stepped onto the scene. Now the stretch between Waring and Oakwood avenues—thick with art galleries, cafés, sneaker shops, and buzzy restaurants—defines L.A.’s downtown vibe. “Fairfax in the 2000s started with indie art and the skater scene, and everyone else followed—like Venice in the seventies,” says John Terzian, president, co-owner, and cofounder of the h.wood Group, which runs celebrity hot spots like Nice Guy and Bootsy Bellows. The combination of old and new—septuagenarian locals mixing with teenage skate rats and tattooed sous chefs—lends the area an of-the-moment appeal. WHAT TO SEE Cinefamily Courtesy of Lucey Stepp. Cinefamily [2], originally a silent theater, now plays talkies but retains its reputation for showing avant-garde, obscure, and downright weird films. A few blocks south is the sleek, ultrahip Known Gallery [3], which deftly mixes art (contemporary works from the likes of Dennis Morris and Bom.K) and commerce (pop-up retail concepts for brands including Alife and Incase x Kelly Slater). Just up the street is Popular Demand [4], which opened last year and garnered streetwear-label attention for its oversize audio-visual installation, including a 12-foot-square drop-down screen with full surround sound. Popular Demand Courtesy of The Brandman Agency. WHERE TO SHOP Chef-Owner Michael Cimarusti of Cape Seafood and Provisions. Courtesy of Wagstaff Worldwide. Check out the understated masculine jewelry at FourTwoFour [5]—Wiz Khalifa is known to rock its chains—then watch (or join) sneakerheads and streetwear fiends camping outside Supreme any night before a hyped product is about to drop. If you want to go the gourmand route, head to Cape Seafood and Provisions [6], slated to open in early December, from two-Michelin-starred chef Michael Cimarusti, where you can pick up not only fresh fish and seafood but also prepared sauces, alder-smoked salmon, and packaged goods from Cimarusti’s restaurant, Connie & Ted’s. WHERE TO EAT Left: The exterior of the deli. Right: Hand-cut pastrami sandwich. Courtesy of Canter’s. Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo defined carnivorous cool on Fairfax back in 2008 with the meat-obsessed Animal [7]; last April, the pair opened Jon & Vinny’s [8] Italian diner and pizzeria across the street, which quickly landed on Bon Appetit‘s Best New Restaurants in America list for its house-made pastas and elevated staples like six-hour Bolognese polenta. A short walk south is Plan Check [9], which draws a lively crowd thanks to casual-contemporary American fare like southern-fried Jidori chicken. Don’t miss Canter’s Deli[10], a temple to pastrami since 1931 and one of the few 24-hour eateries in L.A. Knowing veteran party promoter Jordan Buky used to be the only way into his secretive, celeb-filled“no-name” club [11] (it’s up the block from Jon & Vinny’s) for cocktails and fried chicken, but you can now e-mail fairfax432@gmail.com for a reservation. Plan Check Dylan + Jeni/Courtesy of Plan Check. Chicago: East Fulton Market This West Loop meatpacking district still sees a flurry of forklift traffic on weekday mornings, but upscale eateries now outnumber cold-storage facilities along the new “Restaurant Row” on W. Randolph Street. And there’s more than just food: The city’s cognoscenti lounge at Soho House’s members-only rooftop, Google moved its Chicago headquarters here (an Ace Hotel is on the way), and upscale retail has followed the foodie boom. “We’re surrounded by great food, markets, cocktail lounges, parks, and galleries,” says Greg Laketek of West Loop Salumi [1], the state’s only USDA-certified salumeria. “There’s rarely any reason to leave the area.” West Loop Salumi © 2013 Galdones Photography. Courtesy of West Loop Salumi. WHERE TO DRINK The Office, located below the Aviary. Facebook Grant Achatz’s Aviary [2] is the most exclusive bar in town—unless you manage to get into the 14-seat speakeasy in its basement, the Office. If you do score an “invitation” (tip: ask your server at the Aviary if there’s room downstairs), expect serious cocktail artistry—and a wax-sealed bill that you’ll want to split with friends. A short walk southeast brings you to The Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet [3], with 24 wines on tap, including several exclusive blends. One block over is Lone Wolf [4], a standout even in this craft-beer-crazed town, with a well-edited selection of bottled and draft offerings. WHERE TO EAT Tête Charcuterie Courtesy of location. The neighborhood’s meatpacking roots survive at Tête Charcuterie [5], with chefs Thomas Rice and Kurt Guzowski’s adventurous sausages and cured meats (but don’t sleep on the vegetable cocotte). Four blocks away is the Brazilian-inflected La Sirena Clandestina [6], which serves up empanadas, grilled head-on prawns with charred-serrano salsa, and the best kale salad in town. The inventive, Asian-influenced tasting menu at Moto [7], a restaurant-laboratory from the late Iron Chef America contestant Homaro Cantu, is served as 5-, 9-, or 18-course “experiences.” The kale salad from La Sirena Clandestina. Courtesy of Wagstaff Worldwide. WHERE TO SHOP BLVDier Alex Maier/Courtesy of BLVDier. You’ll have BLVDier [8] to yourself during a fitting for a new custom suit, so enjoy a whiskey while selecting the finest fabrics from Biella, Italy. Stop in to Billy Reid [9], which opened this fall, for an updated take on classic American menswear, and try Morlen Sinoway Atelier [10]for contemporary furniture, rugs, lighting, and objets d’art. Miami: NW 2nd Avenue Across Biscayne Bay from the tourist playground of Miami Beach and just south of the Design District lies the Wynwood Arts District—a former Puerto Rican enclave whose factories and warehouses have been colonized by creative types. “This is where we wanted to be: a growing neighborhood that harbors artists and creative minds,” says chef Bradley Kilgore, who chose Wynwood for his first solo restaurant, the progressive-American Alter[1], after running Jean-Georges […]