Off the Beaten Path: Coffee Shops February

Los Angeles had a whopping .03 inches of rain in February. That's right, not even a half inch for the entire month!   Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, I visited a coffee stand in Griffith Park and walked across the border to Tijuana and found a really nice coffee house there.

Enjoying the sun in Mexico

 

Nice little find

Tierra Mia Coffee

5528 Monte Vista Street

Los Angeles, CA 90042

Quaint coffee house in Highland Park that makes a very good Mexican mocha.  It is in the middle of a residential neighborhood with a small Mexican restaurant next door that has good Yelp reviews. An off the beaten path little gem.

 

Only in no rain
The Trails Cafe

2333 Fern Dell Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90068

It is hard to beat the location being in the center of Griffith Park. You are surrounded by trees, across the street from the trail to the Griffith Park Observatory. While called a cafe, there is no indoor seating. It is really more of a stand with a few  sandwich items and snacks, and lots of coffee choices. Perfect for a caffeine pick me up before or after a hike.

 

International stop
D'Volada

Calle Ignacio Zaragoza 1692

Zona Centro

20000 Tijuana, B. C.

Mexico

American-style coffee shop with good coffee, pastries, and smoothies. It is a nice respite  from the hustle and bustle  of the tourist area of Avenida Revolucion. Interesting chairs, some small some big and plushy, with outdoor seating for taking a load off and people watching. I had a delicious Mexican Mocha (in Mexico).

 

Dragons, Bruce Lee, and Red Lanterns, exploring Chinatown

The heart of Los Angeles' Chinatown is packed with restaurants, stores and art galleries in a two-block square area.

From the Chinatown architecture-inspired Gold Line station walk one block west on College Street to North Broadway. The Dragons Gate is a long three blocks south on Broadway. If its daytime there are a number of Chinese shops and mini malls to wander through along the way.

  

The heart of Chinatown lies to the north between College and Bernard Street and Hill and Broadway. As you head north on Broadway make sure you look to your right between the buildings that make up Blossom Plaza for the rows of red lanterns strung between the buildings. They are beautifully illuminated at night.

Halfway up the block will be a stoplight and crosswalk that leads to Chinatown Central Plaza. Here you'll find souvenir shops, herbal stores, a jazz club, bakeries, the Bruce Lee statue, Chinese-style buildings and other interesting things to see.

Most of the Chinese restaurants are outside the plaza on Hill or Broadway. We ate at Full Moon House which I am happy to say states no MSG on their menu. Our dinner of honey walnut shrimp and seafood fried rice was delicious.

General Lee's in the plaza is an interesting two-story craft bar with a wooden interior giving it an old school Far East feel. For Chinese New Year they had a tasty Year of the Dog drink.

Across Hill is Chung King Court and Road. Painted on the side of the Foochow Restaurant on the corner is a note about how they were a filming location for the movie Rush Hour. The buildings and signs surrounding the court and road seemed a bit more run down than the central plaza across the street. However the businesses in the old storefronts are now primarily art galleries, studios and design companies. It was a very interesting contrast between the old and new. Most of the art galleries are open from noon to 5 p.m. during the later part of the week and weekends.

Central Plaza architecture

One of the last places to close for the evening that is not alcohol related is Lollicup, a boba tea, ice cream, late-night snack type of place. It closes at 11:00 PM. I thought the ice cream was good and found the seating area with its number of mismatched adornments interesting.

Important note 1:  Keep in mind that most of the stores in Chinatown close by 6 or 7 except during special events like Chinese New Year, so go early if you want to shop.

Important note 2: The Gold Line and Uber make it very easy and inexpensive to reach Chinatown if you don't want drive and hunt for parking. The Gold Line station makes for a great starting point for your excursion.