I have a new guilty pleasure: the almond milk latte — dubbed “The Norma” — at Bricks & Scones cafe in Larchmont Village. I love lattes, but generally try to avoid dairy. Soy lattes are a dime a dozen, but my system’s not so partial to soy, either. Hence, almond milk is a kind of Holy Grail, one that until now I’ve not stumbled upon as a mixer in the world of designer espresso. The beans at Bricks & Scones are from Intelligentsia, and the mix with the naturally sweet almond foam is utterly addictive. I don’t know who Norma is, but she’s got great taste in coffee. Check out my blog about Bricks & Scones on the Diary of the Purple Passport .

As a teenager growing up in Orange County, I knew how to get to two and only two places in L.A.: the Third Street Promenade and La Cienega Boulevard. On the rare occasions that my friends and I escaped the ‘burbs, these were the two places we journeyed to in order to — in our minds — blend in with urban cool. Third Street Promenade had packs of teenagers and quirky street performers, but La Cienega claimed the shopping mecca the Beverly Center, with its outpost of the Hard Rock Cafe. Years later, I now realize how tragically unhip we were to flock to these malls and pseudo-malls. And, of course, my palate has outgrown the likes of the Hard Rock Cafe. In those days, we drove right past what made La Cienega authentically cool — the venerable fine dining establishments of “Restaurant Row” — in our quest for burgers and fries and a taste of rock celebrity. Today, La Cienega beckons a new generation of hip seekers, with the arrival of new restaurants, bars, hotels, and design and fashion boutiques. Read about what’s opened within the past year on La Cienega in my little article for the Los Angeles Times.

My article about the ‘Hel-Mel‘ neighborhood — an enclave at the intersection of Heliotrope and Melrose near LA City College — appeared in the LA Times today. It was fun writing about this little ‘hood because, as someone who’s taught for nearly a decade at LACC, I watched it grow before my eyes. For several years, I even lived within walking distance of the district and would sometimes pop into Rincon Chileno for empanadas and rent a movie at now-defunct Mondo Video. I could see the funky potential of the neighborhood back then, even before it became an urban cycling mecca and foodie enclave. In fact, when the Pak Am office supply went out of business and its storefront was renovated, my friend Michele and I cased the joint, trying to think of a good business to start in its place. We toyed with the idea of creating a kind of communal office space for freelance artists. Shortly thereafter, the Bicycle Kitchen arrived, and then Scoops, and the huge Pak Am space was divvied up into smaller storefronts now housing Jenette Bras and an art gallery, among other service shops and retailers. It’s a pity, I guess, that I didn’t follow my instincts and become a part of the Hel Mel zeitgeist. But I love what it’s become and felt like no one could have written this little article better!