When I just moved to Los Angeles a year and a half ago, I thought that I really want to get to know the city. Instead of locking myself up in studio working nonstop on architectural projects, I wanted to meet the town which was bound to become my home. Every time I visited some new place, I would quickly write down my experience in my Moleskin sketchbook. Now has finally come the time where I decided to summarize my explorations and share where I have been so far.
In every post of PS on LA, I will describe 3-5 places which somehow became memorable to me. This first time I will begin with Evoke yoga studio, Tatsu ramen on Melrose, Zinc cafe and market, and Verve coffee.
I discovered this place around two weeks ago, and I can guarantee that this hot yoga studio will provide you with one of the best workouts you could find. Evoke offers different classes, both heated and non-heated, and the ones I typically go for are Flow 2 and Sculpt. The temperature in the room is maintained at around 95-99 F, and it is highly encouraged that you rent or buy towels because everyone sweats really intensely during the class. These workouts are perfect fit for both yoga fans (Flow 2 class would be your go to) and athletes interested in core strength and body building (Sculpt engages all of your muscles, you would do things like burpee jumps, exercises with light weights, sit ups, abs, etc). For the first two weeks, I paid 25 dollars, and you go as much as you want. I can tell you I go there every other day because the workouts are literally the best. Definitely worth trying. The only advice I would give is to start out carefully – the rooms are very heated and the workouts are very hard, so give yourself some time to adjust first.
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| The door into the yoga wonderland |
2. TATSU RAMEN
This small ramen place located on Melrose proved to us the proximity of celebrities to real life people in the city of Los Angeles. Last spring, as we all were sitting at the table and enjoying ramen submerged in hot broth, the entire Beckham family entered and joined the line to get some noodles. David Beckham was wearing a low cap, and I didn't even realize at first who is standing five meters away from our table until I heard all of my friends excitedly whispering. I've probably never met any famous person so randomly and in such unpredictable place, so Tatsu definitely registered in my mind.
Overall, I can't say that I am a fan of the food at Tatsu. Both times I was there, I would get chicken broth with regular ramen noodles, but the broth is super heavy and thick, not to my taste. Next time I might try something else because it wasn't the best pick for me. Also, the place is small and gets crowded easily on weekend nights, so it's better to come in for some ramen on the weekdays.
3. ZINC CAFE & MARKET
I have been here only once so far but already fell deeply in love with Zinc. Good thing it is located in the Arts District, not too far from USC. First of all the exciting news – it is vegetarian! I'm not a vegetarian myself, although I'm really close to the vegetarian lifestyle. I have already eliminated meats and poultry from my ration leaving only seafood on occasions (all The China Study influence on me – I might write a blog about this research sometime). Second good thing – although it's vegetarian, the menu is really big! They have pizzas, pastas, salads, burgers, and everything on the menu seems super delicious.
When we came for dinner, I ordered Thai salad with braised tofu and brown rice while Radhika had Heirloom tomatoes with burrata. Thai salad turned out to be a little spicy, but both were really tasty, so I highly recommend salads at Zinc. Radhika was telling me, however, that the other time she tried the Cauliflower pizza, and it had somewhat a bland taste. Maybe avoid ordering this one.
The interior seems really cozy, Zinc also has an outside seating in a small garden lit up by comforting string lights. The interior space is divided into the cafe area and market zone, so checking out Zinc market is next on my list. If you are a vegetarian or love vegetables, I highly recommend visiting Zinc.
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| Happy Radhika (a.k.a excited vegetarian) |
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| Thai salad and Heirloom tomatoes with burrata |
4. VERVE COFFEE
One of my absolutely favorite coffeeshops in Downtown LA. Looking for a perfect place to study away from campus? Here you come. Verve welcomes you with the walls of greenery, minimalistic industrialized design, and the best chai tea latte you could have asked for. One of the things I love about this place is the big wooden table in the middle of the coffeeshop which allows room for all of your notes and a laptop. I just feel like a lot of coffeeshops are not convenient for studying due to this lack of space, but at Verve, if you are early enough, this table almost guarantees you are going to be productive.
I'm not a coffee person, but my friends who tried coffee here say it tastes really good. I usually go for chai tea latte, which has just the right amount of spices and not too sweet. One thing to know is that the food choice is not too vast here, it mostly comes down to snacks like pastries, yogurt parfait, or quinoa salad.
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| Oolong tea and mocha with whipped cream |
