Hand me that bottle, fella

Many people are unaware of this - and when you think about it, it does seem counterintuitive (home of Skid Row and all that) - but the fact of the matter is that downtown LA has very few liquor stores - only four that I'm aware of. Sure you can buy wine and beer all over, but a bottle of Johnnie Walker? that's tough. With the exception of the liquor section in the Rite Aide drugstore on Broadway, they also close damn early - at 6 PM.

This particular store is even more of an oddity; besides being almost hidden in the Grand Central Market at Broadway and 3rd, it has almost no floor space, and the liquor bottles (and clerk) are literally climbing the walls.

Farmlab's art garden

The other day we posted an image of Nick's Cafe. Well, if you do stop in there for breakfast or lunch, after you break your fast you might want to cruise on up Spring Street just a bit further, where it becomes a bridge over the LA River. Just under the beginning of the bridge is another hidden LA gem, Lauren Bon's Farmlab art gallery/performance space. In the area literally under the bridge, where one usually finds the odd discarded tires and whatnots is an art garden, in an Oriental theme, featuring sculpture and neon.


Farmlab's address is 1745 N Spring St, Unit 4, and their phone is 323 226-1158.

As always, click on the image for a bigger version.