Bay Cities

Jeff Cerciello (former Thomas Keller culinary director) perfects the bakery-cum-larder-cum-restaurant concept in this sunny space with all-day dining at rustic communal tables, including a wonderful family-style dinner with a market-driven menu. Ingredients here are top-notch, and Cerciello knows what to do with them, keeping the food exciting and tasty without over-complicating. The Roast Jidori Chicken is a standout, along with any of the fresh seafood or excellent produce-based dishes. There's an attached mini-grocery store with an excellent cheese selection, pastries, and prepared salads and sandwiches.

Local, sustainable, and fresh ingredients are the focus at this rustic-meets-modern spot. The roasted salmon is particularly excellent, though there are very few misses on Forage's constantly changing chalkboard menu.

Housed on a residential street in Culver City, Jackson Market has a grocery section (lots of gourmet candy, drinks, and snacks) in addition to a lengthy lunch menu. While the Jamaican Jerk sandwich had a nice kick to it and the Rueben has the perfect brisket-to-sauerkraut ratio (best enjoyed right away as the dressing makes the bread soggy), the classic Italian sub is a definite fan favorite, particularly when you take the build-your-own option and opt for a turkey-and-pesto sandwich.

While it’s billed as a wine and cheese shop—and they do in fact put together an excellent cheese board—it’s the sandwich counter that’s the real draw. At only seven items long, and with the option to order by the half, you can easily sample the entire menu in a few visits—and if you need a good place to start, we always go for #1 (the freshest mozzarella, basil, and tomato situation) or the #3 (Italian salami and manchego cheese smothered in sundried tomato sauce) on fresh-baked baguette, though the ciabatta has a loyal following as well.

Being that it’s a butcher shop first and foremost, ACA is very serious about their meat-centric menu. The hot sandwiches—BBQ pulled pork, roasted turkey club, lemongrass flank steak banh mi with fried egg, and house-smoked pastrami—can be eaten at one of the few tables on-site or taken to-go. The Italian salumi travels particularly well.

Sister bakery/deli/café to the much-adored restaurant Gjelina, Gjusta literally does a little bit of everything. They also smoke their own fish, which means the cured and smoked mackerel, salmon, and trout—served open-face on fresh-baked bread or bialy—taste amazing. At the other end of the spectrum is the chicken parm: light, cheesy, and addictive. Order at the counter for takeaway or to eat here; we love tucking into plates of fresher-than-fresh California bountry at the scattered outdoor tables.

Clementine is a go-to for light, fresh breakfasts, salads, and a solid heat-at-home selection—but their build-your-own grilled cheese is actually one of their best offerings. For the last 15 years, grilled cheese month (April), has been marked by a grilled cheese-specific menu centered on a specific theme, like “Curds Against Humanity” and “Melt the Vote.” Execution? Buttery, goo-ey, salty, and browned to perfection. The first outpost is located in Century City.

Built in 1917, restored in the '90s, and then revamped in the past few years, this downtown market—which has operated continually for the past century—still maintains its original façade in the Homer Laughlin Building. Nowadays, you'll find specialty shops like DTLA Cheese, along with small food joints serving up Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese food, ideal for the downtown office crowd and tourists alike.

With lines out the door by 10am, this is one of those spots where parents with early risers win: We go for the quinoa, veggie, and egg bowls, while our kiddos are bigger fans of the homemade doughnuts, scrambled eggs, mini English muffins, and grilled cheese. You can eat in (the tables turn over quickly) or take your turkey meatballs to go.

A coffee bar with pastries, a counter for prepared salads and sandwiches to go (or linger over), and a mini-grocery's worth of delicious cheeses, wines, snacks, and frozen treats. Though there are a million tables, they're generally always full; and parking in the area is scarce. That said, it's great for a mid-week breakfast or lunch. (There is also a Joan's in Studio City.)

At the beginning, this mother and son duo were just making meals for a few friends. Then it turned into a full-fledged catering company. Now, there's also a café and marketplace, which serves delicious breakfast and lunch fare, with a focus on fresh, organic ingredients. The salads are delicious and varied while the sandwiches range from an artisan grilled cheese to the Austrian-inspired chicken wiener schnitzel. The lunch boxes and DIY picnic baskets are pretty brilliant.

While many grab a seat at one of the tables to linger over eggs and cappucinos, we like this place best for its takeout. Fridges and freezers—loaded with pre-made soups and crowd-pleasing lasagnas—line the shop, and they also do take-out catering with minimal on-site prep. If you want a real sit-down affair, try their other spot, Local Kitchen + Wine Bar.

It can be hard to get really excited about vegetarian food (that can easily go vegan), but Kitchen Mouse makes it wildly appealing—both in the form of their cafe and catering (they do a brisk business in both). They're also nut- and soy-free. Must orders: Crispy Gomasio Rice Cakes and the breakfast sandwich.

Dinette is a sidewalk eatery by Café Stella owner, Gareth Kantner. There's a walk-up window and tiny interior showcasing Dinette's pastry treats. Also on the (changing) menu: heartier options like smoked salmon toast, Kobe beef burger, ricotta frittata, skirt steak with chimichurri, and an all-day breakfast pizza. And of course, coffee. You can take your food to go, or find a spot at one of the small tables outside the café.

Culver City’s food scene is exploding right now, and one of the best additions is understandably Picnic LA. The menu is divided into entrees (meatballs, chicken leg tangine, salmon, etc.) and sides (green salads, potato salad, and all kinds of other vegetables) that can be mixed and matched into a full meal. Everything’s pre-made, so getting in and out quickly is surprisingly fast, and it all packs up easily if you actually want to have a picnic. If that’s the case, don’t miss their desserts, like key lime pie squares or dark chocolate pot de crème.

Located in the old Nabisco building just north of the Meatpacking District, you’ll find a warren-like maze of restaurants and specialty shops. There are many hits, but we like Los Tacos No.1 for authentic Mexican and, if cooking a special meal at home is an option, we’d pick up our bread at Amy’s, fresh groceries at the Manhattan Fruit Market, and crustaceans at Lobster Place (they also do great pre-made rolls). You'll also find Bowery Kitchen Supply and Posman Books, where the offerings are more suitcase-appropriate.

This is kind of foodie nirvana, care of Mario Batali. Essentially Costco-sized, this Italian gourmet grocery store stocks aisle after aisle of the best artisanal ingredients, including truly fantastic fresh pasta. Throughout the space (which also includes cookware), you’ll find plenty of places to sit down and eat. While there are several gussied-up Batali restaurants upstairs, including a rooftop birreria, we find the best way to experience Eataly it is to grab a seat at one of the many bar-size specialty eateries scattered across the main shop floor. Understandably, they offer an excellent array of gelato.

This new development in the formerly sleepy and overlooked West 40s gathers some of the city’s top food purveyors like Blue Bottle Coffee, Jeni’s Ice Cream, and Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop, under one roof, with a stand and bar-seating at each. It’s worth trekking to this desolate part of town purely for Chef Seamus Mullen’s tapas concept, El Colmado.

We’re big fans of this sustainability-first spot, which is growing like crazy. The focus is on local farmers, proper sourcing, and environmental respect, which is also reflected in the hands-down delicious food. Besides the build-your-own salad bar, the bowl-centric dishes range from Mexican-inspired salads to basic cobbs—and in the true spirit of transparency, they reveal calorie content, too. Come lunchtime, the lines extend around the block.

Hearty, meaty sandwiches and Montreal-style deli food (house-smoked meats, poutine, brisket, and more) are served here, deluxe. Make sure to get a pickle on the side and wash it all down with a good glass of wine.

The sandwiches, soups, and salads here are mighty: While the offerings change daily, you can always count on a pretty delicious (and hearty) turkey sandwich, or a chopped salad packed with everything you could ever want. There's also a location in Soho.

This 30,000 square-foot French-style food hall offers a bustling market divided into different “districts" (from a café and an ice cream shop to an ample salad-and-prepared-food spot), as well as multiple restaurants. There’s Le Bar, which as its name suggests is best for a glass of wine and shared plates, and then the gigantic Liberty Bistro, with standard bistro fare and a view of the water.

Co-owned by two brothers from San Francisco—who were dismayed by the dearth of good Mexican spots in NYC—the emphasis here is on the basics: Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and burritos-in-bowls. The ingredients are fresh and local, and the flavorings are equal parts subdued and complex. This spot is popular: There are now 8 in New York City.

Dig Inn’s philosophy is “farm to counter,” which means that they serve sustainably sourced, usually local food in a casual setting and in a price range that makes it a reasonable option for everyday lunch. The salads and the market plates are easy to take back to the office (or home for dinner), and the menu changes with the seasons, so you won't ever be bored with the offerings. There are locations in Morningside Heights, Union Square, Tribeca, and in Midtown on 52nd, Madison, and 55th, in Lower Manhattan on Pine, Liberty, and Broad St., in Nomad, and off Madison Square Park.

This tiny little café on Lexington serves great coffee, alongside a small-but-mighty food menu. While there's no denying how good the schnitzel and breaded chicken sandwiches are, this is an especially great choice for vegetarians. The avocado smash (which is drenched in pumpkin seeds) is fresh-tasting yet totally filling. The tiny space can get a little bit crowded during the lunch hour, so it's best to take your brown bag to go.

Goop HQ will enthusiastically vouch for the fact that Schnippers (the original outpost is conveniently located on the first floor of the New York Times building) has the best chicken fingers in the city. While kids go wild for their fries and milkshakes, it’s a pretty great indulgence if you’re working late and need a convenient sugar bomb. They also have locations in Flatiron, Midtown, and in the Financial District.

This Manhattan mini-chain specializes in healthful, Mediterranean food and is particularly convenient for lunch if you work in the area. Unlike the delis and salad bars you’ll find on every corner, the focus here is on mostly organic, impeccably sourced foods, meaning there's no mystery surrounding the origin or freshness of your salad, sandwich, or soup.

Ask someone with a gluten allergy about the Little Beet, and you're bound to get an earful of praise—the entire, delicious menu is celiac-friendly. Chef Franklin Becker was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when he was in his 20's and devoted the rest of his career to rebuilding his cooking style; the menu is full of light, healthy meals with an emphasis on lean protein and tons of vegetables. The seasonal menu items are always a sure bet, as are the make-your-own-plate options. There are also locations on Park Ave. and at Penn Plaza.

Chloe Coscarelli was fresh out of culinary school when she won an episode of Cupcake Wars with a vegan cupcake recipe: She was the first person to do so on that show or any other televised cooking competition. She’s since opened a casual restaurant in the West Village (followed by others), with an adorable interior (striped wooden floors, colorful tiles, hanging swing) and a little fridge with pre-packaged food. While the menu is focused on smoothies, juices, and great vegan burgers, you can still pick up her famous cupcakes.

Just Salad was an early adopter of the fast casual dining option, and they now have locations in practically every New York neighborhood. While they have some great existing menu options (including a few rotating seasonal choices), the main move here is to create your own salad and have it chopped. The ingredients are always really fresh, as they source them from within 350 miles of the restaurant at New York, New Jersey, and Vermont farms; everything is organic and exclusively non-GMO. Other locations: Flatiron, Fashion District, Financial District (on Broad St., Gold St., and Broadway), 30 Rock, Murray Hill, Chelsea (there's one on 8th Avenue and one on 6th Avenue), World Wide Plaza, Lexington, Park Slope, Downtown, Upper East Side (on 3rd Avenue and also on 1st Avenue), Hudson Square, Downtown Brooklyn, Macy’s Herald Square, Upper West Side, and the Woolworth Building.

The cast of characters at Pennsy is surprisingly star-studded, all things considered. Vegetable lovers, as always, will appreciate the presence of The Little Beet, but the market is also home to The Cinnamon Snail, a brick-and-mortar version of the beloved vegan food truck, which serves the kinds of sandwiches that make veganism much more appealing. Lobster Press is there as well, Marc Forgione's take on a casual seafood spot, where the thing to order is the sandwich for which the cart was named—a hot lobster panini, pressed and served hot. There's something here for carnivores too, at Mario by Mary (a fast-casual Italian collaboration between Mario Batali and Mary Giuliani that promises excellent Italian sandwiches and muffalatas) and butcher Pat LaFrieda's first restaurant (order the filet mignon sandwich or the meatball sub). While that line-up is enough to garner a lot of regulars, La Colombe coffee really cinches the deal.

Union Fare, a newish foodhall smack-dab in the center of Union Square, has a little something for everyone: made-to-order salads, tacos, poké, burgers, pizzas under one roof. Bonus: there’s a coffee bar that serves matcha croissants for a midday pick-me-up.

All of the adorable locations in Brookline, Cambridge (Third Street, Broadway, Main Street), and Charles Street offer the same classic light aesthetic, brightened up by crisp subway tiles and a haphazard collection of Edison bulbs and other industrial light fixtures. Chef Tzurit Or was born in Israel, and regulars rave about her Mediterranean-style fare, like savory tarts and sweet baked goods. She's also incredibly thoughtful when it comes to her ingredients, which she sources locally and humanely.

Bon Me was started by Boston natives Patrick Lynch and Ali Fong, who ran it as a food truck in the early years. Now, their Asian-style cuisine is served at restaurants across the city. The Chipotle-style ordering system asks you to choose between a sandwich, noodle salad, rice bowl, and green salad—then, choose from fillings like tofu, pork, and chicken. Veggies are included no matter what, and it's worth noting that the sandwich is by far the most popular item. These guys are expanding fast, with more than ten food trucks scattered around the city, and locations in Cambridge (Fresh Pond and Kendall Square), Chestnut Hill, and the South End.

Clover actually bills itself as “fast food,” a comparison that’s not totally wrong considering that their average serve time is 3.5 minutes (seriously)—though that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Ayr Muir, the passionate founder behind the food-truck-turned-chain sources all of his produce fresh daily and scrawls the daily-changing menu on a whiteboard each day to reflect what’s been delivered. There are no freezers, and all of the food is prepared directly in front of you, as there’s no back of house whatsoever. While the daily changing menu means you never know what lunch is going to be, you can always expect it to be fresh, veggie-heavy, and flavorful. Clover's growing quickly, with several food trucks roaming constantly and brick-and-mortars in Harvard Square, East Cambridge, and Brookline.

This cheery little spot is right next door to city hall, meaning that it’s within striking distance of countless offices come lunchtime. Founder Kyle actually started the business when his wife, Lydia, was diagnosed with breast cancer and their doctor recommended trying out a “plant-packed” diet for her recovery. There’s a lot going on here—a juice bar with multiple-day meal plans, made-to-order smoothies and lunches, and a cooler stocked with premade meals. Everything is fresh, organic, vegan, and non-GMO; fan favorites include the chia seed pudding and quinoa sliders.

Flour Bakery is best known for their pastries and desserts (owner Joanne Chang famously beat Bobby Flay when he tried to take on her sticky buns in Throwdown), which are more than enough to justify a visit. Less famous but equally good are her lunchtime sandwiches and salads, which can be ordered at the counter and taken to go. Needless to say, the bread on the sandwiches is game-changing—we’re partial to the focaccia—and it’s kind of sinful to leave without taking dessert to-go, also. Locations Downtown, on the South End, and in Cambridge.

This Greek spot has a pretty short menu—they stick to gyros and an excellent Mediterranean salad. The pork loin for the traditional gyro is marinated and stacked on a rotisserie (no horrifying cone in sight), and then sliced on to fresh pita to-order. It’s the kind of place you’ll want to black-book for your next craving. There's a second location Downtown.

Locals love Filter because in a lot of ways it feels like a friend's living room—lived-in, mismatched couches, dim lighting, and good music. And with disco fries, wraps, sandwiches, and veggie options on the menu, it's pretty easy to set up shop for the day with no real need to leave.

From the Mason jar–topped wood tables (huge—so feel free to spread out), to the distressed floors, to the taxidermied deer head on the wall, there’s a distinct rustic flavor to this Logan Square café. Unlike many spots that can easily coast on the quality of their coffee alone, the food offering here—simple, delicious breakfast, toasts, and sandwiches—can also hold its own.

This self-professed “fast-casual” eatery prides itself on giving guests a 100 percent customizable experience. The tech-to-table system allows for lightning-fast service (order from a digital menu board, and then take a wireless tracker to your table), though if traditional waiter service is more your speed, there’s that too. Food-wise, the focus is on healthful, fresh fare, with the menus at both locations brimming with veggie-driven dishes (for the most part, produce is sourced locally) like kale slaw and grilled artichokes, in addition to comfort staples like matzo ball soup and close to a dozen burger variations (the turkey burger is a GP favorite). There's also a location in River North.

Just like the NYC outpost, and the dozen or so locations all over Italy (as well as recent offshoots in Japan, Dubai, and Istanbul)—Eataly Chicago is a foodie wonderland. The sprawling space is packed with imported sauces, beers, sweets, and so much more. There’s even a selection of housewares and books. Stalls offering house-made breads, pastas, and cheeses are scattered throughout—we recommend doing a lap to get the lay of the land first before committing to any one spot. For more formal dining there are several restaurants that are pretty efficient about taking walk-ins. No big surprise, but they have great gelato.

Cold Storage is actually inside the Swift & Sons steakhouse—it’s their take on a seafood bar, with oysters and tons of shellfish. While the seafood tower doesn’t really make the best to-go order, you can get their excellent grilled fish and sandwiches (crab salad on brioche with avocado and lemon, anyone?) packaged up and ready for take-out. Dangerously, the desserts make for great takeout, too.

Situated next door to its sister restaurant, the Publican, PQM offers a full butchery plus sandwiches and old-fashioned breakfasts. In the evenings, it gets converted into a dining room for the Publican's private events.

Despite the name, José Andrés’ fast-casual joint in D.C. (there’s also a location in Philly now) puts all of the focus on vegetables. You’ll pick a base of bulgur, quinoa, rice, or leafy greens, and top it with vegetables and some oomph, like an avocado or a poached egg. The pre-made favorites, like the excellently named “Frida Kale,” or the “Kimchi-wa” bowls, sort of take out the guesswork. There's a second location in Foggy Bottom.

Suzanne Simon and Bettina Stern first started serving their vegetarian tacos at D.C.-area farmers markets, and it wasn’t long before the lines began, even on cold mornings. As expected, their first-ever brick-and-mortar has been wildly popular. The menu changes daily based on what’s fresh, and tacos can be ordered single or in three’s. In response to popular demand, any of them can now be ordered with a fried egg for protein-hounds.

This tiny little spot off Dupont Circle serves hummus the way it’s served in Israel—rather than a side dish, it’s actually the base of the meal. When you order, you’ll receive a bowl of hummus topped with a medley of (typically sautéed) vegetables and/or meats, along with a small green side salad and a warm piece of pita bread. The meals are incredibly filling but never overwhelming.

The three owners of this easy lunch spot are actually cousins whose parents owned a series of traditional Afghan kebab spots in town—SKWR is their modern take on the cooking style they learned form their parents. The classic kebab elements, like seasoned meat and basmati rice, are reminiscent of mom-and-pop spots, but the serving style takes cues from Chipotle. Decide between a bowl, a plate, and a wrap, pick a meat, and top with endless mixtures of spreads and dips.

Taylor Gourmet is the blood, sweat, and tears of two Philadelphia transplants who opened the chain’s first deli after determining there wasn’t a single good Philly-style hoagie spot in all of D.C. Today the chain is many locations strong, making it a lunchtime staple for everyone from college students to President Obama. The salads are perfectly suitable if you’re trying to keep lunchtime healthy, but the real order here is anything on their freshly baked bread (which gets delivered daily). The Italian sandwich and the Philly cheesesteak are obviously excellent, though anything involving their fried chicken cutlets is also worth a try. They're expanding fast, with locations in Dupont Circle, Mount Vernon Triangle, and the H Street Corridor.

Breken Kitchen occupies a stand-alone space with train tracks on one side and highway overpasses on the other—it sounds loud, but it's actually quite cool. Coffee flows freely here, they offer salads and sandwiches, and the brick-lined interior is always filled with light. There are also varied seating options, from couches to café tables, to long community tables.

Think of Garden Bar as the Sweetgreen of Portland. Mix-your-own salads (or choose from a few well-executed menu items) that are mixed and tossed for you on site. The advantage of going local for a quick salad joint? Most of the organic vegetables on order are sourced from Oregon farmers. There are also locations in the Pearl District, Old Town, and Park Square.

Kenny and Zuke’s almost seems out of place in the Pacific Northwest, since they easily meet New York standards for Jewish deli food—if it wasn’t for the hand tie-dyed t-shirts on the staff, you might think you were on the Upper West Side. These guys first became famous for the pastrami, which they make in-house, but they do all of the classics really well, from pickles to bagels to rye bread.

Like so many good casual spots, Kure started out as a food cart—when the lines got out of control, the owners knew it was time to expand into brick-and-mortar. The menu is full of fresh-tasting acai bowls and smoothies, along with a healthy selection of cold-pressed juices and other healthy eats, like oatmeal and matcha (the West End location actually has some heartier lunch options, too, like salads and quinoa bowls). Astonishingly (and awesomely), 90% of the ingredients used in their products are grown or made in Portland. The other locations only have juice, smoothies and açai bowls, but they're in almost every neighborhood:SE Division, Downtown, Hawthorne, and Moda Center.

This restaurant is named for a salumi made from backfat, which is an appropriate name, as the entire menu is really an ode to pork from the meatball banh mi to the pastrami cheeseburger to the french fries (which are made with pork fat). Part of the charm of the place, too, is that it’s such a Portland story: started as a food cart, check, adventurous foodie menu, check, enormous craft beer list, check. There are locations on both sides of the river, in Northeast Portland and Downtown.

Pike Place Market is probably most famous as a fish market—and it has to be acknowledged as a teemingly popular tourist destination—but with more than 80 restaurants and food stands, it’s also the best place in town for lunch to-go. Everyone has their own favorite spot, but the Bavarian Meat Deli (ruebens), Country Dough (Chinese stuffed flatbread), and Oriental Mart (Philipino food) are all great. For a healthier option, Ellenos yogurt offers some of the best Greek-style yogurt we’ve tried. Beecher's handmade cheese, which also has a location in New York, is the city's greatest cheesemonger, too—their tastings and classes make excellent gifts.

Today, it’s not unusual for a restaurant to list the farmers and other local purveyors it sources ingredients from on the menu—though that wasn’t the case fifteen years ago, when Portage Bay Cafe started doing it. Four locations strong, we come here for easy lunches and all of the brunch staples, which they make with eggs from nearby Stirs farms (which, amazingly, includes plenty of actual images of their henhouses on their website). While it’s not technically grab-and-go, you can order takeout ahead and pick it up upon arrival. There are also locations in University, South Lake Union, and Ballard.

Volunteer Park Cafe (so-named because of its location in Capital Hill, just blocks from Volunteer Park) is the definition of a neighborhood joint. Long communal tables, fresh pastries every day, and best of all, chickens in the backyard (don’t worry, they’re just for eggs). There’s a counter at the front for to-go orders and coffee and pastry pickups.

Portland’s Alder Street food carts, which occupy an entire city block of space downtown, are emblematic of the city to the point that they’re one of downtown’s major tourist attractions. Don’t let that deter you, though—plenty of locals like to hang out here, too, and come lunchtime the entire parking lot is buzzing with vendors and customers. The lines themselves are usually the best indicator of where to find the best-tasting dishes, but we recommend Whole Bowl for veggie-centric rice bowls and Nong’s Khao Man Gai, which, as the name suggests, only serves khao man gai.

Historically, vegan, gluten, and dairy-free food can resemble cardboard in both taste and consistency. That's not the case at Seed + Salt. Here, the 100% clean menu is thoughtfully developed to make the most of local ingredients' inherent flavor, which translates to delicious plant-based dishes like the S+S Beet Burger, Quinoa Falafel, and Horchata Chia pudding. And while the light-filled café is great for a casual hang, the takeout menu is a welcome alternative to fast food on busy weeknights.

This gorgeous building right on the Embarcadero houses some of San Francisco's most notable food merchants including Hog Island Oyster Company, Cowgirl Creamery's Artisan Cheese Shop, and Blue Bottle Coffee. It's the ideal place to bum around on rainy day and the outdoor farmers market (they set up on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) is not to be missed.

Sure, it's technically a deli, but that's only because there isn't really a fitting name yet for a quick and easy lunch spot (they're great for dinner and breakfast, too) that does the requisite sandwiches, soups, and salads while adhering to the tenets of the slow food movement. This means that everything on the menu is sustainably and locally sourced, mainly from Sonoma's family-owned Oak Hill Farm. The grilled cheese sandwiches are especially insane.

The name kind of says it all—house-cured meats are the main draw. The minimalist (and mini) space serves as an artisanal grocery store and Italian-themed lunch counter where the food selection, while on the skimpy side, totally hits the spot when a sad store-bought salad won't do. The oversized sandwiches are stuffed with gourmet meats (get the Salumi sandwich to get a good idea of their offering) and organic veggies while the salads are sprinkled with fancy add-ons. Needles to say, the charcuterie boards are the real deal. There's another location in the Mission.

Jane is known for venturing beyond the expected coffee-and-pastry formula and providing locals with wholesome and delicious organic breakfast and lunch. The granola, which they sell in to-go jars, is particularly memorable. Owner Amanda Michael made it a point to make each of the two locations (there's also an outpost in Pacific Heights) as comfy and welcoming as possible, which explains why both are perpetually packed.

Lucca deli has been a family operation since 1929—brother-and-sister pair Paul and Linda Bosco are actually the grandchildren of the original owner. Accordingly, the place has all the trappings of an amazing Italian deli: salami hanging from the ceiling, cheese wheels aging behind the counter, shelves packed with canned and jarred goods, and fresh tortellini and ravioli, which is still made by hand. The Italian sandwiches are a worthy lunch indulgence, with crusty rolls (delivered fresh daily), provolone, fresh-sliced meats, and their secret ingredient, a roasted red pepper spread.

Working Girls is specifically designed for grab-and-go lunch, so it’s exactly the kind of place you can stop into for quick breakfast when you’re running late, or head to for lunch when you just can’t leave the desk (you can order online so the food’s ready when you arrive). The menu is miles-long, so they’ve got whatever you’re in the mood for, from classic sandwiches and paninis to light salads. They’re now three locations strong. There are locations on New Montgomery Street and Mission Street, too.

The concept of Eatsa is to provide the convenience and speed of fast food with the nutrition of the slow food movement. The speed comes from their specially designed ordering system—you’ll order and pay either on your phone ahead of time or on an iPad in store. When you arrive (or in a few minutes if you order on-site) your food is ready to take away with you. They achieve this efficiency in the kitchen by offering a few easy-to-build bowls that you can customize to suit your tastes. The mediterranean salad is great for the carb-conscious, as is the “no worry curry.” There's a second location on Spear Street.

The Golden West is tucked into a small alley in the Financial District, and its takeout-only counter is marked with a neon “Au” sign. The menu is limited to a few items, and while everything from the salads to the daily specials is excellent, they’re really famous for the pork rib sandwich—a messy, sauce-y pile of stewed short ribs topped with caramelized onions and served on a freshly baked roll. If you must be health-conscious, the spicy chicken salad is also great. Photo: Alex Roberts.

While finding a Ruthie’s food truck near your office on a weekday is practically a godsend, knowing that they cater just makes it that much better. They rolled by the goop pop and served their famous grilled cheese heart attack (aptly called The Boss), which comes complete with slices of BBQ brisket tucked inside. Wash this or the mac ’n’ cheese down with their soup shooters on a day when you’re feeling particularly indulgent—it’s worth it.

Snap Kitchen has revolved around grab-and-go meals since 2010, making them one of the older companies in the relatively new healthy-pre-made-meal space. There are convenient pickup locations in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Chicago, but you can also arrange delivery through their app. Snap also offers a 21-day "commit" program, which offers healthy takes on hearty meals like gluten-free beef stroganoff, bison quinoa hash, chicken butternut squash macaroni, and fettucine and vegetable “alfredo.” The cooking style is relatively free from the niche health foods that turn some people off of clean eating, making it an easy transition for health-food rookies.

Chi’lantro BBQ’s most famous dish is their kimchi fries—classic french fries topped with caramelized kimchi and melted cheese that taste as good as they sound. The rest of the menu offers comfort food inspired by Korean BBQ, including a rice bowl, an asian salad, an excellent burger, and more. Cubicle types, take note: Their online ordering system is really easy and streamlined.

Whole Foods is a lunchtime staple no matter where you live, but the flagship Austin location sort of takes everything to the next level. Inside, you’ll find 80,000 square feet of fresh, local, and organic goodness, and a prepared food section that matches. HQ is right upstairs.

The turquoise Georgian Hotel has been a landmark on Ocean Avenue since 1933. Today, it’s been totally reinvented by the developers who did the Ace Hotel and SoHo Warehouse in downtown LA. It retains the property’s historical roots, but feels elevated and modern.

If your kids are on the older side and can entertain themselves, the cocoon-like spa at Casa del Mar is tough to beat, and the candlelit terrace is especially mesmerizing for evening drinks. Guest rooms have a similar vibe to Shutters in that they’re light-soaked and stay-forever comfortable with massive beds and bathrooms the size of bungalows. The hotel started as a palatial beach club back in the roaring ’20s, and there’s an old-world LA charm to the place that makes you want to drink champagne, dress for dinner, and pretend it’s 1929.

Ocean-facing terraces and a courtyard swimming pool make this 70-room boutique hotel—right across the street from the beachside bluffs at Palisades Park—feel like classic Santa Monica. What sets the Oceana apart, though, are its spacious suites, which include living rooms with queen-sized sofa beds, private balconies, workstations, and well-equipped kitchenettes. If you’re going to stay by the beach, Oceana is in a prime location: it’s both a short walk away from the shops on Montana and just removed enough from the chaos of the Promenade. Spa treatments, yoga classes, guided hikes of nearby Temescal Canyon, and surf lessons sweeten the deal.

The concept behind Palihouse (which has locations in West Hollywood and Santa Monica) is genius: Each of the rooms, which range from studios to two-bedrooms, is built for long stays, with a small kitchen and generous living space. So while, like any hotel, you can book them for a few days—the big rooms are especially great for people traveling with kids—they can also be reserved for up to three months. The decor is warm and comfortable, with dark walls, white linens, and mid-century furniture.

Granted, the location isn't the most convenient to the center of the city, but this five-star Ritz has its appeals: For one, it's on the Marina, which is a nice backdrop for sunset drinks; for two, it's close to Venice, and the only nice hotel option south of Santa Monica; and for three, you can generally get really great deals on rooms, despite all the luxe amenities (pool, gym, spa, et al). It's a great option for visiting grandparents, as there's plenty there and in the surrounding area to keep little ones busy.

We heard rumors of designer Kelly Wearstler’s lofty goals for the interiors of the Santa Monica Proper, the new hotel from her and Proper Hospitality, the hotel brand led by Wearstler's developer husband Brad Korzen and his founding partners. But nothing hinted at how stunning it would be. Wearstler has designed a breezy, maritime-inspired space that transports you to a seaside villa the moment you walk in. She outfitted the lobby with elements that speak to the coast (a carved front desk that echoes the shape of a seashell, art backed with sand, flooring that gives a bird’s-eye view of a beach umbrella) and married those with bold, eclectic accents (giant archways in Douglas fir and marble and gorgeous ’70s art) that only Wearstler could pull off. The greatest feat here is the synergy between the hotel's two buildings: One is brand-new and sculptural; the other dates back to the 1920s and boasts a vintage patina with gorgeous original iron-clad windows. The aesthetic of the guest rooms varies depending on the building but are all anchored by gorgeous elements—glossy tiles, giant tufted headboards that look like the sunset, bespoke botanical wallpaper—that make a stay here feel like a literal dream. The rooms are generously sized, and each comes outfitted with a Parachute robe. (And we must say: The rooftop here offers the best view in all of LA.) Best for last, Surya Spa have just opened their flagship inside.

Shutters may look like it was lifted straight out of Cape Cod, but a quick survey of the endless sand out front suggests otherwise. Excessively comfortable, elevated beds may make it harder to get up in the morning, but should you manage to get your running shoes on, an oceanside path stretches for miles in either direction. Bike-rental kiosks dot the beach and there’s obviously welcoming surf just a few steps away—it really don’t get much better. The view, the location, the vibe: It's all great, even if some décor elements, like the bamboo bedposts and the heavy mirrors, don't feel very modern.

WHY WE LOVE IT

Alfalfa turns out really good salads, plus breakfast burritos, bone broth, and gluten-free doughnuts. They serve Intelligentsia coffee and tea from Kilogram, too.

Horseshoe bar, check. Complexion-enhancing lighting, deep-emerald walls, and dark wood, check. House martinis made with bayleaf-infused vodka, plus aged Flannery steaks, and design by the cool kids at folklor? Next-level Venice dining, unlocked. American Beauty is the steakhouse Rose Avenue didn’t realize it needed: All the delicious, nostalgic, good stuff you expect from a meat-forward spot is on the menu, but there’s also a hamachi collar and the ubiquitous crispy Brussels sprouts dish (the restaurateurs responsible know their audience—American Beauty is the brainchild of a trio of Westside restaurateurs responsible for Superba Food + Bread and The Tasting Kitchen, with cochefs Elisha Ben-Haim and Anthony Goodwin). The design thoughtfully preserved elements of the original Venice Ranch Market building but opened up the front (for sipping strong drinks while people-watching) and added outdoor seating. Grab a generously poured $10 glass of wine, choose your sexy steakhouse setting—booth, barstool, bent wood chair, they’re all here—and combat iron deficiency in style (or order the grilled corn and maitake mushrooms instead). In the area before 5 p.m.? Swing by The Window, the restaurant’s takeout arm, which kicked off the hype months before American Beauty’s opening night by serving highly photogenic burgers from a window in the same building.

This Los Angeles classic is still staffed by many of the same people who worked the U-shaped counter when we were kids: It's a stand-by for great reason. The menu is edited, the paper-wrapped burgers are no-frills and excellent, and the pie always comes à la mode.

This big, splashy steakhouse smack in the middle of San Vicente delivers on all the American classics you'd expect (filets, lobster rolls, and the requisite sides, like creamed spinach and mashed potatoes). It's expensive, but fun for groups or cozy date nights.

Bardonna serves brunch all day—the healthy-ish kind, with kale smoothies, pesto poached eggs, and a whole menu of sourdough toasts. During the work week, it’s great for to-go orders; we especially like the chicken grain bowl. If you’d prefer to sit on their sunny patio, try and go before 10 a.m. or after 2 p.m., otherwise it’s a zoo.

Say the name Jeremy Fox and we're there. This brilliant chef, author, and vegetable whisperer has been winning the hearts and palates of goop staffers, Angelenos, and tourists for more than a decade with his inventive, mostly-plant-based dishes at Rustic Canyon. Fox is known for hyperlocal and inventive food. But there's a bit of nostalgia to his cooking, which is what you get at his latest venture, Birdie G's. Named after his daughter (Birdie) and grandmother (Gladys), Birdie G's harks back to Fox's roots with a menu that nods to his heritage (comforting matzo ball soup, noodle kugel, artisan matzo with cultured butter) and to his home state (wood-grilled chicken from a local California ranch, Pacific sand dabs piccata). And because Birdie G's is expansive and light-filled with a stylish bar, it's a spot to come for drinks, dinner, or all of the above.

Owner Duc Pham, who was born in Vietnam but raised in Anaheim, obsesses over every detail in his restaurants, from the Scandinavian-inspired furniture to the wine list to the bread on his banh mi, which is baked fresh daily. At this Santa Monica location, the dining room is limited to one large communal table, which fills the entirety of the small, narrow space; when it’s warm out, there are a few small tables outside that you can snag, too. Anything on the menu with pork belly is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Taking up prime real estate on Abbot Kinney, this beloved NYC spot has finally made it out west. And it's not just East Coast transplants who have been lining up for a table in the beautifully turned-out dining room (there's also an indoor-outdoor terrace that's pretty perfect for people-watching) or a seat at one of two bars; everyone can appreciate the veggie-friendly menu (just brunch, breakfast, and lunch, for now), which includes standbys like avocado toast and breakfast burritos. The teeny but well-stocked retail space out front and the cold-pressed juice cooler are welcome little add-ons.

The pandemic completely upended the traditional restaurant industry, and yet there is something so optimistic and heartwarming about the entrepreneurial pivots we saw coming out of this period. Carla Cafe is one such example. Initially, former tech worker Avi Ahdoot assembled his now-famous chicken aioli sandwiches at home and took orders via Instagram DM. Then, suddenly, LA’s appetite for chicken aioli exploded. Ahdoot hired a small team that now operates Carla Cafe. In the early days, they operated out of the Bootsy Bellows kitchen in West Hollywood and made just one type of sandwich a day. Now, they have a handful of sandwich options and some good chopped salads, which you can grab from the Colony ghost kitchen in West LA.

Capo is a white-tablecloth spot, great for occasions that call for the supremely fancy: truffles, choice filets, and fine wine.

Cassia came on the scene in 2015 as the brainchild of two great culinary couples: Rustic Canyon’s Zoe Nathan and Josh Loeb and Spice Table’s Bryant Ng and Kim Luu-Ng. With a great cocktail program, a somm-selected run of Rieslings, an airy dining room, a legitimately good patio, and buckets of natural light, it’s still one of most pleasant spaces in Santa Monica, especially south of Lincoln. But it’s the warm service and excellent food—an 80/20 blend of Chinese-Singaporean and Vietnamese, with French inflections—that will have you booking a return reservation before you’re out the door. We ordered a generous pile of green papaya salad, chickpea curry with clay oven bread (or lettuce cups, if you’re gluten-free), ultra-tender Hainan chicken confit, and a mushroom satay we’ll be thinking about for a long, long time.

The best part about Chulita isn’t the charming rattan chairs or the vibrant greenery cascading down the walls. Although the color-happy Californian-meets-Oaxacan décor is very easy on the eyes. Nor is it the Mexico City–style tacos done on hand-pressed purple corn tortillas. Though those are pretty epic, too. It’s the fact that it’s one of the few places tucked away on Rose Avenue—and in the greater Venice area, for that matter—where you can walk in, grab a couple stools at the bar, and order from an extensive list of top-shelf, artisanal tequilas. It’s a taco spot that moonlights as a damn good mezcal bar. And in Venice—the land of beer and wine—those liquor licenses are essentially a luxury currency. Our best advice: Snag a seat on the patio, order the serrano-infused mezcal, and don’t skip the coliflor fundido.

At Cobi’s, the plates and chairs are mismatched, the music is joyously loud, and the food is unbelievably good. Fill your table with papaya salad, pork dumplings, yellow split pea dal, and inventive crudo dishes. Or let it be a surprise and leave the menu in the hands of the chef.

Crimson is a great option for takeout lunch or a healthy, family-friendly weeknight dinner. We love their crowd-pleasing kabob plates, the kale salad (add salmon to beef it up), or a cup of lentil soup with some babaganoush and pita.

Crudo e Nudo is a tiny but exciting restaurant serving sustainable seafood and low-intervention wine. It’s almost entirely outdoor parklet seating, you open and close your tab at the counter, and the menu changes according to what the fisherman caught today. The teensy space also serves as a market and offers a monthly wine-and-tinned-fish membership.

There's something so comforting about a hot bowl of ramen on a cold day, and anytime there's even a hint of rain in Los Angeles, the lines at Little Tokyo's Daikokuya are out the door. What makes the ramen here stand out is the broth, which is cooked with pork bones for hours to achieve its thick, flavorful consistency. The portions are huge, so be prepared to take home leftovers. This location, on Sawtelle, has the same ramen with shorter lines.

Cozied up in an unassuming corner off the Venice Beach boardwalk within earshot of the surf lies the local hangout and unpretentious wine bar Dudley Market. On the menu: locally caught crudo, the freshest sashimi you’ve ever tasted, and shucked oysters so good, they actually do come with a disclaimer: Buy twelve rounds and the thirteenth’s free. The crowd spills onto the street; if you're here just for drinks and the waitlist is looking long, you can buy a bottle of wine inside, grab glasses, and linger at one of the high-tops outside.

This is as low-profile as it goes for strip mall sushi, which says a lot. It's always quiet (besides the elevator jazz in the background that lends a shred of ambiance) and there's never a wait to get a table. Whether you're ordering off the menu or opting for the set omakase at the bar, it's nicely affordable, too, which doesn't translate to lower grade fish. Photo: Benyeh2

Order the Office Burger, complete with bacon, caramelized onions, gruyere, and blue cheese (no substitutions allowed), with a side of sweet potato fries, and one of an encyclopedia's worth of craft beers. There's another location in Culver City.

Chef Evan Funke’s crispy-on-the-outside, pillowy-on-the-inside sfincione (Sicilian focaccia) is justifiably famous around town. And then there are the silky, saucy plates of pasta.

Giorgio's is like a culinary second home in Los Angeles, in no small part because this is still a family operation, and it shows. The service is warm and attentive, and the unfussy and fun vibe is the perfect backdrop for the incredible Northern Italian fare. Go for the octopus carpaccio with deep fried capers, penne langostine, sweet corn agnolotti with truffle butter, and sea bass—and stay for the white truffles, which are imported from Piedmont every fall. While it's not exactly casual, Giorgio's is never uptight, meaning children are always welcome at the table.

The spot for late-night snacks like house-made flatbread and beetroot hummus, garlicky mushrooms and lamb kofta—Gran Blanco is the trendier (and aptly named) nighttime counterpart to owners Sam Trude and Sam Cooper’s Aussie-chic café Great White Australian for Gran Blanco) located directly across the street. Huddled under the Venice sign, the super vibe-y open-air space has a decidedly beach-lounge feel, with mood lighting, couches and wooden stumps for kicking back, an extensive vinyl collection curated by the owners, and the kind of stiff tiki-bar cocktails that’ll instantly tip you into vacation mode...if only for a night.

It’s been several years, but Gjelina—a restaurant that ushered in a new sort of veggie-centric California cuisine—is as mobbed as ever. The crowds make a lot of sense: Everything is always excellent, from the vegetable sides to the whisper-thin jalapeño and smoked mozzarella pizza. Come when it opens so you can snag a table on the patio out back. (If the lines are too long, grab something to go at GTA, its takeaway spot next door.)

Chilean chef Juan Ferreiro intuits exactly what we want to eat: California-style comfort food—healthy with a dash of indulgence.

Where East meets West. And by that we mean that its central location—right off the 405—makes it an excellent meeting point for friends from opposite sides of town. It’s also where sushi purists and California Roll enthusiasts can dine at the same table. There’s an extensive menu of cooked dishes, along with the whimsically-named rolls like Green Dragon.

At Jon & Vinny’s in Brentwood, the hysteria-level popularity is entirely justified, mainly because every dish is mind-blowingly wonderful. The pizza is chewy and blistered and cheesy. The handmade plates of pasta are luscious and hearty and addictive (the cavatelli with fennel sausage and the ricotta ravioli top our list). And those little cones of soft-serve are a dose of nostalgia impossible to pass up.

Le Great Outdoor’s story began with no kitchen, no supplies, and no investors. Which is what led them to grill everything—fish, chicken, seasonal veggies—over an open fire. (The charred branzino is unbelievable.) The menu changes according to what’s super-fresh right now; keep in mind that once a dish sells out for the day, it’s gone. Try for reservations earlier in the evening to get your first picks at dinner. Walk-ins are accepted for lunch, when the whole operation skews takeout-friendly.

Little Fatty is Taiwanese spot that shares space—and a drink menu—with Accomplice, the bar next door. Hard to beat: something with mezcal, followed by a dinner of cucumber salad, scallion pancakes, XO noodles, and shrimp and pork wontons. (We also love Little Fatty for takeout.)

The interior is light and airy, with an intimate outdoor porch and two big, long bars: one in front of the sky-high wine rack and the other in front of their blazing pizza oven. The American-style menu is filled with seasonal, California fare: Expect classic pizzas, straightforward pasta, and pared down meat dishes.

At Lunetta, the dining rooms are cozy, and the very Californian menu leans on seasonal ingredients. Settle in for brunch, lunch, or dinner—it’s a great place to hang a while with friends. There’s an option to order family-style, which we love.

It’s billed as a cross between France, Italy, and Morocco, which, granted, is hard to envision. Until you get there. It’s the only place we’ve ever seen bucatini amatriciana on a menu alongside ratatouille with Provençal roasted vegetables, which is next to baba ghanoush with pita and pomegranate. But somehow, impossibly, it all works. Exposed-brick walls, bistro tables, a lively atmosphere, and really flattering lighting obviously don’t hurt. But for the times that you just can’t stomach another avocado toast in this neighborhood, Massilia is just the place.

Luxe ingredients like lobster and caviar, made with a nod to traditional French technique, earned Melisse two Michelin stars. A tasting menu is basically mandatory at a place like this—if you're adventurous go for Chef Josiah Citrin's Carte Blanche menu. It's a great place for a white tablecloth-style event in one of their private rooms, too.

Many would argue that Milo + Olive has some of the best pizza on the West Side, if not all of LA. We have to agree. This is the third restaurant from culinary power couple Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan, and much like Huckleberry and Rustic Canyon, the menu is completely ingredient driven. Breakfast and weekend brunch is devoted to classic egg dishes (a totally decadent creamy polenta with poached eggs wins) and baked treats. For dinner, a pizza-salad-pasta combo is the ideal order for two. They take reservations—or, come early to snag a spot at the bar, which offers uninterrupted views of the open kitchen.

Chef Kris Yenbamroong learned how to cook in Bangkok and in the kitchen of his parents’ long-standing Thai mainstay Talésai. The Venice location is Yenbamroong's third (“sahm” means three in Thai) in LA and is aesthetically very similar to the tropical explosion that is the Silver Lake restaurant (with the addition of a massive fish tank). The communal tables are low-slung and crowded with plastic tablecloths—the perfect, slightly trippy setting to dig into some spicy, flavor-packed Thai street food. We’re partial to pad thai, grilled fatty pork collar, and crab fried rice. The wine list is all organic and biodynamic labels and the beer options vast.

We first fell in love with the food at Parakeet Café last spring, when they catered lunch for goop staff at our wellness summit in Carlsbad. (We were late to discovering them: If you live in San Diego, you already know them for their colorful, vegetable-forward toasts and juices.) Soon after—much to our delight—they opened this space in Brentwood, where they do an incredible brunch, among other things. Everything on the menu is free of seed oils; they use avocado oil, coconut oil, and EVOO. And they have an impressive selection of gluten-free and refined-sugar-free baked goods.

Chef Dave Beran’s upscale French bistro serves classic French dishes— tartare, mille-feuille, filets—worth planning a night around. Especially if you’re getting the duck, which is roasted whole and pressed tableside; it’s an entire meal, and an event, for people who really love duck. Or populate your table with gruyere gougères, beets and goat cheese in citrusy dressing, and any main that comes with potato purée, which is worth going out of your way for. Chef Beran let us in on what makes it so decadent and silky: It’s one part potato to one part butter, with just enough cream to hold it together. Pasjoli is now serving a tasting menu for a dozen guests a night on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Our standing order here? Ding’s Crispy Fried Chicken sandwich, which is delicious and huge and therefore, comes pre-sliced into four only slightly more manageable pieces. The space itself can get packed at night, but totally doable for lunch any day of the week.

The first thing to know about Scopa is that it’s massive. In addition to a sea of cafe tables there are shared banquettes, communal tables, and a stretch bar which is home to an extensive spirit offering (there’s a healthy wine list as well). They even have a private room upstairs, with a peek-a-boo window overlooking the main dining room. We suggest starting with one of the expertly curated Italian cold cut and cheeses plates before diving into the more substantial pastas and mains. The menu is packed with classic Italian dishes (lasagne, whole branzino) which Chef Antonia Lofaso (of Top Chef fame) executes flawlessly. This is also one of the few non-Italian bakery spots in town where you can get a decent cannoli. Plus, unlike many L.A. eateries, this one serves food until midnight on most evenings.

Sunny Blue is a choice spot for handcrafted omusubi, and it’s perfect before hitting the beach. Our favorite onigiri are the hijiki (a mix of seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, green peas, and carrots), shiso ume, and mentaiko (spicy cod roe).

This L.A. outpost of a popular Japanese restaurant is somewhat of a mecca for noodle snobs: Made all the more elusive because Tsujita only serves their artisanal ramens at lunch (come dinner, it’s traditional Japanese fare). Fortunately, they just opened an Annex on the opposite side of Sawtelle, where you can get bowls of Tsukemen-style ramen all day long.

Tucked away on Rose, Wallflower specializes in Southeast Asian and Vietnamese cuisine. Take a seat on the outdoor patio (disclaimer, the seating isn’t exactly comfortable but the ambiance is worth it), and order one of the insanely good craft cocktails.

Accomplice shares a space—and a food menu—with Little Fatty, one of our favorite Taiwanese spots. The bar is pretty packed with diners during dinner hours; if you're coming in for a drink, expect that seats won't start to open up until 9 p.m.

This spot used to be a local dive, and when El Chucho took over, they kept the parts that make a dive bar so cool: a pool table, sports on TV, beer. And then added an impressive shelf of natural wines and DJs spinning vinyl all night. It feels legitimately cool in a way a lot of LA bars don’t achieve.

Esters has long been a good hangout for a glass or two and a cheese board after work. The wine list runs a staggering twenty-eight pages long and is broken down not by region but by taste, which makes landing on a bottle so much easier.

Gin Rummy is not quite a tiki bar, but you can expect to drink something slushy, made with rum, and topped with a pineapple slice. If you need something to soak up the booze, there’s a smallish food menu with coconut shrimp and burgers and fries.

The Little Friend is one of the few spots on the west side where you can hit a good dance floor (its big sister, the Friend, is in Silver Lake).

The pasta at Market Venice is great, and you should book a dinner reservation to dig into a bowl of cheesy, peppery bucatini. But the main event comes after the tables are cleared: The place stays open late as one of the best bars in this part of Venice. Make the last dinner reservation of the night and stay for espresso martinis and people-watching.

Offhand is a chill spot for a glass of wine with a friend—an easy space to relax with a good natural wine list. (By day, the space serves as a coffee house under the name Please Enjoy.)

The back of the Hatchet Hall houses a second, separate bar deemed Old Man Bar—it looks as brooding as you'd expect, but it's also beautiful, and it serves up noteworthy serious cocktails.

Back when Venice Beach Wines popped up on Rose in 2006, it was barely more than a bodega. Now, it’s a built-out wine bar with solid brunch and dinner menus, a great happy hour, and both indoor and sidewalk seating. They also do takeaway charcuterie boards—grab one of those and a bottle of vino, and take off to the beach to catch sunset.

Winston House is the best spot in Venice to catch live music. They showcase emerging artists on Thursday nights (and they have a reputation for booking talent that hits it big later). Their house band plays on Friday nights and their DJs go late. If you snag the last dinner reservation of the night (order duck tacos and fries), you’ll skip the line that forms outside around 10—that’s when the dancing starts.

You asked for healthy takeout; we delivered. Our take on takeout is a menu of hearty bowls, vibrant salads, delicious handhelds, pizza, pasta, rotisserie, and more—all gluten-free and often finished with goop Certified Clean sauces, dressings, and marinades.

Alana’s is one of our favorite coffee shops on the west side. The coffee is really good, and the comfortable back patio is great for chatting with friends on weekends and knocking out some work during the week. It does tend to get crowded mid-morning, but if you don’t mind sharing a picnic table with other guests, it’s not a big deal.

Alfred quickly took over LA's coffee scene a few years back. We like the Melrose Place location best.

With the original '80s logo intact more than 20 years later (there are even old-school pleather chairs and a matching neon sign), walking into The Bigg Chill sort of feels like a time warp. The frozen yogurt stacks up, too, with a wide assortment of flavors and endless toppings. The location is admittedly random, but as anyone who grew up here will gladly tell you, this is the kind of place that's worthy of a drive.

No matter if you're visiting and don't have a fridge to stock: Beyond the fruit and veggie stands, this neighborhood farmers' market offers all sorts of organic prepared foods, like gluten- and dairy-free treats from Coco Bakes, hummus from Mom's, and amazing fresh tamales. There's also a petting zoo for the kids.

Café Bolívar is our favorite establishment on this stretch of Ocean Park. It's been part of the neighborhood since 2002, and we like to think it has the power to transport you back to Santa Monica's erstwhile, laid-back early aughts vibe. Come for the arepas, which never disappoint. Their coffee is great, too—and always organic and fair-trade.

This place serves some of the best coffee on the West Side, including real Northern Italian style espresso, and delicious lattes and cappuccinos with what they call "milk foam art." It can be difficult to find a seat during rush hours, but if you do grab one, it's a lovely place to linger.

We like coming here for a latte and one of their (unreal) gruyere and thyme croissants, plus a sourdough loaf to-go. The heartier, eggy breakfasts and sandwiches are great, too.

This is a distinctly Californian one-stop-shop for fresh and local produce, delicious ready-made food, and all the organic products you could ask for. Plus as the name suggests, members are also owners, making it local and sustainable in every way.

It's easy to miss Deus when driving down Lincoln Boulevard as it looks like a garage—albeit a pretty slick one—rather than a sweet coffee shop. This is fitting, since you can buy a custom-made motorcycle, a leather jacket, and a latte in one fell swoop. Seating is limited, but the outdoor communal table and indoor charmingly lived-in couch, coupled with an awesome soundtrack, get the job done.

If all you’re looking for from Gjusta is a loaf of bread and some pantry goods, skip the line and come here instead. The shop has aisles of fresh bakery goods, cheese and charcuterie, prepared salads and soups, and sandwiches to go, plus a nice selection of beer and wine.

This is a good spot to drop in for good coffee and a decent pastry, including a handful gluten-free and vegan options. While you’re here, grab a bag of beans—they have some great ones, including single-origin and rare varieties.

You can learn everything you need to know about this place from the menu displayed when you walk in: There’s a section devoted entirely to avocado appetizers, another to a fairly extensive offering of bone broth elixirs, kombucha on tap, and adaptogens sprinkled throughout. The comfort food is of the mushroom panini variety—which, at the Hive, means not just sautéed portobello, but also reishi, cordyceps, and maitake with goat cheese, green onion, and white truffle oil (kale chips side optional). Order at the counter and take a seat indoors or outside, or grab and go.

This now-global Japanese chain offers absolutely nothing in the ambiance department—but no bother, as they serve incredible ramen.

Intelligentsia is really the quintessential LA coffee shop. Tables and bar seats are usually available at all the well-designed locations, and there's a smattering of great baked goods, as well as some home goods for sale.

LA has a stellar ice cream scene, and Jeni’s is among the best. If you’re opting dairy-free, go for the lemon bar ice cream. Dairy-full? It’s all about the brown butter almond brittle and the gooey butter cake.

Lady & Larder makes stunning cheese and charcuterie boards, if you happen to have an event coming up. But they also have a fantastic walk-in situation, with a well-curated shop of pantry staples, flowers, and natural wines plus a tight menu of picnic-ready sandwiches, available from noon to 3 p.m. daily. It’s a great place to stop on the way to a dinner party for a hostess gift.

This spot in Santa Monica is always washed with daylight, thanks to wide, floor-to-ceiling windows. Menu-wise, the espresso drinks are excellent, and it's worth trying the lemonade iced coffee (weird concept, but really good). It's a great spot for work if you've got a puppy in tow—the entire space is dog-friendly, and the backyard offers plenty of room for them to stretch out under your table.

The Mar Vista farmers market has excellent produce, great prepared foods, and an especially good energy about it.

In a storefront no larger than a walk-in closet, you'll find tonics for every desire or malady. (We love the turmeric cup, with cayenne pepper, black pepper oil, and oil of oregano, to help us through a cold.) All this cold-pressed goodness doesn't come cheap—the green shake will set you back $14—but it's all delicious and effective. There is a second shop in Silver Lake.

What’s cool about this spot is that it’s set within an auto enthusiast club, so you can peep some neat classic cars as you sip your coffee. It’s also a great spot to get work done.

In a city of great farmers markets, the one in Palisades Village is a standout. There are two big sections for great produce and prepared foods, and it’s never too crowded.

Hands down, Primo Passo makes the best cup of coffee on Montana Avenue.

This natural foods store is old-school and low key in a way we really appreciate, and they have a great deli and a juice bar.

This is nothing more than a simple food stand in the Brentwood Country Mart, but it's insanely good (and for us, steeped in nostalgia). The moist, perfectly-seasoned rotisserie chicken basket comes with plenty of barbecue dipping sauce, and fries that are absolutely worth the shot to the arteries. We've never heard a kid complain about the chicken tender basket, either. Don't be deterred by the lines: They move fast.

We first discovered Rori’s ice cream years ago while exploring Santa Barbara and were understandably pretty psyched when an outpost opened right on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. Rori, the mastermind behind the ice cream, insists on using strictly organic, locally sourced ingredients from neighboring farmers and cream from the famed Strauss Family Creamery. The resulting ice cream is rich and flavorful and comes in seasonal options that range from chocolate coconut to wild-berry chocolate crisp to honey-lavender. Their three-bite mini cones are a brilliant choice if you’re looking to sample multiple flavors without going all out.

This beautiful farmers market practically overlooks the Pacific, offering the best of the area's fruits, veggies, and herbs in the process. The Wednesday market has more vendors than the weekend market, and the crowds are less overwhelming.

Santa Monica Seafood is our go-to fishmonger in LA. There's also a cute little café and bar where you can pull up a chair, have a glass a wine, and dig into some freshly shucked oysters.

The small-batch ice cream business, which cousins Kim and Tyler Malek launched out of a single neighborhood ice cream parlor in Portland, has grown into a family of shops, including several in L.A.—the original is in Larchmont. The focus at Salt & Straw is on inventive flavors: honey lavender, olive oil, pear and blue cheese. But the single-origin vanilla is the best we’ve ever had.

Prettily decorated cakes and baked goods are mainstays here, though we hear the best thing on the menu is actually the tuna fish sandwich. They make their own mayo, and serve it on freshly baked rosemary bread.

It used to be that you had to make a special day trip to Costa Mesa to get your hands on a Sidecar, but now that the new Santa Monica outpost is finally here, dropping by for one of their fried-fresh-on-the-hour doughnuts and a cup of famously smooth coffee has gotten almost dangerously easy. The flavors are broken up into classics (the huckleberry and vanilla twist are goop HQ favorites) and monthly specials like coconut cream pie, peanut butter & banana, and chocolate & rye. And keep an eye out for the gluten-free options, the butter & salt is worth trying even if gluten isn’t an issue.

Burrowed in a cozy nook of the Brentwood Country Mart, the 1,300-square-foot space was designed by the brilliant Roman and Williams who created our dream Brentwood bungalow. In this bungalow, you can shop everything: a gorgeous mudroom-meets-greenhouse; an enviable kitchen decked out with pretty pink mixing bowls, Staub French ovens, and glossy cookbooks; and the clean beauty apothecary, where you can nourish your face in oils and creams, spritz on fragrances, and try all the things on display in the towering vanity mirrors. There’s even a living room, with a dreamy daybed and plush pillows, a stocked bar cart, and a constantly rotating edit of pieces from goop-shop favorites like G. Label by goop, Staud, Victoria Beckham, Janessa Leone, Nancy Newberg, Eriness, and more. But the real MVPs? The staff—a team so warm and welcoming they will soon know you by name.

Though its just two-blocks from the Third Street Promenade, which sucks up a lot of the area's oxygen, this is inarguably one of the most special toy shops in the country. Everything here is made of wood, from the pint-sized grocery store stands (complete with farmers market fruits and veggies) to the rainbow-hued teethers.

This indie glasses designer makes sculptural-looking shades influenced as much by organic shapes as geometry and architecture. If you’re in the market for sunglasses or eyeglasses, AHLEM’s are among the coolest.

Great used bookstores are a rare breed these days, and this one is our favorite in LA. It doubles as a record shop, and it’s a good place to grab gifts, too.

In addition to being one of the longest-standing shops on Abbot Kinney, Bazar is also one of the most special. Owner Tina Wakino keeps the smallish space packed with antique furniture, textiles, and racks of hard-to-find international brands and vintage pieces for both men and women, then she rounds out the assortment with imported apothecary favorites from Santa Maria Novella and Astier de Villatte. Though small, the children’s section holds incredibly adorable options for giftables and accessories that are unlike anything you might find at a traditional toy store.

This 1950s old-time country mart got a renovation and restoration about a decade ago. Besides being home to goop Brentwood, there are a spate of other great boutiques (Jenni Kayne, Turpan, Broken English, adorable kids store Poppy). It also wins huge points with little ones for its interior food court, where you'll find the world's best chicken (Reddi Chick), burgers (Barney's), and tacos (Frida). There's also an old-school candy shop (Edelweiss), an ice cream parlor (Sweet Rose Ice Cream), a bookstore (Diesel), a toy store (Toy Crazy), and a mini carousel. We, however are addicted to the delicious salads and seared salmon at Farmshop. Always buzzing at lunch, the space grows quiet in the early afternoon and is a hidden gem for for a relaxed glass of wine and, in the absence of a friend, your computer for company as you blast through a stuffed inbox.

This is one of those spots that will make you believe that having kids doesn't always require a cacophony of brightly-colored plastic toys: Airy, and sparely stocked, Caro Bambino offers everything you'd want for a clean-lined, modern nursery—and nothing more. There are well-designed cribs, a smattering of wooden toys, and neutral-hued onesies.

Ideally located in the Brentwood Country Mart, this bookstore is the perfect size. Manageable in scope, but packed with classics and must-reads, it's rare to leave with only one book in tow.

At 2,000 square feet, this mini department store is expansive but manageable, and the racks are filled with everyone from Rag & Bone to Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. Don’t miss the shoe and bag selection, which includes the greatest hits from Louboutin and Lanvin.

This airy spot on Lincoln is the perfect trifecta: Part café (with donuts!), part home goods shop, and part florist. The taste level here is spot-on, as it's the sort of place where you might swing by for a latte and emerge with five hostess gifts and a stunning bouquet.

While its unlikely location on a grungy strip of Lincoln Boulevard keep this spot slightly under-the-radar, The General Store always justifies the trip. While it’s set in a big lofty space that could theoretically hold hundreds of items, the impeccably-curated store is an exercise in restraint: You’ll find hand-done ceramics, brass trivets, thread wrapped bows and arrows, and rare, vintage books. The original is actually in San Francisco.

The Gjelina family of restaurants has grown in all directions, now encompassing a grocery store, home goods store, rentable apartment, and flower shop down the street from Gjusta. It’s a beautiful space to pick up arrangements for events, for hostess gifts, or for your kitchen counter.

While many stores on Abbot Kinney quickly come and go, Heist has become a long-standing staple, evolving and expanding with the ever-changing Venice. The large, modern boutique brims with labels both well-loved and still-unknown: You’ll find a huge range of Isabel Marant and Raquel Allegra, along with Newbark, Golden Goose, and Crippen.

This sliver of space on Abbot Kinney has a really healthy selection of all the Scandinavian home goods lines we've all come to love: Iittala glassware, Arne Jacobsen for Stelton water jugs, and Marimekko trays. There's also a small range of clothing, and some cute stuff for kids.

Jacques Marie Mage makes supremely cool sunglasses and eyeglasses, which are handmade in Japan.

Since 1995, Jill Roberts's mini-chainlet of boutiques have been holding strong, offering that specifically LA-buy: Plenty of denim and t-shirts, plus a few stand-out pieces from designers like Ulla Johnson, Agua by Agua Bendita, and Nili Lotan. There are two other LA locations: Beverly Hills and Studio City.

Based in Mar Vista's Mitsuwa Marketplace, the Japanese-based Kinokuniya offers great notebooks, stationery, pens, and gifts. Kids, in particular, go nuts here.

Lost & Found in Hollywood occupies a stretch of adjacent buildings on Yucca Street, which is tucked away above Hollywood Boulevard. It’s there that you'll find one of LA's best shopping destinations. While there are spaces for women and homes, we particularly love the kids' edit, which revolves around feathered headbands, papier-mâché masks, and T-shirts emblazoned with everything from motorcycles to birds. The new outposts in Santa Monica are huge, offering more floor space to men's and women's clothing, along with even more delights for little ones. (Plus, a great edit of home.)

We were pretty thrilled when Love Adorned finally landed on the West Coast last year—after all, its flagship in Nolita (the jewelry companion to the legendary New York City tattoo parlor NY Adorned) is stunningly cool. It's also one of the few stores around that can embody an entire aesthetic, one that is subtly bohemian, gothic, and yet gloriously feminine, too. You'll find stunning, slightly asymmetrical diamond rings from Polly Wales, cool, Natural Park–themed bandannas for kids, and the resin champagne buckets by Tina Frey. The location in Santa Monica is fittingly airy and light and lined with all the jewelry treasures you’d expect along with a smattering of kitchen goods, throw pillows, and beautifully scented candles. There is also a location in Amagansett.

Rick Caruso, the real estate mogul behind the Grove and the Americana, has built, in his signature classic California style, 2019’s answer to the mini mall. It’s contemporary, mostly outdoors (this is LA, after all), and frankly, too beautiful to be called a mall at all. Veronica Beard, Jennifer Meyer Jewelry, and Vince are just a sampling of the thirty-three stores on the property that manages to feel more like a quaint little village than a retail experience. The restaurants deliver, with Porta Via, Sweet Laurel Bakery, and the more casual Edo Little Bites leading the charge.

Situated in the Brentwood Country Mart, the racks at Poppy are exquisitely tasteful, from the mini striped shirts from Petit Bateau to t-shirts stamped with zebras. The pricetags match the taste level, which makes this better for gifts than wardrobe basics.

This brand-new, self-named "tiny toy shoppe" from the owners of nearby Thyme Café and Local Kitchen + Wine Bar is an undeniably adorable addition to Ocean Park. While it's not large, the selection is spot-on, with good birthday options for kids of all ages.

Since 1985, this place has been offering every conceivable genre of vinyl to loyal West LA music lovers. Merchandise is restocked daily, there are stations where you can sample music, and you can trade in or sell your records here, too.

sun moon rain is here to help wash away your single-use plastic guilt, one refillable amber jug of lavender laundry soap at a time. Step into this zero-waste shop, lined with shelves of household goods and beauty products in gleaming glass jugs, and you wonder how you ever let a plastic spray bottle live under your sink. Visit for refills of everything from all-purpose kitchen cleaner to pet shampoo (bring your own containers or choose from a gorgeous selection), plus everyday tools to help reduce your daily consumption: reusable beauty pads and beeswax wraps, bamboo straws, cleaning brushes, reusable vessels galore. Plus, there’s an aromatherapy bar for adding essential oils to your product refills. With everything from vintage jewelry to handblown, one-of-a-kind glass bowls, this is also the place to go for a gift that won’t clutter the earth (or anyone’s home). The female founders behind the company—a pair of fashion industry vets—are continuously improving, making it easier and easier to transition to a low-waste lifestyle with products that smell and look fantastic. The shop also hosts in-store events for the eco-conscious, from candle refilling to Japanese denim mending.

Former lawyer Jeannie Lee opened Satine on Third Street when it was just getting established as a shopping destination—and her forward-thinking sensibility and buy was probably what ultimately pushed it over the edge to become one of the city's busiest drags. Not long after, she opened a smaller outpost on Abbot Kinney, with an edit that matches the neighborhood's clientele. You'll still find classics (Preen, Rochas) and progressives (Prism, The Odells) artfully mixed together.

Known for modern and beautiful letterpress stationery, Sugar Paper also does great holiday cards, wedding invitations, and monogramming. The tiny shop (in the Brentwood Country Mart) also offers cards and paper goods from Rifle Paper Co., Kate Spade, and more—and they can wrap any gift (just bring a box) while you wander the mart.

Taku and Keiko Shinomoto, the owners and curators of this much-loved shop, urge customers to slow down (like the animal the store is named for) and enjoy life’s small pleasures. The focus here is on everyday items, made beautiful, whether it’s gardening shears, beautiful Tenugui cloth napkins, coffee grinders, or sake pitchers.

Everything at this pristine home store in the Brentwood Country Mart is a design classic—past or future. While it's the sort of spot where you duck in for a hostess gift, it's invariably the sort of store where you end up re-thinking your china and splurging on some steak knives too. They also have impeccable stationery, beautiful blankets, and every conceivable size and color of Comme des Garçons pouch. There's also a location in East Hampton.

The limited edition sneaker world is a strange one (long, break of dawn lines, huge markups on eBay), but while Undefeated gets plenty of notable exclusives from brands like Nike, you don't feel like you've stepped into another world when you shop here. Most of the shoes are for men though there's a healthy selection of women's options and the kid collection is pretty adorable, too.

Florist Spencer Falls puts together gorgeous, unexpected arrangements—often leafy and prickly-looking, with uncommon varieties of flowers.

If you're one of those people who believes that the card should be as well-conceived and personal as the gift, this is your mothership. They have all the best lines, along with sweet notepads, journals, and a good selection of pens.

The Westside is proof positive that retailing duo Haro and Sari Sloane Keledjian know a thing or two about creating a store that women want to shop in. After selling the Intermix brand to the Gap back in 2013, they’ve dreamt up a new shopping concept that speaks to busy moms on the go. They’ve opened a series of boutiques, the Westside (for stylish moms) and Everafter (a children’s boutique) side byside in Tribeca, on the Upper East Side, and in Manhasset on Long Island. Their arrival in Brentwood should come as no surprise, located just across the street from the highly-trafficked Brentwood Country Mart. The mix for women is solid—denim by Re/Done, cashmere by Lingua Franca, and easy dresses by LoveShackFancy. Next door, there’s tons for your mini-me: Aviator Nation sweats, Zimmerman separates, and lots of great gifts like pool floats from Sunnylife and furry friends from Jellycat. Photos courtesy of Katie Gibbs.

Just off the Santa Monica pier, Boardwalk Bike Rentals offers rentals on cruisers and mountain bikes by the hour or for under $20 a day, providing a healthy way to see the coast and catch some rays at your own pace. They also rent out tandems and roller blades. Bring ID for your security deposit.

While it will cost you (a lot) to take a tour of the inside of Charles and Ray Eames’ house/studio, it’s pretty incredible to see how warmly this husband and wife team lived, as well as their iconic, modern furniture in situ. While indoor tours range from $275-$400 (depending on group size), it’s only $10 to walk the grounds and see its iconic, Mondrian-esque exterior. Reservations for both are required.

Offering some of the city’s best views, you can spend a good half-day picnicking on the lawn above the central gardens, or wandering around the Richard Meier-designed exterior (construction employed about 1,200,000 square feet of travertine) before you even head inside. The exhibitions are always varied and interesting, the permanent collection is important, and there are excellent hands-on activities for kids. You only pay for parking at the bottom; admittance is otherwise free.

Modeled after a first-century Roman country house, J. Paul Getty originally built the Getty Villa to house an art collection that was quickly outgrowing his house. Now, beyond touring the exquisite home and gardens, you can see his collection of 44,000 antiquities, with treasures that range from 6,500 B.C. to A.D. 400.

There’s always something excellent on display at this UCLA museum—it’s also nicely manageable, making it the perfect way to spend a few idle hours. The adjacent museum store is one of the best in the city: The bookstore is gigantic, and they have some great gifts from L.A.-based designers, but they win the biggest points for their kids room in the back, where you’ll find art and design-specific tomes for little ones, along with a handful of well-conceived toys.

If you’ve got little ones in tow or only an hour or so to stretch your legs, this hike is your ticket: It’s under two and a half miles, and it starts and ends in the stunning Will Rogers State Park (which is also perfect for a picnic).

This beautiful hike is between Santa Monica and Malibu, offering panoramic views of both ocean and city. The first part of the hike is the Los Liones Trail, which is lush, green and not too difficult. If you do the whole hike, which is about 7.3 miles, you'll end up in Topanga State Park. No dogs allowed. Photos: Hikespeak

Set on a cliff overlooking the water, this park spans from just north of San Vicente Boulevard to Colorado Avenue. It's a wonderful place for a light hike or a long walk or bike ride. When you get tired, the lush green grass is there for you to take a rest, underneath the swaying palm trees.

This five-mile round-trip hike offers epic views of the ocean—the trailhead is at Paseo Miramar just off Sunset, making it easy to get to, as well (just park on the street). Then end your trip with gluten-free pancakes at Café Vida.

The Skirball Cultural Center, a Jewish cultural institution that offers everything from exhibits to readings to recitals, is also home to architect Moshe Safdie's Arc, an incredible installation that occupies an 8,000 square foot gallery. Kids can climb aboard the wooden ship and interact with the animals, crafted with everything from rope, to recycled newspaper, to keyboards, and vegetable steamers. Make reservations well in advance.

There’s a seasonal waterfall on this 2.5 to 4.6 mile trail (we like to do the Skullrock extension to get in a bigger workout)—and there’s also stunning water views. It’s a dog-free trail, great for kids, and parking is simple (there’s a lot at the bottom that costs $10). Photos: Hikespeak

In the early 1900s, Abbot Kinney resolved to make a “Venice of America” and decided to turn modern-day Venice into a system of canals. While many of the waterways have been filled in during the intervening years, a small patch remains—though they had fallen into disrepair, they were restored in the ’90s and are now lined with some of Venice’s fanciest homes. It’s a totally random yet awesome enclave, and worth a stroll on a nice day.

Afternoons at the skate park are a thing, and no half-pipes are more iconic than the ones on Venice beach, the birthplace of LA skater culture. Kids are welcomed by the older, experienced crowd and the combination of the cooling breeze and the mesmerizingly good skating makes it appealing to every member of the family.

Nestled at the base of the Santa Monica mountains, this 186-acre state park boasts horse stables, a polo field, and a riding ring, along with a host of trails that feed into other state park systems. Whether you come for a riding lesson or a trail ride, or just want to throw down a blanket and have a picnic while a polo game unfolds, it’s a pretty idyllic place to spend the day. Tours of Will Rogers’ homestead are also available.

The space is an eco-haven, designed with renewable, sustainable flourishes (the walls are made of cork, seagrass, and recycled wood)—and the facials are healing, pampering, and just: beyond. The Custom Superfood Facial floods skin with nutrients from tamarind, acai, turmeric, and manuka honey, while the Light “Isun” facial features a miracle trifecta of microcurrent, LED light, and nurturing essential oil blend that thoroughly revives skin. The infrared saunas are each tucked into a cozy private room with a shower—and they aren’t hooked up to Bluetooth, which means the promise of a genuine digital detox, too.

Wagner, who also moonlights as a painter, is chill and wonderful, meaning that an hour spent with her skilled hands is kind of like hanging with a friend. A recovering tanning junkie herself, Wagner is nothing short of a magician when it comes to banishing sun spots and UV damage. Product-wise, the focus here is on holistic and organic ingredients–she uses her own skincare line made with a white turmeric and tiger grass stem cell complex.

Taryn Toomey and her definition-evading "class" have finally made it to Los Angeles. The experience is a self-titled cathartic experience, where you spend 75 minutes engaging in intense movement to “break open and activate ‘stagnant’ layers in the body.” In short you move, and scream, and shake, and yell as you release emotional energy–and get a pretty incredible workout in the process, care of burpees, planks, leg lifts, and squats. There's a fair bit of yoga worked in for good measure. It requires an open mind and a willing spirit.

Dayle Breault (aka The Goddess of Skin) has an obsession with natural skincare that was born out of her own struggles with acne. That said, acne is just one of many skin concerns she tackles: She (apparently) singlehandedly solved Cara Delevingne's issues with psoriasis and her three-part Epicuren mask visibly diminishes sun damage after a single session. Plus, her namesake product line offers the perfect balance between good-for-you ingredients and potency (the Bonafide scrub is a fan favorite). Call or email for an appointment, she sees clients in both NYC and LA.

This Abbot Kinney hideaway offers massages, cupping, muscle testing, ritual baths, and an especially great facial. You can grab a functional latte and light lunch here, too. But perhaps our favorite part is the private hot-cold circuit, where you and a partner can cycle between a cedar sauna and icy plunge pool.

Chiropractor Kevin So is talented at finding the root cause of what's going on with your body—strains, sprains, chronic aches, whatever—and guiding you through a complete treatment path, which usually involves hands-on soft tissue treatment in the office and physical therapy exercises you complete at home. We walk out of his office feeling so much better. And if you commit to the at-home stuff, his treatment plans really work. So is also a delight to chat with—an hour-long appointment flies by. (If you're interested in acupuncture, So's partner, acupuncturist Claudia Baettig, works out of the same space.)

Yoga terminology (Iyengar or hatha, yin or flow) rolls as easily off our tongues as the ABC’s these days, but the trauma-sensitive kind taught by Laura Mckellin was entirely new to us. Mckellin developed her style while working with patients at the Veterans Association in Denver after obtaining a master’s in somatic counseling psychology. Nowadays, in Los Angeles, Mckellin is available for one-on-one somatic healing sessions in the comfort of your own home, or you can join her class at Light on Lotus in Mar Vista.

We're big fans of this Montauk studio, so we were thrilled when it opened a second beach-town location—on the West Coast. Yoga directors Kyle Miller and Sian Gordon have converted their Lincoln Boulevard space into an airy paradise that smells more like white sage and Diptyque candles than a sweaty yoga studio. The aesthetic matches the beachy interiors of the Montauk space, with white walls, teal floors, and geometric neon wall murals by local artist Carly Margolis. While the studio interior has obvious appeal, the teaching is what really shines. The overall vibe is laid-back—no heat, no mirrors, and definitely no weights—with a meditation and healthy Savasana built into every class. And while clear direction and game-changing adjustments will make seventy-five minutes go by extraordinarily fast, there’s nothing about this that’s easy: Expect to sweat (a lot) and to feel it the next day.

Natasa Bose's philosophy is the same as ours: Overall health and beautiful skin go hand-in-hand. This means that her famous custom-blended facials—pH-balancing and toning massage, followed by an oatmeal-cranberry, carrot-ginger, or egg-honey mask—don't just nourish the skin, but aids in full-body well-being. As far as more inventive treatments go, there's lymphatic drainage, ultrasound, and microcurrent therapies that are immensely effective.

Open is best known for their digital mindfulness platform and roster of all-star teachers. But a visit to their Venice studio inspires a bit of real-life magic: Flow through a yoga class, sink into a sound bath, or blast off with breathwork.

It feels like a Venice Beach bungalow inside this Venice Beach bungalow: intimate, calm, airy, and cozy. And the treatments are on another level. They’re experts at gua sha (a sculpting, lifting, toning therapy in which an aesthetician smooths a stone tool over the face to stimulate tissue and ease tension); it feels cooling, relaxing, fantastic. You can always customize your facial, but there’s no improving upon the Deep Sea Age Defying treatment, an ultrapampering mash-up of LED light therapy, lymphatic drainage massage, and cranial therapy to support circulation and promote skin (and overall) balance. Whatever your skin needs, they have it here, and the glow you saunter out with is stunning.

Pause is where you go for a bit of physical and mental relief—they offer float tanks, hot-cold experiences, LED light therapy, lymphatic compression, and IV drips, including NAD+. Their infrared sauna setup is the best in town.

Allison Oswald wants to help women feel better. As a physical therapist, a board-certified women’s clinical specialist, and certified Pilates instructor, she’s uniquely equipped to take on that task. Many of her clients find their way to her bright, whitewashed studio with pelvic health issues, often during the postpartum period. She works with clients one-on-one and for as long as it takes to get them feeling confident and pain-free. Once they feel up to it, she—or one of Plumb Line’s excellent instructors—may suggest clients keep up their work with a Pilates regimen.

Whatever you go to acupuncturist Claudia Baettig for—maybe it’s everyday stress, something about your cycle, or a bigger health issue—she’ll lay out a bespoke treatment plan that’ll guide you toward your wellness goals. In addition to acupuncture, sessions might involve fire cupping (which feels so good), tuina, LED light therapy, and herbalism consultation. Baettig also offers cosmetic acupuncture and gua sha. But what keeps us coming back is Baettig herself: She explains every treatment so clearly. And she can even assuage fears of needles. (If you're interested in chiropractice, Baettig's partner, chiropractor Kevin So, works out of the same space.)

This spot is famous for its custom-made infrared saunas. In the personal pods, which look super futuristic, you lie on a bed of jade stones while your body is bathed in red infrared light. Your head is outside of the pod during the entire the forty-minute session, and the surrounding air is diffused with a custom blend of aromatherapeutic oils. The lymphatic compression massage and unique Magnesphere machine, which aims to improve your balance and sleep by way of deep relaxation, are so very worth exploring.

It’s been five years since Shin An relocated her thriving business from NYC to LA, and her famously precise dry-cuts are as in-demand as ever. Shin and her crew of incredibly skilled stylists and colorists work out of a discreet little bungalow on Montana Avenue and offer a range of services that goes beyond the expected cut-and-color. The purifying scalp treatment, for example, simultaneously soothes dryness and smoothes frizz. Don't worry if you can’t get in with Shin herself; her staff are all exceptional.

Sugaring, which at this studio is performed by trained specialists in a welcoming, light-filled space, calls on a paste made from organic sugar, lemon, and water to pull hair out in the natural direction of its growth. It's a process that translates to less pain, irritation, and ingrown hairs, especially when you do it routinely. SugaringLA does the best sugaring in town.

Surya Spa is no joke—in fact, it's one of only a handful of Panchakarma spots in the States (now, up and running at the beautiful Proper Hotel in Santa Monica). That said, it takes a pretty intense level of commitment that's a bit out of reach unless you have the vacation time and budget: It requires three to four hours a day, for three, five, or seven days (we recommend the full week, though it's tough, as you have to abide by the very ascetic menu that they prescribe). The house-made organic food and authentic Panchakarma treatments reach far beyond what you'll find in a traditional wellness spa (people come here for help with parasites, for instance). The results—which can range from better skin to weight loss—speak for themselves. Beyond being a wonderful detox resource, mothers, babies, and mothers-to-be are in for a treat with Surya Spa's special approach to pregnancy and babies' first six weeks.

This studio is made for that in-the-zone feeling: The instructors teach a few guided flows over the course of class and build in time for students to do their own thing. It’s dark, with loud music and no mirrors. And it’s hot as hell. (Relief comes in the form of a cold towel, dropped at your mat before savasana, and it feels like you’ve been blessed by God.) It’s great for athletic yogis with a regular practice. True beginners, however, may get lost or find it too intense.

Sadie Adams’s unique therapeutic approach is designed to help clients tease out energy and vitality from within. Her technique stems from her studies in anatomy at the School for Body-Mind Centering, and in Ayurveda and yoga therapy at the Ayurvedic Institute. After founding Take Care Face & Body in New York City, she has opened a second location, Take Care Center for Body Mind Regeneration, in Venice. Adams combines science, ancient wisdom, and intuitive awareness to support physical and spiritual healing. Her therapies include microcurrent facials, a restorative therapy that stimulates marma points in your face, promoting deep relaxation and healing throughout your entire body.

Tikkun is the next level when it comes to Korean spas, combining high-tech far-infrared heat with traditional Korean sauna therapies. So if you want to lie down in a Himalayan-salt-brick-tiled sauna or sit in a Hwangto clay room, you get the added benefit of far-infrared heat. And in addition to the sauna rooms, there's a long menu of massages and kick-ass body scrubs to complement the sauna time. We're burying the lede though, because the real golden ticket here is the Mugworth V-Steam: You sit on what is essentially a mini throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam treats you to an energetic release. If you're in LA, you just might have to try it...

Her laid-back personality and healing approach to skincare have made Vanessa Hernandez one of the most in-demand aestheticians in LA. The treatments range from customized facials and microdermabrasion to oxygen therapy and vitamin infusions, and are all fantastic.