A first-timer's walking tour of Silver Lake
Park once, walk everywhere. That's the Silver Lake way. Leave your car on Griffith Park Blvd near Sunset, street parking is usually easy before 10am, and plan on a few hours of wandering. Here's exactly how to do it right.
Start at Pine and Crane (1521 Griffith Park Blvd) around 10am. Get the scallion pancakes and the dan dan noodles. Yes, for breakfast. You're on vacation from your normal rules. The line moves fast and the room is small and pretty, all wood and natural light.
Walk up to Sunset and hang a right. You're now on the stretch that makes people move to this neighborhood and never leave.
Stop into Dayglow (3206 W Sunset Blvd) for a single-origin espresso drink. The space is minimal and the coffee is serious. Good place to wake all the way up before the rest of the walk.
A few doors down, duck into FrankieLucy Bakeshop (3116 W Sunset Blvd) and grab something for the road. A pastry, a cookie, whatever looks best in the case. It will look good. Trust the process.
Gogosha Optique (3208 1/2 W Sunset Blvd) is right there and worth at least a browse. Even if you don't need glasses, the frames they carry are genuinely beautiful objects. It's the kind of shop that makes you want to become a person who wears interesting eyewear.
Keep walking east. When you hit Café Tropical (2900 W Sunset Blvd), consider a café con leche even if you just had coffee. It's a Silver Lake institution, Cuban-run, cash-friendly, patio out front, been here forever. The Cubano is one of the best sandwiches in the neighborhood if you're ready for a second breakfast situation.
Cross over toward CCA (2815 W Sunset Blvd #201), it's upstairs, look for the staircase, for a quieter sit-down moment if you need one. Good spot to check your phone and rest your feet before the next leg.
Lunch is at Azizam (2943 Sunset Blvd), and you should plan around it. Persian-inspired, seasonal, and genuinely special. The menu is small and changes, which means everything on it is there for a reason. Get whatever they're pushing that day.
After lunch, walk toward the reservoir. The Silver Lake Dog Park (1850 W Silver Lake Dr) is along the water and even if you don't have a dog, the walk around the reservoir is one of the better free things you can do in this city. Take 20 minutes. Breathe.
Loop back toward Sunset for the afternoon stretch. Vacation Vinyl (3815 Sunset Blvd) is a proper record shop, new and used, well-organized, staff picks worth reading. Budget more time than you think you need.
Right down the block, the Cheese Store of Silver Lake (3926 Sunset Blvd) is exactly what it sounds like and better than you're imagining. Tell them what you like and they'll build you something. A small cheese board situation to-go is not a bad idea for later.
Black Cat (3909 W Sunset Blvd) is right there and opens in the late afternoon, good place to sit down with a drink and let the walk catch up with you. Easy vibe, good bar, no attitude.
For the evening, walk back toward The Semi Tropic (2122 Sunset Blvd) for cocktails. The room is dark and comfortable and the drinks are well-made. This is where the night actually starts.
If there's something on at Echoplex (1822 Sunset Blvd), check before you go, that's your nightcap sorted. It's a short walk and one of the better mid-size music rooms in the city. Silver Lake ending for a Silver Lake day.