Bumming Around Sunset Junction: Spice Station, Bar Keeper, Intelligentisa & The Cheese Store of Silver Lake

I have had almost 50 pieces of artwork published. Most of these pieces are primarily me playing with color and design. I’m hugely attracted to bright colors and bold shapes. How could I not notice this Spice Station sign with its bright yellow and orange tones? Ah, and that star. I have several sizes of rubber stamps of that particular star.

We peered at the sign and sighed. At least I sighed. How could I ever hope to buy it all? I’m a completist. It’s very bad to get me started on an obsession. I will try to learn every single fact about something and one random day, recite the history. I decided to breathe.

Although I primarily muse about restaurants these days, I am prone to bouts of cooking. I enjoy the process. Finding new ingredients. Reading recipes. Hefting a cookbook and muttering to myself. I would never call myself a cook though. I just like to experiment. And hopefully not poison myself.

I was itching to buy some spices.

But I just couldn’t. I have shelves of spices. A giant thing of Hawaiian red salt. Wonderful bay leaves. Peppercorns I put in nearly everything. Even a tin of Old Bay.

You are encouraged to open jars and sniff. With every whiff, I could feel resolve leaving.

So, I did the next best thing, I window-shopped and encouraged my friends. Let them have the fun. Let them enjoy the discovery.

Spice Station

3819 W.Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90026

323-660-2565

(They also have another location that just opened in Santa Monica- 2305 Main Street)

Across the street from Spice Station is Bar Keeper. As a cocktalian, I’ve heard of this magical store. They sell Neve ice, old fashioned barware, a huge assortment of bitters and the like. If you love kitsch like I do, you’ll love this store. My day was even better with delicious coffee from Intelligentsia (when did I start drinking coffee?), browsing at the Cheese Store  and I was still full from brunch at Malo.

Who says you have to go out of town to enjoy a vacation? Exploring Silver Lake definitely counted as a vacation day to me!

Bar Keeper

3910 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029-2242
323- 669-1675
Intelligentsia

3922 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029-2242
323-663-6173

The Cheese Store of Silver Lake

3926 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029-2242
323-644-7511