Shoot and Skate through Hollywood

Ako Jefferson and Atiba Jefferson hunt down the best Cali-Mex vegetarian, underground drink jump-offs, and skate spots in sunny Los Angeles.

the boys working hard

Name: Ako Jefferson
Age: 32
Brief bio, occupation: Art Director of The Skateboard Mag
How long you’ve lived in your city: 10 years

Name: Atiba Jefferson
Age:32
Brief bio, occupation: Photographer
How long you’ve lived in your city: 10 years

EAT & DRINK

Favorite high-end restaurant

Dominick’s, 8715 Beverly Boulevard. West Hollywood.
Really nice restaurant with a huge patio, good drinks, good food. Tapas-style Italian.

Best deal restaurant

VP Deli, 8001 Beverly Boulevard. West Hollywood.
Health food deli with juices and the best nachos (made with Hava tortilla chips) I’ve had in my life.

Best street food

Taco Zone Taco Truck, Intersection of El Dorado and Sunset, Echo Park.
Parked on the corner every night, I’m not sure what time they get there but I’ve eaten there as early as 8pm. Since I’m vegetarian, I usually just get the cheese quesadilla.

Best street food

Cactus Mexican, 950 Vine Street, Hollywood.
With a walkup window, this place has good Mexican food and is open till 4am.

Favorite cafe

M Café, various locations.
Contemporary macrobiotic restaurant where you can get fish and sushi, it’s really nice and has a European feel.

Astro Burger, 5601 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood.
Jeez we drink alot...everything is drunk food! Great vegetarian fast food and open till 3am.

Best place to work on laptop with free wi-fi

Cha Cha Lounge, 2375 Glendale Boulevard, Silver Lake.
This is our favorite bar. The owner is really cool and the bartenders are super awesome. Mellow vibe.

Best bar

Cha Cha Lounge.

READ

Best bookstore

Golden Apple Comics, 7018 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood.
Old famous comic book store.

Best bookstore

Family, 436 N. Fairfax Avenue.
Great books and music, great art on the walls. Nate has bands play and Peter [Sutherland] did a slideshow there.

Best magazine stand

N Cahuenga and Hollywood Boulevard.
The drunkest newsstand in Hollywood.

SHOP

Best boutique

Record Collector, 7809 Melrose Avenue.
They have an amazing collection but don’t put the prices on the record. If you ask how much it costs it’ll end up being way too much.

South Willard, 8038 West Third Street.
Our friend’s store. Great clothes. And Ryan is always one step ahead with the art.

Supreme, 439 N Fairfax Avenue.
Homebase. Everyone goes by there at some point in the day to talk shit and smoke cigarettes on the bench.

SIGHTSEE

Favorite art space/gallery/museum

New Image Art, 7908 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood.
They always have great young artists, like Rich Jacobs, Ed Templeton, Barry McGee, and Neckface.

Hope Galleries, 1547 Echo Park Avenue.
Just opened a year ago, the guys from Family Bookstore and our friend Cali deWitt are doing this space.

Berrics
Steve Berra and Eric Koston’s private skatepark. I put this down because skateboarding is basically an art, it displays something creative.

LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard.
They have free concerts on Fridays during the spring.

Favorite outdoor space

Roosevelt Golf Course, 2650 N Vermont Avenue.
Roosevelt is cheap but it’s a good and challenging course.

LA High, 4650 West Olympic Boulevard.
This skate spot is at Los Angeles High School.

Best touristy thing to do

Universal Studios, Universal Studios Boulevard.
Sooo fun.

Best place to people watch

Fairfax Farmers Market-Loteria Grill, 6333 West 3rd Street.
The best Mexican food in Hollywood.

Only local does or knows about

M Bar. Locals will know what I’m talking about.
An old Japanese jazz bar that is an after-hours spot. If you know the woman who runs it you can give her a call and get in. She plays piano and sings and you can drink and smoke inside. I’ve never made it past 5AM.

The must-see thing in your city

Lake Hollywood.
Most people who live here don’t even know…including Ako.

EVENTS

Best events in each season

The Berrics Game of SKATE
Its basically HORSE on a skateboard that takes place at The Berrics.

Animal Collective shows

Lakers Playoffs

TIPS

Given only 24-hours in your city, put together a quick itinerary from your above recommendations.

Atiba: Wake up, hit Swingers for breakfast, then grab your friend’s dog and go on a hike to Runyon Canyon. Great for spotting celebrities sweating and the view is amazing. Then, lunch at Farmers Market, go to Fairfax, buy books at Family. Next go to Supreme for gear, go to Turntable lab for some records and headphones, then skate Ellington’s mini ramp that overlooks Los Angeles, followed by Roscoe’s chicken and waffles for dinner, Cha Cha for drinks, and then Live jazz at the Mbar and Cactus at 3 a.m.

Ako: Wake up, get coffee at Intelligensia. Go golfing at Rosevelt Golf Course. Go to Supreme and kick it. Lunch at VP. Go to Family, get a book and then go get records at Amoeba. Go skate The Berrics. Dinner at The Fairfax Farmers Market (Loteria) then Cha Cha for drinks. Make a quick run to M Bar see some music, then walk out hammered, get a taxi and go to Taco Zone.

Best website for local info:

http://www.slightnostalgia.com
You kinda just know what’s going on in Los Angeles, so I don’t usually go to any websites. Our friend Curtis Buchanan who works at Supreme has this great website. It’s funny because it has a lot of photos of people who live in Los Angeles.

Anything else you want to mention?

We throw a party and DJ at Cha Cha every last Thursday night of the month.