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TO DO: A Common Name's Not-So-Common Favorite Places in L.A.

Jun 13 2012

A Common Name Installation in The Box

As we mentioned last week, artist and graphic designer A Common Name’s latest work titled, Urban Geode Project, has recently made the jump from LA street art to The Box at The Standard, Hollywood. Aside from the hotel, her 3D paper sculptures which resemble crystal geodes can be found hidden in little nooks throughout Los Angeles. She’s even created a little handy dandy map on her website, for those that feel the need to do a little urban art spelunking.

We have been having so much fun discovering A Common Name’s little hidden gems all over Los Angeles we thought we’d ask her to share some favorite “hidden gems” of her own.

A COMMON NAME’S NOT-SO-COMMON L.A. SPOTS :

  1. LA River Bike Path: A lot of the LA River is pretty bleak and desolate, but there is a beautiful green area with a bike path along it. It runs from Riverside down to Los Feliz Blvd and is a great way to see some beauty while you get exercise. It’s one of the most “urban beautiful” places I’ve seen, with large white and gray cranes flying around the rushing water. I usually make my way to Atwater Village for Proof Bakery and Conoscenti Coffee, both worth a special trip.

  2. Casablanca Restaurant: This is an old Mexican restaurant in Venice. It’s the strangest and one of my favorite places to eat. The theme is Casablanca, the movie, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman plastered everywhere. Cabanas, themed paintings, casts of heads, a single guitar player accompanied by a boombox… but then the food is Mexican with a margarita cart that comes to your table, the best housemade tortillas and farmers cheese in salsa verde instead of regular chips and salsa.

  3. The Museum of Jurassic Technology: An awesome museum filled with amazing offbeat oddities. I don’t want to give away too much about this gem, just go.

  4. Sugar Spice Cafe: If you like Chinese food, I wouldn’t go to Chinatown for it. The really authentic delicious cuisine is in East Los Angeles along Valley Blvd in Rosemead. My favorite is Sugar Spice Cafe, they serve the best Shanghai soup dumplings in the city. It is a tiny shop located in what looks like a strip mall, but the owners are serving their amazing 178-year old family recipe. 227 W Valley Blvd # 168A San Gabriel, CA 91776

  5. Vista Hermosa Natural Park: I hear people complain about LA not having enough greenery but I seem to find it everywhere. This park is nestled on the edge of downtown at 1st St. and Bixel. When you walk up the paths you can see an amazing view of Downtown LA. There are also streams and picnic grounds to discover, definitely a hidden gem in our urban setting.

A Common Name’s installation for The Box at The Standard, Hollywood will be on display through mid-July.