In the 1990s, coffeehouse culture found consumers embracing the $3 latte, loitering on mis-matched furniture in dimly-lit rooms where poets, artists, and, of course, writers, sat for hours nursing their espresso. Then came Starbucks, now a multi-national institution, and it holds to this day that, especially in Los Angeles, on any given day a location's tables are laden with the laptops of would-be screenwriters, bloggers, and college students, next to cooling cups of coffee. more ›

People are chatting, drinking coffee, working on their computers--just business as usual at M Street Coffee in Sherman Oaks. And then there's music celebrities Brandy and R Jay, surrounded by three cameraman, talking about respect, music... more ›

Hey, it's National Grilled Cheese Month (you've been celebrating daily, right?), so what better time to visit dessert eatery than now? Syrup Desserts in downtown is a cafe that focuses on lattes, cappuccino, coffees and teas along with a melted chocolate, waffles, crepes, ice cream sandwiches and more. The last page of their menu, however, is where they start mixing it up. more ›

It may not seem possible to read a review of yet another coffee shop on the eastern end of Los Angeles and find something you have not already read a couple of dozen times. Yet somehow there is something new to read because Antigua Coffee House is not just another place to get a caffeine fix. Sure it has amazing coffees, which they roast themselves, teas, and smoothies with a Mayan flavor (they come in three sizes, ce, ome, and yei) and an awesome selection of muffins, biscotti, cakes, and other baked goods. more ›

A late-night coffeehouse is tough to find. One open all night long is even harder. Sure, there are all-night diners like Norms and the 101 Coffee Shop, but true coffeehouses, whether it be one with an eclectic menu, cozy couches, hand-picked teas or other unique tendencies, are sorely needed in Los Angeles. more ›

First Silver Lake, then Venice and by the midsummer, Pasadena, the Chicago-based coffee company announced today. The exact location is still secret, but Intelligentsia CEO Doug Zell tells the LA Times the look and feel will be "very, very different in a way that hasn't been done in the U.S. yet for a coffeehouse. We want to continue to push the boundaries of the coffee making process." more ›

Changes could be brewing over at Olvera Street where a Downtown News investigation looks at the cost of rent, which is currently well below market rate. The area, which is run by a City of Los Angeles department not quite self-sufficient yet: more ›

It was scorching hot in West Hollywood on Sunday for the West Hollywood Book Fair, much too hot for the heavy, dirty jeans and tight, thick t-shirt I was wearing. I don’t know if it was because of the hangover I was nursing, the fact that I arrived a little late, or just the heat, but at 12pm when I arrived at West Hollywood Park near the Pacific Design Center, I had some trouble... more ›

The West Hollywood Book Fair, now in it's sixth year, will take over West Hollywood Park this Sunday from 10am - 6pm. We like to think of the WeHo book fair as the calmer, cooler cousin to the LA Times Festival of Books - great authors, excellent panels, live readings and good food - but much easier to navigate. As with any festival, planning the who/what/when is key...especially when trying to pack it all into one day. more ›

Take a break from that drab Starbucks & get some culture this weekend at the Chango Coffee House in Echo Park! more ›

The appeal of the indie coffehouse hasn't been fully exorcised from my 21st century modus operandi; I suppose I'm Gen X to the core, easily seduced by a yellow-lit room full of mismatched and well-worn furniture, singer-songwriter melodies emanating from low-fi boombox speakers, and walls bearing a wagon-train display of local artists' efforts. This is probably why I was recently tickled pink to rediscover Lulu's Beehive on the Sherman Oaks/Studio City borderline when I wandered in one overly warm morning and tucked into a latte and a look-see at the latest inky LA Weekly. It seems the Beehive and its caffeinated goings-on survived where so many other indies didn't as the mighty 'bucks and Coffee Beans bulldozed their way onto a corner--and corners--near you. Lulu's comes with the prerequisite tables of industry types talking about the Toronto Film Festival and has ample table-top space and plugs for the ubiquitous laptops of the lower eastside of the Valley. I'm shamefully impressed by their extensive selection of sugar-free Torani syrups; perhaps a survival strategy is to cater to the NutraSweet ingesting South Beach Diet denominator in the clientele. No matter. I was enamored with my (sugar free) Almond Latte and toasted everything bagel, and smugly appreciative of the multiple carvings that defaced the top of the table my goodies sat on. And even though I'm sitting here writing this, sipping my Grande house brew from my local corporate coffee-teria, my heart belongs to the indies. more ›

The Who @ Hollywood Bowl Barney @ Kodak Keb'Mo' @ Disney Hall Rise Against @ Bren Events Center Goldenboy @ The Hotel Cafe Peter Frampton @ Cerritos Center Vicente Fernandez @ The Gibson Five for Fighting @ House of Blues Quetzal @ Antigua Cultural Coffee House Medusa & Feline Science @ Fais Do-Do Pistolera, Upground, Orgullo Café @ Spaceland The Groovy Rednecks @ The Knitting Factory Atomic Punks, Kaustik, Dead End Jane @ Whisky... more ›

This administration has seen its highs and lows. It was wrong about Saddam having WMDs, it can't seem to find Bin Laden, billions of dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq, some of our military have been accused of torturing prisoners, the CIA was found to have secret prisons, the President continues to want to spy on US phone calls without a warrant, the Vice President's office was caught revealing the name of a covert... more ›

Is it us or is there a coffee war brewing on Cahuenga and Selma? We've counted 3 coffee places opening up in the last 4 weeks. To wit, we now have Karma Coffee House, Coffee Groundwork and Caffe Etc...c'mon, Los Angeles Film School students can't consume that much caffeine. We know the Cahuenga/Selma area is a hot spot for hipsters now that Tokio has landed up the street, but do they really need all that coffee? more ›