The Brief

Are you going to CicLAvia in Venice this weekend? The weather is supposed to be nice, finally, so it's the perfect chance to get outside and feel the wind run through your hair like the majestic being that you are.

For the uninitiated, CicLAvia are those rare days in L.A. where stretches of the city are closed off to traffic, allowing bikes, skateboards and other “people-powered vehicles” to take over the streets.

This Sunday, April 21, the party heads to the beach: Venice Boulevard will be car-free between the 10 Freeway and the Pacific from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

All that cycling and fresh salt air will surely work up an appetite. Luckily, there are plenty of options along the route: a beloved Oaxacan establishment, some delicious square pies, fish and chips by the beach, plus more. So lace up those sneakers, grab your bike helmet, and let's hit the road.

Little Dynamite 

Some of our favorite West Side pizzas can be found at Little Dynamite. The small pizzeria was among the first to fully embrace the square pie lifestyle that has since become synonymous with L.A.'s pizza scene.

The 10x10 pan pizza menu has many options, including whole pies and a few stellar by-the-slice options served daily from noon to 3 p.m. Some favorites for whole pies include the Bad Gurl, which is made with crushed tomato sauce, roasted garlic, pistachio pesto, and lemon zest.

Another is The Mom, which ensures you get your vegetables, including green bell peppers, black olives, confit heirloom cherry tomatoes, and red onion underneath a milky fresh mozzarella and crushed tomato sauce.

Empanada's Place

Empanada's Place has been in business for nearly 40 years and maintains a modest yet charming storefront on Sawtelle bordering the Palms neighborhood. The cafe makes some of the best empanadas we've had.

Some favorites include the criollo, which contains a fantastic combination of ground beef, hard-boiled egg, and raisins, a flavor combination often found in Argentina. It will make you question why you don't eat more raisins daily.

If meat isn't your thing, try any of their vegetarian offerings. You can't go wrong with the berenjena (eggplant) or the picante made with poblano peppers and cheese.

Quiadaiyn Restaurant

If there's good Oaxacan food to be had, then you better believe we are making a stop. Quiadaiyn (pronounced kia-dine) is a great place to enjoy delicious food from one of Mexico's most beloved states. Various moles range from their earthy red Coloradito, containing sweet and spicy notes, to the Verde, with its herbaceous sweetness and thick texture due to the added masa, served with chayote (similar to a Mexican summer squash) and green beans.

If you find yourself there with a group, the tlayuda mixta is a great option. Maybe order two. It's a 12-inch, thin, crunchy tortilla slathered with a layer of black bean sauce, topped with shreds of quesillo cheese, aka queso Oaxaca (similar to string cheese) followed by layer of cabbage, tomato, and avocado, drizzled with red salsa.

Then that's all piled high with a trio of proteins that feature tasajo (dried beef, similar to jerky featuring a smokey flavor), cecina (a slightly salty and slightly more chewy version of carne asada), and the small red round bundles of joy known as chorizo Oaxaqueño. This is the Oaxacan pizza of your dreams; there is plenty to share.

Wee Chippy

Have you ever wanted to try some fish and chips prepared by a Scot? Well, you're in luck because the Wee Chippy, found along the Venice Beach, is just the place. The heavily battered fish is only one of many options to choose from. Try other seafood selections, such as shrimp and calamari, or go for all three as part of the Loch Ness Monster plate. There are even vegan options available.

One of our favorite aspects of this place is the "choose your own adventure" of it all. The game plan is as follows: Start with a choice of fish or seafood. Then select a salt seasoning (some of our favorites include black truffle salt, Bangkok Ginger, and U.K. Curry). Finally, don’t forget to add your choice of two dipping sauces. Try the spicy ketchup and malt vinegar for supremely excellent fry dipping action.

El Huarique Venice

We've always been a sucker for good Peruvian, and El Huarique is very much where it's at in this beachside eatery. There's lots to choose from, including bangers like tallarin saltados (Peruvian chow mein) and delicious Peruvian tacos.

We always crave raw fish when by the ocean, and the ceviche mixto here perfectly fits the bill — featuring a mix of fresh fish and shrimp, along with an array of cubed, tender sweet potatoes, chulpe corn (crunchy toasted corn), and choclo (large-kernel Peruvian corn) containing a substantial burst of sweetness.

All those ingredients sit upon a small pool of leche de tigre sauce, made from fish trimmings, onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, and chili, and then topped with thin slivers of red onion. It perfectly combines the right amount of citrus-kissed flavors with various heat-packed textures. It is a great reward to bestow upon yourself or to share with your crew after a long ride. You've earned it.

On a Sunday night at the Mexican restaurant La Popular in Claremont, diners are eating to a soundtrack that starts with cumbia and jumps to J Balvin and Bad Bunny before landing on Luther Vandross.

That’s the aim of DJ collective Compás Discoteca — to bring connection and community through live vinyl mixing at La Popular and El Balcon in Ontario.

How Compás Discoteca was born 

Ricardo Carlos, Elias Ruiz, Albert Piña and Adrian Silva have been friends for about two decades. They all DJ as a hobby and often share music. On a night out in 2024, they saw a sign: a parking space for a “compact car,” minus two letters.

“The C and T are missing — compá. Like, ‘We're compás,’” Carlos said, recounting that night.

A "Compás Discoteca" turntable mat.

(

Dañiel Martinez

/

LAist

)

Their DJ collective, Compás Discoteca, was born. “Compás” means “buddies” in Spanish and “Discoteca” means “nightclub."

Seasoning the scene

When Compás Discoteca first formed, the members said Southern California’s vinyl-listening scene was more focused on track selection, letting songs play out in full. The collective wanted to bring more life to the experience by mixing music live.

“It just seemed a little stale,” Silva said. “I feel like we helped to bring some seasoning to that.”

They also wanted to play genres people wouldn’t normally hear together.

“You might hear us jump from funk to cumbia to hip-hop to disco, soul to house. We're just trying to take people on a journey with us,” Silva said.

Each compá takes their turn at the turntables for two 30-minute sets. And each brings their own sound.

Three of the "compás" pose for a picture in between their sets.

(

Dañiel Martinez

/

LAist

)

Silva is the “party-starter.” He gets people dancing.

Carlos has a Latin bent, taking influence from his Puerto Rican, Salvadoran and Creole roots.

Ruiz lives for “jaw-drop moments” and brings records he thinks will surprise his fellow DJs.

Piña spins rare world grooves in the funk and boogie vein.

“He probably gets the most Shazams from us and from the audience,” Ruiz said of Piña. “But most importantly, you feel like you're hanging out and with some good music.”

Albert Piña prepares looks through a box of vinyl records during his DJ set at "La Popular" in Claremont.

(

Dañiel Martinez

/

LAist

)

Feeding off the energy

Compás Discoteca DJs at El Balcon in Ontario on the first Friday of each month and at La Popular in Claremont on the third Sunday.

The vibes for Sundays are chill, they said, and Fridays are for letting it all loose.

“There's like an energy there, like, ‘Oh, man, we made it through the week.’ We try to feed off of that,” Piña said.

Along Highway 62 in Joshua Tree, a stack of high school lockers holds something the High Desert was missing: a real New York-style bagel.

For that, you have DIY baker Richard Lee to thank.

“I want a bagel. What do I do?” Lee remembered thinking after moving to Twentynine Palms in 2023 from Los Angeles, where he had lived for more than a decade.

The Bagel Portal off Highway 62 in Joshua Tree.

(

Richard Lee

/

Courtesy 29 Loaves

)

It wasn’t just any bagel the born-and-raised New Yorker was craving, but the kind from back home that gives “a little crunch” when you bite into its crust — with a “chewy, softer” inside and a taste Lee calls “ineffable.”

“Like maybe a sourdough or an Italian bread,” he said.

Taught by YouTube, tested by family in New York

Richard Lee converted his garage in 29 Palms to make bagels.

(

Courtesy 29 Loaves

)

A tinkerer by nature, Lee launched 29 Loaves in early 2024, bringing bagels he handcrafts in his licensed home operation to Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree and surrounding communities.

“I went to the culinary school of YouTube,” he said, having watched more than 100 videos on how to make a bagel. At first, he relied on his own taste buds as a guide, before sending his creations to his family in New York to taste.

After months of overnight shipping, Lee said, “Even a UPS store is asking me, ‘Why are you doing that?’”

“I know it makes no sense,” he told them. “That's how I operate.”

29 Loaves serves up New York-style bagels to Joshua Tree and other desert communities.

(

Courtesy 29 Loaves

)

Eventually, his sister gave the thumbs-up. To be extra, extra, extra sure, Lee went to folks living in the desert with New York ties to get their blessing.

“Attention is an ingredient,” Lee said of his bagels. It’s a philosophy he’s honed while running his other business providing IT services, which he now operates remotely.

“Garbage in, garbage out,” he said. “If you make a mistake or something falls on the bagel and marks it, it’ll end up that way as a finished product.”

Why bagels mean so much to him

Lee, whose father is Korean and mother is Brazilian, said his bakery is ultimately about food memories — and draws inspiration from what he ate growing up. The only other baked good 29 Loaves sells is pão de queijo, a gluten-free Brazilian cheese puff he makes.

Richard Lee handmakes New York-style bagels at his home operation.

(

Courtesy 29 Loaves

)

But nothing rivals bagels. Sundays were often bagel days in his childhood home in the Long Island suburbs. As a teenager working for his father, Lee remembered they would make detours off the Long Island Expressway to grab fresh bagels.

“They were nice and plump, and they were so hot,” he said.

Father and son would eat them straight out of the bag — no cream cheese, no nothing.

“Those were the types of memories that I wanna bring here,” Lee said.

Big surf from distant hurricanes in the Pacific could bring coastal flooding to Southern California starting this weekend.

Hurricanes Polo and Odalys are expected to cause coastal erosion, flooding and high surf along Southern California's already battered coastline. Swells from Polo are expect to arrive as early as late Sunday and peak Monday and Tuesday.

Bryan Lewis, National Weather Service meteorologist, told LAist that high tides could reach 7 feet. He said Long Beach and Avalon are among the more vulnerable areas for potential flooding and erosion.

Long Beach and Los Angeles warned residents to prepare for potential flooding and other effects through at least Wednesday.

In early September, Hurricane Marie brought coastal erosion and flooding that led homes being red- and yellow-tagged in L.A. and Orange counties.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown. 

For organizer Arnold Byun, the launch is something of a homecoming. 

Nearly five years ago, Byun and his co-founder, Kioh Park, were living in Koreatown and spending months at Document Coffee Bar dreaming up what would eventually become Maum Market, the Asian makers market they launched in January 2022. The market now has a regular presence at ROW DTLA, where it hosts pop-up markets on Dock Street several times a year.

“The genesis of Maum Market is actually really embedded in Koreatown,” Byun, 31, told The LA Local. “And we have a lot of affection and personal history with Koreatown, so it’s a very personal thing for us just to return to our roots.” 

Most of the 24 vendors participating in the first Friends & Family Flea have some connection to Koreatown, Byun said. Some grew up in the neighborhood, some still live there and others have moved away but retain ties to the area. The vendor list includes apparel brands, artists, jewelry makers, beauty and wellness businesses and food vendors. 

“We’ve been trying to be pretty intentional about curating from the community as much as possible,” Byun said.

There will be plenty of food and shopping, including “sogeum-bbang,” or salt bread, tea, handmade candles, soaps and vintage clothing, as well as flash tattoos and burgers and fries from Love Hour. The LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club will teach visitors about hwatu, the Korean deck of playing cards with roots in Japan. The club will also offer $5 tarot card readings.

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown.

(

Courtesy Eena Cho

)

Eena Cho, founder of the LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club, was born and raised in Koreatown. She remembers living with her mother in an apartment on Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue and volunteering at the senior center near Seoul International Park, where she spent time with older Korean residents.

She also grew up playing go-stop with her grandparents during Korean holidays, like Chuseok and Seollal. 

“That was a big part of my childhood,” said Cho, 24. “Another part is that living in LA where there’s so many different groups of people together, I remember my best friend Maria growing up, she was Mexican, and we would be playmates because both of our parents were working overtime.”

For Cho, joining Friends & Family Flea felt like a natural fit.

“Koreatown is a beautiful diaspora of many different cultures,” Cho said. “And I think that makes Koreatown, Koreatown.”

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown.

(

Courtesy Eena Cho

)

The local focus is a big part of what Byun hopes will distinguish Friends & Family from other flea markets and fairs. He said organizers wanted to create something that “intentionally celebrates a specific neighborhood,” in this case, Koreatown. 

For the Koreatown market, that also means highlighting small businesses beyond the restaurants that often get the most attention.

“It’s more about, you know, where do we get our dry cleaning, where do we get our shoes done, or these kinds of services that I think don’t get highlighted as often as maybe restaurants do, but are really core and essential parts of a community business,” Byun said.

Byun’s own history with Koreatown also makes the neighborhood an especially fitting place to start.

His family immigrated to the South Bay from Korea in 2002, when he was 6. He remembers coming to Koreatown with his parents on the weekends for Korean meals and grocery trips.

Byun still thinks of the neighborhood as a second home for Korean immigrants, while appreciating how its community has grown more diverse.

“I’m just really happy to see it become a really beloved neighborhood,” he said.

The market is also giving back locally. Hats sold at the event will benefit the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Byun said.

And this may not be a one-time run. If Saturday goes well, organizers hope to bring Friends & Family Flea back to Koreatown on a monthly basis. They also plan to offer discounted vendor fees to Koreatown residents.

“I feel like there was so much opportunity for us to really hone in and create something more hyperlocal and also really embed ourselves in the community as well,” Byun said.