Funnel Mill: Rare Coffee and Tea, Chinese-style

This isn’t the place to grab a latte on the go. The rare coffee and tea blends here at Funnel Mill in Santa Monica are meant to be savored. Green tea? Black tea? Smoky or grassy? Tell them your likes and they’ll find the right hot beverage to match.



At more than $5 a pop for a pot of tea, prices seem high. But this isn’t the type of place that just hands you a teabag and a cup of hot water. Instead, the ritual of the tea service is as enjoyable as the tea itself.

The friendly staff scoops fresh leaf tea into a glass container, lets you smell it, adds hot water, and then strains it into a dainty glass cup, all the while explaining the origins and history of the leaves in front of you.

They’ll keep bringing you hot water to your heart’s content and one pot’s enough for a group of four to enjoy. Added bonus, the teas come with pumpkin and watermelon seeds - salty accompaniments to bring out the teas’ flavor.

As for the coffee, baristas prepare it using glass siphons, making it look like an artistic chemistry lab. The result is a non-acidic, flavorful brew.



But does the café have atmosphere, you ask? Outside, not so much. Inside, however, relaxing music tinkles in the background as customers lounge in chairs and warm brown couches amidst wooden tables and minimalist décor. Did I mention the free wifi?!?



And for true aficionados, Funnel Mill offers tea ceremony classes. For about $10-$15 per person (depending on the size of your group), you and your buds can get personal instruction on proper Chinese tea ceremony etiquette.

Funnel Mill
930 Broadway (Cross Street: 10th Street)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310)597-4395

Los Feliz: Happy Times in the “SoHo of LA”

This hip LA neighborhood’s Spanish name translates to “The Happy Ones,” and I’m always one of them after a jaunt here.



While much less dense than NY’s SoHo, Los Feliz’ walkability and its hodgepodge of independent shops and restaurants make urbanites, East and West Coasters alike, feel at home. The southern end can even be accessed by the Red Line subway (yes, LA has one!). Just get off at the Vermont/Sunset stop and walk north.

The hills of Griffith Park provide a pleasant backdrop to the area, although they’re now more bare than usual due to a recent fire.



Over the last 10 years or so, a gentrification wave has transformed Los Feliz from a working class ‘hood into a hipster haven. And while you may have mixed feelings about gentrification, Los Feliz still has plenty of character with its mix of artsy boutiques and well-designed 1930s era apartment buildings. Dubbed the “SoHo of LA” by Vogue magazine, Los Feliz’ renovation has not gone unnoticed.



A known bastion of writers, the neighborhood hums with activity even on weekdays. Taking advantage of LA’s sunny weather, al fresco dining is the norm here, so much so that some restaurants, such as Alcove Café & Bakery and There’s No Place Like Home on Hillhurst, have most of their seating outside.



Fred 62 - a trendy, open-all-night diner with vegan options on Vermont Ave., is another great al fresco choice.



There are too many restaurants to name so I will highlight just one more food establishment – Yuca, my personal favorite. The addictively delectable tacos served at this humble-looking, cash-only shack on Hillhurst are reason enough to make a Loz Feliz trek.

The carne asada taco never disappoints (not me, at least). Imagine warm, tender steak folded into a fresh corn tortilla with a sprinkling of onions and tomatoes that bring out the steak’s flavor (I’m drooling from just describing it). If you’re looking for a more unusual treat, try the Cochinita Pibil (Yucatan style pork) taco.

Awarded a James Beard culinary excellence award in 2005, Yuca has definitely been discovered. Lines are a fact of life here, but the tacos are worth the wait. And thankfully, prices haven’t shot up obscenely with its growing fame. At a mere $2 a piece, Yuca tacos are still a great bargain.



In my very subjective opinion, a neighborhood only gets high marks if it has the requisite ice cream/gelato shop, and Los Feliz comes out with flying colors on this score thanks to the Hollywood Gelato Company. The imaginative flavors include Ginger Cucumber, Strawberry, Balasamic, Dark Chocolate Orange, and Sour Cream Vanilla. You know the flavors are unusual when hazelnut and coconut are among the more mundane. Note to those with less adventurous palettes, they keep chocolate and vanilla in stock in the back. Just ask for it.



As for non-food activities, swing by the older Los Feliz Cinema 3 theater on Vermont Ave. While its Art Deco façade is worth a look and the tix are pretty cheap, the tiny screens and poor design might make it a less-than-ideal venue to catch a flick you’ve been dying to see. Alternatively, head next-door to browse at Skylight Books, one of LA’s last remaining independent bookstores.



Don't forget to check out Los Feliz' trendy boutiques, peddling everything from gifts to clothes. Rumor has it that the Beastie Boys own a shop around here.



While not an obvious stop, the well-tended Los Feliz library at Hillhurst and Franklin provides pleasant reading space. Thanks to Leonardo di Caprio, the library - one of Leo's old haunts before he became a Hollywood headliner - also boasts a computer room. In homage to Leo’s generosity, posters from his various movies plaster the small room’s walls.

Locating Los Feliz:

• Sandwiched between the Hollywood and Silverlake neighborhoods, Los Feliz is located on LA’s eastside

• The neighborhood’s core is defined by Los Feliz Blvd. to the north, Sunset Blvd. to the south, Vermont Ave. to the west, and Hillhurst Ave. to the east.

• The neighborhood can be accessed via the 5 or 101 Freeways.