Los Feliz, Los Angeles

Nestled up against the southern border of Griffith Park, Los Felix is one of the three neighborhoods in the area I like to call “Hipster Heaven.” I say this because lately the skinny jeaned, vintage t-shirt set has claimed this area as their own and in response a number funky dive bars and similar nightspots have opened up to cater to their alternative tastes. In other words, if I were just out of college and wanted to spend a little bit of time just enjoying the company of other artsy alt types with enough disposable income to have a good time, I would definitely head to Los Feliz, Atwater or Silverlake.

Los Feliz specifically is a relatively safe area, with only 3 murders in the last four years and none in 2010. A pretty good average considering that it borders the Hollywood area. Overall the crime rate in terms of violent crime is pretty average and only a bit worse than average for property crime—this is actually pretty good considering how many nightspots are here and the tendency of crimes of opportunity to occur in such spots.

So what is so attractive to hipsters about Los Feliz? It mostly has to do with Hillhurst Avenue. This is one of those big city avenues that is just crammed with cool restaurants, boutiques and watering holes (mostly of the lounge variety here in Los Feliz). For example, you can dine at the Vinoteca Farafalle, a really snazzy Italian place with an excellent selection of wines; or get Japanese food at Mako; or get really delicious Mexican food at Yuca’s—which is just a shack actually.

In terms of boutiques, you have Little Boutique of Los Feliz—good for clothing and lingerie, though for lingerie I would try Panty Raid—just because that is a great name for a lingerie store. Of course, since you are in Hipster Heaven, you have a number of vintage clothing stores like American Vintage and Oou, both good places to go to keep your wardrobe from getting fresh.

There is also a great indie bookstore, Skylight and a great movie theater, Vista.

But where Los Feliz really rocks is in the cool lounge department. The top three that I would recommend are The Good Luck Bar (a lounge that makes you feel like you are in China), Covell—a very sophisticated wine bar that makes you feel like you are in a Post-Modern version of Madmen, the Drawing Room, a great dive bar, and, of course, the Dresden—the joint that you may know from Swingers. It is definitely worth a visit in and of itself.

In terms of actually living in the area, it is a typical tale of two cities. South of Los Feliz Blvd., you get a lot of apartment buildings—many of them of the hideously ugly boxy variety that could only seem glamorous to someone who has spent the last for years in a college dorm or living with very unpleasant roommates.

North of Los Feliz Blvd., nestled up against the hills by Griffith Park are some really beautiful homes from various architectural styles, but all exuding a feeling of wealth. You get everything from really cool looking Tudors to Spanish Revival, to Ranch Homes up in this area. There is one odd section of the neighborhood built on a horseshoe set up that just has a plethora of these homes that most anyone would consider themselves lucky to live in. There is also a section of the neighborhood that has a high percentage of Fairytale Cottages—quite wonderful.

Most people who live in the area will also tell you that it is a very walkable neighborhood in way that few LA neighborhoods are. If you want to take an early evening walk, check out the sunset and the Hollywood sign, and some of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the area, you can spend a pleasant evening doing so.

There are also several schools, the private ones being fairly good, and a fair amount of diversity. Lots of people from the creative professions live here and many people from different cultures. (You can find a large Armenian population, for example.)

Overall, it is a gem hidden right in the middle of Los Angeles. Unfortunately the word is out, so it is just a matter of time before rents start driving out some of the more interesting artsy types.

Los Feliz is the name of the boulevard in the area, but also the neighborhood so don't be fooled when looking up locations/directions. Same area though! This area is so beautiful, and it's really quiet for the most part. I didn't run into any traffic except for rush hour. Great restaurants and the neighborhoods are so quaint and friendly. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this area. The schools are among the best in area. There is a great sense of community as well.
Some places to check out:
1. Fiagro Cafe (a nice classy and upscale lunch place)
2.Vermont Restaurant (good family dining)
3.Alcove Cafe and Bakery (their muffins are amazing!)

I lived in Los Feliz and it is a really cool neighborhood with a good sense of community. As long as you're not on Franklin or Los Feliz Blvd, it's quite serene: not a lot of traffic really anywhere unless it's rush hour. There is a great mix of all kinds of people (families, artsy types, hipsters, celebrities).
It's a little far from the beach and is kind of a pain to get to West Hollywood where all of the action is, but there's a lot to do so it's not a huge problem.
Griffith Park is really beautiful and it's just at the top of Los Feliz Blvd. The Los Feliz Hills have some incredible homes and it's fun to start at the park and take an "urban hike" through the neighborhood an mansion gaze. Of course, the observatory, the hikes, the old zoo and just the picnic area of Griffith are all spectacular for a Sunday afternoon.
The Alcove is a really popular spot for Lunch / Brunch. The food is delicious and the front patio makes for some great people watching. It tends to get pretty crowded but it's worth it. Palermo on Vermont is my favorite pizza spot in the city. The Sicilian will knock your socks off! It's the kind of place that I call "dirty" Italian food. It's a family - run, red checker cloth kind of establishment but it's really cheap and great fun. Little Dom's has great food and it's very popular with the hipper quotient of the area. Mexico City is also really popular; and, while they have great chips and guacamole, I'm not a huge fan. But, most people really like it.
Most of the bars in Los Feliz are a little bit sketchy. They tend to be overrun by the old alcoholics so I never go out there much: must of the youngsters go into Silverlake for their nightlife. But, just east on Los Feliz there is a bar called The Griffen. I suppose, it's, technically, in Atwater Village, but it is an amazing bar! It's dark and gothic, the music is great and it's always busy but not overly packed. Man, I love that place.
The apartments in the neighborhood are, for the most part, really old, big and cool. And, I loved pretty much all of my neighbors. Two thumbs up for Los Feliz!