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Los Angeles has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around LA that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.
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Image via Yelp
You might recognize the name Crystal Meers from, well, everywhere and anywhere. She spent seven years at Daily Candy, where she wrote about everything from Los Angeles living to beauty and has also contributed to Marie Claire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Elle and Nylon. These days, she's working at FATHOM, a new "online destination for wanderlusty city guides, insider stories, and planning tools that are as practical as they are inspiring." When she's not writing, editing, adventuring, or daydreaming about adventuring, you very well may be able to find her at Broome Street General Store, her favorite spot in Silver Lake. Here, her love letter to the holy grail of almond milk cappuccino makers.
"Broome Street General Store is the only coffee shop on the planet where I get excited to see a line. The more people there are between me and my almond milk cappuccino (it's really more of a small latte), the more time I have to root around the shop's well-stocked shelves, finding things I totally don't need but make my life (or someone else's) that much better. The mix of hard-to-find pantry items, smartly designed everyday tools, and good-looking standbys really speak to me in a country-store-for-the-modern-world kind of way."
"By the time I make it up to the counter, my arms are full with bottles of Morris Kitchen preserved lemon syrup, tiny plastic fish-shaped containers (for that bento box lunch I'll never pack, obviously), eco-friendly cleaning supplies, MCMC fragrance oils, Rifle Co. thank you cards, spices of all sorts in re-useable glass Weck jars, and a particular pair of rain boots that I always manage to put back just before check-out. Once I'm ready to settle up, I start weighing my snack options: a Cake Monkey carrot muffin with pistachio crumble or a CHOC brownie for now and Early Bird granola or a Cube sandwich for later? More often than not I manage to put it (almost) all back and escape with my coffee (when I'm not in a rush—which feels like nearly never—I like to catch up on the patio with friends) but I know that next visit, I'll covet it all over again."
· Broom Street General Store [Twitter]
· Crystal Meers [Twitter]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked LA]