Silver Lake is an Eastside neighborhood that fully embraces a vibrant, yet laid back lifestyle. Funky blocks decorated with street art are lined with artisanal coffee shops, vegan cafes and creative eateries, as well as indie music venues, trendy bars, galleries, and boutiques.
Rolling (and some more-than-rolling 😆🙈) hills surround Silver Lake's namesake reservoir, which is ringed by a popular walking trail with a dog park and a grassy meadow. The hills in this part of the neighborhood mean you can find great views looking out over Downtown Los Angeles or toward the Hollywood Sign on your way to the world-famous Sunset Boulevard.
Residentially, Silver Lake offer a nice blend of single and multi-family homes, with a diverse assortment of architectural styles, including textbook examples of Craftsman, Spanish Colonial, Tudor, and modernist homes, along with others.
On our three mile run through the southwest corner of this in-demand neighborhood we passed several notable locations:
First Bellevue Park, a medium-sized park with a rec center, baseball diamond, outdoor basketball courts, and multipurpose sports field, along with a playground, preschool, barbecue pits, and picnic area. Nestled between residential streets, Bellevue is a sweet little sanctuary that never gets too crowded, where friends and families gather at Bellevue to picnic, walk their dogs, work out, and play organized sports.
For families, Silver Lake offers some of the most well-resourced and high-achieving schools in Los Angeles Unified School District, including Micheltorena Street Elementary (K-5) with its nurturing arts and Spanish Dual Language curriculum.
Night+Market Song, extremely popular among locals and out-of-towners alike, is known for James Beard-nominated Chef Kris Yenbamroong's adventurous and authentic takes on Thai cuisine and for their award-winning wine program. The pastrami pad kee mao and fried chicken sandwich are not to be missed, but we'd never say no to their classic pad thai or mango with coconut sticky rice for dessert!
Just a few blocks from Night+Market Song is El Cochinito. A neighborhood favorite opened by Gladys Gutierrez in 1988, El Cochinito is a small, family-run Cuban restaurant with an unpretentious setting that has been featured on several "Best of" lists, including taking first place at the International Cuban Sandwich Festival in 2018 for their lechón asado.
If you're craving ice cream, nostalgia, and corporate America, Baskin-Robbins is just three doors over from El Cochinito, though nearby Portland-darling Blue Star Donuts and vegan hit Donut Friend may vie for your sweet tooth attentions.
Silver Lake is also home to a really fun wine scene with more than a few specialty wine shops. On this run alone we ran by at least three: Vinovore, featuring exclusively womxn-produced natural wines, Corner Shop, a cute neighborhood bodega with an exceptional wine and beer selection, and Psychic Wines, THE place to go for any natty wine fanatic, showcasing small-production, hard-to-find wines from the world's visionary and creatively minded winemakers.
Finally, as we wrapped up our run we ran by Cafecito Organico, a cornerstone of this part of Silver Lake where locals line up daily for their robust organic coffee. During normal non pandemic times, their back patio known as “The Hoover Wilderness” is a fun place to meet up with friends, or read a book and share some caffeinated vibes.
Check out the 2021 SFR sales for Silver Lake SW
Running LA is a recurring feature where Audris and Ray literally run through neighborhoods, then compile community profiles encompassed by their routes.
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