5 Spots You’d Never Think to Visit in Los Angeles

Yes, Los Angeles’ 502 square miles are a celebrity playground and home to affluent Black neighborhoods like Baldwin Hills and Ladera Heights, but there is so much more to the city and these unique activities may just be under your radar. EBONY has visited and tested these five hot spots you’d never think to visit while galavanting through the City of Angels. We think they deserve a prominent spot on your travel to-do list. 

Erewhon to sip a smoothie by supermodel Winnie Harlow

Erewhon, an organic grocery with several locations throughout Los Angeles and a fiercely loyal clientele, has a new smoothie on its delectable menu. Supermodel and vitiligo awareness champion Winnie Harlow has created the Island Glow smoothie, a creamy blend of Vita Coco Coconut Milk, mango, pineapple, lime and more, which is on the grocer’s extensive drink menu for a limited time. A portion of every sale is donated to organizations close to Harlow’s heart: LA-based A Place Called Home and Women’s Centre of Jamaica. Available at all Erewhon locations through April 18.

Den Mother for a cool bath immersion 

There’s an oasis of health in the busy area of Abbot Kinney Blvd. A transformed home has become a wellness center, offering traditional and Ayurvedic services, plant-based medicine, herbology and acupuncture. In our book, it’s the garden in the back that shouldn’t be missed. There, you can immerse yourself in hot-cold therapy, jumping between a heated cedar sauna and a cold bath plunge, a practice that aids in detoxification and deep relaxation. Den Mother’s two private therapy bungalows also have outdoor showers stocked with herbal bath products. Afterward, sit in your robe while sipping on freshly brewed teas from LA’s own Huxbrook Tea in Den Mother‘s zen backyard oasis.

APT 4B for a cultural gathering

Go back in time with APT 4B, a concept storefront in Row DTLA. Inspired by the street culture birthed in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, this concept shop features branded clothing and partnership collaborations. Owners Moon and Monique Moronta, of Afro-Latino and Mexican descent, wanted to encourage their generation to get off their phones and into the moment. “We recreated a 90s-era New York City apartment from Moon’s memories within these environments, providing a nostalgic and immersive shopping experience,” Moronta shares. “While most apparel brands embraced minimalism in their retail spaces, we dared to be different.” Tapping into the cultural revolution of the past, APT 4B is a place where music, fashion and lifestyle can be discussed and dissected while paying homage to an era that speaks to its founders.

Foodstory to make your own ramen  

When it comes to making ramen, you put your foot in it—literally. In Foodstory‘s Japanese-based cooking class, you learn to prepare ramen noodles by placing the dough in a bag and rolling it out on the floor with your shoeless heel. The process is repeated several times until the dough is soft enough to be cut into strips, boiled and added to a broth brimming with flavor. And let me tell you, it’s delicious.

Art + Practice to celebrate artistic expression

Founded in 2014 by artist Mark Bradford, philanthropist and collector Eileen Harris Norton and community activist Allan DiCastro, Art + Practice (A+P) is a nonprofit and art foundation that offers free arts programs and museum-curated exhibitions in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles. The organization collaborates with institutions across America, including the California African American Museum (CAAM). The exhibition, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Finding Soft Ground, is one of their collaborations at A+P through August 10, 2024.