California - 2008 Official State Visitor's Guide and Travel Planner - (Page 38) FROM LEFT At Canter’s Deli try chicken soup; counter seats at the Fairfax Farmers Market; Olvera Street souvenir stall. its Central Plaza resembles a fading movie set: Strings of red paper lanterns hang above narrow walkways; and at the Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association, old men play mah-jongg, slapping down their tiles so hard it sounds like firecrackers. In contrast, newcomers are reviving old buildings with fresh paint in bright plum, yellow, and turquoise and opening galleries and shops. A defunct Chinese restaurant has become Realm, an upscale home accessories and glassware store. Nearby, Munky King sells “art toys,” vinyl and acrylic dolls done in cartoonish Asian styles by L.A. artists. One that sold out quickly was a small white bear being manipulated by a winged devil holding a video-game controller. Across Hill Street on Chung King Road, some traditional Chinatown gift shops have closed, giving way to non-Chinese galleries such as Art for Humans (logo: a man in a gas mask) and Fringe Exhibitions (where a sign for one installation piece reads “Caution: Open Wormhole. Watch Your Step”). There’s a generation gap between the old and new Chinatowns, but everyone agrees that dining makes a good reason to visit. Try plates of dim sum at the vast Empress Pavilion. Or grab lunch at Foo Chow Restaurant, which may look like a tourist trap (a sign proclaims “Jackie Chan’s Rush Hour best-seller was shot here!”) but serves inspired dishes from its 38 Special Style menu. Less traditional is the Via Cafe, where artists and gallery goers gather for Vietnamese food, espresso, and bubble tea. Because Chinatown is in transition, now is a great time to enjoy L foot massage] its dynamic blend [ of old and new. Where: Along North Broadway and North Hill St., between West Cesar Chavez Ave. and Bernard St. El Pueblo: Hispanic hometown ll day Sunday, families stream toward the city’s oldest chapel, La Placita, the Plaza Church, formally known as La Inglesia de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Angeles (founded in 1781). A dozen masses held in Spanish attract 14,000 worshippers—men in shined cowboy boots, women holding babies, children neatly dressed. Later they stroll in the courtyard, where food stalls turn out tamales and, at the bingo table, a caller draws from a deck of Loteria cards—“La Luna! El Corazón!”— as players mark their bingo cards with raw pinto beans. In contrast, adjacent Olvera Street evokes a romantic vision of Old Mexico. Created by a 1920s preservationist to save the city’s earliest adobe and brick buildings, this Mexican marketplace attracts tourists, who browse stalls overflowing with straw sombreros, maracas, A and Mexican wrestlers’ masks. A shop called Olverita’s Village has Day of the Dead items (from papiermâché folk art figures to sugar skulls), colorful embroidered suits worn by charros (Mexican cowboys), and a seemingly endless supply of things emblazoned with the mono-brow face of painter Frida Kahlo (chairs, chests, tin altars). Popular, authentic apparel includes special occasion guayabera shirts, elaborate and colorful blouses, and rebozos. The restaurant La Golondrina Café, occupying the city’s first brick building (1857), serves up spicy enchiladas and frothy margaritas under a shady portico. For dessert browse the nearby stalls for Mexican candy, like the pumpkin-andsugar treat calabaza. Olvera Street L culture fest] ends [ at a tree-shaded plaza, not far from the spot where 11 farm families arrived from Mexico in 1781 to start the settlement that grew into Los Angeles. Where: Along North Main St. and North Alameda St., between Arcadia St. and West Cesar Chavez Ave. Fairfax Avenue: The heart of Jewish L.A. o understand Fairfax Avenue, slip into a booth at Canter’s Deli and order lunch from a waitress who has worked there for 30 years—and who Enter L keyword in Search box at visitcalifornia.com Rob Howard T http://www.visitcalifornia.com
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