I’m such a mean girl. On Sunday, I drove down to Venice to check out the new Intelligentsia Coffee shop only to find it closed. The torturous sight of a few people wandering around inside was made worse when you figured out that they were employees training on how to make the best espresso in Los Angeles. As a former Seattleite, I am very, very picky about my coffee and have been waiting for something like this to open on this side of the earth.

Though it is part of a major metropolis, Venice, the hippie 'hood by the beach, is really a very small town. Extremely small. Basically, a village with 300 people -- all of whom are painfully hip. In New York, the opening of a coffee shop with a cult-like following, featuring a DJ and free beer, food, and wine (and coffee) would be the thing you stop by first, on your way to many other activities. But in Venice, the opening of the Eastside fave coffeehouse Intelligentsia was the main event. Nay, it was the only event.

If Los Angeles were a band, Hollywood would be the showy lead singer. And Silver Lake would be the understated, contemplative bassist -- the George Harrison of LA neighborhoods. Here’s how to spend a day in this artsy section of the city.