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.

Yes, that is a line around the block on Abbott Kinney Boulevard pictured above. Yes, it was like that for many, many hours. No, we didn’t get in, despite trying the old going-to-the-back-door-and pretending-like-we’d-just-stepped-out-for-a-smoke trick. The situation was made more cruel because of the very see-through nature of the shop itself -- airy, with tall glass windows, that gives it a spacious warehouse effect. Those of us on the outside could glimpse the fun the people on the inside were having, thanks to the tunes of DJ Peanut Butter Wolf.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. In this case, we decided to forgo one line for another, this one up the street at the infamous Kogi taco truck. Only 15 minutes later, we finally got our due in the form of the three amazing bite-sized Korean BBQ-inspired tacos. Now, that was worth the wait.

I'm sure I'll visit the coffee shop eventually, just after the line and the hype has calmed down a bit.

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