A Day In Silverlake - Intelligentsia & LAMill

The day after New Years found me in Silverlake, getting my car detailed. I purchased my very first car with my very own money on November 16, 2006. I was so proud of myself - it was my money, I didn't even take my parents with me to the dealership (actually they didn't even know and were out of the country), the car was black, fast, and had heated AND air conditioned seats. Never again would a girl wear shorts in the summer and have to sit on hot, burning leather seats! It was my dream car and I was determined to drive it until the engine exploded. Umm until an 18-year-old ran a red light while I was making a left turn (I had a green arrow, NOT MY FAULT) and totaled my beloved car. That totally wasn't what I meant by the engine exploding; I had wanted the car to die a lovely car death of natural causes, like being driven 500,000 miles.

I couldn't bring myself to buy a new car again. I would only have ONE new car in my single life! Whatever my future husband buys me is not of my concern. So I bought a used car - the exact same car actually. It had 1,000 miles less on it, and I pretty much got away with not paying anything out of pocket once everything with the insurance was wrapped up. Nice.

Needless to say, I haven't taken care of Car2 the same way I did with Car. Yes, those are their names. So when I got a Yelp deal for a waterless exterior detail, I jumped all over it. Then they told me it would take three to four hours to complete. So I explored Silverlake a bit in the meantime.

Intelligentsia was a few blocks away, so I stopped there first. Full of hipsters chatting and working on their books (there was a lot of scratching in notebooks going on), this Silverlake coffee shop at the Sunset Junction is a great place to see and be seen. Their coffees are supposedly good, though I don't drink coffee. I got a hot chocolate and a goat cheese herb scone, both of which were divine. They have indoor and outdoor seating, and people bring their pets along with them.

Oh no non-fat milk here, as a warning to my handful of readers. Only low-fat. If they're gong to make you a milk-based drink, it's gonna taste good. Why is there a hockey player on my cup - do hipsters love hockey? Speaking of which, there was a super cute one standing next to me for awhile for his skinny jeans were tighter than mine ... and his legs were skinnier than mine. Double fail.

Once the car was ready (it looked so shiny and new, like it just left the dealership lot!), I drove to LAMill for brunch, which is about 1.5 miles away. I totally love the atmosphere at LAMill and they have food along with their great selection of coffees and pastries. When you order coffee, whether hot or iced, they make each cup fresh at the moment. But like I said, no coffee for me. I settled for an iced tea instead since I had the hot chocolate earlier at Intelligentsia.

LAMill is a bit more crowded, but the seats are more comfortable and the food selection is vast. There are brunch items, pastries, desserts and lunch sandwiches/salads. They also serve wine. What a perfect place!

smoked salmon benedict, baby frisse, hollandaise

All in all, it was a relaxing day and I had plenty of alone time to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It was, however, a bit lonely. Someone come along with me next time! I want to be with someone when they try the Blanco Negro, which is frozen shaved coffee topped with ice cream.

Intelligentsia Coffee
3922 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

LAMill Coffee
1636 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026