Kitsch LA

From tikis to tchotchkes to a Thai Elvis, see LA in a different light— fabulously fun and gloriously tacky.

In the starry-eyed megalopolis that is Los Angeles, some things are eternal. The City of Angels brims with the Plasticine pleasures of celeb spotting and shopping for what’s haute. Yet sometimes it feels difficult to be in the right place at the right time, whether that’s because of LA’s start-stop traffic or because one minute it’s hot, the next it’s not. But beyond the over-polished glitz and glamour are freeze-dried cultural capsules, little corners of kitsch where style stands still. Here’s a brief tour of some of LA’s much loved tacky treasures. Step off the plane in LA and breathe deeply. You’ll immediately catch a whiff of what brings millions to this dream-filled basin: optimism and anticipation for the future. An excellent example of this exists just beyond the doors to the secured areas of Los Angeles International Airport’s terminals. This is where you’ll encounter Encounter (209 World Way, 310-215-5151, encounterlax.com), a restaurant and bar located in what was built as the “Theme Building” when the “Jet Age” LAX was constructed in 1961. With 135-foot parabolic arches contributing to the “Jetsons” feel, Encounter offers a 360-degree view of LAX, “California fresh” cuisine, an array of intergalactic-themed cocktails (The Milky Way white Russian, The Cosmos cosmopolitan, The Jet Set negroni) and a welcome haven. Within the moonstone quarry walls you’ll find opalescent décor, customized lava lights and a crater-shaped bar where ebullient servers will discuss everything from flight plans to life plans with the same frivolity. Within Encounter’s supersaturated environment, imaginations soar—just make sure you pace yourself with the “jet fuel” so your head doesn’t as well.

Not far down the 405 Freeway from LAX is Randy’s Donuts (805 W Manchester Ave, 310-645-4707, www.randysdonuts.com), built in 1952 during a period of architecture known as representational, programmatic and vernacular. While Southern California is certainly eye-catching thanks to its smattering of wayside neon, representational architecture further caught the eye by being a literal embodiment of its industry.

Classic examples included the domed Brown Derby and hot dog-shaped lunch stand Tail o’ the Pup (dating to the ’40s). Originally a ’20s gentleman’s café chain, the last Derby is a 1929 theater on Los Feliz Blvd (featured in 1996’s kitschy guys’ flick Swingers). Tail o’ the Pup was, until January 2006, located in the shadow of the Beverly Center but is currently in storage awaiting a new home.

When you see the giant donut (22 feet in diameter) sitting atop Randy’s oblong Inglewood, CA, building there’s no doubt in your mind as to what is offered at this 24-hour drive-thru stand. Once part of the Big Donut chain, Randy’s is now one of three such structures (along with Kindle’s Do-nuts and Gardena’s Donut King II) but remains the most famous thanks to numerous appearances in movies and shows such as Earth Girls Are Easy, Mars Attacks!, Coming to America and “Futurama,” among others. Owners Larry and Ron Weintraub (look for an owner’s car in the lot, featuring “BG DONUT” on the tag) have meticulously maintained the landmark, as well as the actual donuts’ delectable appeal. Randy’s Donuts is one of the reasons sardonic singer/songwriter Randy Newman sang “I Love LA.” A monolithic donut, how quintessentially LA.

Los Angeles is a town in which looming large is as essential as living large, especially in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. There are plenty of places that evoke Tinseltown’s bygone era, where movie stars throughout the decades lived it up: the movie palace-era hangout the Pig’n Whistle, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Musso & Frank Grill, and the Chateau Marmont hotel on the ever-buzzing Sunset Strip, home to Crossroads of the World, a ’30s ocean liner-themed shopping court. Down Sunset, visit The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel, or explore the eerie testaments throughout the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Certainly the Hollywood Sign itself is imbued with undeniable kitsch factor.

But for true kitsch—not just gaudy or faded glamour—you need to travel east along either Sunset or Hollywood Blvd into the Thai Town/Los Feliz/ Silverlake neighborhoods. If there’s one larger-than-life figure that most embodies kitsch it is that of Elvis and his myriad impersonators; and while he may be far more associated with Las Vegas than Los Angeles, LA still manages to put its own spin on the King. Make your way just west of Interstate 101 to Palms Thai (5900 Hollywood Blvd, 323-462-5073, www.palmsthai.com), a brisk, bustling restaurant known for late-night dining and being home to “Kavee,” aka Kevin, the official Thai Elvis. (He’s the one driving up in a Cadillac with the license plate “T ELVIS”). Under bright lights and situated next to a gleaming, wrought metal statue of Elvis, Kevin croons songs from the low-key end of the Presley spectrum to diners seated at long, communal cafeteria tables. While the specialties—including wild boar, quail, deer and whole fish—are certainly memorable, call Palms Thai for Kevin’s performance schedule if you want a truly unique dining experience.

Towering even above rockabilly and the swing revival, tiki bars are celebrations of retro kitsch. While tropical drinks have been an LA tradition since the ’30s (spurred by the founding father of tiki bars, Don the Beachcomber), a fascination with South Seas/surf culture heavily permeated America following World War II and Hawaii gaining statehood in 1959. Pop-Polynesian bars such as the Tiki-Ti Hut (4427 Sunset Blvd, 323-669-9381, www.tiki-ti.com)—encrusted with Tiki figurines, blowfish lamps and luau paraphernalia—were the result. Opened by mixologist Ray Buhen in 1961 in a space that was formerly a violin repair shop, meat pie factory and Republican headquarters, the Tiki-Ti Hut still offers 85 drinks (primarily rum-based) from 45-year-old secret recipes passed down to Buhen’s son and grandson. This sliver of a shack fits 12 stools and only a handful of tables, and be warned, it’s cash only. But people don’t just come for the personality, though the Buhens have that to spare. No, people line up for the drinks, and those who can’t decide which one they want can request to spin a drinks-list wheel and let fate decide. Recommendations include the Ray’s Mistake (named for the founder) and the Uga Booga, which is topped off with a rum floater from a tiki spout as patrons grunt, “Uga Booga!” As it’s owner-operated, hours are whimsical and smoking is allowed inside.

For something more rustic, visit the Bigfoot Lodge (3172 Los Feliz Blvd, 323-662-9227, www.bigfootlodge.com), a casual watering hole cast in a State Park log cabin theme, where Yogi and Smokey the Bear oversee LA’s smokin’ hot hipster set. The same owners have themed grotto Little Cave in Highland Park.

But if you’re in LA, the Dresden Room (1760 N Vermont Ave, 323-665-4294, www.thedresden.com)—the granddaddy of supper club swank, —is a must. The Dresden Restaurant has maintained a singular presence since establishing its Sinatra-era identity in 1964, and its profile was more recently raised by a scene in Swingers, which resulted in nouveau lounge lizards slithering in nightly. One of the reasons people return to this Continental-meets-Californian lounge time and time again is to experience the jazz stylings of Marty and Elayne (www..martyandelayne.com), who have been laying down gently fluffed, swinging piano bar standards and loungy ’70s covers Monday through Saturday for almost 25 years. Patrons belly up to Elayne’s baby grand, rimmed by a curvaceous ledge for drinks, to watch her and Marty play with breezy, psychedelic flair. Elayne’s sometimes on flute, Marty’s on upright bass or drums. Of course, to grab a seat on busy nights means a two-drink minimum, at least one of which should be the frothy house specialty the Blood & Sand (originally a bourbon concoction of former employee Ray Buhen, the founder of the Tiki-Ti Hut).

If you just can’t walk away from a kitsch tour of LA without a suitable souvenir, Wacko (4633 Hollywood Blvd, 323-663-0122, www.soapplant.com) encapsulates the highest concentration of kitsch in Los Angeles. The last authority in tchotchkes, Wacko has been located somewhere in LA since the ’70s and overflows with “future collectibles” galore. Through affordable accoutrements, Wacko forecasted the swing revival, Polynesian resurgence and jet set ultra-lounge chic, and champions folk art (kitsch-in-training). There are also more commercial coffee table books and KISS figures, alongside just about any other pop culture-based figurine you can imagine. Nothing says timeless kitsch—or LA for that matter—like Wacko’s subversion of mass culture icons. Gifts that keep on giving, indeed.