By Laura Medina
Bombarded at the last minute, first in the morning, after thumping and grooving the night before at a Sony Music Labor Day party, with incessant bugging from visiting tourists and relatives who want to sample the taste and the experience of the "real LA" experience, all in one week.
What they really want to do is dip their toes in Malibu then pretend to be LA hipsters for a week, bringing the cool vibe back home.
Let's always revert back to the basics, thirsty and hungry.
Since you'll be vacationing for a week, it'll be easier to recharge and refuel on a Monday to Thursday at Malibu Farms Cafe when they use local, fresh produce in their cocktails and meals.
Want some cool souvenirs that you'll be proud to wear and show off to impress folks, back home?
Let's get started at The Ranch on Malibu Pier, a California Chic general store. A California Chic version of the Hamptons. Only in Malibu varsity jackets, coasters, and nick nacks that you can incorporate in your wardrobe and living room and kitchen decorations and utensils.
Want really experience the beach lifestyle of California, the surfing culture that it made famous and popular, enough to be an aspirational lifestyle and goal, globally?
Don't worry. At the beginning of the Malibu Pier is another general store, Malibu Surf Shack. It's more surfer focused as The Ranch on Malibu Pier is more general store. But hey, if you want to skim before you surf the waves, Malibu Surf Shack can help you dip your toes in surf, scuba, and swimming gear without fear.
Since you're using Labor Day Weekend to kick off your vacation, why not start it off with an uniquely Malibu experience that only locals know, Boys and Girls Club of Malibu Chili Cook-Off Carnival, a fundraiser for the local Boys and Girls Club.
Remember, it's quality over quantity and it's all about the experience.
Busting the California vegan cliché, the carnival's chili cook-off stews the best variety of chili, even vegan ones.
Okay, let's be honest. We all wanna be in Malibu because it's cool, in attitude and in climate.
Uniquely Malibu, at it's Boys and Girls Malibu Chili Cook-Off Carnival, Malibu fashion brands are selling special collector's edition t-shirts and fashion gear, just to raise money for the local charity.
Win win, you took home something uniquely cool while supporting a charity.
Speaking of cool vibes that you can only soak up in Southern California, there are two Aviator Nation boutiques in LA, the first, original one in Abbot Kinney and the bigger, flagship boutique, across the street from Malibu Pier, that used to be Neil Young's club.
Let Malibu Pier be your jumping off point to the greater spectrum of LA.
Gradually diving deeper in LA, hidden gem Abbot Kinney, Venice's uber-hip shopping street is where surf meets city, the home to "Dogtown Skaters," where Seventies wild kids switch from surfing the urban choppy waves to skate boarding the cement jungles of abandoned construction sites and empty swimming pools and the urban beach of the Venice Boardwalk nearby,
Some of you all want to sip and nibble on SoCal's vegan, gourmet cuisine due to the fact, California is the world's fruit and vegetable basket. Fruits and nuts abound.
Wake up with The Butcher's Daughter's vegan and still original meat version fare for breakfast.
In a few blocks away, for a chic and cheap Happy Hour snack or dinner or you're dying for a burger protein charge, hop and skip on over to Greenleaf Cafe. They got you covered from darn good hearty gourmet burgers to healthy cocktails, mocktails, and tonics.
To truly experience LA full spectrum and since DTLA is "hot," you need to end your visit at The Row, https://rowdtla.com/
If you're going to end your trip on a Sunday, best to savor Smorgasburg LA
Thanks to Covid-19 quarantine, Abbot Kinney has to put a stop to their popular First Friday's Food Truck Fair.
That attention has switched on over to DTLA's The Row's Sunday Smorgasburg LA, in what used to be LA's meat packing district.
Smorgasburg LA is a foodie's wet dream, a Sunday market of deliciously unique meals and dishes, like Lobsterdamus Order Here — Lobsterdamus
The Northeast got nothing over LA's lobster love.
LA shows its lobster love by whipping cool creative dishes like Lobster Garlic Noodle, thanks from its Vietnamese SoCal community. Their garlic noodles and now, LA puts Garlic Noodle in everything from Crab Garlic Noodles to Lobster Garlic Noodles.
LA is home to classic All-American Burgers and Fries. LA's Lobsterdamus just elevate it to Lobster Truffle Fries with Cheese Shreds.
Sample the taste of LA, from Malibu thru Abbot Kinney midway to DTLA's The Row during your Labor Day Week.
Remember, there are AirBnBs, hotels, and motels dotted thru out Malibu, Abbot Kinney, and DTLA.
