Joyce Wrice

Songstress Joyce Wrice credits travel and the work of the West Coast's Jazz and R&B veterans as her best forms of education. Joyce resides in LA, a place she nods to as a city of contrasts - “you can be at the beach, up in the snow/mountains, then hike at some cool forest like place”. Here are her best spots in the city.

United States

Good weather is an added bonus to the otherwise kaleidoscopic, if not overwhelming, array of possibilities—culturally, architecturally, or gastronomically—that await you in this four-million-strong city. The possibilities are endless for those willing to peel back the layers of the city and allow its oddities, contradictions, and soul to guide them.

What's The Deal On

Intro

Cultural History 

The best grub is often tucked in the strip mall

Food & Drink

Unless you want the beach, avoid the westside

Hoods 

Airbnb’s are much more expensive than they used to be

Accomodation

Drugs

L.A. has public transport, but it’s patchy

Local Transport 

Being Queer in LA

Racism exists, but can operate in more subtle ways

Race

If travelling longer distances at night, stick to rideshare 

Solo Travel 

Big-city common sense is the name of the game

Safety 

“To Protect and to Serve” in theory but not in practise 

The Police

Etiquette and Cultural Values

Besides brief, historic uprisings, L.A. is mostly peaceful 

Political Situation 

Spots

The Best Places to Explore in Los Angeles

Guides

Local Guides From Our Community 

Watch

Explore Los Angeles

Features

Los Angeles 

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One of my favorite Japanese/Korean restaurants located around Palms. Beef tongue, Thai glass noodle, daikon nori nori, shishito peppers, shumai, tom yum ramen and some hot sake will have you in your baaaaaaaaaag

Japanese

Ramen

Restaurant

Ramenya

This is a Nigerian restaurant in Inglewood! I really like their okra stew! It's so spicy. I would go here and make sure to have a couple hours to spare because sometimes it takes a while to get your food

Nigerian

Black-Owned

Veronica's Kitchen

This is a Thai restaurant in Gardena! I love savory and spicy burn-your-stomach type of food. Their tom yum soup is my favorite!

Thai

Bowl Thai

This museum is in mid city. It has movie nights in their purple garden and a beautiful bookstore with vinyl, clothing, and candles. You can also just hang out in the garden to read, write, listen to music etc.

Museum 

Underground Museum

This is a really good breakfast, lunch, dinner soul food restaurant in Inglewood and they play great r&b!! I love their pork chops and free mimosas on Sunday I believe ;) Get there early because it gets pretty crowded

Soul food

The Serving Spoon

Delicious egg bread french toast! Beautiful memorabilia. This space used to be the spot many artists, poets, and black panther party members gathered at to hold open mics at in the 1960s

Events

Cafe

Watts Coffee House

Compton born artist and producer Channel Tres  caught our attention last year with the drop of his self titled EP, an open invite into his culturally opulent world. In an era where so much of the music we consume sounds the same, the soulful depth of his voice mixed over Detroit and Chicago house influences, cuts through a sea of beige alternatives and serves much of the sauce for this summer’s playlist. Enjoy his guide to Los Angeles.

Some good Mexican food - burritos are what I get

I don’t skate anymore because I gotta look after my ankles - I dance now

This is another place, but near USC. They show a lot of great things here

All things shopping. I go to Goodwill most of the time, but if you're walking down here you'll see a bunch of stores