echo park Archives

Picky writers can’t just go to any coffee shop. We need good working spaces with comfy chairs and tables. We need decent wifi and electric outlets for our laptops. We (or at least I) need good reading light. And we like to be able to hang for a few hours without feeling like we’re overstaying our welcome.

Which is to say — I’m really putting together this best coffee shops list for me.

I often find myself stuck in a part of town I don’t know very well — usually before or after some event — because I don’t want to drive home until after rush hour ends. Now (or more accurately, soon, when I finish this 5-part guide covering most L.A. neighborhoods), whatever area of Los Angeles I happen to be in, I know where I can stop to read or get some writing done while I wait for traffic to clear.

Earlier:
* Best coffee shops for writers in Los Angeles: Central LA
* Best coffee shops for writers in Los Angeles: Westside
* Best coffee shops for writers in Los Angeles: The Valley
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Silver Lake: Dinosaur Coffee. 4334 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

Need freedom from free wifi? This no-free-wifi spot will force you to work on your novel instead of senselessly surfing the internet. Dinosaur’s a spacious, inviting, and well lit place with nice wood paneling and little decorative plants. There’s Fourbarrel coffee, creatively-named blended coffee drinks, and some good teas.

Echo Park: Stories Books & Cafe. 1716 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles.

This is my favorite coffee shop on the list — because it’s also a bookstore, and carries my book, Cake Time! Plus it’s a cozy place to work over coffee, Juice Served Here drinks, or beer or wine — take your pick. There’s a decent small menu of simple eats as well as a gluten-free and vegan pastry selection. Plus, the outdoor patio with communal tables is a perfect place to read on sunny days — or take in a performance or reading on some evenings. Here’s a photo of me with the other readers at a Kaya Press reading from a couple years back —

From left to right: Zoe Ruiz, Doug Manuel, Siel Ju, Lisa Locascio, Brandon Som at the Crevasse in Los Angeles reading with Kaya Press at Stories Books and Cafe. Photo by Diana Arterian

Earlier: 11 best bookstores in Los Angeles for writers

Eagle Rock: Found Coffee. 1355 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles.

This sunny, welcoming spot’s great for writing, reading, and meeting up with other writers. Found focuses on local coffee roasters, so it’s a nice place to discover the caffeinated companies near you! Thanks Janice Lee (read her book Daughter, reviewed here and pictured below!) for introducing me to this spot!

Glassel Park: Habitat Coffee Shop. 3708 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles.

This spacious cafe offers something for everyone: gigantic sandwiches ranging from roasted pork to vegan seitan bahn mi, soba noodle salads, all manner of gluten free energy bars, and cold pressed juices.

The wifi is fast and the seating plentiful and soy lattes come with Rorschach test-esque art because apparently it’s tougher to do latte art with soy milk —

Highland Park: Kindness & Mischief. 5537 N Figueroa St., Los Angeles.

This cozy spot has pretty macha lattes, lovely natural wood tables with decorative blue glass, and fun specialty concoctions like The Kindness: milk, sweetened coconut condensed milk, cinnamon, and espresso.

There are two downsides to this cafe, however: no wifi and a super early 5 pm close time! The upside? Kindness & Mischief is just down the block from Book Show!

More: Top 11 coffee shops for writers in Portland

If you like your literary readings punched up with a musical interlude and a little healthy writing competition, come to the next Roar Shack reading.

Conceived by handful of friends four years ago, Roar Shack today is organized and hosted by local writer David Rocklin (below; The Luminist), who sometimes even brings along cookies and wine. These monthly readings in Echo Park will introduce you to new writers, make you feel part of a bigger literary community, and maybe even give you a chance to read your own work!

Your first time at Roar Shack might feel a bit disorienting — because when you get to the address, you’ll actually find yourself at The Echo Park Time Travel Mart — a curious little store that sells fun oddities like Golden Horde Powdered Horse Milk. If you stand around looking lost, the nice guy at the counter will ask if you’re here for the reading, and point you through the black double doors in the back.

Go through those, and you’ll find yourself in — a classroom. These are the headquarters of 826 LA, a nonprofit dedicated to helping young people write. But those kids won’t be there on Roar Shack day! Instead, you’ll find yourself among a few dozen local readers and writers, chatting, looking around, or just sitting at their desks as if waiting for class to start.

Seriously, the fluorescent light classroom setting does lack a little ambiance, but don’t let that put you off! Just use filters if you happen to take selfies.

There’ll be little notecards on your table. If you feel so moved, take one and write a random writing prompt on it. Really, any sentence or phrase — or even just a word — will do. David will come around to collect these then select one for the Live Write. Introduce yourself to him then! Tell him you found Roar Shack through me.

A few minutes after 4 pm, David will take the mic and introduce the first of an eclectic handful of readers — who’ll do everything from give rousing poetry slam performances to shyly read quiet personal essays off their phones. Here’s my friend Lauren Eggert-Crowe, reading her poetry at the August event.

In the middle of these short readings, the Live Write happens. David will ask for two volunteers to write on the chosen prompt during the 10-minute musical performance. Afterwards, the volunteers will read their impromptu pieces, the audience will vote on whose they liked better, then the winner will be invited to read at the next Roar Shack.

Want to read at a future event? Simply email David at drocklin2@gmail.com with a writing sample to be considered. Or just show up and win the Live Write!

And regardless — come to the next Roar Shack, happening September 11. Yours truly will be reading, along with Natashia Deon (Grace), Toni Ann Johnson (Remedy for a Broken Angel), Seth Fischer, and poet Rich Ferguson. See you there!

Roar Shack reading series. Second Sunday of every month, 4 pm – 5:30 pm. 826 LA, 1714 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles.

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Tag: echo park

Best coffee shops for writers in Los Angeles: Northeast LA

Roar Shack: A Monthly Echo Park reading series with music and a Livewrite

sielju