Not the industry, but the actual neighborhood that gave Tinseltown its name. The NYT has a new video up with their version of how to see the real city lurking beyond the Walk of Fame, the Kodak Theater and Grauman’s Chinese. No shocks here: the Times’ intrepid reporter braves some “weird” left-coast new-age culture at Golden Bridge Yoga, goes to the Hollywood Hills, and drives a car (woah!). There’s also an obligatory mention of Thai Town and everyone’s favorite symbol of quirky LA culture, Palms restaurant’s Thai Elvis impersonator. Having eaten at Palms recently, however, I can attest that locals do eat there, and the food is damn good — Thai hot, not milquetoast Westerner hot. All in all, though, this is a nice sampling of things to do that give you a real feel of the place, behind the scenes. It sure beats the heck out of “Homes of the Stars” tours.



Elsewhere:
- “Kitsch LA” (GO Airtran Magazine)
- “Database of Elvis Impersonators” (Boing Boing)