Category: Best of the Westside

BEST BOOKSTORE SAGE: John Evans, co-owner, Diesel Bookstore By Bliss Bowen If the purpose of a bookstore is the browsing and communal experience that yields discoveries, then Diesel Bookstore co-owner John Evans exemplifies the delight of such an excursion with his philosophical observations. Recommend titles to him, as one recent customer did, and you may find yourself in a civilizing exchange from which you both take away lists of books to read. Diesel’s been an essential hub of the Westside literary community since Evans and co-owner Alison Reid opened in Brentwood Country Mart in 2008. Last Halloween, they launched...

Best Credit Union 1st Place Kinecta Federal Credit Union 8601 Lincoln Blvd., Westchester (310) 410-9672 3027 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica (310) 297-4350 kinecta.org READER RECOMMENDED First Entertainment Credit Union 2425 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica 11052 Washington Blvd., Culver City (888) 800-3328, firstent.org READER RECOMMENDED Los Angeles Federal Credit Union 3850 Culver Center Dr., Culver City (877) 695-2338, lafcu.org Best Accounting Firm 1st Place Sarlo Income Tax Service 1842 Washington Way, Venice (310) 823-6363, sarlo.com READER RECOMMENDED Jeannine Young & Associates 1750 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica (310) 399-1556 READER RECOMMENDED David Stern & Associates 6100 Center Drive, Westchester (310)...

Best Place to Order Up the Custom Cake of Your Dreams: Angel Maid Bakery By Jessica Koslow My stepmother discovered Angel Maid Bakery years ago on the strip of Centinela between Venice and Culver Boulevards, in a part of town now called Del Rey. It’s been our go-to custom cake bakery since, and we all have our favorites. My favorite is strawberry shortcake, with fresh cut strawberries and not-too-sweet whipped cream between layers of white chiffon cake. My stepmom’s fave, the chocolate banana, is also delicious: chocolate cake with sliced bananas and custard cream, completely covered with fresh whipped...

The Heartiest Pho This Side of the 405   Lots of love and no MSG go into this MVP specialty By Kellie Chudzinski Inside Westchester’s Most Valuable Playa diners will find an open 15-seat stone bar, plenty of tables and a room filled with natural light. Tucked on a menu varied with Taiwanese-inspired shareable dishes are two different pho soups. On the surface, pho – pronounced fuh not foh – is a simple Vietnamese soup of rice noodles and broth paired with tender meat and herbs. Though the people of Vietnam have likely been eating something similar to pho...

The Best Do-Gooder: Lycia Naff, Drive-By Do-Gooders By Anthony Torrise Lycia Naff has not let the hurdles of coronavirus stop her from giving for the sake of giving. The Mar Vista local takes a drive once a week to Skid Row and hands out bottles of water, alcohol wipes, high-protein snacks and masks. Naff has been operating Drive-By Do-Gooders for five years off of direct contributions from supporters. Before she created the nonprofit, she set aside a portion of her own income for the better part of two years to fund her efforts. Naff’s passion for helping didn’t start...