The ultimate status symbol is a name-brand house.

Plus toothpaste-flavored smoothies, the cactus store is back, and a very important poll.

Happy hump day, everyone. Last night I hit Tondo for the first time since they rolled out their new (and yes, improved) menu. I liked it! Tonight I’m headed to Inverse, and tomorrow I’m going to a get-together at the Gelson’s wine bar.

In Monday’s letter, I mentioned that I think the correct way to walk the Silver Lake Reservoir is counterclockwise. Most of you agreed with me, but some felt differently and asked for an official poll. You can weigh in below to settle this once and for all:

In today’s issue: a midcentury landmark you could actually own, toothpaste-flavored smoothies, the Echo Park cactus store is back (sort of), AEG is investing in DTLA, Spoon & Pork pivots, the tank top/tee combo you need, and a $995k house.

As always, share the Rag with your friends and follow along on Instagram.

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Forget the designer bag — the ultimate east side status symbol is a name-brand midcentury.

In a land of somewhat jaded Angelenos (a fair number of whom seem to have an endless supply of cash and….no discernible job), it’s hard to really, truly impress people. An expensive bag is a dime a dozen on the east side, and a flashy car is likely to inspire more eye rolls than jealousy (seriously, your beater is cooler).

One of the few tried-and-true ways to stop people in their tracks, however, is to own or rent a house designed by someone named Lautner, or Neutra, or Schindler, or Kesling. These homes — a fair number of which dot the east side hills — are modestly sized (usually), overwhelmingly glassy, and deeply sexy. And now there’s one available.

Yesterday, a midcentury designed by Gregory Ain, a slightly lesser-known but no less revered member of that vaunted group, hit the market in Silver Lake. It’s actually not a single-family residence, but part of the Avenel Homes, a collection of ten identical cooperative units built in 1947 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The single-level units are arranged in a sawtooth pattern, so each has an entrance from the outside and a private rear patio. Like each of the nine others, this unit features three bedrooms, one bathroom, and Ain’s famous sliding walls, which can be used to separate or combine living spaces as the occupant sees fit.

I went to an open house at another Avenel unit a few years ago, and this one’s in much better condition. It’s currently asking $1.595mm. If you can afford it, there’s no better place to host a cocktail party — and I promise, no better way to impress your friends.

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🍽️ And now for some table scraps…

• You can now buy a toothpaste-flavored smoothie at Erewhon. It’s a partnership with the toothpaste brand Boka, and at $11, it’s about half the price of a typical Erewhon smoothie. There’s no questioning Erewhon’s uncanny ability to make noise and draw attention to itself, but guys….this one is disgusting.

• From the tip line — the Silver Lake location of Spoon & Pork has permanently closed, and the space will soon become Onda Taco. Spoon & Pork occupied the space at 3131 Sunset Boulevard for more than nine years and later expanded to a second location in Sawtelle; as of 10/27, both are now closed. But instead of giving up the space, the team is pivoting to a taco concept under the same ownership. Exterior signage for Onda is up, and a grand opening date will be announced soon. No word on what the team at (the incredible) Playita Mariscos thinks about another taco place opening….right next door.

• A new hyper-local Substack dedicated to Franklin Village dropped yesterday. If you live in the vicinity of Clark Street Diner and the Oaks Gourmet, Fast Times in Franklin Village is probably for you.

• From the tip line — there’s a new cactus store (lowercase) in the former home of the legendary Cactus Store (uppercase) on Echo Park Avenue. The new store at 1505 1/2 Echo Park Avenue (most recently occupied by Untitled) is owned and operated by a former employee of the Cactus Store, according to my source, and features many of the same plants — plus pottery from the same studios the Cactus Store worked with. No one seems to know what the new place is called, but here’s a photo to prove it’s real. Let me know if you stumble upon the name.

  

• A dozen hundred-year-old palm trees are getting removed from Elysian Park’s Avenue of the Palms. The trees marked with red dots are dead or dying and will be cut down in the spring; the ones marked with white dots will be pruned. These trees are being culled because they’re at risk of falling, but hundreds more might be removed across the city in the near future because they pose a fire risk. Here’s what Avenue of the Palms looked like in the 1920s — it’s worth a look.

• You’ve all driven by the massive megachurch across from Echo Park Lake. Here’s a fascinating story about how the Angelus Temple’s founder, Aimee Semple McPherson, abruptly disappeared in 1926 — and then reappeared a few days after her funeral. Spoiler alert: she likely staged the whole thing to hide an affair with her married radio engineer (and also blackmailed newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in order to contain the damage).

• Cole’s French Dip was supposed to close in July, but the downtown institution just extended (again) through 12/31. Will they ever close? I hope not.

• Global sports and entertainment promoter AEG is planning a 49-story hotel and residential tower adjacent to LA Live in downtown LA. The new project from AEG, which already owns Crypto.com Arena, a 50% stake in the Kings, and a minority stake in the Lakers, will include a 334-room hotel, plus 364 residential units and a variety of restaurant and entertainment venues. Downtown projects have had a decidedly….spotty track record recently, so I’ll believe this one when it opens. That said, I do believe the downtown resurgence is coming.

• I’ve literally never liked a tank, but I’m really into Literary Sport’s tank-and-tee combo. You should start rocking this before everyone else is, because it’s coming.

• There’s nothing I love more than a house that hasn’t been touched in 50+ years, and this place in Los Feliz fits the bill. This house is expensive, yes, but it’s also an increasingly rare opportunity for someone to get their hands on an old house that hasn’t been messed up by someone with too much money and too little taste.

• And here’s a three-bedroom house on Silver Lake’s best street for $995k. This is even more of a full gut than the last one (don’t even look if you’re scared of a project), but you’ll never see a deal like this again. It’s a good size, the location is prime, and it has a big backyard that’s begging for a Terremoto revamp.

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