L. A. Bizzaro The Insider's Guide to the Obscure, the Absurd and the Perverse in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is an endless source of wonder and novelty for me. People who decry the city as a vapid cultural wasteland are really missing out. Hidden pockets of amazement abound here. I could spend the rest of my life in this city and never run out of things to see.

My friend Matt Maranian knows this. In 1997 he and Tony Lovett wrote a guide to Los Angeles called L. A. Bizzaro! The Insider's Guide to the Obscure, the Absurd and the Perverse in Los Angeles. I defy you to read this and not be surprised, entertained, and eager to head out the door to explore the places covered in this book.

For example, there's Clifton's cafeteria, a "delighfully dingy wonderland," opened in the 1931 with a cedar forest complete with cascading waterfalls and stuffed forest creatures. It's still in operation today. Then there's Tri-Ess Sciences near the Burbank Airport -- a chemical supply house that caters to the special effects industry. There's also the mind-blowing Bob Baker Marionette Theater ("the oldest operating puppet theater in the country"), located under a freeway ramp in a decrepit industrial area of LA. I've enjoyed Baker's skillful and almost-psychedelic shows with my kids three times so far, and I'm looking forward to returning soon.

If you're in LA and have access to a car and this book, you'll never be bored. Link