Shopping in California
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A
Grand Central Market
The frenzied and sawdust-sprinkled Grand Central Market across the street has some fun nosh spots.
reviewed
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B
DSW
The basement clearance section is where recovering shoe hounds come after they've sworn that they've bought their last pair for the season. Diligent research has uncovered 40% to 60% off Marc Jacobs flats, Betsy Johnson wedges and an inexplicable bonanza of limited-edition Pumas.
reviewed
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C
Universal City Walk
With flashing video screens, oversized facades and garish color combinations, City Walk hovers beside Universal Studios like a reject from the Blade Runner –meets– Willy Wonka school of architecture. Opened in 1993 as a shopping adjunct to the theme park, this outdoor mall evolved into a local hangout that can feel like a middle-school mecca on weekends. Its 65 shops, restaurants and entertainment venues offer a mix of mid- and lowbrow attractions, with low leading by a nose. Beyond the knickknack stores and chains, the new Dodgers Clubhouse (818-761-5677) stands out with its Dodgers-related clothing and accessories – including bats broken during games. The courtyard…
reviewed
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D
The Grove
This outdoor mall is one of LA’s most popular shopping destinations. Its recipe for success? Fill a faux Italian palazzo with 40 name-brand stores and restaurants, toss in a fountain, the Pacific Theatres and a sprinkling of celebrities, then top it off with a trolley rolling back and forth down the middle. PT Barnum would be proud. Check out the roof of the parking garage for stellar city views. Highlights include little-girl fave American Girl Place and grown-up-gal boutique Theodore. Parking free for the first hour; $3 for two to three hours.
reviewed
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E
Rockridge
Rockridge is a popular shopping district. The lively, upscale neighborhood is centered on College Ave, which runs from Broadway all the way to the UC Berkeley Campus. College Ave is lined with clothing boutiques, good bookstores, a vintage record shop, several pubs and cafés, and quite a few upscale restaurants - maybe the largest concentration in the Bay Area. You could easily spend a satisfying afternoon or evening browsing, eating and drinking here.
Exiting BART at the Rockridge station puts you in the thick of things.
reviewed
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F
Aquarius Records
When pop seems played out, this is the dawning of the age of Aquarius Records, featuring Armenian blues, Oakland warehouse-party bands and rare Japanese releases. Recent staff favorites include Sounds of North American Frogs, groovy '60 Brazilian tropicalia from Os Mutantes, woozy folk from New Zealand's Torlesse Super Group and SF's own Prizehog, enthusiastically described as 'dirgey doom pop slowcore!'
reviewed
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G
826 Valencia
'No buccaneers! No geriatrics!' warns the sign above the vat of sand where kids rummage for buried pirates' booty. The eccentric Pirate Supply Store sells eye patches, scoops from an actual tub o' lard, and McSweeney's literary magazines to support a teen writing nonprofit and the Fish Theater, where a puffer fish is immersed in Method acting.
reviewed
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Shopping Strips
Shopping Strips offers everything for the urban hippie, from handmade sidewalk-vendor jewelry to head-shop paraphernalia. Most appealing are, irrefutably, its terrific book and music stores.
Another strip of shops is along College Ave in the Elmwood District.
On 4th St, north of University Ave, you'll find upscale clothing, kitchen supply, book and gift stores.
reviewed
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H
Japonesque
Wabi-sabi is not something you smear on sushi, but the fine appreciation for organic forms and materials you can experience first-hand at Japonesque. Owner Koichi Hara stocks antique Japanese bamboo baskets and contemporary ceramics, alongside Ruth Rhoten's molten silver vases and Hiromichi Iwashita's graphite-coated, chiseled-wood panels that look like bonfire embers.
reviewed
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I
elizabethW
Local scent-maker elizabethW supplies the tantalizing aromas of changing seasons without the sweaty brows or frozen toes. 'Sweet Tea' smells like a Georgia porch in summertime; 'Vetiver' like autumn in Maine. For a true SF fragrance, 'Leaves' is as audaciously green as Golden Gate Park in January.
reviewed
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J
Blue Bee & Blue Beetle
Find eclectic, stylin' clothes at one of the best indie boutiques in town; there's a denim shop and a men's section tucked in back. In fact, wander downtown and you'll start seeing Blue Bee specialty shops everywhere you look. Their ever-expanding local empire includes shops for kids, luxury and shoes. Also has its own line of hip jeans.
reviewed
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K
Century City
A divine alfresco shopping mall, and it’s only a mile from Rodeo Dr. Godiva, Kenneth Cole and Abercrombie & Fitch are among the more than 140 mostly high-end stores anchored by Bloomingdales and Macy’s. New shops, restaurants and a dining terrace were added in 2005 as part of a long-term renovation. Parking free for three hours.
reviewed
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L
Two Rodeo
Most people shopping in Rodeo Drive gravitate to Euro-flavored Two Rodeo , a cobbled lane lined with outdoor cafés for primo people-watching. Tip: if Rodeo price tags make you gasp, head one block over to the more down-to-earth boutiques and chic chains (Lululemon to Jigsaw London) along Beverly Dr.
reviewed
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M
Upper Playground
Blend into the SF scenery with locally designed 'Left Coast' hoodies, geek-chic tees featuring the state of California stuffed into a tube sock, and collegiate pennants for city neighborhoods (the Tenderloin totally needs a cheering section). Men's gear dominates, but there are women's tees, kids' tees in the back room and slick graffiti art in Fifty24SF Gallery next door.
reviewed
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N
La Arcada
Near Figueroa St, this historical red-tile passageway was designed by Myron Hunt (builder of the Rose Bowl in LA) in 1926. It's filled with boutiques, restaurants and whimsical public art - check out the back pocket of the window washer to see what's on his reading list.
reviewed
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O
Santa Barbara farmers market
Stock up on fresh produce, nuts and honey at the Santa Barbara farmers market held late afternoon Tuesday on the 500 and 600 blocks of State St between E Haley and E Ortega Sts, and Saturday morning at the corner of Santa Barbara and Cota Sts.
reviewed
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P
Down Home Music
North of Berkeley in El Cerrito is this world-class store for roots, blues, folk, Latin and world music. It's affiliated with the Arhoolie record label, which has been issuing landmark recordings since the early 1960s.
reviewed
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Q
Amoeba Music
If you're a music junkie you might plan on spending a few hours at the original Berkeley branch of Amoeba Music, packed with massive quantities of new and used CDs, DVDs, tapes and records (yes, lots of vinyl).
reviewed
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Victorian Vogue & the Costume Shop
For vintage and drag, from fabulous to outrageous, stop by the wonderful Victorian Vogue & the Costume Shop, which also rents costumes and has fun kids' stuff too.
reviewed
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R
Surf-n-Wear's Beach House
Surfboards dangle from the ceiling at the beach-minded emporium known as Surf-n-Wear's Beach House where bikinis, beachbags and flip-flops jostle for your attention.
reviewed
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S
Paseo Nuevo
This attractive outdoor mall is anchored by Nordstrom and Macy's department stores, and includes an array of retail chains such as Gap and Victoria's Secret.
reviewed
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T
Moe’s
Founded at the height of the beatnik era, this bookstore provides four packed floors of new and used books.
reviewed
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U
Black Oak Books
A fine store in North Berkeley with new and used selections and a full calendar of author appearances.
reviewed
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V
El Paseo
Locally-owned shops and restaurants fill this tiny, flower-festooned courtyard opposite Paseo Nuevo.
reviewed
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W
University Press Books
This option stocks works by UC Berkeley professors and from other academic and museum publishers.
reviewed