Best of 2013

By The Editors
December 23, 2013 9:00 am

January – Quench
Because those soy kebabs aren’t going to make themselves exciting, we present the theatrical staffing agency Quench. They provide very attractive (and very capable) women to staff any kind of party your hosting heart desires. Read on.


February – Murphy Ranch
Introducing the Murphy Ranch, a lesser-known and innocuously named trek into the mad mid-century rubble of Norman and Winona Stephens who, at the behest of a Nazi spy, began building a pro-Hitler staging base in the ‘30s. Read on.


March – Zero G
Unless you’re a billionaire, you’re not becoming a space tourist anytime soon. To experience the thrill of traveling like an astronaut without having to spend a lifetime working for it, sign up for Zero-G’s “Weightless Experience.” Read on.


April – Torch
Once a dorkish must, the old noggin armor’s gone straight TRON. From LA-based Torch, the T1 sheaths your dome in LED lights — five white ones in front, five red ones in back. The result: 360-degree visibility. Read on.


May – Spring Mountain Raceway
The desert: It’s where Bugsy Seigel started Vegas. Where Jim Morrison saw Yahweh. And where you can find transcendence of the MPH variety, too — specifically, at Spring Mountain Raceway, a stately country club of supercar race driving. Read on.


June – West Coast Defender
Your weekend getaways should combine the luxury you’ve earned with the spirit of adventure you never lost. For that, there’s this: West Coast Defender, a boutique Land Rover Defender retrofitting concern, now taking orders. Read on.


July – Nikita
You’ve heard of Larry Ellison. Some might call him a visionary. His latest vision: Nikita, a multi-decked ode to Rudolph Schindler’s Lovell Beach House, perched high above the Malibu sands and providing one helluva view of Point Dume. Read on.


August – LA River Safari
The LA River has been a place in our imagination reserved for cars. But that’s about to change, thanks to LA River Kayaking Safari, which will take you on a three-hour journey down one of the river’s lushest, most scenic culverts. Read on.


September – onefinestay
Cue Don LaFontaine: In a world. Where Angelenos. Own Xanadu-sized mansions. One website allows you to rent them and all their opulent trappings for overnight stays. Introducing onefinestay, renting the manors of L.A.’s 1%. Read on.


October – Where to Take Her
Because every man needs a plan, and some need that plan with pretty pictures, we present Where to Take Her: a series that answers pressing lifestyle questions and recurs whenever we get around to it. This edition: weekend getaways. Read on.


November – Heimplanet
There are those who say that no Angelenos go camping in the winter. To them we say, precisely. That’s why we’re going. And we’re going with Heimplanet, makers of fancy geodesic shelters that erect in under two minutes. Read on.


December – Coldsmoke
Ernest Hemingway loved to ski the Dolomites. Instead of the chairlift, he’d hitch a ride on a milk truck in the pre-dawn hours. Had he the choice, we’d like to think Papa would’ve stayed toasty with the styles of Coldsmoke. Read on.

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