With top notch footwear at the tip of their business the boys behind Gourmet Shoe know a good thing when they see, feel, taste or smell it. Putting their sensational senses to good use we asked them to tell us what to do and why in the City of Angels.
Churning out refined footwear (and bits and bobs of apparel) the Gourmet folk have their eyes firmly fixed on the details, making sure every step they take to growing their brand is as well-considered and precise as the one before. In their own words, “Gourmet is both high and low, style forward yet familiar, chic and Gauche”, and in ours, their output is the perfect partnership of simple but precise design and supreme, well chosen materials.
The boys have hit their stride for AW11, with several successful seasons in the bank, their new pieces (revealed exclusively on i-D online here) see them push the pedal to the metal. Having established themselves as the go to guys for simple, well-crafted casual footwear they’re upping the complexity with their new designs combining a vibrant colour palette, technical tidbits and textural proficiency in perfect measures.
Come AW11 you’ll find i-D online splashing through London’s puddles in our Gourmet duck boots whilst across the pond, in the sun-drenched homeland of the snazzy-soled Gourmet chaps we can picture them pacing L.A’s boulevards in their baby blue Tredicis. Sigh. La-La-land’s culinary and cultural landscape is a myriad of rocky roads, buried treasure and dead-ends! But panic not Gourmet Shoes are here to help us all navigate the storm…
Food
Dan Tana’s
Ask for Mouse, great Italian and great times.
dantanasrestaurant.com
Taylor’s Steakhouse
Top steak and atmosphere to eat in. A true steakhouse feeling with no hassle. High end for the regular guy.
taylorssteakhouse.com
Kokekoko
The best yakitori probably in the country right in DTLA.
G. Baldi
Funny that the best Italian in the country is in the Pacific Palisades. A must try and must see… Billionaire Row. Order the sauce to go.
giorgiobaldi.us
Park’s BB
By far the best Korean BBQ in LA.
parksbbq.com
Phillipe’s
The LA staple for French dipped sandwiches… been there since 1939 so got to be good! Get the stew and a pickled egg. Lamb and blue cheese dip a must.
philippes.com
Body
Beverly Hills Juice
The hottest chicks online. Worth the wait for body and mind.
beverlyhillsjuice.com
City Spa
The best schvitz in LA.
Runyon Canyon
View with a serious sweat and bring your dog.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runyon_Canyon_Park
Equinox
We all go and so does Pauly D (Jersey Shore), Fabio and DJ Muggs.
equinox.com
Beach
Venice
Take a stroll down Abbott Kinney, stop in A. Kinney Court, get a meal at Gjelina or just do whatever.
Santa Monica
Good place to walk around and get a slice at Joe’s from Bleeker St. in NYC. Joe moved out here and put a spot on 2nd St.
Zuma
If you surf like a few of us do, head over to Zuma. Or just to chill. Or whatever.
Text: Sean Baker
Photography: Gourmet Shoes
Dignam, SS12
The 21, SS12
Tredici, SS12
