For those that don't know, Giant Robot was a bi-monthly Asian American pop culture magazine that ran from 1994 up to 2011....
I used to collect the magazines whenever I'd see their booth at Comic Con. They opened up their first retail shop in LA in 2001. They used to have other locations in San Francisco (closed in 2011), New York (gone by 2010; I went back in 2008 with L during my brief NY trip) and Silverlake (defunct in 2009). There was also a gr/eats restaurant which we went to back in 2003. I remember being disappointed that their "fried chicken" was just the breast and with no SKIN. WTF kind of fried chicken was that but hey, they had cool art work on the walls.
GR, their retail shop, still exists in the form of their original locations and GR2, which serves as a gallery.
Below, Nermal the cat from the brand RipNDip. He is usually featured on t-shirts with a pocket, peeking out. When you look into the pocket, he is giving the finger. Nice.
The store had some of their back issues, t-shirts, toys, figurines, books, periodicals, artwork, prints, etc. Many were pop culture related. TC bought a few stickers to give as gives and also to put on her Hydroflask. Apparently, stickers on your flask is a "thing" with the young folks. I see it all the time with my students and it's usually a point of conversation asking them about some of the stickers (many are funny; some are also brands).
I didn't take too many pix inside, hence, just the neon sign. On the other side of the street was GR2. Unbeknownst to us, that same evening was the opening of their new exhibit, "SofVi Dismantling" (soft vinyl). We noticed a big spread of food in the back but didn't touch it since we didn't know what it was for. Turns out, we were offered to partake, but politely declined since we already had dinner earlier at Big Boi and Sushi Stop.
Interesting soft vinyl figures, taken apart and put back together in wierd combinations, some human and some animal.
Looked great but we did not touch it.
I was asked by a woman there to "meet" the artist and was whisked to awkwardly meet him and converse briefly. I thought it was funny afterwards especially since we hadn't set foot here in a decade and a half.
Sticker and flyer covered pole outside on Sawtelle Blvd.
Apartments above businesses...Coffee Tomo was our next stop...
where I had a traditonal macchiato with spotted foam (not latte art, unless you can figure out what this is supposed to be); Bert had a mocha. Both were pretty good but not as smooth as other versions from my favorite go-to shops in San Diego. The shop had AC and was quiet unlike some of the other businesses around the corner with lines out the door.
A nice end to a long day...
Giant Robot
2015 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 478-1819
www.giantrobot.com + reviews from you know where
Giant Robot 2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
(424) 246-7626
Same website as above + reviews from that four lettered site
Coffee Tomo
11309 Mississippi Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 444-9390
www.coffeetomo.com + reviews from you know where
Summer Road Trip 2018 Day 2 in review:
Venice Canals + boardwalk + street art
Coffee & pastries from Intelligentsia Coffee, Venice + random street art
Flake
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream
Dinner Part 1 - Big Boi Filipino Comfort Food
Dinner Part 2 - Sushi Stop
and these last three stops.
Tomorrow would be Father's Day and we had a full itinerary before heading back to San Diego...
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