Where It's Atwater

No, we didn't hit Club Tee Gee (yes, "Tee Gee"), but Maria and I had a very Atwater Village weekend.

We pass through the sleepy neighborhood -- which serves as a bridge between our old Los Feliz digs and our new Glendale 'hood -- all the time on the way home.

But we so rarely stop (save for my recent stop at India Sweets and Spices). The heart of Atwater exists on Glendale Blvd. between the river and San Fernando Rd. There, restaurants, bars (like the previously mentioned Tee Gee) and coffee shops co-exist next to pet stores, pharmacies, an accordion studio (!) and, yes, a casket shop.

The casket shop cheerfully offers "sales direct to the public," but still kinda freaks us out.

On the other hand, we became instant fans of Jill's Paint, a independently-owned store off Glendale Blvd. (3534 Larga Ave.). The guys who are painting the baby's room (thanks, Pang-ni) sent us there -- and we're glad they did. First off, Jill's uncorks wine for its customers every afternoon -- and throughout the day offers shoppers a choice of water, beer or Coke (bottled!).

Clearly the gimmick works. The store was bustling with people when we arrived Saturday afternoon. Downing our free bottles of Coke, we spent time with a Jill's employee as he helped us pick the correct Benjamin Moore paint color. After months of shopping in big box behemoths like Home Depot and Lowe's, Jill's was a nice change of pace.

Sunday, we were once again passing through Atwater when we decided to finally do something we'd been meaning to do for months... nay, even years: Stop by the Danish-American Bakery (3156 Glendale Blvd.) I tried the pumpkin empanada, because, hell, it was a pumpkin empanada! Maria tried a chocolate roll.

Gotta say, was a tad disappointed with the empanada. But still appreciated the Danish-American Bakery experience: It's a small, old-fashioned neighborhood bakery. The coffee's cheap, the pastries smell wonderful and there's a wide, diverse mix of patrons.

One last Atwater note: I've been watching every day as a new strip mall has slowly gone up close to the 5 freeway onramp. Not too impressed with the first tenant: A T-Mobile wireless franchisee. Zzzz.