My Neighborhood

Mandeville Canyon

—BRENTWOOD—

Blissful Brentwood

Antoine Wilson

LOCATED ON the coveted westside of Los Angeles, just this side of Santa Monica, Brentwood is a leafy suburban haven that backs up against stunning canyons. Novelist Antoine Wilson and his wife, Chrissy, have lived here since 2005. With two kids, family time is their main focus. Except when the surf’s up. “I love Brentwood for the proximity to the beach,” he says. And those canyons.

Wilson was born in Montreal but moved to Santa Monica in middle school. After heading to the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, “I found my way back to L.A. for my wife, Chrissy—and for surfing,” he says. “And after having lived through winters in Iowa City and Madison, Wisconsin, the greenery of Brentwood made my eyeballs pop out.” Wilson’s third novel, the literary thriller Mouth to Mouth, came out earlier this year. The New York Times called Wilson “a gorgeous writer, pulling you in and compelling you to keep reading.” He might well apply the same word—compelling—to his favorite spots in his neighborhood. —Lisa Rosen

GREAT OUTDOORS

“I love to hike up Mandeville Canyon or Kenter Canyon,” he says. “There are tons of little secret and not-so-secret spots where you can feel like you’re completely outside the city in less than 15 minutes. That’s really special.” When their kids were younger, they loved Crestwood Hills Park (1000 Hanley Ave., 310.472.5233 ). “It has a great little playset. And it’s in a bowl, so you feel like you’re really surrounded by nature, in a different world.”

THE GOODS

The venerable, whitewashed

Brentwood Country Mart

(225 26th St., 310.458.6682) is the beating heart of Brentwood, “ironically located on the edge of town.

Farmshop

I love walking to the Country Mart, and I can’t walk through Diesel Bookstore (Suite 33, 310.576.9960) without buying a book. For what seems like a small bookstore, it is incredibly well curated, and the staff is the friendliest of any bookstore I’ve ever known.”

A few steps away in Brentwood Country Mart, Wilson recommends the pastries at Farmshop (Suite 25, 310.566.2400), especially the cinnamon rolls. Meanwhile, “my daughter is addicted to the chicken tacos at Frida Tacos (Suite 14, 310.395.9666), and I love their breakfast burrito.”

TASTE TREATS

When it’s time for coffee, or at least the fixings, “I’ll stop by Caffe Luxxe (11640 San Vicente Blvd., 310.394.2222) for some beans. I always come back to their Montenero beans. I sound like a coffee snob now. We’ve got the machine with the dial to get the right pressure, but I will drink Jiffy Lube waiting-room end-of-the-day coffee also. I’m a gourmand.” He likes to camp out on the patio at Caffe Luxxe with a friend “and comment on the passers-by.”

Further afield, “The

New York Bagel Co.

(11640 San Vicente Blvd., 310.820.1050)—not the chain—is my home away from home that isn’t the Country Mart. They have very good bagels, and a delicious tuna fish patty with cornflakes, eggs, and sauteed onions in it. You’ll never find that elsewhere. I love them. I love the owners. I love the whole vibe.”

The family also enjoys Taiko (11677 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 302, 424.317.5238 ), “a Japanese soba restaurant in an old mini-mall called Brentwood Gardens. It’s casual and delicious, and the kids love their tempura.”

In Brentwood Village, at Sunset and Barrington, another not-to-miss is

The Yogurt Shoppe

(11726 Barrington Ct., 310.440.0088). “Their peanut butter frozen yogurt is off-the-charts insane. I was skeptical, but it’s mindblowingly good.”

Sushi from Taiko

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