Tomas Benitez

* Executive director of the East L.A. gallery Self Help Graphics.

Cafe y Mucho Mas: The best place in town is Espresso Mi Cultura in Hollywood. They have a small but really good selection of books. It’s one of the really few repositories of Latino books, cards, collectibles and CDs. They also have readings, performances, music, a coffee bar that’s extraordinary, and a place where you can just sit and hang. There’s a thing in Spanish called the pena, which is sort of like a gathering place, and it’s a focus of Latino intelligentsia in terms of writers and the types that hang there.

Old Glove: Whenever I can get the chance, I put my kid in the car and we go up to Ventura. It’s always cool and breezy downtown, and they have great, little bookstores, a cool coffee shop or two and some funky second-hand stores. And then you head over to the pier, and they’ve got stuff for the kids and you can get fresh seafood. You don’t have to spend Santa Barbara money.

No Sour Cream Please: If you really want to do an East L.A. date night and impress your date with incredible cuisine, the best restaurant in town is La Serenata de Garibaldi. They’re known on the Westside too, but the original one is on 1st Street. It’s ethnic, but it’s not a cookie-cutter Mexican restaurant. On any given night, you’re going to see locals, politicians and people from all over town there.

Eastside Art Scene: Any time you go to Yolanda Gonzalez’s studio, MA Gallery, there’s always some of the best work in the city. That’s just down the street from Self Help Graphics on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. Going up Figueroa Avenue in Highland Park, there’s about three or four places that just opened up. There’s Rock Rose, the Avenue 50 Studio, and there’s another little funky community cultural center, Flor y Canto, that some kids are trying to get together, which is raw and beautiful. There’s also a place by Margaret Garcia. So that whole section is really starting to kick off.

Vin Scully: My favorite thing to do on a Sunday is go to a Dodger game. The Dodgers can be losing 25-0, but you know you’re going to have a good time because it’s the Dodgers. It’s the organ music. It’s the peanuts. It’s the pageantry. It’s turning around and talking to complete strangers, but because you’re talking about the second baseman and the way he throws, you’re like the best of friends. It’s that wonderful feeling you get on a late Sunday afternoon when the shadow is starting to creep across the field.