Comments (0) Best Strange and Trippy Cafe - 2010
Cafe Jack
You're walking Western Avenue when you suddenly notice an old-timey cruise ship coming at you from the back of a narrow lot set back from the road. Don't worry, you've stumbled upon Café Jack, another in the myriad of oddly luxuriant and adventurously decorated joints around Koreatown. A huge Titanic fan, Jack Chin started building a scaled-down replica back in 2005 and a year later, after fusing it with a building-like structure, he was ready to open this kooky coffee-and-food emporium — one strange, eclectic and cool, trippy place. The floors are dark-stained, wide-plank wood. The chairs are ridiculously formal, sort of British/rococo, while the fabric-covered wooden booths are both colorful and cozy. Titanic stills and amateurish oil paintings abound. There are numerous sections, both within the ship and in the side outrigger and patio areas, including private minirooms in the very back. It functions like a classy nightspot, despite its lack of alcohol, so grab a latte and a plate of Japanese-style spaghetti and feel like "the King (or Queen) of the World!" 508 S. Western Ave., Koreatown. (213) 365-8882. —adam Gropman
