Venice is a lot of things. However, one thing it certainly is not is a good place to get work done. In fact, after spending three days in Venice, I'm still rather clueless as to how exactly the residents pay their rent. While a good portion of Los Angeles' other happening hoods seem to instill a sense of rigid career-minded poise, at all hours of the day Venice residents roam the streets wearing flip-flops and wicker fedoras with a calm metaphysical glow surrounding them. In Venice, everyday is like Sunday.

Intelligentsia Coffeebar - The ultra-modern brewing mechanisms make this coffee shop far more 2001: A Space Odyssey than Starbucks. Order a cup of this quickly ascending boutique coffee, wear a henley, grab a book on literary criticism and watch your sophistication level skyrocket.
1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Just Tantau - The shop is worth stopping by merely for its nostalgia. Owner Carol Tantau has lived in Venice for nearly three decades and is largely responsible for Abbott Kinney Blvd having the name it does. Tantau's CEO, CFO and PR agents can always be found roaming through the shop, happy to greet guests—when they aren't sleeping amongst the store's vast array of jewelry, handmade crafts and imports from places like Africa and Bali. Hey, it's Venice, and relaxing is the name of the game—plus they are felines.
1353 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Glencrest BBQ - Considering the current earthy zeitgeist in Venice, a spot that specializes in smoking large hunks of meat is perhaps the odd-man out. Nonetheless, the catfish and pulled-pork is enjoyed, probably even by vegetarians who sneak into the joint wearing a Groucho Marx glasses and mustache disguise.
1146 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Robin Muñez Art Gallery - Munez's gallery is essentially a plot of land where her mosaic sculptures are on display. She opens the lot to the public whenever she works. She's currently working on giant mosaic orbs which shall be used to decorate local Venice parks.

Equator Books - Part of the beauty of Venice is how tolerant and conducive it is to being aimless. Equator Books is the perfect store for prolonging a lazy afternoon. I say this affectionately but the creation of this store seems very aimless—It looks like it started out as a book store, then they added some vintage magazines, threw in a used vinyl section, and then topped it off with a very cool art gallery. Currently, Los Angeles photog Brad Elterman is showing classic shots of a Los Angeles of yesteryear.
1103 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Waraku - No productively-bankrupt day would be complete without a little splurge, and the classic way to spoil yourself (aside from eating Ben and Jerry's out of the carton in the bathtub) is by buying shoes. Waraku is a very cool sneaker shop which shelves the usual suspects but also features tough-to-find Japanese brands.
1225 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Air Conditioned Supper Club - When you want to wind down your day of quasi-hedonism with some alcohol, aim yourself away from Venice's Abbot Kinney and towards this classy spot. If you can get by the bouncers, Air Conditioned's well-priced booze is at your disposal. Have a drink, you've earned it. Well, no, you haven't, but have one anyway.
625 Lincoln Blvd.