Mono Coffee

los angeles runs on coffee in a way that's hard to overstate, from the third-wave roasters in silver lake to the drive-through chains lining every arterial road in the san gabriel valley. but the city's specialty scene doesn't stop at the more obvious zip codes. mono coffee sits on del amo boulevard in lakewood, a stretch of southern la county that doesn't usually show up in coffee tourism conversations, and that's fine, because the people who go there keep going back. you don't build that kind of loyalty without doing the basics consistently and well. no theatrics required. the regulars here are the whole argument. if you find yourself in lakewood on a weekday morning, del amo boulevard is worth the detour before anything else on your list.