Most foodies out there know about Throwdown with Bobby Flay, the Food Network show where the Boston chef travels the country challenging other celebrity cookers to better his bites. Well, we’re getting our own Smackdown this weekend, and it couldn’t be a better way to celebrate just what good food we get to enjoy in Southern California.

With a little one of my own, I’m always looking for new, fun, and hopefully educationally-stimulating activities to do. Sometimes it seems as if the only options are movies, malls, the beach and ball games. But in actuality, LA is filled with family fun. You just have to seek it out. Here’s my Haute 5:

When you’re in the mood for something cold and sweet but the ordinary choices seem…well, ordinary…you want to visit Gail Silverton. Silverton? Why does that name ring a bell? Ah yes, Nancy Silverton, of LaBrea Bakery and Mozza fame. That’s Gail’s sister. So you can expect a familial dedication to doing it right.

Summer in Los Angeles is the best time of year, but also in some ways the hardest. Not only does the weather and activity of the season put the most strain on your skin and muscles, but it also demands that you look your very best. That’s why a spa treatment is practically essential. Here are some specialties of LA’s Haute 5 retreats:

Call it completism, call it compulsion, call it category-killing; the obsession to be the best in any one area is something that always impresses. Especially in the culinary field. Which is why the Spice Station is such a Godsend. Any serious cook knows one of the hardest ingredients to obtain are freshly dried, accurately sourced herbs and spices. Spice Station’s Peter Bahlawanian and wife Bronwen Tawse aim to do nothing but solve that one serious problem.

Although it’s probable that most LA dads got their favorite present last night with the Lakers NBA Finals victory, you still might want to consider doing something special for your on Father’s Day. Of hundreds of options in Los Angeles, these are ones that combine refinement and fun.

There are plenty of places that play dance music in Los Angeles, but you don’t want to go just anywhere. And you don’t want to be greasing a doorman to get past a rope not worth crossing. Which is why you’re reading the Haute Five places to take your guy or girl and get the groove going and the sweat flowing–from Avalon to Zanzibar.

Sometimes the simplest requests can be the hardest to answer. For instance, where to get a drink. Oh sure, there are no shortage of places that serve alcohol, even offering a respectable selection. But where are the reliable, time-tested classics that promise a fine frolic without a lot of bullion. Here are our five:

Some designers try to create chic with scarcity, positioning and celebrity clientele. For others, the products simply do it themselves. Kendall Conrad is clearly one of the latter. Which is why the Montecito-based designer’s first freestanding boutique, on Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, is something to cheer about.