Exhausting Your Options
Party at the Smog-Check Station

So it's a new year, and you survived the endless holiday parties—you're thinking, time to throw a party.

And obviously, you'll want to host it at a smog-check station. Welcome to SmogShoppe.

Quietly opened last fall, SmogShoppe has been converted from a DMV-mandated hassle to an indoor-outdoor private-event spot that's totally secluded from the street—but two giant garage doors roll up within, so inside and patio are one. If you want to screen your latest film (or Oscar contenders, like The Love Guru), the sound system uses the same bells and whistles as the ArcLight. But you could also invite your favorite chef down to unveil a candlelit dinner, or find a couple bartenders and a few dozen friends whose 2009 resolutions included smog-check martinis.

Whatever your plans, expect to convey a certain rustic nobility since everything's recycled or salvaged, and the whole place is solar-powered—so the upstairs balcony works as a VIP room, but has also served as a bridal dressing room for a few green weddings. But if you're not currently planning an LEED-platinum smog-station blowout, SmogShoppe is also in the thick of Culver City's art-gallery scene—so you'll probably be invited to a party here soon anyway. You'll be sure and drop by...

If you're not indulging in a bacchanalian feast at a Chevron.