The Lab Anti-Mall

The LAB is OC’s only urban youth “anti-mall” It was rehabilitated almost 15 years ago from an abandoned military night google factory that was used during the first Gulf war. LAB is actually an ackronym for Little American Businesses and is set in an uncommonly relaxed indoor-outdoor environment. www.thelab.com

As it were. Been around almost as long as I’ve been in OC, and I’ve seen it go from being the ‘grunge’ mall to being, well, whatever it is. It has an Urban Outfitters, which is a bad thing. But a friend had a great art gallery here once, Habana is good for a nice Cuban food fix plus good cocktails, and above all else, there’s the Gypsy Den. That’s reason enough for it to exist. The hipsters get a bit thick on the ground but that’s the price you pay.