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First-timers visiting the 35,000-square-foot Mercado La Paloma, take heed: The line likely trailing out the door and into the parking lot is specifically for Holbox, the most decorated and popular among the market’s seven food vendors. Chef Gilberto Cetina’s mariscos creations are revolutionary in their freshness and jigsaw-intricate flavors. Tuna tostada, scallop aguachile, coctel mixto and smoked kanpachi taco number among must-try dishes. Other wonderful options in the mercado await without the Holbox queues. Begin at Komal, where Fátima Juárez’s quesadillas and tacos, as beautiful as they are delicious, showcase the earthy-fragrant masa she crafts daily from heirloom corn varieties, and Chichén Itzá, where the Cetina family serves lush, orange-scented cochinita pibil and other specialties from the Yucatán. The mercado is such a vital sanctuary for the city that fellow critic Jenn Harris and I ranked it number one on our recent guide to the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Don’t you ever wish you could explore one of L.A.’s most vibrant boulevards without a car? When the first phase of Metro’s extension to its D Line opens May 8, L.A.’s transit system will add what has long been a missing puzzle piece. A busy, traffic-snarled section of Wilshire Boulevard, home to world-class museums, restaurants and galleries, will at long last be significantly more accessible.

Ride and walk, for instance, to the newly reimagined Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and then stroll to the Original Farmers Market or the acclaimed République. Or take transit to a concert at the El Rey Theatre, then grab a pint at Tom Bergin’s. And do it all without stressing about valet or parking in a part of town where the latter is at a premium.

Though this initial phase of the D Line extension is only three stops, for residents and business owners in the community, it feels monumental.

“I’m so excited for Metro to open and for lots of people to hopefully come and peruse these streets,” says Christina Mullin, owner of Miracle Mile Toys & Gifts. Mullin, who also lives in the neighborhood, has seen the area disrupted by construction for the better part of a decade, and is hopeful the subway stops will bring in an influx of shoppers.

“It’s such a nice, walkable area,” Mullin says. “You can walk all of La Brea and all the way to the Sycamore Kitchen. This will be very good for the city.”

And it seems to be generating much excitement, at least if Metro’s own marketing is any indication. A line of innuendo-filled “Ride the D” shirts went viral and then almost instantaneously sold out. (Those looking for the shirts are likely out of luck, as a Metro spokesperson says the item was intended only as a limited-edition run.)

Here are some highlights of destinations along the new stations, which are located at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, Wilshire/La Cienega and will collectively serve Koreatown, Miracle Mile, Hancock Park, Carthay Circle, the Fairfax District and Beverly Hills. All should be within about a 20- or 25 minute walk.

The second section of the D Line will continue west through Beverly Hills and Century City, and the third will extend to Westwood and UCLA. The full rail line, according to Metro, is expected to be open by the end of 2027.