Sam Hall Kaplan for KCRW

One of the many joys of trying to observe cities, in particular L.A. at least for me, is that it is as good an excuse as any to drive slower, check out what's cropping up here and there, and if time allows, to stop and take a closer look.

Wrong turns often become right turns, like recently when instead of going north on Robertson I went up La Cienega, and north of Wilshire caught a glimpse of the new Temple restaurant.

I had to stop to check it out, if only that it was sitting on the site of Tiny Naylor's coffee house, a late and lamented landmark more famous for its pop googie style than its food.

Well, I am happy to report that the stylish high tech design by Nardi Corsini Architects and their subtle use of color and light makes you more than forget Tiny Naylor's. The makeover is an aesthetic delight, as is the fare that fuses Brazilian and Korean cuisine. So long L.A. 1950's. Hello L.A. 2001.

It wasn't a wrong turn but rather stop and go traffic on the Hollywood Freeway that prompted me to take a look at Benton Green housing, a colorful accented modernist update of an Italian hilltown topping the north slope of the 101 just past the Rampart Boulevard exit. I took the next exit and doublebacked.

Recently completed and occupied, the 38 units of affordable housing designed by the community and cost conscious Albert Group looks even friendlier close up, especially in the courtyard, where the open hallways lend the development a sense of security and place. Helping were the kids playing there, and parents looking on.

Looking better than it has for the last several decades, and deserving a detour, is the recently restored and rejuvenated Watts Towers on east 107th street, near Willowbrook Avenue in South Central. The towers are a hand made gift to us all by an itinerant Italian immigrant Sabatino Rodia, also known as Sam.

I try to go to the towers at least once a year to do a segment for Fox on the great jazz festival held in their shadows, and each time there make note of the evolving community center.

Sometimes driving slow in southern California has its rewards.