Start a visit to North Loop by turning east off North Lamar onto Fifty-Third, then going a few blocks to Highland Plaza, a little strip center on the south side of the street. Epoch Coffee at 221 West North Loop is open all night, and serves coffee, wine, beer and light foods. There's a large deck in back, the site of occasional live music performances, and an outdoor wi-fi area at the entrance. It's everything you want a neighborhood coffee house to be, and is a worth successor to the great hang-outs on the Drag in the "Slacker" era. Other tenants in the center are Blue Velvet Vintage Clothing at #217 and Earth Art at #211. Earth Art sells sculpture and other works of art, as well as incense, jewelry and clothing.
Pass the Texas State Hospital Cemetery--possibly the saddest cemetery you'll ever see. Most of the graves are unmarked, because many of the mentally ill people buried there in past decades were disowned by their families. The cemetery is also the dividing line between East and West North Loop.Just past the cemetery you'll see Christopher's Casbah at #108 East North Loop, and the hookah lounge for Pharah's Mediterranean Cuisine, which is just to the east at #111. There's a patio in back connecting the two buildings, live music on Wednesday nights and belly dancing Thursday through Sunday.
Continue on to Room Service at #107A. This is one of the most popular vintage stores in town, with an emphasis on furniture and housewares from the 1950s through 1970s. The Peddler Bike Shop is at #119, and offers repairs, sales and service. Walter Hutcherson's Musical Exchange at #123 East North Loop rents, repairs and sells musical instruments and accessories, with a focus on guitars and amps.Head a little further down the street to Fusion Alternative Therapies at 401 East North Loop, where you can get body work, acupuncture, herbal medicine, deep tissue massage, spa treatments and body wraps.
Turn around and head west along the north side of the street to Montage, a women's clothing boutique at 207 East North Loop. The Find-N-Grind Skate Shop at #306 sells skateboards and skating accessories. Herbs & Things at #204 at the northeast corner of Avenue F offers essential oils, juices, tinctures and skin care products. The shop is located on the west side of a private residence, with the entrance in the rear. The North Loop Food Store, a convenience store and gas station, is on the northwest corner at #120.
Move along to Scooter Revolution at #114, which specializes in sales, rentals and service of scooters and motorcycles. Monkey Wrench Books at #110 sells radical books and magazines and hosts speakers and other political events. Forbidden Fruit at #108 carries adult toys, BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission and sado-masochism) materials, bachelorette party supplies and erotica. Sound On Sound at #106 East North Loop offers used and new vinyl and CDs. North Loop Signs & Graphics Shop is at #102, and makes business and vehicle signs, bumper stickers and business cards.
The Parlor at #100-B is a pizza place, neighborhood dive bar and live music venue, with a small patio in back. Hogwild Texas Vintage at 100-A carries vintage clothing and furniture, but the main draw are the collectible toys. Indeed, it's one of the best collectible toy stores in the state. You'll almost certainly recognize things you played with as a child. Next door is Rev'n Evolution smoke shop, which specializes in artistic glass pipes. The last business in this row is Bombs Away, which sells "rock and roll clothing."
