things to do and see, places to eat in Los Angeles

I live in Los Angeles - what kinds of places are you looking for?

MARIOS PERUVIAN CUISINE on Melrose. the BEST EVER.

oh god just thinking about that GREEN SAUCE makes me want to stab myself with a fork for moving to berlin

also Marouch on Santa Monica just a block or 2 west of Vermont: great Arabic food.

you need to also go to Din Tai Fung out in the real chinatown Artesia. i'm pushing the fork deeper into my flesh.

Il Capriccio on Vermont, in Los Feliz... awesome Italian food.

and for things to see... The Museum of Jurassic Technology

Go to Phillipe, home of the French-dipped sandwich, at 1001 N. Alameda.

mekalaka said:

You know little or much about this city, and you would like to share it

Click to expand...

My favourite restaurant is Bossa Nova on Robertson/Santa Monica Blvd, in West Hollywood - Brazilian Food...at night there can be quite the crowd in the outdoor eating area as this section of WeHo is full of clubs and nightlife...but this place is also great to have a more serene eating experience at. The staff give great service, and the food is delicious.

http://www.bossafood.com/

Marix TexMex, also in West Hollywood has great Mexican food and a nice small bar inside. Flores St/Santa Monica - tucked away in a neighborhood street filled with Hollywood Bungalows and apartments. Parking can be tricky, but worth the trouble.

Pig and Whistle on Hollywood Blvd is a decent bar with a good beer and well drink selection. It is in the midst of the tourist section of Hollywood (lingerie shops, head shops, Hollywood memorabilia, stars on the pavement, a block away from the site where the hand/footprints are), but it is worth a stop.

http://www.pignwhistle.com/

Amoeba records - a MUST for any movie or film fan. An overwhelming selection of music and films, both new and used. I'd hasten to say that you can find nearly anything you are looking for - including vinyl - there. Also, the staff is full of music knowledge, and do not possess that stuck up one's own ass music snobbery that can be found in some music stores.


There's a start...I can think of quite a lot more...just need more of a sense of what you are looking for.

Three more things worth checking out

Best coffee (in my opinion) in Los Angeles - http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/

Unique bookstore - http://www.bodhitree.com/

To see a film - https://www.arclightcinemas.com/ArcLight/faces/Home.jsp

Revive! I'm off to LA in a couple of weeks' time, and know precious little about it yet. Any recommendations for unmissable attractions, entertaining tourist schlock, music venues, taco trucks etc?

Staying in Silver Lake, which I understand is to Los Angeles as Dalston is to London.

i hope you enjoy driving on the "wrong" side of the road because you definitely need a car. i had quite an adventure the first time i drove on I-10 (santa monica freeway): 14 lanes, two local and five express each way! and when it's not stop and go traffic, it can also sometimes be nearly bumper-to-bumper at 60 mph, fun when you need to change lanes to take an exit. i actually enjoyed it after a while.

i haven't been there is decades, so can't help you with current sites and nightlife. check out amoeba on sunset blvd in hollywood, some info on the area here: http://www.amoeba.com/who-we-are/california/

eat some great mexican food. it'll be hot, enjoy!

Thanks man. Definitely planning to have lots of Mexican food (have been raiding the internet for tips for the best tacos) and to check out Amoeba

I loved Hollywood Forever, the Hollywood graveyard. I lay beside Jayne Mansfield's headstone (she's not actually buried there, but whatevs) and it was hot.

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Buried2/HollywoodMemorial4.shtml

We stayed in Santa Monica and it was really easy to walk around there, was only there for a day or so though. It's horrible round where all the stars are on the ground though, I'd give that a miss if you can (I couldn't).

Thanks! i doubt I'll be able to resist the allure of the stars either. So much tack, so little time. We're gonna spend a day or two wandering round Santa Monica I'd imagine - presumably you can walk to Venice from there too, so the map suggests. ..?

baboon2004 said:

Thanks! i doubt I'll be able to resist the allure of the stars either. So much tack, so little time. We're gonna spend a day or two wandering round Santa Monica I'd imagine - presumably you can walk to Venice from there too, so the map suggests. ..?

Click to expand...

Yeah you can totally walk that. I was surprised at how easy it was to get around, I presume that's other areas where cars are essential.
I was also surprised at how much I liked it, I had never bothered with LA prior to just dropping in a few years back and was kicking myself. I loved all the old glamour stuff, it seems so far away now to be positively Egyptian.

i'm heading to LA and area next month, any new suggestions appreciated.

bump!

spending five nights in the west hollywood area, then driving three hours north up the coast to san luis obispo for a couple of days, then back for a couple of days in santa monica before flying home. will have a car for the whole trip, want to cover as much as we can in LA but at a leisurely pace, appreciate any suggestions.

The countryside around SLObispo is spectacular. Be sure to take a hike in the hills.
Hearst Castle is a big tourist draw (40 mins north of SLO) but very cool.
San Simeon Cove just below the castle is lovely.

Rent bikes on Venice beach and cycle North to Santa Monica. Fun.

Zuma beach just beyond Malibu is great for a swim on the way out of LA

And despite what people say a wetsuit is by no means needed.

This place in SLO for much needed greenery

http://blissmarketplace.com

Madonna Inn for a breakfast in SLO. It's pretty famous so you may know all about it.

I'm a 43 year old dad of 3 mind so my reccos may be kinda sad

Leo, sorry I missed your first message, given all the info you gave me before I visited LA last year.

I'm not sure how many tips I could give outside the obvious (the Observatory, Santa Monica beach, wandering down Sunset Boulevard to watch the weirdnesses etc), but in terms of restaurants, I thought Sage Vegan Bistro was pretty amazing (and much less pretentious than the name suggests), and Kabuki Japanese restaurant in Hollywood (https://www.zomato.com/los-angeles/kabuki-japanese-los-angeles/menu#regular) was really good and reasonably priced too. Also Malo (http://malorestaurant.com/home/) on Sunset Boulevard served the best margaritas I've ever had, and a happy hour. Food was verging on mediocre, but tbh I was too drunk to care... I have to admit to being disappointed by the Mexican food I had in general, and I did search out some of the best-rated, hipsterish taco trucks! Obvs picked the wrong ones...

Hope you have a great time.

thanks, baboon, will add these spots to our list.

and lichen, no worries: i'm older than you! but without the kids, so probably have a slight bit more freedom than you on vacations.

i normally love to drive on vacations (we don't own a car, so it's a treat). part of me is looking forward to driving there but part of me is thinking "hmm, maybe we can get by on mass transit and ubers while in LA." our hotels charge $20 a night just to park the car there, plus all the traffic, wonder if it's worth having the rental for the city part of our stay.

we'll obviously need a car for the trip to SLO. google maps says the drive from LA is about three hours, hopefully we'll be going against the rush hour to some degree.

and OMG, the madonna inn. can't bring ourselves to actually stay there but will definitely stop in for a drink while in town. the rooms are something else, click through this slideshow: https://www.expedia.com/San-Luis-Obispo-Hotels-Madonna-Inn.h1190976.Hotel-Information