- Los Angeles
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- eating
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United States
This is an historic building built in Japanese style in 1911. It sits high above Hollywood Blvd with a view toward downtown. Interesting fusion dishes and a great bar. A great place to escape Hollywood's frantic pace in a beautiful setting to enjoy the twinkling lights.
A wonderful spot to study the skyline and enjoy drinks, small plates or dinner, moderate prices. Romantic and historic at the same time. Be sure to check out history on website.
www.yamashirorestaurant.com
1999 N Sycamore Hollywood 90068
+1 323 466 5125
Google map: bit.ly/YZDG5g
I did a food tour of East Los Angeles that is hosted by a group called Melting Pot Tours - it's their Latin Spice Tour. My guess is very few tourists go anywhere near this part of town so if you're looking for something different, and off the beaten path, check out this LA tour. The food was great, the guide was a hoot and I got to see a cultural side of Los Angeles (East, Latino, authentic) that most of us usually only get to drive by. It was wonderful, just loved it.
www.meltingpottours.com
8484 Wilshire Blvd, Ste. 220, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
+1 (424) 247-9666
Google map: bit.ly/tnuGmg
I have just had one of the best meals I have had in America - a simple meal of pasta with a Bolognese sauce provided with superior service.
Owner and chef, Jason is a gracious host.
www.pici.co/
212 Beverley Drive Sth, Beverley Hills
+1 (310) 278-7424
Google map: bit.ly/nUOtjp
Gourmet sausages and other 'fast food staples' including vegetarian in a part of Downtown LA that has been taken over by artists using old industrial spaces. An excellent choice of beers and long, long tables mean that the atmosphere is not only great but you will actually find conversation with the locals is the norm.
For Bohemian flair, it's not quite Silverlake or Echo Park but it makes for a great night out.
www.wurstkucherestaurant.com/
800 East Third Street, LA, 90013
+12136874444
Google map: bit.ly/mRcupb
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
A guided walk with a difference, stopping at quality restaurants and specialist shops to sample food and beverages. Going places you would not find without the specialist local knowledge of the guide, being told the history of the areas as well as the food. This is the best guided 'tour' I have been on, unmissable, do not go to LA without booking on one of these, you will not be disappointed. Excellent value for money too!
www.meltingpottours.com -book via the website and in advance they are very popular and get booked up
It is said that New Yorkers are a driven lot, but a large percentage of us are driven because we do not know how to drive. There is no need in this city to operate a car - there is excellent public transport at half the price of London. And yet New Yorkers are among the best-travelled people in the world. Sometimes we hire a car and driver, but our independent and sociable natures often inspire us to do what the locals do.
I am a regular visitor to Los Angeles and have figured out how to enjoy much of the area without a car. For a first-time or repeat visitor, my advice is to base yourself in Santa Monica. It has much of the iconic LA topography: sunsets on the Pacific Ocean; a sandy beach full of people who are in much too good condition; wandering “street” characters of every stripe; the occasional movie star sighting; one of the best outdoor food markets in America; superb restaurants; and, above all, the sense that this could not be anywhere else in the world but the LA we envision. All that is missing is Disneyland and that can be reached if one must.
My hotel of choice is the Georgian. It dates back to the 1930s and was preferred by more than a few movie stars for a romantic getaway. The building retains its elegant old bones but has been smartly updated. There are delicious breakfasts based on local ingredients, bracing ocean air, and those sunsets. The elegant Merigot hotel is another choice and its Cezanne restaurant offers many dishes based on local ingredients. I love the fish dishes there. Within three blocks of the Georgian Hotel are at least 50 restaurants, cinemas with 12 screens showing the latest hits and important independent films, and even a pub popular with British ex-pats. It is right across the street from the ocean and I would try to get in a swim every day.
You can rent a bicycle and cover a lot of local terrain. Santa Monica also has a superb local bus system as well as limited-stop long distance buses that go to Beverly Hills and downtown LA. Selective use of taxis can take you places where buses do not reach. The two I would recommend are both part of the J. Paul Getty Museum (www.getty.edu/museum), for which reservations are required to attend. The Getty Villa, straight up the Pacific Coast Highway, holds a superb collection of Greco-Roman art in an idyllic setting. It is a short trip from the Georgian Hotel. A bit further, and probably the most expensive transport (about $40) you will incur, is the Getty Museum, an omnium gatherum of paintings, sculpture, drawings and photographs. The Getty has one of the best educational initiatives of any museum in America. It also has good eating facilities, so I tend to make the visit a full day.
And what do I do if I need or want to go further afield? New Yorkers are resourceful and also friendly. I tend to befriend residents of LA, almost all of whom own a car and are willing to give me a lift. In exchange, I invite them for drinks on the terrace of the Georgian just in time for sunset over the Pacific.
Georgian Hotel: 1415 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Tel: 1-310/395-9945 Fax: 1-310/451-3374
"I've been to legendary L.A. sushi restaurant] Geisha House, and this is better," my friend told me as we entered the unassuming Gugu Sushi in L.A.'s South Bay. I haven't been to Geisha House, but I find it hard to imagine the possibility of better sushi, except perhaps in Japan.
Gug Sushi isn't a place you come to flash the cash (unlike much of L.A.) or even for the atmosphere: its sole raison d'etre is the fantastic food. The menu offers a bewildering variety of different roll combinations, so it was only fair that we tasted quite a few. The names of most now escape me, though all were delectable, however, the eponymous Gugu roll and one which prominently featured unagi (eel) stick in my mind.
It may be a bit of a trek from the more popular tourist areas of the city, but for sushi fans it is definitely worth it, and the prices are extremely reasonable.
Gu Gu Sushi & Roll, 1121 Aviation Boulevard, Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles CA 90254
It's tough to beat driving up the Pacific Coast highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Stop in Big Sur on the way and glory in the scenery. Otherwise, if you want to stay on the Eastern edge, it's worth a trip down at least part of the Blue Ridge parkway. The actual parkway has a 30 mph speed limit (if I remember correctly), so it gives you time to take it easy and enjoy your classic car!
One thing I would definitely recommend is the book (and website) Roadfood by Jane and Michael Stern. They're a husband and wife team who specialise in writing about food and travel. They also file regular reports for the radio show 'The Splendid Table' broadcast by Los Angeles-based public radio station KCRW (which you can podcast from kcrw.com). They're constantly in search of wonderful holes-in-the-wall, diners, shacks or anywhere else that serves good American "classics" - from clam chowder to hot dogs to meatloaf to pecan pie, and everything in-between. The book is organised geographically, so wherever you end up driving, it's likely that they'll have covered the area and will offer some good choices.
Lovely restaurant with red-leather booths and old-fashioned American charm in downtown LA.
The steaks are as awesome as the atmosphere, coming in at a reasonable $25 with sides in the evening but even cheaper at lunch with the specials.
Try the cocktails too if you have any cash left in the budget!
West 8th Street
Los Feliz is a great little neighborhood in north-east Los Angeles, near Griffith Park (I'm a little biased since I live there...). Anytime but mid-July through August are the best times to go - it can get pretty hot some days during those months. Check out Hillhurst north of Franklin, and Vermont north of Hollywood. Lots of great restaurants, bars and hang-outs (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Hillhurst has a great patio with firepit). Griffith Park is also nearby, with plenty of great hiking trails, pony rides for the kids, picnic areas, etc.
East of Western, north of Franklin, West of Riverside drive, south of Griffith Park. Get there from the west side by taking the 10 east, 110 North, 5 North, get off at Los Feliz Blvd and head west. Griffith Park will be to your right as you drive down Los Feliz Blvd.
It is a huge mall just outside LA to the north. Where all the locals go shopping and all the usual suspects can be found there, as well as great eating options. It is the sort of place you imagine when you think of an American mall - much better than the (outside) Grove though, admittedly, a drive away.
On the way back to LA you can cut left and drive back down Mulholland Drive as well.
When at IN-N-OUT - don't forget to look for the Biblical references on your cups and remember The Dude.
Fatburger is almost as cheap as the incredible IN-N-OUT Burger with more of a diner feel and no Bible verses
Charcoal - when you want upscale - new but gaining fans - 6372 W Sunset Boulevard, LA, CA 90028
The Oinkster - worth the drive to Eagle Rock - you don't really need a reason to visit ER, just do it before it gets too trendy.
And don't forget a stroll down Hollywood Boulevard while you're out.
fatburger.com/home/
www.theoinkster.com/
traveller.uncommontraveller.com/2007/08/01/hollywood-meets-dollywood.aspx
It's virtually impossible to get onto the beach at Malibu if you don't own a slice of it, but Bob Morris' Beach Cafe is right on the beach at Paradise Cove. The food is also great - lots of surf and turf type dishes - and you can hang out on the beach before and after dining. To get to the beach, you have to drive through what is probably the world's most expensive trailer park.
www.paradisecovemalibu.com/beachcafe
Turn left off PCH North, about 30 mins from Santa Monica.
Great 24 hour cafe on Manhattan Beach Blvd just 2 blocks from the ocean. One of the few places around the area to be open 24 hours. Their sandwiches are great, burgers tasty, but the best thing on the menu is their french onion soup with a chunk of baguette dunked in it and a slice of mozzarella melted over the top. Get the blackberry lemonade too. Good people watching from the (heated) terrace.
1138 Highland Ave (Cross Street: Manhattan Beach Boulevard)
Manhattan Beach 310 545-8511
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