Places to go in Los Angeles
A few suggestions for places to go around Los Angeles, with emphasis on Chinese restaurants around the San Gabriel Valley, but otherwise just some nonsense, as usual. Few things are the best in an objective sense, most things are just places that were a good experience, or where some small part of my heart lives.
San Gabriel Valley
We'll include Pasadena in here for simplicity. San Gabriel Valley is basically like going to China without the long plane ride, so we went there just about every weekend when we lived in Burbank.
- Fortune No. 1, Monterey Park. In English, order: soybean milk; tofu soup; pancake; Chinese donut. If the food doesn't blow you away, that's OK, the Tianjin ladies (sisters, surely) will. I try to go back every time I'm in the area.
- Kang Kang Food Court, Alhambra
- Huo Zhou Wang Porridge, San Gabriel
- Tibetan Herbal Foot Soak, San Gabriel
- Generally: anything on Valley Blvd around San Gabriel. Lots of things in the plaza near 99 Ranch Market near Del Mar and Valley.
- Lots of food at The Shops at Santa Anita, including some Chinese chains that we go to in China:
- Din Tai Fung: dumplings and buns
- Haidilao: hot pot
- The Huntington, San Marino. Nice big park. Probably need to reserve tickets ahead of time to get in.
- Jones Coffee Roasters, Pasadena
- Congregation Brewery, Pasadena
- Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena
- Book Alley, Pasadena
- Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena
Near the ocean
Don't go in the water, it's freezing.
- Old Tony's, Redondo Beach Pier - seafood, old school
- Barrique Venice. Expensive. Italian. Good.
Like, The Valley
Half of the lyrics to "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty came from a map of the San Fernando Valley.
- Porto's Bakery, Burbank. Also: Glendale (the original one, I think) and West Covina. But the one in Burbank is the one we went to frequently, and the one I try to get back to whenever I can. Not worth the trouble to try driving in Glendale anyway.
- The Iliad Bookshop, North Hollywood. My favorite bookstore on the planet.
Santa Clarita Valley
I more or less lived here for two years.
- The Halfway House Cafe, Canyon Country. Yes! I would trade one of my spleens to go back here. Bonus points! This is where the motorcycle gang scene from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was filmed.
- Rose & Crown British Restaurant, Santa Clarita. I was here once (or more a week) during the time I was traveling back and forth to Sylmar for work. Great place to read a spec at the bar.
- Way Station Coffee Shop, Santa Clarita. Old school diner.
Downtown... -ish... at least not a beach or a valley
Sure why not
- Sushi Komasa, Little Tokyo. Actually it closed a few years ago and nothing can replace it. RIP, etc.
- Holbox. Mexican. Yes. Absolutely. Do it. If not, there are other small restaurants in the same building.
- California Science Center, right across the highway from Holbox. (So, only about a 30 minute drive.) It has an actual Space Shuttle.
- Mastro's Steakhouse, Beverly Hills. Beyond expensive. Still Italian. Beyond good.
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- The Getty Museum. Also, out toward Malibu: Getty Villa Museum, because when you have enough money, you don't have to go to Ancient Rome, Ancient Rome comes to you.
- Hanu K BBQ, Koreatown