The family is going to LA at the end of October to see David Gilmour, because when I thought of all the artists I’d travel to see, he was the top of my list, and then it turns out he’s on tour.
We’ll be in Inglewood and Hawthorne, and probably going to Hermosa Beach, and the La Brea Tar Pits/Petersen Museum area. I have no plans to go to Hollywood, Anaheim or anywhere very far.
So what are some must stop places for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in those areas?
The only recommendation I’ve gotten so far is Chip’s Diner in Hawthorne, but I’m not sure if that is based on the food or architecture. I’m generally interested in things like “best taco west of the 405” than “should be two Michelin stars” or “fifth ever In-n-Out location!”
Well, if you’re in that area, it looks like you’ll be close to this:
I had a brief stop there on a day tour last November, and it was a pretty cool/funky place. Lots of options for different kinds of lunches and what not, plus other stores to browse.
Don’t send them cross town! There’s plenty of good places closer.
If they’re in La Brea, Koreatown is not far. Ktown has the best Korean food outside Korea. Hmm, what to recommend?
BCD Tofu.
Mapo Kkak Doo Gee.
Hae Jang Chon BBQ.
If you’re into diner food, Norms is a classic Los Angeles institution. There is one in Torrance and one in Hawthorne so that’s convenient to you. The food might taste better after the concert, in, say, the 1 am to 3 am range.
The Norms on La Cienega is the best place I ever ate that had a “B” health rating.
North End Cafe in El Segundo was good the last time I surfed Manhattan Beach. Good mochas and a large breakfast menu (I had some sort of loaded huevos ranchero).
I could probably be happy having only diner food and burritos[1] for three days. That’s only if the diners are actually good, though. The nearest diner to me is absolutely terrible, and I think their clientele is only people who’ve smoked for 60 years and have no more taste buds.
When I visit a city I of course want local specialties I can’t get other places, but also all of the ethnic variety that big cities attract. It has to be good though, and not just nostalgia or locals deluding themselves that it’s special when it’s just another fast food place.
Thank you all for the tips about Korea Town and the Farmers Market. Those sound like exactly the kind of places that will be good to hit.
My usually strategy in an unfamiliar place is to go to the breweries.
and hopefully convince someone from SF to take me up there to prove they have better burritos ↩︎
I’d say no trip to LA would be complete without a visit to Philippe’s for the original French dip sandwich (it was invented there in 1918 and don’t let those liars at Cole’s tell you otherwise), but that’s probably a bit out of your way (it’s in the heart of downtown a few blocks from Union Station).
All of the suggestions so far are great, although I personally wouldn’t recommend going to downtown LA. Not because @Smapti’s recommendation is bad but because parking is a hassle, traffic is a hassle, and it’s out of your way.
Note that some areas around Hawthorne and Koreatown resemble gangland and might not be your cup of tea if you’re unused to sketchy urban areas. The food is great and the people are generally lovely but I wouldn’t want to get stuck at either place late at night.
Somewhat near La Brea Tar Pits is Little Ethiopia, if you’d like to try injera and Ethiopian food. It’s a unique cultural experience, and is similar to the type of thing you’re describing.
You’ll have to decide whether you’d like to eat at “landmark” locations or interesting “cultural” locations since you have a limited amount of time.
Darrow’s New Orleans Grill - In Carson, less than 20 minutes from Hawthorne, but only open Thursday-Sunday. I have not been there since they moved to this location, but it was awesome.
Lawry’s Prime Rib - Assuming you’re willing to drop $200-$300 or so on dinner for 3-4 people, this is the spot. A unique dining experience and I can guarantee no one in your party will go away hungry (they’ll probably have leftovers).
Not sure there is a “best taco West of the 405,” but Tacos Tu Madre arguably has the best tacos in LA. The crispy shrimp taco is unbelievable. Unfortunately, the closest one to where you’ll be is probably in Westwood. Good luck searching for a parking place.
I was going to suggest this as well with one caveat: if you go to one of the restaurants there for lunch, you will not be hungry for dinner later.
Thank you all for the suggestions. Unfortunately Korean is probably not going to happen, because the wife and kid aren’t going to be into spicy cabbage and pork based stuff. Ethiopian might be good, but the kid claims not to like it. We can get it locally, and recently had it in London.
Here’s what I pasted together.
Bob’s Big Boy
Diner
8am - 9pm
Diner
7447 Firestone Blvd, Downey, CA 90241
Farmers Market LA
Variety
9am (weekdays) 10am (weekends) - 9pm
6333 W. 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90036
The Apple Pan
Burgers and pie
11am - 11pm/midnight
10801 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
BCD Tofu
Korean
9am - 11pm/12:30am
Multiple locations
Mapo Kkak Doo Gee
Korean
10am - 9pm
3611 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Hae Jang Chon BBQ
Korean
11am - midnight/2am
3821 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Norms
Diner
7am - 11pm, 24hours (Friday & Saturday)
2960 W Imperial Hwy, Inglewood, CA 90303
North End Cafe
Breakfast & sandwhiches
8am - 2:30pm
3421 Highland Avenue, Manhattan Beach, California 90266, United States
Agree… 20 minutes that seems very generous…Maybe at 3 am.
Chip’s IS good diner food. In a similar vein… Pann’s is an iconic piece of LA food history. I’d do Pann’s over Chips, personally.
Also echo the Apple Pan.
Honey’s Kettle is an underrated friend chicken place in Culver City.
Tito’s Tacos is also an iconic LA staple… very gentrified tacos but also delicous.
Authentic tacos… literally just stop at any stree taco place you see… probably going to be great.
Totally understandable if you have other priorities. But I’ll mention that there’s plenty of non-spicy and non-pork options. Most dishes are made to order, so you can request the spiciness level.
As an aside, my sister and her friend are thinking about visiting me in L.A. They’ll do the usual touristy stuff, and they are adventurous eaters. They want to try all the great food around here, and there’s just not enough time to hit all the cuisines. It’s a great area to live in, and to visit.
Got back from LA, and I wasn’t able to try any of the eateries suggested here. I kind of suspected that would happen, based on the parts of town we were visiting.
We ate breakfast twice at a Googie diner called Chips in Hawthorne. A mix of American and Mexican, which describes everything we ate. It was good, and I’d recommend it if you’re across the street (like we were), but probably not worth a special trip. We had to skip it on Sunday morning because the line was out the door with the crowds from the nearby churches (I presume).
The other place we ate breakfast was the Olympian Burger nearish to USC. The breakfast burrito was good, but from what I had the salsa was a standout. The place seems known for their chicken dinner plate. It was the California style closed end burrito, so perfect hand food. I even got to let the stump marinate and eat it for dinner in the airport. Denver breakfast burritos are open ended, and covered in green chili, red sauce, or whatever. Definitely not hand food. I appreciate the difference, but if I’m going to sit and eat, it may as well be smothered.
We had dinner at Hermosa Brewing Company. The portions seemed small, but it was all very good. The Carnitas Fries being a standout.
I was a bit disappointment that food prices in LA were the same as in Denver. After recent trips to London and Boston where food was considerably cheaper, I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised again.
We already have plans to go back when the Endeavor full stack building is finished, so I’ll have a chance to eat more there. Thank you for all of the advice.