Welcome to the land of fame excess.
Inevitably you’ll wonder, what do I do here? Los Angeles tourist destination without many obvious tourist attractions. I say when in LA, live as the Angelenos do. Get some good food, see some nice sights, relax, and have a good time.
Food
- Kazu Nori – The original hand roll sushi bar offers fast service, and out of this world hand roll sushi. With locations in Mid-Wilshire, Santa Monica, Westwood, and Downtown it’s worth popping in and trying one of their pre-fix menus of hand rolls and enjoying.
- Sam’s Bagels – best bagels in LA if you ask me.
- Roma Market – a great little Italian deli in Pasadena. They have some dope sandwiches, that in my opinion are great. Also it keeps getting written up by local publications for like 30 years and then it gets flooded with people cause it’s so good.
- Salt & Straw – damn that ice cream good
- Village Pizzeria – one of my favorite pizzas in LA if you like it doughy like I do.
- Tatsu Ramen – Fantastic ramen. Warning the lines can be real.
- HomeState – breakfast tacos.
- Mamie Italian Kitchen – ridiculously good Italian sandwiches in West Hollywood
- Bossa Nova – great brazillain restaurant.
- In-N-Out – California classic, but you already know. If you wanna get fancy you can go to the ORIGINAL In-N-Out
- Philz – Top coffee in LA
- Go Get Em Tiger – Coffee and good breakies
- Grand Central Market – nice spot to walk around and grab some bites.
- Buono’s Pizza – San Pedro Pizza, it’s goooood.
- Sprinkles Cupcakes – extra points if you get it from their weird vending machine
- Terra at Eataly is cool
- Astroburger in WEST Hollywood, not in Hollywood. The one in Hollywood is trash. And the West Hollywood one is a nice greasy spoon burger. There’s one in Inglewood – I have no idea if it’s good or bad, but if you find out let me know.
- Osteria La Buca – great high end italian. Truly this place never disappoints. Don’t ruin this place, it’s my favorite in LA.
- Ohana Superette – A great place for poke (marinated raw fish). One of my number one food destinations in Los Angeles. (Reformed during pandemic to Bodega Park which does Coffee and Sandwiches, I’m excited to go)
- Meizhou Dongpo and it was really good, but I went with Chinese people and I legit wouldn’t have known what to order without them, so I dunno, buyer beware. But get the duck, and yes dip it in sugar. I know it’s weird, but it works.
- Osteria Mozza is also very good, ambiance is better, also super good, owner is a judge on MasterChef it that persuades in any way.
- Majordōmo – fun dining experience, really good food.
- L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele – cool and in Hollywood, not fancy, but good vibes if you’re hitting up Chinese Theater, or walk of fame.
- Gjusta – great little breakfast brunch place in Venice. Great outdoor dinging area, cute vibes, lots of good pastries, and their cold brew was VERY good.
- Layla Bagels – great high end bagels
- Ceci’s Gastronomia – pretty damn good hole in the wall italian place. Probably better for take out, as it doesn’t have a super expansive seating area, but there are a few tables outside to go and eat. Still, it’s wroth it. Go.
- Rasselbock Kitchen & Beer Garden – great beer garden with good that doesn’t honestly need to be as good as it is.
Relax
- Sassafras Saloon – A cocktail bar that has a delicious Sezerac and Old Fashioned
- Rosevelt Hotel – they have a few nice bars, and lovely pool that’s fun to have a drink at and enjoy some of the Old Hollywood vibes.
- Bar Covell – a cute wine bar.
- Eaze – Try some weed while you’re here, and get it delivered. I mean… what a world.
Hike – Runyon. Franklin Canyon Park - Rent a bike in Santa Monica and ride the beach.
- Stroll around Echo Park Lake, maybe get a coffee at Woodcat before.
- EightyTwo – the pinball bar/arcade.
- Rose Bowl Flea Market – I dunno, stroll around, see some junk.
- The Grove/Farmers Market – it’s a scene, I dunno. But check it out for the Holidays. That’s the most christmas-y place in LA
- Rollerskate at Moonlight Rollerway – always a good time at the rollerdisco
- Tiki-Ti – an LA institution of tropical drinks
- Golden Road Brewery is cool.
- Sorrento Market – cute little italian shop and good sandwiches. Necessary, no, but appealing to a specific type of person!
See
- Disneyland & California Adventure
- Universal Studios
- LACMA
- The Getty
- The Hollywood Bowl – bring a picnic.
- Spot Angelyne
- Morbid, but The Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Or maybe just catch a movie or concert there.
- California Science Center – used to be free, but due to covid you need to make an advanced booking so like $3. But cool and close by to you
- The Last Bookstore
- Midnight Showing of The Room – or really any campy movie, there’s a bunch of events like this all over LA. I went to one where people could like… text and have their comments appear next to the movie as it played. It was wild.
- A comedy show, The Hollywood Improv, The Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, or the other 1 million places in los angeles
- A show at the Troubadour, or Rainbow Room, or Whiskey a Go Go
- LA Pride Parade
- West Hollywood Halloween
- Hollywood Improv
- Comedy Store
- Laugh Factory
