Escape to Los Angeles

A long overdue visit to Los Angeles to visit my brother, explore a revitalized downtown and eat our way across the city.

DOWNTOWN

The central market (which now houses the addictive EggSlut) was established in 1917, The United Artists Theater opened in 1927, and the iconic and radiant Eastern building in 1930. It’s gratifying to see these former jewels continuing to contribute to the vintage flair to the city.

EAT

It had been so long since we visited that I think Intelligentsia was the only place to get a coffee. We enjoyed (from L to R) République (coffee & breakfast in Charlie Chaplin’s former studio), Tiki Ti (a classic since 1961, oozing with tiki vibes), EggSlut (stay on East Coast time and beat the line), Sqirl (same rules apply, iced vegan horchata latte, Sorrel bowl and of course, toast), Night + Market Song (yes), The ACE Downtown (get coffee and go to the roof oasis) and we finally made it to Gjelina (a bunch of pizzas with strange ingredients).

Not pictured: Little Pine, Salt & Straw, Guisados, Intelligentsia, Dinosaur Coffee, and Dan Tana’s, the best thing we did. It came complete with James Woods for the most authentic of experiences.

SPACE

Los Angeles is a study in space; a massively sprawling city defined by its neighborhoods. For as much time as you spend in a car on traffic-packed freeways, you can also spend walking palm tree-lined streets, hiking through parks and exploring numerous museums. We stayed at Rob’s in Los Feliz and at The Line in Koreatown, and conflicts with a Mini Cooper convention meant we missed out on the in-house restaurants, but the room and view was amazing. Finally exploring The Getty also made for a great afternoon, but it was the daily morning hikes that were most memorable.

Oh yea, and there’s the beach, but in all my travels West, it never really factors into my plans. Maybe next time.