Trip to LA

[mh0408]

Hello fellow chowhounders!

Planning a trip to LA from Vancouver and I'd like to get some ideas on things to do/eat and places to see!

First time coming down and I'm coming with my girlfriend from the 14th-17th. Just from looking around, I already gathered up a small list of places I want to go eat at:

Park's BBQ, Street, Red O, Umami, In N Out (never been before!), and Kogi taco truck. Any other suggestions/how is my list so far?

I'm going to be staying in the Culver City area and I have a rental car so is there anything neat around my area? What is Culver City like?

One day will probably be dedicated to Universal Studios (the prices are so expensive! any way getting around that?), another day shopping (where are the good shopping areas? I hear the grove and santa monica has some nice places), and the last day to just do some sight seeing (any where in particular?).

Any information will help and hopefully the sun stays out and its warm while I'm there (who am I kidding, anything above 10 degrees would be awesome)

Thanks :)

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Park's BBQ
955 S. Vermont Ave, Suite G, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Kogi
Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA

Red O
8155 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

[honkman]

Since you are in Culver City you should try Fraiche. Chef Ben Bailly has really brought this restaurant back on the culinary map.

[mh0408]

Thanks for everyone's comments! Too many things to do, too little time. I'll definitely have to come back again!

Just a quick question. What is the difference between Park's BBQ and their other restaurant Don Dae Gam?

There aren't any prices on the Park's website but reading some food blogs and it looks a bit pricey. Don Dae Gam appears to be the cheaper version. Would I be missing out if I decided to go to Don Dae Gam instead?

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Park's BBQ
955 S. Vermont Ave, Suite G, Los Angeles, CA 90006

[wienermobile]

Park's speciality is beef and Don Dae Gam is pork. Park's is affordable if you stay away from the higher priced cuts like the American WAGYU. To me Park's is worth the trip.
http://www.parksbbq.com/don-dae-gam.php

[J.L.]

My 2 cents:

Keep: Park's BBQ, In-N-Out, Kogi (but honestly, your JapaDogs in Vancouver are just as inventive and tasty!)

Skip: Red O, Umami (unless you really really like tempura onion rings), Street. Your Chinese cuisine in B.C. is as good, if not better, than what we have in L.A.

Try: Rivera (instead of Red O, located Downtown), Father's Office (instead of Umami, located in Culver City), Scoops (on Overland, closed Sundays, inventive ice creams!), Langer's (located near Downtown L.A., curbside service available) for pastrami, The Golden State (gastrobpub on Fairfax with another killer burger and great beer float, featuring Scoops ice cream).

Shop: Agree with The Grove - It's fun, and go to Farmer's Market adjacent to it (more food!). Also agree with 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Suggest: Strolling down Rodeo in Beverly Hills and Melrose Ave.

Sights: Walt Disney Concert Hall (Downtown), Paramount Studio tour, Griffith Observatory (Los Feliz), Getty Museum, Getty Villa (Malibu), so many to list!

Weather: Should be agreeable, compared to B.C. Enjoy L.A.!

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Park's BBQ
955 S. Vermont Ave, Suite G, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Kogi
Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA

The Golden State
426 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036

Red O
8155 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

[heathpack]

Why are you going to Universal? Is it for the themepark aspect or the studio tour angle? If themepark, Disneyland is way better IMO. It's a classic. If you are going for the studio tour, I actually think the Warner Bros tour is better and the Paramount tour would be closer for you.

You should consider a studio audience experience; there are some studios in Culver City so that would be close.

The weekend weather is going to be nice, you should try to plan for an outdoor activity. Good ideas would be a hike in Griffith Park or the Santa Monica mountains near Malibu, biking the boardwalk/bike trail between Venice and Santa Monica or a horseback ride in Topanga Canyon.

Pizzeria Mozza is currently my favorite restaurant. It is in Hollywood and you could combine it with a visit to Hollywood Blvd and maybe a movie at one of the historic theaters- Graumans Chinese, the Egyptian or Disney's El Capitain. Or at the Arclight, where you might be able to attend a directors screening of a film- check out the Arclight website. If comedy is your thing, you could consider the Laugh Factory or the Comedy Store.

Museums worth visiting include the Autry Museum of Western Heritage and the Griffith Park Observatory (both in Griffith Park), the LaBrea Tar Pits, LACMA, and Petersen Automotive Museum (all in the Miracle Mile area, near the Original Farmers Market), the Getty (near Santa Monica) and the Getty Villa (in Pacific Palisades). I would lean towards the tar pits (very unique and mostly outdoors, manageable size that will allow you to explore more) or the Getty Villa (very California, lots to see outdoors, manageable size) or the Griffith Park Observatory (iconic).

H

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Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

The Tar Pit
609 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[The Chowhound Team]

Just a friendly reminder, folks. Chowhoud is about finding great food and drink, posts that address general tourism questions are out of scope for this board.

Please keep the focus on the chow.

Thanks.

[Clyde]

i think you have picked out some good places. my only other suggestion would be maybe to go to Jitlada for thai (but on an off hour like 4 or something like that b/c it gets crowded and the service is really forgetful). but it's unlike any other thai so i love it. I liked Street but i know it gets mixed reviews. Get the Kaya Toast there. In & Out is great b/c it's SO cheap and the fries taste like real potatos. Get them animal style for something different. Kogi is a nice experience too. I love the black jack quesadilla. sometimes there's no line for kogi, other times there is, but it's a good LA thing to do. culver city has two sushi places i really like if one night you don't feel like going far. K-Zo and Sushi Zo. K-Zo would be cheaper. Sushi Zo on Fri & Sat is chef's choice only. Unviversal Studios is fun but a tourist trap but you will be near Portos Bakery which is really good and cheap. you can grab a bite to eat there if you feel like exploring burbank a bit. don't miss the meat filled potato balls or the dulce de leche cookies. It's about 10 minutes away from Universal. If you hit up the Grove you can get a bite to eat at the original farmers market on third and fairfax. Try Lotteria for mexican and get a donut at Bob's donuts, they are great. Hope this helps!

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Sushi Zo
9824 National Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034

Kogi
Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA

K-Zo
9240 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[cdub]

culver city is pretty central and kind of a hotbed for new restaurants. just in that area, you could hit a frame and chego (roy choi from kogi) or alibi room for kogi without the truck, waterloo and city, akasha, fathers office, lukshon, fraiche, and ford filling station.

parks is good. i'd pass on street. better off going to mozza on the other corner from street.

umami and in n out are burgers that hit both spectrums. solid list.

other recs if you're driving is animal and lazy ox.

[mh0408]

Street's no good? After watching Top Chef Masters, both me and my gf fell in love with Susan and thought she was pretty good. What's mozza like?

Whats the difference between chego and alibi? And would it be more worth it for me to just go to the restaurants instead? I hear the lines at the trucks can get quite crazy

[wienermobile]

Mozza is great. At the Pizzeria the pizzas are wonderful and I love those meatballs and there is also Mozza To-Go right next door. At the Osteria (a little more fancy) the mozzarella bar is incredible with little tastes that will drive you wild. Both are worth a trip and they start taking reservations 30 days out (they are still hard to get) and if you can't get a reservation you can sit a the bar.

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Pizzeria Mozza
6602 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[cdub]

i thought the kaya toast was way overrated and everything else there wasn't that great.

chego is rice bowls. alibi serves the kogi truck food from in a bar. the trucks aren't too bad anymore. a fun experience too. no more 2 hour waits. the longest i've had recently is 15 minutes.

i'd say my favorite restaurants at the moment are mozza, lazy ox, and animal. then again, i'm often craving the rice bowls from chego.

[tablefor1]

oh, and also the new Lukshon in the Helm's Bakery.

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Lukshon
3239 Helms Ave, Culver City, CA 90034

[whatsfordinner]

I'd combine lunch or dinner at Gjelina with shopping on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Santa Monica and the Grove have a lot of the same chain stores so I'd do one or the other. You could combine the Grove with eating at the original Farmer's Market. In Santa Monica you could combine shopping on the promenade with dinner at Musha (Japanese pub food), Umami, Father's Office, Jiraffe, Fig, and a lot of others I can't think of right now. I'd avoid the restaurants at Santa Monica Place and those right on the Promenade.

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Jiraffe Restaurant
502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Musha
424 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Father's Office Bar
1618 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA

Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291, USA