I Love L.A.

No, I don’t want to move back there, and yes, there are plenty of things that I don’t love about it. But this morning I wished that I had Hiro Nakamura’s ability to teleport, so I could spend the day walking around Santa Monica and Abbot Kinney Blvd and be back in Seattle by dinner.

This bit of longing inspired me to put together a list of some of my favorite places in L.A. If you’re planning a trip (or if you live there and are too lame to have visited these places yet), you should give some of these a try. I’ll attempt some organization of my jumbled memories.

Santa Monica/Venice

• Take walks along Main Street in Santa Monica and Abbot Kinney in Venice and check out some of the shops. Ten Women, a great place to support local artists, has shops on both of these streets.

• Have breakfast at The Omelette Parlor. I recommend their omelettes. :)

• Have a custom built burger at The Counter in Santa Monica. Sure, it’s a chain (I was super happy to get one here in Seattle last year), but they have tasty veggie burgers and malts.

• Ride bikes along the beach path in Santa Monica and Venice, or even go further.

• If you want to avoid the rollerbladers and bikers but still want a great view of the ocean, go for  a walk or jog in Palisades Park. This is also a great place to lie on a blanket and read a book.

Hollywood

• Spend Sunday morning strolling around the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. I can’t remember the specific vendors, but I’ve had delicious tamales and coffee there.

• See a movie at the ArcLight Hollywood. The best movie theater. Period.

• After your movie, walk across the street to Groundwork Coffee, then pick up some music at Amoeba Records.

• See a Disney film at the El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd. Sometimes you even get to enjoy a live pre-show.

West Hollywood/Fairfax

• Have the most decadent pancakes at The Griddle Cafe. Seriously, you can share one order with two or three of your friends. Yellow Brick Road and Recess Time are delicious. Their Nutella stuffed French toast is also yummy.

• Visit the Farmers Market on 3rd (beside The Grove). It’s a fun place to just walk around, or you can visit Bob’s Coffee and Donuts for yummy sweet treats or the delicious Loteria Grill if you’re in the mood for chilaquiles.

• Browse the stacks and the outdoor magazine section at Book Soup, then head down to Mel’s Drive-In on Sunset for people watching and diner fare.

• Have a delicious organic vegan lunch or dinner at Real Food Daily. God, I miss this place. There’s another location in Santa Monica.

• Have yummy vegetarian Thai food at Bulan Thai on Melrose, or visit their other location in Silver Lake. Note: I didn’t have a chance to visit the Silver Lake location before I moved, so I can’t vouch for their food, but maybe the service will be better there. Service kind of sucked in WeHo, but the food made up for it.

• Go to Toast on 3rd for breakfast or, at the very least, red velvet cupcakes. They’re delicious. If you go for breakfast, you have to order a red velvet cupcake to take home for later.

• Pick up some “new agey,” Power of Nowish type books at The Bodhi Tree on Melrose.

• Eat at the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson Blvd. Good veggie options.

Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Echo Park

• Go for a hike at Griffith Park.

• Eat at funky Fred 62 for fun diner food at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

• Support a local bookstore by purchasing your reading material from Skylight Books.

• Have breakfast at Millie’s Cafe. The Vegetarian Mess is yummy.

• Try some delicious Vietnamese food at Ginger Grass.

• The Brite Spot is a fun diner in Echo Park that’s open daily from 6:00 AM to 4:00 AM. That’s only 2 hours of the day that you can’t eat there, people! From what I remember, there were some good options for vegetarians.

• Have Chicago-style deep dish pizza at Masa. Order the Suppli to start.

• Visit Cha Cha Cha for Carribean tapas or brunch.

• Stop for coffee at Intelligentsia.

Topanga

• I only had a chance to visit Abuelitas Mexican Restaurant once, but it was good. Also, it’s located in relaxing Topanga, so that makes it even more awesome.

• Visit the lovely Inn of the Seventh Ray for brunch. They also have a cool, new ageyish bookstore. Duh, it’s Topanga.

Museums

L.A. has some fantastic museums. Get your contemporary art fill at:

• The Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

• The three facilities (MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center) of the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art)

Visit The Getty Center, if only to walk through the gardens and appreciate the architecture and view.

Random Awesomeness

• Relax on the beach or go for a hike at Point Dume in Malibu.

• Eat a delicious falafel sandwich at Spitz in Eagle Rock.

• Shop for books at “Southern California’s Oldest and Largest Independent Bookstore,” Vroman’s in Pasadena.

• Have breakfast at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House, then take a walk along The Strand in Manhattan Beach.

• Have dinner at Fraiche in Culver City. I’ve only eaten there once, and it was a prix fixe menu for Valentine’s Day, but the food, service, and ambience were good.

• Stop for frozen yogurt at Pinkberry. Just listening to the Pinkberry song on the website is worthwhile. Multiple locations.

• Eat lunch at The Farm of Beverly Hills. The pear and brie sandwich, French fries, and brownie sundae are delicious. Try the Beverly Hills location or the smaller restaurant at The Grove.

(Mostly) Overpriced Shopping/Celebrity Sightings

Okay, some of these places can be very annoying. But sometimes people want to experience a celebrity sighting when they go to L.A., or visit some of the places they’ve seen in US Weekly or on The Hills. Note: There are no trendy bars or super fancy restaurants on this list because that was never my scene.

Happy hunting!

• Urth Caffe – I’m not sure if the Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, or West Hollywood location would be best for stalking celebrities, but you can give them all a shot. Personally, I think the service at the West Hollywood location sucks and that the food at Urth Caffe is overrated.

• The shops along Robertson Blvd. – How many freaking Kitsons do they have now? Anyway, this street is a mecca for overpriced clothing and paparazzi. You’ll likely run into someone famous.

• The Ivy on Robertson Blvd. You will pay at least $25 for a chopped salad for lunch, but in their defense, it is a really good chopped salad. Also, I don’t usually care for crab cakes, but I love them at The Ivy.

• Fred Segal – Trendy (and pricey) shopping on the west side. They also have a location in West Hollywood. Weird, I can’t see anything about the WeHo branch on their website. Surely they didn’t close.

• Shopping Centers/Malls – Malibu Country Mart, Beverly Center, The Grove.

• Montana Ave. in Santa Monica – I used to live in this neighborhood. It was beautiful. My miniscule yellow cottage (complete with white picket fence) on 14th street was adorable and ridiculously expensive. But this isn’t my point. Stroll along Montana Ave. and duck into some of the boutiques, restaurants, yoga studios, or grocery stores and you’ll likely bump into someone famous.

• The Arclight Hollywood is also a good spot to see celebs. And it’s not annoying.