I'm Goin' Back To Cali. Cali. Cali.

**BuckeyeRidley** · 03-07-2012, 12:13 AM

ALRIGHT! I'm headed to L.A. later this month for a couple of days. What advice do you have for my rookie visit to Cali & L.A. while I'm there? Where to eat? Where to shop visit? Lemme Know.

P.S. The title is still awesome due to the 1989 LL Cool J line.

**wxwax** · 03-07-2012, 12:38 AM

Get on a freeway, any freeway, at 4:30pm. It's the true SoCal experience.

In-n-Out Burgers, people will tell you. They're OK.

A midwesterner like you should get down to Santa Monica beach, just because it's a big beach and there's an ocean right beside it.

**BuckeyeRidley** · 03-07-2012, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by wxwax

Get on a freeway, any freeway, at 4:30pm. It's the true SoCal experience.

In-n-Out Burgers, people will tell you. They're OK.

A midwesterner like you should get down to Santa Monica beach, just because it's a big beach and there's an ocean right beside it.

LOL You tryina tell me to sit in traffic for six hours, huh? LOL

**GoBigOrGoHome** · 03-07-2012, 12:59 AM

Gladstone's Malibu (formerly Gladstone's 4 Fish). Great spot right on the beach where Sunset Blvd. meets the PCH. From the pics I just looked up, the place looks like it got a makeover, but it used to be a landmark.

Enjoy the 8-lane freeways. If you need to take an exit, follow the advice on the road signs. They start telling you where your exit is about 10 miles out. Oh, and they have exits on both the right and left side of the expressway.

In-N-Out Burger is overrated.

**BuckeyeRidley** · 03-07-2012, 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by GoBigOrGoHome

Gladstone's Malibu (formerly Gladstone's 4 Fish). Great spot right on the beach where Sunset Blvd. meets the PCH. From the pics I just looked up, the place looks like it got a makeover, but it used to be a landmark.

Enjoy the 8-lane freeways. If you need to take an exit, follow the advice on the road signs. They start telling you where your exit is about 10 miles out. Oh, and they have exits on both the right and left side of the expressway.

In-N-Out Burger is overrated.

LOL You said the left & the right of the freeway! LOL That's Wild. We'll see If I let my guard down & get burgers. Also, I wonder if ya'll heard of a mexican spot called "Chewy's". I heard it's authentic. Real Authentic.

**wxwax** · 03-07-2012, 01:43 AM

Chuy's, maybe? I think LA is loaded with mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants that are great. "Authentic" is a dicey term.

**GoBigOrGoHome** · 03-07-2012, 02:17 AM

If you are going to be traveling a lot, I highly recommend a AAA membership and/or a Zagat Premium Membership. You'll save so much more than you would spend on either. AAA is great for hotel discounts. Zagat is just a great way to find highly rated places in any price range.

**mikesteelnation1** · 03-07-2012, 03:45 AM

Lots of top notch restaurants in la, no matter what your tastes are.

It's the city I hate the most among the biggest 20 or so cities I've traveled to. Worst public transit system. It necessitates having a car, or a cab. By far the most difficult big city to get around in bc of the traffic and lack of a transit system anybody but people forced to use it bc of financial situation would use, for the most part.

I'll venture a guess that you don't smoke. If anyone you travel with does let them know being a smoker in la is the equivalent of being a 3rd class citizen. I got a smoking ticket in 2001, prior to all the smoking bans every where else. That was my first trip to la. The cop was a world class jerk. I have a very prevalent east coast accent. He knew i wasn't from there. Didn't give me a warning, even after hearing me speak and pleading my case. It's colored my view on la for sure.

Have fun bro!! Ignore my disdain, bc other than that one experience I've had a good time there. Follow what you learned travelling last time, and check out pinkys, the foundry and phillipe's for some grub.

And remember this, don't leave your wallet in el segundo!!!!

**mikesteelnation1** · 03-07-2012, 03:52 AM

Originally Posted by wxwax

Chuy's, maybe? I think LA is loaded with mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants that are great. "Authentic" is a dicey term.

You are correct. "Authentic" Mexican is always a dicey term. There are many different regionalities in Mexican cuisine, same as American cuisine. Texas, Carolina, and kc all have "authentic" bbq, and all are way different. Mexican food is no different. It's all about what pleases your palate... La at least affords the variety to afford your taste buds an opportunity to decide which regionality you prefer to call "authentic"..

**SpartaChris** · 03-07-2012, 08:11 AM

I LOVE me some IN-N-Out. I don't think it's overrated at all. Double Double, grilled onions and animal style fries. Yum.

Think about LA is there's literally a million things to do, so it's hard to pin it down to just a couple. I recommend hitting up City Walk for some touristy things to do. It's right next to Universal studios, plenty of bars and restaurants, usually some kind of casting call and street performers galore.

Head to Santa Monica and hit up the pier. Once you see it, you'll say, "Oh yeah, I remember that from <insert name of movie or TV show here.> You could also hit up Venice Beach.

Of course don't forget the Hollywood walk of fame. And Sunset Blvd. is riddled with bars and clubs and nightspots, most of which have some kind of live performance happening. Met the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown at the Rainbow room one night after my friends played a show.

I don't frequent LA enough to know where the great restaurants are, but I do know there are a ton of mom and pop and boutique style restaurants in the area. Depending on where you're staying, you'll probably have at least a dozen or so to choose from.