Los Angeles
 

I will be in Montebello the week of Oct 10th. Pretty much pure work, with possibly 12 hour days. I'll be going back in November and December.

If I remember correctly, Montebello is next to East LA. About the only free time we have is for dinner. Last time it was Charlie Browns, a Brazilian BBQ in the Puente Hills Mall, and a local Chinese Restaurant. Not to mention the food court in the Montebello Mall.

Does anyone have any recommendations in that area?

how about a sushi bar? can't go wrong there......

Can't go RIGHT there, fred.

I don't understand how you can encourage this fine man to eat bait.

:lol2:


damn straight.

You could always do the James Ellroy true crime tour... Valley Blvd. still has plenty of umm... atmospheric dives.


And if you must eat bait, my fav is Ai in South Pasadena on Fair Oaks next to the Rialto Theater.

For Vietnamese, you can't go wrong by going down to Westminster -- the epicenter of SE Asian epicurean experience. (say that fast 5 times)

In-n-Out

Not to be missed. And this is coming from BigV--I know my burgers!

Price range, taste?

Thai BBQ on Ventura Blvd is fantastic, about a 20 minute drive from there. Low price, excellent food and atmosphere.

Google Map

If you like beer and beer related foods, Gordon Biersch in Pasadena is a really good bet.

http://www.gordonbiersch.com/

If you want the real LA experience, go to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.

Gooogle Map

I second that to the end of the earth. If you go there, get the Double-Double animal style (that isn't on the menu.. kind of an in-n-out secret code or whatever. has grilled mustard on the buns and grilled onions), their amazing fries and a shake. Also try FatBurger.. mmm

Grilled Mustard?? Eeeeeeeeeeuuuuuw!

It was sounding awesome good until I hit that. :greenface

Maybe it's Grey Poop-on. :biggrin:

haha no way, you gotta try it. It's just regular yellow mustard put on th ebun, then they throw it on the grill to get the bun crispy.. it's amazing

I'll be in LA at the end of this month. Though it is to visit a dying relative, I am going to try and get some enjoyment out of the trip, as I've never been to the West Coast.

I'm so stoked about seeing the Pacific Ocean!

No, no, you fail to understand.

Mustard is one of the top three things that wolf won't eat in any quantity.

Coconut
Mustard
Mushrooms

And you grew up in a town where mustard is relished (no pun intended)...what the hell is wrong with you?! This is as bad as April not liking Oreos!

I put ketchup on hot dogs. Get over it.

(Soft pretzels, incidentally, are eaten dry. They are wonderful just as they are.)

I won't touch mustard or ketchup. Or catsup.

Ok I can agree with the coconut and mushroom part :greenface . You should try melted jalapeno cheese on your pretzle though.. ooh baby

What the fuck is wrong with you people?! Mushrooms are great fried or on a pizza. And coconut is good, depending on how it's used. And mustard...what a great condiment!

Next, Wolf's gonna tell me that she really voted for Kerry!

;)

No, I won't.

But mushrooms are still icky.

If jalapeno cheese were readily available from a street vendor, I'd consider it. Well, probably not ... I do not want to know how a guy with a milk crate full of pretzels out on the median all day without anywhere to go to the bathroom would keep the cheese warm.

No.

Don't even want to consider it.

SM or folks that visit LA frequently: What driving advice would you offer to someone that has never been to LA? Among the cities I've driven in (including rush hours): Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia and DC.

We arrive around noon time on a Thursday, then make our way north to Santa Barbara. We're leaving on Monday, arriving back in LA around 10:30 am.

1) signal are useless. You claim a lane by putting your front fender into it. Move fast, move with confidence, people will expect it. People think LA drivers are bad drivers; they're not, they're aggresive drivers. You need to become one too, or you'll get eaten alive.

2) Know your geography. Perhaps one of the dumbest things about the LA freeway system is that it doesn't consistently use "North South East West" for freeway directions. Some of the onramps to the 101 will be labelled "101 North" but others will be labelled "101 to San Francisco" or "101 to San Louis Obisbo". It really helps to be up on your california city geography.

3) Check your map. Find where the 101 and 110 freeways cross. Then find where the 5 and the 55 cross. Before noon, all traffic will be headed toward these two points. After noon, all traffic will be headed away from these points. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the non-traffic side of the freeway will move quickly. The only difference is that it will move, where the traffic side will not.

4) After 1 am, all freeways get shut down at various places for road repair. You will be shuffled off the freeway into very unsafe parts of downtown during detours. Bring a weapon. Lock your doors.

5) KNX 1070 AM - news radio with traffic reports every 6 minutes or so. The one beautiful thing about LA is that almost every freeway has a parallel alternate freeway. The 10 is jammed? Take the 60. KNX will keep you up to date.

6) LAX to Santa Barabara at noon on thursday will take you 2:30 - 3:00 hours. Santa Barabara to LAX arriving at 10:30 am on Monday will take you 4 hours. You will be tempted to take the scenic route down Pacific Coast Highway. Do not do this. It will add 2 hours, and that's even if it hasn't been closed for fire, flood, earthquake, or endangered species.

7) If at all possible, avoid having to buy gas in Santa Barbara. It's 20 cent more there than in Ventura or LA. If you exit at California Street in Ventura (one of the last exits), it's a great spot to take a leak, gas up, see the ocean, and then drive the last hour up to Santa Barbara.

8) Have fun!

I got pulled over by a cop once for being To cautious , i saw him in the rear view mirror and didn't burn out to make a hole in traffic , dude hit his lights and came to bitch at me , " I said Yes Sir " and burned out !!!!!!!
true LA traffic story !!!

I just flew back from LA and my arms are tired.
 

I took the redeye back Friday night and got back at 6:00am on Saturday.

Los Angeles (really Montebello) was uneventful. As usual it was eat, sleep, work. About the only good thing was putting the meals on an expense account. Even so, with a severe per diem and time constraints, we didn't do anything too exotic.

Went a little crazy at the Mongolian BBQ at the Montebello Mall food court and finally realized that I am getting too old to eat really spicy food.

The place that stands out the most from this trip was Robins BBQ in Pasadena. I was avoiding pork and the chicken and beef ribs were great. Since we were eating late, we only split onion rings as an appetizer. There was almost too much food and we skipped dessert, but on the way out I saw this large glass goblet like a triple sized champagne glass filled with ice cream and completely covered with chocolate and nuts.

If I can make it there at a decent time, I'd like to try more items. They have a 'garbage can' appetizer sampler served on a metal garbage can lid.

I'm going to be back there for round two the weekend before Thanksgiving and I might have a free day on Sunday.

A full sized lid? That sounds interesting. Only in Cali I guess.

Greetings from Los Angeles...I head back to St. Louis tomorrow, after spending today in LA and 2 1/2 days in Santa Barbara. Here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy!

Ahhhh....Segways.....makes the world seem like heaven. :)

PM me your snail mail addy...I have a little present to send you. :)

I never really had the patience to eat chicken ribs. There's so little meat, and they're so *tiny*. :bolt:

Here I am again
 

I got in on Wednesday. If everything goes well, I will have a free day on Sunday. I might stay with my co-workers or go it alone. So far, the Universal or Disney plazas have been suggested.

Home
 

On the November trip, I went to the La Brea Tar Pits and Rodeo Drive.

I just got back from my final trip to L.A. On my free day, two coworkers and I took a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Point Mugu, about 30 miles.

It's a beautiful area. The hillsides are dotted with the compounds and in some cases, actual castles, of the rich and famous. It's a place where the phrase 'a million dollar view' really means just that.

We had lunch in Venice and walked along Venice Beach, which is hard to describe. For those people who think California is wierd, and the LA area is the wierd part of a wierd state, Venice Beach is the landing zone for every strange character on this planet.

Instead of a boardwalk, it's a very wide walking path. In the center, for about a mile, are shops on the landward side and along the beach side are vendor tables and blankets selling almost anything, real or imaginary. A lot of djembe drummers, didgeridoo players, people selling 'tobacco' pipes made from almost anything, crystal sellers, and one girl who looked a little like Alice in Wonderland hopping up and down behind a blanket of trinkets with an intensely blissful expression on her face.

I only took (or asked someone else to take) three pictures. I should have left on the video because it was absolutely one of the most unique places I have visited.

Ah yes, The "The Tar" Tar Pits. Best name for a national treasure ever. :)

Hello and Goodbye
 

Well, I am off to LA again this week. This is more of a fly-by than a trip since I will have zero free time.

My schedule is something like this.

Fly in, work 20+ hour shift next day, fly out next day. I will be in the eastern suburbs of LA.

It was great meeting Radar when he was here a few weeks ago (I'm still trying to retrieve the picture from my cellphone). Unfortunately, I will not have time to meet any west coast Cellarites (including UG).

However, I expect to be doing the whole thing over again in mid-January and staying longer, so I expect some free time. Maybe a mini-GTG would be in order.

Looking for music in LA for MLK weekend
 

OK, my final trip to LA will be over MLK weekend. It's going to be a 24 hour shift again, but I might actually have Sunday or Monday free.

I was looking at music venues, but everything seems to be Friday and Saturday nights when I will be working. Can anyone recommend any live music places not too far from Montebello that might have bands on Sunday or Monday?

I was looking for Billy Vera and the Beaters, but they'll only be playing Saturday. I did follow the links to the places they have or will play.

How is Cozy's? Their January schedule is not out yet, so I don't know if they will even be open Sunday or MLK day. It would be nice to get a nice dinner and listen to some good music.

I can't stand metal or pure rap, but I'm otherwise pretty open, so if you know anyplace playing rock, country, blues, progressive, folk, celtic, etc on Sunday or Monday please let me know. Good food would be a plus.

P.S. I just realized that Sunday is Karaoke night at Cozys and Monday is Jam night. Are either any good?