OT: Michigan boy coming to LA. What should I do?

myersia · Post #1 » by **myersia** » Tue Dec 25, 2018 10:35 pm

Merry Xmas everybody!

My wife got me lakers tickets against the bulls in January for my Xmas/birthday present. I’ve never been to Los Angeles. Our hotel is right next to the Staples Center. Help out a Michigander and give me some recommendations for some must see LA stuff. Only in la for three days. P.S. this is a lifelong dream of mine.

Thank you,
Ian (aka myersia)

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Post #2 » by **snaquille oatmeal** » Tue Dec 25, 2018 10:59 pm

Tito’s Tacos on Sepulveda and Washington in Culver City
And Versailles Cuban restaurant on Venice blvd.

Wavy Q · Post #3 » by **Wavy Q** » Tue Dec 25, 2018 11:08 pm

I'll just throw out there some of my favorite places

Food: Kogi Korean BBQ, Gus Famous Fried Chicken, TAO ($$$), Literally every street vendor taco truck, Broken Spanish, Langers Deli. There's a lot more but i'll run out of space

Places: Melrose Ave is fun to walk/bird around. If you like weed there's tons of dispensaries across the entire city, you really cant go wrong. Everything around Staples Center is great too, bars, restaurants you name it.

ardee · Post #4 » by **ardee** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 3:08 am

Food: Kayndaves Mexican Cantina in Culver City or Pacific Palisades. Randy's Donuts near LAX or in the Century City mall. In N Out obviously if you've never had it before. Diddy Riese cookies near UCLA.

Places: Big fan of the lagoon in Malibu, it's beautiful. Venice Beach and the crazy people there is fun for the first time. Muscle Beach is nearby. At night would recommend Mulholland. General fun areas include the Grove and Rodeo Drive.

Themaster007_v2 · Post #5 » by **Themaster007_v2** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 4:55 am

Don't waste your time at Hollywood walk of fame. Even LA people won't recommend that lol

1. Check out the beaches. Obviously Santa Monica Pier/Venice Beach are tourist attraction but I'd suggest not spending too much time there. There's the 3rd street promenade for shopping. Monitor the weather. If the weather isn't too windy/cold and you want a nice beach/hang out Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo, or Zuma beach would be fine.

2. Eat, Eat, Eat. I've traveled a lot and IMO LA probably has the best Asian and Mexican food in the country. There's also a lot of great/good american food as LA is a pretty big power house in Cuisine. There's a lot of culture/ethnic food for you to explore and try. Some suggestion for sit down restaurant: Bestia, Macaroni Republic, Otium (These are pretty pricey but very good food). In-N-Out is an LA stable. Definitely give it a try if you haven't had it. Leo's Taco in Echo Park. Also go to Marisco joint if you like seafood. Tsujita Noodles in Sawtelle for Tsukemen ramen. Silverlake Ramen in Silverlake and Santouka in the Mitsuwa Market are also good. Daikokuya is another popular ramen joint in Little Tokyo but i dont think it's worth the wait. Langers for Pastrami. Tommy's Chili Burger. etc As you can see, there's a lot of food options in LA. Yelp will definitely help you out.

LA Art District is cool for late night hangouts. Angel City and Art District breweries are there. Some trendy bars/places like Bar 82, Wurstkuche, Urthe Cafe are within the area.

There's a lot of Art stuff. There's LACMA, The Board, Getty Museums, etc.

There's a lot of bars downtown Library, Standard Rooftop, Perch, etc.

If you want to go to Disneyland, it's only a 25-30 mile drive from from downtown to Anaheim.

But honestly, LA doesn't have a "must see" aside from the beaches. Unfortunately, you're coming during a time when it's bit more colder. Everything is spread out and it's more of a hangout type of city. If you want to hike, you can hike. If you want to eat, you cant eat. club, dance, boulder, surf, ride the bike at the beach. you can do all of that.

TheHartBreakKid · Post #6 » by **TheHartBreakKid** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 6:01 am

Yeah food wise you have a million options. There are so many great resturants regarding for kind of cusine, but honestly, if you eat nothing other than street hot dogs or taco truck food, you'll still feel accomplished food wise. The best tacos are going to be in the taco trucks, and there are PLENTY. The more dangerous the neighborhood looks, and the less fancy the truck is, the better.

And +1 for going to the beach (unless it's raining obviously). It's probably not going to be sunny/optimal beach weather in January, but coming from michigan, I think you'll appreciate being able to go to the beach with temperature in the 60s in January. And agreed regarding avoiding Hollywood...if you really want to go though, go during the day, because it gets pretty wild at nights, and not in a good way...

Check out the Americana in Glendale or the Grove if you want to do some shopping, and Universal/Disneyland if that's more your thing. Or The Getty and the Arts district if that's your thing...etc. I''m not sure how much Malibu has recovered from the fires, but that's also a good option if you like great scenery and the stereotypical "LA Vibe"

But honestly...you're already doing the best LA activity by going to a laker game. Don't let the fancy section 1 folks not making any noise mislead you.....Staples is LIT when you're there in person. This city loves the Lakers more than anything else, and the atmosphere in the arena is pretty great and underrated,imo SPECIALLY if Lebron is playing....there was a crazy buzz in the stadium when I went earlier this year. You're gonna have a blast at the game, without a doubt.

myersia · Post #7 » by **myersia** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:44 am

Thank you everybody so much for replying. Been a Michigan based laker fan for a long time. Can not wait to have this dream come true in person! Much love fellas

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danfantastk32 · Post #8 » by **danfantastk32** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:14 am

Yeah, enjoy your stay. Enjoy the game. Lot's to do right around your Hotel. I'd prob spend the day of the game just chillin' local. Dodger Stadium is nearby, if you care. Just a touch south is USC...you have some Museums down there

I'd go West one day....go check out Santa-Monica. Go see the old Forum. You take Sunset down all the way to the beach. Cruise south, and get back on the 10. You can sort out seeing Forum from there.

Next day, I'd go East/North. Go check out Pasadena and the Rose bowl. Your up near the mountains (if thats your thing). Take the 110 freeway to Pasa, and enjoy the freakiest freeway in existence. I think it was literally the first freeway made. It was made for cars that didn't go over 40. It's an experience...no doubt.

Someone mentioned In-n-Out. I'd def hit that. Right up the street from Staples, is the Pantry. If you want some stick-in-your-gut diner food....that place never closes. Great post-game meal. Usually get the bacon omelet. It's not what it used to be.....but some good late night food, that's 2-blocks from Staples. Famous for only closing like 4-5 hours (riots) since the 50's or something.

Avoid the 405 freeway like the plague.

Do yourself a solid, and mentally prepare for traffic all over. Your window for getting places is 10am(sometimes) to about 2pm. Things chill out after 8pm.

El Hardee · Post #9 » by **El Hardee** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 3:37 pm

Mariscos Linda on 8th and Lorena best mariscos in town.
Hawkins Burgers in Watts, you can people watch the projects while you grub.
Phillipe’s Sandwich/Olvera st/Chinatown
Coldest Beer in Town in Highland Park is a liquor store with a hidden sandwich shop in there that’s supposed to be like a speakeasy
Hermosa Beach pier is the most chill spot to grab s beer on the water

TylersLakers · Post #10 » by **TylersLakers** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 12:45 am

myersia wrote:Thank you everybody so much for replying. Been a Michigan based laker fan for a long time. Can not wait to have this dream come true in person! Much love fellas

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I went to LA in 2015 for the first time. The main things I did in my 3 days of visiting were.. visiting the Hollywood sign (duh), Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, the Laker game itself, and on one of the days I visited Madame Tussauds wax museum which actually ended up being surprisingly fun. I'd certainly recommend it. Your wife will probably enjoy it. My girl did. Wax statues of Tiger Woods, Kobe, Arnold Swarzenegger, Rocky Balboa, ET, Godfather, Eddie Murphy, Carrie Underwood, etc.

My hotel was on Hollywood Blvd. Walk down the street 5 minutes and you'll see at least 5 different places to eat. Next time I go and have more time, I'm going to check out more specific places that people recommend.

myersia · Post #11 » by **myersia** » Wed Jan 2, 2019 1:06 am

Man you guys are the best. I’m screen shotting all of these recommendations. I deeply appreciate it fellas

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Post #12 » by **Kilroy** » Wed Jan 2, 2019 6:49 am

If you're in LA Proper, why not just stick to doing all the quintessential LA stuff... It's all within a few miles and you won't spend all your time in traffic.
Go to Olvera street... El Paseo... It's not near the best Mexican Food in town, but there's not a whole lot more LA than that... Have the Margaritas...
Then Hit the Pantry for Brunch on the weekend... Then go to Coles and Philipe's for French dips... Get a Spaten on tap at Coles, and use the restroom... It's the original restroom from the old LA trolley car days... Coles used to be a stop on the trolley line.
Ride Angel's flight, go to the Market at the bottom and try the foods...

If you want to hit the beach or shop go to the Santa Monica Pier... If you have time and want to enjoy the beautify LA air and sun, go to Griffith Observatory... Bring some food and have a picnic...

TylersLakers · Post #13 » by **TylersLakers** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 9:35 pm

myersia wrote:Merry Xmas everybody!

My wife got me lakers tickets against the bulls in January for my Xmas/birthday present. I’ve never been to Los Angeles. Our hotel is right next to the Staples Center. Help out a Michigander and give me some recommendations for some must see LA stuff. Only in la for three days. P.S. this is a lifelong dream of mine.

Thank you,
Ian (aka myersia)

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

I feel bad for you brother about missing LeBron. Anyway you can postpone your trip a week to see the Golden State game?

stan francisco · Post #14 » by **stan francisco** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:36 am

Above are all great recommendations. One thing not mentioned above is The Counter — the most tasty burger place in LA.

Enjoy! Let us know how it was...?

Laker1 · Post #15 » by **Laker1** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:14 pm

stan francisco wrote:Above are all great recommendations. One thing not mentioned above is The Counter — the most tasty burger place in LA.

Enjoy! Let us know how it was...?

No way, the counter???

Better off going to a tasty charbroiled burger spot in LA.

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myersia · Post #16 » by **myersia** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 2:09 am

Alright guys I’m leaving tomorrow for la. It looks like it’s going to rain all three days I’ll be there. I am getting ready to put together my to do list so any other recommendations gotta come now lol

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myersia · Post #17 » by **myersia** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 2:43 am

I did book a short 3 1/2 sight seeing tour. My wife wanted to see some celeb homes. Other than that and the bulls lakers games I’m wide open. We are staying Lux near staples. Any ideas would be awesome?

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Revived · Post #18 » by **Revived** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 1:54 pm

Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles is another restaurant that I do not see mentioned here. It is delicious and a “must-do” if you are visiting Los Angeles.

Post #19 » by **Danny Darko** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:09 pm

roscoe's is stupid good

The Laker Kid · Post #20 » by **The Laker Kid** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:05 pm

Head out to Mountain High and experience snow!

j/k

What are you into??? LA has everything! For food, you gotta have In &Out and Wingstop.

Unfortunately, we're getting lots of rain for the next 3 days, so that kinda sucks. Avoid driving.. people here can't drive in the rain. Take Uber if you must go somewhere.