cdoobiest

Arriving LAX 10:30 AM on a Friday from Boston. Travelling with 4 year old and wife. Will likely need lunch on our way out to Rancho Cucamonga and was wondering if anyone had any suggestion for lunch spot on the way. I presume as long as I am out of LA area by 2:30PM, I should be okay trafficwise.

Also, since I will have the minivan rental, I would prefer easy and safe parking as we will have our luggage exposed. Thanks

OskiBear

Any specific type of food you prefer? You should be in good shape by the time you get on the road and make some eastward progress.

Craig6z

The Derby in Arcadia would be one recommendation. Nice, old-school restaurant, themed toward the horse racing scene at nearby Santa Anita Racetrack. Good neighborhood, near Interstate 210 (the highway that runs direct to Rancho Cucamonga).

http://www.thederbyarcadia.com/

Assuming no material traffic, it's about a 50 minute drive. The most direct route would take you up the 110 (Arroyo Seco Parkway) to Pasadena, which is the oldest "freeway" in America. It's fun to see how engineers in the 1940's thought that scenic was more important than traffic flow.

If you do not want a place on the more upscale side like the Derby (since you will be towing a 4 year old), in Pasadena try Burger Continental. Despite the name it is primary Americanized Greek comfort food, has a great outdoor patio, and friendly staff.

http://www.burgercontinentalpasadena.com/home.html

JeremyS1973

At 10:30AM, Rancho Cucumonga should only be an hour away and the later you leave, the worse traffic will get. Without detours that get you away from the way you are driving (towards RC) I'd just get to RC and choose a place there.

If there is a particular kind of food you'd like, like Mexican or Chinese, there are places worth going to, but if you just think you'll be hungry I'd just go to Dinah's Family Restaurant near the airport.

BOB W

In N Out Burger near the airport would be a great and econmical way to have lunch. If you are into plane spotting, it has an excellent view of the runways at LAX.

bigguyinpasadena

"At 10:30AM, Rancho Cucumonga should only be an hour away"

JeremyS1973 must be a Nascar Driver

If the OP would like to share more of what they are looking for foodwise some of us locals might be able to narrow down suggestions. This is a big area to cover crossing 3(4?) counties

OskiBear

My recommendation on routing would be the 105 East to the 605 North to the 210 East and that should safely navigate you away from the primary bottlenecks near LA.

All of these also have HOV lanes although I don't believe they have HOV to HOV transitions at the interchanges.

With that routing, there are lots of dining options but as a previous poster suggested, it's best to make some progress before slowing/stopping unless there was something you just can't miss

SoCal

I'd also bank on 90 mins. You need to get off the plane, wait for your bags, wait for the shuttle to your rental car facility, then get in line, rent the car, get the car, check it for dents, etc. Let's say 11:30-12 you're on the road. By what time do you want to eat?

You don't give any idea of type of food or type of restaurant you're looking for, so I assume you just want someplace to eat (I know the feeling, as myw ife can get hypoglycemic if she doesn't eat after a certain time). I don't see going all the way to Pasadena to get to RC, but there are worse routes. Where in RC are you going? I'm not an In-N-Out Fan and my wife doesn't like burgers, but the chain has its devotees on this site. There is, as noted, one near LAX. There are several others along your route, though I don't know how easy they'd be to see from the highway. Plenty of restaurants, including fast food (e.g., Carl's Jr.), coffee shops (e.g., Denny's) and more upscale (e.g., Proud Bird) near the airport if you want to get that done before you hit the freeways.

I-105 to I-605 sounds right. Whether you take the I-10 or 210 could depend on exactly where you're going. I personally prefer the 210, but if you're going to a hotel on the south end, let's say, near Ontario Mills, the 10, or even Hwy 60, could work. Check Google Maps or Mapquest. You can hit bad traffic at almost any time, especially if there's construction, but your schedule should get you to RC before the worst of rush "hour" starts.

BTW, by out of the L.A. area, do you mean beyond downtown? Out of L.A. County? It's pretty much just one urban mass from LAX to RC. Pretty hard to know when you've passed from one city to another unless you see the green signs along the freeway.

JeremyS1973

Yes, RC is only 59 miles from LAX and using HOV lanes it is an hour or less at 10:30AM. There is no HOV to HOV transition at the 105/605 because that is where the 105 ends so they merge down. If you stay in HOV lane you wind up at the Studebaker Metro station. The 105/110 interchange does have HOV to HOV lanes, but you really don't want the 110.

bzcat

You can't average 60 mph on a trip like this, even with open freeway. The more realistic drive time estimate is something like 80-90 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes just to get on the 405 or 105 freeway from rental car lots.

azepine00

Without traffic i definitely drove LAX-ONT in less than one hour but "without traffic" is always a big assumption here...
I would probably go to pasadena for lunch and take 210 which has less traffic issues and should be wide open until 3-4 pm especially with carpool lane.

JeremyS1973

At 10:30 or even 11:30AM you can go 70mph or even faster in the HOV lanes.

Why in Sam Hill wouldn't you be able to go 60, 70 or 80mph on the 105, 605 and 210 freeways, especially with the HOV lanes? I drive these freeways all the time in both traffic and open.

SoCal

80 mph? Encourging illegal behavior is prohibited on this site, isn't it? Besides, if you go 80, shouldn't you be in the right lanes to let faster traffic get by you?

JeremyS1973

Actually I asked a hypothetical question which you side stepped. :P