Los Angeles must eats
 

I'll be visiting LA soon for 4 days, staying in the El Segundo area. This is a family vacation with 2 teenaged kids.

I'm putting together a list of places to eat and am looking for suggestions. We'll have a car.

I have the following on our list thus far:

Randy's Donuts - just a snack and a photo of the sign

Langer's Delicatessen - best NY style deli on the west coast?

Sonoritas Prime Tacos - more interested in their burritos than their tacos

Quiadaiyn for Oaxacan cuisine

Open to comments on the above and other suggestions. We're looking for Korean fusion, Thai, and an old school Mexican joint. Maybe a brewpub with outstanding food.

Thanks in advance.

Randy's is easy after you pick up your rental car.

If you are here on a Saturday, there is a food market in the Wat Thai Los Angeles parking lot every weekend. Don't go on Sunday, as vendors start to run out of food since it is only 2 days and will be sold out of certain things. If you have gone to the Wat Mongkolratanaram food market in Berkeley, it is very similar to that where you exchange case for tokens to use at the various vendors. There's probably 2 dozen vendors at this one and they make a point to select vendors so there is little to no duplication. The Thai iced coffee/tea station vendor is amazing and we also like the meat skewers vendor (both are on opposite corners from each other) and then are a ton of options in between. Since it isn't a regular restaurant, prices are a bit lower and it makes it easy to grab a lot from different vendors and have a feast at one of the tented picnic tables. All sorts of videos on YouTube/elsewhere about this market. It will be a bit of a drive from El Segundo, but it is a fun experience and if you were already planning on heading N for something (it is close to the Burbank airport, but I'm guessing you are flying in/out of LAX since you mentioned El Segundo). The parking lot can be super tight; we often park on the residential street behind the temple and use the temple's back entry staircase (8200 Van Noord Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91605 for your GPS).

No idea if you're breakfast people, but if so and you're staying in El Segundo, it's not a long drive down to Hermosa Beach, where you can have one of LA's best breakfasts at Martha's on 22nd Street a few steps from the beach. Terrific omelets, pancakes etc., then you can walk off the carbs along the Strand, the beach towns' waterfront pedestrian/bike path that runs from Redondo to El Porto at the northern edge of Manhattan Beach. As you walk you can decide what bank to rob so you could afford a house on the Strand.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tAh5asFBLSYsw2dy6

Also in that same direction for breakfast are 2 Manhattan Beach classics--Uncle Bill's Pancakes and The Kettle.
Langers...get a #19. No need for a menu. Lol

Apple Pan

I know that you will have a car but what areas of LA are you primarily going to be hanging out in? Are you coming here to see some sights?

For Mexican joint, Tacos Los Cholos has great tacos. We usually go to the one at Anaheim, but there is one by South Gate closer to El Segundo. I saw a YouTube short saying that they serve over 10,000 tacos per day or something like that. The pricing is also great.

For Korean food, if you are here on Oct 18, Taste of Korea is at Temple City. Not sure what are going to be there, but seems like fun and ticket is free, so I will probably go.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-o...1601879407429?

As for Korean fusion, we like Kobe Gyukatsu. It's like a Japanese Korean fusion. You cook your own beef katsu to the doneness of your liking. My wife doesn't like beef so she would have seafood hotstone pot. Price is good as long as you don't go crazy and order the A5 or something. To be fair, we tried the A5 and the cheapest one. I think the cheapest beef katsu tasted the best.

Phillipe's The Original
https://philippes.com/

Kogi trucks
https://kogibbq.com/

You might already have the sandwich category covered with Langers but if not---Phillipes.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

We're staying near the airport and plan to hit the iconic LA tourist highlights including a Manhattan Beach sunset, some time in Santa Monica, a visit to Rodeo Drive, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, and maybe Hollywood Walk of Fame / Chinese Theater. We have the better part of 4 days.

While downtown isn't currently on our list, I'm wondering if Grand Central Market would be worth a visit? Villa's Tacos looks really good, as does McConnel's ice cream and Fat and Flour. I'm guessing there's something for everyone?

Skip the Walk of Fame and Grauman's, which are not worth the driving effort and parking cost. Also skip downtown LA. Same reasons.

If you have any interest in cars, add the Peterson auto museum, one of the 10 best in the world. Easy attached parking. Do the vault tour. Walk to the LaBrea Tar pits while you are there..
Skip LACMA - it's under construction and there are better art collections in even some smaller cities in the US.

For the sunset*, substitute Hermosa Beach for Manhattan Beach. Pier Plaza in Hermosa has several live music venues including the legendary Lighthouse. Parking in Hermosa is easier and
because of the terrain, navigating HB is easier than Manhattan. For Mexican food, try La Playita in Hermosa.

Keep in mind that it is better to live in LA than to visit LA.

*a note about sunsets at our beaches - - - you have ~ 10% chance of seeing a truly spectacular one and a 35% chance of seeing a fairly good one. Keep your expectations in check.
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Our 15 year old granddaughter suggests for teens visiting LA---> if you are visiting this month, get tickets to any of the theme parks for Halloween special themes. Our family goes every
year to Disney Halloween which is a limited ticket event, so the lines for rides are super short. Try for tickets, but we always buy ours the minute they are released.
She also recommends The Grove/Farmers Market, great shopping and a teen hangout. And skip the Hollywood sign. "It's lame"

My LA driving advice: just remember that everyone in LA is in a hurry and every driver is more important than you.

Downtown LA is still worth going if you are interested in visiting a few places in that area. Grand Central Market isn't worth it if you're going to DTLA just for that. You can also visit the Broad, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Angels Flight Railway, Bradbury Building all in walking distance of the Grand Central Market.

The Art District, Little Tokyo, Smorgasburg (open on Sunday only) are close by too in DTLA. These areas all have a variety of great food options. Much more worth visiting than the Walk of Fame or the Hollywood sign IMO.

As others have said, Hollywood walk of fame is seedy and unimpressive. You will see the Hollywood sign if you go to the Observatory. Yes, Villa's has excellent carnitos tacos but not worth a trip to Grand Central Market. There are a few cool sights in DTLA but not worth the drive IMO. Good dinner places for sunset are The Strand house in Manhattan Beach. https://www.thestrandhousemb.com/
or a few miles south Hennesey's in Hermosa. They have an upstairs deck that is great for people watching & right on the beach. https://www.hennesseystavern.com/loc...-hermosa-beach Tuesdays are 2 for 1 burgers!
Or several miles south of there is Terranea resort which is lovely to walk around and also have dinner. https://www.terranea.com/
Nelson's is the casual place at Terranea & I don't think the food is great but it is a nice setting right on the cliff.
I agree about Disneyland but it will take at least a whole day but is very cool to see all decorated for Halloween. You don't have to go on Halloween--I think it is decorated the whole month.
You can probably combine a visit to the Getty with your BH trip to Rodeo drive. And it isn't just Rodeo---all the surrounding streets are high end designer fancy pants & a possible celebrity sighting.
Traffic here sucks but you knew that already.
When's your trip?

Thank you again for all of the wonderful ideas and feedback.

We're arriving this weekend.

Great weather. FYI the Manhattan Beach Old Hometown fair is this weekend so parking etc will be hard. I doubt you'd want to go...arts & crafts & food etc.

If you're interested in history, architecture, and good food, downtown LA, specifically the Pueblo area including (kitschy but colorful) Olvera Street and the wonderful Union Station would fill the bill. You could get a French dip sandwich at Phillipe's, then stroll through the old town before ending at the station. If you want to extend the walk to the Central Market, it's not very far. Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/xSxCpYNnAAcnwL866