California
Los Angeles
West Side-ish
Eat
This is THE best BBQ you're going to get in LA. Let's face it, the American BBQ in LA pretty much sucks, either the stuff is boiled or super salty, but even so this has got to be on my top 3 restaurant list, it's THAT good. Go earlier rather than later too, since they sometimes run out of ribs- I once saw piles of to-go orders and I had just gone there with a friend 15 mins after they opened!
You know what, if I was gonna die tomorrow and had to choose the last restaurant I'd ever eat at, it would be this one. It's a total Brazillian meat-fest all you can eat BBQ, and it is friggin DELICIOUS. Watch out for the caiparinhas though, they are also the best I've had but you will get easily smashed (like I accidentally did once).
This place is awesome and cute. Gotta say tho, since it's on Abbott Kinney in Venice it's gonna set you back some $$$. That said, I went there for brunch with a friend and it was totally worth it. Everything was good, New American-style food in a rich-rustic setting.
This is a Japanese Izakaya chain I've been going to since I was a kid. Get the gindara (black cod with miso) and DEFINITELY the chicken wings (the black pepper ones), they are seriously THE BEST CHICKEN WINGS I'VE EVER HAD.
THIS is what I'd call the best ramen in LA. It's a chain in the Mitsuwa Japanese grocery stores, but trust me, this is the most flavorful, deep tonkotsu broth you'll ever try.
A nice Spanish-style wine bar with tapas and stuff. You can order big plates too, watch out they're really big. I like the polenta with mushrooms- watch out for the garlic in this! Avoid the sausage plate, but get the clams and as with any establishment that has them on offer, bacon-wrapped dates. Look at the menu and you'll know what I'm talking about.
If you want cheap grub or a place to park yourself with your laptop go here. The teriyaki chicken bowls and mint lemonade are pretty damn good. Just read the signs when you park!!
For the vegetarian friends. Or if you're like me, just go if you can't remember the last time you had a vegetable. The menu is rather granola/namaste/douchey but if you can look past that and order something then perhaps one day you too will look like the waitress serving you, perfect yoga skin and all.
Open late at night, have peppermint ice cream, and make their own variety of cookies. What more can you ask for? It's a bit expensive, but it is Mid-City and it's one of those nicer shabby-chic type places.
East Side-ish
Eat
I apologize in advance for the abundance of hipsters and the long wait, but it'll be worth it. Go here for brunch.
Another brunch place but this one's cuter with an outside patio and the bar area is also beautifully decorated if you want something nice to stare at while getting drunk during the day. The portions are larger than Square One but I feel like the food is still good, just not as good.
The line looks long to get in on the weekend for brunch, but it moves quickly, they give out water while you wait, and it's worth it. Get the fried chicken and waffles, fried chicken sandwich, and rib tips burrito. Salads are pretty good too.
This is one of those places that has a really short menu because they know what they're good at: Korean BBQ Pork, honey-style. Get the pork neck stew too if you're not too lazy about picking meat off bones with chopsticks.
Look, I'm sure some Korean person's gonna say that there's better, but you know what, I friggin' love this place and they give you a whole fish as a friggin' side. Korean tofu hotpot with rice. Their lunch menu is a pretty good deal too.
Go here for the lunch special if you can, they give you a huge plate with a variety of items. This is one of the few places that I felt they gave me "too much" uni. All-around great sushi.
Basically, if Sushi Gen is closed for some reason, or you've got people in your party who don't want sushi I usually take them to this place. They have great sushi and their bento boxes are pretty good (and cheap).
A lot of people go around and say that this is the best ramen in LA. Guess what, it isn't- it's just the best ramen in Little Tokyo. So if you find yourself there and have like an hour or more to wait since they don't take reservations, go ahead and go. It's still pretty good, just not the best.
This is also an all-you-can-eat place. If there's someone you wanna play a trick on for their birthday, take them here. The waiters come during the birthday song and literally dumps a couple bottles of champagne on your head. That reminds me, what are you doing for your birthday this year?
Drink
Good drinks served in mason jars and a great playlist running. Kinda reminds me of an old-timey Brooklyn bar verging on the goth side, almost like Jack the Ripper would hang there if he wore white t-shirts and had tattoos on his arms. Get the Thirsty Crow.
Part beer shop, part hangout spot, you can either grab a beer out o f the fridge or buy one of the ones on tap and play board games for hours. Has a general bookstore vibe.
Definitely a go-to place, it's German bierhaus style, meaning das boot, Jager, and bratwurst. You can sit up top on the roof or downstairs with the rando guy playing the piano.
Decorated like an old English library/boy's club, they have a couple of fireplaces and usually plenty of seating.
This is probably one of the cooler themed bars LA has to offer. It's 1920's style, and on certain days they have live shows with acrobats and usually have some old-timey movie projected on a wall. They have a dress code, so check yourself.
Good, straight-forward dive bar. There will probably be hispters there, but it's toned-down enough that it probably won't matter.
I think it's made by the same people as the Broadway bar, and from what I can remember the vibe is pretty much the same except they have gophers painted gold everywhere.
LA Institutions
Do I really need to say it? In-N-Out. But other than that there's:
There are many, but this is the best location I've tried. Have the bean and cheese burrito, trust me it sounds so simple but after going here you'll think the others you've tried were made by dumbasses with no tastebuds.
This is a crazy big chain so this is only one location. It's basically surfer food, meaning fish bowls with white rice and beans. Hits the spot if you're in the mood for that.
They do kebabs, but not the gross only-edible-when-drunk kind. Lots of locations too. Grab an extra garlic spread thing if you're smart. But if you're on a date... don't go here at all.
A lot of locations too but I like the one in Santa Monica the best because it's a little less "scene-y" if you know what I mean.
Yes, everything is vegetarian, but not in a gross steam-everything-then-dump-soy sauce-on-it way. It is actually insanely good and I actually choose to eat there by myself, which says a lot for a self-proclaimed carnivore.
Okay, for the American folks this place is ubiquitous, but for my foreign friends this is still pretty exotic. It's frozen yogurt, but that sour kind that resembles Greek yogurt and therefore tricks you into thinking that it's healthy. It's not, especially when you load it with gummy bears and chocolate chips. But it's one of the few desserts out there that doesn't make you feel super weighed down afterwards.
Drink
Father's Office
Bigfoot Lounge
South Bay (South of Venice Beach)
Eat
Manhattan Beach
This is the place you go to when you want a light snack or really want to go to Yogurtland but are guilt-tripped by the hot moms in Manhattan Beach who have better bodies than you at 25 even though they've all had 5 kids. This place has acai and dragonfruit served yogurt-style, with fruit and granola toppings and flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, etc.
Manhattan Beach
Sprinkles is dry as hell. Magnolia Bakery uses buttercream which for me is too rich to finish in one sitting, almost like I'm eating delicious flavored cool whip mixed with mayo- I've gotta be in the mood. But Suzie Cakes- I'm always in the mood for this. Probably the best cupcakes I've ever had. Get the red velvet.
Torrance
I've been coming here for years- literally the owners and waiters here have watched my sister and I grow up, that's how long I've been coming back and have never been disappointed. Easily the best Persian food I've had. Get the Ash Reshteh (soup that's thick like chili) and Chicken Koobideh.
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Torrance
This place is the best ramen in LA. It's a little booth in a food court within a Mitsuwa Japanese Market, but don't let that fool you, this place is legit. Get the miso ramen with the special pork and you'll know what I'm talking about. Cash only but there's an ATM inside the building.
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Irvine/Tustin/Huntington Beach Area
Eat
Gen Korean BBQ
Multiple Locations
Sam Woo
Tustin
Los Primos
Huntington Beach
North of Los Angeles
Camping
Pfeiffer State Park
This is a park located just around the Big Sur area. There are a bunch of campgrounds here in case one of them is full. I'd suggest to go with the campgrounds on the right-hand side (away from the ocean, if you're traveling north up the coast) since it's more woodsy and secluded from the main highway. It costs about $35 for the further ones, I think $45 for the ones closer to the water. Just remember that the waters here are super dangerous so you can't swim off shore.
Wright's Beach
This beach is just north of San Francisco maybe 1hr-1.5hrs away. It's pretty small, but if you can grab a spot here it's pretty nice since even if you have to get one of the further ones you can still hear the ocean. $35.
Bodega Dunes Campground
I didn't stay here since I was alone and if you come and drive through here by yourself on a weekday searching for a spot you'll know kinda why. This campsite is sprawling, and the spots are pretty huge so if you're with a group or cool with a giant campsite under a grove of large trees then this is your deal. I think it's also around $35.
Eat and Do
Jenner
So this place has nowhere to camp, but it's a cute town just north of the camp sites I mentioned where you can grab a bite to eat and maybe go kayaking for a bit. If you do stop here go to Cafe Aquatic, it doesn't look like much on the road but they have good poached egg sandwiches for breakfast, a nice view of the Russian River, and a dog. Also, if you ask nicely they'll let you use their kayak for free for a couple of hours to boat around the small island they're facing.
Santa Barbara
Crab Eggs Benedict. Sure, you'll be leaving with a food baby, but who's there to judge, the person you're with who's sneaking bites of it off your plate? Also, they give you these awesome mini muffins instead of regular bread. Double awesome, it's right across the street from the beach so you'll have an awesome view.
San Francisco
This is the best Chinese food I've ever tried. They've been featured on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and have a photo of the staff with Jackie Chan mounted on their wall. Order the salt and pepper crab (you can order half portions, too), the imitation abalone with Chinese broccoli, Peking duck, and live prawns with garlic and soy sauce. Park in the underground parking structure just past the restaurant and they'll validate your ticket.
Santa Barbara
All-around cute, this place is Italian but that kind of expensive Italian where you can get gourmet thin-crust pizza and beet salads, not like the college-level Chef Boyardee fill-me-up-to-avoid-starvation type of Italian. I once took a detour here driving down from NorCal just to pick up one of their pizzas to eat on the road. It's good.
Sausalito
Brian Bowen's Recommendation
Alright, I've first got to state that my friend was the head chef at the bar and restaurant here, so let's get that out of the way. Aside from that, this is an awesome place to go to, the food is awesome and high scale (and celebrity-approved, if you care about that sort of thing), and the scenery of the hotel itself is great with a waterfront looking out towards the Golden Gate Bridge. The restaurant is that white tablecloth style but since I didn't know/have no shame anyway I sauntered in wearing friggin yoga pants and a white t-shirt, so it's not an uptight place. If you're dining alone, I'd ask for the table by the fireplace (yes, there's a fireplace in the restaurant, super bomb), and get the tasting menu- you won't be disappointed!
Sausalito
Brian Bowen's Recommendation
LOVE THIS JOINT. Get the bacon and fingerling potato pizza, add a duck egg to it, and drink a beer outside looking at all the expensive boats on the marina and play bocce ball if you feel like it. Sound nice? It is.
Ad hoc
Bouchon
Redd
Angel
Sushi samba
Lotus kayak rentals
Jenner $20/day
Sausalito
Brian Bowen's Recommendation
This place is totally unassuming, not in a gross ghetto way, but not in the crazy expensively decorated Northern California way. BUT the food is so super good, especially if you're crazing Mexican food with SHRIMP. Need I say it? Get whatever has shrimp in it, but everything else was awesome as well.
Novato
Brian Bowen's Recommendation
If you want to be close to the danger of, say, buying $200 worth of yoga gear at Lululemon, try this place at the mall! But seriously, this place was pretty solid in terms of grub: high quality pizza, and since it's still NorCal, even though it's sort of a casual bar-like restaurant of course they have high-class tapas plates like octopus and whatever.
Bar Bocce
Ad Hoc