Mom is always right.
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maybe if they’re raised catholic?
People who’ve posted here, among others. Go early. Go late. Get takeout. Figure out how the non-line works.
pretty much applies to any place popular.
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Lots of popular places don’t have such inadequate seating, in part because most restaurant owners don’t twist the zoning code into such complicated knots. And most restaurants wouldn’t get a pass on such an inhospitable setup.
And we did go late, but there was nowhere to sit because every seat had a fucking hipster camping out.
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OP is going to have a lot of asides to dig through to get to the recommendations 
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Daughter hasn’t expressed much of an opinion on anything one way or the other, but re: In N Out, she’s said in the past, proudly, that she’s never eaten a hamburger in her life.
This thread is covering all of the bases that I was hoping for quite nicely!
I’m dealing with it ok 
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Thanks for the Raoul’s tip!
We have vanishingly few Oaxacan places in NYC: any more recs for these in LA?
They do a great grilled cheese. She doesn’t have to get a burger.
Hope you all accomplish what you come out for, food and school wise.
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Guelaguetza is fun for Oaxacan and reasonably close to Silver Lake and USC. I think the food is just okay, but it’s on Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Gold’s 101 best restaurants list.
Despite LA’s reputation for having great Mexican food, I don’t really love any Mexican restaurant here.
But I think Chichen Itza / Holbox would be a nice lunch option near USC; definitely my top choice for where to eat near USC. Broken Spanish is a solid option for higher-end Mexican.
In-N-Out burgers are basically what a not very talented cook could make at home with ingredients from the supermarket. The only thing that’s a step up from mediocre is the beef. The fries are an abomination. If I’m fainting from hunger in some grim place where there’s nothing but chain fast food, I’ll be happy to see one, but otherwise it’s a waste of appetite.
In N Out is one of those “love it or hate it” things.
I don’t know anyone that makes Double Doubles, animal style with chopped chilies and animal style fries at home. If I did, I’d be hanging out with them a lot more.
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I have no idea what Ethiopian food is like in New York (I keep meaning to try some when I am in NYC, but never get around to it), but in Los Angeles, we have “Little Ethiopia” which is a block stretch of Fairfax Ave., just south of Olympic Blvd.
There are a number of places, including an all vegan place called Rahel’s, but my favorite is a market with six tables called Buna where I tend to eat 2-3 times a week because I go through withdrawal if I don’t. I always order the same two things - either the whole trout which is freakin’ delicious and which comes with chopped tomatoes, onions and chillies, cabbage, potatoes and carrots, collard greens and four or five (lost count) different kinds of cooked pulses or the scrambled eggs, which are also freakin’ delicious and which are scrambled with tomatoes, onions and chilies. I’m not sure why the egg dish is so delicious, but it is, especially as it always arrives piping hot an a bed of injerra bread with extra injerra to use as your silverware. Even better when I go with a group because then we can order both the fish and the egg dish as well as vegetarian turnovers and extra sides of vegetables.
Buna also has tiramisu which is surprisingly good. Ethiopian coffee of course (although I am not a coffee drinker) and wonderful Ethiopian tea that they steep with fresh spices. Plus no liquor license, which means you can bring your own wine with no corkage.
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Haters gonna hate. I don’t think it’s the best burger around, but I think its great, and you can’t beat the value.
I will agree with @robert on the fries, though. Even ordering them animal style doesn’t get them there for me.
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I don’t hate In-N-Out. Their burgers just aren’t anything special unless the only point of comparison is other chain burger places such as McDonald’s. The idea of someone from New York in town for a few days wasting a meal on one makes me sad.
The fries are terrible because of their misconception that fresher potatoes make better fries. In fact what you want are potatoes with a lower, and consistent, moisture level.
If ordering Animal style fries, I opt for extra well done fries. If I’m having the fries plain, then well done fries. I need the textural contrast.
My kids, however, like them just the way they are…soggy. It boggles my mind.
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A lot of “kids” like the soggy fries. Our kids (18 and 16) love all fries, soggy crud to Belgian frites - go figure.
Trying INO is such a small financial investment. It’s the amount of potential time that one has to consider. So if the OP can pick the time, it’s a no-brainer.
INO is one of those checklist experiences for so many out-of-town folks. Our relatives in Malaysia and Singapore had to try it for that reason. They all enjoyed it without exception (got both regular and well done FF each time). Going back to wherever home is and saying one didn’t try it causes regret. Why leave with regrets on such a simple experience?
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Hey, I didn’t say that part! LOL
This is why. You don’t go to INO because the burgers are the best burgers around. You go there because it’s something unique to the area. Whenever we have visitors from the East Coast, Canada, Australia, Asia, etc they all want to go to INO. It’s not because they can’t get good burgers where they live, but because it’s something unique to California. No one wants to go back from California and get asked “did you try In N Out?” and say “Nah, I heard it’s just ok”. Everyone tries it at least once just so they can say they did. Some people like it and want to go again. Others say it was just ok, but they’re glad they tried it.
It’s the same reason people go to places like Pink’s and Tommy’s. They aren’t the best versions of what they sell, but they are known for them, and are unique to the area, so people want to be able to say they went there and ate their food.
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