Canadian Travelling to LA - Recommendations and feedback?

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
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Thanks for the report!

My understanding (from the few trips I’ve made there) is that the crab curry can’t be made to go below a certain level of spicy. So the crab curry is prob one of the spiciest items they make. I personally can barely tolerate the heat but love the taste so much that I am willing to suffer. I’m always in awe of posters who don’t find it particularly spicy!

That’s probably also dependent on who the stranger is and where you were when that occurred. Different parts of LA have their own culture. I live here, and I almost never have people start conversations w/ me (and probably would be confused, if they did… :wink: ).

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Thank you for reporting back. Because so many other ice cream options are now in LA, I personally consider McConnell’s second tier at best. GCM has a few gems, but with those few exceptions, better options can be found elsewhere. I think it’s the density and variety mixed with the unique location that draws so many.

Attari is great, and yes - their osh is amazing. It’s such a hole-in-the-wall that will stay that way because of their success. Why change a good thing? And across Westwood Blvd is Safron & Rose - excellent Persian ice creams.

For me Republique’s pastry case is instagramable eye candy. The pastries are overwhelming in number but are pretty to very good. The star of that neighborhood in my eyes is Sycamore Kitchen. Much more quaint, far fewer pastry case choices, but each is done extremely to my liking.

Thai cuisine? Shake a stick a hundred times and you’ll still find new experiences. You started off well, and I hope you can venture into this area even further. One would be hard pressed to find this breadth of Thai food outside of Thailand. Jitlada gets a lot of play among food-obsessed but as many detractors are here too (count me as one). Thai Spicy BBQ is our current favorite, but I think everyone here who enjoys Thai food probably has at least a few favorites of their own (so many Thai places are known for one to a few dishes done well).

You packed in a respectable amount of grazing. I hope you can add at least a few more days on another visit to make LA much more do-able.

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Thanks for giving us your thoughts!

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Completely agree.

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Dat Powell Library and Royce Hall…

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A good start, but dig even deeper. The Mildred Mathias Botanical Garden.

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I’m pretty sure I’ve asked you this b/f, but my memory is mush. Which places do you like better? I think Sweet Rose is one of them (and that’s prob my favorite place). What others?

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I like Sweet Rose - summer time is when I feel they shine with their seasonal summer flavors. Corn and peach buttermilk immediately come to mind.

Jeni’s seems to always have a nice selection of flavor combinations that work for me. I like floral essences in ice cream flavors. They do this well.

Salt & Straw tastes super rich and decadent. Their flavors range from “sort of traditional” to “out there.” And if they incorporate pieces or nuggets of ingredients, they don’t hold back - it helps in amping up the flavor profile.

Wanderlust is the newest addition that seems worthy. I think they’re still a work-in-progress (e.g., the Japanese neopolitan is good in theory but needs better separation so one can enjoy the flavors separately or mixed). Not a fat bomb like what I sense at Salt & Straw, but enough creaminess and mouthfeel to to be satisfying.

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For my taste buds, Salt & Straw always seemed higher in sugar content compared to its competitors.

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Mother Moo

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That makes USC’s Rose Garden look like a front porch planter. Had no idea that existed.

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To be fair, different animals. The Botanical garden at UCLA is a teaching garden. Definitely worth a visit, especially when there are heavy blooms.
Be aware that the garden is closed during school holidays like winter and spring break.

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My leftover breakfast this morning agrees. Langer’s on a Sunday glitch in the matrix.

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But for what it’s worth, my fav is just pastrami on rye with mustard. Think that version is tops, but I wouldn’t turn down a #19 (neither would my cat).

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To OP, I’ll admit that I haven’t read every post. But a lot of them. And have been so impressed with what I’ve read. ANYWAY :slight_smile: of the places/dishes that you ate, were they all/most/few recommended by people here?

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Sorry for the delayed response, was dead tired for about two days since i got back which i wasn’t expecting given it was only a 3 hour time difference!

I think everything was in line with what was recommended. I only wished i could have had some more variety at Guelaguetza because the menu was immense but after ordering the mole chicken, that’s all i could eat. If there was some kind of more varied platter, i might’ve been more excited by this meal (maybe there was and i totally missed it on the menu).

Though as i mentioned, the croissants at La Republique and Pitchoun (my own find) would not qualify as “good” in my books. Almost resembling supermarket quality here rather than the quality expected at a French bakery. Though i don’t want to misrepresent by seeking out something that LA may not be known for, i just wanted a croissant for breakfast and to eat some pastries. Maybe Sycamore kitchen would have fared better?

The osh was sublime because it was a new food experience for me (aside from being really tasty, i love the contrast in texture), and the ambiance was also quite nice. A little patio with persian music playing in the background, tucked into a side street. As i said, i only wished i could have tried Saffron & Rose because the flavours definitely seem more exciting than Mcconnell’s but the latter was where i happened to be at the time. I did pass by Salt & Straw too but the line was quite long so i passed.

Went to Intelligentsia twice haha, even brought back the tea leaf! I’m really impressed by the blend, even though it ranks among some of the priciest tea i’ve bought (except for that matcha i got in Kyoto). As a tea drinker, i feel like i’m being stiffed 90% of the time in North america.

In terms of the strangers thing, it was mostly waiting in a queue, although a bus driver taking me to UCLA did strike up a conversation and told me what he loved about the city, then directed me where to go once we got to UCLA so i appreciated that. I just meant that people seemed more extroverted in LA.

Also an aside, I visited “the last bookstore” in DTLA and loved it. Such an extensive collection of books, and records too! A first edition Hemingway for $1200! I actually completely forgot to visit Amoeba, although maybe that’s better for my wallet :slight_smile:

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Yes Amoeba will eat up your wallet and your time. I used to spend at minimum 2-3 hours there back in my younger days. It instantly became a must and a classic.

Aww I wished you hit up the Griffith Observatory! Probably the best touristy thing to visit here. Best to go early afternoon/after lunch, catch a show, look thru the exhibits, and enjoy the view during the day and at night.

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I will eat the croissant at Amandine in a pinch b/c it’s literally located a block away from where I live, but I otherwise refuse to eat any croissant in LA except for Chaumont.

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Super. More Proof croissants for me!

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Yeah, I wonder if time of day is an issue. I had Proof croissants twice (I think?), and I didn’t find them to be that great. But clearly the place has its fans, so perhaps it’s just me.