Los Angeles: Food and Hikes

I moved to LA in 1997 for a job. A few years later I was home for the holidays. While channel surfing, I came across the Rose Parade and actually heard myself say “Hey! That’s home!” LA… home? Somehow, this smoggy and characterless city had become home. It was insidious really.

It started with food. I was finally back in a city where an outing for Dim Sum did not qualify as a road trip. Not only do we have haute cuisine, street food, and everything in between, it comes in every nationality imaginable. And sometimes, just for fun, we mix them up to see what happens. A recent discovery is a Philippine/French restaurant.

After you've had all that great food, you'll need to work it off. Surfing and rollerblading are the stereotypical answers. However, with a number of mountain ranges like the Santa Monica, San Gabriel, Verdugo, and San Bernadino mountains, you can go from urban to trail head in 30 minutes. There are also the poppy fields and the Channel Islands, where in addition to hiking you can explore sea caves by kayak and dive cathedral-like kelp forests. For more on these water activities, see my journal titled "Water Soluble LA."

Nights out can take on a definite LA air. I’m not talking about trendy night clubs. I am talking about picnicking on the Hollywood Bowl’s dollar seats while listening to a great concert, watching a movie at the Chinese Theater with an audience full of geeks that will cheer at the Lucasfilm logo, or watching a Hollywood classic at the Hollywood Forever cemetery. Heck, we even stumbled into a Korean Salsa class.

Offbeat or mainstream; you’ll have a great time in Los Angeles, no industry connections necessary.

Quick Tips:

If you need to be anywhere by a specific time, always give yourself some extra time. Traffic is unpredictable and traffic jams occur even on weekends.

Don't get bummed out if it rains during your stay. The rains never last long, and you'll be rewarded with some incredible vistas, thanks to the smog-clearing rain. Head out somewhere with a view in between rains. You won't be disappointed.

LA Weekly is a free weekly paper, and is your best source for event listings.

Best Way To Get Around:

By car! After all, we are talking about LA. Nobody walks in LA. On your way out, just be sure to grab a Thomas Guide, the phone book sized map no Los Angeleno leaves home without. Now, at this is probably overkill for a weekend trip, but if you know anyone in town, ask if you can borrow theirs. If you are planning on being here any more than a couple of months, it’s indispensable.

Strangely enough, I have met a fair number of people who don’t have a car. LA’s public transportation system is decent, if inconvenient. The subway system has come a long way over the past couple of years with additional lines, and the bus system will get you close to your final destination. The major tourist areas connected by the metro train system are Hollywood, Pasadena, Downtown, the Wilshire area, and Long Beach.

Again, if you can afford to, rent a car. Rental agencies servicing LAX are off-site, and you will take a courtesy shuttle to the lot. Ride share vans are another option to get from LAX to your base of operations.

The sound of monks chanting, the smell of satay, and the heat of the papaya salad will make you forget you are in a pretty bleak part of North Hollywood.

Wat Thai is not a restaurant. It is actually the largest Theravada Buddhist Temple in the United States and the center of a pretty active Thai community. However, vendors set up food stalls selling a large variety of Thai street food every weekend.

Wat Thai is located near the Hollywood Freeway (170) at the crossing of Roscoe Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue. I'm not sure how late the vendors stay, but I've been there as late as 3pm and the place was still jumping. The way it works is that you go up to a booth, where you get tokens ($1, $2, and $3), and use these tokens to buy food from the vendors. And what food it is…

The papaya salad is fiery but irresistable. The fried plantains sprinkled with sesame seeds are more addictive than crack. And, of course, there is the large assortment of meat on sticks, always crowd-pleasers. The exception was the lobster satay, which I found bland. But I probably just didn't go to the right vendor. The basic rule of thumb is to look for the stall with the longest line and follow suit.

After you've eaten your fill, you can wander into the temple for a look-see, but be respectful, as this is a place of worship.

I know, taco trucks?!?! Trust me on this one. Everything in LA is on four wheels and good Mexican food is no exception.

I recently discovered Tacos El Pique, a Taco Truck in LA's highland park. I went back 3 times in the span of one week even though I live 30 minutes away! But no need to limit yourself. After hours just look for the light trucks parked in heavily Hispanic areas and look for the ones with the lines. The locals know.

Bear in mind that these are "D.F." style tacos. That is, soft tacos. There is no lettuce or a crispy tortilla shell in sight. These tacos are small flour tortillas, topped with your choice of meat, onions, sauce and radishes and cucumbers (to cool you off) on the side. I loved the carne asada and carnitas tacos. My wife was partial to the chicken one best. But at a dollar a piece, get one of each and make up your own mind. Oh, and top the whole thing off with a Mexican soft drink.

By the way, D.F. stands for Mexico's Distrito Federal or Federal District, which encompasses Mexico City. It's like the D.C. in Washington D.C.

Don't expect luxury, this is after all a taco truck on a street lined with auto repair shops. There are no seats beyond a bench or two, but as you sit in front of the truck, inhaling the tacos with salsa dripping down your chin, you won't care where you are.

La Cubana is one of those restaurants that closes for 2 months in the summer and still finds its loyal customers waiting by the doors when they return. A recent remodeling/expansion took 10 long months and the withdrawal was such that we actually asked the contractor on the premises when they expected to be done.

The lechon (roast pork) is without equal in LA. Moist and juicy, the portions are big enough to serve two. But you’ll still find yourself eating the whole thing by yourself. Make sure you go during the weekend, as they only have the lechon on weekends. And even so, try to go on a Friday or Saturday to get it when it is most moist.

I always get the lechon with Moros and yuca. Moros, also known as Congri, is a side dish of rice and black beans cooked together. The name Moros is short for Moros y Cristianos, which literally translates to Moors and Christians. The term refers to the battles between Muslims and Christians in Spain during the Reconquista period between the 8th and 15th centuries. If you prefer, you can get white rice and black bean soup (to pour over the rice) instead.

Your plate is rounded out with yuca, also known as cassava. Yuca is an edible starchy tuberous root. It is like a potato except it has a woody cordon running along the root's axis. At La Cubana the yuca is prepared in a mojo, the traditional Cuban garlic marinade. I love yuca, but for a lot of people it is an acquired taste.

For a lighter meal, you can have the lechon as a sandwich. But if you must deviate from the lechon, go for the oxtail. It's quite good. The chicken is somewhat Asian in flavor and not quite as memorable.

Expect to pay about $15 per person.

La Cubana is a neighborhood restaurant and is thus pretty casual. The staff is attentive and friendly. The décor is minimalist Cuban by way of Pottery Barn, and while pleasant enough not extremely memorable. But that’s not the point anyway. La Cubana has a parking lot next to the restaurant plus overflow parking within the same block.

Porto's is one of the best bakeries in town. It is always crowded with people on their lunch break picking up cakes for parties or getting the morning treats. Thanks to a new quick service counter, the lines move fast and gone are the days of getting there by 8am on Sunday to avoid the crowds.

Porto's has great savory treats under a dollar each. My favorites are the potato balls (papa rellena), mashed potatoes stuffed with ground beef, breaded and fried; the meat pie (pastel de carne), puff pastry filled with seasoned ground beef; the chorizo pie (pastel de chorizo), Spanish-style empanada filled with pork; and the rellenos, ripe plantains filled with black beans, breaded and fried (not always on the menu).

Sandwiches are $3.75 and come with a few mariquitas, fried green plantain chips. I love the Cubano (slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, butter, and mustard, Cuban bread) or the medianoche, the same as before but on a sweet roll. For a little extra they'll put croquettes or potato balls in the sandwiches, but I prefer these on the side. You can savor everything better that way. You can also get a Pan con Lechon: slow roasted pork, mojo garlic sauce, and grilled onions, on a grilled Cuban bread.

For those with a sweet tooth, everything is great, but the mango mousse and the Refugiado (guava and cream cheese strudel) sing. Porto's has ready made cakes as well as making wedding cakes and birthday cakes to order.

Porto's just opened a second branch in Burbank at 3514 W. Magnolia Blvd., on the corner of Hollywood Way. See the enclosed pictures.

Unfortunately, LA's Chinatown is somewhat dead. And while there are good restaurants (Ocean Seafood and Empress Pavillion), you have to head east to Monterey Park for the prime Chinese food.

NBC Seafood has, in my opinion, the best dim sum in town. The dishes taste fresher, and in spite of the large numbers of tables they turn, the food does not taste mass-produced, like at other restaurants.

Expect long lines on the weekends and avoid days like Mother's Day. If you get there by 10:30am on a normal weekend, the wait should be short.

NBC does the standards well: Siu Mai (wonton-wrapped steamed dumplings), Har Gow (shrimp dumplings in a rice wrapper), and Cha Siu Bao (steamed barbecue pork-filled dumplings).

But don't limit yourself. NBC's selection is dizzying. Inspect the contents of every cart that comes your way and hope to God you don't get seated in a lousy cart traffic area.

Black Cow Cafe is one of the best places to have breakfast in the Glendale/Montrose area. The portions are a healthy in size, and the food is delicious.

My favorite is the Cow Benedict, two eggs benedict over ham and a croissant. The quiche, available only on weekends, is also excellent, even by my meat-lover standards. Other fine choices are the banana French toast and the chilaquiles.

The Black Cow really gets into Teas and they have a good selection of red, black, and green teas. Every now and then they will try some new-fangled tea brewing device. Just humor them...

Lunch and dinner are also great, but the breakfast steals the show.

The staff is warm and efficient. The ambiance is casual and relaxed. Thankfully the cow theme is extremely restrained, and avoids the country-fair feel. Sophisticated country the best way I can describe it. I know this is a somewhat strange thing to note, but they have a really cool fan system, where belts connect all the ceiling fans. Well, I think it’s cool.

Black Cow is where the locals eat, and there are a lot of locals. Unless you get there by 9:30am you are in for a 20 minute wait at least. The later in the morning you go, the longer the wait. But it is certainly worth it. If you have a wait, stroll the small shops along Honolulu Avenue. Some weekends there is a farmer's market to help pass the time.

You would never guess that you can feel like you are in Northern California, within an hour of Los Angeles. Angeles Crest National Forest, is a pine forest with plenty of granite and lots of great L.A. free vistas.

My favorite trail takes you up to Waterman Mountain. It is about 5 miles round- trip (same way in and out), you gain 1,500 feet in elevation, but this hike is actually rather easy, as the grade is never too extreme. You’ll eventually summit at 8,038 feet. Well sort of, it is hard to find the actual summit as the mountain top is rather flat.

During the winter, the snow draws Angelenos for a day of winter frolicking. For some reason, some even take chunks of ice and rest them on their windshields to watch them melt as they drive back to L.A.. I’ve even seen pickup beds full of snow.

From I-210, take the Angeles Crest Highway for 34 miles, just past the Waterman ski lift. While a little hard to find, you will see a trail marker that says Waterman Trail.

To park in the forest, you need to buy a $5 Adventure Pass for the day. You can also get an annual pass for $30. You should get these before you go. They are available at most sporting goods stores, such as Sports Chalet, or Big 5.

April 1, 2006 Update - Wildwood Canyon is CLOSED through April, possibly May, 2006 to repair the damage caused by recent rains. The brush had not recovered enough from the October 2005 fire to withstand the recent heavy rains and the resulting in mudslides caused significant damage to the trails.

Wildwood Canyon is a nice little park on the Burbank side of the Verdugo Mountains. The park has a 2 mile trail system and provides a quick escape from L.A., or a good perspective on the city.

Part of Wildwood burned down, due to a fire in October 2005. While the north/right hand of Wildwood Canyon Road is intact, the south (towards Burbank) still bears the scars. However, the charred trees are surrounded by wildflowers as the springtime chaparral makes a comeback. Taken as a whole, it provides a good view of the life cycle of the chaparral.

Instead of going up the road into the park, I usually park by the entrance, and take the trail to my immediate left as you enter the park. It provides a bit more of a challenge, and you can use the paved road for looping back to your car. Along the way you will see picnic and open grass areas.

To go to the ridge line of the Verdugo Mountains, take a left fork in the trail, right before you get to the water tower. This trail is outside of the aforementioned 2 mile trail system, and is moderately strenuous.

To get there, take Olive Avenue north, towards the mountains. Turn left onto Sunset Canyon Drive. Turn right onto Harvard Road. The entrance to Wildwood Canyon Park is on the right. This route will take you through a nice residential part of Burbank, and you can see a lot of houses in the Spanish colonial style that became popular in L.A. during the 1920s.

The Beaudry Trail loops the Glendale side of the Verdugo mountains. I found this trail by sheer chance. I used to live in Glendale and had a book and an afternoon to kill. Seven years later, it is still one of my favorites. It is, for the most part, moderate and provides great views of Downtown LA and the San Gabriel Mountains, including Mt. Baldy. The vegetation is chaparral, the woody shrubs prevalent in Southern California. Thus, there is not a whole lot of shade, especially on the southern part of the trail. The southern ascent is also steeper, with a killer part about two-thirds of the way to the mountain ridge. For a gentler workout, go up the northern part of the trail. Wildlife is shy and rarely seen. In the 7 years, I have only seen coyotes once, deer a couple of times, and a rattler (dead) once. There is really nothing to worry about, but if you run into an animal, just give it some space and nothing will come out of the encounter. The trail (actually a fire road) is lightly used, so you’ll only see a few hikers and mountain bikers. The trailhead is located on Beaudry Boulevard in Glendale, a quarter mile west of Country Club Drive. Park on the street and you will see a paved segment of fire road leading to a vehicle gate and the trailhead. After less than a mile, the fire road will split into Beaudry Trail South (left fork) and North (right fork). The loop is 5.5 miles, with a 1,500-foot elevation gain. It should take about 3 hours to complete.

At the base of the Verdugo Mountains, the 31 acre Brand Park has something for everyone. It has a baseball diamond, library, playground, picnic area, hiking and biking trails, and several historic buildings.

The main building is the library. Originally named Miradero, it was the home of Leslie C. Brand, often referred to as the Father of the City of Glendale. Mr. Brand willed Miradero, and the adjacent grounds, to the city provided it was turned into a public library and park. Inspired by the East Indian Pavilion, built for Chicago’s 1893 Columbian World Exposition, the library is a popular place for wedding pictures.

The park also contains a historic home in the Queen Anne style known as the "Doctors House." The house was occupied by a series of early Glendale doctors, and was moved to the park in 1979. The house now serves as a museum and event facility.

There are several trails that loop the park and connect the park to the Verdugo Mountain ridge. Brand Trail is actually a fire road, and is an easy hike. Along the way you will see the Brand family cemetery marked by a pyramid. A steep offshoot from this trail leads to the Verdugo Mountain ridge.

A more challenging trail, starts behind the Save our Trees monument. The trail is steep from the start, and for a few steps before the first plateau, you might need to use your hands. At the second plateau the trail splits. The left fork takes you to the fire road mentioned before. To the right, the trail loops back and deposits you behind the library.

If you plan on attempting the steeper trails, make sure you are wearing appropriate shoes and are relatively surefooted. The first time I did the trail I was by myself and had no idea whether the trail was a loop, or if I would have to double back. The trail was so steep and smooth that I seriously wondered how long it would be before someone would miss me. As I sat there contemplating my options, my sweat reacted with the rosemary bush I was sitting against. To this day I connect the smell of rosemary with being stranded on the side of a mountain.

First of all, let me say apologize for any typos, nomenclature inconsistencies, or downright errors as I am a second generation half Chinese whose limited knowledge of Chinese is in a dialect close to Cantonese. That being said, let's dig in.

Dim sum is a Cantonese term that loosely translated means “close to the heart” or “order to one’s heart’s content.” Dim sum is usually had as breakfast or brunch and is made up for many small dishes, which gets at another translation of the term which is “little token”

Depending on the restaurant or where you are you might be seated with others or at your own table. In LA you always get your own table, not so in New York.

Dim sum can be ordered from a menu, many places having pictures of the items. The most fun however it to go to a place where the dishes make their way across the dinning room in carts. The ladies manning the cart will either show you or call out the contents of their cart. Never be shy in asking to see what is under a lid and be sure to sit somewhere you can have a view of the carts and their contents as they pass by. Some of the standard dishes are as follows:

Bao (or Bau) are buns filled with different meats such as cha siu (BBQ pork, cha siu bao), chicken (kai bao), chinese sausage (lahp chéung bao), and in some horrifying cases hot dogs (hot dog bao). A variation uses a puff pastry, is dusted with sesame seeds and is called cha siu so.

Ha Gao (or Har Gow) are made up of shrimp wrapped in a translucent rice flour skin and steamed. There are many other types of gow fillings such as vegetables or scallops.

Siu Mai are small steamed pork dumplings wrapped with a thin wheat flour wrapper and sometimes toped with a shrimp (or made of shimp altogether).

Steamed spareribs are bite-sized pork spare ribs in black bean sauce. You eat them by popping the entire thing in your mouth, eat the meat and then put the bone back on the plate in whatever manner causes you the least embarrassment.

Chuk is a rice porridge. Ingredients include may include pork, chives, and preserved duck eggs (1,000 year old eggs)

Rice noodle rolls (cheong fan) are wide rice noodles layered with meat (beef, pork or shrimp) then rolled, steamed, and served with soy sauce.

Chinese broccoli is quick dried and served with oyster sauce.

Turnip cakes are square turnip patties with bits of chinese sausage that are lightly fried and served with oyster sauce.

Roast duck, BBQ pork, and soy sauce chicken are cut up and served at room temperature.