Glitzy City of Angels (Los Angeles)

The City of Angels where celebrities reside with a stigmatism is of rich snobs or beach bums. With MTV shows like the Hills and Laguna Beach what more can people expect? Yes, it’s true people love their cars, traffic is horrible during peak hours, the smog can get pretty bad due to the inversion layer, celebrity stars and bouncers are tough unless you have something to flaunt. However, Los Angeles is a city with a lot to offer. When I am asked if I like living in Los Angeles, how can I say no?

The weather is great year round. The beach is nearby, great restaurants and nightlife a step away, and the mountains an hour or two away. LA is more than the stereotypes that is assigned to it. Yes, the stereotypes do exist but if you really know LA you find that the stereotypes doesn’t represent the city at all.

Do a bit of research on what part of town will suite you best. If you are into glam, high end shopping, brand names, and such head over to the Beverly Center or Malibu.

Hipsters and the artsy types hang out in Silverlake and Los Feliz.

Surfers, hippies and beach bums check out Venice Beach and Santa Monica.

The Sunset Strip is for tourists and Orange County residents who drive up for a night out on the town.

Quick Tips:

Try to plan ahead on what you would like to do.

Talk show tickets are free and popular shows are taped in LA like The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Ellen, and Jay Leno. Tickets are available on their respective websites. Be aware that for a one hour taping it will actually take about 3 hours, after accounting for the required early arrival and breaks during the taping.

The Griffith Park Observatory just completed a 4 year renovation and re-opened its doors to the public in 2006. A trip there would definitely be worth it, however, you need to make a reservation for an entrance time, the website offers an online booking.

American Apparel the sweatshop free brand originating in Los Angeles has their headquarters in downtown. Outlet shopping at their headquarters is available on Fridays. You could buy shirts for -, which is more than 50% off of their retail prices.

Don’t bother with Universal Studios, just go watch a movie instead. The Hollywood sign... Just wave at it when you see it. The hike to the sign isn’t worth it, it’s completely fenced in with video cameras and you can’t even read it when you’re that close to it anyways.

A lot of nightclubs offer guest lists. Keep in mind that the guestlists are usually posted by the promoters and not the venue itself. Depending on the night the crowd will vary due to the different promoters.

If you are looking for celebrities at the nightclubs they usually go out on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Best Way To Get Around:

There is a train that serves LA and buses as well, but your best bet is to rent a car. LA was planned on a grid system so if you make a wrong turn, you just make a couple rights and you are back where you started. Just be sure that your rental comes with a GPS system and you’ll be able to navigate without a problem.

Most hotels will charge a parking fee about a night. Restaurants and sites have plenty of parking or valet.

My favorite breakfast spot in Silverlake is Dusty’s. Dusty’s is on the corner of Descanso and Sunset. Dusty’s is a bistro with a bit of French flair. It’s casual but not casual enough to be a diner. Street parking is usually available although sometimes there is a valet available.

When you walk in the restaurant it is lively but not too crowded. We usually have a late breakfast at about 11am and have never had to wait for a table. There is abundant seating for parties up to 8, as fancy picnic tables line the center of the restaurant. While booths line the walls and intimate tables divide the room in half. The staff all coordinate in pastel tops and dark bottoms which change with the seasons. And in the back is a gorgeous wood bar with seating as well. The restaurant definitely feels frenchy for a lack of a better word.

While the food is delicious. From crepes, to traditional egg dishes, to fried eggs on toast with spinach, omelets and french toast. The french toast is served with real maple syrup and it completely melts in your mouth. It is my favorite! Well the french toast and the fresh fruit bowl. The fresh fruit bowl is a huge bowl that really is a meal in itself or good for sharing. It’s filled with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, sometimes mango. It’s just not your typical grapes and apples kind of mix. And if you like coffee, you don’t have to wait for the waitress to come around because they leave a carafe right on your table.

Although I have had dinner there, the fare was average. However, I would definitely recommend it for breakfast.

When you walk up to Pink Berry, the facade is a green storefront with tables and plastic modern chairs lining the front. The store is pretty sleek and streamlined, with a rock tile, if you could call it that.

The service could be more efficient, but they do what they can. The problem is the topping area is so smushed together that only two people can really be putting on toppings at a time.


Pink Berry, a.k.a. "crack berry", is a frozen yogurt joint whose product actually tastes like yogurt that is frozen. There are only two flavors, original, which I guess is described as the white yogurt, plain flavor, and then green tea.

I stick with the original. Although you could ask for a sample of either one before you purchase to see what is right for you.

I was crazy for Pink Berry after my first bite. Why? It's refreshing, and you don't feel like a fat cow after consuming a yummy desert. The toppings include some dry stuff like carob, coconut, and nuts. You won't find Snickers or Oreo as toppings here. The best toppings in my opinion are the fresh fruits. These include raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, mango, kiwi, strawberries, and pineapple.

A small yogurt will cost you $2.50 and $1.00 for each additional topping. Just because you get 3 toppings doesn't mean they give you three times as much toppings, it just means you get more variety, but basically the same amount. Furthermore, with my many trips to Pink Berry, I notice that they count the number of raspberries and blackberries that are actually put on each cup. The blueberries and strawberries are exempt from this treatment because they are topped with a scoop rather than being picked up one by one.

There aren't any in Orange County yet, although I heard a store may be opening in Belmont Shores in Long Beach soon.

There has been a lot of talk about people getting parking tickets and long lines. However, I find that if you go to the one on Larchmont, Vermont, or Melrose there aren't really long lines, like the location in Westwood. However, parking is inconvenient in all these locations.

http://www.pinkberry.com/

I'm crazy and can't stop talking about Pinkberry, you should try it. Pinkberry should pay me for my advertising services.

The Arclight Cinemas is my favorite movie theatre of all times. I never thought I would be so picky about movie theatres and I never thought I would have a favorite theatre, but I do.

Now the Arclight is not for penny pinchers, it is $11 for a weekday ticket and $14 for a weekend ticket.

What does this pretty penny get you? First of all you don't need to sit in the theatre for 30-45 minutes prior to the start of your show to ensure that you don't end up with the crummy first row seats on the opening night of a movie. You reserve a seat when you purchase your ticket so you know exactly where you will be. There are ushers in the theatre to make sure that you find your seat and that somebody else isn't occupying it.

Due to the higher price of the tickets there are really no teenagers. Which means no cell phones going off in the middle of the movie, no talking, no pushing around, you get my drift. The ushers stay in the theatre for the first 15 minutes of the show to ensure that there isn't talking, that the sound is at the right level, and the picture looks good. If there is someone talking you have the opportunity to tell an usher and they will escort the blabbermouth out the theatre.

Besides that the theatre is CLEAN! There aren't sticky floors and gum and stains on the seats.

The sound system is really good and they house a theatre called the "dome." Which is what it sounds like, a big dome theatre.

To top it off the theatre shows a lot of early releases and independent films.

For regulars they offer a rewards program, where you rack up points for snack bar and ticket freebies.

Parking is $1 in the adjacent parking structure with a validation from the theatre.

The Standard Hotel tries to be everything but standard. It’s a modern hip boutique hotel with minimalist furniture.

Some logistics, the Standard hotel has 2 locations one on the Sunset strip, and the other in downtown LA on Flower Street. I think I can speak for others when I say the hipper and trendier of the 2 is the downtown spot. The downtown hotel is known for the rooftop bar.

The rooftop bar entrance and entrance to the hotel is through the back end near valet. If I remember correctly valet was about $15, and self park was $7. You line up and it is very typical red rope. Dress to impress and sweet talk your way in past the door, and pay a $20 cover to get you to the bar. As with most nightclubs and bars in LA if you are bunch of ladies, your chances of getting in are much greater than even if you had one solitary male in your group. If you don’t make the selection, they usually offer you entrance to the bar downstairs in the lobby. When I say sweet talk I mean act as if you are on the "list." From personal experience this has worked even if you aren’t really on the "list." One way to bypass this door dance is to stay at the hotel, which guarantees an entrance for 2 with no wait.

You would think that the rooftop is jammed pack with people due to the strict door procedures, but that is quite the contrary. You never are bumping into people or feel cramped; instead you find yourself thinking, why don’t they let more people up here?

After you make it past the door take the elevator up to the top floor where as you come out, you’ll be greeted by an open deck with white couches all over the place. Another bonus with a rooftop bar is that smoking is allowed, so you don’t need to step outside to get your fix. There is a full bar, a small area that is made into a dance floor and lots of places to lounge, including individual pods that contain a mattress and probably room for about 5 intimately and 2 comfortably. You are looking at about $8 for well drinks like gin and tonic, and $15 for vodka redbull types. Like I said, it’s a lounging type of place; although there is a dance floor it usually isn’t packed with grinding bodies.

There is also a rooftop pool that I have never seen used. And the view of the city at night is incredible. The hotel is next to a loft/apartment unit. Sometimes you’ll catch some exhibitionists doing a show from their room.

I haven’t been back to the Standard for a while but the crowd is always mellow every time I have ventured out. A couple years ago we saw a bunch of Lakers there.

www.standardhotel.com

The Cha Cha Lounge on Glendale is located just across the street from the Red Lion Pub. Don't mistake it as the Cha Cha Cha Caribbean restaurant on Virgil. The doorman will roll his eyes out you and give you a poo poo.

When you walk inside the Cha Cha lounge, you get hit with a red glow. The only lighting they seem to have are chili Christmas string lights, and a few sconces on the wall. My friend found the red light to be quite irritating but it didn't bother me much. Along with the strings of chili lights, the ceiling is covered with sombreros, the walls with full murals.

In the center of the room there is a huge bar with a tiki type of a roof on it. The walls are lined with booths providing plenty of seating. If you are tired of drinking, there are a couple foos balls tables in the back. Although I didn't see anyone all night going near them.

Now the scene, can only be described as the epitome of hipster central. So hip are the hipsters, that every person seems to be in need of a shower. Drinks weren't too pricey and the atmosphere in this hipster aura was a bit cool. We got hit with several one liners that tried to be unique but sounded pretty lame. However, we were the rude party for not going along with the dumb banter.

I guess Cha Cha was a fun place to hang out with a group of friends, and may be interesting if you are looking to appease some characters. My overall impression was that the crowd was really trying to not try.

I would go back just to go out with my friends to sit and people-watch.

I always think to myself, where would I take out of town guests that are visiting southern California for the first time? Tour companies always seem to have the hit visitors with Disneyland, Universal Studios and the Sunset Strip. So here is my list of things that you can go and see, do, eat. However, I hang out in OC a lot and Silverlake, so you will definitely see a bias towards activities in those areas.

Disney Concert Hall

MOCA

Huntington Library – Not really a library. It’s an old estate that was owned by some rich guy named something Huntington. This huge estate houses a collection of art and botanical gardens. Located in San Marino.

Getty Museum. Located in LA. Free entrance, however, you need to pay for parking.

Griffith Park Observatory – LA. Take a hike around the Griffith Park then explore the Observatory.

Museum of Tolerance – The main exhibit here is on the holocaust. – LA

Long Beach Aquarium

Shopping

I’m not filthy rich. However, I like a few nice pieces of clothes. So this isn’t a list of Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills kind of thing.

Sunset Junction in Silverlake. Hipster, eclectic fun shops.

Santa Monica – 3rd Street Promenade

Melrose

Outdoors

Huntington Beach – Spend a day at the beach, check out Main Street. Lots of surf and volley ball competitions held here throughout the year.

Joshua Tree – 2 hours outside of LA for hiking and rock climbing

Santa Monica or San Gabriel Mountains – Lots of great hikes or mountain biking trails. I use this website a lot www.localhikes.com/MSA/MSA_4472.asp

Amusement Parks

If you have to go, I would go to Disneyland. However, there are so many other things to do. I would skip out on Universal Studios (its just a bunch of audience shows), Magic Mountain (thriller rides, but the there are a lot of "hooligans" there). Skip the Ripley Believe it or Not, Knott’s Berry Farm.


Silverlake Bars
Goodluck Bar
1400 Bar
Smog Cutter – Karaoke and serious whole in the wall
El Cid – usually a band or something there, $5-$10 cover
Little Temple Bar – DJ or Band $5 cover

Standard Hotel Rooftop Bar – Downtown LA


NightClubs
I don’t listen to hip hop music. I like dance music, therefore these nightclubs are dance clubs.

King King
Spundae at Circus – Saturday Night (Fri is gay night)
Giant at Vanguard – Saturday night
Avaland at Avalon

Cheesy nightclubs with hip hop
Ivar
Highlands
Club 740

Trendy LA Clubs/Bars
SkyBar at Mondrian Hotel
Element
LAX
Cabana Club

If you are looking for a relaxing swedish style massage this is not the place for you. However, that doesn't mean it's not worth it.

This is a professional thai spa, with a actual spa feel to it. You enter, sign in, and then move on to a sitting room, where your specialist meets you to take you to the massage area. Be sure to take off your shoes, when you enter the mass room. The large room is divided by flowing curtains, just one aisle flanked with massage areas on each side. Imagine, flowing material like in the movie crouching tiger hidden dragon.

Once you get situated you change into pants that the facility provides you with. The only thing with thai massages is that it is so interactive and involves a lot of pressure, at times the specialist is literally walking on your back and legs, at other times rolling you and stretching you like you're made from clay. All this is done on the floor, so you may get a neck cramp from always having to turn your head to the side.

Be sure to not go when you are super sore, because they literally work out every knot they could find in your body. Usually i can handle a pretty firm swedish massage, however, with the thai massage i asked for medium, and still wanted to cry at times, next time i'm asking for light. However, for some reason, you still feel nice and relaxed at the end.

There is a parking lot with a security guard, and the best part is $40 for an hour. I have to admit that for that bargain price i was hesitant on going the first time, thinking that it may be unclean or a little underground. However, it was the opposite and i completely recommend this place. One thing to note, these are true thai ladies that are giving you massages so the language barrier is a bit of a hurdle.

1525 Pizarro St
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213) 484-8484

www.phosiam.com