Although I went to school in Downtown LA (and I love my school), and lived in Manhattan Beach for a while after, I’ve never really loved LA. However, there are some awesome things to do once you’re there. I’ve had to go up several times over the past week for work, birthdays, etc, so I wanted to highlight a few cool things to do/eat in different areas of LA. Enjoy!

Click on any of these to jump ahead:

• Downtown
• Beverly Hills
• WeHo
• Hollywood

 

DOWNTOWN

One of my best friends is doing her law school internship in DTLA, and staying right in the heart of the city. We went for pizza (and a raspberry beer!) at 800 Degrees. It was like a fantasy land of pizza creation… sort of like a pizza subway.

We then went to one of my all-time favorite places, Bottega Louie, for too many sweet treats (which we took back to her place and ate in our pajamas). Bottega is the best place for macarons and beautiful pastries. We tried a petite dome, which is like a key lime soufflé with pineapple and a buttery cookie, but somehow looks like a poached egg. Perplexing.

Dress: Brandy Melville (aka the teenager store) | Sandals: J Crew | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff via Tradesy

Next up was the Grand Central Market, which was an unexpected surprise and one of the coolest experiences we’ve had downtown (despite spending four years there together during our collegiate days). Her brother recommended going to a restaurant called “eggsl**” (I feel too gross to even type it, so boggled by the name of this place), but the line was so ridiculously long, we were immediately over it/simultaneously captivated by the fact that egg-whatever was surrounded by an amalgam of cultures and foods. Honestly, I don’t know who likes eggs enough to spend an hour in line. They’re eggs. Make them at home. Anyway.

Places worth trying at Grand Central Market:

– Belcampo Meat Co. for insane chicken & waffles with peaches and mascarpone cream
– Pressed Brothers Juicery for Liquid Gold juice (pineapple amazingness)
– G&B coffee for amazing cold brew and super smooth espresso (which I had in the form of a breve latte. The opposite of a nonfat/skinny latte. I will have all the fats please)
– McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams for literally anything they make; I love their ice cream

BEVERLY HILLS

Neither of the places I’m sharing are unique to Beverly Hills, nor LA. But when I stumbled upon Champagne Bakery, it reminded me of how much I loved it growing up (when I thought it was a fancy place in LA). Strawberry & Cream crêpes with ice cold fresh OJ was a perfect start to my day before some meetings I had in Beverly Hills. Also super affordable if you’re visiting the area and don’t want to break the bank.

Le Pain Quotidien was where I stopped with a coworker to get some emails in before our lunch meeting in WeHo. Grabbed a pain au chocolat (or a chocolate croissant, in plebe language aka English) and a watermelon cooler.

WEST HOLLYWOOD

My coworker and I met with our sweet friend Rachel McCord (peep her blog here) at the Fred Segal restaurant Mauro’s. This girl has a heart of GOLD and I’m so happy we got to catch her for a couple hours over some tasty Italian food. Mauro’s has fresh juices, pastas, and Rachel’s fav, the breaded chicken sandwich.

HOLLYWOOD

Visited The Roosevelt Pool for a birthday party of one of my best friends. If you wanna do the Hollywood “see and be seen” thing, then this is a good place for you to check out. I’ve actually stayed at this hotel before and had a good time, but this was the first time I’ve been to the pool. They have a burger restaurant called 25º near the lobby that has Guinness milkshakes.

~

There are a million and one things to do in LA, in each neighborhood. When I was a USC tour guide back in my glory days, we used to say something to the tune of “there are so many restaurants in LA, that there are not enough days in your life to accommodate trying each one.” I took this as a personal challenge and aimed to try a new one every day, but two things happened: 1) I became poor in the process and 2) I got stuck on a few favs. I’ll keep updating with more places to go, things to do, foods to eat.

Until the next meal!

xx,
Dominique