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LOS ANGELES
DISCOVER MY 4 DAY ITINERARY
In April 2019, I went spent 4 days in
Los Angeles for a mix of business and pleasure. Here's my itinerary with my recommendations:
I’d like to preface this itinerary to let you know that I went to Los Angeles primarily for business reasons, but since I’d never been to LA, I brought along my trusty travel partner, my sister, and we explored some of the sights as well!
Day 1
Lunch at the Golden State
I arrived at LAX around 10am from a very early morning flight from New York… I dropped off my luggage at the hostel and walked to a recommended lunch
spot by the staff. Located in West Hollywood (WeHo as they
call it), this place was taaaasssteyyyy. I am not one for burgers,
but I would go back and get this in a heartbeat. It was $15 USD
for the burger plus a side, and I chose the jalapeño Cole slaw,
which I almost liked more. In my opinion, the mark of a good
burger is the bread (you can see where my priorities lie…) and
the bread they used was super good—sweet brioche if I’m
remembering correctly. My favorite for sure.
Recommendation: Go for it! If you’re around West Hollywood,
this is a great lunch spot with a delicious burger. If I wasn’t
about to head into a business meeting, I would have totally
ordered a beer as well.
Check into
Banana Bungalow
After a meeting with a producer in Hollywood (the neighborhood), I hopped in my $4 uber and checked in at the hostel. (For real, Ubers are so cheap in LA I don’t understand it). This hostel was… well, not amazing. I wouldn’t stay there again, but I didn’t hate it. Hostels in America are just never as good as other places around the world; I can’t put my finger on why… Anyway, this hostel was fine. They offered a free simple breakfast and a full kitchen to use at your leisure. What was most appealing about this hostel were the activities. Every night they hosted something new and different that offered some sort of complimentary item (wine & cheese night, karaoke night, pizza party, etc). This makes for a fun, social environment… but the beds were just, really not good. Recommendation: Eh, depends. I don’t know why America can’t get hostels right.
Dinner
at Eataly
After visiting my friends and former co-workers at Lifetime, I grabbed dinner with some old work besties at the Eataly rooftop in Century City. Ugh! This place is gorgeous. Eataly rooftop restaurants just never disappoint. We started off with cocktails while we waiting on our table, then ate our weight in pasta and delicious sides. Two bottles of rose later… we were more than satisfied with our dining experience. Recommendation: Go for it! Gorgeous sunset views and incredible food. Do it!
Drinks at
No Name
After our meal, we hopped in an uber to West Hollywood to grab drinks at No Name. Ironically, the name of the bar encapsulates what it is. It’s a bar without a sign out front… with no name, if you will. We listened to some live music and drank boujee cocktails that were delicious. Don’t be turned off my the hipster nonsense, No Name was really cool.
Recommendation: Go for it! Bonus: it was literally right down the street from my hostel.
Day 2
Started off my day in Beverly Hills! A short uber ride away from WeHo, I arrived at Urthe. This is a very trendy spot it seems in Los Angeles; there are quite a few locations in the city. I had a breakfast meeting there and enjoyed sitting outside in the perfect LA weather.
Recommendation: Eh, if you have time. And by that I mean, don’t go out of your way… but if you are staying nearby one of the Urthe locations, definitely grab brekky here!
Breakfast at Urthe Cafe
I popped into Alfred’s on Melrose Place (around Beverly Hills/West Hollywood) for a quick coffee while waiting on my next meeting nearby. This neighborhood is very nice, so if you’re looking for expensive shopping, this area is for you. I thought the coffee was fine, but nothing exceptional. Don’t go out of your way to go here.
Recommendation: Eh, if you’re around.
Coffee at Alfred's
Lunch at California Pita
Across the street from Urthe in Beverly Hills, I got lunch with a friend of mine at California Pita. This place is a quick lunch chain. If you’re looking for a healthy, cheaper lunch option, this is a good one.
Recommendation: Eh, if you’re around.
Drinks at Gracias Madre
Around 4pm, I got drinks with a travel friend I met in Thailand on Melrose Place. This vegan Mexican restaurant was gorgeous, and although I didn’t order any food, it looked really good. We spotted a reality TV celebrity and chatted at the outside bar in the glorious sun. So enjoyable. Gracias Madre is trendy, pretty, and cool—as is the area.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Dinner at Mercado's
After drinks, I met up with my favorite travel bud (my sister, Caitlyn!) at a Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood. They had some good Happy Hour deals for drinks and food, and the place itself was pretty nice. Nothing too exceptional though. The food scene in LA is awesome, so although this was tasty and cool, it’s not a must-go kind of place.
Recommendation: Eh, if you’re around. We walked back to the hostel which took about 20 minutes, and we were basically the only people on the sidewalk. New Yorkers in Los Angeles… amiright?
Day 3
Breakfast at The Larder Tavern
This was a small place in the middle of nowhere interesting Los Angeles… haha. I met someone here for a meeting and had some pretty fruit. But do not go out of your way to find this place.
Recommendation: Skip it.
Tea at Le Pain
In West Hollywood, I stopped at the chain, Le Pain, for a meeting. I really don’t prefer to eat at chains when I travel, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really don’t have any other options.
Recommendation: Skip it.
Lunch at Napa Valley Grill
Another spot in the middle of nowhere for a lunch meeting. It was good, but overpriced. When traveling, I don’t think you’ll have a good reason to be in this area. So for that reason…
Recommendation: Skip it.
Jimmy Kimmel Tickets
After lunch, I raced across town to Hollywood to get in the line for Jimmy Kimmel Tickets! I reserved the tickets for my sister and me a couple weeks in advance. So check online a bit ahead of time for tickets to see Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, or Conan, etc. These are fun activities that can only be booked far in advance! I would have definitely done Ellen, but she wasn’t filming—another good reason to makes sure to check everything out ahead of time. We had so much fun at Jimmy Kimmel—a fun show with some good guests and a smaller studio than you may expect. A good way to kill 2-3 hours for sure.
Recommendation: Go for it! Oh also, it’s free!
Dinner at Bao Dim Sum
After the show, we Ubered down to La Brea for some Dim Sum! Make sure to get the Yelp app so you can put yourself on the waitlist earlier, since they don’t take reservations. The food was so good! We ordered wayyy too much food (in proper Dim Sum fashion) and had some delicious Lychee martinis. If you like asian food, this is a good spot to get your fix. We even spotted a celebrity—hello Uncle Cooper from One Tree Hill. =)
Recommendation: Go for it!
Free Wine and Apps at the Hostel
After dinner, we got back to the hostel and enjoyed the free wine and apps in the living area. Played some cards, chilled out—twas a good night.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Day 4
Breakfast at Fonuts
We grabbed breakfast as a donut shop nearby in WeHo, only to discover that they were FoNuts. Which means they were vegan and baked—not fried. This is so Los Angeles… haha. They were okay, but far too expensive for my preference. The atmosphere was cute to sit and hang, but I don’t think this was worth the time or money.
Recommendation: Skip it.
Shopping at Sunset Plaza
This is deemed the “new Rodeo drive.” Cool, expensive shops in a pretty setting. I’m not much of a shopper, but Caitlyn is! So I think she enjoyed this a lot. It’s a cute area, and we shopped around as we waited on our table.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Drinks at The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker
We got a table at this cute place, expecting to just sit for a coffee… but we had to try the mimosa flight! It was delicious and I wish we had more time to eat, because the food looked great too. This restaurant is cool, fun, and trendy. We loved it!
Recommendation: Go for it! I think this is a must do. The area is so pretty and the sitting down for a long brunch at this place seems perfect.
Lunch at Musso and Frank
The famous Musso and Frank! Many old school Hollywood types frequented Musso and Frank. If you ask your server, he’ll show you Charlie Chaplin’s booth and Frank Sinatra’s. I’ve eaten here once before and I think this is a MUST-DO for dinner. It’s expensive, but worth it! The historical site is right on the Hollywood strip, so it’s convenient to get to and absolutely delicious. I also saw Shia Labeouf eating there and it pretty much made my trip. Shiaaaaaa!
Recommendation: Go for it! Just remember to go for dinner.
Warner Brothers Studio Tour
After my business lunch, Caitlyn and I headed to the Warner Brother’s Studio Tour. It costs $69 USD and we had a blast! This is probably my favorite thing about LA, the film history! We got to see the lot where so many great shows and movies were filmed, like Friends, Gilmore Girls, La La Land, etc. I think when I go back to LA, I’d like to hit up all the studio tours available (Paramount, SONY, Universal).
Recommendation: Go for it! This is an iconic part of Hollywood tourism.
Dinner at In&Out Burger
Wow. The hype of In and Out Burger might have totally killed it for us. This. Was. Terrible. They literally gave us frozen fries… it was disgusting. In and Out is supposed to be this California staple that everyone is obsessed with… but we got terrible food that I couldn’t even finish. At least it’s cheap.
Recommendation: Skip it.
Hostel Party
Our hostel hosted a party night! So for $20 we got in a fun limo and headed to their sister hostel in Hollywood. We got free pizza and drinks and play games and cards and had a great time. We made some awesome friends from all over the world. It was a blast.
Recommendation: Go for it!
After the pre-game party, we headed to a club called Boulevard3. I loved this place. It was so nice on the outside and the inside. They had a photo booth thing, and we definitely used the crap out of it. Haha. We mostly hung outside by the water and the fire and chatted with our international friends. But randomly went inside to dance. Great club. Would definitely return.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Clubbing at Boulevard3
Day 5
Brunch at Easy's
Before we headed over to Santa Monica, we had one final brunch in Los Angeles proper. Easy’s—easily one of the best meals we had in the city. =) We tried so many dishes, they are truly the essence of comfort food. My favorite were the French fries flavored how you like them, and the Brussel sprouts. But we had so much good food, it’s hard to choose. And the cocktails were perfect for the morning after a late night.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Now Off to Santa Monica!
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