Last minute trip to LA (maybe beyond)

[gwilson]

I didn't think that I was going to be able to get off work, but I am. Yay, me! So my plan is to leave Tuesday and fly into Long Beach (I'm not dealing with LAX). I will have a rental car. The main reason of going is to see the US Women's Soccer Team play Wednesday night. Other than that, I'm open. I may have to come back on Friday. (Boo!) But if not (Yay!), I'll leave Thursday or Friday to go up to the wine country. And maybe a day in San Francisco. And then back to Long Beach to fly out on Monday.

I have some ideas of what I want to do. I'm thinking of eating at - I think it's called Clementine's. (The sister-in-law of a friend works there or something like that. Anyway...) I don't mind spending a bit on a meal or two, but in general - I'm broke. I'll most likely be using priceline for the big stuff. I could just use some advice on where to go and what to eat. (But if anybody wants to put me up for a couple of days... )

Thank you for any advice.

-Greg

[Chris Amirault]

I offer, humbly, the following thread on LA restaurants from a recent trip of my own!

[tanabutler]

I think Russ Parsons lives in Long Beach. I think I'd let him lead me by a rope to anywhere in Long Beach he recommended. Hopefully that wouldn't be to the slaughter. But BBQ? I'm up for that.

[Carolyn Tillie]

As you are arriving in Long Beach, head immediately down to Belmont Shore. It is a lovely place to stroll and for dining, Open Sesame can't be beat for inexpensive, incredibly fresh Middle Eastern food. Then walk north to the other end of the street to Babette's for dessert. I recommend the Opera Cake but since it is the holidays, they will undoubtedly have some lovely holiday goodies.

The other Long Beach whole-in-the-wall that I really miss is Uncle Al's which specialize in Southern style catfish. He is actually from somewhere like a Caribbean island or the West Indies so there is an interesting twist to his cuisine. Also affordable.

Drop me a PM when you hit the wine country!

[Chris Cognac]

if you are going to the home depot center you will be about 2 miles from where I live.....There are a zillion great places to eat near the home depot center...if you are into philipino food your in luck...there is also a mexican seafood place called casa camaron in Carson that has good fish taco's, ceviche etc....not too far from your destination....Also the food mecca of Gardena is right there too.....The world famous Gardena bowling alley is awesome....Hawaiian food, breakfasts...oh yea....

This is my area and I write restaurant reviews for the area newspaper..i have a bunch on my site so check em out....also pm me and I will give you my cell number so you can do last min checking with me if you have any?

Oh yea...dont forget San Pedro...there are some cool places there as well....and El Gringo in Hermosa Beach...oh yea, I have some pics of a dinner there on my site as well...

hope that helps, Chris

Oh yea....my column is $10 dining so it will fit your budget

Edited December 5, 2004 by Chris Cognac (log)

[tsquare]

Do you realize that there are 800 miles between Long Beach and San Francisco? Wine Country - assuming you are talking Napa-Sonoma, is even farther! That's a lot of driving. Perhaps you are thinking of the Paso Robles wine area?

[Ore]

Come on...a quick drove from LA area to SF can take around 7 hours - not that bad - I have done it a countless number of times for good wine and Gary Danko!

Ore

[tanabutler]

Do you realize that there are 800 miles between Long Beach and San Francisco? Wine Country - assuming you are talking Napa-Sonoma, is even farther! That's a lot of driving. Perhaps you are thinking of the Paso Robles wine area?

←

Um, actually, not. Unless you mean there and back?

I agree, though, it's not exactly a day trip. Paso Robles would be a good jaunt out of town, but to haul butt up to San Francisco would be a pretty big commitment. If you're broke, be aware that gas is over $2/gallon now.

[gwilson]

Well, my plans may be changing a little. A real good friend of mine is going to be out there the week after Christmas - so I think that I'm going to cut this trip short, and go back out there to meet up with him. But I still need suggestions to at least pass on to him. It's also been a while since I've read about LA - what are the really big restaurants now? My friend wants to splurge a little - I mentioned AOC & Lucques (see below), L'Orangerie, Spago (of course), Saddle Brook - that game meat restaurant, Matsuhisa, Campanile, and maybe a few others. What did I miss?

Chrisamirault, I had actually read your posts - that what inspired me to make my own, so I could hit even more cool places.

Long Beach to San Fran is about 6-7 hours. I did it last year, but I had more time then. I don't mind the drive - I'd be spending the night in SF or Santa Rosa, St. Helena area - which is about an hour or so more. No big deal - I actually enjoy driving.

The main reason I really wanted to go to the wine country was to go by Turley. They are in St. Helena & Paso. I met Ehren Jordan last week at Blackberry Farm (please read my other post - Best Three Days of My Life - there's 91 views but only 3 comments!). So I wanted to say hello and thank him for his part in a wonderful experience. Plus there's so many cool wine people on here that I may get to meet. :)

I think I answered all the comments/questions from all of you. And besides - my steak is ready to be eaten! Thanks for all the input.

-Greg

[gwilson]

Well, I'll be leaving in about 12 hours. Thank you to everyone for all the suggestions. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to come back early because of work, so I won't have time to make it to San Francisco or to any of the wineries. And I doubt that I'll be able to make it back in two weeks, but we'll see. I really do appreciate all the advice, and especially the offers of phone numbers, meetings, etc. - that is incredibly thoughtful. I may take you up on it later though. And I will definately reciprocate if anyone makes a trip to Atlanta. I'll let you guys know which places I hit. Thanks again.

-Greg

[Maison Rustique]

Hope you have a great trip! Hopefully next time you're here, I'll be back on my two feet (have a broken one right now) and can socialize!

[gwilson]

Well, I'm back - unfortunately. I swear - I will live in LA at some point. But anyway...

The soccer match was great. A bit lopsided, as was expected, but it was great to watch the girls play. And to see Joy, Julie, and Mia's last game, most likely for ever.

Food wise, I didn't get to as many places as I wanted. But I still ate pretty well. Tuesday night I went to AOC - a guy I was chatting with at the bar put it very well. "This place makes me happy."

Each morning, my plan was to go to Bob's Ohana for breakfast. And each morning, I slept too late. :(

Wednesday, I ate lunch at Jerry's - yummy pastrami. It and the cold Coca-Cola went quite well with the hangover I had. Then after the soccer game, I had In & Out. I really really wish they were out here.

Thursday lunch I ate at Clementine. I love that place. If you haven't been, you should. Take a long lunch break and enjoy yourself. (You'll need the extra time to find a parking place unfortunately. They're just off Santa Monica right where all the construction is taking place.

Thursday night, I met a friend and some of her co-workers at a place on Sunset called, Sunset Trocadero - right at the Sweetzer intersection. It was a nice little place to hang out. The food was good, but nothing spectacular. They had all had a rough day at work, and needed to unwind. It was a great place for that.

Then I came back to Atlanta on Friday. :(

I may be back out there in two weeks. If so, I'll let you know again where my culinary adventures take me. And thank you again for all the suggestions.

-Greg

PS Oh, Maison, take care of yourself. Hope you're back on your feet soon.

Edited December 12, 2004 by gwilson (log)

[Chris Cognac]

Wow you sure missed out on Bob's, I reviewed them last month...that place is awesome...on the weekends they have a live Hawaiian duo play during breakfast and lunch...