L.A. help please

[acecow]

Insider tip: if you ever find yourself hungry after 11pm when most kitchens are closed, try Sushi Dan on Sunset and Laurel Canyon in Hollywood. They are open until 2am on weekends and until midnight on weekdays. The have a full bar and decent sushi for very reasonable prices.

 

[yellman]

any recommended outlet malls?

 

[Butter]

Originally Posted by teddieriley

Not to be argumentative, but no. LA is about 380 miles from SF. Vegas is only about 265 miles from LA. SF will take at least an hour and a half longer to get to.
No problem, I understand the concern. I can answer that. The drive to SF has considerably less traffic and the roads are more open and you have options (either go coastal or through the middle). From personal experience, I've never encountered traffic when leaving at the right time. The drive to Vegas from LA bottlenecks in the middle and also there's just 1 way to get there. In addition, there are towns along the way contributing to the traffic.

Originally Posted by yellman

any recommended outlet malls?
Palm Springs has a good one but it's like 2.5 hours away from LA county. I think there's something called "The Citadel" in LA but I can't attest to the quality as I've never been. There is a Nordstrom Rack near the airport but that is VERY hit/miss.

 

[A Y]

There's a lot of good dining and SW&D oriented shopping in this thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=174168

--Andre

 

[cairomerta]

Pizzeria Mozza by Mario betali is a must in LA. The best pizza. Make reservation now because this place is always freaking reserved. Kids will love it too and they have sone very sophisticated pizzas for adults. Check out their menu. There is the Camarillo outlets where Neiman Marcus last call is. That's about 1 hour away. Link is here; http://www.premiumoutlets.com/brands/index.asp?catid=1 Definitley do disneyland Robertson blvd for wife Rodeo drive to at least see Eat at la petit four on sunset blvd on Friday night. Wide sidewalk, lots of cool cars, dressed up people and a cool scene. Sit on the patio. Drink coffee at the famous urth cafe where they film entourage See the Hollywood sign from the Griffith observatory. Cool space museum and the Kids will looooove this

 

[acecow]

Originally Posted by Butter

No problem, I understand the concern. I can answer that.

The drive to SF has considerably less traffic and the roads are more open and you have options (either go coastal or through the middle). From personal experience, I've never encountered traffic when leaving at the right time.

The drive to Vegas from LA bottlenecks in the middle and also there's just 1 way to get there. In addition, there are towns along the way contributing to the traffic.



Palm Springs has a good one but it's like 2.5 hours away from LA county.

I think there's something called "The Citadel" in LA but I can't attest to the quality as I've never been.

There is a Nordstrom Rack near the airport but that is VERY hit/miss.

Yup, never could find anything good at that Nordstrom Rack. Big waste, considering that parking is $2.

My friend shops at the Camarillo mall outlets. I haven't been there, but you can try...

 

[Butter]

Originally Posted by acecow

Yup, never could find anything good at that Nordstrom Rack. Big waste, considering that parking is $2. My friend shops at the Camarillo mall outlets. I haven't been there, but you can try...
I heard the South Coast Nordstrom Rack gets better hits but again, I've never been as I don't feel driving 3 hours round trip for thrift shopping. The Woodland Hills one isn't too bad but that's only cause I work nearby and can swing by on the lunch break. There are Hickey Freemans, Canalis and Corneliani there every now and then. Shoes hunting in Nordstrom Rack is like going thru a warzone so I tend to avoid. Lotta Magnannis Cole Haans, some AEs, rarely Santonis but they pop up in odd sizes.

 

[acecow]

Butter, do you know any good thrift stores, if you don't mind me asking? I've never been able to find anything good in L.A.

In S.F., on the other hand, I bought 2 awesome, awesome jackets for 9 dollars each. I wonder if such deals could be found in L.A., too.

 

[teddieriley]

South Coast MetroPoint Loehmann's and Nordstrom Rack. Do not do Nordstrom Rack at the Howard Hughes center near the airport. HUGE waste of time. There is a Men's Loehmann's across the Beverly Center. Decent stuff, but prices are not rock bottom (Kiton SCs) still go for over $2K. You're better off visiting Ian at Shop the Finest in Santa Monica - not sure what the wife and kids will do for the few hours you're there.

For outlet shopping going to Camarillo Outlets. I would not recommend a vacationer to drive out to the desert for Cabazon, unless you want to stop off at Morongo casino for some gambling. Better yet, stop by Camarillo on your way up to SF.

 

[Butter]

Originally Posted by acecow

Butter, do you know any good thrift stores, if you don't mind me asking? I've never been able to find anything good in L.A.

In S.F., on the other hand, I bought 2 awesome, awesome jackets for 9 dollars each. I wonder if such deals could be found in L.A., too.

Sorry, acecow, don't know of too many here.

Since I'm in such a common size, my experience has discouraged my motivation.

I do know of one or two that I keep driving by near Century City on Santa Monica that looked promising, just haven't made the time to check it out.

 

[foodguy]

if you're determined to do the amusements (and having had kids, i can understand), you really ought to do disney and universal separately. In ideal situations it might be only 45 minutes between the two. but ideal happens very rarely on the I5 and it can easily wind up being two hours or more, which could lend a whole new meaning to "thrill ride."
stay the night in anaheim ... you can go to the costa mesa sfo and last call. then go to universal another day and stay up in hte valley.
personally, i think mozza would be a nightmare with kids ... it's packed and loud as it is. i think you're going to be a lot happier places like Ships ... coffee shop kinds of places that serve a kid friendly menu. unless your kids are teenagers and then they might like someplace fancier.

 

[bringusingoodale]

Some of these suggestions are great, heck even as a resident of LA I like seeing some of these new=to-me suggestions.

I would second canceling any long trips to San Fran or Vegas; really, these can be stand alone vacations (probably not Vegas with the kids though). But if you are up for a roughly 7 hour drive to San Fransisco do it! You can compare how different the cities are from one another.

I would skip the random bar recommendations, unless you are near them.

If you are looking for fine dining, my suggestion would just be look for something on the westside (the more affluent part of town) or of course near the beach.

Truth is Downtown LA is just starting to provide a nightlife, so don't expect much here. This is not to say you won't find anything here, but outside of the Staples center area and the very few posh hotels, there is nothing but office buildings and cheap ass shopping alleys where made in china crap abounds and counterfeit Italian designer crap abounds. Also, hipsters are moving in, nothing wrong with this but if your not into the affected gritty atmosphere....yea.

Surprised no one has mentioned visiting both Getty museums. Getty Villa is my favorite.

The best advice: if you don't have a car, rent a car. Stay off the freeways during rush hour. Don't neglect the major thoroughfares to get around, especially if you like seeing the city from ground level, in all its crappiness.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by bringusingoodale

Truth is Downtown LA is just starting to provide a nightlife, so don't expect much here. This is not to say you won't find anything here, but outside of the Staples center area and the very few posh hotels, there is nothing but office buildings and cheap ass shopping alleys where made in china crap abounds and counterfeit Italian designer crap abounds. Also, hipsters are moving in, nothing wrong with this but if your not into the affected gritty atmosphere....yea.
I have worked downtown for more than 20 years and there has been a remarkable improvement. but still, when i see tourists downtown with kids, i just shake my head. there's nothing here for them. stay away (unless you get laker tickets!).

Surprised no one has mentioned visiting both Getty museums. Getty Villa is my favorite.

absolutely, though i prefer the museum itself. it's free. there's parking at the bottom of the hill and the kids (and you) get to ride a monorail to the top. there's a good cafeteria, a much better restaurant than you would expect, and there's a wonderful expansive garden for when the kids get nuts from looking at art.

as far as food goes, unless you're dead-set on it, i'd stay away from fine dining. that's just not conducive to kids and it's also not what la does best. search chowhound for good ethnic places near where you're going to be. a) it'll be food you probably won't find anywhere else (at least at that quality level); b) dinner for 4 will cost about the same as a single entree at a nice place; and c) those are restaurants that welcome and enjoy kids rather than barely tolerate them.

 

[robbz9206]

Earth Bar
8365 Santa Monica Blvd # B
Los Angeles, CA 90069

 

[acecow]

Originally Posted by bringusingoodale

Truth is Downtown LA is just starting to provide a nightlife, so don't expect much here. This is not to say you won't find anything here, but outside of the Staples center area and the very few posh hotels, there is nothing but office buildings and cheap ass shopping alleys where made in china crap abounds and counterfeit Italian designer crap abounds. Also, hipsters are moving in, nothing wrong with this but if your not into the affected gritty atmosphere....yea.
I respect your opinion, but The Edison and Wurstküche alone warrant spending a night there. The art-walks on Thursdays are fun, as well as the free movies they show in Pershing square. Disney Hall and Dorothy Chandler are great, and after a night there we always go to one of the wine bars or restaurants in DTLA. I think you are stuck in the past a little. DTLA has improved drastically over the past 5 years.