Los Angeles Master Thread

[thaber]

Very very possible. I'm a big fan but I still wouldn't praise it to the high heavens the way some do here.

+1 I also think Ditmas is sometimes over hyped,  it's good,  but managed expectations are key for a positive experience.

[AVI D]

I will be in LA from this Friday through Tuesday night. I will be staying Sunday night at the W Hollywood. Debating between the W Westwood or SLS Beverly Hills for Monday night. I have been at the W Westwood previously and really enjoyed it. They had upgraded us to a suite. However, I am tempted to give the SLS a try. An important factor is the pool situation. From the pictures online the SLS pool seems pretty small.. Will be traveling with an energetic 2 year old so a spacious pool is a plus. Thoughts? 

[Yehoshua]

I will be in LA from this Friday through Tuesday night. I will be staying Sunday night at the W Hollywood. Debating between the W Westwood or SLS Beverly Hills for Monday night. I have been at the W Westwood previously and really enjoyed it. They had upgraded us to a suite. However, I am tempted to give the SLS a try. An important factor is the pool situation. From the pictures online the SLS pool seems pretty small.. Will be traveling with an energetic 2 year old so a spacious pool is a plus. Thoughts?

SLS

[Dan]

SLS has a great kiddie pool.

[AVI D]

SLS has a great kiddie pool.

Good to know. Thanks.

[jack12]

"Please be advised that The Difference restaurant located at 8837 W. Pico Blvd is no longer certified by the RCC."

[MC]

"Please be advised that The Difference restaurant located at 8837 W. Pico Blvd is no longer certified by the RCC."

You mean those typewritten sheets of paper stating "RCC" in the front window don't mean anything anymore?

[Yehoshua]

You mean those typewritten sheets of paper stating "RCC" in the front window don't mean anything anymore?

Apparently it meant something until now. It's important that the RCC wanted to make clear that there were no kashrus violations.

[Jetes64]

Last night in LA. Where is supper? Winery is too far for tonight.... Went to la gandola. Would go again...

[Marco Polo]

Last night in LA. Where is supper? Winery is too far for tonight.... Went to la gandola. Would go again...

PKD.

[Dan]

Ditmas. Between 4-6pm.

[Jetes64]

Ditmas more then la gandola. Interesting. But will do.

What to get?

[Yehoshua]

Last night in LA. Where is supper? Winery is too far for tonight.... Went to la gandola. Would go again...

You can also go to Taco Flame if you're not in the mood of spending a lot. It's an authentic Mexican place (Mexikosher is good, just not as authentic, and a lot heavier feeling).

[LAXtraveler]

Ditmas more then la gandola. Interesting. But will do.

What to get?

Short rib flat bread; steak; fries; short rib main dish; lamb sliders - and that's only off the top of my head without thinking very hard.

[Dan]

Tonys Fries, Lamb Sliders, and the steak special.

[Jetes64]

Won't be from 4-6 though.. Will be more in the 730 range

[Yehoshua]

Won't be from 4-6 though.. Will be more in the 730 range

The only reason Dan mentioned 4-6 is because it's happy hour, so it's cheaper. They'll have plenty of food at 7:30, but it will just be full price.

[RelatedToMendy]

A short LA Trip Review (This is going to be semi-critical, so be prepared)

Went for a four day Jaunt with the Mrs. to LA (no kids) stayed at 3 different hotels (1 free night in each  )

Here is my experiences (pardon the brevity)

1) Traveled on Southwest, no frills, used points. Free Bags

2) Landed LAX where they said bags would take at least 30 minutes, so we went to get our car. Rented with Advantage since I don't have status anywhere and it was cheap. Got a 2014 Camry for $14/day. Opened a United Explorer card to get Primary Coverage. Overall experience with Advantage... I would repeat again, just for the price. They have extremely long wait times, and slimy CSR's.

3) Left advantage and headed to lunch at Schwartz Bakery / Circa NY. This place isn't so clean, but the pizza was good. Salad was "eh".

4) Stayed that night using points at the Holiday Inn Express West LA. Rooms were nice but it's an outdoor hotel, quite noisy. Free breakfast (mostly kosher food) was a nice touch. Parking was $10, underground (self-park). Swung by "the grove" which isn't much of anything except for about 20 expensive stores and a cutesy trolly that goes about 500 feet and turns around.

5) Excited to try dinner at La Gandola. They were out of ribs and we were tired from traveling so we just got burgers. Worst burgers EVER!! Apparently "everyone" in LA knows not to get the burgers there. Went back to hotel and went to sleep...

6) Supplemental Breakfast everyday at Coffee Bean

7) Next morning checked out Westfied Century City, which is a nice outdoor mall. Saw them taping "extra", which was kind of neat. Walked around and then headed to lunch at Pico Cafe (after SushiKO Appetizer). Also, not the cleanest. Had Pancakes and Ice Cream, which was fairly good. Wife had a panini which she said was good.

Headed to Santa Monica Pier for some entertainment. $25 wristbands later and you have 2 30-year-olds riding a roller coaster and some other old-school rides. The weather the entire time was beyond amazing, which helped being outside. Took a bus from Santa Monica pier to Venice Beach ($1 ea.).. Venice is nasty and nothing to do , so we walked back (about 2-3 mi.) to Santa Monica Pier and stayed for a bit until they turned on the lights on the rides which was cool.

9) Dinner was at Got Kosher? (groupon). Had the BBQ Beef. A-MAY-ZING!!! Our Best meal in LA. Hands down.

10) Stayed at the Beverly Hilton, which was cool. Never been there before, used 60k Hilton points I had from the Amex Hilton Card opening. e-mailed ahead and got a room upgrade. Nice experience... Literally $millions of dollars of cars at the Valet. Parking was about $40 Valet or Self (same price). Pool area is very cool and 2 nights a week they show a movie on a giant wall near the pool.

11) Next Morning went to Price is Right, but were turned away since we only had standby tickets... At least we tried, it was fun being in line with a bunch of crazy people trying to get on. Then off to Long Beach where we rode Surrey's (groupon). Long beach is really pleasant and we stayed for a few hours.. Drove back and went to Ditmas with some friends. Ditmas food is very good but the portions are small and it is pretty noisy. Would go back, but would order something else (I had some steak, I can't remember). Ordered the Lamb Sliders, and Salmon, and Potatoes on the Appetizer menu. Those were all very good. Still hungry after that so we went to Bibi's for dessert. It was "eh".

12) Checked into Intercontinental LA. Also a very nice hotel, and e-mailed ahead. Had a nice room upgrade as well, used my free IHG anniversary night. Parking was $36.

13) Last day, nothing overly exciting. Did rodeo (Bugati's are cool). Went to Pizza World (wife) and Pizza Mayven (me. This place is gross, but pizza was edible). Dinner at PKD (don't get the burgers) not bad, then the red-eye back to home (on AA, miles no upgrades). Stopped by El Matador Beach, which is up near Malibu. This place is nice for some quiet time at the beach. Not too crowded, but definitly people there. It's a hike to get to from PCH so wear SHOES to get down there (thanks TripAdvisor)

Overall Impressions

1) Wow, totally different without kids
2) Switching hotels twice (3 free nights at various places) wasn't too bad, but again, no kids to pack/unpack
3) Advantage rental car was fine, but long waits especially for airport shuttle. 2014 Camry is a hoot to drive
4) Check groupon for coupons.
5) I think weather makes a huge difference. We were very lucky. 70's - 80's and cool breeze the entire time
6) Pico area (kosher) is gross. Most the restaurants are gross, and yet they are still in business?! I also think most kosher food places there are overrated, but it probably depends on where you live and what you are comparing it to.
7) Check Tripadvisor and DDF to get reviews and tips and ideas (isn't that why you are here). I think this helped with the planning, though I don't agree with many of the food reviews posted here (no offense)
We had an awesome time, and probably won't be getting back anytime soon. No regrets, happy to NOT do any of the theme parks or studio tours... Too much $$$

[Yehoshua]

A short LA Trip Review (This is going to be semi-critical, so be prepared)

Went for a four day Jaunt with the Mrs. to LA (no kids) stayed at 3 different hotels (1 free night in each  )

Here is my experiences (pardon the brevity)

3) Left advantage and headed to lunch at Schwartz Bakery / Circa NY. This place isn't so clean, but the pizza was good. Salad was "eh".

7) Next morning checked out Westfied Century City, which is a nice outdoor mall. Saw them taping "extra", which was kind of neat. Walked around and then headed to lunch at Pico Cafe (after SushiKO Appetizer). Also, not the cleanest. Had Pancakes and Ice Cream, which was fairly good. Wife had a panini which she said was good.

13) Last day, nothing overly exciting. Did rodeo (Bugati's are cool). Went to Pizza World (wife) and Pizza Mayven (me. This place is gross, but pizza was edible). Dinner at PKD (don't get the burgers) not bad, then the red-eye back to home (on AA, miles no upgrades). Stopped by El Matador Beach, which is up near Malibu. This place is nice for some quiet time at the beach. Not too crowded, but definitly people there. It's a hike to get to from PCH so wear SHOES to get down there (thanks TripAdvisor)

Overall Impressions

6) Pico area (kosher) is gross. Most the restaurants are gross, and yet they are still in business?! I also think most kosher food places there are overrated, but it probably depends on where you live and what you are comparing it to.

I don't know if you're aware, but the city of LA rates the cleanliness of every establishment that serves food, including restaurants, cafeterias, food stands (like in the Grove), etc. 99% of all Kosher restaurants now have an A rating, the highest possible. I agree with you on restaurants that have a B or even worse a C, but that's just not the case with most of them. Therefore you must mean the cleanliness of the seating area of the restaurant (which is not covered by the rating system (it just looks at the kitchen)).

I don't know where you're from or what you're used to, but most restaurants are not high class restaurants. Your average pizza place, burger place, or bagel place are not going to be fancy. As such, since they don't have waiter service, they are not cleaned as thoroughly.  I find this to be true of most kosher establishments I've gone to around the country.

In your opinion, what makes LA's restaurants more "gross" than those in NYC, MIA, or ORD?

Nice TR though! Thanks for sharing. 

[RelatedToMendy]

I don't know if you're aware, but the city of LA rates the cleanliness of every establishment that serves food, including restaurants, cafeterias, food stands (like in the Grove), etc. 99% of all Kosher restaurants now have an A rating, the highest possible. I agree with you on restaurants that have a B or even worse a C, but that's just not the case with most of them. Therefore you must mean the cleanliness of the seating area of the restaurant (which is not covered by the rating system (it just looks at the kitchen)).

I don't know where you're from or what you're used to, but most restaurants are not high class restaurants. Your average pizza place, burger place, or bagel place are not going to be fancy. As such, since they don't have waiter service, they are not cleaned as thoroughly.  I find this to be true of most kosher establishments I've gone to around the country.

In your opinion, what makes LA's restaurants more "gross" than those in NYC, MIA, or ORD?

Nice TR though! Thanks for sharing. 

Maybe the flies? Maybe the heat (can't turn on the AC)? Maybe the bugs swarming around the Hamotzi Station at the sink? Maybe the Homeless people on Pico gave me the Creeps? Maybe old rickety screen door at Pizza Mayven? Maybe the old school cups and plates at PKD.

La Gandola and Ditmas and Got Kosher? were much nicer then the rest, they aren't ALL bad. But that's why I disclaimed that it depends what you are used to. I didn't experience any of that in Miami or Chicago, or even NY, but granted I didn't eat everywhere.

If you're from LA, don't take it personally. You've got more going for you than PICO.

Also, ORD is an airport, without any Kosher, but I assume you meant CHI