A few weeks back, I went to visit our older daughter who is spending most of her summer in Los Angeles. I thought it would be fun to share a few highlights of my trip with you this week. There are too many pictures for one post so we’ll call this “Part One” with “Part Two” to follow soon. Among the restaurants we visited were a few with locations closer to the East Coast so even if you aren’t planning a trip to LA anytime soon, you will hopefully find something of interest by reading on. And if you are planning a visit to The City of Angels, I have some great restaurants and a few activities for you to check out.
After an uneventful flight that began with the entertaining Virgin America Safety Video that reminded me of the show Glee, I landed at LAX and took a cab to my hotel (Ubers are not allowed into the terminals at LAX, although you can take a shuttle to a point outside of the airport and then call for an Uber if you want). On this trip, I wanted to stay somewhere central and fun. I had heard about The London West Hollywood from a couple of different sources and decided to give it a try. Upon arrival, my room wasn’t quite ready and my daughter hadn’t finished her work day, so I went up to the rooftop for a bite to eat…
The canopies on the umbrellas are made from a material similar to cheerleader pom-poms! They blew gently in the breeze. Lunch with a beautiful view was a great way to start my time in LA! You will laugh when you see how much avocado we ate on this trip, but when in California, you have to get your fill of the locally grown fruit. For lunch, I ordered Avocado Toast that was layered with guacamole, sliced avocado and a soft boiled egg. I just recreated something like this here at home and it was a quick and filling meal…
Overall, my experience at The London was very positive. The rooms are large and well appointed. Mine actually looked over a beautiful courtyard where a wedding was held one afternoon during my stay. There is a large fitness center and the rooftop has a pool, lounge and dining area. The breakfast buffet came with the room and had plenty of delicious offerings. The staff was courteous and helpful. While the hotel’s location was ideal, my room’s proximity to Sunset Boulevard may not have been because there were several emergency vehicles flying by throughout two of my four night stay (the weekend nights not surprisingly). I had read online that rooms close to the rooftop can also be noisy due to events held at night so I asked to be away from that side of the hotel. I think if you go, you should request a room that is on the 6th floor or higher (for the views) and that is centrally located in the hotel. My guess is that will be a perfect match for a lovely and quiet stay.
Our daughter is a vegetarian so our restaurant choices had to insure she had some options! Our first choice was Angelina Osteria on Beverly Boulevard. It’s a small, intimate restaurant where you will be elbow to elbow with your neighboring diners which is part of the restaurant’s charm. Packed on the evening we visited, Angelina Osteria is warm and inviting, similar to dining at a friend’s home. The hospitality and service was excellent. The chef-owner, Gino Angelini is originally from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy which is renowned for its food. The meal we enjoyed was truly fabulous and I would highly recommend this spot.
Pizza dough rolled paper thin and topped with rosemary was our “bread basket”. Simple and yummy…
A complimentary bowl of fresh semolina pasta studded with peas, peppers and cucumbers was placed at the table to open the palate…
For our first courses, we split these gorgeous, deep fried zucchini blossoms that were stuffed with ricotta and vegetables and served with a spicy tomato sauce…
And another California must-have, artichokes braised Roman style with olive oil and onions…
I can’t begin to do my entree justice. Freshly made “green” pappardelle was tossed with a fresh porcini sauce. The combination of the silky pasta with the meaty, fresh porcini mushrooms was ethereal. The portion was very generous and yet the sauce was relatively light so there wasn’t a mushroom left standing…
My daughter ordered pumpkin tortelli with a traditional sauce of butter and sage that were garnished with Parmesan and some asparagus spears. The pasta is all made in house and the taste and texture of these was just wonderful. Although there were so many entrees to choose from, I would suggest ordering their pasta if you go…
Our daughter is as tough a critic as her mother and her reaction was to say “this place was so bomb” which, translated, means it’s a winner.
On the first full day of my visit, we went to “The Getty” or The J. Paul Getty Museum to be exact. I’m sure many of you have been there, but it was our first trip and we were blown away by how beautiful the campus was both inside and out. If you are an art lover, appreciate architecture, love the outdoors, enjoy gardens, like to picnic or want to take in unique views of Los Angeles, this is the place to do it. We got to the museum just as it was opening which was great because there is a tram that takes you up to the museum and we got right on and were able to go through the entire museum at our own pace and with reasonable ease. When we descended on the tram, there was a pretty long line to get up to the campus (it being summer probably had a lot to do with this). We spent about two hours there but you could make it a day long outing as there is so much to see!
These are some of the shots I took while we were outside…
Stunning…
The Exhibit Degas: “Russian Dancers” and The Art of Pastel is on display through October 11, 2015. I love Degas, don’t you?
After our morning at The Getty, we went to The Ivy for a little lunch and people watching. The place was packed to the brim. They offer complimentary champagne to everyone upon your arrival, but I passed. We were seated on the patio in front where you are again elbow to elbow with your fellow diners. You really like to pack them in, California! On one side of us we had a version of the Real Housewives celebrating a birthday and on the other side we had a group of mothers and adult daughters who were having a Kardashian like conversation. We were certainly entertained and that was a good thing because the food was not particularly memorable.
My friend, Kathy reminded me that you do not go to The Ivy for the food and she is correct. Our appetizer was the best part of the meal, a made to order guacamole seasoned with just cilantro and lime juice. It was served with house made corn tortillas and a chipotle sauce…
And then we each ordered a salad. Mine was a Grilled Fresh Vegetable Salad that had asparagus, zucchini, corn, more avocado, tomatoes, baby lettuce and scallions which I topped with mesquite grilled shrimp. I think they listed the ingredients in the wrong order because usually the ingredient that is used the most in a dish is listed first and the salad was not what I expected. It was lettuce first, grilled vegetables second. The flavors were flat and uninspiring. But, it was tasty enough and was accompanied by some delicious house made bread. My daughter’s salad, The Ivy Cobb that had all the traditional elements of a cobb plus some beets was good, but not that special (and somehow was not photographed). Would I go back to The Ivy? If it’s your first time visiting LA, I would go for the people watching for sure…
After lunch, my daughter needed to go back to her apartment to do some homework and get a change of clothes for dinner. I spent some time walking around and doing some shopping. Kitson offers a little bit of everything from novelties to luxury items, all of which are meant to “indulge every shopper’s desire for the LA fashion experience”. Tee shirts with witty sayings share space with trendy bags, books and tons of accessories. I loved the sentiment on this plate and am going to remember it for future use…
After a quick stop at The Urth Caffe for an Iced Moroccan Green Tea, I headed back to the hotel for a workout!
Katsuya Hollywood was our destination for dinner at our daughter’s request. Based on the West Coast, Katsuya does have locations in other parts of the country (Las Vegas, Miami) and the world (The Bahamas, Kuwait, Dubai!). Known for their sushi, each of the LA based locations has a unique feel. The Hollywood restaurant had a dark, yet sleek interior and a hip atmosphere. The sushi chefs would give a shout any time a new party entered the room. Service was very attentive and the menu offered something for everyone, including a tasting menu.
I was excited to see these Shishito Peppers on the menu. Sauteed until they are “blistered and caramelized”, these peppers were addictive. Shishitos are not a spicy pepper, but they are full of flavor. If I can locate some at home, I am going to give this a try…
We also ordered a vegetable tempura that was served with a traditional soy-dashi broth. White and purple cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, asparagus and mushrooms were coated with a batter and fried until crispy. Another great vegetarian option…
The dish below is one that Katsuya is most famous for so I had to order it. Crispy rice was topped with spicy tuna. Yum, yum, yum. This was outstanding and I know other restaurants have tried to copy it so I am going to be on the lookout to have this again somewhere!
My notebook is in the upper right corner of the shot below. It comes with me everywhere!
Avocado roll on the bottom. On the top is a crab roll that I ordered in error. I meant to request a spider roll and when I realized my mistake and told our server, he quickly replaced it and did not charge me for my error. Thank you, Katsuya!
Here is my spider roll which I was only able to finish half of unfortunately…
Overall, we had a really lovely meal at Katsuya Hollywood. I can recommend this particular location, but GP favors Chef Katsuya’s original location in Studio City so that’s that!
LA Story Part Two will feature my visit to the Santa Monica farmer’s market, tracking down one of Roy Choy’s famous food trucks in Venice and more!
Until next time…
One Year Ago: Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups with Herbs and Cheese
Val, amazing blog! Watch out Anthony Bourdain!!
Thanks, Ann! xo