I’m an LA lifer. I didn’t move here to be “in the industry,” or for the weather. I actually grew up here, went to college here, and got married here. LA transplants find this fact fascinating, as if I’m some sort of anthropological anomaly. After a lifetime of traipsing all over the urban sprawl I lovingly call home, I’ve learned by experience that you don’t have to drive to enjoy LA. Well, you do need to drive to get to where you’ll be walking…got me?
If you’re traveling to LA and you’re a New Yorker, a Bostonian, or any other person from a place that transplants like to refer to as “a real city,” you may become disgruntled at the thought of underground parking lots at Starbucks and valeting your car to browse in a boutique. However, your new Tory Burch flats will be thrilled to know that the City of Angels can be a pedestrian’s friend. And so, your catwalk awaits…just make sure you read the signs for restricted parking.
ROBERTSON BLVD.
For a daytime stroll and some serious retail therapy and star sightings, park on Robertson Boulevard. There’s a public lot on the west side down by 3rd Street and if you head one block west of Robertson, there’s residential parking (but read the signs).
WHERE TO SHOP:
Lisa Kline, Kitson, Tory Burch, Diavolina, and Paige Premium Denim
WHERE TO EAT*:
After you’ve parked, stop into Cuvee (on the west side of Robertson near 3rd Street). Cuvee has fabulous salads and other lunch specialties. They also have a lovely wine selection.
Chaya Brasserie is on Alden Drive, just east of Robertson. Grab a table or a seat at the bar to enjoy the Japanese/French fusion eats that Californians do best.
*Avoid The Ivy. The food is wildly overpriced and completely mediocre. If you can’t avoid it, then go casually for coffee, dessert, or one of their famous Ivy Gimlets.
WHERE TO DRINK:
To rest your weary, over stimulated brain after the intensity of the Robertson experience, you’ll need a cocktail, and where better than The Four Seasons Hotel? No need to get behind the wheel for this one. Your newly peripatetic self can just head west on 3rd street, and walk up to Doheny. The “Windows Bar” at the Four Seasons is the ideal place to curl up with a pomegranate martini and watch A-Listers, fellow “in the know” tourists, and the occasional wedding party waltz in LA style.
THIRD STREET
For the best boutique shopping in LA, park yourself on the stretch of Third Street between La Jolla and La Cienega (do not mistake this for Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade!). Hold out for a meter near Toast Restaurant (on the corner of Third and Harper) or valet park there.
WHERE TO SHOP:
Hillary Rush, Milk, Petro Zillia, Inago, Traveler’s Bookcase, Palmetto, Flight 001
WHERE TO EAT:
Toast Restaurant is a local favorite for excellent, well priced, breakfast and lunch eats (they’re also open for dinner).
Directly across the street is Electric Karma, a delicious Indian Restaurant boasting phenomenal chicken tikka masala and a hysterical loop of Bollywood movie scenes projected onto their back wall.
For a quintessentially “LA experience,” hold out for a table at Joan’s On Third. Taking a cue from Dean and Deluca, Joan’s sells an array of high-end pastries and gourmet treats as well as wonderful sandwiches, salads, and turkey meatloaf. Be sure to take one of their cupcakes to go.
WHERE TO DRINK:
To top off your day, have a mexito (a Mexican version of a mojito) at El Carmen, the bar/restaurant with a hip twist on traditional Mexican fare and cocktails.
A.O.C. is a bit further east, but if you skipped the treadmill this morning, stick it out for two more blocks. Famed chef Suzanne Goin’s second restaurant in Los Angeles (the first was Lucques on Melrose Ave.), A.O.C. has unusual and fabulous wines on tap, a charcuterie bar with myriad cheeses and meats that have been cured in house, as well as a full tapas-style menu. If you don’t have a reservation, arrive early (5ish) and sit at the bar.
