Los Angeles travel guide
I was lucky enough to escape still drizzly Seattle earlier this summer with a close friend and hit the town on a trip to the City of Angels…with NO KIDS! Just two hot ladies about town and boy did we have a good time! While I have visited L.A. many times, most of my trips have been work-related and I only have so much time to enjoy the city. I fell in love with Los Angeles on this visit and highly recommend taking a long weekend to visit soon! Here are my highlights:
DAY ONE - SETTLING INTO LA
Like any good trip, eating is much of the fun…but especially in L.A. when you are on a special diet. While many make fun of the “crunch” Southern California food culture, I find the colorful, farm-fresh menus to be absolutely delightful. You won’t have to worry about cross-contamination or special requests on this trip - Los Angeles is the mothership for healthy dining! I didn’t cook a single meal on this trip either, which made it that much more fun!
Once you get settled into your rental or hotel room, find the nearest Erewhon market to stock up on snacks and nibbles for your home base. (You may want to dress to impress - celebrity sightings are common here!). Between the jars of algae and the smoothie station (where you can enjoy Hailey Bieber’s signature drink), you’ll find aisles of healthy snacks, produce and fresh-made treats. It’s an absolute must-see, must-shop store. Most locations have outdoor seating, so you really can pick up a quick meal here and eat immediately. This store is a healthy eating HEAVEN!
Once you freshen up and are ready to head out and kickoff to the trip, do yourself a favor and book a dinner reservation (a week or two before your trip, of course) and a rooftop bar reservation for **Grandmaster Recorders.** This place is built right into the former recording studios of Grandmaster, where acts ranging from David Bowie to Stevie Wonder recorded. The space oozes prestige, history and specialness - the best of the L.A. vibe all in one place. The rooftop bar has a wonderful view and wonderful drinks, all surrounded by a modern palm tree aesthetic. It felt very reminiscent of the rooftop bar culture in Spain and I loved every minute of it! And bonus, the bartenders are more than happy to make you a custom alcohol-free cocktail! I enjoyed an AF version of the “One Hot Minute,” a delicious mix of cucumber and basil. (The drinks are named for albums recorded onsite - so fun!). Once you are done with happy hour, slide down to the main restaurant for a lively, open-kitchen Australian-influenced menu experience. From seafood to steak, the dishes were incredible and delicious. I absolutely love how accommodating restaurants are in Los Angeles for special dietary needs. They were able to set our group of friends up for a wonderful meal, all with shared plates I could safely join and feel included. It’s rare that I can really enjoy communal restaurant food and I loved every moment of sharing this delightful food with friends. Tip: Don’t miss the albums and cassette tapes displayed along the hallways for a bit of a trip down memory lane on your way out! Like most upscale restaurants in L.A., you can expect valet parking and a door bouncer to keep things feeling oh so exclusive.
DAY TWO - GET ACTIVE
When you sleep in a new city, even in the same time zone, the travel can set your circadian rhythm and digestion awry. To help keep things on track, I find great benefit from taking a “circadian walk” first thing in the morning. If you’ve never heard of a “circ walk,” as many call it, it’s simply a short 10-minute walk in the early morning hours, getting direct sunshine into your eyes. The research shows that it’s both the angle of the light and the sunlight itself that helps set your body clock (this is a major help for jet lag!). I also make sure to take magnesium before bed (which I do every day anyway) and drink Athletic Greens upon waking in the morning. While Athletic Greens might be the most L.A. food of all time, it was actually developed in New Zealand. After being influenced by a zillion ads, I finally tried it when I had covid several months ago and I was HOOKED! It’s the perfect pre-breakfast or breakfast replacement and gives excellent nutritional insurance first thing in the morning. This simple regimen of walk/magnesium/AG1 helps keep my sleep and intestines on track so my detoxification systems don’t get sluggish and set me into flare territory. DEAL: If you are interested in trying Athletic Greens, this link has a special offer for 5 free travel packs and a year’s supply of vitamin D with your first order.
Once you are up and at it, it’s time to get out in that sunshine! While L.A. has a reputation (somewhat earned) for frivolity and vanity, the outdoor lifestyle is authentic and not to be missed. Whether you enjoy surfing or beachgoing, yoga or hiking, you’ll find many ways to enjoy the California sunshine while you are here. After any flight, I like to get active as soon as possible and ideally start my first day with some movement. (This not only helps loosen up my tight body but is also essential to detoxing the travel gunk from my system - flights are a high-dose of radiation and exhaust fumes, not to mention the lack of water and healthy eating that takes a toll during travel.)
Hiking is my favorite way to kick off a first morning in any new area, but especially in L.A. While there are many trails around the north and east end of the city, Griffith Park is perhaps one of the most scenic and enjoyable ways to enjoy the sights. This beautiful, mostly exposed hillclimb takes you up to the historic Griffith Observatory. The building is an art deco masterpiece and such a sight to behold, both inside and out. For a small entry fee (make sure to bring money with you on the hike), you can enter the museum to learn all about the atomic clock, the planets and stars and the entire history of our universe. It’s impressive and informational all around. If you come in the evening hours, just after sundown, you can even look with your own eyes through the massive telescope at the typically clear sky (double check opening hours before you go to confirm). Note: Prepare yourself for a parking nightmare - the first part of the hike will be getting from your car to the trail. Bring lots of water and try to go before the heat of the day.
Depending on what time you hike, Sqirl cafe ****is the perfect lunch or brunch destination either before or after Griffith Park. This cafe is credited with starting the avocado toast craze a few years ago, but their menu is extensive and inspired. Many of the dishes feature their famous bread, but I chose the giant 11” vegan latke (potato pancake) topped with smoked Marcona almond schmear and pickled market vegetables. It was one of the most unique and delicious breakfast items I’ve ever enjoyed. They also have many options ranging from classic breakfast eggs and meats to fun salads and vegan choices. Don’t miss it!
If you plan your day right with breakfast at Sqirl before your hike, you’ll be hungry again in time for a visit to **Cafe Gratitude** for lunch! This place is very L.A., with an entirely plant-based menu centered around gratitude mantras. Each items is in fact named for an intention which is a little bit campy, but actually does make you stop and think about how damn lucky you are to be alive, feeling well and on this fantastic trip! I ordered the “I Am Gracious” salad, with a bed of asparagus, cucumbers, cauliflower rice and avocado, layered with confit tomatoes, cashew ricotta and pesto. It was one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had and washed down nicely with my “I Am Worthy” beet juice.
After lunch is a perfect time for a break by the pool or to hit the shops. I’m not a big shopper, but I do like to visit places I can’t find near home. The Clare V. shop was a major score, and we also happened upon a great sample sale nearby. If you just want to browse, The Grove, The Palisades Village and the Abbot Kinney shopping district are all excellent areas with stores that are hard to find in other cities. If you do end up near Santa Monica, check out the Breadblok bakery for incredible gluten-free patisserie. Near Abbot Kinney, you’ll find one of my favorite cafes, the Butcher’s Daughter. If you are a non-alcoholic drink lover, make sure to check out Soft Spirits and Boisson. For clean beauty, be sure to visit my favorite BeautyCounter store or the Detox Market.
For our second dinner, we visited République Restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful meal in a bustling and cozy, castle-like setting. While this lightened-up gastropub is also known for its (apparently) excellent bread and baked goods, the dinner has a range of options to accommodate dietary restrictions. We enjoyed delicious Kanpachi Crudo and they were able to make me a modified Sole Muniér, which is probably my very favorite fish dish ever (thank you Julia Child!). This place checks all the boxes and we left happy and content.
DAY THREE: TO MALIBU!
If you have more than a weekend in Los Angeles, I highly recommend stretching your trip to make a day-trip to Malibu. I had almost forgotten this place was so close to the city and my friend made the fabulous suggestion the night before that we head out for a beach day and I was whole-heartedly onboard!
In late Spring or early Fall, the weather in L.A. is absolutely perfect - high 70s, sunny and a light breeze. You can visit the beach without breaking a sweat, which is my definition of the ideal beach day - I am not a sun bunny and feel terrible in high heat.
We began our morning with a quick stop at the SUPER cute Farm Cup Coffee and made our way to a massage at the famous Shutters on the Beach hotel, right off the pier in Santa Monica. This place is legendary for good reason - the classic California opulent decor, the service and the tiny spa next-door were worth the hype. Once we were good and relaxed, we met another friend for brunch on the veranda. I had the most delicious Salade Niçiosse and I absolutely loved the non-alcoholic but fun drink choices! You’d be hard pressed to find a restaurant in L.A. that doesn’t offer at least green juice, if not a whole assortment of AF drinks, especially at brunch.
After brunch we enjoyed a beautiful stroll on the Santa Monica Pier and then made our way to a bit more shopping. Malibu is such a unique place - a 21-mile long “small town” that stretches along the coast at the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains. It’s hard to really get a feel for this until you drive through it. It’s about 20 minutes from Santa Monica to the beginning of Malibu, and we decided to divert to **Sweet Laurel Bakery**, just off the main highway in the Palisades area. (The people-watching in these areas is particularly fun as they are some of the most affluent areas in the country.) We eventually made our way into Malibu and then stumbled quite a bit to find good public beach access. As it turns out, most of the beaches have paid parking (we were idiots and paid $65!!!! to park at Paradise Cove…I don’t recommend), so make a plan ahead of time where you want to be. We ended up turning back to the Malibu Pier, where you can walk down the steps to the water if you wish, or simply enjoy the incredible views from the pier itself. This space is the home to Malibu Farm, one of my favorite restaurants of all time! (There is both a cafe and a restaurant and I highly recommend the full sit-down restaurant experience.) My friend and I sat right along the glass at the edge of the pier, sipping NA cocktails and eating the most vibrant, colorful and delicious food I’ve seen almost anywhere. I simply couldn’t get over how beautiful every dish was and we were ogling the dishes headed to every other table too. We had a perfect view of the sea-life and the sunset, but felt nice and cozy under handmade blankets and outdoor heaters. It was a perfect dinner to cap off a perfect day!
DAY FOUR: SHOW BIZ!
On our final day in L.A., we hit some of the more touristy show-business sights. While I don’t care much for celebrity culture, I am a complete sucker for the entertainment industry. I think it stems from my love of stories - I love nearly all movies and scripted television and Hollywood holds a certain draw for me as the home of this special work.
If you too like movies and show business, or just want a peek behind the scenes, make sure to check out he Paramount Picture Studio Tour (reserve ahead). We did the two-hour tour, hopping on and off the golf cart around the world famous studio grounds. You’ll learn all about famous scenes and films made onsite and the history of the Studio and grounds themselves, from Lucille Ball to Quentin Tarantino films. We were lucky enough to see the very last day of filming for This is Us (a show I happened to love), and spotted most of the cast walking to set in their full makeup. We had so much fun and would absolutely do a similar tour again!
Next we hit the brand new Academy of Motion Pictures Museum. The beautiful new building holds a number of artifacts and exhibits over the years - and feels little like a mini Smithsonian, dedicated to films. If you are a film buff, plan for several hours here. If you are more of a casual movie lover, an hour and a half should do it. Depending on your interests, you can learn about the evolution of camera work or special effects over the years. My favorite exhibits were the tribute to Spike Lee’s body of work and its link to structural racism in our country and of course, the Oscar award area full of actual dresses worn by winners and reels of speeches and memorable moments. It’s a super fun stop for almost anyone!
Show business is, in fact, one of the main reasons we decided to book this trip on a whim. My very favorite podcast, Armchair Expert, took part in Netflix Comedy Festival “Netflix is a Joke,” which featured 31 acts across 6 venues in the city, and I jumped at the chance to go see the live. To say that Netflix spent some serious coin on this is the understatement of the century. It seemed every venue, hotel and billboard was plastered with acts in town. During our trip we were able to see both Pete Davidson and Friends (now live on Netflix) in a super intimate setting with maybe 100 people in the audience, and of course, Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, hosting Ike Barinholtz (episode now live.)
After this shit show of a pandemic and all the other hard stuff going on in the world, the medicine of laughter was especially soothing. Assuming there isn’t a festival when you visit L.A., you can still see some exceptional talent and laugh your ass off while you are there. Check listings for comedians touring during your visit or buy a ticket (even if you don’t know the acts) at the Comedy Store or the Groundlings to see some excellent up and coming talent in the breeding ground for the next big comics.
We ran out of time to hit the famous Getty museum. There’s always next time, but if movies aren’t your thing, consider making this day all about Art!
Before our comedy show (which started at a shockingly early 7pm), we needed a quick bite and were not disappointed by Great White. With an “all-day cafe” sort of vibe, the menu spans from light bites to more substantial meals. I ordered the fish tacos on lettuce wraps and they were so fresh and delicious! We rushed from dinner to The Wiltern and enjoyed every moment of the comedy show.
We went to sleep that night with happy hearts and left the next morning with so much love for L.A. I can’t wait to go back - next time with my kids!
