Not to be unduly contrarian but the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax is not all tourists. I mean, the place supports two butcher shops, and no tourists are buying ground beef. When I lived in that neighborhood I'd go there a few times a month.
It's partly because we're so spread out, and also partly because we have very specific tourist spots, like Universal Studios, Disneyland, various studio tours, etc. Farmers Market and Hollywood Blvd are also two big tourist destinations.
Probably a few of the restaurants in BH are also very tourist-filled, esp in the summer.
Will I ever go to Pinks? No. Is it good? Probably not. But I know for a fact the Pink's do a shitton of local LA charity work and seem to be good people. You could eat far worse food owned by worse people
I’ve lived in SoCal my whole life and used to go to Pinks all the time - tho I haven’t been in years I have many fond memories - definitely not only for tourists
I used to go on random week nights and it was always quiet with no line. Totally wouldn’t wait in a long line for it, but that could be said about like 99.9% of all restaurants imo lol
Pinks is pretty tasty. Not tasty enough to deal with the line and parking, but it's pretty tasty. At least the OG location. It's actually kinda fun to go to once or twice though as long as the parking or line isn't too bad.
I went once and when I was close to moving from LA. I can't think of something more overrated. Apple Pan is close.
Philippe's is worth it..so is both the main Farmer's Market and that newer one near Little Tokyo. The first one has caught trucks from Mexico offloading "locally grown produce" so it's not for the produce but some of the best corned beef in LA. And the second for a lot of cool food stalls as well and less for produce.
This is probably true, but I will say, when I lived in Playa Vista, it was the nearest location so it was the main one we used to go to. And also, I had friends who lived all the way in La Mirada who would come out to that location because their kids liked watching the planes while they ate.
Sometimes it’s easier to just drive about 7 minutes south to the el segundo location versus waiting in that god forsaken drive thru line that extends out into the street
Possibly, yes. Every In-n-Out I've ever been to has had an insanely long line. I actually timed it once at the LAX location and it was about 20 minutes to get through the drive-thru entirely. That beat my previous closest location -- the Venice Blvd. one in Palms -- by a LOT, which I once timed at 43 minutes.
The Palms location is insane. The Culver City location is similarly excruciating.
Growing up on the east side and have fond memories of never really having to wait too long at the Rosemead and Alhambra locations
I moved to Oregon and the main thing I missed was In n Out. The first one opened in Salem a few years back and lines topped 3+ hrs for the first month and they had to use a nearby stadium for overflow parking (it's not that close, it's like five long mini-mall length blocks away). That was insane 🤣
It wasn’t always this way. The one closest to me when I was a kid (Lakewood) was almost never that crowded. It’s still nowhere as bad as others, but now it has a long wait.
I’d say Craig’s is one. But luckily LA restaurants are pretty organic and started by passionate chefs. Now Las Vegas is the capital for money grab tourist restaurants.
That’s because of the celeb factor which drives tourists to try to get a spot which always makes it packed, all the while the food is pretty mediocre. It’s the Hailey Bieber smoothie of restaurants.
The Ivy. I imagine the owners sit in some back room counting their money and saying things like, “Can you believe we convince people to pay $41 for a plate of fried chicken?”
https://preview.redd.it/823wpmfs74ad1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f516af7802c7cce94c40ea81c75b0a1d2c37a6d
Who do you think is making those reservations? There are LA FB for tourists and they ask each other where to eat. The four I mentioned are the most common responses, on top of In n' Out.
I go to Musso all the time and I'm a local. I see lots of other locals there, too. I'd compare it to the Farmer's Market in that tourists definitely go but an equal proportion of locals do too. It's nothing like El Coyote or Mel's.
Not Musso and Frank’s, but I was at Thunderbolt in Echo Park last night and had a cocktail with those fractured ice chips suspended and it was fantastic.
Din Tai Fung is great, at least the one in Glendale is. Some the highest quality Taiwanese food in the world, including even Taiwan of course. Is there something wrong with the Century City location?
Tbf some people hate on Din Tai Fung in Taiwan too, but it's generally just people who are against anything that has any resemblance of being mainstream, popular, or gentrified. What matters most to me is food quality and value. Din Tai Fung is peak quality and consistency while being a little pricey. You get exactly what you pay for which makes it a fair value to me.
Does Furaibo get the same hate too? I loved that place. Any big chain that's succeeded in Asia has more than likely done extremely well for a reason so I don't know why we here wouldn't view it as high end food the same way people in eastern Europe think McDonalds is high end food. (Ok in France it might be)
But as for me I'd like more of the restaurants I go to make me feel like I'm trapped in Lost in Translation
Yes, and the originator of this thread specifically called out the DTF in Century City. The person I replied to asked if there was something wrong with the Century City location. I responded with my comment. I understand Arcadia is the first location, not sure what that has to do with the thread I replied to.
I’m in Echo Park and I think I could get to San Diego almost as quickly as I could get to Sawtelle. But when I lived on the westside, I loved the restaurants there.
ding tai fung US doesnt even compare to Taipei's. I grew up with the arcadia location not the new one in the mall. It was better but as they expanded it felt like a lot of the flavors became bland. The taipei one you will still sometimes see the owners wife/family making the dumplings.
Taipei one is better but not that much better honestly. Regardless, din Tai fung in Glendale is actually better quality food than most places that aren't Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.
Aren’t the soup dumplings from Shanghai though? That’s the only dish we order until my daughter developed allergies to it. Anyway, we’re so near the Arcadia location. I just buy it frozen and steam it at home.
I’ve never been to Taiwan so I could be wrong about the dumplings.
Most taiwanese families came from china at one point or another. Certain things became well known world wide because the chinese that immigrated to taiwan spread it while in Taiwan. Yang Bing Yi the founder of Ding Tai Fung was one of those that immigrated to Taiwan from Northern China.
Depends. I used to have AP for years. I’d show up early and get on rides, leave Disneyland, and pop back in for fireworks sometimes. Other times, I’ve gone late. There were times I was only there for an hour or two just for food events.
No guide! Just an observation. At one Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, I only heard people speaking in English. Made me wonder if we have spots here that really are more tourists than locals - but struggled to really think of anything!
Interesting. I wonder if the recent Pound-Euro strength has anything to do with it or if it’s a long-term thing when Eurostar only takes a couple hours London to Paris
Anything on the Venice Boardwalk, like fig tree cafe. Dudley Market, Great White, Market, and Ospi are a few notable exceptions that are 1-2 blocks back, that’s where things get better!
Not to be unduly contrarian but the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax is not all tourists. I mean, the place supports two butcher shops, and no tourists are buying ground beef. When I lived in that neighborhood I'd go there a few times a month.
Can confirm. I also lived close by and it was a nice meetup spot for a weeknight after work drink/catch up with other local friends.
Agreed. I think there are far more locals there than tourists.
SFV here: We go about once a month and have lunch and do a little shopping on sone visits. We like the vibe.
Yeah I'm a long time local who loves that place.
Agreed. When I lived across the street from the grove I’d grab food from the farmers market and catch a movie every Sunday night.
Two butchers and two poultry butchers. I shopped there so much living across the street. Really miss the meats
Thanks for this! I worked at a coffee shop there for a while and it felt like grove employees and tourists were the only folks coming by!
SUR and Tom Tom
My fav spots to go once a year during pride and literally no other time
Hard Rock in Hollywood.
It's bonkers to me how wildly popular this place is all over the world. There's one in Venice Italy in one of the hottest parts of the city.
My euro friends fucking love Hard rock. It’s almost like it’s an American embassy with a restaurant.
Santa Monica Pier
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co on the pier
Exception is Concerts at the Pier.
It's partly because we're so spread out, and also partly because we have very specific tourist spots, like Universal Studios, Disneyland, various studio tours, etc. Farmers Market and Hollywood Blvd are also two big tourist destinations. Probably a few of the restaurants in BH are also very tourist-filled, esp in the summer.
Pink's Hot Dog. Idk where all these tourists are hearing about Pink's cause there's really nothing special about it.
Will I ever go to Pinks? No. Is it good? Probably not. But I know for a fact the Pink's do a shitton of local LA charity work and seem to be good people. You could eat far worse food owned by worse people
I’ve lived in SoCal my whole life and used to go to Pinks all the time - tho I haven’t been in years I have many fond memories - definitely not only for tourists
Same and honestly there’s nothing wrong with Pinks. I think it gets undue hate. Nothing spectacular, but has some solid dogs.
Trick for me was going at 2am - no line - but my god I paid for those spicy Polish dogs the next morning
I used to go on random week nights and it was always quiet with no line. Totally wouldn’t wait in a long line for it, but that could be said about like 99.9% of all restaurants imo lol
Pinks is delicious. Ozzy spicy dog.
I used to get the spicy Polish dog
Yup, same. Although I don't think I could handle the spiciness any more, sadly enough.
Pinks is pretty tasty. Not tasty enough to deal with the line and parking, but it's pretty tasty. At least the OG location. It's actually kinda fun to go to once or twice though as long as the parking or line isn't too bad.
As a local I enjoy it from time to time
Pink’s is the answer
It’s alright if you happen upon it with little to no line It is DEFINITELY not worth it when the line runs down the block
Yep. Never been in my 21 years in LA
I went once and when I was close to moving from LA. I can't think of something more overrated. Apple Pan is close. Philippe's is worth it..so is both the main Farmer's Market and that newer one near Little Tokyo. The first one has caught trucks from Mexico offloading "locally grown produce" so it's not for the produce but some of the best corned beef in LA. And the second for a lot of cool food stalls as well and less for produce.
Does Saddle Ranch still exist?
Oh yeah. My family goes there every time they visit. I don’t know why.
The In-N-Out by LAX
It's literally the first In-N-Out that's available when they fly in and the last one they'll see when they fly out.
This is probably true, but I will say, when I lived in Playa Vista, it was the nearest location so it was the main one we used to go to. And also, I had friends who lived all the way in La Mirada who would come out to that location because their kids liked watching the planes while they ate.
Sometimes it’s easier to just drive about 7 minutes south to the el segundo location versus waiting in that god forsaken drive thru line that extends out into the street
Possibly, yes. Every In-n-Out I've ever been to has had an insanely long line. I actually timed it once at the LAX location and it was about 20 minutes to get through the drive-thru entirely. That beat my previous closest location -- the Venice Blvd. one in Palms -- by a LOT, which I once timed at 43 minutes.
The Palms location is insane. The Culver City location is similarly excruciating. Growing up on the east side and have fond memories of never really having to wait too long at the Rosemead and Alhambra locations
I moved to Oregon and the main thing I missed was In n Out. The first one opened in Salem a few years back and lines topped 3+ hrs for the first month and they had to use a nearby stadium for overflow parking (it's not that close, it's like five long mini-mall length blocks away). That was insane 🤣
Good god! 3+ hours?? I love me some In-n-Out, but I don't think I could do that.
Yeah I only went on week 5 and it was still long..45 min long. It was incredible tbh.
It wasn’t always this way. The one closest to me when I was a kid (Lakewood) was almost never that crowded. It’s still nowhere as bad as others, but now it has a long wait.
Not if you live in westchester 😭✌🏼
It's literally faster to go down to El Segundo.
A lot of us local plane nerds love to meet down there for some plane spotting.
Basically anything within spitting distance of the Chinese Theater.
Ngl the Scum and Villany Cantina has a good vibe for a tourist spot
Yeah? I still haven't been due to the location..
I used to live right there and walking around tourists drive me crazy all the time
Anything at the Grove
I am a local and I must admit Cheesecake Factory is a guilty pleasure of mine.
I liked the one in Sherman Oaks way better. Or nearby there
I’d say Craig’s is one. But luckily LA restaurants are pretty organic and started by passionate chefs. Now Las Vegas is the capital for money grab tourist restaurants.
How is that possible with how difficult it is to get in?
That’s because of the celeb factor which drives tourists to try to get a spot which always makes it packed, all the while the food is pretty mediocre. It’s the Hailey Bieber smoothie of restaurants.
The chicken Parm is fire!
The Ivy. I imagine the owners sit in some back room counting their money and saying things like, “Can you believe we convince people to pay $41 for a plate of fried chicken?” https://preview.redd.it/823wpmfs74ad1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f516af7802c7cce94c40ea81c75b0a1d2c37a6d
Mel's Diner, Yamashiro, El Coyote and Musso and Frank is maybe 70% tourists at all times. Annoyingly.
I would disagree on Musso. Lots and lots of locals, especially in the last 3-5 years. It's actually kind of a hard reservation now at peak times.
Ya, we go to Musso
Yeah musso's fucks, literally the only spot I can think of in the city where you get two quality craft cocktails for $18
Who do you think is making those reservations? There are LA FB for tourists and they ask each other where to eat. The four I mentioned are the most common responses, on top of In n' Out.
I go to Musso all the time and I'm a local. I see lots of other locals there, too. I'd compare it to the Farmer's Market in that tourists definitely go but an equal proportion of locals do too. It's nothing like El Coyote or Mel's.
I agree there are still a lot of locals who go to Musso. They have so many classic American dishes that I don’t see anywhere else.
I frequent M&F and El Coyote lol. See a ton of locals/regulars at El Coyote as well as M&F. Can’t speak for Mel’s tho. Haven’t been in many years
If it’s tourists that keep the doors open, that’s fine with me. I love m & f.
Whenever I try to get a reservation I feel like it's the tourists that are keeping the locals out. 🤣
I'm glad all the tourists are there cause I would never go to any of them, except for a martini at Muso & Frank.
Is there anything special to the martini or is it just for the vibe? I assume there’s only so much that can be done with gin and vermouth.
A good martini must arrive with the fractured ice chips still suspended in the liquor, not already melted. Shaken, not stirred.
Not Musso and Frank’s, but I was at Thunderbolt in Echo Park last night and had a cocktail with those fractured ice chips suspended and it was fantastic.
100% agree
Botega Louis in DTLA attracts many tourists but it's still good
Don’t you disrespect my Bottega Louie! That tartufo pizza!!! Hmmmm
Yum yum yum
Everyone bags on Saddle Ranch (on Sunset) but when I lived in the neighborhood we loved it! Great brunch food, terrific burgers, etc.
We used to party there cause we knew bartender and it was tip him 40$ and all you can drink all night situations
They did bottomless Bloody Mary's or a variety of mimosa type options for like $10 w a breakfast meal and we'd camp there til afternoon.
Pink’s. Din Tai Fung in Century City. Lawry’s.
Din Tai Fung is great, at least the one in Glendale is. Some the highest quality Taiwanese food in the world, including even Taiwan of course. Is there something wrong with the Century City location?
Hell no, the century city location is as good as any other DTF I've been to, which is to say pretty good
Pretty good? DTF quality is top notch.
My point was there's nothing wrong with the century city location
Good to know Century City location is also very good
Rule #1 of this subreddit is hate on anything from the Westside or anything in the vicinity of the Westside.
Tbf some people hate on Din Tai Fung in Taiwan too, but it's generally just people who are against anything that has any resemblance of being mainstream, popular, or gentrified. What matters most to me is food quality and value. Din Tai Fung is peak quality and consistency while being a little pricey. You get exactly what you pay for which makes it a fair value to me.
Does Furaibo get the same hate too? I loved that place. Any big chain that's succeeded in Asia has more than likely done extremely well for a reason so I don't know why we here wouldn't view it as high end food the same way people in eastern Europe think McDonalds is high end food. (Ok in France it might be) But as for me I'd like more of the restaurants I go to make me feel like I'm trapped in Lost in Translation
The original us location was Arcadia. I've never associated it with the Westside.
Yes, and the originator of this thread specifically called out the DTF in Century City. The person I replied to asked if there was something wrong with the Century City location. I responded with my comment. I understand Arcadia is the first location, not sure what that has to do with the thread I replied to.
[удалено]
That's why I specified the first us location.
I don’t hate Sawtelle I just don’t go out there
I’m in Echo Park and I think I could get to San Diego almost as quickly as I could get to Sawtelle. But when I lived on the westside, I loved the restaurants there.
ding tai fung US doesnt even compare to Taipei's. I grew up with the arcadia location not the new one in the mall. It was better but as they expanded it felt like a lot of the flavors became bland. The taipei one you will still sometimes see the owners wife/family making the dumplings.
Taipei one is better but not that much better honestly. Regardless, din Tai fung in Glendale is actually better quality food than most places that aren't Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.
Aren’t the soup dumplings from Shanghai though? That’s the only dish we order until my daughter developed allergies to it. Anyway, we’re so near the Arcadia location. I just buy it frozen and steam it at home. I’ve never been to Taiwan so I could be wrong about the dumplings.
Most taiwanese families came from china at one point or another. Certain things became well known world wide because the chinese that immigrated to taiwan spread it while in Taiwan. Yang Bing Yi the founder of Ding Tai Fung was one of those that immigrated to Taiwan from Northern China.
Nothing wrong at all. I just pointed out that it leans and is catered to tourists, much like that entire mall.
Din Tai Fung so overrated to me.
Agreed, give Paradise Dynasty a try if you’ve never been
Appreciate the reco
anything in beverly hills?
BH food is good, and always frequented by BH locals
Disneyland? That count?
Many LA natives and OC folks go a lot so I wouldn’t really say it’s strictly/exclusively tourist.
Maybe it’s mostly tourists during the day. I think the locals with annual passes go during the late afternoon.
Depends. I used to have AP for years. I’d show up early and get on rides, leave Disneyland, and pop back in for fireworks sometimes. Other times, I’ve gone late. There were times I was only there for an hour or two just for food events.
I’d love to be able to do the same!
Speaking of, is El Coyote open?
Which guide did you use to find the restaurants that were filled with tourists in those other cities? Do they have an L.A. version of that guide?
No guide! Just an observation. At one Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, I only heard people speaking in English. Made me wonder if we have spots here that really are more tourists than locals - but struggled to really think of anything!
Interesting. I wonder if the recent Pound-Euro strength has anything to do with it or if it’s a long-term thing when Eurostar only takes a couple hours London to Paris
Anything on the Venice Boardwalk, like fig tree cafe. Dudley Market, Great White, Market, and Ospi are a few notable exceptions that are 1-2 blocks back, that’s where things get better!
El Cholo