After a wonderful week in Hawaii (read recap here) we headed to the west coast. Pat and I arrived in LA in the morning and set off for some food before checking into our Airbnb. One of the reason we had planned a few days in LA was to go to as many of our favorite chefs restaurants as possible! So we started off our foodie trip with Ms. Chi Cafe by Shirley Chung of Top Chef. We shared a couple orders of dumpings, a chicken and veggie dish and of course I had a boba tea.
We headed to the AirBnb in Beverly Hills after lunch to get settled in… it had amazing reviews online and was a great location but left a lot to be desired. I can say with 100% confidence we will never do a shared bathroom Aibnb again (message me if you want details about a negative experience, haha). After this stay the hubs pretty much said it would take a lot of convincing for him to stay with Airbnb again and is fully team hotel. We unpacked and relaxed a bit and before getting ready to head to explore.
I wanted to do some walking around the Rodeo Drive shopping area before dinner so we did that and then stopped for a coffee because I was barely able to keep my eyes open from the jet lag and wanted to enjoy our dinner. I didn’t buy anything because I’m not much a label or designer fan (I just like what’s comfortable) but it was cool to check and take some pretty pics.
Dinner that evening was at Wolfgang Puck’s flagship restaurant Spago. It was very fancy, haha. Pat and I opted to order a la carte instead of tasting menu. People are not joking when they say LA is expensive- a glass of wine that would be $15 in PA was $20. We chose to split a bottle that Wolfgang himself collaborated with the winery to make (it was about $80 which was by far one of the cheaper wines- in case you were wondering). I started with a butternut squash soup topped with a cheese souffle (so rich and delicious) and Pat tried the Spanish octopus in half a coconut (gorgeous presentation). Next we chose pasta courses, I had the Squid Ink Garganelli and after consulting our server Pat went with the Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with a veal ragout. I was sure my pasta dish would be better than his simple one, and while both were delicious, his was some of the best pasta either of us have had (and we’ve been to Italy). Since we had also crushed the bread basket (gimme all the carbs when I’m sleep deprived) we decided to share dessert and call it a night. We shared a chocolate hazelnut lava cake which was very rich and perfect for two. I believe we went home and went to bed because dinner lasted well over 2 hours and I needed to catch up on some sleep.
Pat and I slept in and got a late but leisurely start to the day. I had read about The Pie Hole and wanted to go there for breakfast to fuel up before a Hollywood Hills hike. Since it was mid morning we were both really hungry and eat chose one savory and one sweet pie. I had a spinach and goat cheese quiche for my savory and earl gray tea for my sweet option. Pat opted for a chorizo hand pie and Mexican chocolate pie. Everything was fantastic and we ate every last bite before heading to the Hollywood Walk of Fame to check out the stars.
The stars themselves were pretty cool and what you would expect but the area was not nice. Overly touristy and bit trashy, it was not a nice area. After walking for about 20 minutes and finding a few of our favorite stars we decided to leave. Our next stop was a hike to the Hollywood sign!
I had read a few different routes to hike up to the sign and it seems there were several options in different lengths. We ended up doing a 2-2.5 mile each way hike. Going up wasn’t too bad but the heat coming down was a bit miserable and we had started to run out of water. There are horses along the hike which I would probably check out if we go back to LA. The area wasn’t completely overrun but tourists which was nice. After hiking back down were were parched and in need of some food. I grabbed a smoothie bowl and Pat bought some ramen and we went to a nearby park to enjoy our meals outside- these were basically just snacks to hold us over until dinner in a couple of hours.
After returning to the house and showering we headed out to another wonderful meal. I chose Curtis Stone’s restaurant Gwen because it was also a butchery and I thought there would be a lot of meat dishes Pat would enjoy. We opted to do the Taste of Gwen for $85/person. We had a ceviche, charcuterie board, scallop, steak, and dessert. Overall the food was really delicious- rich and tasty but we both agreed the meal the night before was better. Our favorite dish was the charcuterie and we were surprised the tasting menu had so much fish on it and not more meat. It was still a solid dining experience only to be overturned by finding a $70 parking ticket on our car. Highly recommend triple checking all parking signs in LA- they are really trying to make it as confusing as possible and trick you (many tourists end up with tickets). Pat and I decided to watch a little TV and do a little reading and relaxing before turning in for the night.
The next day we headed to the beaches! I wanted to see Santa Monica pier and as much of the coast as possible but we ended not seeing as much as we had planned. I started the day with a run and snack so I was starving by the time we parked in Venice Beach. I grabbed a donut (Blue Star- very disappointing) and Chai and Pat had a Blue bottle coffee. We walked around the famous shopping street Abbott Kinney Boulevard. We were mostly window shopping but I ended up getting a shirt and light jacket and Pat got a pair of joggers. So chic. We also shared an ice cream flight from Salt and Straw. Pat’s two flavors were strawberry coconut and sea salt caramel and I chose avocado chocolate and goat cheese olive brittle. They were all tasty but the strawberry was the best- I do think my favorite ice cream shop in Pittsburgh is waaaaay better though!
After some more walking around we started driving along the coast to check out the different beaches. If we ever come back to LA we are definitely staying in Manhattan Beach area and near the coast. We ended up in Redondo Beach to check out my favorite chef Brooke Williamson’s flagship restaurant- Hudson House. It was an early dinner so the dining room and bar were almost empty so we made good friends with the bartender/server. She too was a big Brooke fan and shared her recommendations from the menu with us. The restaurant had a complete renovation and menu overhaul done a few weeks after we visited so I don’t believe any of the dishes we enjoyed are still on the menu. Pat and I shared 4 small plates- a plantain dish, braised radicchio (Pat’s fav), biscuit with shrimp and crab gravy, and a harissa eggplant dish with yogurt sauce (my fav). I wish we would’ve had more time to check out more of her restaurants in the area but we had tickets to the basketball game that evening so we headed out.
A quick stop at home to change in pants and grab a jacket and then we set off for the game at the Staples Center. This is by far the worst traffic we had ever been in, the rush hour madness definitely lived up to all the hype. It was awful- Pat vowed after this trip to never drive in LA ever again. We found decently priced parking and made it into the game with just enough time to watch the tip off. It was the LA Clippers vs the Oklahoma City Thunder during opening week so nothing so enthralling but I do enjoy watching basketball and have only been to a couple other NBA games. The area around the Staples Center was super cool, lots of great restaurants and bars to go to before the game. We left during the 4th quarter and made the drive back to the Airbnb traffic free since it was after 10pm. The next morning we woke up and set off for Palm Springs!
We were in Palm Springs a little over 24 hours but it was a beautiful place and somewhere I would like to go back! The reason we planned our Hawaii and LA trip was around a wedding we were attending in Palm Springs, two of our dear friends were wed onsite the resort we stayed at- Ace Hotel. It was a beautiful setting and the food was fantastic. The great thing about this wedding was also seeing some of our Philly friends that made the trip- all the guests were able to hangout at the pool on Saturday and Sunday so we took full advantage. The day after the wedding was a bit rough after a little too much rose the night before but nothing is better for a hangover than sitting poolside with friends in the dessert. It was great to catch up with everyone and relax.
I was sad we had such limited time in Palm Springs but we left Sunday evening after a delicious Vietnamese dinner, and headed back to LA. We stayed at a hotel by the airport for our early flight the next morning. Overall it was truly a wonderful trip- Hawaii was unbelievable. I think I’d be fine never visiting LA again but the food was good. This was one of our more expensive trips and it was worth it. Pat and I definitely plan on returning to Hawaii in the next 5-10 years to check out the other islands, it really is a magical place.
Any questions about our trip?? Any fun trips planned for you this year??
