Los Angeles Travel Answers

If you haven't been to the Getty Center/Musuem, that's definitely worth a visit

Thanks, I've been to both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa, both well worth the visit.

Hi Christi, Sorry to hear about your Grandmother. One of our favorite restaurants about 10 minutes from LAX is Upstairs 2 (http://www.upstairs2.com/). Small plate tapas style, and with an excellent wine selection. It is right off the 405 in West LA. We use to go to the Charthouse in Malibu, but it has gone down in value and service. As for things to do, often missed is the La Brea Tar Pits right next to LACMA on Wilshire by "due" La Brea. The Petersen Car Museum (http://petersen.org/) is almost right across the street. Karl

Sorry for your loss. Hopefully you can make the best of it with a good escape from that terrible weather you guys have this time of year. It's a little out of the way (I think it's less than a half hour from LAX), but one of my favorite spots for a little peace and getting away from the crowds is in Malibu up at the end of Corral Canyon Road. You get some fantastic views and it's a nice spot to just sit and think or take a walk on the fire roads. There's a reason the canyon below is called Solstice Canyon.

Thanks Karl, I will have a look at the restaurant you suggested, sorry to hear that the Charthouse has gone downhill. The one in Malibu has such a nice view of the ocean. I've been to the tar pits, the momma mammoth stuck in the tar always makes me sad. But I haven't been to the Petersen Car Museum, I'll check and see if it's open on Mondays. Thanks Colin, I'm driving up to Oxnard on Sunday so I may stop at your spot on the way up. The drive along the coast is beautiful.

I was almost going to mention Solstice Canyon, however, there was a fire that burned through it several years ago. I should check it out as I have not visited since. Karl

Karl, I had a look at the menu and I don't know that it'd be my dad's cup of tea, I was looking more for a standard steakhouse or seafood place. Fleming's has good reviews on Yelp but I think we might have one of those here in Chicago. Then again, it's not often that my dad goes to downtown Chicago so that might be an option.

Sorry to hear about your Grandma, Kristi. Hope you are your family are doing as well as possible.

Sorry about your Grandmother. To stay relatively close in to LA, I'd suggest AOC Phone: 929-653-6359 Address: 8022 West Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048 323-653-1390 FAX. Cube Phone: 323-939-1148 Address: 615 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Directions: From Hollywood, take Gower or Vine to Melrose; right turn and go to La Brea; left and find a side street to park or use the valet. Website: www.cubemarketplace.com or The Olive (on Sunset at the top of the hill); don't have the contact info.

Thanks Kate :-) Grandma was 102 years old, she lived a long and full life, even more wonderful was that she never had to go into a nursing home and died peacefully at home.

Wow - what a blessing. :)

We enjoy Flemings also. If you have a Costco membership, they sell Flemings gift cards that provide a pretty good discount. Karl

One of the best steak and seafood restaurants in Los Angeles is also in Chicago. Mastro's Steakhouse is the name and the prices are on the high side, but the best usually costs a little more. In Los Angeles, Mastro's is located in Beverly Hills at 246 N. Canon Drive. See their webpage: http://www.mastrosrestaurants.com/

one of my "must sees" in LA is the Muesum of tolerence , near the hollywood district, its a Museum based on two themes, the Holocaust in Germany and Racial Intolerence in USA They have this neat diner where you test your tolerence against others who have been there and others there at the time by showing you a video of a scene in the diner and asking you questions of your opinion- kind of confronting. Also they have a street scene from Germany war time, as you walk along yopu advance in time with information, issues etc being raised. You also become a real person and see how their life unfolds- maybe you are destined for the Hitler Youth ,movemennt, or to escape to UK with your family , or much worse. They also have lectures by real holocaust survivers- very confronting. Ther is a large research resource on these matters. The whole experience is most worth while.

Check out the the Palm restaurant. There are two in LA area, one near Staples and the other in Hollywood. I ate at the one in Las Vegas and it was awesome.

Hi Kristi.......d:o) Since you are driving up the coast through Malibu, you may want to check Gladstones, or Moonshadow (where Mel Gibson was before his famous DUI) http://www.gladstones.com/ http://www.moonshadowsmalibu.com/new/ Or a little further is my favorite Pacific Cove Beach Cafe, right on the beach and a great main restaurant. (biggest lobsters ever) http://www.paradisecovemalibu.com/ In Oxnard or Ventura, check out the Ventura Harbour. Several good restaurants there as well. http://www.venturaharborvillage.com/ or the Channel Islands Harbour in Oxnard, where I used to live......great places for seafood like the Lobster Trap and the Whale's Tail. Also there is the "Parade of Lights" at the harbor during the weekend Dec 11-12. I used to look at it from my balcony only a few yards away. http://www.channelislandsharbor.org/ channelislandsharbor.org/thi... Here is who lives in Malibu these days........ seeing-stars.com/live/malibu... Hope this is helpful Kristi......d:o)

Not only does Chicago have a Mastro's, we also have a Palm :-) Will keep both of them in mind, thanks!

Hi Erik, I love the look of Paradise Cove and Gladstone's also looks great. Hope I'll be able to fit one of them into my trip! I'm visiting a friend up in Oxnard so she'll be picking wherever we eat for that meal. If I can't get there Sat with the family, I may stop and eat there on the way back to LA on Sunday. Still looking for something to do Monday morning/afternoon, the Museum of Tolerance looks interesting but after attending a funeral and attending to all of the administrative stuff, I think I'd like to do something much less serious. If nothing pops up I might just head to the beach and take a nice long walk.

Hey, if possible I would recommend the Parade of Lights at the Channel Islands Harbor, this coming Saturday night. (ask your friend about it). Take a look.... google.com/images?hl=en&q=pa... beachcalifornia.com/events/o... Have fun......d:o)

I am not a big fan of Gladstones. It is great if you want a meal in a busy place right on the ocean with great views, lots of noise, but the food quality is mediocre at best. Lots of fried stuff... Paradise Cove is much mellower (is that a word?) with a great seafood salad bar. Both places are fun to go to, but neither will you leave going "wow, that was a great meal". Another quality steak house, one with aged steaks, is Boa on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Karl

Hey, if looking for quality steaks go to Mortons, (three locations in L.A.) or the Pacific Dining Car on Whilshire Blvd. http://www.mortons.com/ http://www.pacificdiningcar.com/ .....d:o)

Damn it Eric, I just had dinner and you are making me hungry!!!! Both good places....

Ha ha, we have Morton's too (and it's my favorite place in Chicago to get a steak!). After looking at the reviews of Paradise Cove, I think maybe my dad wouldn't enjoy it. He doesn't do crowds well and heaven forbid if he has to wait to be seated! I may see if I can slip in on my way back from Oxnard though. Morton's or Fleming's seem to be right up his alley, there's a Fleming's in El Segundo that's not too far from our hotel (the services are in Inglewood, the hotel is at LAX) and there's25 off if you reserve through their website

>>>Still looking for something to do Monday morning/afternoon,.... Though I've done it many times before, shopping on Rodeo Drive and lunch at Cafe Rodeo would be something diverting and fun to do on a Monday morning.

One of my absolute most favorite places to have lunch or dinner is at Shutters on the Beach. They have two restaurants--one called One Pico which is a little more expensive and another called Coast. It's a very elegant but low-key place that always has great food (and if you're into it, celeb watching). Here's the link: http://www.shuttersonthebeach.com/ Also, although I lived the Los Feliz area for a long time, somehow I never made it to the Barnsdall Art Park. I believe it's in a Frank Lloyd Wright building and I know they have some really great exhibits there. It should take you about 1/2 an hour to get from LAX to Los Feliz, which, along with Silverlake, is probably one of the hottest L.A. neighborhoods right now. Here's the link if you're interested: culturela.org/lamag/Home.htm... Also, LACMA has some interesting exhibits going on right now (which I can't believe I'm saying because I think it's an over-rated museum: lacma.org/art/ExhibCurrent.a... Another favorite of mine is Descanso Gardens in La Canada (which, unfortunately is a bit of a trek from LAX). There probably won't be much to see in the way of flowers (except camillias), but the grounds are beautiful. Here's the link: descansogardens.org/index.ph... I'll keep thinking! Monday is just a tough day because things/tours are closed.

Also, I'm pretty sure anyone is allowed to use this facility: beachhouse.smgov.net/about/t... And this place is lovely--we had a little company outing there a few weeks ago and it was great! http://www.thesunsetrestaurant.com/

Great stuff Court! The old Randolph Hearst/Marion Davies place is a landmark with quite a history, and the Sunset Restaurant is very nice as well, and also has quite a history.....d:o)

It's kinda pricey but the most spectacular restaurant for a Saturday dinner is The Restaurant at the Getty Center. www.getty.edu

Monday is supposed to be spectacular weather-wise, so I'd suggest something by the beach. Also, you don't want to be heading to LAX from any other end of town during the 4 to 7:30pm traffic mess. Manhattan Beach is probably your safest bet, with such easy access back to LAX.

Thanks Courtney, some interesting suggestions! The Frank Lloyd Wright house is the Hollyhock House, it was under renovation the last time I tried to visit and unfortunately not open on Mondays. I'll have a look at some of those restaurants :-)