Originally posted by: Ns1
Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
Where's a good place to park for free?
Orange County
This was probably the best answer I've seen in ages. Thank you for the great laugh. :laugh:
In regards to the OP, along with all the recommendations Ns1 has given, here are a few suggestions from me:
Swingers (just for the experience of being part of the movie) - American diner style food.
Father's Office - Famous for their beers and burger.
Simpang - Excellent source for Indonesian food. I would suggest Nasi Bungkus for the first time eaters just because I find it unique. Basically a large rice dish wrapped in a huge banana leaf.
Gushi - I personally like their food. It's about $6 - $7 for a pretty big box of bulgolgi or ribs or teriyaki chicken. There will be those who don't like it but I think it's good.
Coral Tree Cafe - Young and trendy cafe that serves pastas and sandwiches. A bit pricey but the food is good and their baked goods are good too.
The City Bakery - It's in Brentwood along with Coral Tree. Very tasty chocolate chip cookies. They're huge and the chocolate melts at room temp.
Literati Cafe - It's linked with its big brother restaurant Literati 2 which is connected to it. Similar to Coral Tree Cafe but also very good and even closer to UCLA.
Dupars - Their quality has been a little iffy recently but their French toast and their pancakes are one of the best I've had. It's also located in the Los Angeles Farmer's Market which is also adjacent to The Grove, so there's plenty to see and do around there.
Sprinkles - For that truly I have too much money to spend feeling, you can stop by this cupcake shop. Their cupcakes are pretty good but expensive. There's also Crumbs which I hear may be better right down the street.
Casablanca - Fresh tortillas with this cheese salsa, live music, and good food and ambiance makes this restaurant pretty fun. It's Mexican food even though the name would hint to Moroccan.
Phillipe's - Haven't been there myself but I've always wanted to go. It's the supposed birth place of the French Dip sandwich. It's cheap and fun and in Downtown LA.
There are plenty of other good places to go to that are kind of fun but the food isn't necessarily as good. Apple Pan has a decent burger with a slice of apple pie, Juniors is famous from New York but I hear the LA one isn't bad, South Street is the cheesesteak joint near UCLA that Ns1 was talking about, etc. You should avoid Noodle World and Noodle Planet near UCLA. If you're into vegan food,
Native Foods is a good choice. For breakfast, you can go to some trendy places like Bread and Porridge which are pretty fun and unique.
Since you're from Norcal and it looks like you're Asian, the only place you're going to find some better Chinese food is by driving over to Alhambra or Arcadia(20-25 miles to the east of UCLA). You'll get a good variety of Cantonese food, Szechuan, Taiwanese, etc. food there. Just in case you go there, here's a few recommendations:
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House - Famous from Taiwan. The original owner's son just started up a new one right next door the one I linked. The people inside will recommend you to go that one since the "family name" is linked to it.
Simbala - Couldn't find a direct link to it but this place has great Taiwanese small dishes and shaved ice. Their noodle soups and their pork chops are great.
888 Seafood - Probably one of the best dim sum restaurants in Southern California. A pretty spectacular variety and if you go on the weekends, they bring out some more specialized dishes. You have to get there early or you'll end up waiting a couple of hours. Since you're from Norcal, I suspect you're quite familiar with great Cantonese food, so you may want to skip this place.
Yung Ho - Not just any ho, but a young one. It's a small Chinese breakfast restaurant chain in Alhambra. Good soy bean milk and all the other hard to translate breakfast dishes.
I'm going to leave you at that. There are so many more places that it's just hard to list them all. If you want more suggestions, I'll try to post more.
Edit:
In regards to parking, there are plenty of spaces to park in LA, though it's difficult. Try heading into the communities like the apartment areas next to UCLA. You'll generally get lucky enough to find parking. If you're in Santa Monica, West LA, Brentwood, etc., you'll have to look for community parking (isn't hard during the day but is a nightmare at night), meter parking on the main streets (fairly difficult), or pay for parking. You can also take the Blue Bus around Santa Monica as it's probably one of the better public transportation systems we have out here. Pretty clean and not too many crazies. There are a few free lots here and there on Wilshire but it's rare.
Lastly, since you're from Norcal, you're not going to see a huge difference in the food around here but there are definitely some good stores around.