How To Do Los Angeles Like A Native

Hi guys!!! After a lovely week away in LA, I’m back from vacation. As much as I love visiting LA, it’s always good to be back home in NYC.

Last week actually marked my 8 years anniversary of “moving” to NYC. I use quotes because I moved into a dorm room so I feel like I cheated my way to New Yorker status. I think Sex and the City mentioned something about how you have to wait 10 years until you can officially call yourself a New Yorker, but having lived in this crazy ass city for my entire adult life, I certainly feel like a full-fledged New Yorker.

I love love love NYC, but it definitely takes a toll on you, especially in the summer for some reason. Getting away from the city for a week was just what I needed to recharge, take a breath and fall back in love with this city I call home.

Now onto the fun stuff: What I did in LA! 

My best friend from college, David, moved to LA 6 years ago and I’ve tried to visit him 1-3 times a year since then. I also spent 2 months out there post-college when this blog was just an itty bitty blog, so I’m definitely not a newbie to all things LA and I have my favorite places I always want to hit up.

My week in LA ended up going by super fast. Sadly I didn’t get to cram in all the things I wanted to do and I didn’t get to see all the people I wanted to see. Even so, I had a great trip and it definitely felt like a vacation which was just what I needed.

 

The Eats

Swingers: This vegan-friendly 24/7 diner ended up being a favorite during this trip. We stopped by here around midnight on our way back from Disneyland, both my friend David and I were super hangry. I’m totally obsessed with their vegan nachos and fried egg sandwich (I got it with egg, avocado and vegan cheese, some sautéed tofu on the side). I also made another friend go back with me because I was craving that sandwich again 🙂

 

Gracias Madre: I did a full recap of Gracias Madre in my breakdown of favorite vegan places in LA, but this Vegan + Mexican place is worth mentioning again. This time around I went there for dinner with my friend Persia. It was seriously crowded — I had NO idea that it was so freaking popular! I ordered their vegan tacos which hit the spot.

 

The Coconut Club: If you’re looking for a fun dinner + show, The Coconut Club is where it’s at. It’s co-created and MC’ed by one of David’s friend and an excellent night of delicious food and entertainment. It’s Hawaiian themed and you’re expected to dress up. David and I rocked our Hawaii themed garb proudly.

The food was SO SO SO good and I think there was something like 5 courses served. In between meals there’s fun entertainment meant to mimic an old school supper club. Expect some karaoke and other ridiculous surprises.

There was also an abundance of alcohol served. I’m not a big drinker but enjoyed trying everything like the above drink that was served with some rotisserie steak / baby corn in my case because I ordered a vegetarian meal.

It’s a bit pricy at $100 per person, but a lot of fun.

 

Sugarfish Sushi: After reading a ton of articles that claimed Sugarfish had some of the best sushi in LA, I knew I had to try it. Be warned, they don’t serve any “Americanized” rolls like Spicy Tuna or California Rolls, but what they do served is insanely fresh and well prepared. I went with the lite version of their tasting menu to try a little of everything and ordered some extra salmon afterwards because it was melt-in-your-mouth good.

It’s weird to point out rice when you’re talking about sushi, but I swear the rice in their sushi is what made it SO good, plus the fresh quality of their fish. If you’re a sushi lover definitely have to check out Sugarfish.

 

the food truck from Coffee Commissary: After an insanely sweaty workout at Sweat Garage, I couldn’t resist ordering avocado toast + egg from the food truck outside Coffee Commissary. Heaven is avocado toast and eggs.

 

The Workouts

I hit up 4 new-to-me classes while I was in LA. I’ll do a full recap of each, but here’s a little preview…

Had a fun a workout date with Emily, who recently moved from NYC to LA.

Cycle House: I’ve heard SO much about Cycle House and know it’s the “preferred” cycling studio in LA. I’ll go into more detail in my full review, but I was a bit disappointed and left the class feeling deflated more so than inspired.

Prevail: Holy awesome boxing workout, Prevail! I’ve taken a fair amount of boxing classes here in NYC, but Prevail takes the cake. Full breakdown of why I especially loved this class in my full review.

Sweat Garage: This class is somewhat similar to Barry’s Bootcamp… but I’ll argue it was even harder (YES, harder!) Half the class was spent on the treadmill, the other half strength training. By the end of class my legs were legit trembling.

Playlist Yoga: After researching a bunch of yoga studios in the West Hollywood area, I decided to visit Playlist Yoga as my last hoorah in LA. The sweaty vinyasa flow was just what I needed before my long flight back to NYC.

Runyon Canyon: Runyon Canyon is hands down my favorite place in LA and I’m SO happy I got to go during this trip. I’m not a particularly outdoorsy person, but hiking Runyon hits the spot for me… probably because it’s not buggy and doesn’t feel too close to nature.

My good friend Eric (aka my boyfriend’s best friend and one of my best friend’s brother) joined me for a 90 minute hike. I forgot how hard it is to climb up those insane hills, I was a bit out of breath as we started our hike. It’s a deceptively good workout even though you’re just walking. I give people that run these trails some serious credit.

 

The Amusement Parks

I’ve yet to go to LA without also visiting Disneyland. This time around I also got to visit Universal Studios, Hollywood for the first time.

Universal Studios: I’ve never been to the Hollywood amusement park and have been to the Orlando one a bunch of times but not since Harry Potter land became a thing. I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan (I know, I know!) yet I was still super impressed with the attention to detail in this part of the park.

The main ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, legit blew my mind. HOW DOES IT WORK????

It’s a totally different park than Disneyland and I’m really happy I got to finally see it and experience it for myself. We arrived around 10AM and left probably around 3PM and were able to ride ALL the rides, some even a few times.

I will say, compared to Disneyland I feel like all the rides at Universal make it a point to splash you with water or jerk you around a bunch.

 

Disneyland: Still the happiest place on earth 🙂 David has a friend in the Frozen show who was able to get us VIP seats. I honestly had low expectations, sure it would be fun but I didn’t think they would be able to capture the magic well and I honestly thought the previous Aladdin show at this park was a bit lackluster.

Wow, I was so so so wrong. It was downright magical and looked like a full scale broadway show. It got me even more excited for the upcoming broadway version which I’m sure will somehow be even more spectacular. If you’re spending a few days at the park, it’s SO worth going to the Frozen show. Plus it’s 75 minutes in the air conditioned theater.

 

Phew! I think that about covers it– lots of working out, lots of eating and some amusement parks thrown in there for good measure. A perfect vacation if you ask me!

Okay fine, I couldn’t resist taking the quintessential LA blogger photo infant of the pink Paul Smith wall…

 

Question: Have you ever been to Los Angeles? What are you favorite things to do there?