My family and I frequent Los Angeles quite a bit but it never dawned on me to visit LA's Chinatown…read moreuntil more recently. Let me start off by saying the Chinatown today is nowhere near what Chinatown used to be or what you mentally imagine. Coming here leaves little to be desired when you have images of bright signs, lively streets, smells of freshly roasted meats + sweet baked goods. Clearly, this place has seen better days and could really use a facelift. Still, I find myself stopping by whenever I have the time to. Don't come here anticipating SF's version of Chinatown. Here you will find yourself surrounded by rundown buildings, tons of empty storefronts, filthy streets, and lackluster|faded hues that were once vibrant and eye catching. Sad, Yes! But I can't help but respect the resilience that continues day after day. I can only imagine what this place was like during it's prime. 4 stars. The visits here always feel repetitive but I enjoy strolling up and down the streets, wandering aimlessly. You never know what you're gonna come across to buy- bring cash and don't be shy in attempting to haggle a smidge.

Los Angeles Chinatown is a hybrid of classic Cantonese Chinatown, commercialized China Town, new…read moreimmigrant South East Asian, Vietnamese Asian Town and the new rejuvenation of "Hipster" elements, a modernization and removal of antiquated tradition. Chinatowns were originally Chinese Ghettos, the designated regions where White America would allow Chinese laborers (and subsequently their families) to live. Typically undesirable lower socioeconomic regions. It became commercialized in the late 1960's through the 1970's as a tourist attraction, a cultural curiosity of sort. New York and San Francisco had, has and have a more "authentic" if there is such a description "Chinatown" with East/West coast snobbery towards those Cities over Los Angeles' C-Town. Chinatown is still kind of dirty 'tho, much as New York's and San Francisco's that on a hot humid day you can smell the overrun of sewage stench along the curbs of the streets. It's not quite as filthy as Seattle and Honolulu Hawaii's Chinatown 'tho. Parking can be difficult, but they have ample paid parking lots, and is also off of a public metro transit system. It's nearby Little Tokyo (aka Japantown) as well as kind of close to Dodger's Stadium, Downtown LA, Crypto (aka Staples) Centger, LA Live, the Financial District, the Garment District, etc. So, as a tourist or local running errands, there's many stops along the way and perripherally adjacent. If you crave Chinese Food however, I'd recommend the SGV San Gabriel Valley or The OC, Orange County area of Irvine as great alternatives or greater destinations for dining. If it's visiting something historic, this Chinatown is gritty and a nice experience during the day. The nightlife is mediocre, 'tho if you're driving and want food past 11pm, Chinatown has some really good eats! There is a "Bruce Lee" statue for a photo op for visitors as well as a sitting statue of Sun Yat Sen in the townsquare area. Golden Dragon Restaurant is a good place for authentic Dim Sum. There's an annual Chinese New Year Parade (Lunar New Year, typically sometime in Jan-Feb annually) held here too.

Venice local now, for nearly 4 years and I've only been to first Friday twice. Both amazing…read moreexperiences and now it's a ritual of my friends, neighbors, and family in the area. The last first Friday, I brought mama. We dropped but the food truck 8E8 and bought thai iced teas, spicy drunken noodles, Tofu pad see Ew, and red curry. I literally ate my portion of food for 3 days straight, and it was more delicious every time. How does that work? They ran out of mangos and sticky rice! Next time, hope they are back next month in January 2024. :) There were so many other food trucks, close to 25 lining abbot Kinney all the way to Venice Blvd. such a fun local experience, found my neighbors/friends we hung out and had a great dinner sitting on the side of the road lol. That's Venice for ya, we just wing it bc why not.

This isn't a "useful" review…read more I got here just before the world changed. We hear about collective sacrifice during World War II and see movies where people are happy to go months out of their way to rescue Matt Damon from space, but reality involves violations of safety protocols, hateful and insane politics and letting cruise ship workers drift for months because apparently it's too dangerous to have the boat drop them off at 2AM. First Fridays is a reminder of a better era. The day of my February visit featured various typical and absurdly trivial dilemmas. Would I make it to the coast in time for sunset and would my phone battery die? And do I have the capacity to eat that delicious-looking fake meat from Original Herbivore after I just enjoyed real meat from Scroggins Smokehouse and various other things? Yeah, it seemed time to go back to the hotel after the amazing ribs, but the picture of the Reuben with faux pastrami was captivating. Little things I enjoyed about First Fridays: the palm trees at dusk are quite cinematic, and it seems more acceptable to talk to strangers here than in NYC, so I had a some Fieri-esque discussions here. It'll be a while before I take a plane again, but I'm thankful that First Fridays, its creative and hard-working vendors and its fusion-craving crowds built a classic California experience.

If you love doing Taco Crawls in Highland Park, then you'll love the Boyle Heights Latino Food…read moreFair. Imagine all your fave Latino street food vendors congregating in one parking lot and this is pretty much what the place is. It started informally a few years a go with just a few vendors, but now when you go there in the evenings, its a full blown food fair. A variety tacos, including fresh hand made tortillas. Check. Champurado? Check. Pupusas? Check. Agua fresca? Check. Taquitos? Check. Fresh churros? Check. Heck, they even have a cart lady that makes crepes. I think the only missing were missing was a paletas vendor. You name it in terms of Latino street food and odds are they will have it here. The vendors are sell primarily Mexican and El Salvadorean street cuisine. They even have the El Salvadorean style tamales that I prefer over the Mexican ones. The food vendors start arriving in dusk and by 8 PM or so, they are out in full force. Best time to visit is on a weekend night, but many of the vendors are also there during week nights. Most of the dishes cost between $1.00 to $2.50. Its basically a Latino smorgasbord. And the food quality? It ranges from good to excellent, depending on what vendor and what item you purchase. This is a CASH only place. They will not accept credit/debit cards. however, if you forget to bring cash and have an ATM card, the Fair is conveniently located beside a BofA with 2 ATMs. The only downside is that there are no restrooms nearby. So arrive with an empty bladder before you load up on the agua frescas and other specialty beverages the various vendors offer. They take over a parking lot beside a Bank Of America. Its between the I-5 freeway and Soto Street. When driving on Cesar Chavez, just look for the B of A and the Big Buy Foods. The cross street is Breed. There is still parking available on the lot - you can pay by quarters or credit card. Its $1 per hour. after 9 PM, parking is free. Or you can look for parking in the nearby streets as well.

This place was such a gem to find and I owe it all to Robert H.!!! We have been back now more than…read moreonce and I can't say anything bad about this place. I mean it is what it is which is.... a bunch of Latin food stands in a parking lot behind the B of A. You can find anything from sopes, empanadas, tacos, arroz con leche, gorditas, quesadillas, pig skin, hand made tortillas, churros, squash flower, pupusas, bananas, strawberries and yogurt, crepes, bread friend in pork fat, I mean I don't know the names of alot of this stuff because lets face it, been a while since my 9th grade Spanish class and we certainly didn't cover street foods. Point is it is hot, it is fresh and made to order with the price totally right $1-3 for just about everything. Check it out some weekend in the evening if you get a chance.

Seal Beach Pier has a wonderful small-town feel, with surfers in the water, people fishing from the…read morepier, and others enjoying a walk. Add the boutiques and restaurants on Main Street, and it's the perfect combo for a relaxing day. Unlike some beach cities, Seal Beach has managed to preserve its original charm over the years, and I really love that. I was there recently when the waves were unusually big, and you could feel the wooden pier move! It was surprising and pretty amazing to experience.

I was a little underwhelmed by Seal Beach Pier. It was much busier than I expected, and the walk…read moreout to the end felt longer than it was worth. The beach and pier also seemed dirtier than I was hoping for, which took away from the experience. The one thing I did like was the area underneath the pier--it would actually be a nice spot to sit in the shade with a book and relax while listening to the waves. That said, I wasn't impressed overall, and I definitely wouldn't choose to swim here. There are much nicer beaches in the area if that's what you're looking for. #SealBeach #CaliforniaCoast #BeachReview #TravelTok #PhoebeExplores

My husband and I currently live in Downtown Fullerton. We love the area. We have visited many…read moreplaces within downtown. There's a lot of restaurants and things to do. I love the variety of ethnic foods offered here! You can find Mexican food, Italian, American, Mediterranean and more! We recently attended an event hosted by the city of Fullerton. It was fun! Live music and entertainment, food and booths with merchandise for sale. We had fun walking around and eating. The event was in the downtown part of Fullerton.

Makes for a quick half a day walk about and browse around nice buildings stores. it's all good...read more

Great building. My cousin, twice removed, was the champion of the building before the building got…read moretorn down. You probably won't remember the building. I will always remember trying to catch him and then enjoying tasty cakes after both inside and outside of the building. You're probably too young for tasty cakes. We always sent mail to each other and then would read it in the garageOf the building. You're probably too young for mail. Do they still have that? Anyways - the building was fun and was always a great color because how many colors are there even? Thank you

This place is pretty good. I put all the gingers I know here and they seem to really like it…read more Parking can be a pain though and there is never the food I want. They don't have extra glasses at the moment either so I can barely see Mad Men

2022 review: Amazing FREE kid friendly Halloween festival! Almost felt like I was at Downtown…read moreDisney with the professional entertainment and decorations. Beautiful Dia Los Muertos decorations and crafts in front of the Anaheim Museum. - Next to Muzeo are tons of kids art craft tables - Lots of photo ops (Dia Los Muertos, Halloween, etc.) - Professional artist booths with art prints, knick knacks. Disney art, Halloween theme stuff. - Music acts every hour or so - Lots of food booths and restaurants (vegans go to Healthy Junk!) Lots of outdoor seating. - Community booth trick or treating (under 10 booths, don't expect a lot of candy) - Covid safety: it's outdoors but it's very crowded. Plenty of options to eat outdoors. Very big and spaced outdoor seating area by Healthy Junk. All in all a great time! Got a free ticket to Muzeo so I'll be back soon to check that out!

Great place to stop by for free entertainment, food booths and food trucks. I was not very…read moreimpressed with the haunted house and it did freak out the little kids. Every year the festival has been getting better. The parade this year was very well done. They also did not charge us for parking in the structure. I am not sure if this is every day of the festival. The festival runs through the weekend after Halloween. Overall, I am a fan.

What. A. View! With…read moremy hotel just across the street near the Pike Outlets, I made my way down to the waterfront more than once on my most recent visit to Long Beach. Let's just say this spot is gorgeous, well maintained, offers a variety of boat tours (sunset cruise, whale watching, booze cruise...), is lined with restaurants, bars, and offers the best view of the Sunset and the Queen Mary just across the Harbor! While parking seems to be a bit absent, the main path is paved, features biking and running lanes and plenty of areas to sit and soak up the sun. I opted to watch the sun set beyond the palm trees both nights, which made me fall in love with this part of California even more! When in the area - please don't be like my colleague, who refused to leave his room - and catch a little slice of paradise

Before pandemic it's nice place for dining, enjoying the ocean breeze and a nice walk. With…read moreplenty of parking in surrounding lots and various different restaurants you can't go wrong visiting the pine ave pier . I used to came here a lot to biking and waking around the Queen Mary . Just came back after few years .We were somewhat shocked to see the very dirty air on this May evening . I'm headache to smell people smoking marijuana . So many homeless people around the restrooms to even enjoy the park next to it. Mostly the pier is a boardwalk with restaurants on the landward side. It wasn't spectacular and the air quality shortened our walk by quite a bit. I'm very disappointed and probably will not return as this caused breathing issues later on that evening. Maybe I will try on the weekends morning to see how it is again because I had good memories with this place in the past