Foodie Travels: Los Angeles Part One

As a child I saw a movie about a disastrous earthquake in LA and swore that I would never step foot in California. Ridiculous, I know. Then after experiencing an earthquake in Missouri AND one in the DC area, I finally got over my fears and decided a trip to Cali needed to happen sooner than later. Once my cousin made the bold move from Texas to Los Angeles, my sister, a few cousins, friends and I decided that a trip was needed! So just one week after my trip to Nashville, I was on a plane again, this time to Los Angeles to explore the citayyy!

First Stop

Donutsssss.

Right off the plane, I met up with my cousins who flew in from Kansas City and headed to Randy’s Donuts. Yes, we are the people, that MUST go to places that we saw in the movies. Randy’s donuts just happens to be where Tony Stark hangs out so that of course is where we needed to go. I ordered the glazed donut and a ham and cheese croissant. Can I just tell you, that was one of the best donuts I have ever had!! They are not as sweet as Krispy Kreme and have a sweeter donut batter than Shipley’s all of which creates a pretty good donut! I enjoyed the croissant as well, it just could have been cooked a bit longer.

My it was a 6am flight BUT I made it to LA face!

From the street.

The ham and cheese croissant from Randy’s.

Brunch at Tart

From there we were off to the city to check into our AirBnBs. This was our first foray into house rentals for vacations and I must say that it is super convenient and will be my go to for vacations going forward. Once we were settled in, we hit the town for lunch. We picked Tart, a cute restaurant near the Grove, the Farmer’s market and CBS studios. I of course ohhh and ahhhed as we pulled up. Once inside, I was excited to see they were still serving brunch because you know that is my thing! The restaurant had a cute patio, which of course was full. We were relegated to the indoor dining area which was still cute, but not as cute as the patio.

CBS studios!!!

La Menu.

Kimchi Grilled Cheese with a bloody Mary.

Their chicken and waffles.

California Shrimp and Grits.

Per my cousin’s suggestion, I ordered the shrimp and grits. A traditional southern dish in LA? Yes, I know I was taking a risk. It was the epitome of Calfornication with tons of veggies like okra and less cheese. All and all it was still a good dish. Then throw in my cocktail that came in a mason jar and I was good to go. The only downfall of Taste, is that we got our first taste of the LA attitude when our waitress was less than accommodating.

Santa Monica Pier

We ended day one out in Santa Monica. This ocean front town is SO beautiful. Whenever I make it back to Cali, Santa Monica is where you will find me! I was in love just driving up and then we made our way to the gorgeous boardwalk and I was beyond smitten. I cannot wait to go back when it’s warmer. Well this wraps up day one, check back to see more on the rest of my trip.