118 Best of LA

In my nearly 10 years in Los Angeles so far, I’ve seen and done quite a bit, but there are definitely lots more places to check out. Here’s an aggregation of Los Angeles’ “best/hottest/top sites/places/things to see/visit/do,” largely courtesy of one of my favorite sites, Thrillist.com. Lists of my top picks and places not on the following lists that I want to check out will come in another post.

Things to Do in LA Before You Die

1. Doo Dah Parade
2. Museum of Jurassic Technology
3. Getty Center
4. Runyon Canyon
5. Lakers playoff game
6. Dodger Dogs at Dodger Stadium
7. Secret restaurants (see list below)
8. East LA taco crawl
9. Daikokuya
10. Pink’s
11. Magic Castle
12. Huntington Gardens
13. Los Angeles Theater, Million Dollar Theater
14. Hollywood Forever Cemetery
15. Mullholland Drive/Highway
16. Free bands on Mondays in Silver Lake/Echo Park
17. LACMA
18. MOCA
19. Muscle Beach
20. The Price is Right
21. High at the Hotel Erwin
22. Walt Disney Concert Hall
23. Dresden
24. Santa Monica Farmer’s Market
25. Griffith Observatory
26. Las Perlas
27. Cole’s
28. The Association
29. Hollywood Bowl
30. Greenbar distillery
31. Malibu Seafood
32. Venice weed doctor
33. Lucha VaVoom
34. Maude
35. Jumbo’s Clown Room
36. Catalina Island
37. LA River

LA’s 9 Secretest Supper Clubs

1. BRK
2. Chicks with Knives
3. Taste of Pace
4. Truffl
5. Kali Dining
6. Gastronauts
7. The Whaling Club
8. Wolvesmouth
9. Totoraku

7 Under-the-Radar Spots You Need to Know About on the Eastside

1. The Echo Park Time Travel Mart
2. El Prado
3. Origami Vinyl
4. 1642
5. The Machine Project
6. Allumette
7. No-Name Taco Trucks

Los Angeles Secrets You Didn’t Know Existed

1. Most amazing views atop the West Hollywood Park Tennis Courts
2. Magic at Brookledge
3. Kyoto Garden atop the DoubleTree Hilton Downtown
4. Berlin Wall outside the Variety Building
5. Healing waters under Bresee Community Center, Bimini Slough Ecology Park
6. Prohibition-era tunnels (under Hall of Records, King Eddy Saloon, Stanley Mosk Courthouse)
7. Murphy’s Ranch abandoned Nazi compound
8. Beverly Center (former amusement park)

The LA Secret Bar Primer

1. Blind Barber
2. Lock and Key
3. Seventy7 Lounge
4. The Red Door
5. Bar Jackalope
6. The Writer’s Room
7. La Descarga
8. The Varnish
9. R Bar
10. No Vacancy
11. Good Times at Davey Wayne’s

LA’s Best New Bars of 2014

1. The Chesnut Club
2. Genesis
3. Tunnel Bar
4. The Secret Club on Fairfax
5. Harlowe
6. Power House
7. EightyTwo
8. Upstairs Bar at the Ace Hotel
9. Grandpa Johnson’s

Badass Summer Day Trips Near LA

1. Skydiving in Perris
2. Channel Islands
3. Bike the Ojai Valley Trail
4. Hiking in Antelope Valley
5. The Cat House
6. Whale watching in Dana Point
7. Mission Inn Hotel & Spa
8. Bungee jump off the Bridge to Nowhere
9. Newport Beach Harbor Cruise
10. Original Frozen Banana Stand on Balboa Island
11. OC brewery tour
12. Vasquez Rocks

The 25 Hottest Restaurants in LA Right Now

1. Redbird
2. Love & Salt
3. Butchers & Barbers
4. Ramen Champ
5. Odys & Penelope
6. Birch
7. Steak & Whisky
8. Ox & Son
9. Gjusta
10. All’Acqua
11. Baltaire
12. Simmzy’s
13. Aestus
14. The Independence
15. Augustine Wine Bar
16. Knuckle & Claw
17. Bettolino Kitchen
18. The Lost Knight
19. El Cristalazo
20. A-Frame
21. Belcampo Meat Co.
22. Ingo’s Tasty Diner
23. Jon & Vinny’s
24. SMYC
25. BS Taqueria