mr_bithead wanted to hear “about things in your area that you like. Favourite shops, salon, grocery store, restaurants, and why!”
I live in Hawthorne, CA, a city for which being named after a famous literary figure has not been an educational boon. In other words, it’s a little ghetto. But, unlike most of the ghetto’s in the world, this one is 6 miles from the beach. I’ll take it!
Anyway, most of the shops and restaurants I like are in the surrounding cities, namely Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance and El Segundo. Major exceptions to this rule are local chains The Chicken Maison and El Pollo Inca. The former is healthy and delicious Mediterranean food with a little bit of south bay style. The latter is cheap, fast, and loud Peruvian food to die for. Both places require a visit any time you’re in the area.
Other, more popular eateries, in the better parts of town are:
- Uncle Bill’s Pancake House – everything there is good.
- El Tarasco -not the best I’ve had, but the South Bay seems to have trouble producing good Mexican food, and this stuff is the top of the heap so far.
- Mama D’s – cheap, fast, simple Italian food with good service and a cozy atmosphere.
- Rinaldi’s – Simple, affordable, delicious, meat-packed sub sandwiches.
We recently got a Sprouts Farmers Market in Redondo Beach, which I am super happy about. Any hippie native to Southern California will remember Wild Oats markets from the early 1990’s. Sadly, they folded in the mid to late nineties, but their spirit has lived on in a chain called Henry’s, that I used to shop at when I lived in Orange County. Now, Wild Oats/Henry’s clones are popping up all over Los Angeles in the form of Spouts. Unlike my least favorite store ever, a store I call the Whore Foods, Sprouts has an excellent vibe and affordable, natural foods in an astonishing variety. They also have the one thing that every hippie child remembers so fondly: the bulk food buckets!
Unfortunately, I have yet to discover is a good sushi place. The only one I’ve been recommended was way too pretentious and expensive for me.
Thenoid13 asked about “ice cream melts in your trunk when you lock your keys in you car.”
Yes it does.