Los Angeles

Los Angeles is also the home of a wide range of cultural scenes, all thriving. The leading venue in Los Angeles is the Performing Arts Center (PAC), a complex of four theaters known as the Music Center, which is located at 135 North Grand Avenue (tel: (213) 972 7211; website: http://www.musiccenter.org/), in the heart of Downtown.

The complex stages music, theater, dance and opera and includes the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theater and the new Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Avenue (tel: (323) 850 2000; website: http://www.wdch.laphil.com/). The Walt Disney Concert Hall is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (website: http://www.laphil.com/) and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

The best source of up-to-date information on cultural events around the city is the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel: (213) 624 7300; website: http://www.visitlanow.com/).

Music: The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (website: http://www.laphil.org/) is one of the best in the world and performs at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (see above). The Los Angeles Opera (tel: (213) 972 8001; website: http://www.losangelesopera.com/) performs at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (see above). Chamber music and performances by distinguished alumni can be heard at the Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, 200 South Grand Avenue (tel: (213) 621 2200; website: http://www.colburnschool.edu/). The classic summer venue to hear music outdoors is the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 Highland Avenue (tel: (323) 850 2000; website: http://www.hollywoodbowl.org/), with concerts by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as jazz and pop artists.

Theater: The Ahmanson Theater at the PAC  stages large classical productions. Smaller and more adventurous productions take place in the Mark Taper Forum.
The Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue (tel: (310) 208 5454; website: http://www.geffenplayhouse.com/) stages classical and contemporary plays in a historic building in Westwood Village. The Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 468 1770; website: www.nederlander.com/wc/info/venue.htm?ID=2) is an outstanding art deco theater that hosts Broadway musicals and concerts, while the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Avenue (tel: (626) 356 7529/PLAY; website: http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/) is an incredible 1925 Spanish Colonial Revival building.

Theatre LA, 644 South Figueroa Street (tel: (213) 614 0556; website: http://www.theatrela.org/), is an association of some 150 theaters; services include Times Tix, a half-price day-of-the-show ticket outlet.

Dance: The Joffrey Ballet Company (tel: (312) 739 0120; website: http://www.joffrey.com/) has its main west-coast season in the spring at the PAC (see above). The UCLA Center for the Arts, 4405 North Hillgard, Westwood (tel: (310) 825 2101; website: http://www.uclalive.org/), is the venue for touring dance troupes, as well as the UCLA Dance Company.

Film: The historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 464 8111; website: www.manntheatres.com/chinese), presents first-run movies.  The Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard (tel: (323) 461 2020; website: www.americancinematheque.com/egyptian/egypt.htm), shows foreign films and documentaries in Hollywood’s oldest restored cinema. Only in Hollywood will you find The Silent Theater, 611 North Fairfax Avenue(tel: (323) 655 2520; website: http://www.silentmovietheater.com/) which plays only pre-talkie movies.

Literary Notes: Los Angeles has inspired many writers and served as the setting for their books and novels. Nathanael West (1903-1940) lived in Hollywood from 1933; his novel The Day of the Locust (1939) is considered one of the best about Los Angeles. The Loved One (1948) by Evelyn Waugh and After Many a Summer Dies the Swan (1938) by Aldous Huxley were both set in LA. F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon (1941), his final unfinished masterpiece, was also set in Los Angeles.

The city has attracted many detective writers over the years. The original, Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), lived in LA, and his character, Philip Marlowe, explores its seamier side in the 1930s, in such novels as The Big Sleep (1939) and Farewell My Lovely (1940). Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles by Elizabeth Ward and Alain Silver is an enlightening look at the author’s relationship with the city.

Other novels about the city include Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays (1970), Alison Lurie’s The Nowhere City (1965), Walter Mosley’s Black Betty (1994) and William Penn’s The Absence of Angels (1995).

Restaurants
Many restaurants, including some that are licensed and offer wine on the menu, allow customers to bring their own wine. However, a corkage charge (sometimes up to US$25) will be added to the bill.  

Price categories are as follows:
$$$$ (over US$75)
$$$ (US$45 to US$75)
$$ (US$25 to US$45)
$ (under US$25)
These prices include starter, main course, dessert and the equivalent of a half-bottle of wine. Not included is the 8.25% sales tax or a customary tip of 15-20%.

Gastronomic

Ago 
Pronounced ‘AHHgo’, this Tuscan-style restaurant attracts stars like a magnet. The stylish, modern decor is enriched by candlelight and handsome Italian waiters, who dash around efficiently on split levels. The bistecca and the porcini mushroom risotto are good main courses and the extensive dessert menu includes a delicious ricotta cheesecake.

8478 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood
Tel: (323) 655 6333.
Website: www.agorestaurant.com
Price: $$$$

Campanile
A remarkable building, commissioned in 1928 by Charlie Chaplin, has been designed with new Mediterranean features that reflect the cuisine of former Spago chef Mark Peel. Graceful arches connect the elegant dining rooms and atrium courtyard to the central sky-lit room, offering views of the building’s famous bell tower. Expect main courses like rosemary-charred baby lamb, with warm potato salad and sprouted broccoli, spring onion and mustard butter, or seared spot prawns served with agretti, ginger and lobster butter. Lunch, dinner and brunch Saturday and Sunday. Closed Sunday evening.

624 South La Brea Avenue, Mid-Wilshire
Tel: (323) 938 1447.
Website: www.campanilerestaurant.com
Price: $$$$

Patina
This is LA’s haven for gourmets who never let cost get in the way of fine food. Chef Joachim Spichal whips up Californian-French nouvelle cuisine, while wife/hostess Christine welcomes diners. Elegant espresso-leather decor is complemented by exquisite starters, like a duo of foie gras with roasted apricot. Main courses, such as caramelized halibut with wild mushroom ragout or beef tenderloin with red pepper aubergine caviar are just as good. There are fixed-price menus well worth trying too, including one for vegetarians. Sumptuous desserts include a warm chocolate pecan tart with chocolate sauce, caramel and cream sorbet. The cheese list and wine offerings may be the best in LA. Lunch Friday only.

141 South Grand Avenue, Downtown
Tel: (213) 972 3331.
Website: www.patinagroup.com
Price: $$$$

Spago
Chef Wolfgang Puck’s flagship restaurant is for the rich and famous. Grandiose entrance doors set the stage for the over-the-top interior decor, with its etched and stained-glass, plus art by the likes of David Hockney. The centerpiece patio, with olive trees and fountain, is home to the most coveted tables. Main courses like duck breast with black mushrooms and confit back are excellent, but Puck is particularly renowned for his pizzas. All have light, buttery crusts and much mozzarella. The sautéed shrimp with pesto pizza is superb, as are the imaginative desserts. The 34-page wine list satisfies all tastes. Dinner nightly, lunch Monday to Saturday.
176 North Cañon Drive, Beverly Hills
Tel: (310) 385 0880.
Website: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/
Price: $$$$


Business

Ca’Brea
Pronounced ‘ka-brea’, this woody restaurant with high ceilings and two tiers is known for Italian food that looks as good as it tastes. The starters, bread, risottos and pasta dishes, such as home made agnolotti stuffed with veal and prosciutto in a mushroom sauce are particularly recommended. Popular with young lawyers and film industry people, the restaurant gets very crowded in the evening, so reservations are essential.

346 South La Brea Avenue, Midtown
Tel: (323) 938 2863.
Website: www.cabrearestaurant.com
Price: $$$

Café des Artistes
The simple French food is cooked to perfection and ranges from starters like Merguez sausages in cumin dip, through to salads and sandwiches, bistro standards like moules-frites or steak-frites, to full main courses, such as a braised lamb shank Provencal. While the restaurant’s hardwood interior is cozy, the charming garden settings of the front and back patios are the most sought-after.

1534 North McCadden Place, Hollywood
Tel: (323) 469 7300.
Website: www.cafedesartistes.info
Price: $$-$$$

Chaya Brasserie
This lively restaurant’s Mediterranean-meets-Asian-Pacific-New-Wave cuisine, prepared by a Japanese chef, has been luring Los Angelenos for years with its elegant decor, food and staff. Recommended dishes include the lobster ravioli with a pesto cream sauce or the venison with black peppercorns, chestnut purée and champignons. The bar menu, which includes sushi, is cheaper during happy hour (1700-2000) here and in the Venice Beach branch, where the service and decor pale somewhat in comparison.

8741 Alden Drive, West Hollywood/Melrose
Tel: (310) 859 8833.
Website: www.thechaya.com
Price: $$$

Chaya Venice, 110 Navy Street, Venice
Tel: (310) 396 1179

Maple Drive
Tucked away on a subdued side street, this restaurant, with its plush, high-backed booths and varied menu, is a film and record executive favorite. Steamed bouchot mussels Provencal, pan-roasted black bass, or oven-roasted veal loin can be savored by the fireplace or on the open-air terrace, which often has live jazz. Maple Drive classics like Caesar salad and meatloaf are always available. Closed Sunday.

345 North Maple Drive, Beverly Hills
Tel: (310) 274 9800.
Website: www.mapledriverestaurant.com
Price: $$$$

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Tel: (310) 646 5252.
Website: http://www.lawa.org/

Located on Santa Monica Bay, 24km (15 miles) from the city center, LAX is the world’s fifth-busiest airport, handling almost 58 million passengers in 2005. It is particularly important as the US gateway to the Pacific.


Transport to the city: Taxis can be found at the lower level. Passengers are presented with a ticket stating typical fares to major destinations. There is a flat fee of USD 35 from Downtown to the airport, but the taxi fare from the airport to Downtown Los Angeles is at a metered rate.  

Ontario International Airport (ONT)
Tel: (909) 937 2700.
Website: http://www.lawa.org/

Located 56km (35 miles) east of Downtown Los Angeles, Ontario International is the city’s newest airport. It handles international and domestic flights and is the closest airport for the heavily settled Orange County.

Bob Hope Airport (Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport) (BUR)
Tel: (818) 840 8840.
Website: http://www.burbankairport.com/

Bob Hope Airport is served by six domestic airlines only.  It is the closest airport to Downtown Los Angeles (20km, or 13 miles, away), Hollywood and the Valley.

John Wayne Airport (Santa Ana, Orange County)
Tel: (949) 252 5200.
Website: http://www.ocair.com/

Located about 67km (42 miles) south of downtown Los Angeles, served by more than 11 domestic airlines.