Los Angeles Itinerary for Parents: Arrival Day

A lot of the advice I give to friends is regarding their parents coming into town. How do you avoid the traffic? How do you show Los Angeles in a good light when the news is often so bad? In this series, Los Angeles Itinerary for Parents, I give you some ideas about what to do over a long four-day weekend.

My parents have visited me many times over the last decade, and we have rarely done the same activities or eaten the same things twice. Those times when we have repeated restaurants or activities, it is because we have enjoyed them and/or they asked to go back.

Keywords from the table of likes checked off: Great food and relaxing

Thursday, Arrival day

If I were to use my advice, I would head to Culver City.

Culver City

My parents arrived in Los Angeles around 5:00 p.m. Pacific or 7:00 their time. After freshening up, we jumped on the Expo Line to check out the restaurants just off of the Culver City/Ivy Station for dinner. The Platform and the Helms Bakery District are a short walk from this station and have great restaurants that range from a quick bite to long leisurely dinners.

A favorite of my parents is Roberta’s, a Brooklyn transplant that serves wood-fired pizzas, pasta, and fresh California produce. We have eaten there at least twice, so I decided to switch it up and try another restaurant a couple of blocks away in the Helms Bakery District.

Pasta Sisters

Pasta Sisters serves freshly made pasta that you can mix and match with several homemade sauces. It truly is a carb-choose-your-own adventure. Pesto with gnocchi, spaghetti with clam sauce, bolognese with tagliatelle, the possibilities are endless. I had also just watched BuzzFeed’s Worth It episode with the best lasagna at three price points, and selfishly I really wanted to check out the winner. That episode is here.

Hours, cost, and other information

• Website: Pasta Sisters
• Location: There are two Pasta Sisters locations. The one we chose in the Helms Bakery District has tons of outdoor seating.
• Order: The smoked salmon and cream pasta, the bolognese, and the truffle pasta. I had the lasagna (pictured above.) I am still very partial to my mother’s lasagna, but this lasagna is pretty good. Free bread comes to the table. Carbs on carbs.
• Cost: $15-$20 + tax and tip for pasta, wine, and beer are pretty cheap as well.
• Good for: Everyone and especially larger groups. Pasta Sisters is both kid and dog-friendly.

[Getting there: Expo Line. I really recommend getting a Tap Card for each visitor. They take many years to expire, so if that money doesn’t get used up this time, it will be there waiting for next trip.]

Similar recommendations in other neighborhoods

Here are my recommendations for similar fast-casual joints that you can walk off a plane and go to.

• Santa Monica: Milo and Olive, HiHo Cheeseburger, Uovo, and Tender Greens
• Westside: Rasselbock
• MidCity: HiHo Cheeseburger and Uovo again
• DTLA: Guisados, Ramen Jinya, Wurstkucke, or Grand Central Market.
• Hollywood: Bludso’s Bar and Que and the other restaurants listed in this post.
  

I hope this post gave you some ideas on where to take your parents on arrival day. Next up, I will tell you what we did for the first full day and give you some recommendations for similar activities throughout the city.

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