Los Angeles:
Para comer:
El Toritos (yummy)
Lawry's (that's if you have some $$$$)
Houston's in Century City of Manhattan Beach
Island's (all over the city)...closes one to UCLA is on pico
Several different Asian eateries.....yum yum
Koreatown: near downtown LA (Wishire District area)...the largest K-town in the US...plenty of amazing eateries.
(old) chinatown: downtown L.A....nice...home of the Triads (the US division I mean)...
...cool places to eat and shop
(new) chinatown: most cities east of downtown LA, especially alhambra, altadena, pasadena, no triads here...
, very nice places to eat (you need a car though).
Little Tokyo: off of 3rd (or 1st) street past downtown la. Nice places to eat like Shabu Shabu (very expensive) and cheap little buffet places
Restaurant Row: very expensive places to eat along La Cienega Blvd. in Beverly Hills (that's where Lawry's Prime Rib is....amazing food)
Trendy Restaurants: Best place to go is Melrose and the Sunset Strip...this is where the "hip" crowds go...you'll see all the celebs. You'd be paying more for the opportunity to "possibly" see a celeb (who cares...in my opinion) than you would be paying for the food.
Ca staple eateries: Marie Calendar's (great pies)...very traditional restaurant...one notch up from a traditional diner., IN AND OUT BURGER: THE BEST FRESH BURGERS...there is one right by LAX. As a matter of fact, when you drive out of the Airport onto Sepulveda you will surely smell them...but it is not a gross McDonald's smell. FATBURGER: another great hamburger stand...huge burgers...great tasting (there is one right off of UCLA's campus and one in Marina Del Rey). APPLE PAN: great little burger place on Pico Blvd next to the Westside Pavillion Mall...very close to Century City and UCLA.
Bars: All over the city.
All trendy places are in Hollywood, Century City, on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, Melrose, Wilshire, Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach (you'll find a much more laid back crowd here)
Places to visit:
1. Beach Cities: Santa Monica (cool little promenade there), Venice Beach (if you want to see crazy people then you should definitely check this place out, Manhattan Beach: in addition to the beach here you will find a quaint little town hidden away from the main streets like PCH and Sepulveda..places to shop here...very quaint and relaxing, Hermosa Beach: same as Manhattan Beach
2. J. Paul Getty Museum: Pretty cool museum that sits up in the foothills (beautiful view)
3. the Hollywood bar/club scene...Sunset Strip gets packed sometimes
4. Marina Del Rey: beach town right next to venice beach
5. plenty of other things.
Necessities:
1. A CAR...unless you want to spend hours on buses that make 50 million different stops on the way to your destination
2. a windbreaker for if you decide to go NEAR the beach in the evening...it gets windy (kinda nice on nasty hot days)
I know people know more about LA...add to this list
About Philadelphia: OVERRATED...
...no really it is a cool city...I'm here now