Downtown LA is such a cool part of the city.
If I were just moving here now, I’d look into apartments downtown — it’s been revitalized over the last decade and there are trendy restaurants, bars, and coffee shops on every street corner. Too many to mention by name. There is excellent theater and music nearby (a big plus in my book) at the Taper, Ahmanson, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Redcat. Music, comedy, and film festivals happen year-round. There are museums, like the excellent MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) near Little Tokyo. The Downtown Independent is one of my favorite spots for under-the-radar cinema (they’re one of just a few theaters in all of LA to regularly screen National Theatre Live events from the UK). Central Library is one of the neatest spots in the whole city; I could get lost in there for days. Pro tip: ride the elevator up to the roof of the Civic Center for 360-degree views of downtown. And now that Grand Park has reopened, there’s a great new public outdoor space downtown.
One favorite downtown restaurant is Bottega Louie. (I wrote about this spot a few years ago here.) It’s must-visit any time of day; they have a great menu for brunch and dinner, or you can just peruse shelves of designer desserts and colorful macaroons… oh, the macaroons. They have a coffee bar area too for quick seating. That’s exactly where this story picks up, enjoying brunch with dear friends Laura and Allison one Sunday morning.
Allow me to highlight my favorite item on the menu: these portobello fries with aioli dipping sauce. Unbelievably good.
And now for the macaroons — they’re artfully displayed in front of a giant glass window, perfect for drooling over and/or taking photos of these dazzling treats.
Who knows, you might run into some colorful individuals while downtown.
Groupie shot (selfie with multiple people in it) outside Bottega Louie:
A shot of nearby Pershing Square:
We poke our heads into the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel. This is their tea room:
The Academy Awards were held here eight times throughout the 1930s and early ‘40s. Then Bob Hope hosted the 50th Anniversary banquet in the same room in 1977, just down the street from where the actual ceremony was held that year at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The Millennium Biltmore’s relationship with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences goes back even further than early Oscar ceremonies — that organization was founded here during a luncheon in 1927.
Here’s a key for identifying individuals in the following photo, taken at the 1937 Academy Awards:
A few other random facts about the Millennium Biltmore’s storied history: in 1960 the Democratic National Convention chose John F. Kennedy as the party’s presidential nominee, and his acceptance speech was given at the Biltmore. His campaign headquarters were in the old Music Room, which is now the lobby.
The Beatles stayed here in 1964 on their first US tour; the surrounding streets were so crowded with fans that they were forced to access their room by landing on the hotel’s rooftop helicopter pad. (Thank you Wikipedia.)
Next we wander a few more blocks to Grand Central Market, a giant space filled with food stalls.
I get an almond-macadamia milk latte from G&B Coffee. It’s overpriced but excellent.
The Bradbury Building is just across the street. Many films and TV shows have shot inside this historic location — 500 Days of Summer comes to mind as a semi-recent example. Blade Runner also shot here.
On our way back to the Metro, we walk by Angel’s Flight. It’s two old railway cars that climb the short distance of 300 feet up Bunker Hill, originally constructed in 1901 when this was one of the most prominent neighborhoods in LA. It was dismantled in 1969 and then reopened as a landmark monument in the early 1990s. For 50 cents (or 25 cents for Metro Pass holders), you can ride the funicular up and down Bunker Hill. But it’s currently closed “pending resolution of a regulatory issue,” according to its website.
Thanks for the fun times, Downtown LA!
