Unquiet Desperation

I’m on my second trip to Los Angeles this week. I didn’t write about the first trip because I wanted time to sit back and think about what I’d seen and not approach it like some wide-eyed tourist. It might be unavoidable, but I prefer not to sound like some midwestern bumpkin who is going to the Big City for the first time.

People who have lived in LA are quick to tell me that, when I visit on business, I’m not living in the “real LA.” I’m staying in the company apartment which is not too far from the intersection of Wilshire and Westwood, in Westwood, about six blocks from the UCLA campus. If you take Wilshire west, you wind up in Santa Monica, and if you go east, you wind up in Beverly Hills. This, apparently, is not the “real LA.” Be that as it may, I’ve been traveling around a bit, and thought I’d share some of my observations with you.

• You cannot throw a rock without hitting a sushi joint. During my last trip out here I became enamored with sushi and sashimi, and one of my co-workers is telling me that he’ll take me down to Echigo, which is supposed to be one of the best places in town. Sushi knowledge is highly prized around the office, and if you bring up the subject, you’ll get an earful of recommendations, history, and even a little bit of argument. It’s heady stuff.

• There are a number of good cafe’s around town. Some, like Peet’s are chains, others are small and independent. One I hope to visit while I am out here is the Literati Cafe. Looks like fun.

• Bookstores and comic book shops are high on the list, since I’ll have a weekend free. The Golden Apple in Hollywood has come highly recommended, but there is also a Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash right around the corner. Also, I’m trying to remember the name of the place where Harlan Ellison used to sit in the window and write. Anyone? Anyone?

I have to admit that I like what I’ve seen, but the housing prices out here are madness. The apartment I’m staying in (2 bed, 2 bath) is $3,500 a month…nearly three and a half times my mortgage back home. I did some checking, and my house and the same amount of land would cost $600K out here. Good grief.

That’s all for now. More in the days to come.

Tags: Beverly Hills, Harlan Ellison, Literati Cafe, Los Angeles, UCLA, UCLA campus, USD

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 11:23 pm and is filed under Observations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.