Lookin’ for a little LA perspective & scoop?

A few days ago, using the cold weather as our excuse, we nestled in front of the T.V. (with spicy pork ramen & the japanese omelet over rice from Asianya) to finally watch the documentary, City of Gold.

City of Gold follows Los Angeles native & Los Angeles Times food Critic, Jonathan Gold, as he explores L.A. neighborhoods in search of the most delicious cuisine.

Rather than focusing all his attention on the most featured & obvious of restaurants, Jonathan instead prides himself on knowing & trying out obscure & lesser known eateries. Having not really known this before seeing this doc, it suddenly made sense to us why we look forward to his 101 Best Los Angeles Restaurant list every year.

His love of food, includes eating at food trucks & food carts, family-owned restaurants & everywhere else that is 100% authentic to being a local in Los Angeles – like Guelaguetza (pictured below) in Koreatown.

Family-owned Oaxaca restaurant Guelaguetza in Koreatown

Now that we’re all hungry & dying to try all of the places on his list, maybe we should go back to our original point of this conversation.We love exploring all around Los Angeles- yet we definitely have some help.

Jonathan Gold helps us with his good-eats recommendations…

but what are our other favorites for local scoop?

 We know we talk way too much about KCRW & our never-ending supply of admiration for everything they do, but come on – who else puts together a better Top 5 Things to Do List in Los Angeles?

We have kids, some of our friends do, while others don’t – & KCRW’s events keep everyone happy. Ever popped confetti poppers, danced in Chinatown with your kids (& what feels like a mix of everyone from Los Angeles) while DJ Jeremy Sole spins tunes?

KCRW helps us never feel bored… KCET opens our minds up to how cool L.A. is.

Okay, let’s nerd out for a second on the rich, diverse & sometimes salacious history of Los Angeles. Our city was settled by rebels & people of all ancestries – ever wondered why or exactly where?

Between their video documentaries & historical features, KCET  is our favorite go-to for all of the dirty details of Los Angeles. Pretty good stuff that really puts everything into perspective.

Ending things on a fun & light note, Thrillist & Curbed L.A. round off our recs just because they’re fun & filled with local wit & chatter that we totally appreciate. Thrillist keeps it light & funny & are rad to include “sponsored” on articles when the content is curated through ad support. Curbed L.A. is our favorite place to see how L.A. is growing & changing every day, with news on residential & commercial developments, neighborhoods, & new scoop on how the city is transforming. Both are great sources for a cool, LA perspective.

One tip: Be weary of some publications that read like tourist guides… pay-to-play is real, & a lot of companies use it as a way to create their to-do lists as well as their city-guides.

We’d be lying if we didn’t say one of us worked for a prominent travel & leisure television channel that created their lists based on who sponsored the show. Yep, it totally exists & it sucks.

Have fun reading- let us know if you have any recommendations for us, too.

we remind Angelenos of what “living locally” has to offer.

barrio.la finds local companies making high quality, eco-friendly goods right here in Southern California.

Los Angeles has so much going on & is alive with eclectic neighborhoods, places to see & things to do – so while we’re at it – we keep you in the know about cool things going on in your own ‘hood & the cool people making it all happen.

feel like wandering with us?

cool… ’cause that’s what we do here.

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