的地图 洛杉矶 is comprised of showstopping l和marks—from the 好莱坞标志 到 盖蒂中心—all connected by famous streets 和 freeways. Turn down just about any side street, 然而, 和 you can find a treasure trove of lesser-known delights.
Indeed, “you can drive by 和 not know you were in 泰国小镇,” says chef Jet Tila, the honorary mayor of that neighborhood who's also known for appearances on 美国铁艺大厨 和 The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Tila is a guest on the latest episode of the California Now播客, in which he 和 two other dialed-in Angelenos share their favorite hidden gems.
Tila loves to show people around 泰国小镇, which sits along six blocks off Hollywood Boulevard 和 is the largest community of Thai people outside of Thail和. He tells host Soterios Johnson about one of his all-time favorite guests—the late, great Anthony Bourdain—和 how to explore the area today.
“It's the best Thai food area in America,蒂拉说, 和 he recommends starting a tour at 隆超市, where early in the morning you can “see a procession of monks get their alms bowls, 他们一天的饭.” From there, try creamy Thai coffees at 酸式焦磷酸钠咖啡馆，木瓜沙拉 Ruen一对，冬阴凉面 Pa奥德, 和 coconut fritters at Bhan Kanom Thai. “You can also get Thai massage, 泰国音乐, 和泰国期刊,蒂拉说, “but food is the most romantic way to introduce yourself to a culture.”
Another way to experience a different side of 洛杉矶 is to seek out its green spaces. “One of the best secrets about the L.A. area is that it’s a great outdoor playground,” says Mary Forgione, who writes the weekly newsletter “野生” 为 洛杉矶时报. “It is a fabulous place to hike, to swim, 和 to trail run.”
She offers tips on her favorite outdoor spaces, including 格里菲斯公园. “这是我.A.'s wild heart,” she says, “a massive park where you can see coyotes, owls, all kinds of things.“她喜欢 徒步旅行 there at dusk 和 taking the two-to-three-mile walk toward Mount Hollywood or Mount Lee, which has views of the 好莱坞标志. At the top, “you are st和ing a couple thous和 feet above L.A. 和 looking out at this lighted-up megalopolis,” she says. “这是惊人的.”
For 更多的 stunning views, she recommends options such as a “seascape” walk along the 帕洛斯弗迪斯半岛, seeing Frank Lloyd Wright’s 蜀葵的房子, or checking out the green sea turtles of 长滩. “走在路上。 San Gabriel [River Trail],” she says, “和 you can see these grapefruit-sized heads popping up out of the water. They like to feed on sea grasses 和 kelp, so they come, they forage, 和 now they stay."
Not far away, savvy locals enjoy another kind of feast. Zach Brooks is the general manager of 洛杉矶大杂烩, a weekly open-air food festival held in 洛杉矶市中心. As Brooks tells Johnson, the Sundays event is a foodie magnet that typically features up to 70 food vendors 和 includes a family-friendly beer garden. “It’s a pretty good representation of everything that L.A. has to offer food-wise,他说, starting with a wide array of tacos. “We've also got a vendor who sells roti, inspired by street food of Trinidad 和 Tobago. We've got 中国人 dumplings, Filipino grilled chicken. Something for everybody.”
He is hesitant to play favorites but offers a few “smorg hacks:” “I take one thing from one vendor to another vendor's booth 和 make a mashup,他说. “Once I took grilled lobster from Lobsterdamus, 和 then got a bean 和 cheese burrito from 墨西哥卷饼拉帕尔马 和 made a lobster, bean, 和 cheese burrito. ” He also recommends the divide-和-conquer approach. “Come with a bunch of people, have one person go find a table, 和 everybody gets one thing,他说. “Then, meet back at the table, 和 share everything.”
