I'm in LA for the first time in about a year and as usual I'm driving all over the place. I ended up with a meeting ending at 6:30 PM out by LAX with my hotel for the night being in Pasadena. This means going smack through down town LA. I thought I'd miss the rush hour. Ha, ha this isn't Albuquerque. Rush hour never ends. Plus there was night game at Dodgers Stadium backing up the traffic. Any way I didn't get to the hotel in Pasadena until 8:15.
So It's almost 9 by the time I get a chance to eat dinner. I'm at a Westin, a nice place with a good rate through Hotwire, and I figure I will just go to the hotel restaurant. These are almost always rip off joints (don't get angry at me Jules!). One peak at the menu where they want 27 bucks for a simple pasta. Get out of here that's insane.
So I take a walk out and luck out because a block away is a chain, McCormick and Schmick. I'm not a big fan of chains but this one has consistently good seafood and good value. With the bad economy, they have a bunch of value stuff on the menu like fish tacos for 10 dollars. I got a glass of sauvignon blanc, a bowl of mussels and the tacos and came out for only a couple of dollars more than that pasta was going to cost in the hotel.
So remember don't eat in the hotel!
7 comments:
McCormick and Schmick also makes a fine steak.
if you can get out, definitely
I don't know what it is about LA. I swear toothpaste costs $10 bucks there. You deserved a good meal after fighting that traffic!!
Hehe. :) Yeah I know what you mean. The buffet breakfast in my hotel is an outrageous price, and in my opinion- not worth it. It does have awesome lunch and dinner though. A little bit above what I would want to pay, but at this point in my life I'm fairly cheap with dining out, unless it's for a special occasion.
On another note, I had a guest ask me about other restaurants (common Q) and commented negatively about our restaurant. I asked him if what he got wasn't good, and he said he didn't eat there. He has eaten at so many restaurants in hotels--he said they are all the same and don't have good food. I took offense, because he was arrogant and badmouthing our restaurant when he hadn't even given it a glance. To him- the price didn't really matter- he just refuses to eat at a restaurant in a hotel. I understand that hotel dining can get old for frequent travelers, but I'm glad you at least gave the menu a glance over. =)
The food in Julia's restaurant is amazing. They have this Italian chicken pasta thing that is one of the greatest things ever. It's kinda pricy, but I love it. There's no way I'd pay as much as you would've for it, though.
Never, never eat at the hotel. Ugh. Shula's is the worst.
$27 for pasta? That's insane! Good thing you know your way around restaurants!
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