Ventura County is not well known outside CA, it seems, despite the fact that a song of songs reference it. We used to be a small surfing community and it's one of the few coastal counties that still has a strong agricultural presence. If you're eating California strawberries, there's a good chance that they were grown here. We also have a lot of lemon and orange orchards, which is why Sunkist has a big packing house here.
As far as small, local places... we're just starting to get a reputation for restaurants and the like. My favorite coffeehouse is locally owned, a place called Latte 101. It's cozy, serves good coffee and has a small lending library of books up front, as well as stacks of games you're invited to play while you're there. They have live music some nights too.
Downtown Ventura has a lot of bars and restaurants, although for a burger and a beer, IMHO, nothing beats Anacapa Brewing Company. A massive burger and a flight of 6 taster beers (each taster is easily 6 oz.) is about $15.00 plus tip. Down the street is The Busy Bee, a genuine 50's diner (not the corporate type like Ruby's but one that's been there for 50-60 years). The prices seem extreme when you walk in (a hot dog and fries is $9, plus $3 for a hand-mixed Cherry Coke) but the hot dog is fully a FOOT long and thick like a Polish dog. The fries take up a whole plate.
We have a LOT of surfers and downtown has great views of the beach, and when the weather is right, the Channel Islands. There are a number of beaches, but our beaches aren't like what you see on TV. We had a lot of problems with erosion, so to protect them, they added huge stone cobbles between the parking lots and the sand. Tourists used to take cobbles as souvenirs, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's a HUGE fine! In the early morning, Surfer's Knoll (which is at one end of town tucked into the harbor) and Surfer's Point (downtown near the fairgrounds and the Amtrak stop) are both packed, and the surfers, dog walkers and bike riders have a VERY protective streak of what they consider *their* beach. In the 70's, there used to be fights on the beach when non-locals came in to surf.
Going inland more, is a little artists' colony called Ojai. Every October, they have a big street fair for Ojai Day, with a huge chalk mandala drawn in front of the post office. You can find everything from local art to 20 different foods hawked by vendors and little kids with their violins busk for change near the park.
IN LA, I tend to stay closer to Hollywood and I know a few clubs in WeHo that are small, hard to find, and have great live music. It's fun because you never know who you'll run into in there. One night, it was Katherine Heigl, another Timothy Hutton. My favorite is the Hotel Cafe, which, if you have never been there before, is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find, because the street is actually the back door... and the main door with the doorman is down a narrow alley and sandwiched between the building and a parking structure.
My friend lives in Koreatown, and we've found a half dozen noodle places in walking distance. At one, we bought a bowl of soup for $6 that was easily enough for THREE people, and it came with fresh daikon pickles. Going further south, there's the City of Industry - which houses the Citadel. It's a huge touristy outlet mall, but the Ruby's inside has the BEST milkshakes I've had short of In N Out.
In Orange County, there's a strong Hispanic influence, just like most of Southern CA. You can find small independent taquerias and "authentic" Mexican restaurants on most corners. The most authentic of them always seem to have a packed parking lot FULL of beat-up cars and trucks. I always get tacos de lengua (beef tongue, slow roasted until it's falling apart) and they're best with onions, cilantro and salsa verde. They're street tacos, small, wrapped in warm, soft corn tortillas and nothing at ALL like the americanized hard shell tacos that you see at places like Taco Bell. My other favorite is Siete Mares (a seafood soup characterized by offering seven kinds of fish/shellfish, hence the name). I'll get menudo at SOME places, but I'm very picky - and if they don't clean the tripas correctly, it's not only not as tasty, but it will smell AWFUL.
As far as small, local places... we're just starting to get a reputation for restaurants and the like. My favorite coffeehouse is locally owned, a place called Latte 101. It's cozy, serves good coffee and has a small lending library of books up front, as well as stacks of games you're invited to play while you're there. They have live music some nights too.
Downtown Ventura has a lot of bars and restaurants, although for a burger and a beer, IMHO, nothing beats Anacapa Brewing Company. A massive burger and a flight of 6 taster beers (each taster is easily 6 oz.) is about $15.00 plus tip. Down the street is The Busy Bee, a genuine 50's diner (not the corporate type like Ruby's but one that's been there for 50-60 years). The prices seem extreme when you walk in (a hot dog and fries is $9, plus $3 for a hand-mixed Cherry Coke) but the hot dog is fully a FOOT long and thick like a Polish dog. The fries take up a whole plate.
We have a LOT of surfers and downtown has great views of the beach, and when the weather is right, the Channel Islands. There are a number of beaches, but our beaches aren't like what you see on TV. We had a lot of problems with erosion, so to protect them, they added huge stone cobbles between the parking lots and the sand. Tourists used to take cobbles as souvenirs, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's a HUGE fine! In the early morning, Surfer's Knoll (which is at one end of town tucked into the harbor) and Surfer's Point (downtown near the fairgrounds and the Amtrak stop) are both packed, and the surfers, dog walkers and bike riders have a VERY protective streak of what they consider *their* beach. In the 70's, there used to be fights on the beach when non-locals came in to surf.
Going inland more, is a little artists' colony called Ojai. Every October, they have a big street fair for Ojai Day, with a huge chalk mandala drawn in front of the post office. You can find everything from local art to 20 different foods hawked by vendors and little kids with their violins busk for change near the park.
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My friend lives in Koreatown, and we've found a half dozen noodle places in walking distance. At one, we bought a bowl of soup for $6 that was easily enough for THREE people, and it came with fresh daikon pickles. Going further south, there's the City of Industry - which houses the Citadel. It's a huge touristy outlet mall, but the Ruby's inside has the BEST milkshakes I've had short of In N Out.
In Orange County, there's a strong Hispanic influence, just like most of Southern CA. You can find small independent taquerias and "authentic" Mexican restaurants on most corners. The most authentic of them always seem to have a packed parking lot FULL of beat-up cars and trucks. I always get tacos de lengua (beef tongue, slow roasted until it's falling apart) and they're best with onions, cilantro and salsa verde. They're street tacos, small, wrapped in warm, soft corn tortillas and nothing at ALL like the americanized hard shell tacos that you see at places like Taco Bell. My other favorite is Siete Mares (a seafood soup characterized by offering seven kinds of fish/shellfish, hence the name). I'll get menudo at SOME places, but I'm very picky - and if they don't clean the tripas correctly, it's not only not as tasty, but it will smell AWFUL.
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