Shop till you drop in LA

A BOTTLE of "Burn in Hell Osama" chilli sauce, a $US12,000 jewel encrusted Versace gown or puppy apparel for your pooch – it's all in a day's shopping in LA.

Drive time ... the palm tree-lined strip of Rodeo Drive is home to some of the most expensive boutique stores on the planet

A BOTTLE of "Burn in Hell Osama" chilli sauce, a $US12,000 jewel encrusted Versace gown or puppy apparel for your pooch – it's all in a day's shopping in LA.

A BOTTLE of "Burn in Hell Osama" chilli sauce, a $US12,000 jewel encrusted Versace gown or puppy apparel for your pooch – it's all in a day's shopping in LA.

There's even a place where little girls can bring their dolls in for a blow dry and style.

Whether it's the affluent glamour of Rodeo Drive, the casual cool of Santa Monica or the laidback atmosphere of the Grove there's something for every price range and taste.

During a recent trip to Los Angeles, I hit the streets for a bit of retail therapy. Here's a rough guide:

The Grove

"Shut up and shop" proclaims the banner outside Barney's New York Co-Op, one of the many big retail names at the Grove, an outdoor shopping district at the foot of the Hollywood Hills.

Complete with grassy areas, fountains, a tram (or trolley, as the Americans call it) and a stage where jazz bands sometimes play, the Grove is a serene oasis of consumerism in this often chaotic city of concrete, cars and sprawling suburbs.

The concierge was tending to a steady flow of luxury vehicles and oversized SUVs when I asked him what kind of people shopped here.

"Just regular folks," he shrugged. In other words, teenage girls dragging boyfriends in tow, yummy Latino mummies, tourists and plenty of Hollywood types.

You'll find all the big retail names at the Grove – Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap, Victoria's Secret, Michael Kors, t and Nike and more.

At American Girl Place you can pick up a customised look-alike doll for your little princess – plus matching outfits. (Not to mention the doll hair dressing service.)

The best part of the the Grove, though, is refuelling at the adjacent Farmers Markets, a jumble of outdoor food stalls where you can get some top American nosh in a bustling, busy retro atmosphere – and we're not talking McDonald's.

Consider a hearty Texan grill, clam chowder or a steaming bowl of gumbo, gourmet pizza, chilli dogs, pastrami on rye or a bagel piled with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Plus ice cream, sodas, candy and nuts and a store devoted entirely to various grades of chilli sauce.

James Dean is reputed to have eaten his last breakfast at the markets and it's said to still be popular with Hollywood actors, directors and writers.

Where: The Grove is located at 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles.

Beverly Hills:

Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is famous for being the place where Julia Robert's character inPretty Woman was snubbed by the snooty shop assistant.

It's a palm tree-lined strip of boutique stores and is home to some of the most expensive shops on the planet.

Here you'll find haute couture, expensive watches and handbags, $US200 Gucci thongs, extremely well presented assistants (some snooty and some refreshingly not) and plastic surgeons.

Sydneysiders would recognise it as something of a glorified Double Bay – without the white tracksuits.

I didn't see Paris Hilton or the Olsen twins during my trip.

But the image of a woman strutting through Barney's in Manolo Blahnik heels accompanied by a golden labrador with an American flag scarf knotted jauntily around its neck was a classic one.

When the blood sugar levels started to fall, it was time to drop into Sprinkles Cupcakes, two blocks west of Rodeo Drive for their uber trendy version of this kids' party staple.

Sprinkles is famous for its selection of cakes – the Red Velvet chocolate cupcake is specialty – and is said to be a fave with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

You can also buy a doggy cup cake to share with your canine friend.

Where: Cupcakes can be found at 9635 South Santa Monica Boulevard.

Santa Monica

Third Street Promenade, a couple of blocks back from Santa Monica Beach, is a pedestrian promenade of shops, restaurants, night clubs and movie houses.

You can shop, or pick up a Los Angeles Times from the news stand and read it in the sun while sipping your takeaway Illy Coffee from a cardboard cup.

At night Third Street Promenade comes alive with buskers, performers and cool couples doing spontaneous street salsa dancing.

In nearby Montana Avenue there are more trendy shops. Here you'll find upmarket doggy apparel boutiques alongside Australia's own Leona Edminston – and the famous Father's Office bar.

Situated next to an old fashioned barber shop on Montana Avenue, Father's Office is renowned for its hamburgers and brown paper bags of sweet potato fries served in nifty miniature shopping trolleys.

The famous "Office Burger" has been hailed by local media as "art" and "glam burger", and I can only second the accolades.

The burgers, made with rocket, caramelised onion and a delectable blue cheese sauce are truly delicious and almost worth a trip to LA in themselves.

The atmosphere is crowded, young and trendy and the selection of draught and bottled beer is as good you'll find anywhere.

The place is hugely popular with locals so if you go, be prepared to queue out the door to get a seat.

Where: Father's Office is located at 1018 Montana Avenue.

(Okay, so a fatal under-estimation of the obscenely high cost of a nine-minute overseas phone call from a US hotel room dramatically cut this writer's shopping budget. But the window shopping was still a hell of a lot of fun.)

The writer travelled to LA as a guest of Flight Centre, flying Air Tahiti Nui.