‘Everyone tells you not to drive in LA but I love it’
Amidst political turmoil and wildfire recovery, LA emerges as a destination brimming with possibility. Getting behind the wheel of a car is the best way to see it come to life.
At first glance, Los Angeles appeared as I had left it. The electric-blue sky traced with wispy contrails, the palm trees standing like shaggy sentries, and higgledy-piggledy buildings on every block. I lived here a lifetime ago, and as I traversed the megacity, from cosmopolitan Santa Monica to the metropolitan downtown precinct, I observed it in a novel way. Spatial memory is the ability to recall how to get from point A to B, but this driving foray required dusting off layers of mental cobwebs. LA was, by turns, familiar and foggy, maddening and delightful, inspiring and perplexing.
Fuelled by a surge of nostalgia, I avidly retraced my steps. I began at Coffee Commissary on Fairfax Avenue before flitting to soulful spots all over town. At Book Soup in West Hollywood, where I remember seeing Jackie Collins load up on novels, I added to my own collection. LACMA had a well-timed retrospective of Ed Ruscha, the master of capturing LA’s urban sprawl in arresting saturated shades. In a bittersweet twist, I noticed that the gallery’s ticket line for residents was far shorter than that for visitors. At Cecconi’s, a slick Italian diner on Melrose Avenue, I wondered if the calamari fritti would be as sublime. It was.
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there,” wrote English novelist LP Hartley. Revisiting an actual foreign country can be acutely disorientating. My stay wasn’t so much a walk down memory lane as a whizz around its arterial roads. Perhaps the biggest change was in the people I knew, many of whom have since moved on. I zoomed by the bars where we gathered for Margaritas and merrymaking, the restaurants where we grazed and blazed, and the parks where we went hiking. A quick power walk at Runyon Canyon, a coniferous trail in the Hollywood Hills, made me pine for another era.
“Everything’s different now,” a friend told me over dinner, solemnly echoing Hartley’s refrain. Indeed, my experience of residing in southern California was in the Obama days, light years from this fractious moment in time. Also, this visit was several months before the devastating wildfires that razed parts of the city, including Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena. LA is still rebuilding and rebounding, and, since travel can boost the local economy, it’s an ideal season to support the city’s comeback. Many areas, including WeHo and DTLA, were unscathed, too.
I stayed in WeHo, close to my old apartment. “Can I explain a few things about the area?” asked an affable staffer at a hotel. We laughed when I confessed that I once lived around the corner. WeHo, a stellar base for exploration, is both habitable and walkable. I scooted along the Sunset Strip, and pottered around the Design District and nearby Melrose Place, whose retail offerings were even glitzier than I recalled.
The only way to truly engage with LA is to drive, and, for me, the scenic possibilities always outweigh the vehicular jams: the winding wonder of Mulholland Drive, the seaside bliss of the Pacific Coast Highway, and the heritage charm of Broadway with its Art Deco jewels among them. Joan Didion described the city’s freeways as “the only secular communion Los Angeles has”, given they demand rapturous concentration. In my experience, they definitely feel transcendent.
Where to stay
Pendry West Hollywood
Fashioned by London-based designer Martin Brudnizki, ventilated with light and animated with art, this 149-room lodging is a contemporary riff on Hollywood Regency style. With its chequerboard floors, marine-hued walls and prism-like sculpture by Anthony James, the lobby sets the soigné tone. To the left is buzzy Bar Pendry, and nearby is Sun Rose, a space for live music. Upstairs is Merois, a convivial restaurant by Wolfgang Puck with an East meets West credo – standouts include hamachi tostada, chicken dumplings and whole sizzling fish with pineapple glaze. The guest rooms are chicly accoutered in mirrored cabinets, swirling rugs and starburst chandeliers. Guests can access the hotel’s own fleet of Cadillac CT5s – handy if you don’t want to rent your own car. Rooms from around $750. pendry.com
The West Hollywood Edition
Hatched by Ian Schrager in league with Marriott International, this branch of the global chain has an enviable location on Sunset Boulevard. The entrance is obscured behind a wall of foliage, and the verdurous vibe continues in the dramatic lobby of red cedar and travertine stone. The rooms and suites, 190 in total, are calming spaces with whitewashed wood, sliding screens and freestanding tubs. At signature restaurant Ardor, chef John Fraser excels at zingy vegetable dishes, like walnut and sage quadrefiore with whipped ricotta, and cedar-grilled asparagus with truffle aïoli. There’s a subterranean club, but the rooftop might be the most-enticing zone, with its elevated pool, vibrant bar serving Mexican-themed fare, and staggering views north to the Hollywood Hills and south to Santa Monica. Rooms from around $1200. marriott.com
Top tables
Alba
This New York transplant serves what it dubs “holiday Italian” food – comforting dishes like oven-baked branzino and agnolotti with black truffle – in a splashy, multi-level space. cucinaalba.com
Uchi
Local power brokers swarm this high-energy restaurant for imaginative takes on Japanese food conceived by chef Tyson Cole. That could mean fish-shaped scallion pancakes and yellowtail crudo in a pool of sweet ponzu. uchi.uchirestaurants.com
Stella
LA has plenty of polished Italian eateries, but this exceptional one aspires to go deeper with regional specialties not found elsewhere. To wit: su filindeu is a rare dish from Sardinia with lacelike threads of pasta. stellawesthollywood.com
Chez Mia
It’s all about the sun-dappled terrace at this brasserie – arrayed with frilly shades, patterned banquettes and geometric tiles. Sure, there’s an extensive, French-inflected menu, from caviar-topped gougères to côte de boeuf, but the primo patio is the reason to go. chezmia.com
Ladyhawk
The mezze platter at this modern Lebanese eatery is a visual and victual knockout. It includes hummus, muhammara and falafel, and is presented on a rotating tray for rapid access. ladyhawkrestaurant.com
The writer was a guest of Pendry West Hollywood and The West Hollywood Edition.
This story is from the April edition of Travel + Luxury magazine.
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