Home Away From Home

For Beirutis and Buckeyes, Soviets and Japanese, Thais and Texans, there’s surely no better place to be than home for the holidays.

The only problem is that it can be tough getting there.

But Southern California’s increasingly sophisticated, varied sprawl can offer some novel cures for any rush of homesickness that non-native Los Angelenos might feel, especially at this time of year.

Take another look at that local tavern. Scan that beach again. Glimpse behind the obvious in that seemingly familiar eatery. Why? Because there may be a touch of home there for someone.

Where are some of the slices of the Big Orange that make some folks feel so comfortable they feel they’re almost at home?

A woman from Kobe, Japan, heads for Zuma Beach.

A Midwesterner spots it in a short stretch of Topanga Canyon Pass.

Some Chicagoans claim it’s at the Tin Horn Flats bar.

Some people from the Lone Star State swear by the Taste of Texas bar.

Some Soviet emigres say they’ve found it in West Hollywood’s Plummer Park.

Some Hungarians have discovered it at the United Maygar House.

Some Armenians think it’s at Ron’s Supermarket in East Hollywood.

Some Britons capture it at Ye Olde King’s Head bar.

A woman from Beirut, Lebanon, seeks the solace of a California forest.

Some West Indians insist it’s at Coley’s Kitchen.

Some American Indians have located it in Bell Garden’s Ford Park.

A Frenchman finds it in Santa Monica’s Boulangerie.

A Thai sees it in the Valley’s Anajak Thai.

A Greek centers it on a Los Angeles spot called Sofi’s.