Exploring L.A. through the cities and neighborhoods that bring it to life
Editor’s note: We will be off Monday, Jan. 1. Enjoy your New Year’s Day, and see you Tuesday.
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, Dec. 30. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:
- How to explore L.A. in 2024
- Why everyone in California seems to be sick with respiratory illness
- 19 dishes from all over the world that blew our minds in 2023
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
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How to explore L.A. in 2024
What makes L.A., L.A.? It’s not just the geography, though dry, temperate weather across mountains, valleys and beaches does help.
It’s people, and the communities, neighborhoods and cities we’ve built.
My colleagues fanned out across the area to put together neighborhood guides that highlight L.A. through the people and places that bring it to life.
It’s just in time for New Year’s. If you hope to do more in 2024, get out more, explore more and leave your comfort zone, these guides are a good first step. In each one, we celebrate the restaurants, shops, theaters, outdoor spaces and landmarks that make each neighborhood a unique L.A. treasure.
Because L.A. is more than just Hollywood Boulevard and Venice Beach. For example…
Eat your way through Koreatown
You can eat one of the most unusual Korean barbecue dishes (beef intestine or gopchang) alongside K-pop stars and celebrities at restaurants such as Ahgassi Gopchang.
Or explore food gems of the neighborhood that span other cultures like the Oaxacan restaurant Guelaguetza on Olympic Boulevard, and the array of shops and restaurants that make up 3rd Street’s Little Bangladesh.
Our guide has even more.
Explore the great outdoors in Culver City
Just south of the 10 Freeway from Koreatown is Culver City, a.k.a. “The Heart of Screenland.”
While my colleague Jessica Roy connects the dots between Culver City and Hollywood (“Gone With the Wind,” “Citizen Kane” and “The Wizard of Oz” were filmed here), my admiration for the city has less to do with cinema and more to do with nature.
One of my favorite L.A. hiking trails, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, is in Culver City. Sweeping views of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean inspire me to return to the trail over and over again. It never gets old.
Go museum hopping in Fairfax
You’ve probably visited Fairfax staples like the Grove or Canter’s Deli, but just didn’t realize what neighborhood you were in because Fairfax and the larger Mid-Wilshire area are so close. Whether you can identify the area or not, it is packed with landmarks, history, entertainment, art and cuisine that tourists and locals alike will enjoy.
You can spend a day on Museum Row alone learning how some of your favorite films were made at the Academy Museum; connecting with cultures from ancient times at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; or exploring plants and animals from the last 50,000 years like saber-toothed cats at La Brea Tar Pits.
But that’s not all! See the guides we have so far below:
Tell us what you love about your L.A. neighborhood
L.A. gets a bad rep (it’s expensive, and hard to get around), but most of us wouldn’t live anywhere else.
What do you love about your L.A. neighborhood? We want to know. It can be a city or neighborhood we’ve already published a guide to, or one we haven’t made our way to yet.
We may feature your responses in an upcoming story — or even ask you to play tour guide for a day.
In the meantime, happy new year! See you in 2024.
The week’s biggest stories
Health
- Everyone in California seems to be sick with respiratory illness. Here’s why.
- Venomous snakebites kill thousands every year. A California doctor may have a solution.
Storms and environment
- A new storm is bringing more rain and dangerous surf to California as Ventura cleans up after massive waves.
- Huge waves damage homes and cause injuries along the California coast.
- Their land is sinking. But Tulare Lake farm barons defy calls to cut groundwater pumping.
- Dramatic before-and-after images show how much water California reservoirs have accumulated.
Crime and courts
- Traffic scofflaws beware: Speed cameras will go up next year in Los Angeles, Glendale, Long Beach.
- A woman sues L.A., and says her husband sent nude photos of her to co-workers. He’s a cop. So is she.
- After a years-long fight, an ex-sheriff agrees to comply with subpoenas and testify on deputy gangs.
More big stories
- How problems at two of Skid Row’s largest landlords threaten to worsen L.A.’s homelessness crisis.
- A tribal bid for federal recognition could pave the way for the L.A. area’s first Indian casino.
- Hopes dim for cease-fire as Israel vows to continue war.
- Time to get real on the bullet train: California is building it, so let’s make it work.
- Orcas are flocking to Southern California waters. One bloody, awe-inspiring spectacle shows why.
- Nobody’s ever lost their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Will Trump be the first?
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Column One
Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:
In war-stricken Gaza, hunger is a constant companion. The great majority of fatalities from the war between Israel and Hamas has been the result of Israeli bombardment, officials say. But hunger’s grip is tightening by the day.
More great reads
- L.A. could easily top New York’s silly New Year’s Eve ball drop. So why don’t we?
- Giovani Giuria’s journey from homelessness to amateur soccer announcer occurred in one Van Nuys park.
- What are you looking forward to in 2024?
- Asian Americans go bonkers over Ohtani for his superhuman baseball prowess — and for shattering stereotypes.
- California horse racing is at a crossroads. Can it survive?
- Before he tried to kill himself, Erik Kramer saved a kid battling his own darkness.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your weekend
Going out
- 19 dishes from all over the world that blew our minds in 2023.
- Movies to watch on New Year’s Eve, plus the best to see in L.A. this week.
- L.A. New Year plans? Ring in 2024 with these 13 SoCal events.
- An acclaimed Texas sushi bar with a cult following just debuted its first L.A. restaurant.
- Ring in 2024 with 24 fabulous New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day meals.
Staying in
- Catch up on the 100 best songs, the best TV shows and the best movies that dropped in 2023.
- 10 books to add to your reading list in January.
- 🧑🍳 Here are our 12 most popular recipes of 2023.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, Sudoku, word search and arcade games.
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
He was into guns, snakes and control. Could this Hollywood romance last? John and I fought more than we didn’t. His poetry turned into rants, and sharing a bedroom with a snake stopped being sexy.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Start your day right
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