Where to Eat, Stay and Wander in Hollywood

AstroBurger, on Santa Monica Blvd. kitty-corner from Salt Cure is open 7:00 AM to 4 (four!) AM. Best burgers and fries, with a "fast food" option for vegetarians; also a few Mexican and Greek foods as well as time appropriate dishes; the place appears to be popular with local law enforcement. Ralphs Market on Sunset Blvd (7300 block) which is open 24/7 has for years been known as "Rock and Roll" Ralphs, (frequented "after hours" by entertainers and "entertainees" alike) and since a recent renovation is now officially so named. There are numerous"grab and go" offerings including made to order sandwiches, a salad bar, a cheese bar, an olive bar, a selection of hot foods and a Starbucks The produce department features attractively presented trays of ready to eat fruits and vegetables; and there's a decent selection of wines and spirits. It's not hard to construct a picnic meal from the food on offer, or just pick up a midnight snack.

Having just stayed in LA for our first time ever, we loved the old glamor of the Hollywood-Roosevelt hotel where we had a cabana over looking the pool and our stay at the Beverly Hilton was so much fun with a big balcony that opened up to all of LA. Sitting at the pool at the Beverly Hilton also reminded me of all of its history and mystery and we cannot wait to return. We also had wonderful meals at Laurel Hardware and Mercado in LA.

Sadly these are all extremely expensive places and really not a cool guide to a city I've made my home away from England. Yes there are plenty of great restaurants to visit and places to stay but dig deeper if you want to come visit and see the real LA. Try Silverlake for amazing independent restaurants or some great authentic mexican food at El compadre in hollywood. Stay at an Air BnB in a residential neighborhood so you can actually walk to places..

While in West Hollywood, staying at either the Chateau or Tower, attempt to see a live concert at the close by Troubadour. If you visit at the right time, WeHo, as it is affectionately called, is home to a spectacular Pride Parade in June and the world's largest Halloween party. (The Halloween carnival is a must see event. All the Hollywood costume designers and monster makers show off their wears.) Taking a walk down Melrose Ave is fun even without shopping. Looking for a little old Hollywood elegance should include a studio tour. Paramount is mostly unchanged from the golden era. Sony studios has lots of significant history. If you go to the Santa Monica pier or Venice, you'll almost certainly come across a film crew shooting something. And if you're from Brooklyn, you'll feel right at home in Silver Lake. Try some intelligentsia coffee and our amazing thrift stores. We may have the best thrift stores on the planet.

Right up the road from Hollywood is Sunset Ranch where you could swear you're in Arizona or New Mexico. A horseback ride through Griffith Park takes you away from everything and it's in the middle of a huge city, like nowhere else. Midnight rides are breathtaking as Los Angeles is probably the most beautiful city in the world (at night). I didn't say that, Roman Polanski did. For New Yorker's, Canter's and Greenblatt's are better than any Delis in that city and Pinks is better than anything Coney Island had to offer in its prime, if you choose the classics. Malibu has nothing to do with Hollywood and is a strange inclusion. If only this article was as informed as the earlier article on Koreatown. New York has lost its ethnicities while LA has embraced its. LA can be Seoul, Tokyo, Mexico City, Beijing, Armenia, Russia, and myriad other places. Unique.

By all means, don't miss the tour of Hollywood extras' homes. An autograph-seeker's delight.

This article is really just the last part to your other article I just read (and enjoyed), hardly a separate article. Anyway, surely there are other hotels to recommend. A couple of years ago my wife and I stayed at the Magic Castle Hotel which enabled us to enjoy dinner and a magic show at the Magic Castle Club. And, the Magic Castle Hotel is a short walk from Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Frankly, I also expected more about restaurants to consider next time I am there.

for a good look and feel of hollywood, skip the hectic skipping...try settling and strolling in one or another of its neighborhoods...for the beginner, for example, park near the farmer's market and after sauntering through that, step into its environs, residential, commercial, historical...shopping, eating...connect to the place instead of connecting the dots.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is an art deco treasure. Poolside cocktails are wonderful!

If you go to Point Dume, it's fun to drive up to the LA/Ventura County border on the Pacific Coast Highway and have a late lunch at Neptune's Net.

Heartily endorse idea of Sunset Tower -- though room the second time was tiny with no drawer space for shirts etc and tiny closet. Tip, even non-celebs are treated well by a huge staff. I swam in the heated pool in January -- but it is sometimes covered for huge parties. Hollywood Reservoir it a great place to jog or walk. Food at Musso and Frank is old fashioned and great, with a menu almost as long as one in a Greek diner in NYC. Not mentioned: the little Library Bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt for artisanal cocktails; trail ride on a horse in Coldwater Canyon, followed by brunch at the place by the gate to Hollywoodland (name??). Food? Mozza next to Hancock Park for a full meal, or Pizza at the annex next door (Highland and Melrose).

It seems a little preposterous to think that a couple spending $435 a night at the Chateau Marmont will be hopping a bus to get a peek at Jennifer Lopez's Hollywood pad.

When you do LA, it's best to do a cluster of related activities in a region. For instance, I spent my wife's birthday driving up the PCH, dropping off at the Getty Villa and moving on to the restaurant Moonshadows.

Seems kind of silly to direct people to Malibu when the article is about wandering in Hollywood. How about this: walk a few blocks up Fuller from Hollywood Blvd and enter Runyon Canyon Park. Follow the crowds up a slight, steep incline and take in an amazing vista panning from downtown to the Pacific on a clear day. If you're really fit or just desire a killer workout, there are always higher heights to climb. Otherwise, you can simply continue on the roughly 1 mile circuit popular with joggers and dog walkers that takes you around the hillside and deposits you at the top of Vista St. From there, walk down to the Pikey at Sunset and Curson and enjoy a proper pint at one of the few decent Gastropubs in the area.

But yes, Chi Spacca is terrific. Leagues above Osteria Mozza, IMO.

A far better urban park than Lake Hollywood is Griffith Park, with the famous observatory and the sign. A much larger park with more trails. Of course if you are going to go to LA to see the homes, and Hollywood, its actually much better to not stay in Hollywood, as it is still little more than a passable neighborhood.

For those interested in Hollywood stars of the past, there are visitor friendly cemeteries where the deceased now repose. Hollywood Forever Cemetery and Westwood Memorial Park are worth the visit. Forest Lawn in Glendale intentionally frustrates casual visitors from finding individual memorials. However, its hard to miss the final resting place of Elizabeth Taylor in the Great Mausoleum.