Eating My Way Thru L.A.

I love visiting a city when I get to hang out with people who actually live there. They tell you all sorts of timely, local gossip. Plus, they make sure you eat good stuff.

My L.A. family certainly didn't take me to the trendiest, spendiest restaurants in town, but I don't tend to like those places anyway. Here's a sampling of the places I did stop to eat on my recent L.A. tour.

Pinkberry is a chain of frozen yogurt shops. They were started in L.A. by a Korean ex-pat named Shelly Hwang.

Her concept is really simple. You choose from three flavors of frozen yogurt and then top it with fresh fruit, nuts or carob chips. The yogurt flavors are coffee, green tea or original.

The coffee is very coffee, the green tea is very green tea, and the original is not vanilla. It's tarty plain as in plain, original-flavored yogurt.

We went in the evening and I was trying to avoid any caffeine, so I sprung for the original topped with mango, raspberry and strawberry.

It was yummy!

We also hit up the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax.

What started as a simple, homegrown farmers' market back in 1934 is now a permanent collection of food stands.

A "market" feel still exists, however. When strolling through the cool, covered alleyways, I felt the same curiosity I've felt when strolling through a market in Mexico or Thailand or Vietnam. What's around the bend? What funky food will I find?

We ate at two of the stands. Loteria served up massive lunch burritos overflowing with juicy pulled meats. We were all so stuffed that dinner hours passed without hardly a peep from any of us. The iced limeade was especially refreshing given the hot, hot outdoor temps and my niece seemed particularly fond of the guacamole.

We also hit up Bob's Donut Stand. Again ... yummy!

When we finally recovered from our burrito stupor, we went for an old-time diner experience at Dinah's. According to all the signs, Dinah's serves up the best fried chicken in town.

If it's not the best, it's certainly the most plentiful! Goodness -- the size of these helpings!

The decor is a throw back to days-o-yore. Circular booths. Swivel stools at the counter top. An odd color scheme of maroon and blue.

It would most definitely be the sort of place to head for a massive, heart-stopping breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon and all the fixings to fuel any sort of sight-seeing in L.A.!