Mel’s Diner on Sunset from American Grafitti.

Most of my places in LA are reviewed here:

http://www.yelp.com/list_details?userid=aqbljpXPrgMOWLRNpmyZXA&list_id=870bmptd-1kGP1dGuyDeAQ

http://www.yelp.com/list_details?userid=aqbljpXPrgMOWLRNpmyZXA&list_id=TMhu1VPNZNNPohfIExJPOA

Hope that helps.

Best burgers: Father’s Office in Santa Monica. Best coffee/tea/patio: Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood.

My daughter lives in LA. A few places that are great are: “Spark” woodfire grill in Beverly Hills and at “The Grove” outdoor shopping plaza is a place for fine dinig and a bistro French restuarant called “Morel”.

I love this shopping plaza. It also has an outdoor farmers market. There are alot of food stalls there that are great. The Brazilian food is wonderful at the farmers market.

Enjoy your stay.

If you like greasy traditional American breakfasts with portions large enough to feed a sumo wrestler then head to the pantry in downtown LA. This is one of the few places I know where a homeless guy and business man will sit next to each other at the bar and eat a meal.

Check out some more reviews here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/Nlofg9suE-UaMf087oEVUA

Lotería! Grill in the farmers’ market on W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, has most amazing Mexican food I’ve ever had in the United States. The farmers’ market is delightful and this little eatery is smack in the middle of it. Their guacamole is to die for! There are also other fabulous places to eat in the farmers’ market- everything from French food to Middle Eastern and Asian. But Lotería! Grill is literally a MUST!

As far as chains go. You will like In & Out Burger. I think it’s only in California. For Tacos and Burritos, Baja Fresh is usually people’s favorite. To recommend “mom and pop” place, I would need to know which parts of LA you’ll be in. have fun

A lot of good answers! Here’s some more obvious and not so obvious places.

I’m surprised no one mentioned the Tommy’s burger chain. It’s the quintessential LA burger joint and better than Fatburgers. They’re all over LA but the original is on Rampart and Beverly.

Need I mention Musso and Franks Grill? Serving fine food since 1919 and probably your best bet to see celebrities if you’re into that. The food is quite good if overpriced (entrees run 20-30 dollars). But it’s totally LA.

Best hot dogs in town? Pink’s. Huge lines but worth it. Check the Wikipedia entry for some fun facts.

Phillipe’s Original around china town is the home of the french dip. Very cheap. good french dip sandwiches in a depression era environment. Always busy. I think they still have 10 cents cups of coffee.

If you wander into the North end of the San Fernando Valley check out my two favorites. Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park is an excellent vegetarian restaurant hidden in back of an organic food store.The soups are wonderful. Brother Sushi in Woodland Hill’s is a fun sushi bar. One of the best in a region loaded with great sushi bars.

Oops. Almost forgot the Apple Pan on Pico in West LA. Great burgers and even better Apple Pie. Very friendly and casual. One of the best places for a casual sit-down lunch or dinner.Stay away during week-day lunchtime but you can usually find a seat on weekends.

Burgers = Carney’s on Sunset Blvd just east of La Cienega. The burgers are great and the chilli fries are also delicious, plus you get to sit and eat in a yellow train car (which i find quite fun).

Breakfast = Doughboy’s on West 3rd Street (not Santa Monica), near the farmer’s market. Its quite busy for brunch on the weekends, but during the week its not so crowded for breakfast, they have a fun and diverse menu of eggs and pancakes and waffles. It’s also good for lunch though, as they serve sandwiches on freshly baked bread, and delicious huge bowls of soup.

Dinner = Gyu Kaku in Beverly Hills, somewhat expensive, you order delicious marinated beefs and then cook it over a little stove in the middle of your table. It’s pretty fun. There’s also an all you can eat Brazilian beef restaurant on the same street La Cienega (restaurant row in Beverly Hills), which has an amazing salad bar, and these guys walk around with huge skewers of meat which they cut off of the stake for you… Its actually decent meat and it’s about 50 bucks a person.

I’m going to Roscoe’s for chicken and waffles.

Check out the Kogi BBQ Truck. It’s a taco truck that travels around LA and serves up Korean BBQ tacos.