Ate. Drank. Won.

That's the short and sweet of the weekend we just spent in Los Angeles. We snagged $19 airfare on Frontier, which made our trip out there cheaper than the 15 mile Lyft ride from LAX to our hotel. I think the flight was shorter too. I booked the Sheraton Grand hotel via Hotwire. It has superb location in the heart of DTLA. It was perfect! Walking to the Staples Center was a breeze and having the Metro stop right there connected us to the rest of LA with ease. There is a cool lounge on the third floor with water feature and firepit.



Seven Grand was our first stop on Friday night. What a cool spot! We love a good whiskey bar and this did not disappoint. I mean, anywhere with a whiskey bible on hand is pretty promising. Though, I must admit we were a bit surprised that they were out of stock on Angel's Envy Rye.



Next, we wandered over to La Cita for Punky Raggae madness. It's a great dive bar with a solid margarita. We were mislead, as there was no punk or raggae. Still, the margarita made the stop worthwhile and the patio was cool.

Frank discovered a new spot named the King Cigar Lounge. It is far superior to others we've frequented in the area. This place is bright, clean and has fantastic location to LA Live and the Staples Center. They offer public, private and patio lounges with a great selection of sticks.

No trip to LA is complete without pastrami from Langer's Deli. We were only one metro stop away so we went twice. I mean when it's good, it's good. It's an institution for a reason.



We found ourselves at Ritz Carlton's pool for the view, a cocktail and lack of a crowd. While Kings fans were gearing up for their home opener. It was nice of them to welcome us - Go Knights Go!











We also grabbed a scoop at Salt & Straw. A must whenever we are nearby. They are currently showcasing spooky flavors. All were better than expected. Although, I wasn't able to try the most interesting flavor with chocolate crickets and candied meal worms. I don't know if my allergen translates to a food allergy, but I figured it was best not to find out. The Coffee Bourbon is too hard for me to resist anyhow.



We took the Metro to Hollywood for dinner at Cleo. They have closed the Vegas location, much to our dismay, so we thought we'd get a fix. The menu varies a bit and the dishes we knew and loved didn't really deliver. It was not a loss, however. We loved the crispy cauliflower with blue cheese tahini and the eggplant chips!



We stopped at Lost Property for a night cap before returning back to the hotel. We had a date with old friends. El Camino, anyone?

Sunday was dedicated to sports. It was a shame, though, that bars at LA Live don't open until 10AM. They must hate money because it was a seriously missed opportunity. There were so many fans dressed up with nowhere to go. We thought we'd give Tom's Urban a try. Thankfully, they opened before the posted time of 11 o'clock. There are many TV's but we weren't too thrilled by the experience. We opted to find somewhere else at half time of the early games. We came upon Dublin's Irish Whiskey Pub. It was far more our speed. We were content the rest of the afternoon. Great beer and whiskey selection! The Shepard's Pie was pretty good too.

Hockey was the main event Sunday night. We had tickets at center ice. Not as many Knight's fans traveled for this game compared to others we've seen on the road, but we had a great time and we were thrilled to earn a win, kicking off a streak after some tough losses.





Monday, we ventured outside DTLA for some sights and fun. We took the Metro to Santa Monica. It's been more than decade since we've been so we figured it was time to revisit. I cannot recommend it. Though, we did enjoy a light lunch at Meat on Ocean.











We bailed after grabbing a bite. We called a Lyft to El Segundo. Sometime you should just stick to what you know & love. I dropped Frank off at daycare - teehee - and made my way to Sausal. Which has become tradition.





After a margarita and fish taco, I felt a bang-bang was in order. Any Louie CK fans, remain? It was a great episode that introduced me to the gloriousness of a double dinner. After settling my Mexican cravings I walked over to the Slice and Pint. We discovered it on a previous trip. They play good tunes, serve up tasty slices and offer an impressive tap list. As they should, since they are also the folks behind El Segundo Brewing. I knew I made the right choice immediately upon seeing this sign.



Talk about Oktoberfest dreams coming true. I washed down the amazing slice, with a banana wheat hefeweizen.



It was the perfect end to a fantastic trip.