LaLaLAnded!

TOUCHDOWN LAX...a bit late and a lot tired, I landed in Los Angeles!  So while I was chatting up moving to LA and telling everyone what my plans were (mainly so there was a ton of people holding me accountable not to back out) I received much advice....or should I say, warnings.
The main three were:
1. NO ONE in LA smokes.  You can't even smoke in your car.
2. There is NO GOOD MEXICAN food in LA, period, so eat all you can while you're still in Houston.
3. People in LA keep to themselves, no one is friendly and be careful, because you can get eaten alive.

So, let me break these down one at a time, mind you, I have only been here for 24 hours, but I have enough data to draw some preliminary conclusions.

1. Moments after arriving to LA, I walk out of the airport to meet my ride and I am SLAMMED in the face by a massive, Michael Jackson rising up from the stage on his Thriller tour, plume of cigarette smoke to the point of which I start coughing insanely like I just smoked a whole pack at once.  My ride picks me up and instantly he lights up a cigarette in his car.  "Um, I thought it was illegal to smoke in your car in LA?"  I ask with a tone of accusation.   The look he gave me caused me so much shame and embarrassment, I pretended like it was a joke.  (NOTE: No, no it's not illegal to smoke in your car, in the street, on patios, in some bars/restaurants, basically it's like Europe.)


2. After hanging out with my new roomies, they suggested to go to this little place around the corner from our house in WeHo (West Hollywood) called The Spanish Kitchen for dinner.  Instantly I was like, no, no no no no....Because with all my warnings, I knew the Mexican food here in LA was no bueno so I was like, are there any other places because I hear the Mexican food in LA isn't all that.  My roomies were like, "you're insane.  This place is awesome, it's walking distance and we're going."  When in LA....I agreed to go knowing there would, if nothing else, be bottled beer.   
There are two main barometers I gauge Mexican food restaurants by, their chips y salsa and frozen margaritas.  The homemade chips were the perfect density for salsa dipping.  Not too thick, not too thin, not too salty, but juuuust right.  The salsa was honestly some of the best I have ever tasted...the surprise of the night, cilantro ranch dip.  Okay, so they made it to first...let's see if they can go for 2 with the margaritas.    Not only were their frozen margaritas delicious, they didn't come from a slushy machine, they were blended to order, by hand, from the nicest (I know, no one in LA is nice) bartender.  Smooth and fresh, amazing cocktail.  For starters we had lobster crepes with a chipolte blackbean reduction.  Um, WOW - back flip,  mamma-slapping, divorce-inducing delicious.  (NOTE:Yes, yes there is good Mexican food in LA.  Wait, no, not good, AWESOME.)
DONE.  
http://www.thespanishkitchen.com/index.html

3. Duly noted people in LA are not friendly.  Okay, I got it, I get it, I will learn to deal with it.  Well as soon as I arrive to LAX, minutes after my carcinogenic embrace by the city, my friend's boyfriend arrived to pick me up, whom I had never met before, and was amazingly nice.  Took all my bags, opened my door, made sure I was comfy and asked if I needed anything, all in the span of 30 seconds.  Okay, well, this IS my friend's boyfriend, so I can't really judge him since there is a strong probability she made him be nice to me, right?....plus, no one is friendly in LA......wrong.  Everyone, everyone I have encountered from joggers on the street, coffee servers at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, bums, maintenance men, postal workers, the retail shop people, bartenders, strangers....all very, very nice.  But no one here is friendly...so perhaps this is just a freak of nature and it will all change...I will report back on this subject later on, for now, I will focus more on the people in LA killing me with kindness then eating me alive.  (NOTE:  Cities don't make people who they are, people are who they are regardless of geographical location.  There ARE friendly people in LA, VERY friendly people, you just have to believe it.)

Until next post,
Caroline