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Koreatown lies in the western backyard of downtown Los Angeles and from this
vaguely defined "town", on most days you can easily see downtown Los
Angeles (unless its too smoggy of course). This is one of the more
densely populated regions of Los Angeles as a result driving can be a
real challenge here. Parking lots at the small 2-story malls are
very limited, with narrow space, narrow lanes and exits. Trying
to turn left is often at an unprotected left on a very busy
street- drivers are more aggressive here because of the traffic
and shorter times to take actions as it relates to driving.
Turning right on red or green can be an insanely stressful
experience. Between the throngs of pedestrians always in this
area during the day on the major boulevards and the traffic -
sometimes your lucky if only one or two cars can make the right
hand turn on the end of the green or orange light. |
Drivers often turn right in between the two sides of
the crossing pedestrians. This is more dangerous and we've seen tempers
flare from both drivers and pedestrians.
The name, "Koreatown" is
somewhat of a misnomer based on how diverse the area really is. However,
much of Koreatown is clearly Korean influenced from the shopping plazas
to the plethora of restaurants, all the signs are in Korean and you
might find yourself eating at a "whole in the wall" with no language
translation on the menu to English and or talking to someone who
doesn't speak much English.
There are no official boundaries to Koreatown, but it starts north of
the 10 freeway along S. Vermont Street with the true heart of Koreatown along parts of Olympic Blvd. Wilshire Blvd skirts the edge of town
although many Korean businesses can be found on both sides of Wilshire.
Because Koreatown is so close to downtown and based on its very high
population density, there is excellent Metro service in and around the
area.
For establishments that are open 24/7, 365 days per year there are
probably the greatest numbers of these in the Los Angeles area within Koreatown. This
is how a city should be - you can get food on your own clock, whenever you want regardless of the hour.
Case in point is the decent Korean restaurant Hodori located
along 1001 S. Vermont Ave in in a shopping center (not far from the
private college, USC - so you sometimes will see a plethora of college
students eating here). It is small like most of the other shopping plaza
located restaurants but size isn't important, unless you happen to be
waiting outside in line at 3am which is fairly common on the weekends.
They serve a variety of Korean foods all brought with small starter
plates including some nice Kimchi. Also nice soups.
They are open 365
days a year, 7 days a week including holidays of course. Use the small
ringer buzzers installed at every table to bring your waiter over when
you need service. |
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There are a plethora of small Korean restaurants along this part of S.
Vermont Street and also just around the corner as you head down W.
Olympic Blvd. Many of the businesses in this area display their business
names only in Korean, or English is also listed, its listed much smaller
than the Korean characters.
Plaza Galleria is located at 3250 W. Olympic Blvd near S. Western
Ave and is a multi story shopping mall with the large Galleria Market
located on the first floor. If you don't have much experience with
Korean food and enjoy trying new cuisine and food items, this is a great
market to spend some time in. They have a nice Kimchi section as
well as a plethora of different tofus, Korean sauces, as well as a help
yourself Korean food section.
The huge Koreatown Plaza is located close to the above mentioned
Plaza Galleria at 928 S. Western Ave. We will visit this during one of
our upcoming trips to the area. In the meantime visit:
www.koreatownplaza.com
Cafe House has several bakeries in the greater
Los Angeles area but the one in Koreatown is located in the Plaza
Galleria at 3250 W. Olympic Blvd. They deal in volume and so what you
purchase is always fresh, even often warm, right out of the oven. Great
selection.
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