5 LA Restaurants For Visitors With Down-Home Tastes

My partner and I have lived in Los Angeles for almost 10 years now and have spent a lot of our time exploring the food scene. We love how inventive and varied the restaurants are here. LA is a sprawling, diverse city where many cultures come together to blend cuisines. Chefs cook their experiences. The Korean taco was invented here. That fusing of food cultures continues today at places like X'tiosu Kitchen, serving Mexican-Arabic dishes, and Pijja Palace, an Indian-Italian sports bar.

But sometimes, instead of a mind-expanding combination of flavors, you just need a burger and a beer. My partner grew up on a farm in California's Central Valley, and when her dad comes to visit, he just wants to eat the no-frills food he knows. Sure, we challenge his tastebuds, as we did when we took him to Vinh Loi Tofu, our favorite vegan Vietnamese restaurant deep in the valley (without telling him there was no meat). So, over the years we've found restaurants that everyone can enjoy, places with good, simple food where everyone walks away happy — nothing too complicated.

It's hard to go wrong with a classic North American breakfast. Eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns are a winning way to start the day, whether you're working on the farm or setting up lights for a shoot. (I love to close out the morning meal with a buttermilk pancake for breakfast dessert.) The Clark Street Diner, located in the Adler Hotel in Hollywood, serves all the classics plus pastries and breads from the company's well-regarded bakeries. 

When the old 101 Coffee shop closed during the pandemic, many diners mourned the loss of the classic diner. Thankfully, LA's celebrated Clark Street Bakery, bought the space and opened in late 2021. The retro look remains, but now, the sourdough toast is a must, and you can get one of the finest Swedish cardamom buns in the city with your coffee.

The hashbrowns are some of the best and most distinctive in the city. They look like the typical side, with crispy, brown shredded potato in a perfect rectangle. Underneath the crunchy top layer, the potatoes are light and fluffy. For some reason, the vegan options aren't on the menu, but the kitchen has them. I subbed in a delicious, house-made miso and mushroom vegan sausage for bacon. It had a deep umami flavor and added a bit of pleasant saltiness the bacon would have added.

There are many places in LA to get a burger and a beer, but my favorite is Highland Park Brewery, across from the LA State Historic Park in Chinatown. The beer here is some of the best in the city, having won multiple awards at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. My favorite is the hoppy and smooth Timbo Pils. The Baseball Lager is easy drinking — the kind of beer you crush while watching the game. The other half of "a burger and beer" is a simple beef patty with grilled onions smashed into it. The rest of the menu is full of well-thought-out versions of brewery staples: wings, tots, pretzels, and salads.

Located on York in Highland Park, the neighborhood where the brewery got it's name, many people think the Hermosillo is the same as Highland Park Brewery. It isn't. The Hermosillo bar is where the brewery got started, and it still has a production facility for the brewery in the back. The bar is separate, but the majority of the brew list is from the Highland Park Brewery's tanks. However, there is a larger selection of beers from other top California brewers like Green Cheek and Russian River. The Hermosillo's menu is smaller, but it still has the smashburger, and the fried pickles are another fun option. The interior has lower-lit vibes than at the tap house. There is outside dining available in the parking lot beer garden that started during the pandemic and proved popular enough to stay.

Los Angeles is full of excellent Italian restaurants. The city was well represented on our list of the U.S.'s best Italian restaurants. If you look beyond all the fancy Italian eateries, you'll find plenty of simple, neighborhood spots. My go-to for fresh pasta at a fair price is La Pergoletta in Silver Lake. 

At La Pergoletta, diners have the option to choose a noodle and sauce separately. I have yet to order from any other part of the menu for my entrée. I love the gnocchi ripieni (potato dumplings stuffed with parmesan, mozzarella, gorgonzola, and Pecorino Romano) with the panna and funghi sauce (mushrooms and cream). I've also enjoyed the pesto cremoso (pesto with cream) and arrabbiata sauces. The tomato-based sauces bring out a nice umami flavor.

While La Pergoletta's dishes are from the Emilia Romagna and Tuscany regions in Italy, the restaurant has a Brazilian heritage. The first location opened off the southern coast of Brazil on the island of Florianopolis in 1987. All the La Pergoletta restaurants are run by the Seganti family, with the Los Feliz location operated by the younger brother of the founder of the original Brazilian location.

Located in a strip mall on a street lined with old, overgrown trees, Glassell Park's Lemon Poppy Kitchen features an all-day breakfast menu with diverse Eastern European and Mexican influences. It still has the classics, though. Your father-in-law can enjoy his steak and eggs, or two eggs, potatoes, toast, and bacon breakfast, while you dine on the restaurant's inventive take on Mămăligă (polenta with eggs, sauerkraut, Oaxaca cheese, and pork belly), Turkish Eggs, or Tres Leches French Toast. The lunch menu is small, but solid. Breakfast is the main event here, but the lunch offerings are still flavorful.

The case of baked goods is not to be missed, and the biscuits are among LA's best. We always start our meal with a scone and a lemon poppy seed cake while we wait for our breakfast. The smoothies are fresh and filling enough to  be a meal on their own. Lemon Poppy's patio is bright and spacious, a great place to spend a Southern California morning.

Anyone yearning for the good old days of sitting at a hardwood counter and watching a cook slapping patties onto the grill will love Pie 'N Burger in Pasadena. Not much has changed since it first opened in 1963 — aside from the prices. Make sure you're ready with cash when you go, as Pie 'N Burger doesn't take cards. These aren't the trendy smash burgers; this old-school eatery serves classic patties that will fall apart. You can choose between beef, turkey, or vegetarian patties.

The pie side of Pie 'N Burger is mandatory. The fruit pies are good and the banana meringue is a favorite of most diners. (I admit that I am not a fan of bananas, so I'll take their word for it). It's worth going on a long hike before a visit so you work up an appetite for one of the old fashioned hand dipped milkshakes. Pie 'N Burge has beer on the menu, too, so you can end your day with a burger and a crew — and a pie!