No matter how exciting eating out in
Los Angeles is, doing it regularly is not for everybody. It's no surprise that you'd want to dine out for every meal in a city chock-full of upscale restaurants and popular hotspots, but can you handle it? Can you afford it? Much like practically everything else, eating out in LA regularly comes with its pros and cons. There's no doubt the city boasts many fabulous eateries, but a majority of them are expensive enough to drain your bank account before you know it! You'll have to think hard to know if such a lifestyle will suit you here!
Pros
Enjoy The Glamour of LA
Before anything else, eating out in Los Angeles lets you experience the city's glitz and glamour firsthand. In
Beverly Hills alone, Rodeo Drive's upscale restaurants allow you to dine like an A-list celebrity yourself. From the VIP Bistro right by the Rodeo Drive Plaza to the ever-chic Il Pastaio on N Canon Drive, these places drown you in luxury like you never believed! You'll only get to witness such affluence in Los Angeles, which is more than enough reason to eat out as much as you want in the city.
Enjoy The Diverse Cuisines
If you eat out regularly in Los Angeles and you go to a new restaurant every time, there's a good chance you've tasted the entire world and back! That's how diverse the city is, both with its immigrant-heavy population and its extensive culinary scene. Beyond the usual American food, LA also has French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Lebanese, and Turkish cuisines, among many others. There are even certain
neighborhoods in Los Angeles totally devoted to specific international communities, namely Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and the like. Visit any or all of them and indulge in their flavorful traditional cuisines.
Enjoy The Convenience of Prepared Meals
Let's be real for a second—
moving to Los Angeles and living here can be quite stressful. Much like any other major city, you'll have to contend with LA's massive crowds, high crime rates, and extremely hot climate in summer. It can often come to a point that even preparing your own meals can be a hassle! So it's no wonder many who live in LA simply eat out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There's no denying the convenience of prepared meals, especially since the city also boasts some of the finest restaurants in the world. Getting to eat the best food cooked by the best chefs? Who wouldn't want that?
Enjoy Meals with Friends
Los Angeles is a very social city. With millions in its population, you're bound to meet kindred spirits, make new friends, perhaps even fall in love, and raise your own family together. Even if you're living in the city as a single, LA's diverse and extensive culinary scene allows you to have as many dinner dates as you want. Hence, eating out allows you to socialize more. Some of the strongest bonds are formed over meals, and no matter who it is, eating good food with good people is always a good time!
Cons
Endure The High Prices
The
living costs in Los Angeles are already high; do you really want to add high dining costs in there, too? LA notoriously ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, let alone in the US. Though it has its fair share of cheap eats and affordable eateries, it's still a different story to eat out for every meal. If you can afford it, go ahead! As already mentioned, one of the best parts about living in Los Angeles is enjoying its diverse foodie scene. But if you need to stick to a strict budget, only eating out on special occasions is a better idea.
Endure The Crowded Restaurants
While it's not exactly as bad as New York City, many LA hotspots still get extremely crowded. Be it fast food diners or upscale Michelin-starred restaurants, the city's foodie scene tends to get too crowded at times. It's not exactly 24/7, but it will be a struggle you'll have to endure if you decide to eat out in Los Angeles regularly. Imagine waiting for the entire day to eat at your favorite restaurant for dinner, and you get there and it's packed! Even if you reserved a table to be safe, you'll still have to eat amidst chatting diners, stressed-out servers, and the like.
Endure The Small Portions
Is there anything more annoying than small portions? They may be a hallmark of haute cuisine, and that single bite might change your life in more ways than one, but it will never fill you up to the point of satisfaction. What's worse is that places that usually serve small portions tend to be the most expensive, especially
LA’s best Michelin-starred restaurants. Imagine spending as much as $100.00 and only getting to eat a few spoonfuls! That'll annoy anyone, even those who go on extreme diets to keep their small figures. What more if you're starving?
Endure Some Sketchy Areas
This mostly applies to certain neighborhoods. The unfortunate thing about LA's culinary scene is that some of the best places to eat in the city are located in what are widely-regarded as sketchy areas. They're not necessarily dangerous districts, but they often become unsafe at night. Places like Chinatown and Koreatown are the most notorious for this. These neighborhoods undoubtedly boast some of the most fabulous eateries in Downtown LA, specifically for their mouthwatering Asian cuisines, but these aren't areas you'll want to be in after dark!
As awesome as it is to eat out in Los Angeles, it still has its pros and cons. You’re gonna have to weigh both before you decide on dining out in this city regularly or only do it rarely, perhaps only on special occasions.
