Trip Report Glendale Los Angeles June 2024

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Back again to LA and this time I stayed in Glendale.

I did a separate post for my travel day Dublin to LAX Aer Lingus 51st and Green Lounge Dublin Airport

I stayed at Holiday Inn Express Glendale and you can read my review here

I used Midwilshuttle from LAX to my hotel. I payed online in advance. Its approx $100 for me , solo female, with 1 checked bag per journey.

I tell them on the booking form that I am international and they have a WhatsAp number. As soon as I land I connect to the free LAX Wifi and text them to let them know I have arrived and waiting for my bag. The pick up point is outside the main arrival door. They tell you to text the number of the area you are standing at. I also text them a selfie. They will give you the drivers name and the car registration number.

The cars are always clean and other than the normal LAX traffic, theres never any delay with pick up.

Sunday 23 June

I had a lovely relaxing morning at the hotel. After the included breakfast, I went to the gym and did some yoga and then had a swim in the outdoor pool. After the long travel day, 10 hour flight with an 8 hour time difference, the yoga and swim really helped to ease the jetlag.


Then at lunch time I met up with a friend who lives in Pasadena and we spent the day at Glendale Galleria. I love going to American malls, as there are many shops and brands we dont have in Ireland. I always have a list of things I want to get. Hot Topic, Target, Sephora, are the main ones. We had lunch at Cocina Cilantro, Brand Street Glendale, a small little Mexican restaurant.
I had the Crispy Chicken Bowl which is Lettuce, rice, black bean, guacamole, tomato, cilantro, chipotle house sauce.



We also went to Cheesecake Factory where I got Dulce De Leche Caramel Cheesecake to go.



Monday 24 June

In the morning I got the bus from Glendale to Hollywood. I wanted to go to Hard Rock Cafe as I collect the tshirts. I used to work at Hard Rock Cafe in Germany and in Scotland so I still like to wear the tshirts. While I was there I went to the Ghirardeli shop and got an iced mocha to cool down.



Then it was back on the underground to North Hollywood and then a bus to Balboa Park in Encino to meet up with more friends.

After the park, I got the bus back to Glendale and had my first In N Out Burger.



Tuesday 25 June

As I do every year, I spent the day with friends at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, for the death anniversary of Michael Jackson. There was a good crowd there this year, maybe about 200 people. Its hard to tell, as people are coming and going throughout the day. Theres lots of new faces and I had a great catch up with old friends.

Wednesday 26 June

A friend who lives in Long Beach come over to Glendale and brought me to Anaheim. On the way we went to Portos Cuban Bakery.

We first went to the one in Anaheim, but they were temporally closed due to a power cut so went went to the one in Downey instead. This was a new too me food place and I enjoyed the food. My friend has been many times, so she ordered the food, as I didnt know what to order. We got food to share, as she said there were things I should try and she took the left overs home to her husband.


Potato Balls, Ham Croquette, Plantain Chips, Meat Pie, Cuban Sandwich, Dulche de Leche Iced Latte



Tres Leches Cake Loaf, Parisian Cake Slice, Guava Strudel

 

[felice]

In N Out burgers are certainly an acquired taste, but once you've had one, you can't stop Looking forward to having one of these when my wife and I are in LA during Easter 2025.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

In N Out burgers are certainly an acquired taste, but once you've had one, you can't stop Looking forward to having one of these when my wife and I are in LA during Easter 2025.

The burger was good, but the fries not really. I got animal style which improved them a bit

 

[bcla]

The burger was good, but the fries not really. I got animal style which improved them a bit

The fries have always been a weak point. Strangely enough, my wife likes them. My problem is the choice of potato is poor. They use Kennebec potatoes, which are very starchy and can be excellent if they're double or triple fried where they're set aside after the first cooking. A subsequent deep fry will create a nice crust with a tender center. However, they only do a single deep fry and they tend to be soft on the outside. One can order them "well done", but they turn somewhat brown and crunchy similar to the consistency of potato chips.

I would have recommended Porto's in Glendale, but then again you found your way to another location. I've only visited the locations in Buena Park and Glendale. Glendale's parking situation is poor, but when I visited I was taking public transportation, which is surprisingly better than most people would think. I would have also recommended the location in Buena Park (next to Medieval Times), which is their biggest and has a massive parking lot.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...4227!4d-117.997423!16s/g/11csqhcwrn?entry=ttu

I don't believe the location in Anaheim has ever been open to the public. It's not on the list of restaurants in Downtown Disney, and I can't find anything that indicates that it has ever been open. In any case, if you seen it, how does it look? They are listing Din Tai Fung as open.

https://www.portosbakery.com/locations/
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/downtown-disney-district/

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

The fries have always been a weak point. Strangely enough, my wife likes them. My problem is the choice of potato is poor. They use Kennebec potatoes, which are very starchy and can be excellent if they're double or triple fried where they're set aside after the first cooking. A subsequent deep fry will create a nice crust with a tender center. However, they only do a single deep fry and they tend to be soft on the outside. One can order them "well done", but they turn somewhat brown and crunchy similar to the consistency of potato chips.

Yes , all my LA friends said the same, they all like the burgers, but even animal style cant save the fries. Interesting, we dont have that type of potato in Ireland. The three main types of potatoes used in Ireland are Maris Piper, Russet and Kers Pinks.

I would have recommended Porto's in Glendale, but then again you found your way to another location. I've only visited the locations in Buena Park and Glendale. Glendale's parking situation is poor, but when I visited I was taking public transportation, which is surprisingly better than most people would think. I would have also recommended the location in Buena Park (next to Medieval Times), which is their biggest and has a massive parking lot.

I don't believe the location in Anaheim has ever been open to the public. It's not on the list of restaurants in Downtown Disney, and I can't find anything that indicates that it has ever been open. In any case, if you seen it, how does it look? They are listing Din Tai Fung as open.

It was the one in Buena Park we tried first, and then went to Downey. They were slammed as everyone was doing the same.

 

[bcla]

It was the one in Buena Park we tried first, and then went to Downey. They were slammed as everyone was doing the same.

I see where the confusion was. The one in Anaheim is going to be at Downtown Disney and is taking over the space that used to be La Brea Bakery Cafe. It's been announced for a while, but it seems to be taking an extremely long time.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1569064510203334656