Travel Guide: CATS Students Recommend Their Favorite Places In South Los Angeles (and Beyond)
I have seen enough of the world to know that it has always been you. I return to you with open arms, my beautiful city, Los Angeles. I choose you in this life, in my parents’ lives and in the lives they left to bring me to you.
Yesika Salgado, “Casamiento”
Los Angeles is a beautiful and vibrant city that is thriving with life and culture no matter where you look, and no where are that life and culture more apparent than here in South Los Angeles. Looking for a place to eat, relax, or have fun during your summer vacation? Students in Ms. Martinez’s 9th grade English class share their expertise and give the lowdown on their favorite places.
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Places to eat in South Los Angeles
Places to relax in South Los Angeles
Check out these other places in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County
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In South Los Angeles
Restaurant Mi Pueblo
Located at 1341 E Florence Ave Los Angeles CA 90001. By Yexiria Ascencio-Barahona
When I walk through the doors, all I can smell is fresh tortillas made by hand and the hot new batch of hot coffee brewing. The restaurant is always very clean and fresh, they have pictures of places all around El Salvador like lakes, national parks, and forests. They always have music playing lightly in the background, not too loud, not too soft, and the staff are always carrying a smile on their faces.
This place is important to me because my family, like many others, enjoys the food and hospitality of the restaurant. To my parents, every spoonful is like a little piece of home. One of my best memories is at this restaurant my dad used to and still does take me to this restaurant every sunday for a cup of coffee and a pansito or morning breakfast.
“It reminds me a lot of when I was a little girl in El Salvador.” – My mom
Panaderia & Pupuseria IIobasco
Located at 455 w Florence Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90003. By Bryan Cubias
What I see inside in the restaurant is paintings that are beautiful from my mom’s hometown. Another thing I see is when you have to go to the bathroom because their bathroom is like all the way in the back you can see how the people are making the pupusas and soups. What I hear is their Salvadoran music in the background but sometimes they don’t play music. Sometimes they put on soccer games so you can watch them play when you eat your food. I taste their delicious pupusas that they make. They also have some good bread. If you ever go you should try the quesadilla bread, that is my personal favorite. What I taste is they make breakfast with frijoles, platano, with some eggs and avocado, with some queso that is bomb. Another one of my personal favorites. What I feel about this restaurant is that I think they’ve been there over like 20 years and all the cooks are Salvadorian. Beware: you might not find parking.
This place is meaningful to me because it is my mom’s hometown. She was born in Ilobasco, El Salvador. Another meaningful thing is that I’ve been going there ever since I was 3 years old. How my mom found this place is that she said that we used to live near the restaurant because there is a liquor store next to it. My mom said that she tried their pupusas and she liked them and we’ve been going ever since.
My mom said she recommended you try their pupusas because they are her favorite.
Tortas Ahogadas Guadalajara
6042 Santa Fe Ave, Huntington Park, CA 90255. By Akxel Franco
When you get to that address, it should look like a little plaza. You should see it right away. It is one of the main places there. When you get there, there should be someone at the door to help you out. So the waiter would ask if you wanted to eat inside, outside, or takeout. Also, you should call ahead of time to see if they are not full. So if you choses to eat inside they would ask how many of you are there and depending on how many people you are with they would put you at a table to fit all of you guys.
When you start to walk to your table you should smell the food. It smells delicious. When you sit down at your table you would have to wait until the waiter gives you the menu. So when you get the menu there should be a variety of foods. I suggest you get Torta Ahogada de Birria, or some people might know it as barbacoa. Also if you love spicy you could “Choose Your Spiciness” level. Don’t go too spicy. I did that and my mouth was burning.
I love this place because of how good the food is. One memory I had at this place was with my family. We all went to go eat there and had a great time
¨It was good I give it 9/10.¨- My older brother
Bethune Park
1244 E 61st St, Los Angeles, CA 90001. By Andrew Diaz Salgado
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is Bethune Park in the afternoon.
I see the sun slowly going down, the bright lights that turn on at night time and kids with their family’s playing in the playground or playing sports.
I smell the fresh scent of wet grass in the afternoon, I smell people cooking their food and I smell the elotes from the vendors. I smell the water from the pool. I hear people laughing and having fun. I hear the ball bouncing up and down. I hear the sound of the swings going back and forth. I can hear people’s dogs barking and kids on their bikes having fun. I hear the sound from the pool going back and forth. I hear the sound of the kids on their skateboards in the skating area. I feel the cool breeze in the afternoon. I feel cold when the sun goes down while running. I feel great having fun and spending time with my family.
Exposition Park
700 Exposition Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037. By Jose Gamero
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is Exposition Park from MLK and Vermont to Exposition and Vermont. I see the traffic as teenagers and children cross to get to school at Manual Arts or Menlo Ave. I smell the plants and water from the water falls and the pool as well as the fast food restaurants nearby. I hear cars honking as they try to make their way through traffic as well as the park full of soccer players on the field yelling at each other for passes. I feel the air hitting me as I sit on the metal benches watching the soccer game and seeing little kids run around and play.
Roosevelt Park
7600 Graham Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90001. By Frank Lopez
In Roosevelt Park I see people riding skateboards with their friends, I see families having a good time and I see people doing exercise. When you are hungry you can taste the food of street vendors selling elotes, ice cream, chips, drinks etc. You can hear people laughing and having a great time.
This place is meaningful to me because it makes me happy and I can spend time with my friends and family. Some memories Roosevelt gives me are when I used to skate with my friends in the skatepark and when I used to be on the soccer team.
“The park is a place where you can spend time with your family.” – Mom
Elsewhere in Los Angeles/Los Angeles County
Hoy’s Wok
7105 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California. By Thierry Soto
This place is meaningful to me because I have been there since I was little. I care for this place because the food is good. One memory I associate with this place is because me and my family went there and had a good time. When I go, I see a lot of nice paintings, the kitchen, TV’s, a fish tank. I hear the food sizzling and people laughing. I smell the shrimp and the chicken.
Universal Studios
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608. By Robert Diaz-Ramos
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is Universal Studios Hollywood. Whenever I visit, it brings me so much joy and happiness that I forget about problems in life. I see my favorite movie characters from my childhood growing up. I see fans taking pictures with them. I walk down past the Kung Fu Panda attraction and I smell delicious food and the aroma of popcorn and cotton candy. As I’m heading down to the lower lot on the escalator I hear people shouting from excitement and epic universal music coming out of their speakers! I make it to the lower lot and I taste orange chicken from Panda Express which is located next to the Transformers attraction. I feel happy and excited and sometimes a rollercoaster of emotions when I revisit the place of my childhood and I see some of my childhood movie characters like Shrek, Shaggy, Scooby Doo, etc.
Los Angeles Zoo
5333 Zoo Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027. By Eduardo Zaragoza
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is the LA zoo. When I’m there, I feel like I’m home. Being around those animals is a reason why I enjoy life. Just knowing things like that exist in our world makes me happy. It’s different from being somewhere in a city, because it’s just a different life there. I see lots of trees, beautiful animals, and huge exhibits that replicate life outside of the city. I love hearing the different sounds from those animals. I hear the birds singing, zebras chasing each other, and voices of other people interested in what they’re looking at. I would close my eyes and picture myself in a jungle surrounded by tall trees.
Stonewood Center
251 Stonewood St., Downey, CA 90241. By Nathalie Valeriano Zapata
Stonewood center is a mall where you enter and see all your favorite stores like Macy’s.I smell the perfume and food all around me.I see a lot of people going in to buy clothes. I hear a lot of people talking and kids having fun. I touch all the clothes I want. I feel happy at the place like I was free.
It reminds me of going shopping in my home country of Honduras but they are different. I taste the sweet candies and drinks like a Rainbow. I love seeing game stores because I love playing games. I like the buffet because you can get what you want.
This place is meaningful to me because I have some peace and happiness from the people I see because I have a year of not seeing people like my friends because of COVID. I love feeling happy in the place and going everywhere. There’s a bunch of memories I have. Like when my sister was a baby and we would play. I love a lot of places, but I would love to dress and style myself like models in stores and see my friends maybe if we plan on going.
“This place is amazing because of the sweet cinnamon rolls.”
Plaza La Alameda
2140 Florence Ave, Walnut Park, CA 90255. By Jhonny Donis
This is my go to place to hang out with my friends. Everytime we go on a bike ride we go here to pass by Jamba Juice and the nearby bike shop. I’ve always come here as a kid and I’ve enjoyed it. When I go, I see the water fountain, a long line at Panda Express and a couple of people walking around. I see dogs walking into Petco and lots of moms at Ross. I smell the air in the food court. All I can smell is Panda Express .I also smell coconut from the hair products at Sally’s. I can hear all the conversations on the Ross lines from the moms, the dogs barking when I pass by Petco and the sound of the doors sliding open at CVS and the worker at GameStop saying “Welcome to GameStop” when you walk in. I taste the food from Panda Express, the taste of orange chicken and Chow Mein, and the strawberry smoothie from Jamba Juice.
Plaza Mexico
3100 E Imperial Hwy, Lynwood, CA 90262. By Jazmin Estevez
The reason I chose it is because it has clothing shops like Q and more. It also has my favorite place to buy cakes and is really good. It also has a DJ who plays music. When I go I see lots off people traditional mexico dresses food places people dancing. It smells like seafood because when you enter the plaza there is a seafood place. It also smells like cake and churros. I hear music playing and people laughing and talking
WSS – Footwear Chain
3456 E 4th st. By Angel Rodriguez
I love this store because I can take my time looking at the shoes I want to buy and because they treat me like family. Once I enter the store I smell that new shoe scent and hear people buying more things. I see shoes, hats, shirts, sweaters, backpacks, and etc. I touch the shoes so I can try them on. My cousin said that the store has amazing customer service.
Venice Beach
By Arnold Diaz
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is Venice Beach because there’s always a lot of people there having fun and enjoying the beach. They have fun rides there and sell good food there. There’s always a nice vibe there. When I go, I see a lot of people selling stuff and the fair rides. I smell beach water and sand. I hear the waves and people talking. I taste the delicious food they sell there.
Santa Monica Beach
By Melissa Munguia-Navarro
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is Santa Monica Pier Beach. The reason I chose it is because it’s a nice place to lay down in the sand and just lay down there to think. I see the sunrise behind the beautiful ocean rising from the sky and the sound of the ocean when the waves come towards me. I smell the street vendors’ hot dogs when they pass by the middle of the ocean with their carts full of food for the people that are at the beach. I hear the sound of the Wandering Albatrosses chirp whenever I throw them a piece of bread and all the birds come and try to fight for it from one another. I taste the salty water whenever I swim back and forth from the beach and whenever I go under water and forget to close my mouth. I feel the coldness of the wind through my body when I get out of the beach and sit down in the sand for a break
By Jose Sandoval
I really like Santa Monica because of the smell and how it looks, like when you see in the distance it’s nothing but water or you could go to the pier where the arcades and roller coasters are at. I see sand, water and people. I smell the ocean and fresh air. I hear people talking and the waves. I taste salty water. I feel the sand and water, and the seaweed.
By Brisia Barrientos
One of my favorite places in Los Angeles is Santa Monica Pier because there are a lot of things to do. I also enjoy going there because you can go with your family and even your friends. Santa monica pier can bring so much joy and excitement to everyone. I see lots of people having a good time,and I see a couple of rides. I smell the water from the ocean and I can also smell funnel cakes. I hear the relaxing sounds of the waves and I also hear people having fun. I taste the funnel cakes and the pier burgers.
Redondo Pier
Fisherman’s Wharf, Fishermans Wharf, Redondo Beach, CA 90277. By Jovanny Lopez
Every time I go there I always feel happy and I always have fun especially since I’m with my family. When I go there I hear the seagulls and the sound of the waves hitting the shore or the rocks. I smell the ocean water and the smell of food since there are restaurants. And I see the water and the sun setting.
This place is important to me because It holds so many memories there. I’ve been going there since I was eight. I was always with my mom, my dad, and my sister and we got ice cream sometimes and walked along the pier admiring the view. There even was an arcade there but they closed a while ago, it was cool because they had all these old games and I had lots of fun. Sometimes when we got there we would eat so later on when we started walking we would burn off the food.
I asked my mom what she thought of Redondo beach and she said she liked it. She said that as long as we are having fun, then she is having fun, or in other words if we are happy then she’s happy.
