Coffee Cartel★★★★★Offbeat local coffee house with atmosphere that makes you want to hang out there.
The Comic Bug★★★★★Open, inviting, and kid-friendly, with friendly staff and a wide selection. Frequent artist/writer signings.
Curry and Pizza★★★★★Halal pizza fusion, right off the freeway. You can get pizza and calzones, you can get curry and tandoori, or you can get them combined. And they’re really good combined.
Doma Kitchen (Closed)★★★★★Used to be a great Eastern European restaurant. Bounced around the South Bay for most of a decade before closing.
El Amigo★★★★★Great spot for takeout Mexican food. I particularly like their Chile Relleno. Dine-in, limited parking.
El Tarasco★★★★☆Small local Mexican fast food chain in the South Bay area. Great for takeout. Lots of outdoor seating at Artesia and Hermosa locations.
The Empanada Shop★★★★★Great selection of both meat and veggie fillings, plus desserts (the chocolate one is intense).
Entradero Park Loop★★★★☆Relaxing walk through scrub habitat around a basin with restored wetlands. Not much shade, good for spotting birds.
Hopkins Wilderness Park★★★★☆A good place to bring your kids or just take a shady walk in something that feels like nature. Lightly wooded, some hills, trails, a stream and a duck pond, plus picnic areas and camping.
King Mediterrano★★★★★Mediterranean/Mexican fusion, right at the 3-way border between Torrance, Lawndale and Redondo Beach. You can get a wrap with shawarma or falafel at a lot of places, but where else can you get a shawarma burrito with mozzarella, jalapeños and chipotle sauce?
Lavender & Honey★★★★☆Good coffee, pastries and sandwiches, maybe a bit expensive. They also sell artisan honey and beeswax products.
Madrona Marsh Preserve★★★★★One of my favorite places to walk in the South Bay, the preserve is the last remnant of seasonal marshes that once covered the western part of the LA basin.
Natureba★★★★★Tiny small business, great smoothies and tropical juices, plus Brazilian-style grilled sandwiches and Açaí bowls.
Pure Bean★★★★★An indie coffee shop and roaster that opened in a space vacated by CBTL a few years back.
Redondough (bakery/cafe)★★★★★Bakery with coffee, tea and sandwiches. I usually get one of their cream cheese and fruit-filled croissants. Breakfast sandwiches are also very good.
Two Guns Espresso★★★★★Serious coffee. Small chain in LA’s South Bay that introduced the Flat White to the region in the early 2010s.
Union Pizza★★★★★Thin-crust pizzas are good, deep-dish pizzas are REALLY good. My favorite is the Classic Deep Dish (spinach, roasted garlic, ricotta and mushrooms) - and normally I don’t even like mushrooms.
Wanderlust Creamery★★★★★Incredibly good ice cream with flavors and combinations not usually found here in the US. Of their regular flavors, the Ube malted crunch and Vietnamese coffee rocky road are my favorites.
