“Out-of-towners are known to stop at the In-N-Out right outside LAX for a burger as soon as they land as a symbol of their arrival—or to take one with them on their flight out of L.A. to ease their nostalgia. The Alvarados, the family at the heart of my novel L.A. Weather, like any other true Angelenos, love In-N-Out, a genuine local burger chain. Anthony Bourdain once said of In-N-Out that it’s a ‘perfectly designed protein delivery system.’”

“The Apple Pan is a little burger joint that’s in West Los Angeles, and it’s been there since 1947. There are no franchises, no other stores, it’s just that one, and some of the waiters have been there over 30 years. Everything remains the same—it’s like a time warp—even the vinyl flooring. The burgers are outstanding and the fries are, too. It’s fantastic.”

“I follow architects like some people follow basketball stars—I know their work and their stories. Frank Gehry is one of my favorite architects, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall is one of the most amazing works of architecture in the world. It’s fascinating. It looks like somebody grabbed a piece of paper, crumpled it, and threw it out. But inside the concert hall, the acoustics are phenomenal and there are no columns blocking you. Every seat is a good seat. It’s very thoughtfully designed.”

“The Getty Center is massive. It’s on top of a mountain, and it took about 10 years to build. I know one of the engineers who worked on it, who told me that the architect ordered several ships full of Italian marble. When the marble arrived in the port in L.A., he went to receive it and said, ‘I don’t like the color,’ and sent the ships back to Italy. No expense was spared. They didn’t worry about money—and you can see it. It’s an incredible museum with so many verandas and beautiful gardens."

“You get your ticket and it gets you access to the garden and the library. They have a lot of really, really old editions of different books, and it’s fascinating for a writer to go visit the library. It’s very beautiful. And I love to walk around the gardens. If it’s May, I go to see the rose garden; if it’s the summer, I like the cactus garden. They have a gorgeous Japanese garden with bonsai and all that. It’s a really nice way to spend a Sunday morning or an afternoon.”

“This is an old cemetery where a lot of movie stars are buried. The board was worried because they didn’t have the funds to keep it up, so they hired this young guy who said, ‘How about we screen horror films at midnight?’ It got really popular and they moved it to 9 p.m. so more people could come. Then, instead of just horror, they started showing cult classics. This thing blew up. It’s called Cinespia and goes from around May until October. It’s a lot of fun and totally an L.A. thing."

“Of all the venues in L.A., this is the one that makes me most proud. It’s unique. It fits about 18,000 people, and you have these boxes, these premium seats that have little tables, so you bring your dinner and your wine and you sit and you wait for the sunset, and then when it’s dark, the show begins and you can have dinner there. It’s fantastic because it has such great vibes and it’s open air, it’s outdoors. They do a lot of classical, but they also do a lot of different rock bands.”

“The Musch Trail in Topanga State Park is the favorite of Patricia, the youngest daughter of the Alvarado family in my novel L.A. Weather, who is a hardcore local hiker. In an early scene, Patricia climbs this trail, which is the best way to get to Eagle Rock, a huge boulder with fantastic views and a longtime challenge for many local hikers and rock climbers.”

“It’s the premier farmers' market in L.A.—it’s where all the restaurants go shopping for produce. It’s open two days: Wednesdays and Saturdays. Saturday is more for the general public, but if you go on a Wednesday, you see all the chefs and the cooks with their little carts and their boxes filled with incredible produce. The best tomatoes you’ve ever tasted. The strawberries are flavor bombs! It’s right near the ocean, so my husband and I love to take a nice walk and then come back and shop."

“You know you’re in a hip neighborhood when you find there’s an Urth Caffé, and the DTLA Arts District is no exception. The question is, What came first? Did the Arts District become cool when an Urth Caffé opened, or did the Urth Caffé open in the Arts District because the neighborhood was already cool? Try their pastries and sandwiches if you’re lucky to get a table.”