Category Archives: L.A. Life

The Best Burrito in LA

By Matthew Kim

As an LA native, I’ve been blessed with an array of diverse, delicious food my whole life. I consider this to be one of the best things about Los Angeles–you can always count on countless fast food or mom-and-pop restaurants to be nearby. Quick-bite food options are rapidly growing to accommodate everyone’s busy schedules. Today, I want to share my favorite burrito spot in all of Los Angeles: Tacos El Venado. To be specific, the Al Pastor Burrito is my favorite burrito in Los Angeles. This Mexican food stand is on the corner of Vermont Ave and 6th Street, only about three miles away from USC!

It’s important to mention that the location and hours for this food stand on Google Maps is incorrect. The stand is usually only open at night and is in front of the Walgreens on Vermont Ave and 6th Street. They also have an instagram: @tacoselvenado. One possible way to reach the burrito stand from campus is to walk to Vermont Ave and take the 204 Metro bus northward. There should be a stop on 6th street, across the burrito stand. The same bus can be taken to come back to USC. 

The Al Pastor burrito ready to be eaten!

The other weekend I went to Tacos El Venado with some of my friends. All of us get the same thing every time: an Al Pastor Burrito for eight dollars (one more for cheese). As of October 2022, Tacos El Venado only accepts cash, so make sure you have some with you before going. The Al Pastor burrito is special in my opinion because they give a very generous portion of Al Pastor, straight off the shawarma machine. It’s always hot and delicious so be cautious and don’t burn yourself. Also, the burrito comes with your choice of rice and beans (which I always get). Then, you get your personal choice of onions, cilantro, lime, and sauces before the grillers wrap your burrito. I put so much of everything in my burrito that it ended up exploding upon my first couple bites! It was so good that I grabbed a fork and finished all of it. The Al Pastor Burrito is the only menu option that I’ve tried besides their nachos (which in my opinion weren’t anything special). 

Another thing to note: since this is a street food stand, there aren’t any tables to sit at. My friends and I ate the food on the hood of my car but a majority of people take the food to-go. If you have leftovers you can always ask them to rewrap it for you and take it home. Unfortunately, they don’t have any vegan options, but otherwise they offer a variety of options. The Al Pastor Burrito at Tacos El Venado is the perfect late night, mid-study session snack that’ll satisfy your cravings and is very affordable.

Featured Image by Frank Zhang on Unsplash

Matthew is a current freshman studying Business Administration at the Marshall School of Business. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California so he is very familiar with the area. In his free time, he works as a Community Facilitator, goes swimming, and watches Netflix or sports. Matthew has teaching experience tutoring middle school students privately and as a teacher assistant in a summer enrichment program for elementary students. He loves to eat good food and try new activities throughout the city.  

Finding Tranquility on the Trails

By Leah King

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

Recently I picked up a new hobby that I would love to share with others in the hopes that it could bring the same joy and peace that I feel from it to you: hiking. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I felt trapped in my home and anxious from spending so much time indoors. I needed an escape from what was going on for my mental health.

Growing up, I loved spending time outdoors. I would go camping and hiking around the Midwest regularly, but for some reason, I lost touch with that side of myself in high school and in my early undergraduate years because of my other athletic commitments. So when all the gyms were closed and I was tired of running around the same block over and over again, I started researching hiking trails around California. This was around my first year of my Master’s Program. In my search, I came across this app called “AllTrails.” This incredible app shows you all the hiking trails in the area, how difficult they are, and how long they are. It also has a navigation system to help you locate the start of the trail and people’s reviews. I used this app to help plan my first hiking trip to Yosemite.  

One of Yosemite’s most popular views

During spring break, a couple of friends and I drove up from LA to Yosemite to hike for a few days. I was immediately hooked. Firstly, Yosemite is so breathtaking with all its mountains, trees, and waterfalls. I used AllTrails to help me plan what hikes we wanted to do in terms of difficulty and popularity. We hiked over 15 miles during the three days we were there, and while I was hiking, I felt a sense of calmness and peace when I was surrounded by nature. When I came back to LA to resume classes, that calmness was gone and I was eagerly anticipating my next adventure in the outdoors.

Fast forward to the second year of my Master’s Program. The pandemic had calmed down a bit and my classes were fully in person. While in class, I overheard a couple of classmates talking about hiking in Santa Monica. I gravitated to the conversation and asked You guys are hiking? Could I possibly join?”. The two girls were so sweet and invited another classmate and me that weekend to hike. During that hike, we shared our love for the outdoors and discussed how many different hiking spots there are in California. We decided to try to hike every weekend and came up with the name “Trailmixers” for our hiking group! And that’s what the Trailmixers did. We hiked almost every weekend, and with some planning, most of those trips were very inexpensive. We’ve hiked Mount Baldy, Cucamonga, San Fan, Santa Barbra, Sedona, Pinnacles National Park, Zion, camped in Big Sur, and backpacked in Catalina Island.

Photo from my Catalina Island trip
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My Experience Spending the Night at the Airport

By Matthew Kim

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

Back in April 2021, I was a high school senior still deciding where to go to college. At that point, I was pretty committed on attending USC, but I wanted to visit my other potential options so I could be 100% sure in my decision. One of the other colleges that I was considering attending was UC Berkeley, so I decided to take a day to visit their campus.

Photo by Jeremy Huang on Unsplash

I left on the first flight out of LAX one morning and was planning to catch the red eye out of SFO on the way back. I spent the whole day exploring Berkeley and San Francisco; my day was filled with eating amazing food and desserts. I was thoroughly enjoying my day, exploring campus and enjoying the nice weather. That is, I was enjoying myself until it was time to go back. I constantly checked my phone the whole evening to ensure I had enough time to make it back to my flight, but honestly, I was too lenient with myself. By the time I was on the bus back to SFO, I realized about fifty minutes before my flight that the only way I had a remote chance to make it was with an uber. So, I got off the bus at the first top I could and called an Uber. I rushed to the airport, and arrived about five minutes before my flight was set to depart. However, when I got there the receptionist told me my flight had departed about ten minutes ago. I was stunned because I thought I had already checked in for the flight, but the receptionist insisted I hadn’t. There wasn’t anything I could do about the situation, so my only option was to catch the next flight in the morning. I paid the rescheduling fee and prepared for my night at the airport.

Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash

As I walked through the terminal, I noticed that many shops and restaurants were already closed. I knew that I would have to get as many essential items as I could before the rest of the airport closed for the night. The first thing I did was get food and drinks so I wouldn’t be stranded without something to snack on. I decided on getting a sandwich from Starbucks for dinner. I also got water and a Naked smoothie drink to make sure I stayed hydrated for the night. If you ever have to stay at the airport overnight or for a long period of time, I highly recommend stocking up on food and drinks for the night because it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. I would hate to be hungry or dehydrated while waiting uncomfortably for my flight all night. The second thing I did was get toiletries, such as a toothbrush and toothpaste. After these two steps, I found a nice place to sit down that was near an outlet to charge my devices. The rest of my night was filled with watching a show called The League, and numerous poor attempts to get some sleep. If I was put in another situation that required me to spend the night at the airport, I would’ve invested in some melatonin or a sleep aid if the airport shops had it. 

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