L.A. Times Concierge: Help me plan a family day out that won't bore my teen boys!

We unrecorded successful Pasadena with our 2 teen boys, 14 and 17. We moved from the East Coast 4 years agone and are inactive getting to cognize each the absorbing neighborhoods, foods and quirks of Los Angeles. We spent a batch of clip successful Little Tokyo arsenic we emotion each things Japanese, but we request to research much and spot different neighborhoods that we don’t adjacent cognize about. We’re funny successful art, but not truly creation museums due to the fact that that’s excessively boring for teen boys. We emotion nutrient arsenic an anchor for a sojourn to a neighborhood. Can you springiness maine immoderate suggestions? — Margaret Hunt

Looking for things to bash successful L.A.? Ask america your questions and our adept guides volition stock highly circumstantial recommendations.

Here’s what we suggest:

I don’t person kids yet, but each clip my siblings sojourn maine from Las Vegas, I’m reminded of however hard it is to support teenagers entertained (and disconnected their phones). But it sounds similar your boys person immoderate chill interests. We’ve enactment unneurotic a fewer mini itineraries successful antithetic neighborhoods. You won’t beryllium capable to screen them each successful 1 day, truthful take your ain adventure.

If your teens are into the creation signifier of comic books, cheque retired Revenge Of, not excessively acold from Pasadena successful Glassell Park. “The shop, with its black-and-white tile floors, murals and neon lighting, is afloat of comic books, graphic novels and collectibles,” Times amusement and features exertion Brittany Levine Beckman tells me. “There are besides pinball machines and arcade games, which whitethorn beryllium arsenic amusive for you arsenic they are for your kids.” Next doorway is sister store And Destroy, which offers java and inventive beverages (the November paper includes a cornbread matcha concoction and saccharine murphy latte), and hosts a committee crippled time connected Sundays. Up the thoroughfare is Bub and Grandma’s diner (the tuna made our nutrient critic’s database of large sandwiches successful L.A. a fewer years ago). But beryllium warned, it gets packed connected the weekends, truthful hole to hold for a array oregon bid to go.

For a Westside option, fixed that your household is already acquainted with Little Tokyo, research L.A.’s different Japanese enclave: Sawtelle. Kick disconnected your escapade astatine Odd One Out, an award-winning boba beverage shop, past instrumentality a speedy locomotion to the Giant Robot store, which is often cited arsenic the birthplace of Asian popular civilization products. Your kids volition emotion browsing the shelves. In a Times usher to Sawtelle, Grace Xue writes that it’s packed with “quirky-cool creation pieces, unsighted boxes, plushies, location goods, toys, anime merch and gifts that volition delight the young and young astatine heart.” Across the thoroughfare is Giant Robot’s sister gallery, GR2. The snug creation hub is thing but boring — this month’s radical grounds features dinosaur art. By now, you’ve astir apt worked up an appetite and the noodles astatine Wadaya are hearty capable to fulfill the stomachs of teen boys. Times contributor Tiffany Tse recommends its mazemen: “the rich, sauce-slicked, brothless relative of the classical noodle bowl.”

A vicinity that should beryllium astatine the apical of each East Coaster’s database is Los Feliz, 1 of the astir walkable areas successful L.A. Start your time disconnected astatine Ululani’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice, a Maui-born saccharine store that sells cloud-like shaved crystal that is truthful brushed it practically melts successful your mouth. There are amusive flavors similar fabric candy and pickled mango. Once you’ve secured your treats, caput to Barnsdall Art Park, wherever you tin unbend connected on a luscious tract and instrumentality successful a stunning presumption of the city. Don’t hide to bring a picnic blanket, and for bonus points, bring a paper crippled to play. I did this with my siblings and we had truthful overmuch fun. You tin besides circuit the century-old, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hollyhock House from Thursday to Saturday — beforehand tickets are recommended. Have a speedy meal astatine smash burger blistery spot Goldburger and beryllium definite to bid the curly fries. Finally, wrapper up your evening astatine Vista, a glorious single-screen movie theatre owned by Quentin Tarantino.

Now for immoderate rapid-fire picks crossed L.A.: There’s Koreatown, wherever you tin instrumentality your prime of delicious Korean BBQ joints, past spell bowling astatine Shatto 39 Lanes, virtual golfing astatine W Screen Golf oregon sing your bosom retired astatine karaoke. My colleague, nutrient writer Stephanie Breijo, besides suggests checking retired Santa Monica’s pier, Camera Obscura Art Lab, “some of the L.A.’s champion pastries astatine Petitgrain Boulangerie” and having meal astatine Southeast Asian blistery spot Cobi’s. For an off-the-beaten-path creation option, there’s Phantasma Gloria, 1 Echo Park man’s monolithic front-yard sculpture. It’s made of rebar and colorful solid bottles, and shines otherwise depending connected the airy that day. You tin spot the creation from the thoroughfare connected a drive-by oregon docket a escaped circuit by texting the creator, Randlett King Lawrence, successful beforehand astatine (213) 278-1508. He says helium has immoderate “recent spectacular expansions.” Finally, Downtown L.A. is overflowing with things to bash specified arsenic exploring the treasured Last Bookstore, eating nutrient from astir the globe astatine Grand Central Market, taking a thrust on the iconic Angels Flight railway and learning astir euphony past astatine the Grammy Museum.

Living successful L.A. is realizing however expansive it is. Each clip I consciousness similar I’ve figured this metropolis out, thing caller and breathtaking pops up, sending maine down a roadworthy of discovery. So arsenic you and your household research the sprawling city, I anticipation you find much and much reasons to emotion it arsenic overmuch arsenic I do.