City of El Segundo

I actually really like this area. Definitely spent a lot of time in El Segundo exploring all of the places Mari P. wrote about in her review plus more. It has a little downtown area with some quaint restaurants and bars within biking distance to the Pacific Ocean.
El Segundo means «The Second» and as a joke, you may have been told that they named the city «El Segundo» because of the smell that came from the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant next door. Get it? Poop Plant? The Second? El Segundo? Nevermind… I didn’t make it up.
Overall, I enjoyed biking or jogging in this area though closer to the beach when I lived in Westchester. You still get somewhat of a small town feel in this South Bay beach city of Los Angeles County that seems relatively safe and very close to LAX. Many pluses living here.

Living in LA for over 20 years, my uninformed opinion of El Segundo was… industrial, blah, forgettable. But then I came upon a glossy tourist magazine for El Segundo, making it seem like the next hip destination, a new Miami, with glitz, an art museum, etc. So, one night, I decided to explore El Segundo.
It was a Tuesday night, and I expected a simple in-​and-​out procedure. To my surprise, it was damn hard to find parking in downtown El Segundo. I strolled for a bit and here is what I found: A midi-​mall [about the size of 2 – 3 mini malls] with a Coldstone, a Starbucks, a Dominos, etc., etc., – everything you need to make one modern town indistinguishable from another, which is probably why El Segundo has them. On other streets, various restaurants. The de rigeur cheap Mexican place. Then three establishments in a row: a decent-​looking, hardy, family-​style Italian place; a trendy bistro with bar and furniture that would not be out of place in Santa Monica, albeit with a slightly older clientele; and then the Exotic Tiki Lounge. Part of the mystery of El Segundo is that I can’t tell if the Exotic Tiki Lounge is a new establishment or a holdover from the gritty, grungy 1950s. I wasn’t bold enough to venture in – perhaps it was the tough-​looking, chain-​smoking dame standing outside who intimidated me. At least one other trendy up-​scale restaurant was nearby. And then Rock ‘N Brew, the chain featuring hamburgers, beer, and TVs… lots of TVs. It was hopping, positively jam-​packed. Where do all these people come from? I suspect denizens of Manhattan Beach filter over for the fun of slumming it, or out of a sense of guilt and shame for living opulently in such tiny houses so near by. I might also mention a few modern-​looking professional offices in quaint brick store-​fronts — there is what appears to be a music media or music distribution office and other establishments I can’t quite identify. Also a surf board shop, clothing shops, a beauty parlor as well as the silent-​film movie theatre, featuring live (still alive after all these years?) organ accompaniment. Parts of the city are stuck in the past, and others are striving mightily to be modern a-​go-​go. Around now I start to get paranoid, thinking that El Segundo is too perfect, that it must be a Potemkin town, a phony village just thrown up in the middle of nowhere and populated by actors merely to deceive passersby such as myself. Or like the Village in «The Prisoner», old-​fashioned and futuristic at the same time. Or perhaps the adjacent refinery is really an Evil Genius Complex where nefarious plots are percolating and El Segundo is where all the henchmen and henchwomen live… trying so hard to look ordinary and innocent. To dispel such horrors I descended into the one safe haven I knew nearby, the El Segundo Brewery taproom. Here, all was reassuring and normal. A subdued, none too numerous crowd. Just as I would expect on a Tuesday night. The place was not hopping. But there was some hopping – or other brewing-​related activities – going on among the large silver hoppers in the adjacent brewery area. I had a wet hop Mayberry IPA, which was quite good, and a taste of the Simcoe Pale Ale, which was rather bland. This combination/​contradiction somehow reflects the character of the city itself.
There are still some streets in El Segundo left to explore, so the full story has not yet been told. But the Mamas and the Papas of City leadership have won round one. My interest is piqued. I will be back.
To be continued???

El Segundo is a beach city of LA County. Established in 1911, it is one of the smaller more calm beach cities in the area, with a population of no more than 17,000. If you grew up here you may even consider it a «Mayberry» kind of town. People know each other by name & treat one another quite warmly & with respect. There’s plenty of community events all year round — such as — A Farmer’s Market every Thursday, Summer concerts at Library Park, a Tree Lighting Ceremony during the holiday season and speaking of the Holidays — don’t forget to check out Candy Cane Lane during that time. In 2013 the city welcomed a museum (ESMoA) or «art lab» as the curators Brian and Eva Sweeney call it. El Segundo is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings practice facility. The High School has been featured in many films and television shows. The city is referenced in a Tribe Called Quest song entitled «I left my wallet in El Segundo.» ES has plenty of noteworthy bars and restaurants, such as «Maki Yaki,» «Brits BBQ,» «Rock & Brew,» «Little Gourmet» and many more on Main St. On Sepulveda, if you head South, you have «Pizza Rev,» «Five Guys» and «The Habit» but try to beat the business lunch crowd for those. A few places that have been around for a while include «The Old Town MusicHall,» «The Automobile Driving Museum» and the very colorful tiki bar «The Purple Orchid» where you can enjoy a cocktail & manicure on Monday nights for $ 10. Although the city is not very big — it is perfect for a short relaxing day by the beach.