Steps away from the beach on the strand in Hermosa Beach sits this landmark restaurant. There’s no better place to go for a weekend breakfast while sipping coffee and watching the type-A people playing volleyball on the beach. Or maybe you’d rather play volleyball on the beach and glance over at us type-B slackers.

Pachanga serves fresh mexcan-grill-style food in a tiny strip-mall eatery. The atmosphere’s not great so do yourself a favor and get it to go and head to the beach.

“The Hat”, as my friends and I called it, is an old-school restaurant serving top-notch food at good prices. Their tortilla chips are about the size of tostadas—don’t be shy about breaking them into bite-sized chunks but don’t double-dip!

The south meets the west coast at this little place in Hermosa Beach. If you’ve got a hankering for some good jambalaya or gumbo then this is the place for you.

I saved the best for last. El Polla Inka started in a tiny little spot in a small strip-mall. They quickly took over the 2 businesses next door to them as they expanded by word-of-mouth serving the tastiest Peruvian food I’ve ever had (and I’ve looked).

They rotisserie chicken in a brick-oven in the front of the restaurant so I recommend trying a chicken dish like Saltado de Pollo (my mouth is watering as I type this). And to top off the experience, throw in an Inca Kola, Peru’s Golden Cola.