Cruise down the 110 for a day of burritos, beers, records, and classic cars along the rocky coast of San Pedro.
Located on the outer edge of LA ’s south coast is San Pedro , where you ’ll find the Port of Los Angeles , a major international port that takes in 20 % of all cargo coming into the country . The seaboard community is also home tothe only suspension bridge in the Greater LA area , the largestmaritime museumin the res publica , and a thriving fishing manufacture that ’s long attracted European immigrants — San Pedro is still home to the big Italian community in Southern California , as well as pregnant Croatian and Norse populations , all of whom have made their Gospel According to Mark on the neighborhood ’s culinary scene .
But if you cite any of these mainstream berth to third - generation San Pedro local Paul Bobadilla , he will not hesitate to give you a hard time : “ I can tell aright away that you ’re a tourist , ” he says .
Bobadilla is the founder ofTrinity CBC , a coffee berry roaster and pop - up coffeehouse with a badass custom lowrider espresso auto , and he ’s also a third - generation dock worker with recondite tie-in to theSan Pedro Longshore and Warehouse Union . That is to say , his roots in the Harbor Area run deep , and he is ferociously proud of his hometown .
Image by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
He will tell you about the Harbor Area ’s unique identity — naughty collar , diverse , independent , and protective of home plate sod with a snatch of ‘ locals - only ’ energy — and he will tell you about threats to that individuality in the form of corporate - funded development on city - owned land , expectant undertaking hold up up that are designed by , and for , citizenry from other parts of town .
He will also tell you that the Harbor Area is cool as hell , with a strong cultural backbone of coastal cruising , green cookout , and individual music . There are so many fashion to enjoy the area ’s culture , mood , and food scene while staying truly local , stand business that have been in the community of interests for decades , as well as newer phratry - run speckle that make San Pedro what it is . With Bobadilla ’s gregarious , opinionated , perfectly Pedro attitude lead the mode , here is a local ’s guide to the honorable things to do in the Harbor Area :
Get your morning coffee fix
Bobadilla is not unsure about the chocolate situation in San Pedro : “ I reckon it , and I think 98.9 % of all coffee tree shops in Pedro sell coffee that ’s available at Smart & Final , ” he says . That makesTrinity CBCunique , a dead on target specialty umber roaster with ethical sourcing , craft blends , and also trade individual - inception beans through subscription and for pick - up , in addition to selling red-hot coffee and espresso drinks at pop - ups around town . His blends all have inspired public figure like “ Suavecito ” and “ Anything For Selenas , ” and he collaborates with local artist on releases like the recent “ Brown and Beautiful ” blend with painterMiranda Villanueva . you’re able to also get Trinity CBC ’s bottled cold brewage across LA , in flavors like Cafe de Olla , Horchata , and seasonal specialties like Pumpkin Spice .
Order a breakfast burrito (or two)
fit in to Bobadilla , “ No breakfast speaks more to Southern California and Harbor Area vibraharp than coffee berry and a breakfast burrito . ”
His favorite place are typically casual , immediate , and classic . El Tacois a stand that ’s part of a minuscule long - running chain of mountains , with a twosome locations around Southeast LA and Orange County . It ’s a roadside spot , you order at one windowpane and nibble up at another , and their breakfast burrito is dim-witted , elemental , not fancy but like an expert composed . For Bobadilla , it ’s a particularly poignant compounding : “ When I was a minor , my papa used to make me breakfast burritos . The breakfast burritos at El Taco are exactly how I remember first having them as a male child . And the husband and married woman squad who start the drive - thru still call me ‘ mijo . ’ ”
Happy Deliis another quick and casual breakfast burrito option , but their end product is unlike — it ’s not fancy , but it ’s a little more composed than El Taco ’s , with rosemary - blot breakfast tater , pico de gallo , and both bacon and blimp inside . It may not strike the same greenback of nostalgia , but it ’ll still lift your mood like hydraulics on aCaprice .
Photo courtesy of Trinity CBC
Get your fingers dusty at a record store
With your breadbasket fortified , head over toSteady Beat , the physical outpost for therecord labelof the same name . The label is focalise on beachy West Coast sounds , with vintage - style reggae and ska , cumbia , and Chicano - influenced soul artists , and the storefront muse those good vibraphone . The crate are stocked with used vinyl radical ripe for the sifting , and you ’d be hard iron to find a more fun collection in townspeople . They also host regular events likeopen DJ nightson the shop ’s turntables , andFriday Nox vinyl sitting . While you ’re there , you might as well pop next door toThe Donutfor the Harbor Area ’s secure cinnamon twists and glazed donuts .
Hunt for craft beer whales
One of Bobadilla ’s key good word is to get some cold beers and savour them out of doors in the curt , breezy coastal air , and though tidy sum of people would settle down for whatever is most convenient , he ’s a foxiness beer buff who ’s uncoerced to drive a bite . Craft beer has n’t totally blow up in San Pedro the style it has in nearby neck of the woods like Torrance and Long Beach , but that does n’t have in mind it ’s impossible to recover — Hillside Liquor , an downplay bottle shop on a tight - moving reach of Western , is his go - to descry for local cans of craft beer . He ’s also stumbled onto the casual whale there , theMoby Dick - cheer term for a beer Orion ’s dream , a rare bottle from a coveted brewery .
Pick up some sandwiches
Once you ’ve got your moth-eaten cans of craft - brewed barley soda , the luncheon choice is easy — meddling Bee Market , a pillar of the neighborhood for tenner . meddlesome Bee ’s sandwiches are absolutely monolithic , loaded with cold cut or stacked with pastrami or sausage from their steam trays then souse with home - made Lycopersicon esculentum sauce . They ’re most far-famed for the Belly Buster , a titanic two - meat combo , but Bobadilla goes for the meatball or the barbeque chicken , which comes with huge pieces of literal Gallus gallus alternatively of industrial tear up bits or pre - cooked nugget . in use Bee is a local mental institution , with a particular position in Bobadilla ’s heart : “ My dad would pick me up from Pedro High School , we ’d cruise over to Busy Bee , get some sandwiches , go down to the coast and consume and just bullshit . My Church Father ’s been wipe out Belly Busters since the mid-’80s . ”
Head down to the coast:White Point,Royal Palms,Paseo Del Mar,Point Fermin Park, or Cabrillo Beach
The harbour rule the San Pedro skyline and its blank space in LA ’s imaging , but Pedro is a fully seaside locality , with rough beach , spectacular view , and cliffside grassy spaces on three side . There are tidepools , plenty of picnic tables , trails to hike , and a few decorous breaks for surfing — if you do n’t heed a challenge from some of the more protective fixture in the water . One of Bobadilla ’s favorite things to do is lead down to the sea-coast to slack up in the picnic , maybe with a beverage or two from Hillside Liquor and probably some sandwiches from engaged Bee . If you face in the trash , you will notice he is not alone — sandwich negligee with Busy Bee ’s iconic logotype fill every ABA transit number .
Chilling along the coast is also where you may encounter another essential piece of Harbor Area culture — authoritative cars . The region is home to some of the honorable and longest - running motorcar clubs around likeLegendsandViejitos , with unofficial cookouts and meetups at coastal parkland . There are lowriders of all shapes and geological era , forties classics , muscle elevator car , and everything in between park along the coast in front of the set sun . There are occasional official events at green around the Harbor Area , and some unofficial cruises after - hour too .
Unwind with a local beer
There may not be dozens of craft breweries in San Pedro , but it ’s a golden thing that the biggest and most popular of them make smashing beer . Brouwerij Westinhabits a massive WWII - era storage warehouse near the interface , a cavernous space for their tank and fermenters , with plenty of seating and a massive TV screen inside , and board out front for table , nutrient trucks , and musical acts like their even Beats & Brews DJ series . The vibration may be a small more tenacious Beach than staring Pedro , but the energy is always practiced . What ’s more , brewer and founder Brian Mercer is a San Pedro local , and he ’s fall down in his hometown to brew a wide range of styles , like crisp Pilsener , punchy IPAs , and fruited Belgian - style beer . They ’ve also fetch plenty of cans to take home , and they do fun projects like concentrated club soda , and a dedicated beer slushie motorcar .
@steady.beat.records
Photo by Tod Mesirow
Photo by Tod Mesirow
Photo by Tod Mesirow
