Around LAX

We have one apparently inviolable rule for whenever we land at LAX, and that is that we get into the rental car, and immediately head to the In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda, which is about 3 minutes away. I say inviolable because no matter how much I try to convince my family that we should try something else out, like say, Gjelina, or Huckleberry, since my husband hasn't been to either, and we weren't going to stay in LA, but head straight up the coast to Santa Barbara...well, I didn't win.  And once I got there, eating the perfect "protein set-up, animal style" burger (it's a gluten-free dream!), I don't know why I was lobbying so hard to change tradition.

On our way back to LAX, I did get my way though. We made sure we had an hour extra to kill before needing to get to the afternoon flight, and we stopped at Gjelina. It's a restaurant that is always packed, annoyingly so. There's always a crowd out front, and it's impossible to get in unless you have time to wait, or foresight to book ahead. But now that there's a Gjelina Take Away next door, you can get a little bit of the vibe and flavor. It isn't cheap—I think lunch for three, plus some meatballs for the plane, came to about $60, but it was certainly cheaper than sitting in the restaurant. From there, it's a straight shot up Lincoln to the airport, and easy to fill up on gas on the way.