Potential Eats for Great LA Walk 2010

Pancakes from Bottega Louie

I'm barely backing from my long weekender Boston (with its plethora of delicious eats and drinks plus lots of walkable trails and landmarks - posts to come!) and already this weekend I'm gonna slip into my sneakers again to partake in the 5th Annual Great LA Walk (my 3rd time doing it,) where it's going back to the trail's roots and tackling Wilshire Blvd. once again, all 15.6 miles of it from downtown LA to Santa Monica.

And in true Urban Hike form, I've started plotting all the possible fun eats & drinks options along/near the route -- so I can keep my tastebuds happy too.

View Great LA Walk 2010 eateries in a larger map

In putting together this list, I aim for places:
1) that are open during that time, obviously (thus my plotting of Bottega Louie and Nickel Diner, neither actually on Wilshire, but they are actually open for breakfast in downtown and walkably close enough for a quick A.M. bite before the Walk commences)
2) where casual/activewear-sporting hikers won't look too out of place (though there are some chic joints on there, though one can sit at the less-formal bar to have a drink & snack while soaking in the scenery and crowd.)
3) and related to #2, places that won't do too big a dent on the wallet.
4) finally and obviously, places I already tried and like, or want to try.

Thankfully, most of the Wilshire stretch has a good deal of fascinating eats, some that are old school classic L.A. (Pacific Dining Car, Kate Mantilini) some for the health-conscious & vegetarian eaters (Greenleaf Chopshop, Native Foods Cafe, Golden Mean Vegan) some reflecting the local-seasonal foods trend (Huckleberry, FIG, Wilshire) a few cute places to grab a quick sweet fix (Sprinkles, Huckleberry) and, of course, plenty reflecting the ethnic diversity of LA's foodscape (obviously, Koreatown restaurants such as BCD Tofu House and Genwa KBBQ, but also more exotic gems such as Ngoma Pan-African.)

So take a look at the list & map, keep your eyes peeled for your favorites and perhaps even join along as I live-tweet my way down the GreatLAWalk route & eat along the length of Wilshire. And if you think I left a must-try off, feel free to let me know via comments -- as I'll likely give the map another little tweak before Saturday.

Finally, the Great LA Walk organizers got some tasty surprises in store for us too -- including a food truck lunch stop by LACMA and an afterparty at Border Grill Santa Monica.

Hope to see you there!

Sweet corn agnolotti @ Rustic Canyon