Archive for March, 2012

Cheap Eats in LA

Hello! How’s it going everyone? My name is Simon and I am from South Korea. I have been studying at ELC Los Angeles for the past 8 weeks and I will be here until September 2012.

What do you want to eat for lunch?? Everyday you hear that question during lunchtime. Is it hard to choose a restaurant that everyone likes?? I like to find delicious restaurants in Los Angeles so I will recommend some good places, which are suitable prices for students.

I will recommend three different types of food restaurants; two of them will be American. If you want to eat pizza, then you must go to 800 Degrees and you must get there early because the restaurant always has a long line. The taste of the pizza is so fresh, which makes it great! You can choose the toppings and the type of dough you want. The price is only $5-$10.00, it depends what you want to add to your pizza. The best thing is that the pizza is done in 3-5 minutes because they put it in a hot fire oven that is 800 degrees.

Another American place is, In&Out burger, this place is already famous and everyone loves it. Even though their food is fast food they use fresh and quality ingredients. The cool part is that you can see how they make the hamburgers and the French fries, I might say “Simple is the best” which is what I think of In&Out.

The second type of food is Japanese. If you love sushi or you want to try sushi you should go to “Sushi-stop”. The sushi here is very cheap price and also made by a Japanese chef. Most Japanese places in Los Angeles that have a Japanese chef are very expensive but this is different. All the dishes are fresh and delicious even though they are $2.75. I love this place so much that I will wait in line for 30- 60 minutes, but even waiting in line is exciting!

The last food I recommend is Korean food. Many of my foreign friends here at ELC don’t know about Korean food. I really want every student to eat my cultures food because it is yummy! There are so many good Korean dishes and places in L.A. I suggest Korean BBQ; the restaurant name is Boedeunamu Restaurant in Korea town. If you want to eat delicious meat you can go here and only pay $10.00 for all you can eat!! You can have a variety of meats and great side dishes for only $10.00 per person!

The restaurants are all great for students on a budget! The last advise I have for you is to make sure you have an appetizer before you go because you will have to wait in line if you go during lunch time! If you go too often you will gain weigh ☺ Thank you for reading my long food story.

Have fun eating in L.A.
Bye!

-Simon, Korea

 

 

 

 

 

You might also want to check out: Los Angeles Magazine’s 101 Cheap Eats

Where should we go to lunch in Santa Barbara?

A common question we get from students is, “Where should we go for lunch?”

Well, there are countless of options near the campus, but we wanted to suggest some of our favorites as well as some of our students’ favorites.

Here are some of our staff and student favorites:

Jeannine’s Bakery
15 East Figueroa Street

Jeannine’s Bakery is a great place to grab something on the go or if you’d like to have a nice sit-down meal. It’s only two blocks away from the ELC! They’re well known for their baked goods and sandwiches. Not only is their food delicious, it’s also healthy and fresh. Have coffee with friends here, or enjoy a nice meal in their outdoor patio area. You can have a look at their menu here: http://jeannines.com/menus.html

Panino
834 Santa Barbara Street

Panino is a wonderful restaurant where you can enjoy unique, fresh, and delicious sandwiches made with freshly baked breads and soups. The restaurant has a quaint, neighborhood feel. If you’re curious about what they serve, you can check out there menu here: http://paninorestaurants.com/menus.html

Our Daily Bread
831 Santa Barbara Street

Our Daily Bread is a cool spot where you can enjoy breakfast or lunch. Their sandwiches and fresh baked bread are their specialties. This bakery is in walking distance of the school, and they offer special deals to ELC students. Just show them your student ID! You can check out there menu here: http://ourdailybread.net/

The (805) Deli
135 East Carrillo Street

The (805) Deli is located about two blocks away from the campus. It’s a great place to grab some quick coffee or lunch. They have specials every day, and they have a wide assortment of food from which you can choose. You can browse their menu here: http://the805deli.com/805_deli_-_santa_barbara_resta.html.

The French Press
1101 State St

The French Press is a unique coffee shop on State St. It has a fun, hip atmosphere and serves delicious coffee and tea beverages. It’s a great place to grab coffee with friends as well as great place to study. There’s a neat back patio area where you can hang out with friends over a cup of coffee (or tea).

The Habit
628 State St.

The Habit is a burger place that offers a wide selection of burgers at great prices. It is a small chain of restaurants that started in Santa Barbara. The food at The Habit is fresh and delicious! Here’s their tasty menu: http://www.habitburger.com/charburger/

Baja Sharkeez
416 State St

Sharkeez is a sports bar and restaurant. It’s a great place to go if you want to catch the latest sporting event or meet up with some friends for some drinks. They also offer a full service menu.
http://www.sharkeez.net

In-N-Out Burger
4865 Calle Real
Goleta, CA 93111

If this is your first time in California, then you MUST try In-N-Out burger (They’re restaurants are only located in California and a few others states.)! It’s a widely popular burger restaurant, and their prices can’t be beat! They’re famous for their burgers, fries, and milkshakes! Everything off of their menus is very fresh and tasty! You can also order items off of their secret menu: http://www.in-n-out.com/secretmenu.asp.

Freebirds World Burrito
879 Embarcadero Del Norte
Isla Vista, CA 93117

Freebirds is known for their version of fresh, delicious Mexican food. They’re also famous for their HUGE burritos and gigantic servings of nachos. This is a great to check out with your friends for lunch, for dinner, or for a late night snack. You can check out their menu here: http://freebirds.com/food/menu/burritos/

 

A list of suggested restaurants from Santa Barbara’s official website:
http://www.santabarbaraca.com/experience-santa-barbara/sip-savor/

Another list of popular dining places in Santa Barbara along with reviews:
http://www.santabarbara.com/dining/

Helpful and Important Locations to Know in Santa Barbara

We know how stressful and overwhelming it can be to come to a new school in a new area; that’s why we want make your time at Santa Barbara ELC as comfortable as possible! Here are some things you should know before coming to Santa Barbara.

Below is a list of places that our past and current students have asked us about most frequently:

The Post Office
1221 State St # 12
Santa Barbara
(800) 275-8777

Transit Center (Santa Barbara MTD)
550 East Cota Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
(805) MTD-3702
http://www.sbmtd.gov/

You can download the bus route map at: SB bus map. More information on the public transportation  in Santa Barbara is available at: http://www.totalsantabarbara.com/trans.shtml

If you need to purchase an outlet or plug adapter for your electronics, go to:

Santa Barbara Home Improvement Center
415 East Gutierrez Street,
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
http://www.sbhicace.com/

Nearby markets/grocery stores:

Ralphs
100 West Carrillo Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 564-7000

Whole Foods Market (This store is great for organic and natural food options.)
3761 State St
Santa Barbara
(805) 837-6959

Nearby drugstores:

CVS
1109 State Street
Santa Barbara

Rite Aid
825 State Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 966-2760

Nearby banks:

Wells Fargo
1036 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 564-2702

Chase
1302 State Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 568-5601

CitiBank
3757 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(800) 627-3999

Nearby movie theaters:

Paseo Nuevo Cinemas
8 East De La Guerra Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 966-6482
http://metrotheatres.com/location.asp?location=2273

Metro 4 Theater
618 State Street
Santa Barbara
(877) 789-6684
http://metrotheatres.com/location.asp?location=2274

The Arlington Theater
1317 State St
Santa Barbara
(805) 963-4408
http://thearlingtontheatre.com/

Nearby health/fitness locations:

24 Hour Fitness Sport
820 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 899-4008
http://www.24hourfitness.com/ClubList/ca/santa_barbara

Yoga Soup
28 Parker Way
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 965-8811
*provides student discounts

If there are other locations that you would find helpful that are not on this list, please let us know! We’ll make sure to add them!

We hope you enjoy your stay in Santa Barbara. Not only do our students love the location because it’s close to the beach, they also enjoy it because it’s close to anything that they would ever need. Everything is either in walking distance or a short bus ride away!

Snow in Boston

We have been pretty lucky with our mild winter here in the Northeast but Boston was finally hit with a wintry mix this past week and it has been met with various reactions from ELC students. For some, the first signs of snow brought excitement, as it was the first time they had seen the white fluffy stuff. For others, though, there were groans and moans at the thought of trekking around in the slush.

Everyone made the most of it and students like Carlos and Nicole, both from Ecuador, said that they had a ball making snow angels and snowmen and getting into snowball fights for the first time. They commented that they are A-Okay with snow here in Boston but that the mix of snow and rain was not their favorite thing in the world. Despite this, both of them said that it was quite a change from their home country and they could appreciate the difference.

Ahmed from Saudi Arabia told us that he loves the snow when it first falls and is still pure and white. Coming from such a warm country he commented that the colder weather doesn’t bother him in any way and that, in fact, he prefers Boston when it snows.  Sultan is also from Saudi Arabia and told us that he doesn’t mind the snow, particularly because he is leaving for sunny Santa Barbara next week.

Despite the weather, students had no trouble participating in this week’s activities.  Students also made their way out to the harbor yesterday for a trip to the Institute of Contemporary Art. Although they had to face the driving snow and wind coming off the water, ELC definitely enjoyed the exhibits on color and texture that this hip, modern art museum had to offer. Xuetao from China especially liked one of the exhibits, a collection of blue mints reflecting the artist’s concept of memory, because visitors are allowed to take a piece of the candy from the exhibit, so long as it is just one (something he learned the hard way!) The light and mirror exhibits that another artist had contributed fascinated Venezuelans Alejandro and Angel. Other students were a bit confused by exhibits such as “Oil and Sugar” which was simply a video of crude oil melting on a loop. Perhaps some of the art was a bit too contemporary to understand. 

Overall, the weather may have taken a turn for the worse but ELC students have been great sports about it and have embraced the snow and even the rain.