Jaunted

Right now, LA Live is the perfect place to get a drink or eat before you make your way over to the Staples Center. That's cause most of what else is open at LA Live are restaurants such as The Yardhouse, The Farm of Beverly Hills (an LA chain), ESPN Zone and Fleming's steakhouse. Scheduled to open soon are upscale sushi chain Katsuya, Rosa Mexicana, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant and a Trader Vic's.

Aside from Nokia and food, LA Live does have some other entertainment options. There's Club Nokia, a much smaller joint on the third floor of LA Live (separate from the theater building) that only holds about a couple thousand people. It's going for a House of Blues type of intimacy without the tin roof.

Lucky Strikes Bowling occupies the second floor of this same building. There's already a Lucky Strikes in Hollywood but that place is always crowded and a royal pain to get to (it's located at the congested Hollywood and Highland).

However should you go to this Lucky Strikes, be prepared to dress appropriately. If you need help, we took a snapshot of the dress code restrictions.

Rounding out the things "To Do" are a Grammy museum and a newer outpost of the legendary Conga Room. A monstrous movie theater is also expected to open as well.

We checked out a show at Club Nokia last week and we were largely impressed with the fact that such a cool complex had opened in Downtown and the people were into it too. Yardhouse was packed and Club Nokia managed a good crowd on a Sunday night. That said, it was still missing something. It didn't quite have the manufactured charm of The Grove or the sleek modern style of Century City. This could be because all we saw were chain restaurants and no retail or maybe we were annoyed that parking starts at $20.

In short, this is a great complex for anyone looking to waste time before or after a concert or game at Staples. It's also great for anyone who lives in a loft in downtown LA or goes to the nearby University of Southern California. Should you go out of your way to visit it on a trip to LA? We say no. Stick with the tried and true tourist spots.

Related Stories:
· The LA Live Development [Jaunted]
· LA Live [Official Site]