You may find LA off-putting, but it’s not because it’s overly designed and marketed. It’s aggressively democratic and messy. Portland is designed and marketed. LA is substantial and complex. Nothing off-putting about LA if you embrace it’s complexity and ethnic vitality. This city could use more of that rather than the typical Portland provincialism against anything California.

This is ridiculous. You mention a "stack of meat", yet you fail to disclose that the Doner at Spitz is anything but. My understanding is that it is of the pre-made, compressed meat variety (basically a big solid hot dog). Completely different than hand stacked doner. If you want the real thing, check out Caspian Kabob at the food carts on 10th and Alder downtown. They have their authentic, hand stacked Doner on Mondays and Wednesdays (it's laborious to make, which is why it is only 2 days a week....and why Spitz uses the store bought processed variety).

Right on, savvt. In addition to that, folks in LA are a lot more welcoming than folks in Portland. Is there a "superficial" veneer that supports the stereotypes people have? Sure, in a few small pockets. But LA by and large is a tremendously diverse, exciting, and interesting place for anyone who bothers to actually explore it. It just takes a lot more time because of the difference in size. You could effectively explore most all of Portland in a month or less. And I love both cities.