You gotta love the Staples Center. If you want to ...

You gotta love the Staples Center. If you want to see champions, you can take in a Lakers game. If you just want a cheap night out, the Clippers are also in town, and occasionally they even manage to play some pretty good basketball.

There are also some surprisingly good food choices in the arena. As a frequent visitor, I'll let you in on a secret. Don't go for the Downtown Dog or the Skyscraper Dog, or the unimpressive nachos. You want to find the place that serves the fork & knife chili dog. It's one of the best hot dogs I've ever had at a stadium, and it's reasonably priced. It totally makes up for all the searching you have to do to find it. If you're feeling extra adventurous, you can always flag down one of the bacon-wrapped hot dog sellers in the area, or wait around until you see one of the numerous food trucks.

Cons: Parking is overpriced, but it's not like, San Diego Convention Center overpriced. You can find parking near the arena for $20, and if you don't mind walking a couple blocks, you can get down to $8-$10. (As compared to San Diego, where anything within 8 blocks is $30.)