As I posted in the other CA thread:
The best places to go in the LA area are 2600 or Defcon meetings. In LA specifically these are LA2600 and DC213. Irvine Underground also has meetings, but I have not attended any (too far :/)
If you let me know in advance I can try to meet up with you at LA2600, depends how my schedule goes, but usually OK if you give me a heads up.
http://la2600.org - First friday of each month
http://dc123.org - Third friday of each month
dg