Remote odd-looking ruins around Los Angeles (7)
I believe the answer is:
insular
'remote' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'odd-looking ruins around los angeles' is the wordplay.
'odd looking' indicates anagramming the letters.
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'los angeles' becomes 'la'.
'ruins' with letters rearranged gives 'insur'.
'insur' placed around 'la' is 'INSULAR'.
(Other definitions for insular that I've seen before include "Isolated -- urinals (anag)" , "withdrawn" , "Having a narrow outlook" , "Lacking contact with other people" , "Aloof - like an island" .)