Remember those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials? “Hey! You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!” “You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!” But in the end, everyone laughed and enjoyed their strange new concoction. Bootie L.A. seems to offer something like that. This Angeleno sister to Bootie SF presents djs who mash up different songs from different genres to create one unique song. An example of this currently on the airwaves: Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” mixed with Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock & Roll,” some Lynyrd Skynyrd and Queen. It may sound like too many cooks spoiling the broth and you either love it or hate it, but me? I appreciate the fresh take on the song.

From Bootiela.com, Mash-up n (ma-shup):

When the vocal track of one song is mixed over the instrumentation of another. Using audio editing software, DJs and mash-up artists combine different artists and musical genres to create new and unique songs that are often greater than the sum of their parts. Imagine Michael Jackson rocking out with Nirvana, or Madonna singing with the Sex Pistols, or Eminem rapping with No Doubt.

So Bootie L.A., the first all-bootleg mash-up party, has started up a monthly goings-on in the Echo. Their next one is TONIGHT and if you get there before 10pm, admission is $5. After 10? It’s $8. But extra incentive to get there early is that the first 50 people through the door get a FREE Bootie CD. Awesome.

Can’t make it to the club tonight? Check the Bootie site for the next party time, and DJ Paul V. who will be appearing at tonight’s show hosts the mash-up show “Smash Mix” on Indie 103.1 FM on Fridays.

Appearing tonight:

ADRIAN and the MYSTERIOUS D PARTY BEN from club BOOTIE in San Francisco

DJ PAUL V. (Dragstrip 66), creator of Indie 103.1’s “Smash Mix”

And a live midnight mash-up show starring ADRIAN and PRINCESS KENNEDY

1822 Sunset Boulevard
Echo Park, CA 90026
(213) 413-8200
Cross Street: Glendale Blvd.

Clipped from Davesworld81.com

Do you ever get tired of feeling like you have to round up your friends and get dressed up just to get a drink in this town? That’s what dive bars are for–cheap drinks, free popcorn, jukebox not dj, lax dress policy and real-live barflies asleep at the bar. And some even ::whisper:: allow smoking indoors! If you want to drink alone, hit a dive. Everyone there understands if you just want to cry into your beer. And the burly bartenders and earthy regulars will keep you company. Forget the velvet rope, hip party crowd and brusque doormen, just make sure you bring enough cash as most dives don’t take credit cards. I know ! Weird!

Frank N Hank’s
This K-Town dive is billed as “an awesome dive bar with super cheap booze…where every hour is happy hour.” With a rep like that, how can you go wrong? If you don’t want to just sit at the bar and stare down into your very strong cocktail, you can play darts, shoot some pool or sing along to a song from their very eclectic jukebox selection. Here, you rub elbows with Wilshire businessmen, K-Town artists and barflies.

518 S Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 383-2087
Cross Street: Fifth Street
Daily 2pm-2am

The Frolic Room
Located next to the flashy Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard with its equally flashy sign, you can’t miss this old Hollywood dive bar. What’s funny is that that beautiful neon “Frolic Room” sign does not reflect what you find inside. Instead of a 1930s lounge, you get a really tiny, dark room with stools. But that just makes it easy to make friends with the theater-goers and hipsters who pour in and out of this place for the cheap drinks.

6245 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028-5310
(323) 462-5890
Daily 12pm-2am

Hinano Cafe
With the seeming gentrification of this MDR/Venice border spot (first Starbucks and now Coldstone Creamery, I hope Cow’s End doesn’t go anywhere) and popular nearby bars like Beechwood, the Brig and the Otheroom, the scattered sawdust on Hinano Cafe’s floor is a cozy reminder that this is Venice, home of the beach bums and artsy-fartsy artists, and you don’t have to get too fancy here. Ferget about asking for an apple martini as they only serve beer and wine. Crowds here consist of laid-back beachy locals or dolled up patrons of the nearby restaurants and fancier bars.

15 Washington Blvd
Venice, CA 90292-5123
(310) 822-3902
Daily 10pm-2am

Lost & Found
::Sigh:: Many memories at the good ol’ L&F as it is the dive bar that I like to frequent. Here you can get $4 very-strong cocktails, sports trivia on your napkins and free popcorn. Entertainment includes playing pool or darts and watching Andy, the friendly old geezer behind the bar, flirt with the ladies. What most might not like is that there’s smoking allowed, and lots of it so at the end of the night, if you don’t smoke, you smell and feel like you did.

11700 National Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064-3600
(310) 397-7772
Daily 11am-2am

The Stone
The first time I stumbled into this Thai Town bar was a little after 9pm and it looked like a dive bar with potential. There was the random old Thai barflies leaning on the bar and TVs mounted on the wall playing Asian music videos. But as soon as 10 o’clock rolled around, it seemed as if a bus of 20-something hipsters were let out here. And suddenly, I had never felt so old. Apparently this spot, as CitySearch puts it, is “as diverse as the surrounding neighborhood, with various theme nights including DJ dance music, live rock bands, karaoke and college parties,” so you never know what you’ll get when you walk in.

5221 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90027
(323) 466-6061
Cross Street: Harvard Boulevard
Daily 7pm-2am

Got a favorite dive bar that I didn’t cover? Post it here in the comments.

I asked my best friend from SF where she wants to go when she visits me next month, if there are any places on my site that she wanted to see, and she said, “OH! I want to see The Price Is Right!” ::Pause:: Me: “You’re kidding, right?” Her: “No, I really wanna see it.” Me: “What?! You’re not an old lady!” But after much begging and pleading on my part to not go, I relented. She IS my best friend after all and isn’t that what friends do for each other? Age prematurely?

When I first moved to L.A. I did the whole studio audience thing. I’ve seen The Arsenio Hall Show and Politically Incorrect. You do it when you’re a newbie because you figure that’s what this town is about and you’re just curious. But after many years of living here, I can say that I’m over it. I don’t want to be an extra and I don’t want to be a member of a live studio audience. To me that’s just too many hours of having to force laughter to not get paid.

But my bff, a fan of the show since before Bob Barker went gray, wants to see TPIR so that’s what we’ll do. And here’s the information for you silly people who want to participate in a taping or who have out-of-town guests who want to as well.

Tape dates:

October: 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31
November: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 28, 29, 30
December 2005: 1, 5, 6, 7, 8

And you can get your free tickets one of three ways: online, writing in your request for tickets (which you have to do 2 weeks prior) or going to the ticket booth at the CBS Studios on Fairfax and Beverly.

That’s where I’ll be one tape day in October. ::sigh:: Anyone wanna come with?

I really hope they don’t call me to come on down. I don’t know what macaroni or dishwashers are going for nowadays. Blah!

CBS Television City
7800 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036

OK, this is a blatant promotion for a friend but I believe in his cause and he’s also a ton of fun who has a finger on the party pulse of L.A., and he’s never steered me wrong. But DJ Merlin will be spinning at a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina Victims - Part of “Don’t Hurt Me Katrina” September series of fundraisers at this really cool downtown space called Hangar 1018 this Wednesday the 28th at 8pm.

Merlin said there will be free cake (I’m in!) as well as authentic French Quarter food and drinks. There will also be art exhibits by local artists and of course music provided by live Dixieland combo and djs…and dancing, dancing, dancing. All for $5, and all door proceeds will go to the American Red Cross.

Don’t forget to bring your party hat.

Scheduled to perform:
Soda and His Million Piece Band
Bang Sugar Bang
MIDWAY
Vagrant Vinny and the Instigators

HANGAR 1018
1018 S. Santa Fe Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Cost: $5 / 21+ / 8PM

Hearst Castle docents. J/K Hearst’s party guests. See Greta in the middle?

I remember the last time I visited Hearst Castle was when I was 8 and I was bored out of my mind. Sure, it’s pretty, but so what? It’s not like you can swim in that pretty pool. But now that I’m all grown up, I understand what my parents were trying to teach me all those years ago: envy.

I recently revisited the castle on my drive back to L.A. (four hours away) and now wish that I had had more time to spend there. Since it’s a huge place there are four two-hour tours covering the castle, guest houses and grounds. But the one tour that caught my eye was the evening tour as it features docents dressed in vintage clothing trying to conjure images of the castle in its heyday.

Hearst, as crazy as he was, apparently was a party animal (he had his own beer tap in the kitchen). He was always entertaining guests and they usually liked to stay for weeks at a time, just lounging by the pool, horseback riding, watching movies in the castle theater and throwing parties every night. Usually celebrities like Errol Flynn, Greta Garbo and Charles Lindbergh frequented the castle. So getting the opportunity to peek into that world of parties with sleek Hollywood starlets and handsome actors was tempting…until I remembered what the docents look like. Not exactly sleek or handsome. But the idea of witnessing the “living history program” and seeing the castle at sunset with all the lights turned on is still appealing. Plus, the evening tour features highlights from the other tours.

This tour is $30 and takes about two hours. Afterward, you can retire to a quaint inn in nearby Cambria. Maybe do some antiquing or hiking the next day. Or, skip over to Paso Robles for some wine tasting. Yeah, this would be something you do with some girlfriends or an accommodating, sophisticated boyfriend who’s secure with his manhood and down for some romance.

750 Hearst Castle Road
San Simeon, CA 93452
Tour reservations are highly recommended, reserve online or call (800) 444-4445.

Homemade concessions stand.

I like to throw parties for no particular reason, well, if only to collide worlds by getting all my friends together in one place. These parties usually range from singles mixers at a cool bar to board game night at my place.

Tonight I decided to throw a “Really Bad Movie Night” for just the girls. That way we can watch sappy movies without having to take shit from the guys. So I sent the evite out and polled the girls asking them which bad movies they’d like to watch. Last time I checked the poll Boogeyman and Monster-In-Law were neck-and-neck.

This movie night is a variation on an outdoor movie night party idea I saw in a magazine, but since it costs about $150 to rent a projector and I don’t have a backyard….

Food & Drink
For appetizers I’m going to buy some microwaveable White Castle cheeseburgers and then order pizzas for the “entree.” Since it’s almost Halloween I was able to find mini Milk Duds, Junior Mints, Whoppers and Kit Kats for my “concession stand” and arrange them on a tray. Drinks will be bottled beer and old-fashioned bottled soda in a tub of ice. But as my guests arrive I’ll prepare NC-17 Root Beer Floats for their welcome cocktails.

NC-17 Root Beer Float
(serves 16)
In a pitcher, combine 4 cups chilled vanilla-flavored rum and 3 liters root beer; pour into serving glasses. Top each with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a straw.
–InStyle Magazine, August 2004

During the movies there will be bowls of flavored popcorn available and then for a closer I’ll serve trays of Klondike ice cream bars and fruit.

Setup
The table in the dining room will have the pizza and tub of drinks. The concession stand will be by the viewing area: a blanket on the floor surrounded by pillows as well as couch seating. Enough for my small gathering.

Post-Party
Instead of distributing goodie bags at the end of the party, I’m going to raffle off some previously viewed DVDs I picked up from Blockbuster: one an award-winning movie, the other a really bad movie you’d be embarrassed to own. Spices things up.

In retrospect it would have been better to throw this party closer to Halloween, THAT way we could make it a scary movie night and rent horror movie classics. But I’m sure this will be just as fun.

After Sideways, it seems like everyone has a wine tasting these days. The Echo in Echo Park has their Irregular Wine Tasting during the summer and wine shops like the Wine House in West L.A. host their self-proclaimed “hottest ticket in town” Friday nights. But when I read that the Buffalo Club, the supper club/nightclub on Olympic throws an event called “Wine Tasting Under the Stars” on occasion, I checked into it.

From CitySearch:

Like a classic speakeasy, the entrance to this hidden joint is evident only by the valet stand on an otherwise industrial-looking road. Inside the velvet curtain, the main dining room is flanked by a heavy wooden bar stocked with bottles of Dom chilling in sparkling silver tubs. Most of the action is on the patio, where diners carouse under a canopy of trees and Chinese lanterns.

Meant to be enjoyed on a warm summer night, the wine tasting series takes place in the club’s “English garden lounge” (aka outdoor patio) opened to a starry sky on a clear night– if you’re lucky in Santa Monica. Guests are taken through an informal tasting of six different wines by Chad Ortis, The Buffalo Club’s sommelier. Each event also includes written wine notes and an assortment of breads and artisan cheeses. And those who stay for dinner get a 50-percent discount on wines from the Buffalo’s wine list. But dinner can be an expensive prospect at this swanky, overpriced restaurant. Entrees range in price from $25-$36 for American seafood/steakhouse classics.

Apparently the patio transforms into a dance club on weekend nights with music ranging from DJs to cover bands, but there’s a cover of $10-$15 and even that may not guarantee your entry. Even being a fashionable PYT may not gain you entry. Readers on CitySearch complain of long lines of 50-year-old men and attitude from the staff, but that just sounds like a typical night in Hollywood. I guess it just stands out because it’s on the Westside. All the more reason to check out the wine tasting to get a baby peek at the venue and it only costs $30.

The Buffalo Club’s last event (called “Thunder From Down Under: Australia and New Zealand”) of this series is Wednesday, September 28th and the wines featured are Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc.

1520 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Reservations required: (310) 450-8600 ext. 0
Price: $30 per person

I’m going to be away from the computer for the next three days (I know! I have a life after all) so I won’t be able to post anything, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to find out what you guys thought of this site. We’ve only been up for over a month but it’s a good time as any to find out what we’re doing right/wrong. Any suggestions? Complaints? Criticisms? Effusive praise?

It’s a constantly evolving animal and we’re looking to add new features to it, but anything you’d like to see, let me know. You can leave a comment on this post or email me at carolineoncrack @ gmail.com.

Later!

When I first read about this series about dining in the dark, I was skeptical. Most of the time, I really enjoy the presentation and going “Oooh! Mmmmm!” when the food arrives. But then I remembered how much I like the effect that smelling good food has on my saliva glands and how then savoring good food brings me such joy.

Well, coming from a dining trend in Europe (of course), Opaque: Dining in the Dark takes all that to a new level. The meals are prepared by the celebrity chefs from Chi (Justin Timberlake’s hip Asian restaurant), served in a pitch-dark setting and then diners are guided by blind/visually impaired and thoroughly trained servers for, as the Opaque Web site declares, the purpose of plunging you “into a world of sensitivity you have never experienced before, taking you through a journey of taste, sound and touch, all in the dark.”

Each meal is comprised of a salad, entree and dessert and you have your pick of a chicken, fish or vegetarian entree. You have to make your choice when you book your reservation prior to the event. I’m not clear if the entrees change with each event.

Chicken: TEQUILA AND LIME MARINATED GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST WITH CITRUS BEURRE BLANC, SERVED WITH CHEFS CHOICE OF STARCH AND SEASONAL VEGETABLES.

Fish: NUT CRUSTED MAHI MAHI WITH COCONUT BEURRE BLANC SERVED WITH CHEFS CHOICE OF STARCH AND SEASONAL VEGETABLES.

Vegetarian: GRILLED SEASONAL VEGETABLE PLATE DRIZZLED WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE.

Opaque takes place every weekend. Upcoming dates are Friday, September 23rd and Saturday, October 1st. This event is looking to expand itself to San Diego, Las Vegas and the foodie capital of California, San Francisco (strange that we got it first).

Hyatt Hotel on Sunset
8401 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(800) 710-1270
Price: $99 per person, profits go to the Braille Institute

For a city that’s always on the move with an eye on the next hottest thing, we really have no sense of history here. Things are built up, neglected, fall into disrepair and then are torn down and built over. Thank goodness for conservancy groups that restore and renovate so that we can hold onto beautiful reminders of the past, like the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.

The Aero was opened in 1939 by Donald Douglas (yes, of Santa Monica Airport fame) and had screened movies 24 hours a day to accommodate Douglas’ employees’ schedules at the aircraft plant. Robert Redford had grown up watching movies there and wanted to take it over for his ill-fated Sundance Cinemas project. But after its sale to AMC the theater closed in 2003 and as the last of the neighborhood theaters it was in danger of closing forever. That is until American Cinematheque adopted it, restored it and reopened it in January 2005. And like its AC sister The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, the Aero is dedicated to screening cinema treasures.

I just missed the Alfred Hitchcock retrospective where they showed a double feature of Psycho and Rear Window. D’oh! But right now they’re screening Roman Polanski movies through September 24. I’m looking forward to the screening of Repulsion (September 24 at 5pm), Polanski’s second feature film and Catherine Deneuve’s English-language debut. Leave it to Polanski to be able to turn a gorgeous woman like Deneuve into an on-screen terror.

Another series to lo0k forward to is the tribute (September 30th-October 6th) to Sergio Leone, the well-known auteur of spaghetti westerns (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West).

And to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina, there will be a special screening of The Big Easy, starring Dennis Quaid (remember when he was sexy?) and Ellen Barkin, on Monday, September 19th at 7:30pm. Admission is free and donations will be collected at the door. I just caught this film the other night on late-night TV and it was such a great portrayal of New Orleans filled with such vibrant Cajun music. It would be a bittersweet experience to watch it at the Aero.

In the modern world where Blockbusters and mall theaters run rampant, the Aero is a quaint reminder of what seeing a movie used to be about: going to the local theater for some good, cheap entertainment.

Unless you’re an American Cinematheque member, you have to buy tickets from the box office which doesn’t sell them until the day of the screening; and the office doesn’t open til two hours before the show. That’s OK, just buy your tickets and then head over to Father’s Office to kill time with a beer and burger.

1328 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 395-4990
Cross Street: 14th Street
Admission: $9

After 20 years of being a gay landmark, the oddly placed Friendship on West Channel Road off PCH is now a martini lounge, and a happening one at that. At first I wasn’t too excited about it. It seems like an unlikely spot for a nice bar. The outside is a black ship and I guess I just got used to overlooking it since it seemed like the most unexciting gay bar I’ve ever seen. But reviews of the new lounge (reconverted in May 2005) tell of “a rocking place,” “super-cheap drinks,” “an attractive crowd,” and call the Hideout “the Westside’s new hot spot.” Well! I might just have to check it out.

Liquor connoisseurs will notice there is no Smirnoff or Jack–no cheap booze here, only the premium stuff. BUT there are half-price martinis on Mondays, half-off beer on Tuesdays, half-off wine on Wednesdays and half-off whiskey on Thursdays. And on Sunday? Half-off ALL DRINKS ALL NIGHT. So what if you have to work the next day?

Apparently weekends are when the Hideout gets packed with djs spinning Top 40 and hip-hop. There’s street parking after 6pm but if the bar/club is as happening as it has been described, you’re better off valeting it.

112 West Channel Rd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 454-6024
Cross Street: Pacific Coast Highway

I don’t know how many of you have seen that movie Crash that just came out on DVD but it’s a great portrayal of life in L.A. How there are so many cultures that have to interact with one another in this megalopolis and instead of becoming better people for exposure to the new and different, we go the other ugly route of racism, genderism…um, pessimism and all the other negative -isms. So I thought it would be a cool idea to come up with a list of some places in L.A. where Angelenos, specifically Westsiders, can get out of their comfortable bubble of wide streets and pristine malls and get a taste of the other cultures out there.

The Abbey

This beautiful coffeehouse-by-day/hip-club-by-night is located right in Boys’ Town, West Hollywood. If you’re a straight with gay friends, you already know about this place. It’s hetero-friendly meaning that there’s a mix of gays and straights, granted more one than the other but it’s a great place to ease yourself into the WeHo scene. There are no boy toy go-go dancers or anything to upset straight-as-an-arrow sensibilities. Everyone’s friendly, the music is always great, it’s a gorgeous venue and the drink and food are delicious. They have an impressive selection of martinis and mojitos. My favorite martini? The Key Lime Pie. It’s the best one I’ve ever tasted.

692 N Robertson Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 289-8410
Cross Street: Santa Monica Boulevard

Firecracker at the Grand Star

This hot-&-sweaty hip-hop club thrown every other Friday night in the upstairs section of this unassuming Chinese restaurant is a culturally diverse good time. Nooo, not just Asians poplockin’ to the beats but as CitySearch says: “A racially and culturally diverse crowd–from Westside hip-hop heads to Mid-city hipsters to Silver Lake scenesters.” Get there before 10 and you don’t have to pay the cover. Be prepared to dance and sweat and then dance some more.

943 N Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-2285
Cross Street: College Street

Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles

Now before you get all bent out of shape, hear me out. This L.A. institution is a must-do if you want to experience soul/Southern food the way it was meant to be experienced, with Big Momma yelling at you to get your elbows off her table before she gives you your order of ‘Scoe’s Special. But the fried chicken with gravy and a side of waffles and syrup is a guilty pleasure if there ever was one, and everyone knows it as this place is always packed with a long line of people waiting to break their diets.

5006 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019-4126
(323) 934-4405

You may not find this cocktail in L.A. but…..

Bored with the same old bar scene? Same old cocktails…same old setup. Inject some fun in your drinking experience. And I’m not talking ordering a drink with an umbrella in it. Check out a theme bar. Forget Geisha House or the Velvet Margarita Cantina. In L.A. there’s so much more. Everything from the standard tiki bar to a hospital theme hot spot.

Beauty Bar–beauty parlor

A fun little bar in the middle of the Cahuenga Corridor where you can sip your Prell specialty cocktail (aka grasshopper) while you get a manicure or a henna tattoo. There’s a $10 manicure and martini special on happy hours Thursdays and Fridays. With vintage hairdryers around, you feel like you’re in a 1960s beauty parlor. Yeah, it seems more like a chick bar but surprisingly each time I’ve gone, there have been more men than women, probably with that expectation in mind.

1638 N Cahuenga Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 464-7676
Cross Street: Hollywood Boulevard

Bigfoot Lodge–national forest

Step into the Bigfoot Lodge and you feel like you’re in a Yogi Bear cartoon. Smokey the Bear greets you at the door and the interior is comprised of logcabinlike walls and taxidermied decorations. Grab a seat in front of the fireplace in the back and order up a Toasted Marshmallow cocktail (where your marshmallow garnish is flambed by the bartender). Or try the minty Girl Scout Cookie cocktail. Both are really creamy sweet drinks but part of the Bigfoot experience. And as you can probably tell, this Los Feliz spot is dressed-down casual. You’re in the “woods,” frilly frocks won’t cut it here.

3172 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 662-9227
Cross Street: Glenfeliz Boulevard

Good Hurt–hospital ward

Who would have thunk that a hospital-themed bar would work? Even though it doesn’t serve hard liquor (I know, I know), skeptics can soothe their thirst by ordering a Transfusion (a cocktail mixed with soju) from the nurse at the pharmacy bar. You’ll know you’re in the right spot when you see the neon Rx sign hanging overhead. The Good Hurt is a low-key live music venue and the crowd is usually made up of laidback Westsiders.

12249 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 390-1076
Cross Street: Grand View Boulevard

Good Luck Bar–Chinese opium den

Very dark and swank but low-key. Red walls, Chinese motifs and paper lanterns. This Silverlake bar is a cross between an opium den and a Chinese dive bar. Come for the strong Good Luck specialty cocktail, stay for the cool, hip crowd and eclectic jukebox. You can grab a couch in the opium denlike back room and hang out with your friends or snuggle up to your sweetie.

1514 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027-5516
(323) 666-3524
Cross Street: Hollywood Boulevard

Little Cave–bat cave

Owned by the same folks at the Bigfoot Lodge, Halloween is the theme of this Highland Park bar. Appropriately named, you feel like you’re having drinks in a cave as you’re surrounded by foam rocks and bat-shaped cutouts with red bubble lights casting a warm glow on this eastside scenester neighborhood bar. Specialty drinks include the Bat-tini and Count Choc-ula.

5922 N Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90042
(323) 255-6871
Cross Street: Avenue 59

Tiki Ti–Hawaiian beach shack

It wouldn’t be an L.A. theme bar list if I didn’t include this old tiki bar favorite. Small and packed, the best time to go is before 10pm otherwise you’ll end up standing around trying not to spill your Ray’s Mistake specialty cocktail. But do yourself a favor and resist the urge to order a rum drink here. You’ll have more fun ordering a tequila-based drink. The bartender starts pouring the tequila from a bullhead spout and bellows, “Toroooo” inciting the crowd to do the same. Word to the wise: the drinks are very potent but if you get caught in a PDA, you’ll get kicked out.

4427 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027-6017
(323) 669-9381
Cross Street: Virgil Place

What first drew me to Luna Park on La Brea was CitySearch’s review of their food:

The menu spotlights simply prepared comfort cuisine with a creative edge. Smooth goat-cheese fondue with grilled bread and crisp green apples for dipping is wildly popular. A light, lemony vinaigrette spruces up the sweet and savory salad of spinach, dried currants and feta. For entrees, a crispy-fried pork cutlet stuffed with Gruyere cheese is satisfying and hearty, sided by a mound of mashed potatoes. The lighter fontina ravioli swims in a buttery sauce touched with truffle oil. Make-your-own s’mores, constructed out of homemade graham crackers, molten bittersweet chocolate and marshmallow, are a playful and satisfying way to end the meal.

Damn, just reading it now makes my stomach growl. So of course I had to check it out for myself. I planned a night out with the girls and we were able to secure a booth in the back. The lighting in the restaurant is dim and warmed by candlelight, perfect for a date, but as it was, I was there with the girls. We ordered the goat cheese fondue with bread and green apples for an appetizer, some entrees and of course the smores fondue for dessert. There’s a nice wine selection, but I’d check out their specialty cocktails menu which includes everything from strawberry Caipirinhas to Cosmos with pomegranate juice to something called “You’re a Pepper” (a mix of Dr. Pepper, Absolut Vanilla, vanilla syrup and Dr. Pepper Jelly Bellys). Or if you’re on a date, you can share a Volcanic Scorpion Bowl for Two with your honey. How romantic!

The food did not disappoint. I couldn’t get enough of the goat cheese fondue. I was just sad that we ran out of bread and apples to dip in the cheese. My dinner — Breaded Pork Cutlet Stuffed with Mushrooms and Gruyere Cheese with Mashed Potatoes, String Beans and Apple-Cranberry Sauce — was so delicious that I didn’t even have any left over to doggybag. And the smores fondue (housemade graham crackers with melted marshmallow and bittersweet chocolate) was the best way to finish off the meal. I was already full at this point but made room anyway. Just had to.

I’ve returned to the restaurant several times since and was pleased with the experience each and every time (even visiting the location up in San Francisco). Everytime someone asks me for a good date restaurant or birthday kick-off spot (Hollywood is just up the street), I point them to Luna Park. Yum, yum, yum!

672 South La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-2110
Cross Street: Wilshire Boulevard