We’re staying at the Beverly Laurel for the night and treating our friends to a birthday dinner.
They live in Long Beach and we’re driving in from Orange County for the one night. We’re visiting in-laws & flying in/out of SNA. Since we’ll be driving into the city and spending the night in the Beverly Grove area, I’d prefer not to drive too far out of the way (I know, it’s LA!) for dinner. If we’re spending 45 mins. in the car after dinner, then we really don’t need to bother staying overnight in LA at all since we’re flying out of SNA the following evening. Not that I need a good excuse to get out of OC, mind you!
I’d like to find a place that falls within a similar price range (not explicitly but more or less) and comparable setting.
I imagine our biggest hindrance is the holiday… are most L.A. restaurants open on 4th of July??
Another thought I had in passing: fancyish picnic with really high quality ingredients from a local shop perhaps? Any suitable places to put together such a meal and fun/interesting destinations to spread it all out; preferably with view of fireworks?
Oh and preferably with more interesting menu than the above linked restaurant, which was just fine… we went more for the setting and to satisfy a curiosity, since they were staying in the East Bay. I just offered that link to give you all a rough idea of price/ambiance.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be white cloth dining… I just don’t want to take them to a place like say, Casablanca, as an example, given that they treated us to a nice evening out. It could be more casual/fun so long as it seems appropriate given the context offered above. We usually end up at old LA haunts like M+F, Pacific Dining Car, Taylors, Smoke House, etc when we’re with this couple. I’d like to go somewhere more interesting and food focused this time around. I was thinking maybe Broken Spanish or Lasa could potentially work… who knows if they’ll be open on July 4th though. I gather we’re going to have to up the ante a little bit on the price as Berkeley isn’t at all comparable to LA… plus I’m leaning towards something a bit more ambitious food-wise. On the flip side, if there’s a really unique restaurant/bar/lounge with al fresco seating (think Polo Lounge) or in some landmark tower with views of the city, I’d be willing to ease up on the kitchen and head in this direction. I’d like it to be something memorable since we’re hauling all the way in and spending the night. Plus we love these friends and we want to celebrate their birthdays in style!
The Grove, go to the top of the parking structure and enjoy the views and show.
Can’t help much with the area.
Personally I’ll be happy with some Vito’s Pizza, Corned Beef at Magees, Fat Caps-Rice-Black Beans-Plantains at Pampas, Sandwich at Monsieur Marcel, Du Pars Pancakes with warm drawn butter for dessert. Oh can’t forget that Short Rib Sammy at Joans On Third with some soup.
It looks like the restaurant is going for a “retro” mid-century LA chophouse vibe. Do they pull it off without pretension or does it feel more like an investor group concept? Is the food comparable to anywhere familiar in LA or SF?
I haven’t actually been personally, I was just pattern-matching to what I’d heard about it and your criteria (slightly upscale ambiance, price point, location, food quality). I doubt it fits the “investor group concept” trope, here is some description.
The shopping plaza? I was thinking more along the lines of green space rather than corporate city center; maybe by an architectural home or landmark even.
I love corned beef and soul food and Du-Pars but none of that really works for this occasion.
Yeah, I figured as much. That’s why I started thinking picnic… do you know of any specialty food shops that might be useful; is the Cheese Shop in Beverly Hills worth considering?
I suppose the Polo Lounge is always a suitable backup since it’s in the BHH and is certain to be open. At the very least, it’s a fun setting. Does anyone know if the courtyard is opened in the evenings? I’ve only ever been for lunch and their Sunday afternoon jazz brunch. It’s definitely not my first choice, but it’s a decent backup.
If Wally’s in Beverly Hills is open that night, I think that’d work great for dinner. You could also try upscale Korean BBQ (presumably all Asian places will be open that evening).
Not really sure what to do about the fireworks.
Someplace like The Penthouse at the Huntley Hotel might well for dinner + staying put for fireworks, but it would be really stretching your drive time preference.
