Los Angeles Advice

Yeah, I'll be a couple blocks away at the Fairmont Miramar, so it would be a nice easy walk.

And there's an old blues club called Harvelle's that someone told me to consider. (I'll need to unwind a little later on with or wothout the group.) Any of SportsJournalists.com Cali contingent ever stop by?

 

Harvelle's is the bomb -- or at least it was a decade ago when I hung out there. I can't imagine it's changed much.

At the time it was a go-to destination for Milfs looking for a good time. And the music was great.

 

Excellent ...

 

I used to play on a dart team out of Harvelle's, before it went back to music in the '80s. Before that, my Dad used to pop in for a drink after work ... in the '60s.
Harvelle's (Axel Foley and the other guy were playing pool there when he found out his buddy in L.A. had been murdered at the beginning of "Beverly Hills Cop") is on 4th and Broadway. The Miramar is at Ocean and Wilshire. About a 7-block walk.
Enjoy ... and come back and tell us what you did, what you liked, what you didn't like.

 

Actually, Axel and his buddy were playing pool at a bar in DETROIT and then his buddy (who had just come back from LA) was murdered after they were attacked as they walked up the stairs to Axel's apartment.

But I'm sure the scene was actually filmed in LA, if that's what you're getting at.

 

Set in Detroit, shot in Santa Monica, unless there's a Harvelle's in Detroit that looks just like the one in Santa Monica.

 

Can't argue with BOA, but another possibility for good food and definitely drinks is Wokcano.

Yeah, it's a mini-chain, but they have a great, varied menu and the prices are actually reasonable. One is in Santa Monica, on 4th, just south of Wilshire, IIRC.

 

The only bad part was I was never able to sneak off to Harvelle's because we went late into the night on both Tuesday and Wednesday but I took note of it on the cab ride in and it seemed like my sort of place, not necessarily the rest of the group's, though. On the other hand, not going might have kept me out of trouble.

I only left the Fairmont (a classic place with tons of palm trees and a monstrous fig tree for which the restaurant is named) for a couple of long walks and a couple of meals: BOA on Wednesday night and the Blue Plate Oysterette on Thursday afternoon. I also walked by Chez Jay and stuck my head inside but even I don't drink at that hour....At least when I have meetings that day.

BOA was amazing. Great, great room, just nicely done and not over the top. Everyone had steaks and nobody was disappointed. The give a full choice of sauces and rubs and they don't do anything gimmicky (yes I'm looking at you Ruth's Chris) like melting butter on the meat. Creamed spinach was tasty, too, with just the right texture.

My group wanted seafood for lunch yesterday so the concierge sent us to Blue Plate Oysterette. I had a dozen little necks on the half shell along with a thick, meaty clam chowder, then they brought out dessert (key lime pie) on behalf of the Fairmont. I thought this was pretty classy and I know my guests thought it was a nice touch.

There was a bonus celebrity sighting, though: Reese Witherspoon walked into the BPO about half hour after us (we got a much better table). Here are some pics:

http://www.carreck.com/pictures/2011/02/11/reese-witherspoon-at-the-blue-plate-oysterette-in-santa-monica-feb-10-2011-x16/

My party in the back right corner of the patio is obscured but you get a good feel for the BP Oysterette in the final thumbnail. Yesterday was a gorgeous day. Must have been mid-70s and sunny.

The red-eye home sucked.

 

Did you take those pix?

If you did, you should sell them for a good chunk of mailbox money.

 

No. It was kind of funny: a pick-up truck and about three cars, all carrying paparazzi, did an abrupt u-turn on Ocean Avenue in front of the place and screeched to a halt, a couple of them leaving their cars well into the middle lane. They all went for a similar angle facing north on Ocean then, on cue, she walks down the street, greets the guy, and walks in. She was definitely making eye contact with me during most of those shots, by the way. I was sitting in the back right corner as she came in. I turned to the person next to me and asked, "Is that somebody important?"

 

Sounds like a cool trip. The hotel used to be just the Miramar. Then it was the Sheraton Miramar and now the Fairmont. Kinda like an elegant old lady.

 

According to Bill Plaschke, you can eat lunch in the stands for free at Dodger Stadium on any non-game day. You have to bring your own food, but you won't be asked to leave for trespassing:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20110213,0,5163295.column?page=1

Wish I had known about this before I went to LA last winter.