Best Rooftop Pool Parties in LA

Ah, summertime in LA is finally here.  Time to agonize over which bathing suit makes my love handles less prominent, sip down frozen beverage after frozen beverage and post filtered pictures that make me look tanner.

Los Angeles is great in the summertime.  You're a quick ride to the beach, but for the lazy and more sceney bunch of us, we're an even quicker ride to a fabulous rooftop pool party.  Tis the season of cookouts, mansion pools and swanky hotel parties overrun by hollywood's socialite packrats.

Here's my top favorite pool parties in Los Angeles, and why.

1. Roosevelt. Yes, it tends to attract a little trashier crowd these days, but the charms there nonetheless.  This iconic hotel boasts a perfect pool and fabulous libations.

2. SLS hotel. Dog friendly.  Actually iguana friendly too, I saw someone bring their lizard last time I visited.  Great views, great company, great drinks.

3. The London. I have yet to grace the London pool, but I've heard nothing but fabulous things.

4. The Thompson. For a more sophisticated crowd who doesn't want to lay out and relax to the sounds of house music this is your spot.

5. Mondrian Pool. Can't beat the atmosphere.  I adore this pool and the people who chose to lay by it and sip their perfect bloody marys.

6. The W Hollywood. A bit more touristy and a smidge more 'edgy' than Roosevelt, to put it nicely.  But great spot regardless.

7. Mr Cs. Recently renovated, they have a Sunday day party, supposedly with brunch.  No views, not a lot of room, but perfect for d list young celeb watching.  

Visit any of these pools on a Saturday or Sunday and you'll most likely have to name drop or buy a table to get in.  Another viable option is to snag a room key card.  

Dress code.  This isn't your backyard shindig.  Get out your heels, throw on some makeup, put on your designer watch and suck in.  This is a full judgement arena where everyone is under each other's scrutinization. 

Unique First Date Ideas in Los Angeles

It's Spring, and thus love (or rather lust) is in the air!  For anyone hopeless sap who fails time and again with first date nights, you're in luck for stumbling across my blog.  You won't be torturing your hopeful date at Supperclub or Rock n Reilys this spring.  Nor will you be stuck droning on and on about your botched childhood over a drawn out dinner.  

Not with these entertaining & action packed date night picks. If you fail to secure a second date after wooing and dazzling at any of my date night choices you've got bigger fish to fry. 

For the big drinker: The Vodka Box at Nics Martini Lounge. You get to put on fur jackets and hats and take shot after shot of vodka in a freezer.  Talk about an ice breaker. har har. 

For the artist: Paint Lab: Wine and paintbrushes? And a keepsake to take home?  swoon. 

For the joker: Laugh Factory. Save the improv shows for the 4th or 5th date and take her somewhere guaranteed to have at least one headliner who can crack a smile. 

For the animal lover: Horseback riding at Griffith Park. Guided stress free horseride up to the Hollywood sign. 

For the cooker: Gyu kaku. Grill your own meats, fish, veggies and smores! 

For the experience dazzler: David Dinkin's Evening of Enchantment.  Because lets face it, Magic Castle is impossible to get into. Wine, apps and magic will keep conversation and giggles going. 

 For the foodie dazzler:  The Bazaar.  This meal will cost you, but the presentation and atmosphere is worth it. 

For the romantic: Movie in the Cemetery.  Cheap and adorable. Plus it offers a venue where you can initiate convo, or you can just relax and enjoy the movie. 

For the adventurer: Ifly at Universal Studios. It's skydiving.  For normal people who don't want to jump out of a perfectly good working plane. 

Pace Restaurant: A true Hidden Gem!

Maybe it’s the suppressed hipster in me, but I love an unassuming hidden gem.  Nothing makes me cringe worse than the glow of Olive Garden’s offensive interpretation of Tuscany.   You couldn’t drag me kicking and screaming into any chain restaurant systematically cranking out dishes drenched in butter and swimming in grease.  Enjoy yourself, I’ll be at the locally sustained restaurant, the hidden gem with an always changing menu, the mom and pop bakery.  Heck, I’ll take a roach coach selling dollar tacos over Olive Garden.

Tangent aside, living in Los Angeles, I’m blessed with an endless array of exquisite restaurants.  And I’m not shy about trying any and all that are suggested to me.  Which brings me to my latest, and most fabulous, discovery to date: Pace Restaurant on Laurel Canyon.  

 Located underneath an unattractive, and dare I say unkempt and shabby, convenience store, Pace takes unassuming to a whole new level.  It’s easy to miss the side entrance to what appears to be a storage area for the shop above.  Sure, the restaurant name is scribbled in a classy graffiti on the brick façade, but there’s not even a streetlight illuminating its existence. 

 The entrance descends to a small foyer with floor to ceiling wine storage and a cramped host stand.  After choosing to sit indoors, we were escorted into the dining area where we nestled into a roomy table with a cushioned bench.  The dim lighting and simplistic decorations created a comfortably warm atmosphere reminiscent of ducking off 5th avenue in January to escape the cold.

  I ordered a glass of organic pinot noir ($16) while our sweet and knowledgeable waitress rattled off the long list of specials then walked us through the house favorites.  Being a truffle enthusiast, I couldn't refuse the special four cheese and white truffle pizza as an appetizer ($30).  Being someone who is also a diehard for the known specialities, I ordered the cedar wood grilled salmon as my entree ($26).  My boyfriend chose the house made tagliatelle with vodka cream sauce and sausage (18).

 True, truffles on anything is delicious, but this pizza was life changing.  The chef was not shy with the tuffles, covering every inch of the rich cheeses blended atop the light crispy crust.  I could have left after the pizza and still had one of my better restaurant experiences in quite some time.  But the salmon, and the apple crisp dessert ($8) that followed, secured Pace a spot on my 'favorite restaurants of all time list'.  Not to mention, the produce is all organic and the meats hormone free.

It's easy to see why their regulars list is comprised of A list celebrities and entertainment professionals. The restaurant could have been located on a bustling street of NYC or overlooking a quiet street in Tuscany.. but it wouldn't have made a difference.  Pace indulges and satisfies your palate while offering a comfortable escape from whatever your reality may entail.

http://peaceinthecanyon.com/

Finding the perfect spot to write & blog in Los Angeles

I made a leap of courage (or stupidity depending on perspective) last week when gave up my job as a theatrical agent to pursue a life of creativity.  Call it a whim, but I’m craving an outlet, and my job was starting to feel unbearably stifling.  I’ll go into more details on this soon, but right now I’d like to focus on my present task: writing.

 I’m an atmosphere whore, who did not quit her job (and paycheck) to sit in my gloomy apartment and stare at my macbook all day long.  Since being freed, I have searched for the perfect writing spots around the city.  This list is a work in progress that I plan to update as I go… but here are my favorites thus far:

1. The courtyard between Bouchon and the Montage hotel.  Beverly Hills has free internet, so you could sit at one of the small tables and let your dog enjoy the grass.  Or you could do as I did and relax at one of the outdoor tables at Parq with, appropriately enough, their most delectable drink: The Agent.  (And a cheeseboard of course).

2.  Javista Coffee shop in Hollywood. Just like Starbucks... except not a headache, overcrowded or over priced.  And their food is organic and delightful.  The desserts come from Urth Caffe (a place where squatting with laptops is frowned upon to say the least) and the salads, sandwiches and drinks are made in house. http://javistacafe.com/

3. Le Pain on Melrose.  A quaint cottage feel where they will fill up your coffee until your hearts content.  The front patio is perfect for car and people watching.. the back for a quitter existence. 

4. Alfred Coffee & Kitchen on Melrose Pl.  What a slice of heaven this little coffeeshop is.  With outdoor seating overlooking the quiet side street and a charming fireplace inside, this place is a writers paradise. http://www.alfredcoffee.com/

5. Palihouse Hotel has a lovely al fresco brassiere in their internal courtyard.  You could stay from morning to night as they offer breakfast, lunch and dinner before turning into a lounge.   http://www.palihousewesthollywood.com/dining.asp

5. LACMA.  Nothing like getting your creative juices flowing quite like being surrounded by creativity. 

6. Roosevelt Hotel.  By the pool or sunk into an oversized couch in the lobby, you can't beat the charm of this hollywood classic.