494359 Thu Feb 28 19:34:06 -0800 2008 5 2 Los Angeles Area 0 3445770 We have some friends coming to LA who just ask me and my wife to take them to dinner this Saturday night. They are not interested in the food, the decor, the service or the cost. They want to go somewhere FUN! Well, Zagat has all of the above listings except - FUN. This will have to be in the West LA / SanMo / Westwood/ Valley area. Please......any suggestions? I am clueless here! Thu Feb 28 19:34:06 -0800 2008 51467 mjalz 1 3445799 Gladstone's -- OK seafood, a bit expensive for what it is. Killer location on the beach. Lackluster service. It serves drinks at not horrible prices. It is on the beach. Penthouse at the Huntley Hotel -- Too expensive, they try to pull off a club vibe. Mediocre food. Killer view. Great location just north of Wilshire and the Promenade. Drinks are too expensive. Makes you miss the old Toppers. But trying to be sceney in a fantastic part of town with a killer view. The Lobster -- Tables and chairs and bar patrons and dinner guests all jammed so close together it is hard to breathe, much less the servers getting through. But right over the beach. High-priced ok food...let's say very high-priced. But a killer view right over the ocean and without much driving, only horrible parking prices. Thu Feb 28 19:43:20 -0800 2008 3445770 10855 nosh 1 3445824 What is your definition of "fun"? (And what age range are we talking about?) I would suggest Dar Maghreb (Morroccan)- you get to sit on pillows, eat with your hands, and dance with a belly dancer. The Arsenal is a bar/restaurant with surprisingly good food. It gets clubby later at night but for all other purposes sort of looks like a dive to me. I also think small plates are fun in general. You may want to try Orris on Sawtelle (they may get a kick out of the neighborhood) or Musha in Santa Monica. Musha actually has a private room- you take off your shoes and sit low to the ground on benches. Thu Feb 28 19:49:58 -0800 2008 3445770 134728 PrettyPlaty 1 3445840 Izakaya is fun. What could be better than Japanese small plates and beer? I've only been to Izayoi downtown, but I think there's a place called Musha somewhere in Santa Monica (in addition to the one in Torrance). Thu Feb 28 19:53:47 -0800 2008 3445770 66535 teach 1 3445941 There are two ways to have stereotypical "fun" in L.A. -- The one available on the westside is to get to the coast. Go somewhere with a view and where pretty people will be gathering and drinking. The other type of stereotypical L.A. "fun" is in Hollywood. Dress up, get in a line, try to get into a club, scheme how to get by the rope, put together bucks for a bribe, do what it takes to make the scene. Please keep the original post in mind -- the guests don't care about food or decor or service or cost. They want to make the L.A. scene. They prefer the coast -- so there are the top options. Gladstone's, Huntley, Lobster. I can add Duke's, Geoffrey's, Moonshadows, Cafe del Rey, places on the water in the marina or at the foot of Washington, Beechwood. Maybe Ivy at the Shore. All of the hotels down at the SM shore -- Shutters, etc. Thu Feb 28 20:34:02 -0800 2008 3445770 10855 nosh 1 3446024 Fun -- well, it depends on the age, and what the meaning of "fun" is. For beach fun, there's also the restaurant in Paradise Cove - right on the beach, big, loud, crowded. Another kind of fun is Malibu Seafood - you go, you order, you sit on a patio or deck and wait for your number to be called while you look at the ocean. Also in Malibu, go to Taverna Tony's for Greek food, music, and possible celebrity sightings. Opa! Another kind of fun is Typhoon at the Santa Monica Airport - you can sit on the deck and watch the planes land and take off, and the menu is pan-Asian, with a good bar, but the FUN part is they also serve BUGS!!!!! (Disclaimer - I've never eaten the bug offering on the menu). For a little pricier fun, you can go to the same building at the SM Airport, and go to the Hump sushi bar - sit at the bar and have fun with the other patrons and staff - there's a lot of whooping and shouting and drinking, AND the sushi is great. Go to the Santa Monica Pier (close to the Lobster) and ride the Ferris wheel before dinner. That's fun! You can get a pricery meal at the Lobster (I saw Larry David there!) or you can get a less expensive one at Bubba Gumps on the pier. For farther afield kitchy fun - go to Clifton's Cafeteria downtown. It's a real relic; unique, unlike anything else. For playing with your food fun - go down to Westminster to the Boiling Crab - you can order seafood by the pound, with the seasoning of your choice. It's delivered to your table in a plastic bag. There are no utensils - just a roll of paper towels, a couple of mallets to crack the crabshells, and lots of cold beer. Roll up your sleeves and dig in. Thu Feb 28 21:11:02 -0800 2008 3445770 19283 gsw