The Hall at Palihouse

(Image credit: palihouse.com)

8465 Holloway Dr. (at La Cienega), (323) 656-4020, thehallbrasserie.com

Someday, Alexis and I hope to be rich enough to move into one of the Palihouse's chic residential suites and lead the kind of substance-abusing, breakfast-at-5-PM existence of which we've long dreamed. Luckily, one need not have attained that level of wealth or rockstardom to dine at The Hall. The number of small- and micro-plates on the menu has diminished in recent months due to a change in chefage, but there are still enough sides, salads, and shareables to keep your snacking/boozing experience safely in the double digits. Cocktails hover in the $10 range, which isn't bad in our part of the world; the fact that they detail the ingredients and proportions of each one could be taken as either really useful or overly precious (I vote the former). My recommendation: The Holloway, a tall drink of gin and ginger that refreshes and kills brain cells in equal measure. It's $13, but you won't need a second one. Milieu is cool without being douchey; the lack of a DJ or celebrity chef keeps out the Hills extras, while the lack of PBR on tap keeps out the grimy hipsters.

The Spanish Kitchen

(Image credit: The Spanish Kitchen)

826 N. La Cienega Blvd., (310) 659-4794, thespanishkitchen.com

Alexis had her birthday party here a couple years ago, and we brought in a giant cake from Sweet Lady Jane, and the kitchen apparently kept most of it. But we won't judge it based on that incident. Actually, TSK (not to be confused with STK just across the street, which we are unlikely to visit) really defies expectations, just not in a completely good way. Given the club/bar milieu of the stretch of La Cienega on which it's situated, it would be natural to assume that this would be a place with killer drinks but barely-okay food. So it's a bit surprising that the food is really quite good but the margaritas are... well, mostly water with a little lime flavoring and no discernible tequila. The insistence of the waitstaff on upselling you to a more expensive tequila isn't exactly endearing, either. (In my view, the house margarita is the standard by which a place should be judged. If it isn't good, you shouldn't be serving it.) On the plus side, TSK is perfectly good for either lunch or a booze-free dinner, and they do accommodate large parties easily (just keep an eye on your cake).