[€uroMeinke]

Rank the Swank - Restaurants and Bars


Overall Swank Rank

The Roosevelt Hotel - Dakota & Tropicana
7000 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, California
April 6, 2007
http://www.hollywoodroosevelt.com/


The Lowdown
Classic Hollywood meets Hip Hollywood

Food
Decor
Service

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The Gig
Drinks, Dinner & Hollywood Ambiance

The Grub
Our table orders a multitude of treats - Manhattans the cocktail of choice, or a few bottles of Voss Sparkling or Still.

Appetizers included:
Oysters on the half shell w/tarragon champagne mignonette
Beefsteak Tartare
Tuna Tartare
Roasted Beets in Arugula salad
Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

Entrées included
American Kobe Flat Iron Steaks
New York Strip Steak
Petit Filet
Sanoma Rack of Lamb

Sauces for each of these were shared and prepared on the side and included:
Foie Gras & Red Wine
Peppercorn
red wine
3 mustards
horseradish

And sides for the table:
Morels
Pomme Frits w/ truffle oil
Creamed spinach
Carmalized Baby Onions

Wine:
Penfolds Bin 407 (a South Australian Cabernet)

Dessert:
Crème Fraiche Cheesecake
Valhrona Chocolate Souffle
Hennesy VS

The Scene
We wanted to show our Aussie friends a bit of Hollywood so we met up at Hollywood and Highland for the usual tourist fare: Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Blvd & the Walk of Fame, Graumen's Chinese Theater, etc. but couldn't come up with a place to eat. So we decided to cross the street to the Roosevelt to check out the Hockney Pool...

Apparently the Roosevelt under new management has really turned this Hollywood classic into some contemporary swank. The style, still traditional - played up the glamor of the time - ornate tile, suede and leather upholstery, and obscenely comfortable. We immediately checked out the menu for Dakota, the steak house adjacent to the lobby, only to settle in for a 4-hour dining experience.

The dinner and ambiance were magnificent - highlights included selecting a wine and hearing the Lashes tales of wine tasting down under, delighting over tartares, and for me, the arrival of the cognac cart.

After dinner, we finally headed out the pool - first making our way through the crowded hall of Not Afraid's Hollywood fans, and into - or out to - Tropicana - the renamed pool area club, full of dressed up club kids in a scene that captured Hollywood in a way we could have never planned. Perhaps a straighter crowd than originally intended for the nights activities, but definitely still Hollywood Swank.

We had such a great time, that we missed the last train out and had to beg a ride from ISM. Still, it was fun to push past the tony hipsters waiting at the door to get in. The night was delightful - pricey perhaps and hopefully we didn't break the Lashbank - but worth every penny for the experience it was