1. Musso and Frank Grill (Musso & Frank's);

2. La Dolce Vita;

3. The Prince Korean Restaurant;

4. Smoke House Restaurant;

5. Buggy Whip Restaurant;

6. Thelen's Mermaid Restaurant (possibly endangered);

7. Rae's;

8. Clifton's Cafeteria;

9. HMS Bounty bar and restaurant;

10. Snug Harbor.

1. Bahooka's;

2. Alpine Inn /Clifton's Cafeteria (tie);

3. Blue Room Bar ;

4. Encounter's Lounge;

5. Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (Gower branch);

6. Valley Inn;

7. Tiki Ti;

8. Clearman's North Woods, San Gabriel;

9. Tonga Hut;

10. Tamarack Inn/Embers Lounge (tie).

1. Musso and Frank's Grill;

2. Patsy's Pizza (best pizza in Los Angeles);

3. La Dolce Vita;

4.  Pacific Dining Car Restaurant;

5. The Derby Restaurant;

6. Taix;

7. The Apple Pan Restaurant;

8. Clearman's Steak 'n Stein Restaurant;

9. Pann's;

10. The Bucket.

1. Tamarack Inn;

2. The Short Stop bar;

3. Joe Jost's;

4. Billingsly's Restaurant and bar;

5. Venice Room;

6. La Dolce Vita;

7. The Polo Lounge (at least with the bartender last time I was there);

8. Frolic Room bar;

9. HMS Bounty restaurant and bar;

10. Frank 'n Hanks bar.

1. Philippe's French Dipped Sandwiches (10 cent coffee!);

2. Nick's Coffee Shop;

3. La Palma Chicken Pie;

4. HMS Bounty bar and restaurant;

5. Vince's Spaghetti Restaurant;

6. Venice Room;

7. The Safari Room;

8. Rae's;

9. Polo Lounge (for drinks when considering their free chips and

     dips and free parking in area);

10. Tamarack Inn.

1. Encounter's Lounge/LAX Theme Building;

2. Hop Louie's Chinese Restaurant;

3. Astro Family Restaurant;

4. Pann's;

5. Bob's Big Boy - Burbank;

6. Norm's Restaurant - La Cienega;

7. Chip's Restaurant;

8. Goody's Restaurant (moving - the fate of the great signage is unsure);

9. Magic Lamp Restaurant;

10. Chili John's (well - interior and signage).

1. Musso and Frank Grill ("Musso and Frank's");

2. Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria;

3. Canter's Deli;

4. Patsy's Pizza (Farmer's Market - first pizza in Los Angeles);

5. Philippe's/Cole's tied;

6. Chateau Marmont Hotel;

7. Original Pantry Cafe;

8. The Prince/Windsor Restaurant

9. Taix French Restaurant;

10. La Dolce Vita

2.  Yamashiro's Japanese Restaurant (view);

3. La Cave (darkest of all!);

4. Miceli's Italian Restaurant (romantic);

5. Old Tony's Restaurant and Bar (view);

6. Casa Vega (dark);

7. Rainbow Bar and Grill (romantic);

8. Musso and Frank's (old fashioned romantic);

9. Valley Inn (dark and old fashioned bar);

10. La Fonda Mexican Restaurant and Mariachi Show (inspiring music)

1. La Dolce Vita;

2. Musso and Frank's Grill ;.

3. Venice Room;

4. Miceli's Italian Restaurant (go in after a tough day feeling burnt out - leave happy and relaxed! Try to eat near the piano);

5. The Prince Korean Restaurant;

6. Canter's Deli;

7. Original Pantry Cafe;

8. HMS Bounty bar and restaurant;

9. Vince's Spaghetti Restaurant (Ontario branch);

10. Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria.

11.  The Farmer's Market/Grove - you can't walk around here for more than a few minutes without starting to feel happy!

1. Philippe's French Dipped Sandwiches (Free Parking plus right off Hwy 101);

2. Original Pantry Cafe (cheap and  free or cheap nearby

    parking - depending on time of day, Hwy 110, 10, 101 - open 24 hours);

3. Alpine Inn (free parking, right off Hwy 110 );

4. Miceli's Italian Restaurant (near 101 and validated parking nearby);

5. Nate 'n Al's (free nearby parking);

6. Valley Inn (ample parking in area, right off the 405);

7. Musso and Frank's (near 101 and validated  reasonable

     parking in back);

8. Tamarack Inn (free parking, Hwy 605);

9. Polo Lounge (free parking if you don't use valet - at bottom of street or on street surrounding the hotel);

10. The Prince (cheap valet parking - not far from downtown).

1. Pacific Dining Car;

2. Pann's;

3. Original Pantry Cafe;

4. Snug Harbor;

5. Philippe's French Dipped Sandwiches;

6. Du-Pars;

7. Roscoe's Chicken 'n Waffles Restaurant (Gower location);

8. Dinah's;

9. Duke's Coffee Shop;

10. The Standard Hotel (Downtown);

Blue Berry Pancakes/Banana Walnut Pancakes - Pacific Dining Car (life is not complete until you have tried these!!!)

"Regular" Pancakes - Du Pars

"Buckwheat" Pancakes - Original Pancake House/The Original Pantry Cafe (tied - although they are surprisingly different in both places).

Sour Dough Bread - Musso and Frank / The Original Pantry Cafe

Insalata Caprese - Miceli's Italian Restaurant (best Caprese salad in the world!)

Pies - Dupar's  (now you know why Tiny Naylor wasn't so Tiny!)

Dancing/Supper Club - Alpine Inn Restaurant

Hamburgers - Apple Pan/The Bucket/Russell's/Cassell's (tied)

Kugel - Canter's Deli

Chili - Chili John's Restaurant

Flannel Cakes - Musso and Frank Grill

Tiramisu - La Dolce Vita

French Dip Sandwich - (I dare not say!)

Milk Shake - Beverly Hills Hotel Fountain Coffee Shop (you'll have to fight with movie stars to get a seat!)

Hot Turkey Sandwich - Musso and Frank's Grill (hands down! - ask for some extra gravy on the side and extra cranberry sauce)

Rolls - Miceli's Italian Restaurant/Petrillo's Restaurant (and San Diego Chicken Pie if you're down South!)

Hot Dogs - Pink's (a little obvious) followed by Cupid's (but the lines at Cupid's are much shorter).

Cobb Salad - Dresden Room Restaurant (killer steaks as well).

Menudo - El Toreo Mexican Restaurant Pasadena

Burritos - El Tepeyac (no one else comes close! Bring help if you intend to finish one)

Pizza - Patsy's Pizza (the first Pizza in Los Angeles historically)

Waffles - Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles and Pann's (tied)

Biscuits - Philippe's French Dipped Sandwiches

Fried Chicken - The Prince Korean Restaurant

Oatmeal - The Standard Hotel

Martini's - people tell me Manny Aguirre, Musso and Frank's bartender extraordinaire,  makes the best martini's in the world - he sells me a mean O'Doul's as well!

Pea Soup  - Du Pars

French Onion Soup au Gratin - Musso and Frank Grill

Steak Sinatra - La Dolce Vita

Ribs - Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas Barbeque/Bahooka's Ribs and Grog (tied)

1. Bahooka's Ribs and Grog (if your kid doesn't love this place - it's time for a child psychologist! - share plates);

2. Encounter's Lounge (if you're not on a budget);

3.  Clifton's Cafeteria (but the intensely urban environment walking to the place might require some explaining as to why some people suffer so. While you are at it, explain it to me!);

4. Patsy's Pizza (and the Farmer's Market/Grove area in general - you can't go wrong);

5. Beverly Hills Hotel Fountain Coffee Shop (especially for milk shakes!) - never too early to nurture their desire for affluence;

6. The Apple Pan (if you don't mind waiting for counter seating - no tables!);

7.  Formosa Cafe (as early as it opens, before it gets crowded - sit in the trolley car section);

8.  Bob's Big Boy Restaurant (the oldest location in Burbank);

9.  Grand Central Public Market (see warnings for Clifton's Cafeteria - try out the Mexican candies with chili powder inside and the Mexican sodas in exotic flavors);

10.  La Palma Chicken Pie Shop (I would think kids would love the chicken pies);

11.  McDonald's (only to see the oldest existing McDonalds in Downey);

12.  Pink's (if you can find a time when there's not a long line);

13. Watson Drugs & Soda Fountain (get them a root beer float);

14. Vince's Spaghetti  - (preferably the old Ontario branch - warning - they may never want to eat anywhere else);

15. Miceli's Italian Restaurant (Hollywood) - (Hey - it's got great pizza and singing waiters - they'll love it);

16. Musso and Frank's - (only for really mellow, "well behaved" kids during lunch - this is a quiet place - hopefully they still make the Tuna Sandwich with the face on it!);

17.  Foxy's Landing & Restaurant - Lancaster, CA Airport - watch the planes take off and land while downing old fashioned milk shakes.

1. Chinatown;

2. LA Confidential;

3. Blade Runner (well - sort of uses classic Los Angeles);

4. Mulholland Drive (don't try to figure out the plot - just enjoy the visual nature of it);

5. The Doors (why in the world does this sell for $5 at Wal-Mart?  Val Kilmer did an incredible Jim Morrison!);

6. The Long Goodbye (Elliot Gould);

7. Double Indemnity (as pointed out by a reader of this site);

8. Bugsy;

9. The Two Jakes (Harvey Keitel and Ruben Blades are standouts);

10. Criss Cross/D.O.A. (1950 Version - Clifton's and the Gaylord appear briefly) -tie;

Honorable Mention:  Kiss Me Deadly, Mulholland Falls, Hollywood and Vine.

TV:  HBO's Philip Marlow - Private Eye (Powers Boothe) - Excellent!

       Fallen Angels (very excellent!)

1. Derzu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa) - look for the origin of Yoda of Star Wars fame;

2. Chinatown (keep you eyes out for the Windsor/Prince Restaurant);

3. Babette's Feast;

4. 2001;

5. Laura;

6. Scrooge (Albert Finney);

7. Oasis (Korean);

8. Far From Heaven;

9. Shower (Chinese film);

10. Mary Poppins (I rate movies on how much I enjoyed it upon first viewing).

BEST ALL TIME TV SHOWS (I didn't think this one out too much):

1. Mad Men on AMC (incredible acting, writing and uncompromising costume and set design which beats out super high budget movies - you have to love them for using the Biltmore Hotel, Cicada, Casey's, Musso and Franks, the HMS Bounty Bar & Restaurant and the Prince Korean Restaurant as filming /shooting locations / locales! Hey - maybe they used this site as a reference - well, probably just wishful thinking.  But Mad Men has great filming locations!!! They're my kind of people - whoever scouted the locations knows what they're doing!);

2. Entourage on HBO (Ok- this has to come in second because they don't use as many classic shooting locations as Mad Men, perhaps logically given the current time period. Well, I did notice the Chateau Marmont, Pinks Hot Dogs, the Hollywood Roosevelt, Jerry's Delicatessen and a verbal nod to Canter's. All the actors are great but Jeremy Piven has got to be my favorite.  No actor has ever better captured Los Angeles culture than Piven - and he wasn't even born in LA!);

3.  The Prisoner (the original - the remake was sort of a noble effort but paled next to the original - I guess of necessity (if they wanted anything beside a small audience) they compromised by trying to appeal to the quasi-mind dead masses - sort of like updating the look of the Mona Lisa - being the arrogant bastardo I am - I gotta believe I could have done a better script and set design - the quirkiness was pretty labored and WHY wasn't Patrick McGoohan's death not mentioned at the last Academy Awards - an incredible travesty!!!);

4. Rumpole of the Bailey (but don't tell "She who must be obeyed");

5. Perry Mason;

6. Dragnet (Jack Webb is the ultimate personification of American culture);

7. Adam 12 (wish I still lived in a world with these values - long gone I'm afraid);

8.  You Bet Your Life;

9.   The Hills (I view this from an Anthropological perspective only - I'm not superficial! - whenever people scoff about me liking this show, I start talking about my second love in life (after LA bar and restaurant history) - quantum mechanics. Spencer Pratt is definitely a product of the field of nonlocal resonance;

10.  American Idol (Come to think of it - I guess I am superficial);