This is the happy hour I grew up with, a family tradition as treasured as opening presents on chilly Christmas mornings.  However, life in L.A. — what with late hours at work, traffic jams, and trips to the Parking Violations Bureau to pay near-constant parking tickets — doesn’t always lend itself to a 5 p.m. cocktail hour.  That’s why seven-day happy hours have a special place in my heart (or is it liver?). 

Sushi & Kushi IMAI has mastered the art of the seven-day happy hour.  Housed in an odd triangular building that juts out where Wilshire and San Vicente collide, the bar makes up half the seating area but maintains a welcoming, restaurant-like feel. 

The food is an improvement over my parents’ celery sticks and homemade dip of equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise.  Happy hour offerings include a house salad of mixed greens and a big bowl of edamame, each for under $2 and served by the restaurant’s friendly young owner.  Salmon/avocado roll or spicy tuna roll runs a slim $3, and sashimi (salmon, seared albacore or tuna) goes for $6.50.  Don’t eat fish?  Grilled lamb chop and vegetable tempura round out the menu.  A mere $3 gets you a large Kirin or glass of wine, or choose a large hot sake for the table for $5.50. 

When hit by nostalgia for those home-style cocktail hours just like Mama and Daddy used to do it, I head to the corner table at Sushi & Kushi IMAI.

When:  Happy hour, 5:30-7:30 everyday

Where: 8300 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Ca 90211 

Call: 323.655.2253

www.sushiandkushiimai.com/

Related links  |  more evening fun

Seven-day happy hour at The Well in Hollywood

Ask the Comedian:  Comedy Death Ray at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater

I’m in the midst of a doughnut obsession, as you may have noticed here and here.  Since Los Angeles reigns as the undisputed doughnut capital of the world, I suppose it is a matter of civic pride.  In that spirit, here are six more standard bearers.

Dumpy strip mall + two letter names = amazing doughnuts?  Apparently.  Try:

1.  DK Donut & Bakery:  Thanks to StylishGuide.com reader and At Home at Home blogger Laure for recommending this Santa Monica gem.  Mmmm….

2.  S.K. Donuts & Croissants:  Head to Mid-city near Park La Brea and sink into a moist, luscious buttermilk bar or rich cruller.  Bonus: It’s open late for post-bar-hopping appetites.

Doughnut as architecture — these two shops prove it works:

3.  Randy’s Donuts:  The gigantic doughnut atop this Inglewood shop is like a big, fat, sloppy welcome-home kiss after landing at nearby LAX. 

4.  The Donut Hole:  Thrill the kid in you with a special trip out to a random intersection in La Puente for a doughnut that you actually drive through (see the video here).  The architecture is icing on the cake, so to speak; the main attraction is the fresh doughnuts within. 

More goodness:

5.  Stan’s Corner Donut Shoppe:   This legendary shop has been crafting gourmet doughnuts for more than 40 years.  If your timing is right, Stan himself will recommend his favorites — welcome help since he probably has more flavors than there are parking spots in all of Westwood. 

6.  Tang’s Donuts:  The bear claw — big as the real thing, fat with fluffy cinnamon-spiked dough — is worth attacking.  Nights bring an eclectic Silver Lake crowd, including hard-core chess addicts, to the grungy strip mall location.  

If I had to guess, I’d venture that my love of bakeries came from my mother.  Her idea of lunch out was splitting a sandwich five ways so we could main-line Napoleons, cream puffs, pain au chocolate and cinnamon rolls.

I’ve spent a good part of my life ever since searching for great pastries.  For rich, inexpensive breakfasts, afternoon treats, or part of a healthy lunch (according to my mother), here are some of my favorite local French bakeries:

1.  Hotcakes Bakes: When I visited the Mar Vista shop, there were actual French people running the shop.  Seems authentic to me.  Try the delightful canele.

2.  Frances Bakery: Head downtown for artful French baked goods, Little Tokyo style.  The sweet almond croissant will make your eyes glaze over — they’re that good.

3.  Delice Fine French Kosher Pastry & Bread:  On Pico west of La Cienega, a Kosher bakery with light buttery flaky croissants.  Mmmmm….

4.  La Maison Du Pain:  Two sisters living the dream — dumping corporate jobs to open a French bakery on Pico in Mid-Wilshire.  Croissants, tarts, bread – this is the kind of place where you’ll want to eat your way through the line-up.

Where else can I find great French baked goods?  Share, share, share!

Related links  |  More sweets:

Great donuts in L.A.

Cinnamon French Toast

Diddy Riese

There are occasions when a bucket of fried chicken just won’t do (even if it is as good as Golden Bird).  Maybe it is that all-important second date.  Maybe it’s just that someone else is paying. 

When I want to go out, without going “all out,” I hit these four stylish supper splurges in Midtown L.A.:

1.  Osteria La Buca:  The owners built a neighborhood Italian trattoria on Melrose – and brought Mamma back from Italy to cook.  Carbonara on tagliatelle is like a fat boat straight to heaven — worth every creamy mouthful.  $$$

2.  Meals by Genet:  A study in contrasts in Little Ethiopia: Hands-on communal dining … set on white tablecloths.  Fresh local ingredients … with spices imported from Africa.  Family-style dining can keep costs down, and the vibe makes any occasion feel like a celebration.   $$-$$$

3.  Lou:  A place famous for smoky, spicy, super-sweet bacon pieces called pig candy?  A reason to celebrate in and of itself.  You’d never guess that a super mod interior and artisanal cheese and sausage hides in this strip mall on Vine.  $$$

4.  El Cholo on Western:  Five simple words will set you up:  Cadillac margarita.  Green corn tamales.   $$-$$$

Related links | More Midtown eats:

Mao’s Kitchen

Village Pizzeria

This stuff is so addicting they should be selling it in little packets on the corner. 

Instead, the smoothies that will hook you like a junkie are sold out of bright, clean shops in dingy neighborhood strip malls.

The local Mateo’s mini-chain serves up smoothies, juices, ice cream and popsicles in the Oaxacan tradition — rich, creamy, and chock-a-block with fresh ingredients.

The best way to get started?  Choose a smoothie — something fun like orange/papaya/mango.  Consider it a gateway to their 100 percent vegetable and orange juices.  Called Vampiros, a single sip will make you feel like you’ve added a year to your life.  Beets — the not-so-secret ingredient — give them their blood-red hue and a slight sweetness (think sugar beets).  I personally know of people who would pawn grandma’s pearl necklace for carrot/beet/celery/strawberry Vampiros.

You can get your pleasure to-go with Mateo’s rich, fruity popsicles, $1.50 apiece.  Scoops of ice cream or sorbet in flavors ranging from the familiar (strawberry, cookies and cream), to the interesting (watermelon, walnut) to the exotic (smoked milk, soursop), are stimulating choices as well.

Just don’t come crying to me when you blow your paycheck on a wild, fruit-crammed weekend, and your pants get a little snug.

Price: $

Where:  Four locations:

1250 S. Vermont Avenue #105, Los Angeles, Ca, 213.738.7288

4222 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca, 323.931.5500

4929 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, Ca, 310.313.7625

522-B  E. Vine Avenue, West Covina, Ca, 626.919.2090

Could it be obsessive-compulsive disorder?  Or my post on making French toast at home?  Whatever it was, it meant that I didn’t spend the weekend registering voters or flossing or recycling.  Instead I devoted my time to something as crucial as the search for great French toast.

Saturday we tried a nice place that is a little pricey.  bld on Beverly serves up inch-and-a-half thick slices of brioche, lacy browned on the outside and as creamy as custard on the inside — bread pudding in toast form.  Unbelievably delicious, but a splurge at $11.

Cash-wise, I needed to take it down a notch.  So Sunday we tried King’s Hawaiian Bakery and Restaurant. 

King’s Hawaiian bread, the summit-shaped sweet bread in the “Hawaii Orange” plastic sack in grocery stores nationwide, comes from a 150,000 square foot facility in Torrance.  In the 1980s, the restaurant opened not far from the factory.  Today it is a busy place; the collosal decorative pineapple and dunk-tank-sized aquarium qualify it as a bit more interesting than Denny’s, but the feel is similar. 

The French toast is sliced from their sweet Hawaiian bread, cooked with egg and cinammon and delivered sponge-light and dreamy sweet.  French toast runs $8.75 — plus two eggs and a side of bacon or sausage. 

I knew I’d found a winner.

Why don’t they deliver breakfast?

I can get pizza and sub sandwiches delivered for lunch, and Chinese food or Thai at my door for dinner.  But where are the eggs over easy, the waffles and bacon, or steamers of morning dim sum?

There’s a million dollar idea in there somewhere.

Until some enterprising soul makes the leap, the next best thing is cinnamon loaf bread from Thee’s Continental Bakery.  Dip slices in egg, fry in butter — in mere moments the most amazing French toast ever is ready to eat. 

Anytime I go to the L.A. Farmer’s Market, I hurry to see if Thee’s has a loaf.  They bake all the goodies on the premises — the kitchen is right behind the counter — so they don’t make it everyday.  If I’m lucky enough to find the bread, I ask the lackadaisical staff to slice it for me. 

Then I throw the bread into the freezer for those mornings I just can’t bear to move.

Its so sweet I don’t even need syrup.

Price: $

Where:  L.A. Farmer’s Market, Third and Fairfax, Los Angeles, Ca

Call:  323.937.1968

http://www.farmersmarketla.com/groceries/index.html

Related links  |  more breakfasts:

Breakfast French-style:  bld and King’s Hawaiian French toast

Breakfast Chinese-style:  Empress Pavilion Dim Sum

Breakfast American-style:  Callahan’s Restaurant

Hot dogs are the perfect StylishGuide food — carefully prepared with pride, yet inexpensive enough to indulge without breaking the bank. 

We’re blessed with so many stand-up dogs in Los Angeles, I’ll honor them in shifts.  First, favorites in L.A.  Soon I’ll share the greats in the Valley — a virtual hot dog heaven.

1.  Pink’s of Hollywood:  This is the closest thing to a hot dog institution in town.  There’s something about sitting in the cheap patio chairs in the tiny parking lot on a glistening Southern California day, settling into a chili cheese bacon dog topped with cool fresh tomatoes, and dripping fluorescent constellations of grease across the paper tray — it kindles something profound.  It doesn’t make any sense, but it somehow fills me with a feeling of connection, like finding home.  That feeling may explain the long, long lines.  That, and the wildly inefficient counter service system, of course.

2.  Carney’s:  Eating in a converted train-car on the Sunset Strip can bring out the 6-year-old boy in anyone, and the dogs are great too.  Visit a second location in Studio City.

3.  Skooby’s:  You’d expect this tiny Hollywood Boulevard stand to be a typical tourist rip-off operation.  But the red and white bedecked, cute as a button, clean as a whistle shop with the tattooed and pierced staff actually slings some of the best dogs in town, as well as perfectly seasoned fries with aioli dipping sauce.  A second location opened in Hermosa Beach.

4.  The Stand:  This is the black-tie dining experience of hot dog joints, with gourmet toppings and an upscale ambiance.  Bring a date to the Century City, Encino or Westwood locations.  Monday nights feature one-dollar dogs.

5.  Let’s Be Frank:  This is no ordinary catering truck outside Helms Bakery in Culver City.  The 100 percent grass-fed beef hot dogs and organic toppings come with a foodie pedigree — Sue, who works the stand, came from the legendary Chez Panisse.  At $5/dog, each bite is an investment in guilt-free eating (the dogs have no hormones, antibiotics or chemicals and are lower in calories than typical hot dogs).

6. Dodger Stadium:  Grilled, nearly a foot long, and the perfect accompaniment to a game, it’s not surprising that Dodger dogs are among the most popular dogs in baseball.  For the truly glutenous, $35 will buy you a ticket in the right field bleachers and unlimited Dodgers Dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and Coke.

Honorable Mention

As a global chain, Costco is no “L.A. Original,” but I can’t ignore the fact they’ve asked only a buck and a half for a meaty Polish dog and soda for as long as I can remember.  Top with sauerkraut, relish and onions before sinking into that sweet dog.  It soothes the soul after the madness of Costco shopping.

A bold statement, I know, to declare the best fried chicken in a city full of strong birds, whether Dinah’s, Roscoe’s or Honey’s. 

But I have to say, there’s something about Golden Bird.

First, the name.  “Golden Bird” is the perfect appellation for a chicken that, fitting for Los Angeles, is the color of a deep, dark suntan glistening with oil.  The tender meat sports a batter coating that is smooth, crispy and light. 

Served with the ubiquitous (but odd) side of crinkle cut sweet pickles in a tiny paper cup, the chicken is consistently good.  Sides, however, can be hit or miss, but heaven can’t be much better than those days you strike upon a buttery, flaky biscuit with its salty top baked a rich brown, creamy mac and cheese or greens spiked with tender chunks of pork and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper.

There’s a lot of nostalgia for Golden Bird chicken, an L.A. institution since 1953, as locations have diminished over the years.  Expect a resurgence with 14 new locations soon to be added to their five existing L.A. stores.

I hit the one at 4725 West Venice, just west of La Brea near the OSH.

Price: $ (under $10)

Where: Check www.goldenbirdchicken.com/contactus.html for locations

Call: 323-525-0488

Do you love Golden Bird?  Or does your heart belong to another poultry shop?  Tell me about it….

Larchmont Village is a weird little universe, a couple of blocks populated by small shops and restaurants with a neighborly vibe.  Overall I’d characterize the area as upper-income, what with the denizens of Hancock Park parking their BMWs and frequenting the pricey little shops.  Somehow, though, it avoids the snobby feel — perhaps because there are some real dining gems tucked in between that high-end shopping.

A favorite for lunch is Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese.  They have an odd little counter tucked in back, serving sandwiches with gourmet ingredients at affordable prices.  The Soppressata salami, imported Black Forest ham and Italian prosciutto are sliced as you wait, then piled high on baguette or ciabatta.  A little cheese here, a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar there, some tapenade and mixed greens — it all seems so simple.  Yet every time I finish my generous sandwich, I wonder how ingredients so basic could combine in such rich and satisfying ways.

But if there’s anything I know about getting a great sandwich at a good price in this town, it is that the experience is never without its toll.  At Larchmont you can expect that you’ll face a line, that they’ll close when they run out of bread, and that the counter will keep odd hours (e.g., they’re closed Sundays).

My best tip?  Call your order in and make sure “the sandwich that will make your day” is waiting for you at the register.

Price: $

Where: 223 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca 90004

Call:  323-856-8699