The Summer of Barry - back on

I told myself when I lost my job that I would make the most out of every day. My imagination isn't that good so I figured picking up Los Angeles magazine would be a good push in the right direction to enjoying all this city has to offer. On the cover of the July issue, it clearly states that I should get out and hike, bike, snorkel, kayak, or catch a wave. Not really my bag. I did, however, find on page 134 the best places to have a root beer float. There were four restaurants listed, but since legally only one float can be consumed a day I picked the one closet to my current location. That restaurant was the Blvd. at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The float was everything I dreamed it would be, creamy ice cream and fizzy root beer. I guess the whole concept is a bit of a no brainer. There were two things about the float that really made my day. One being that the float only cost me $6 when the magazine said it would be $11. The second being that sitting directly in my line of site was a table of people that were clearly associated with the porn industry. You might ask how I would know such a thing. Let's just say I know. After some very awkward grimaces made on my part, I knew it was time to leave. Something told me that a beat down by a male porn star was not really the best way to enjoy the weekend.


*Review from Los Angeles magazine: The Restaurant: The Blvd. at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel The Chef: Conny Andersson The Concoction: A dram of A&W root beer with a scoop of house-made vanilla ice cream and "a lot of love," say Andersson, comes in a doll-size glass and is an ambrosial shooter. Bookend it with the itty-bitty cones in seasonal flavors. The Price: $11 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310-275-5200

**Only one of the floats pictured was mine. The other two I bought for some of the lovely ladies at the table I mentioned above. Fine, they are all mine.