Jaxx

Second dates always have the potential to become predicaments, but this was a great place to get our bearings. The best way I can think of to describe this place is a deli with beer. Not that it's really a deli, as the menu has sandwiches, salads, burgers and pizzas (including one called Yada Yada Yada) but there is a counter and it sort of has that feel.

Above all, Jaxx serves a beer called Doggie Style (which is a soft amber ale and very good and fun to order). The waiter gave us Road Dogg first by mistake, so we ended up with a table full of plastic mugs (two beers each, two waters, and an ice tea). We both ordered the chicken club which somehow became a chicken sandwich with melt-in-your-mouth smoked apple bacon. We never really figured out if it was us or the waiter that screwed the order up. It really didn't matter.

Jaxx has a neat little upstairs (which, at the time of my arrival was undergoing remodeling) with velvet booths and artwork adorning bright colored walls. For being in an area of L.A. which appears on the surface to be anything but touchy-feely, this place has a truly personal feel. Not that I'm an expert on Hollywood, but potentially a place to escape from the madness and dig into some good grub.