The Abbey in West Hollywood is on its way to become the
best gay bar in the world, nominated along with 6 other places such as Exit in Amsterdam, Heaven in London, Le Drugstore Montreal, Sidetrack Chicago, The Week Rio de Janeiro.
I have been to all those places except the Sidetrack in Chicago and my heart and my vote totally goes to The Abbey for so many reasons. The Abbey is not only the best gay bar but one of the best bars in the world, open air lounge, good food, great shows, amazing martini cocktail list, hot bartenders, what more do we want right!? ;-)
You can cast your vote until monday October 19, 2009!
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VOTE FOR THE ABBEY HERE
Last night as a goodbye dinner for our friends from Paris, we have decided to try the
Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills. Beautifully designed by Lisa Vanderpump Todd, the ambiance and the food by Francis Dimitrius won't disappoint you ... however the service might!
Ironically we have stopped going to SUR in West Hollywood [also owned and designed by Lisa Vanderpump Todd] for that same reason, not sure if they have changed now, but the lack of attention of the staff at Villa Blanca [which will totally remind you the restaurants in Europe] is kind of surprising for that kind of restaurant.
I had the
Grilled Omaha Ribeye, which was amazing!
"Finished with a black truffle reduction, Point Reyes blue cheese gratinée and accompanied by fingerling potatoes and roasted baby vegetables"
But when you pay so much attention to details, I believe you should also pay attention to your staff, will we go back to Villa Blanca, maybe for the location and the ambiance but if we have to ask for missing cutlery, water [that we got half way through the meal], refills [that we never got], bread [that was taken away and never brought back] all night all over again, I rather go and find another ambiance and good food somewhere else.
And the cherry on the cake, I just love when waiters, who because you speak a foreign language feel obliged to add the
suggested tip on the check, just in case you wanna forget, and trust me if I could, I would have forgotten that tip!
As many of us probably, I used to work in restaurants in what seems now like another life, but we know what it takes to be good and we know what it takes to be bad!
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
So we would like to suggest to the lovely owner that next time she is in her restaurant, instead of walking around carrying her tiny adorable dog and making sure her friends get a good service, she adventure in the other parts of her restaurant to make sure potential future clients get what they are paying for. Los Angeles may be about location, location, but it is also a very fashionable place and as Heidi Klum would say:
One day you're in and the next day...you're out!
