I've always been obsessed with the Hollywood episodes of I Love Lucy, so you can imagine what a treat it is for me to live here now.  Every time I do something that smacks of “Hollywood,” I just feel so damned cool.  I'm talking old Hollywood here, none of that Spago crap.  Ergo, one of my favorite things to do is to have a meal at the lunch counter at the Beverly Hills Hotel.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm poor as dirt, but it's  really not a very expensive proposition.  Especially when you figure how tony it makes you feel.

Sure, you can spend $10.50 on a hot dog, but it is a lovely thick hot dog injected with cheese and swaddled in bacon.  All right, actually I find that gross, but my sister dug it.  For a lunch counter, it ain't cheap, but for an LA eatery, it's regular.  And there is so much to go with it. 

Just going to the hotel is an elegant experience.  Although, my friend Pat was visiting from out of town and insisted he had to switch hotels because it was “too pink.”  Yeah, well, hey, I like pink.  The lunch counter is downstairs in a funny little room dominated by the actual counter.  Floppy leaves of some sort adorn the walls in what, if I recall correctly, is a replica of the original wallpaper.  The pink clad waitresses are right out of central casting, and not in an old lady way.  More like a saucy young 1950’s way.

And the food is delicious.  One time I had a classic egg salad while my cousin, Blair, had a fantastic  looking hamburger.  This past time I partook of a massively fluffy omelet topped by sour cream and salmon roe, with a crispy pancake of hash browns on the side, wheat toast, and the epic strawberry ice cream for dessert.  Our Editor-in-Chief had a BLT and a mound of cole slaw, with orange sorbet for her sweetie. 

Our waitress was a doll and didn't bat an eye at our sitting around for a good long time afterward for a MASH editorial meeting.  She got all psyched about the mag and rooted us on.

So, in summation my friends:  it ain't too expensive, the atmosphere pampers, and valet parking from cute blonde boys is only three bucks after validation.  And you might see a star, which I always think is fun.  Lucy and Ethel would be proud.

                             --Joanna Rubiner