Trend setting, a perfect climate, and some of America's unique places make up Los Angeles, the same city that gets a bad rap for smog, gang warfare, snobby pretentious coffee-ordering residents, oh and, rap. Great Joints reveals the hidden treasures of this sprawling metropolis where new and old school live together in sometimes-imperfect harmony.

Tom Bergin's Tavern
Many consider Tom Bergin’s their local pub; in fact, I have heard on more than one occasion that it is like Cheers.

Musso & Frank Grill
Musso and Frank is not a new Disney animated feature about the misadventures of two lovable talking animals. It is, in fact, “the oldest restaurant in Hollywood”, and in a city where most people fib about their age, Musso & Frank Grill is justifiably proud of its 85 years.

Bar at Hotel Bel-Air
Nestled in a beautiful tree-lined and estate-filled canyon of posh Bel-Air, the glorious Bar at Hotel Bel-Air is superbly appointed with a roaring fireplace, soothing piano, and attentive staff in a most serene setting. So majestic are the surroundings, if there is a watering hole in heaven, it must closely resemble the Bar at Hotel Bel-Air.

Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel
The strikingly beautiful Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief. The vulnerable Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca. The perky and curvaceous Barbara Stanwick in Meet John Doe. The versatility and skill of Kate Hepburn in any of her films. Alas, none of those grand dames of Hollywood are around anymore. In fact, in the land of motion pictures just one grand dame remains. And while beautiful and skilled, this is not a woman at all but a destination: The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows.

The Formosa Cafe
Once resting in the shadow of the Warner Hollywood lot, The Formosa Cafe served as the studio’s unofficial commissary to the stars in Hollywood’s heyday, unfortunately the café must now play a different role.

The Gallery Bar at The Millennium Biltmore
The ever-impeding revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles has for years been a hot topic at Westside cocktail parties, as many Angelinos are waiting for the “All Clear” sign to travel east of Rodeo Drive after 7PM. While Disney Concert Hall and Patina Restaurant have recently given some a reason to traverse the great expanse after dark, the Gallery Bar located in the landmark Millennium Biltmore Hotel has been perfecting the art of the cocktail long before Mickey brought music to Bunker Hill.

The Dresden Room
The Dresden Room, like a Certs mint, is really two, two, two joints in one. In 1996, Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau demonstrated on the big screen what many of Los Angeles’ eastside hipsters had known for years, that The Dresden Room swings. But oddly, what far too few of “those in the know” have come to appreciate is that the venerable Los Feliz institution also waltzes.

O'Brien's Irish Pub
Like a dependable drinking buddy who at a moment’s notice is always available to catch a game and a couple of pints, so is O’Brien’s, an Irish pub as reliable as a Timex watch and about as stylish.