Thrillist Los Angeles
Emailed in a LIST on: Wednesday January 31, 2007The List
Happy Hump Day
Go: Mondrian Scottsdale
Scottsdale's becoming a go-to spot for get-out-of-towners, but if even that distance gives you thumb-sucking homesickness, check out the just-opened Mondrian Scottsdale. The desert palace sports the same accoutrements as its LA sister, and between its Asia De Cuba's semi-Sunset feel and Skybar spinoff you'll feel right at home -- at least until you look out to the city lights and instead see your car getting eaten by buzzards.
See: Cat Empire
Don't care about the minute subtleties differentiating one poser indie band from the next? Check out Cat Empire: a no-brainer blowout of synchronized dancing, huge horn solos, and lyrics debating the virtues of law school vs. pick-up basketball (hilariously incompatible activities, unless you do on-court slip-and-falls for 1-800-LAWYERS).
Buy: Armani Casa Sale
Modern furniture's often a rip-off, but rarely a rip-half-off: Armani/Casa's lopping up to 50% off tons of items, from silver cigar trays to Hefner-esque bathrobes -- which, in appreciation for Armani's benevolence, you'll wear half-open.
Eat: New Menu at Bin 8945
When a wine bar pours 500+ labels, it needs more pairing ammo than just a handful of reeking cheeses and leathery coldcuts. Bin's new menu features fantastical-sounding dishes like Cured Tasmanian Sea Trout w/ Jasmine Rice Tuile, for which the staff can recommend any number of grapey sidekicks -- or, you can just bring your own bottle of Trader Joe's finest (with corkage, Seventeen-Buck Chuck).
Buy: iSticky
Your iPod's got the car hook-up, but you don't want to mar its handsomeness with stick-on Velcro or those intrusive, Best Buy geo-arm contraptions that regularly mangle passengers' groins. Stop crying: the iSticky is a washable, white pad that'll keep your Pod put without leaving glue on your dash, or a groaning, crotch-clutching man curled up in your footwell.
