Must it be forbidden to eat dessert first? Mom used to tell us that it would ruin our dinner, but oh, mother, we can solve that issue: After the sweet stuff, go to a bar before dinner. Without sacrificing romance, this LA Date Night is doing it backwards (Mercury Retrograde, after all, is amiss). Dominick's: The fanfare for Dominick's is not as aggressive as it is for, say, The Ivy, but it is certainly of the same pedigree. Deal-making Angelenos have long set up "drinks" at the patio bar of Dominick's, but the lovers' ambiance is still quite evident, too -- what with the tealight-lined outdoor fireplace that Los Angeles Magazine is still including in its annual "Best of LA" issues. Tonight, Dominick's is offering a three-course dessert flight, all paired with cocktails meant to complement your triggered sweet tooth. You'll wash down the ricotta fritters with blackberry compote, for example, with a Blackberry Basil Smash of Elmer T. Lee bourbon.Dominick's, 8714 Beverly Boulevard, at North San Vicente Boulevard (310-652-2335 or dominicksrestaurant.com) Roger Room: With dinner looming, you'll do your appetite good by hitting up the bar around the corner. Look for the neon-lit palm reader signage -- this is Roger Room, a nationally-lauded bar of awesomeness. It's a little bar with a clownish look, awash with bright red hues, rainbow polka dots and brass gold accoutrements. (If your paramour is a college sweetheart, she'll point out that this is the look you were going for in your dorm room, you know, with the lava lamp.) The adult beverages are some of the best concocted in the city. Order a Thug -- another throwback to a former identity.Roger Room, 370 North La Cienega Boulevard, at Oakwood Avenue (310-854-1300)
Hollywood Pies: Finally, dinner. Naturally, it'd be drive-by pizza. Hollywood Pies is almost like a speakeasy for pizza; it's not totally clear where the pizza parlor is. It's a delivery operation of deep-dish pies a la Chicago, but if you want to be able to smell the clandestine sauce, get your whip into an unmarked parking lot at 405 Westmount Drive. Upon arrival, give Hollywood Pies a ring, and out somebody (masked?) comes to throw your pie in the car (convertible is a bonus!). Nearly every pie is covered with Italian sausage, but the one dubbed Hollywood Pie is bedecked in Italian meatballs.Hollywood Pies, (323-337-3212 or hollywoodpies.com)
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