All that Jazz...

So this past weekend, we celebrated the bro's birthday.

My wonderful SIL did all of the planning…I just had to show up.

Our evening began at a beautiful restaurant called, Dominick's. Dominick's is truly a hidden L.A. treasure. The restaurant itself is breathtaking. When you walk in, its got an old school Hollywood/Italian vibe with a very elegant, but not overdone bar. The lighting is clean in a bright way, without hurting your eyes. As you walk through, there are old pictures adorning the walls which continues the classic look.

But then, the real vision begins. The patio is stunning with brick walls draped with vines and potted flowers, greenery everywhere (an olive tree was right next to us) a glass ceiling, candles on all of the tables to keep the lighting intimate, a gorgeous bar and the most amazing fireplace, with candles strewn all over its mantle. When we first sat down, we were taking in the sights and were all annoyed because there was some sort of techno music playing, but within minutes, the music took a turn for the better, much to our glee.

The service was ridiculously great. There were people constantly watching over us the entire night, not in a pesky, "get out of my face" way, but in a way to make our dining experience even more splendid.

Speaking of splendid, the food was to die for. From the fresh out of oven loaf of Italian bread with the creamiest, yummiest butter to all of the side dishes my SIL and I ordered, to the chicken marsala the brother ordered, we ALL gave it a thumbs up. My SIL and I ordered their cheese plate that was filled with little servings of cheeses, nuts, dried veggies and toasted Italian bread with a hint of olive oil. It was scrumptious. And NOT too expensive at all. I highly recommend this place and think it would be an absolutely fabulous place to go around the holidays.

After we'd stuffed ourselves with a homemade biscotti platter with fresh berries and glob of something that tasted like whipped cream, amaretto and some other fabulous ingredients, the next arm of our evening began.

Our next stop was to the Catalina Bar and Grill. We hadn't eaten enough, so we thought we'd eat more…JUST kidding. Actually, the Catalina is a Hollywood jazz landmark, something I knew nothing about. Apparently, they used to be located in a location off of Caheunga, but moved to this much larger, great spot off of Sunset and Las Palmas. SIL had gotten tickets to see the Dave Weckyl band. Now, as a person that has seen her share of concerts, mini-concerts, bar bands, etc., I was not sure what to expect…especially since it was JAZZ.

The Catalina looked a little sketchy from the outside, but the inside had this hip, but not overly-hip flavor with a great lighting, a cool red background, tons of seating for dinner and/or drinks and a perfectly set stage.

The band came out. Dave Weckyl is the drummer and had a sax player, a keyboardist and bass player.

The music started and it was cool. People were sitting in their cheers, bobbing there heads, snapping their fingers, whooping. I was not sure what to do. I am used to mosh pits, or at least standing up and dancing about. I had no etiquette to the jazz scene, so I sat quietly, rubbernecking and watching. Then, all of a sudden, everyone would start clapping and whooping. I was not sure why, as the songs kept going, but when in Rome, I clapped too and looked excited.

This went on all night. I felt the same confusion I used to feel at Cubs games in Chicago. I went to the games to socialize and drink beer, but if I went with REAL baseball fans and they'd asked me "what the play was," my head would roll off as I was not sure. I had that similar feeling this past Saturday, but all in all, I truly enjoyed the evening, even if I was on the edge of my seat the whole night to keep up and learn. And could that man play the drums...woot!

When the band ended, my brother started to wax his knowledge of jazz, which left me completely dumbfounded, as I had NO idea my brother was such a huge fan or that he knew so many facts about the people and music of jazz. He said something so poetic about what jazz meant to him, but I can't write it as I am afraid someone else one day might steal his eloquent statement, so I will leave that one alone.

All in all, it was an A+ evening. Please check these places out. They are true gems.

Dominick's Restaurant, 8715 Beverly Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 652-2335; www.dominicksrestaurant.com

Catalina Bar and Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, 90028
(323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com