The Belmont Shakes

Name: The Belmont Cafe
Coordinates: 747 N. La Cienega Blvd., 90069
Neighborhood: West Hollywood, aka Friday Traffic Hellscape
Happiest Hours: Numerous, but mainly daily, 4-7pm

Readers who, for whatever reason, keep coming back to this site know that I'm a sucker for the clever headline. Sometimes, I'm such a slave to the overusage of said trope that it's a real stretch to see the humor in it. Such might be the case this time -- you can read the above headline a few different ways. Is it merely a hackneyed play on a familiar term? Does it represent a medical condition, or merely an anticipatory state? I'll leave that to you, the reader, to decide...

One thing is for sure, though -- The Belmont, located on La Ciengega in West Hollywood, is a must-try Happy Hour destination for those stuck between the West and East sides of town. It has it all -- the deals, the patio, the surly waitstaff waiting for 7:00pm to hit. Not surly. Distracted. As in thinking, "Why hasn't that casting agent called yet?" Or maybe, "Wasn't this guy here for Happy Hour yesterday?"

That's LA, I suppose. But The Belmont should be lauded, and loudly, for their commitment to the deal as a means of getting people through the door. Check out their Web site -- they've got deals literally every day of the week, from the daily Happy Hour to the Sunday Brunch to some sort of obscenely large bucket of seafood. And those who know me know that I'm gonna get behind any place that serves food in a bucket.

The Vitals: Simply put, The Belmont distinguishes itself from its neighbors in its too-cool-for-school neighborhood by actually acting like they want customers. As mentioned before, their Happy Hour is undoubetedly solid, lasting from 4-7pm every day and offering half-off drinks and appetizers. Sure, with a location like theirs and deals like that, it's going to attract some Ed Hardy/Affliction/guys-in-TrueReligion-jeans-types, and it's going to be crowded, and the servers aren't going to hold your hand through the ordering process; but in this case the amenities far outweigh the drawbacks. To me, half-off plus patio plus Friday equals delightful.