Iconic Los Angeles - The Dresden Room

Hello there Lovelies!

It's been quite a while since I've done a non-Book Club post.  Or a post about something other than asking you to be patient with me because I haven't been able to pay The Vintage Project the proper amount of attention (and I'm so grateful you have!), so I thought that the perfect subject to welcome everyone back to regularly scheduled programming would be another FABULOUS Iconic Los Angeles excursion!  Are we all excited and in agreement?  Good!

In addition to this being another Iconic Los Angeles post, this is also the first birthday post for this year.  While things have settled a bit at work, I have been keeping very busy this past week as Thursday was my birthday (!!) and in addition to having numerous things on my calendar, one of my best friends, Kim, drove down from the Bay Area for a long weekend.  She arrived on Thursday and on Friday, a group of lovely ladies came together for an amazing night of dinner, drinks, and laughing so hard that on many occasions, simply breathing was difficult!  I could not have asked for a better night!

So...The Dresden Room...

The Dresden Room is amazing.  And my company that night wasn't half bad either.

Located on Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz, The Dresden (Room) has been operating as a restaurant and bar in this incarnation since 1954.  In this town especially, a run that long is seriously impressive!  While I wasn't able to dig up much on its history, I did find that the building was originally a paint store and was then turned into Pucci's Cafe in the 1930's.  In 1954, Carl and Sara Ferraro purchased the building, remodeled a few years later, and The Dresden has essentially remained the same since.

While it's been featured in MANY movies over the years, including That Thing You Do, What Women Want, and Anchor Man, it was Swingers that really brought the most attention to this enduring gem.

 Now that you've heard the history of The Dresden, let's go inside.  We'll just follow Jessi.

As if it wasn't completely obvious from the exterior, upon walking through the doors, it's as if you are walking into a different time.  In most other places, this would be kitschy and dated, but here you get more of that teleportation feeling...you know the one.

The dining room has fantastic white booths lining the space and fantastic wooden slat decorative elements down the center of the room.

The aforementioned white booths were incredibly spacious and comfortable.  The restaurant is even considerate of those patrons who have a need for clearly defined personal space.  I've never seen pull out arm rests in a dining establishment before and Jessi was kind enough to provide a demonstration for everyone at home.

There was plenty of love around the table, so we put the armrests into their full, upright, and locked positions.

Naturally, we started things off with cocktails and this seemed like the perfect setting for a Sidecar.  This was the best Mad Men Cocktail Hour Bridget and I could have ever had!  Knowing about this tasty cocktail has come in handy on MANY an occasion!

We daintily sipped our classic cocktails, ate off of a tasty old school menu, and laughed so hard and so loud that I'm honestly surprised we were not politely asked to leave.  Seriously.

 If you pay The Dresden a visit, you will definitely want to check out their dessert options.  Each one sounded fabulous!  We ordered two different ones - a divine chocolate offering and a non-chocolate option - and eight forks!  One of them arrived with a candle in it.

 I was so happy I could cry.  I am truly one of the luckiest girls in the world.

 When you have such a fabulous night with such fabulous ladies, there isn't much to wish for.

Except maybe going over to the bar area to enjoy another cocktail or two while listening to the sweet sounds of Marty and Elayne.  Who are Marty and Elayne, you ask?  Well, for starters, you should kind of be ashamed of yourselves for not knowing about the house musical act.  This husband and wife team have been performing at The Dresden every night except Sundays since 1982.  Do the math - that's over 31 years!  Which has them holding the title of the longest running act to play in one place in Hollywood history!

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And they're fantastic!  I don't care how great of a time you're having, Marty and Elayne will make it better.  That's a guarantee!  They do standards, jazz classics, and random pieces of nostalgia...such as their version of Stayin' Alive!

Aside from the nightly entertainment, the bar area is beautiful.  I've been to The Dresden three times but have yet to figure out how to surreptitiously grab a few of these lanterns and bring them home with me.

The lanterns...

The art...

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The interior windows...

Does it get any better?  Oh right - it totally does!

My only regret that night is that I didn't know about the house cocktail, the Blood and Sand which, in my research I've seen referred to as 'the world's most tantalizing drink'.  Quelle dommage!  I guess that means I'll be forced to pay The Dresden another visit...

And then it was time for this fabulous group of ladies to call it a night.  We headed outside to wait for our Ubers.

Until next time, Dresden.  We all had a fabulous night!  What a spectacular birthday celebration!!

I've heard said many times that you are not a TRUE Angelino if you haven't paid The Dresden a visit.  I might have to agree, so earn your stripes as soon as possible.  You'll kick yourself if you miss the opportunity to see Marty and Elayne in action.

There's much more birthday and non-birthday fun to come, Lovelies.  It's good to be back and on track!
XOXO!!