It doesn't seem like you can get a whole lot for 54¢, but at Barney Greengrass, on the 5th floor of Barney's in Beverly Hills, you can get a taste of nostalgia. They serve up egg creams at the shockingly low price - making them the best buy in they whole store. According to LA Ritz, who found the drink while waiting for some friends to finish shopping, they did use Hershey's syrup instead of U-Bet (the horror!), but it still could be the starting place for a new trend. Of course, if it catches on, I doubt that the price will remain so low!

[Image from LA Ritz, via The Food Section]

We posted recently about the new developments over at the Beverly Hilton. The new owners have proposed tearing down parts of the property in order to build new luxury condos. Part of the tear-down strategy includes Trader Vic's, the old-school Hollywood hangout and original creator of the island-inspired Mai Tai.

Recently I was at the Beverly Hilton blogging the Milken Global Economics Conference and had an opportunity to stroll over to Trader Vic's for an after-conference cocktail. I ordered a Mai Tai, which definitely has an old-school Hollywood price of $12.

However much I balked at the ridiculous ticket price, the Mai Tai at Trader Vic's is worth it. There is definitely $12's worth of alcohol in that glass. If for nothing else, it's worth a trip to to the restaurant before it's torn down just to say that you had a Mai Tai where Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra could have sipped the same drink. Or, you can make the same Trader Vic's recipe at home.

Pour 2 oz of 17-year old J. Wray & Nephew Rum over shaved ice. Add juice from one fresh lime, ½ oz Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao, ¼ oz Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup, ½ oz French Garnier Orgeat Syrup, then shake vigorously. Add a sprig of fresh mint. The Trader Vic's plastic toothpick with maraschinlo cherry and pineapple wedge is optional.

You might not know exactly where the Beverly Hilton is in Beverly Hills, but you certainly know about the Beverly Hilton if you watch the Golden Globe Awards, which are hosted there every year. The "new" owner, who purchased the hotel from Merv Griffin two years ago, has planned to tear down some existing structures on the hotel's property to build condos, including the old-school Trader Vic's restaurant. Apparently, the legendary Polynesian restaurant, famous as the godfather of the Mai Tai, is one of the hotel "elements that no longer work."

I went to graduate school in Philadelphia, and lived only a few blocks from the famed La Colombe Torrefaction. I was a student, it was far too hip for me - but I did stop in once or twice for a croissant and what Food & Wine Magazine calls their "silky cappuccino," naming the caffeinated hotspot the top U.S. coffee "bar."

So coffee is served at bars, not shops, now? The magazine also picks Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, Ninth Street Espresso in the East Village, New York; Aloha Island in Beverly Hills and Ruta Maya in Austin. Naturally I think they're ignoring some legendary spots here in Portland (hello, aren't we coffeeville?), like Stumptown Coffee and Ristretto Roasters.

As I've only quaffed java at one of their top five spots, though, I can hardly be a judge. What do you all think: are they missing anyplace else that's truly paradise in a French Press?