Dining with the Rat Pack

During my recent California sojourn, I had dinner at Dan Tana's Restaurant, the self-proclaimed "ultimate Hollywood hangout" with "a client list that reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood."

I'm always skeptical of restaurants that hype themselves this way, but apparently, proper A-list celebrities actually do eat here.

More importantly, Dan Tana's delivered on both food and experience. The small dining room with red leather banquettes and the professional and efficient waiters make it feel like you're back in 1965 - I half expected Dean Martin (a regular customer in his day) to walk in any minute.

And while some have criticised the food, predominately old-school southern Italian red sauce and garlic, as mediocre, we found our dinners to be quite tasty. My fried calamari starter was great and the New York strip steak (named after actor Dabney Coleman) stood out as possibly the best I've had anywhere.

Although we didn't see any celebrities (that's not why we went anyway - we're way too sophisticated for that), we enjoyed a great meal and a terrific time. Hat tip to my pal Steve for taking us there! I can't wait to go back.