by Erica H. on I went to Rock Box last Wednesday night to check it out for the first time with a couple of girlfriends. We had the BEST night! We walked in and were really impressed with the interior design and architecture of the space. It is so beautiful and hip and every detail is well thought out. At first, we thought we would just hang out in the central core/bar area (we hadn't planned on 'renting' a room), so we ordered some cocktails and sat down to relax in one of the "nooks." The martinis were well made (just the right amount of vermouth and ice cold), and our third friend had Scuttlebutt on tap. Into our second cocktail, we decided to order an array of the small dishes on the menu. We were so glad we did! We all dove into the Japanese mac and cheese (SO delicious), the Yukkari Pop popcorn (well, our vegetarian friend let us have the popcorn popped in duck fat - so good), the Guacamame (guacamole made with avocados and edamame - YUM), tomato caprese (fresh and bright), and Karaage (Japanese fried chicken that tasted as good as any restaurant). As our cocktails were kicking in, we decided to try a room. Lucky for us, room number one was open. It's the room with windows facing Pine Street, and there's a light switch that turns your window from opaque to translucent - letting people who are walking by on the sidewalk see us singing our hearts out and dancing! That was a fun switch to play with. The books of songs are at least 2" thick. Any and every song we wanted to sing was listed in there. And punching in the numbers of the songs on the iPad(!) provided as the remote control was easy. The TV is a huge, flat screen mounted to the wall and out of the way. And speaking out of the way, the little tables for your food or cocktails are easy to move out of the way if you want to dance. When you're in your room, a server comes and checks on you to see if you want more to drink or eat! And when the husband of one of our friends surprised us later in the evening, it was easy to pop out of the room and walk the 10 or 15 feet to the bar to get him a beer very quickly. Everything is so well planned and executed and FUN FUN FUN. I highly recommend Rock Box. They also have a party room that fits 25+ people, and I think my friends and I are already trying to figure out when and what party we need to throw so we can go back and show this little gem off to all of our friends!!
by Sammie H. on My first review!!! Flew in from NYC after a long trip and although the trip was tiring (wedding parties are too much fun yay!!!) the baggage guys here are always willing to help me out and call a cab/take my bags. Smog is always a reminder no matter where you come from, because as soon as you breathe the fresh LA air, your lungs will remind you its LA and its the capitol of smog and 1 passenger drivers.
by Adriana Muscarello on So you're finished with a Laker game and are bombarded with the usual "passes" for Spearmint Rhino and other downtown strip clubs. One of the flyers, however, is all done up with the old Raiders logo. Nothing says "my LA childhood" more than when we actually had a football team and that football team had bad-ass fans. That, plus the "NO COVER" line, persuade us to give Sam's a shot. The first thing we notice is that we were not the only ones to have this same idea- the parking lot is completely full by the time we find the place and we have to park on a sketchy side street. Which sucks even more when I get to the door and the bouncer says you have to leave your cell phones in the car if it has a camera (what phone doesn't have a camera these days?) and I have to walk back. Sigh. Once inside, this place is like a raucous, after-hours party, with shirt and tie dudes fresh from their company's box at Staples, mixing with beefy, tatted up gang members. They do have a full bar (good) and there is no cover (excellent) BUT this is a little bit like the place where strippers go to die...or at least retire. So the atmosphere is divey and cool but the girls are not really that attractive. Also, because they have a full bar, nobody gets naked or topless, not such a bad thing at all but just something to know before you go. Overall, this is the 2nd sketchiest strip club / lap dance emporium I have ever visited, right after a place in Brooklyn that operates out of a converted cargo container and who's logo features three girls dancing on the back of a flatbed truck (stay classy, Brooklyn!). Those with a healthy sense of adventure will enjoy, those who want to "make it rain" on some glamor models...err, probably not as much.
