10522 Burbank Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Los Angeles County
Phone: (818) 762-8890
Fax: unknownWebsite: no website on fileEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
by Gennie Nayman on I definitely left here happy even if the contents of my wallet was a little more lonely. I made a reservation here and declined to pay the extra charge to sit in the ship. However, when we got there (and perhaps a little late) they upgraded us for free. The staff was nothing but amazing. So friendly, funny, and helpful. I was a fondue virgin and they helped me through it well. They had many different dishes to choose from and they were all great. I tried some of the cheese/crouton/apple dish, and the rest of the time I had the beef plate.Very good, but due to the price I'll keep as a once-in-a-while special occasion thing. Also, the jazz band was lovely. Great atmosphere.
by Yer Belongia on [Note: This review was originally written for my salsa class at Skyline, and might as well copy it here in all its gory, boring detail] I came to Café Cocomo on a cold Saturday night. They advertised a 7-9 pm free pizza buffet with cover on their website ( http://www.cafecocomo.com), so, I arrived to the club at 7pm, to find plenty of street parking and its front gate locked. Frustrated, I left but returned a half hour later and the gate was open. It opens to an enclosed outdoor bar area and balcony. But nobody would be working the outdoor patio area as it was freezing. I followed a short path to the dance hall on the left. It's a large warehouse converted to cater to a nightclub scene. A coat check area and kitchen was available to the right and ticket desk on the left. Shoes with hard leather soles are required. After paying $15 cover to the cashier, you walk out onto a spacious central wooden dance floor with an elevated stage for the band in the corner and seating along the sides, a mixture of leather sofas and high bar stools. There are 2 bars on this floor: one on the left by the cashier's desk, and a smaller one in the adjacent Lava Lounge area. A mural with a tropical motif lines the wall by the stage while disco balls and chandeliers dot the ceiling. The stairs from the main floor lead to an upper mezzanine with a charming décor of a star-lit night sky and even more dance floor, an outdoor balcony, and of course, another bar. The club could easily host 400+ revelers. At around 8:15pm, the salsa instructor, Jake, began his class. A not-very-imposing figure, he was probably about my height, but his moves were very smooth. He separated leaders and followers into lines -- the mix was pretty even, with slightly more leaders/men, about 40 people in total. Lining up like this, it was easy to see that quite a few guys and gals dressed to the nines. He started at the very beginning by teaching the basic step and basic turn. After a couple minutes of demonstration, we took partners in a circle to try it, rotating partners every couple minutes. This was the beginner part of the lesson. He strongly encouraged everyone to practice counting the beats 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, as it would be difficult to execute the more advanced moves without it. After about 6 rotations, he jumped into the intermediate material. The intermediate move was 24 counts, involving a sweetheart hold that led into "He goes, She goes" turns with a hand switch, followed by a hair sweep and a basic. Fortunately, he took the time to break it down, 3 steps at a time. The advanced move he taught started similar to the intermediate step. It began with a sweetheart, but then the leader steps around her left side to the front of the her, then pulls her around to face him, then pushes her right hand so that she turns, but catches her left shoulder with his left hand so that she only pivots about 180, so that he's behind her right shoulder; then he steps to her left shoulder, puts his right hand on her right shoulder, and pushes with the left hand and pulls with the right hand to spin her clockwise 1.5 turns, with optional male spin, then reconnect with a basic. I don't think I ever quite got this step right. After the lesson, it was about 9:30pm and the dance floor filled quickly. Every so often, the DJ played a non-salsa song, and the dance floor cleared. But it continued to be mostly packed. N'Rumba finally set up at around 10pm. It was a 10-piece salsa band, consisting of 2 trombones, trumpet, drums, conga, clave, bass, keyboard, singer and 2 backup vocals, one of whom also played sax. I didn't recognize any of their tunes, but they kept the crowd dancing. There were plenty of good dancers out on the floor, and the mezzanine was an excellent place to perch from and enjoy watching the crowd. I'd never seen so many spins into hammerlocks before. One salsera in particular caught my eye; a African-American lady who could twirl so fast that it made me dizzy just to watch her. She was easily the fastest on the floor. She danced towards the periphery of the crowd, where there was more room to maneuver without bumping into people. Lessons learned: 1. Don't get to a club too early 2. A follower can tell how experienced a leader is on the first beat by the connection he gives her. 3. The man's lead should begin slightly before the beat, so that the lady can dance to the music. E.g., start leading the lady's basic turn on beat 4, even as she goes on beat 5. 4. The dance lesson isn't a great way for beginning leaders to learn salsa, as the instructor proceeds very quickly. In conclusion, it was an informative trip to see what the scene is like outside of the classroom and serves as motivation to keep learning. And without a doubt, I have a lot to learn.
by Julie E. on While I want to give this place 2 stars, I must bump it up to 3 for the sheer entertainment value of people watching. Or, in other words, of watching lots slutty, slutty girls slobbering over, well, just about anything that moves. Went here once to meet up with an old friend from high school and his buddies. Supposedly it was some "private" event. We got there towards the end of the night - were probably in the place for less than an hour. It's a big space. I've never seen more slutty girls IN MY LIFE. I've heard this is a lesbian bar? If that's the case, it makes SO MUCH SENSE. But, I have a feeling these slutterific ladies were not here because of that, because many of them were practically have sex with men in the unisex bathroom. Don't get me wrong, I like lesbians, I like men, I like sex. I guess it just took me by surprise, I wasn't expecting to see sex when I went to go pee. So many down-to-there and up-to-there dresses, it was difficult NOT to look. My friends had bottles, so we ended up getting hammered pretty quickly (not by the bottles OR by my friends, pervs). Um, I guess I would go back if there was reason to. But I would be sure to get slutified and bring my man-whores to the bathroom.
