Mary Christmas

Christmas is the time of year for giving. And in keeping with that tradition L.A. Barhopper headed out this holiday season on a "gift giving" extravaganza.

First stop was San Diego's Hearth House, and when I say San Diego I mean La Mesa. This dive bar had it all, a fresh pot of coffee for each Irish Coffee I ordered, a $10 dollar steak dinner I only had to send back a few times before it stopped mooing, 50 cent pool tables and a mother/daughter party tag team that was the highlight of the night.

From there it was on to Tucson, AZ for the Xmas done right, Southwestern style, by the local favorite Saint Mary's Restaurant. Nothing came from the funny named butcher except the hilarious signage. And Pete the dog was a crowd favorite and honestly the best photo subject the entire trip.

Lake Tahoe was the final out of town destination for this Angelino. Irish Coffee continued to be the go to beverage of choice and for the record consists of 1 part irish whiskey, 1 part Bailey's and 2 parts coffee. Derivations I encountered along the way included adding sugar, no Baileys, adding whip cream or Kahlua only seemed to be wayward miscalculations. We were able to ascertain the best Sushi in Tahoe, Naked Fish, which was packed and needing reservations at all times. Not to be recomended was the Swiss Chalet, which could have easily been named and themed after Eva Brauns Alps Retreat. Service was horrible and the food only slightly better. That being said they did make the trips bes Irish Coffee.