O: Outlaws Bar & Grill

Overall: 3.2

People receive nicknames for a reason - because they fit. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. "Magic" Johnson. Isaac "Black Moses" Hayes. And following suit, self-proclaimed "grubbin' an a guzzlin' establishment" Outlaws Bar & Grill (http://www.outlawsrestaurant.com/) certainly lives up to its nickname. Before I go on about their bloody marys, please note that this place serves a 2 lb hamburger. And now...moving on.

The bloody marys were great - well-seasoned, priced and spiced. I'm pretty sure they were pretty powerful, though I shouldn't be the judge. In anticipation of tackling the 2 lb-er, I ran 6 miles the morning of in preparation. I'm sorry to have let my fellow blogger and thousands of blog followers down, but when push came to shove I ordered the lox. Nobody was more disappointed in myself than I.

I'm a fan of this place - wooden floors that look like you can toss your peanut shells on, a full bar, their own parking lot and GREAT food. I'll be back.

1. Spice - 3.5
2. Complexity - 3.0
3. Garnishes - 2.0
4. Overall Taste - 4.0
5. Price - 3.5

Overall: 3.2

N = Nightmare, otherwise known as Newsroom Café

Overall: 0

You know when you have one of those days where everything just sucks? That was my life the day we went to the Newsroom Café in Beverly Hills.
My co-blogger and I started the day off hungover. We had been out the previous night for one of our fellow drinkers’ bachelorette party and had drank our body weight in various forms of alcohol. We got so drunk that we stole a camera, threatened to punch people in the face, and kissed an unattractive stranger (and by “we” I mean my co-blogger).
But I digress.
We arrived in the late afternoon for brunch and ordered bloody marys as we waited at the middle of a table for six, across from each other, for our friends to arrive. We were told by our waiter that the Newsroom had run out of their bloody mary mix and there would be none for us that day. After tossing some serious attitude at our braces-wearing waiter, against our better instincts and because we thought our friends would be joining us soon, we decided to stay.
After perusing the Newsroom’s long, disjointed hodge-podge of a menu, we settled on two dishes we thought would be fun: a spicy curry shrimp dish and an omelet with smoked salmon. I think this may have been the grossest food I have ever eaten in my life. I am nauseous thinking about it now.
By the end of our meal, we still hadn't heard from the others who were supposed to join us, so we left: bloody mary-less, angry, bitter, still very hungover, and now a bit nauseous. The only cure we could come up with for our misery was dessert at Diddy Riese, http://www.diddyriese.com, the Westwood mainstay. It worked (for the most part) – two fresh cookies with a scoop of Dreyers ice cream for a mere buck fiddy made things better, but could not make up for the fact that the Newsroom sucks.

1. Spice - 0.0
2. Complexity - 0.0
3. Garnishes - 0.0
4. Overall Taste - 0.0
5. Price - 0.0

Overall: 0.0

M: Magnolia

Overall: 2.25

While the food at Magnolia was decent, the "M" in Magnolia does not stand for Memorable when it comes to their bloody mary, although I do remember being hit hard by it. The bloody mary was strong and the taste was good, but it's definitely not one of the best we had.

Magnolia is typically known as a cool dinner/loungey spot, but when you walk in for brunch it looks like you're at the club at 2:00 a.m. after last call when they've just cranked up the lights. However, the food was more than adequate and the cocktails (in which we partook post bloody mary) were delicious, and, like the bloody mary, very strong.

The most amazing thing about our meal was by far the dessert: the chocolate cookie mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. A taste of heaven - and cut into four perfect pieces for me and my 3 friends. Sorry we didn't tip you extra for the TLC with the dessert, Waitress, but we're in a recession!

1. Spice - 2.0
2. Complexity - 2.0
3. Garnishes - 3.0
4. Overall Taste - 2.25
5. Price - 2.0

Overall: 2.25