30 Before 30 #16: Have a Drink on a Roof in LA

Friday night, I made plans to see my friend Jenny. After texting back and forth, we settled on going to Perch, a rooftop bar in LA. PERFECT. When I wrote this item on my 30 Before 30 list, Jenny immediately came to mind as the perfect person to help make this event happen. She's a great friend with a knack for finding fun places to get a drink around LA, and Perch is one of her best finds!

Earlier that week, a few other friends of ours made plans to get drinks at a happy hour in Pasadena, so that was a perfect start to our evening. We invited all those present to join us, and 2 were free to do so: Danielle and Chris. Our little group, having enjoyed a (few) drink(s) already, opted to take the metro to downtown LA to Perch. Taking the metro (the light rail to Union Station and the subway to Pershing Square) is an adventure in and of itself, one which I enjoyed immensely. Taking the public transit has somewhat of a romantic appeal to it, and it reminded me that I really do live in a CITY. I loved it!

We arrived at Perch around 830pm, which was perfect for a Friday night. The sun had set, and the Blue Moon had risen over the city. We took the elevator up to the 13th floor and transferred to the elevator that took us to the 15th. We entered the restaurant and took the last flight of stairs up to the rooftop and were immediately astounded by the views of the city! Topping off the fun of the bar was bumping into a friend from work.

The music, French pop, was almost as endearing as the simple joy of a lovely evening with good friends, great views, and an alcoholic beverage in hand. The drinks were delicious, though (understandably) on the expensive side. We enjoyed chatting among the views in every direction, overlooking Pershing Square, and finding the LA Times building next to City Hall. The jets were lined up to land at LAX, and the towers on top of Mt Wilson flashed their red warning lights. It really was a lovely evening, and the only thing that could have made it better was dessert. So we went to get some. :)

We walked downstairs to the restaurant, where we passed a long line of folks waiting to go up to the rooftop, and found there was a 2-hour wait for a table, even for dessert. We consulted Yelp and UrbanSpoon to find a dessert place about 2 blocks away, and started our descent. We passed a line outside the door on the street, as well, and were thankful to have gotten up without a wait!

Having grown up in the suburbs, I never knew how much of a city girl I am! I really enjoyed the nightlife and people watching as we walked over to Syrup. A man driving an SUV drove by us playing a dance song loudly with his windows down, and sadly changed the song. We playfully yelled and asked him to turn it back on, and he said, "I've got a better one, just wait!" He then started a new song and we continued dancing as we walked down the street.

Syrup, on Spring, was a lovely find. We walked in to find a busy scene, but found a table right away. Danielle sat down to claim our table, and Jenny, Chris and I pored over the menu while waiting in line to order. We chose a crepe dish (tiramisu-ish), a waffle dish (with berries) and a grilled cheese (muenster and some kind of jam?). We devoured the dishes, then walked back to the Pershing Square metro stop to take the train home. I was in bed by midnight - a lovely evening indeed!!