Friday, January 22, 2010

Put up your DUKES!

If the walls in Dukes (8909 Sunset Boulevard) could talk you would be transported across a 42 year oddysey connecting music, movies, celebrity, fashion trends, neighborhood, artists, working people, suits, tourists and even a few icons. The old Dukes was a fixture in the heart of rock 'n roll country. The walls were adorned with hair band idols and movie posters and signed autographs. The food was...okay. Kind of standard diner fare. But the famous and not so famous were always there because...it was Dukes.

Well, Dukes has had a relaunch recently and the good news is that it REALLY DESERVES YOUR ATTENTION. For starters, they are open until 2am. The interior is more upscale than it used to be. It's still a diner, but you don't have to fight the urge to clean the silverware before you use it anymore. And as for the food...it's damned good! If you compare it to the old fare you would agree it is light years ahead. They make everything on premises...including desserts (by the way, the apple pie portion is generous...apple pie for two generous...and it's great!). There are healthy items (an array of smoothies and salads), bountiful breakfast options all day and night, really terrific burgers, awesome fries (including the option of sweet potato fries), to- die-for chili, hot and cold sandwich options including vegetarian, and some surprisingly non-diner caliber entrees like their Seared Salmon with lemon butter. They offer a big screen TV which has been adopted by the ahead-of the-curve crowd for casual weekend sports viewing. As with the Dukes of old, the famous and not so famous are finding it and embracing it. A newly approved liquor license will allow that Chicago Style Hot Dog to be washed down with an appropriate beer. And Happy Hour specials are in the works as well.

This incarnation of Dukes maintains a sense of allegiance to what came before it and you can still find a spattering of wall memorabilia as a reminder. This new Dukes is still an informal place where everyone can kick back, be themselves and not have to contend with pretense. Longer hours, hugely better food, big screen TV, beer and wine, quality music, attentive service and deliveries are all welcome distinctions between old and new. But what really makes this special is you don't go merely because...it's Dukes; you go because it's better than you can imagine.

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