Not that Avalon did not draw its share of celebrities—Misha Barton from The OC was a recent guest—and remains a favourite for fashion shoots. W regularly shoots at the location; as had Hollywood Life.
   My suggestion to marinate the pork chops for one hour in honey to enhance their flavour was taken on board by the hotel as I left for a quick journey in to Los Angeles.
   Rodeo Drive is a stone’s throw away from the hotel and the valets were more than happy to point me in the right direction. Olympic Boulevard can be busy and a detour around the block is not a bad idea for those unaccustomed to American traffic flows. While there, part of the famous drive had been dug up for repairs. The Mustang proved reasonably and thankfully anonymous among a sea of German luxury brands and SUVs; the principal head-turner I noticed was a current-model-year Thunderbird. Ford, in its foolishness, will be cutting the life of this car shorter than expected; its management would have been wise to venture out of Dearborn, Mich. to see how much more cred the vehicle had over Mercedes-Benz sports cars.
   I had met a friend for lunch in a “Korea town” neighbourhood off Wilshire Boulevard—taking numerous very straight roads to get there—and eating a delicious Thai meal in a forgettable diner, but also needed to venture southward to Long Beach to visit Stevie Wilson, beauty editor of this title.
   I left the top down, although with the remnants of the ’flu it was not the cleverest idea. Los Angeles’ smog lived up to its reputation: if there were a place in desperate need of the electric car, this was it. Using a mixture of Stevie’s instructions and Mapquest—which had misnamed at least one of the roads—I made it to Long Beach for a home-cooked meal, my first since I was in Brussels to see fashion designer Megan Tuffery (who has since given birth to a boy).
   A slightly overcast day hid the farthest parts of the coastline, but Stevie’s home was an enviable place to live in: by the beach, the first to see the weather changes come in from the Pacific. My father’s former business partner, who had moved nearby from Tennessee, had remarked that this was the most beautiful part of the country. My great-grandfather must have remarked the same, still further south of Long Beach. I was growing to love southern California considerably more—noting that there was a thing as Californian hospitality and true depth to the place.

Y FINAL MEETING prior to heading to LAX and the comfortable Air New Zealand lounge was at the Viceroy, which turned out to be a sister property of the Avalon. At the Santa Monica hotel, I met up with Susie Dobson, of Susie Dobson PR and the wife of Australian film director Kevin James Dobson, and noted how very different it was to the Avalon, despite being overseen by Korzen and Wearstler. The Avalon had a cleaner style; the faux British of the Viceroy looked a little too new to be genuine. It was not to say that it was an uncomfortable place as Susie and I took in Arnold Palmers at the bar inside—a breeze from the west made outside drinking difficult. A series of china plates hung on one wall as a testament to the style of the Viceroy: it mirrored a display of tiles with an original Beverly Carlton pattern that hung at the Avalon.
   Not far from where I sat, several wine merchants had gathered to chat and were impressed by the Viceroy’s bar selection.
   Another young lady called Heather served us another round of Arnold Palmers, explaining that hers was a relatively common name in these parts. Susie, an Australian émigrée, noted how one should not buy in to stereotypes of the United States. In the 1990s, Jerry Seinfeld shattered the illusion of the American not understanding irony with a show that went overboard with ironic situations; perhaps this is the decade when Korzen and Wearstler shatter the idea of the American not understanding elegance, restraint and style. For those staying at the Avalon, that negative notion is well banished. •

Jack Yan is founding publisher of Lucire.

In the 1990s, Seinfeld shattered the illusion of the American not under­standing irony; Korzen and Wearstler shatter the idea of the American not under­standing elegance, restraint and style

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Looking into the lobby of the Viceroy from the pool. TOP: Exterior poolside dining at the Viceroy. ABOVE: The Viceroy’s walled collection of plates—more ornamented than the stylish modernity of the Avalon.