120
winter
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spring
Food & Drink
T
erry’s has an entire book’s worth of drinks and cocktails, each
with a vivid description of its ingredients and sometimes its
history. The bar also features an all-day menu that includes a burger,
two mini-Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog sliders; a basket of fries and four
curried lamb meatballs. You can also opt for a plate of Monterey Bay
calamari. Cocktails run the gamut from an old-fashioned to a whiskey
sour, a Kentucky champagne cocktail, sazerac, Marlene Dietrich
cocktail, and plenty others. It’s fun just to peruse the cocktail menu.
Drinks are named for Doris Day’s favorites, including James Cagney,
Cary Grant, Ronald Reagan, and Kirk Douglas among them. Prices
run from $8 to $12.
As for the pet-friendly restaurant, it was explained to me that the
reason dogs and other animals are welcome in the eating area (many
California city and county ordinances are strictly anti-animal) is that
most people with pets choose to eat at tables set up in what is officially
the hotel’s lobby or in the inner outdoor patio, where animals are
allowed, and not in the “restaurant.” Cypress Inn probably gets away
with its relaxed attitude toward dogs and other creatures because, well,
because it’s Doris Day.
Ambiance
T
he Cypress Inn was built in 1929 and is just half a block from
busy, bustling Ocean Avenue, but it may as well be in the
country. Our room was quiet and comfortable, situated near the inside
patio. We heard no street noise, no noise from adjoining or adjacent
rooms, but even if we had we’d still have been pleased to stay in such
an iconic and comfortable place.
Because it is a relatively old building and is located pretty much
in the very center of town, parking can be challenging. That problem,
however, is about to be resolved. Currently, there are just nine (free)
parking spaces set aside for hotel guests in a lot about half a block
from the hotel. If you can’t expropriate one of those spaces, you’ll have
to find on-street parking, which is free but has restrictions and may
require you to walk a block or two. However, management has recently
hired a valet company and will have access to assigned parking spaces
WEEKEND GETAWAY
