The world’s first Nutella cafe opened in Chicago last May and a New York site followed this fall. Now fans of the popular hazelnut and cocoa spread can stay inside a pop-up Hotella Nutella in California’s Napa Valley — but only for a weekend. Instead of making a reservation, you must submit a 60-second video about how Nutella makes your breakfast an epic experience.

If your video is selected (only three winners will be chosen), you and a guest will receive round-trip airfare and three days at the hotel to savor the sweet life.

And there’s more.

While you’re surrounded by oversized Nutella pillows and rugs in a branded kitchen and bedroom, you’ll be served “breakfast dinner” by Food Network celebrity judge Geoffrey Zakarian, brunch by Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen owner Tanya Holland and artsy pancakes by Dancakes.

The Hotella Nutella will be open Jan. 10 to 12 only. To enter, upload your video, which can be up to 60 seconds long, to the website by 9 p.m. Pacific time Dec. 8 (and you must be 21 or older). The “hotella” is actually a private residence in Napa Valley that will be transformed by wallpaper, floor mats and bedspreads bearing the product’s familiar jars.

Nutella, for those who don’t know, is a European breakfast spread created in 1964. In 2018, brawls broke out among shoppers after French supermarkets discounted jars of the sweet stuff. It gradually made its way to America, where it has won loyal fans, particularly among millennials.

This isn’t the first food-branded hotel to come to California.

In August, Taco Bell created a similar pop-up experience in Palm Springs when it took over the V Palm Springs for a weekend. “When the doors to the hotel opened, the kitchen was turning out fried chicken bites, guacamole, crudité, Caesar salad, fish tacos and veggie wraps,” Jenn Harris of the L.A. Times wrote about her experience. “Taco Bell chef Rene Pisciotti created the hotel menu items as riffs on the actual Taco Bell menu.”

Info: Nutella Weekend Breakfast Experience

Which is the most stressful job at an airline? Pilot? Flight attendant? Lost-baggage troubleshooter? Chief executive?

If you chose one of those positions, I would respectfully disagree. As a flight attendant employed at a legacy carrier for more than 30 years, I’ve had a ringside seat to what customer service agents endure. From where I stand, they are saddled with an airline’s most stressful gig.

Under pressure to get flights out on time, an agent working the departure desk faces a barrage of questions to which they’re often forced to say no.

Will you give me a first-class upgrade? Can I change my middle seat for one at the window? The overhead bins are full; can I still carry on my luggage? Is the flight departing on time? Will I make my connecting flight in Chicago?

No. No. No. No. Sorry, ma’am. Sorry, sir. The answer, unfortunately, is no.

Displeased by such responses, some passengers lose it so completely that police officers are summoned.

In a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a watchdog organization providing Congress and federal agencies with objective, reliable information, 46 of the 104 customer service agents interviewed said passengers had verbally threatened them. Twelve said they had been physically assaulted, and all said they were verbally harassed.

I’ve heard passengers scream because the agent could not grant a business-class upgrade. One day, I saw a man sprint toward the departure gate, gasping for breath, and when the agent told him the flight had departed, he slammed his carry-on to the floor and directed a rage-filled expletive at her.

I’ve seen passengers burst into tears, pound their fists on the departure desk, berate, scold and threaten to sue agents for issues beyond their control.

I’ve even seen police officers come to the agents’ defense. One such episode occurred recently at Miami International Airport.

On Oct. 31, I prepared to work an all-night flight from Miami to São Paulo, Brazil. The equipment scheduled for that flight, a Boeing 777-300, accommodates 304 passengers: eight people in first class, 52 in business and 244 in the main cabin.

When my crew reached the departure gate, agents informed us of an equipment change. Instead of working the 777-300, we would be flying to São Paulo on a 777-200.

The change created challenges for our agents because the 777-200 has an entirely different seating configuration. This aircraft holds 273 passengers, which means 31 fewer seats. There is no first-class cabin. Business class consists of 37 seats.

Over the loudspeaker, an agent announced that passengers needed to check in at the departure desk to receive new seat assignments.

The outrage began.

Three first-class passengers were downgraded to business class. Eighteen business-class passengers were downgraded to coach. (Each downgraded traveler received a $600 travel voucher and a refund for the difference in airfare.) Dozens of main-cabin passengers received new seat assignments that were, in many cases, far from their traveling companions or in locations (center seats, for example) they deemed uncomfortable.

Although a few passengers volunteered to take a later flight, others had no choice but to do so.

At the departure desk, anger morphed into hostility. Passengers directed obscenities in English and Portuguese at the agents. Then a phalanx of passengers closed in on the desk.

When a frustrated passenger grabbed an agent by the arm, colleagues summoned airport police.

Moments later, when the police showed up, even the most vociferous protesters settled down. The passenger who grabbed the agent was not arrested. She was, however, banned from the flight.

Finally, about 1 a.m. — more than an hour after our scheduled departure — the boarding process began. Passengers filed onto the aircraft, shaking their weary heads in disbelief.

Bags were stowed. Everyone settled into their seats. My crew anxiously awaited the catering truck, which had been delayed partly because of the change in aircraft.

By the time the truck showed up and caterers finished stocking the galleys, our first officer had timed out because of Federal Aviation Administration crew rest restrictions.

The flight was canceled.

When the purser made the announcement, a collective groan echoed through the aircraft. All 273 passengers were instructed to remove their bags, exit the plane and stand in a long winding queue, at the front of which stood a beleaguered agent who provided hotel vouchers and apologies while police officers kept a watchful eye.

The Government Accountability Office report reveals, “no comprehensive data are available to determine the nature and frequency of passenger assaults — including verbal threats, attempted physical acts or actual physical acts — against airline customer service agents at airports.”

Although physical assaults by passengers are rare, agents are subjected to verbal abuse almost daily. It’s a thankless job requiring patience and thick skin. The same could be said about flight attendants with one notable exception: We aren’t tasked with explaining to passengers why their travel plans got flushed down the toilet.

Instead, when that São Paulo trip was canceled, all 16 crew members on the flight were removed from duty. As the agents processed hotel vouchers for 300 unhappy passengers, we flight attendants dragged our roll-aboards past the seemingly endless queue and headed for home.

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If someone walked up to you and asked for $5 for no reason, would you hand it over? How about $18? Would you mind terribly leaving that behind?

Welcome to your most recent helping of outrage. My name is Catharine Hamm, and I’m lucky to work with a couple of guys who pinch pennies as hard as I do. Mike Hiller, who spends a lot of time walking the 4.2 miles of the Vegas Strip, came across a mystery fee on a restaurant menu and started asking questions. Staff writer Christopher Reynolds caught wind of a new way to raise revenue in Los Cabos, Mexico, and also started asking questions. Catch up with the infuriating results below.

We also have answers to questions about how (or whether) you should travel to Cuba, where you can best see the full moon and what motivates author Paul Theroux in his new book on Mexico, plus a terrific guide to making sure you have the right plug when you travel abroad. There is also news of a cannabis consumption lounge in Las Vegas, a final farewell to Vegas performing icons and a weekend escape that will help you see the light.

All this to get you in the holiday-travel planning mood (it need not be a bad mood) in the End paper, which, magically, appears at the very end. Hey ho, let’s go.

It’s not a tax; it’s a fake fee

But it’s real enough if you pay it. Mike Hiller, who prowls the Vegas Strip and pokes into the city’s other corners as well, was eating at a Strip restaurant and noticed what he called “an odd charge labeled ‘CNF,’ but since it sounded official, I paid it,” he said in an email. “Then I spotted it again at another restaurant and began to ask questions. The answers all led to a single answer: made-up fees that add up to extra profits for the owners.” Reader Hiller’s piece on fees that can fake you out, and what you can do about them.

It’s not a tax; it’s a donation

When you land in Los Cabos, you’ll have a chance to give away $18 of your hard-earned money. The “donation” goes to improving health care, housing, education and more in Baja California.

Here’s the thing: It’s not an impuesto, or tax, and it’s been incorrectedly reported in trade media as one. You just hand it over or you don’t; the government expects to gather about $25 million from this collection, which you can drop at an airport kiosk.

Should Cuba be on your bucket list?

That’s a tough one to answer. Catherine Watson, formerly travel editor for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, first went to the island nation in 1999 and has been back five more times in the ensuing years. Her piece makes arguments for and against a visit there in a gentle, almost lyrical way. Definitely worth reading.

Then there are the practical aspects of going to Cuba. My On the Spot column looks at the newest changes and challenges in planning a trip there.

Finally, free airfare to Cuba is our deal of the week. InsightCuba is offering free airfare from Miami to Havana for its Cuba tours, which it has been leading since 2000, Mary Forgione writes.

A new wrinkle in cannabis consumption

You can’t smoke marijuana in public in Nevada; you can smoke it at home. But if you’re visiting, where do you consume legal cannabis? It’s not going to be in your hotel room, because generally, these are not classified as private residences. It’s a bad idea in a rental car, since it could bring a fee. That’s why lounges present an answer, but the state delayed permission to open such places for a couple of years.

Enter the Vegas Tasting Room at NuWu Cannabis Marketplace, where you can try before you buy. And why can this place do this when others cannot? Read Jay Jones’ story to find out.

A light touch in Paso Robles

Terry Gardner took a Weekend Escape to Paso Robles to see Bruce Munro’s “Field of Light,” 58,000 solar flowers that put on quite a show after dark — and before, Gardner writes. For her, it suggests the possibilities of solar power, and for everyone, it is a new way to be mesmerized by California’s landscape.

‘Plain of Snakes’ has a bite

At 78, Paul Theroux, who has more than 50 books and novels to his credit, could be playing golf somewhere or sipping his morning coffee while meeting the day. Instead, he’s talking about a new book that grew out of road trips in Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico, looking for, as writer Christopher Reynolds said, “grit and grace beyond the usual information Americans get about their southern neighbors.” It’s a fascinating talk with a man who has made a career of taking us to other worlds.

Put a plug in it

You’ve arrived in a foreign country and you want to recharge — yourself, of course, but also your electronics. But what’s that funny-looking configuration? It’s an outlet but it doesn’t fit any plug you have. Terry Gardner explains what you’ll need to plug in around the world — something to bookmark or print before your next overseas adventure.

Where to see that old devil moon

We are seeing now the second-to-the-last full, or full-ish, moon of the year. (The last one is Dec. 11.) If you want to do something beyond just hanging out in the backyard (and maybe more romantic), Mary Forgione suggests five places to get a better look.

And pretty soon, you won’t see …

… Donny and Marie. Can you believe it? After 11 years, they’re calling it a day. Their original stint was supposed to be just a few weeks, but they soon become some of the most beloved performers in Vegas. You still have a little time to jump on a plane to see their last show.

What we’re reading

Thanks a lot, Nick Butter. He makes the rest of us look like total slackers. Most of us have never run one marathon, never mind a marathon in every U.N.-recognized country in the world, Jack Guy reports for CNN Travel. OK, so it probably took Butter a couple of decades, right? Nope. He began Jan. 6, 2018, and finished his last challenge in Greece. He burned through 10 passports and often went home to Britain just to get a new visa. Well done, mate.

Here’s something else to feel bad about if you’re a flier: fuel tankering. Writing for Quartz, Natasha Frost explains that it means taking along extra fuel so the airline can save a few pennies. Nothing wrong with that — except that the weight of the extra fuel increased the carbon imprint by almost a million tons a year across Europe, a June report notes.

Now that we are in the age of flight shaming — that is, blaming people for the air travel that helps indulge their passion — will people actually heed the call for restraint? Even KLM, Jessica Baron writes for Forbes, is urging greater responsibility, suggesting taking the train or canceling in-person meetings that really could be done by phone. It’s a fascinating discussion of our willingness to pay for pleasures that imperil the Earth.

What you could be reading

If only you perused our newsletter home page, that is. There’s lots to choose from — sports, food, real estate, the day’s headlines. And here’s the best news: They’re free and, in this case, you do not get what you paid for. You get much more, because they’re free and you’re getting news that’s shaped just for you. Stop by our newsletters center.

You might like these enough to subscribe to the L.A. Times as a whole. Head over to our subscription center to see your options, some of which cost less than a gallon of gas.

And finally, let us hear from you. We love fan mail, of course, but we also like to know what’s on your mind and how we can improve this newsletter. Write to us at [email protected]. When we say we look forward to seeing you, we mean it. Thank you.

End paper

Did you know you can take a turkey in your carry-on bag? I didn’t, but this is what I love about my job: I learn new stuff every day. What I haven’t learned: how to ensure your carry-on doesn’t smell like Thanksgiving going forward.

We’ll offer lots of tidbits for your holiday travel toolkit in the Nov. 17 newspaper’s Travel section, and online as well. This year, there have been changes at LAX that will affect your comings and goings, changes in how you might buy a bus ticket, changes in costs. If you don’t fly often and you’re going to travel around the holidays, have a look so you’ll be prepared.

Here’s my hard-won wisdom. You can never be fully prepared for holiday travel. Some things, sure. But …

• Carry some cash, and not just $20 bills. I keep a jar for $1 bills and $5 bills that I gather between trips and scoop them up before leaving home, because no skycap I’ve ever known takes a debit card.

• Also take a credit card. I well remember the call from my stepdaughter and her husband, who had taken a connecting flight to New Jersey to visit his family. They weren’t in New Jersey; they were in Chicago’s O’Hare, and they weren’t getting to New Jersey anytime soon.

Two mistakes here: First, a connecting flight through Chicago in winter (or summer, spring or fall) is rarely a good idea. Second, if weather cancels your flight, you’re on your own. It is not the airline’s responsibility to put you up. If you are carrying a credit card, you won’t have to call your father to ask him to put your hotel on his credit card.

• If you have to hitchhike to the airport because it’s snowing so hard the airport bus isn’t running, chances are good that your flight isn’t going anywhere either. Today, we’d look at an app (FlightStats, Flight Tracker or FlightAware, among them) or just call the airline to find out, but in the dark ages before that, there was … nothing. Because finding a pay phone in a snowstorm isn’t really an option if you’re strolling down the shoulder of an interstate highway.

That was my first year in college, and I was desperate to get home for the holidays — so desperate I took leave of my senses, if, indeed, at 18, I had any. A businessman inching his way along the highway leaned his head out his car window and asked if I wanted a ride. I was freezing, my suitcase was wet and I knew better, but I said yes. I was lucky. He was a nice guy in a city that a little more than a year later would begin seeing the monstrous results of a serial killer who remained at large for more than 30 years.

So go ahead. Take leave and go home or to Grandma’s or to be with the friends who have become your family. Just don’t take leave of your senses. Because we want you to travel safely and well and know that we will be here, having taken no stupid risks, to welcome you home.

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Born in England and raised in London and Scotland, Kathryn Ireland arrived in Los Angeles in 1986. Prior to launching her interior design business in the early 1990s, Ireland was an actress, clothing designer and filmmaker. Today she is considered one of the most influential interior and textile designers in the world, and recently launched her newest design venture, the Perfect Room. Ireland at home in Santa Monica. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Ireland’s Santa Monica home. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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A comfortable pet. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Kathryn Ireland. 

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

As one of the leading interior and textile designers in the United States, Kathryn M. Ireland has written six books, starred in Bravo’s “Million Dollar Decorators” and brought her whimsical, no-nonsense bohemian style to the homes of A-list celebrities, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Steve Martin. Now with the launch of her website the Perfect Room, she’s bringing the best of the design world to everyone’s doorstep.

Think of it as an elite Pinterest, committed to the “bespoke and custom,” she said.

“It’s always interested me how we could make the design industry streamlined,” said Ireland, who envisioned a platform that offered inspired interior designs from the best in the field, as well as everything for purchase to achieve that exact look.

The team of 12 designers — including Ireland, Rachel Ashwell, David Netto and fellow “Million Dollar Decorators” Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Jeffrey Alan Marks — created spaces for outdoors, living areas, bedrooms and even hallways, with a variety of aesthetics and moods.

If Ashwell’s cushy white couch and feminine accents in her “Antique Inspired” living room aren’t your fancy, you may prefer Marks’ leather-laden “Modern Malibu” living room.

“You can buy a whole room or one piece from the room. The more you buy, the better price you get,” said Ireland, whose $65,286 Cape Cod living room is the most expensive full suite of the 37 currently available on the site (her $5,965 Relaxed Ibiza Patio carries the lowest overall price tag).

The virtual shopping bag can hold several entire rooms, or individual items — a melamine dinner plate for $19, or a pedestal dinner table that’s more than $10,000. A menu of services includes drawing up a floor plan, a personalized design consultation, and delivery and installation of furniture, fabric and framed art for the walls.

“We all know how to work with different budgets, and I thought it was a great way to reach a lot of people in parts of the country that aren’t as well served as we are in bigger cities,” Ireland said.

How did you get your start in interior design?

When I moved to L.A., I was in the film business and married to a director, and before we bought a house we moved every year to a bigger house because we had another child. So I got really good at re-creating a home quickly. I can’t bear living out of boxes. By the time we moved in, the house was done and the curtains were hung.

Do you have a trademark aesthetic you bring to your different projects and designs?

Bohemian, livable, comfortable — English country meets California beach life. I just like rooms that make you feel good when you walk into them. So often there will be beautiful homes but when you walk into them, they’re stagnant, with no energy. So it’s about creating the energy, lifestyle and knowing how to live.

What needs and trends are you noticing most from homeowners these days?

I think it’s accessibility. The clients and people we’re attracting don’t have much time but trust our style. A lot of the people that I’m seeing are women over 50 who are helping their kids and have used decorators before and know what they’re doing, are very savvy and worldly and created their own style. Because of things like Airbnb, instead of keeping their money in the bank, people are investing in second, third or even fourth holiday or rental homes, or helping their kids invest in properties.

Were any items made especially for the Perfect Room?

I did a furniture collection that’s available only on the site. These are all items I’ve been custom-making for clients over my 25-year career. They’re now available at a better price point.

Tell me about your design boot camps and workshops.

People came to me over three to four days and we’d talk about how I became a decorator, PR, floor plans, budgets and agreements. We’d send a questionnaire about what they wanted to learn; some people would be working on one room, some people were getting ready to work with an architect and wanted to know the protocol. We’d go to the flea market in Santa Monica, showrooms and workshops, and spend one-on-one time with designers like Martyn Lawrence Bullard. Jeffrey Alan Marks would come to dinner, or anyone who was available. They’re such a success.

When New York’s climate change lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. went on trial last month in a Manhattan courtroom, the energy giant’s lead lawyer took great pains to emphasize that the state’s allegations weren’t really about climate change.

After all, Theodore Wells said, Exxon was accused of hatching a cynical scheme to mislead investors. The case was about an alleged securities fraud intended to mask the impact of global warming on Exxon’s finances, not a grand reckoning of its responsibility for the man-made phenomenon.

The reason the claims are so narrow is that New York couldn’t find enough evidence to support allegations that Exxon hid its knowledge of global warming. But in the end, that may not matter: Regardless of who wins, there are states, municipalities and environmental groups suing or planning to sue Exxon and other energy companies for being the main perpetrators of a looming planetary catastrophe.

And while a victory for New York could be a public relations boon for those pending cases, a win for Exxon won’t stop that litigation — most of which is based on very different legal arguments.

New York Supreme Court Justice Barry Ostrager, who presided over the non-jury trial, is scheduled to hand down a verdict in the coming weeks. Whoever loses is almost certain to appeal.

Just as the New York trial was getting underway last month, Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Maura Healey hit Exxon with a new consumer lawsuit. Her complaint cut to the chase, accusing the company of withholding dire climate warnings by its own scientists for decades and duping the state’s consumers with bogus “green” gasoline ads, among other things.

“It’s well past time for Exxon to tell the truth and be held accountable for the misrepresentations it has made to every investor, at every gas station, on every television, and online,” Healey said in a statement. Exxon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

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Additionally, more than a dozen “public nuisance” lawsuits seek to hold energy companies responsible for billions of taxpayer dollars spent on acclimating to a warming world, or picking up the pieces following unprecedented hurricanes, floods and wildfires.

Rhode Island filed such a complaint last year, while a dozen city governments from California, Washington, Colorado, Maryland and New York have also sued. In just the last few weeks, the mayor of Honolulu said his city would soon file a nuisance suit of its own, comparing the litigation to lawsuits against Big Tobacco that led to a $246-billion industry settlement. The Hawaiian island of Maui, its own county, has also said it plans to sue.

Since the cost of slowing global warming (and acclimating to damage already done) could reach tens of trillions of dollars, the stakes in these cases — if they survive — may be significantly higher than those faced by cigarette makers.

Patrick Parenteau, an environmental law professor at Vermont Law School, said the growing number of nuisance cases are supported by claims of a well-funded “campaign of deception” and Big Oil’s history of opposing legislation intended to address the problem.

So far, nuisance cases have met with mixed success, as the companies fight to move them from state to federal courts, where they often get more favorable treatment. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court let officials from Maryland, Rhode Island and Colorado press ahead with three state lawsuits that accuse more than a dozen oil and gas companies, including Exxon, of contributing to climate change.

Local governments have won rulings in California, where a federal judge moved a climate change lawsuit by the city of Imperial Beach and San Mateo and Marin counties back to state court. (The companies have appealed.)

Plaintiffs have lost nuisance cases as well. In a federal lawsuit filed in early 2018, New York City accused Exxon, Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips of promoting fossil fuel sales despite knowing the damage they pose to the planet. A U.S. district judge threw out the lawsuit, which was based on a state law, saying federal law governs carbon dioxide emissions. The city appealed, with arguments scheduled for Nov. 22.

A spokesman for Shell said the company doesn’t “believe the courtroom is the right venue to address climate change.” None of the other defendant companies responded to emails seeking comment.

Lawsuits filed by the cities of Oakland and San Francisco met the same fate when they were dismissed. Appeals are pending in those cases as well.

“Unless governments take adequate action against climate change, which is highly unlikely, lawsuits will continue to pile up,” said Michael B. Gerrard, director at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.

But states and cities seeking redress in the courts say it is the only avenue open to them. The federal government under President Trump has spent the last three years trying to undo climate regulations put in place by President Obama, including taking the U.S. out of the landmark Paris Agreement intended to reduce fossil fuel emissions globally.

Hana Vizcarra, a staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program, said nuisance lawsuits are difficult to make because plaintiffs must “draw the line” from a company’s actions to the damage done. The continued fight over state jurisdiction will be crucial, she said.

“If they survive the fights over venue, there will be a continued appetite to bring these cases,” Vizcarra said.

The New York trial turned on the two ways Exxon measured how much climate change — and specifically climate change-related laws — would affect its bottom line. According to the company, its “proxy cost” was a public number representing how much fossil fuel prices would fall as those regulations diminished fossil fuel demand. The other number was an internal “greenhouse gas cost” associated with new extraction projects, such as fracking or oil sands, it said. New York said the proxy cost was at one point $80 a ton while the greenhouse gas cost was $40.

New York said the two gauges were like keeping two sets of books—clear evidence that Exxon was lying to the investing public. The proxy cost made the company look like it was being fully transparent about its financial future, New York argued, but since Exxon used the lower cost when deciding whether to dig up more oil, it was a classic case of securities fraud, since investors were buying stock based in part on a lie.

Exxon responded that New York’s case made no sense, since the greenhouse gas cost was narrowly focused, used to measure the viability of specific projects, and — most importantly — more optimistic. What, Exxon argued, would it gain by fooling itself?

During the course of the trial, former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson took the stand in what may have been the most dramatic point of the three week-proceeding. New York often elicited testimony intended to show that Exxon sought to defraud investors, a strategy that seemed to annoy Ostrager.

The lawsuit was filed in part under New York’s powerful Martin Act, which doesn’t require a showing of intent. It only requires that New York show Exxon shareholders could have been misled by the company’s actions. As the trial ended, the state dropped counts based on common law fraud alleging that Exxon’s statements about its accounting were intended to defraud investors, and that investors relied on them when buying stock. The remaining two counts, brought under the Martin Act, require the judge to find only that Exxon’s statements were sufficient to mislead to investors, regardless of whether Exxon meant to do so.

Robert McTamaney, a New York-based corporate attorney, calls the Martin Act “an atrocity,” given how low the bar for victory can be. As for the nuisance lawsuits, he concurred that they may gain traction if they are allowed to proceed in state courts. Nevertheless, he said he believes the courts are the wrong place to settle the question of climate change.

“The correct outcome, in my judgment, is to leave this area to the Congress and legislatures,” McTamaney said. “And in any event, it is a global problem which demands a global solution.”

Others are intent on using the courts to make those responsible for the global crisis pay to fix it. New York’s lawsuit against Exxon, said Daniel Rohlf, a lawyer at Earthrise Law Center, is the first battle in a larger war. A professor at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Ore., Rohlf said a ruling against Exxon would have a big effect on pending litigation elsewhere.

“It would send a loud and clear signal to both corporations and the public that carbon emissions aren’t free,” he said. “The time has come to account for those costs in the way we do business, and in the way we live.”

Formula 1 has announced that Melbourne shall remain the home of the Australian Grand Prix until 2025, extending the venue’s original contract by two years.

The coastal capital of the southeastern state of Victoria has been on F1’s schedule since March of 1996, when it took over from Adelaide which had hosted the race for over a decade.

Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the event held at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit, a popular destination for F1 fans enhanced by the Australian Grand Prix’s now traditional status of being the season-opening round of the F1 World Championship.

London F1 race still on the cards despite Silverstone deal

“The decision to extend the current relationship for a further two years stems from the fact this event has proved to be a resounding success for the capital of Victoria, for Australia and indeed around the world, proving immensely popular with fans and those who work in F1,” said F1 CEO Chase Carey.

“Working along with our partner, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, we plan to make the Australian Grand Prix even more exciting and spectacular, as a sporting event and as a form of entertainment.

“Today’s announcement follows on from last week’s, relating to the British Grand Prix and is proof that more and more promoters are sharing our long-term vision for the future of F1.”

Martin Pakula, the Victorian minister for tourism, sport and major events, added:

“Beyond the direct benefits to Melbourne and Victoria arising out of F1’s decision, he contract extension until 2025 also provides benefits and confidence for Victoria’s events industry and the associated supplier base to the AGPC.

“Additionally, it provides the AGPC with opportunities to further enhance and develop the event for the benefit of all fans and lovers of the sport of F1.”

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

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For anyone who has grown up in the computer technology era, the recent histories of HP (that is, Hewlett Packard) and Xerox must elicit nothing but sadness.

What’s saddest of all is the idea that merging these two doddering old hulks may be the only way to save them.

HP and Xerox have a few features in common. They both have storied pasts. They’re both wedded to a strategy of making supposedly innovative advances in commodity products with stagnant or declining markets — printers and personal computers in HP’s case, and office printers and copiers in Xerox’s.

Investment analyst Toni Sacconaghi

They both seem to have put more effort lately in financial and corporate reengineering than, you know, engineering. Both are undergoing severe downsizing, with Xerox planning to cut $640 million in expenses and HP looking at cutting $1 billion by 2022, in part by shedding 9,000 employees.

Something else they have in common: Carl Icahn.

The veteran activist investor currently holds 10.6% of Xerox stock and, according to an interview he gave this week to the Wall Street Journal, 4.24% of HP. Merging the two companies appears to be his idea, facilitated in part by his quashing a plan for Xerox to merge with Japan’s Fujifilm in 2018 and subsequently installing his associate John Visentin as Xerox CEO.

Icahn would gain from both sides of the deal. “I think a combination is a no-brainer,” he told the journal. “I believe very strongly in the synergies.” He didn’t say much about leading the merged firm into the unknown by resurrecting their former reputations for inventiveness, but rather saw it as a cash cow still capable of being milked.

“These types of companies that are in shrinking industries tend to decline much more slowly than many market participants may predict, while continuing to generate substantial amounts of cash,” he said.

The proposed bid would value HP at $22 per share, or $33 billion. The shares closed Thursday at $20.13. The HP board says only that it’s “committed to doing what is in the best interests of all HP shareholders.” Some speculate that Icahn may actually be interested in having HP bid for Xerox, a smaller company.

One can’t argue with Icahn’s basic insight. HP and Xerox are indeed in shrinking industries. Arguably, their long-term declines were inevitable, for the number of big corporations that can remain at the apex of technologically vibrant industries for more than a generation or two can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

But it’s also arguable that lack of imagination and stagnation bred by success also contributed to their fates. It’s possible to craft another rule of thumb out of the life stories of both Xerox and HP: When a company runs out of ideas for new products and new markets and turns instead to playing around with corporate restructuring, the handwriting is on the wall.

Let’s look at how this has played out.

Start with Xerox. Its foray into truly farsighted innovation was covered in my 1999 book “Dealers of Lightning,” which told the story of the founding and first years of its Palo Alto Research Center, the legendary Xerox PARC.

Until well into the 1970s, Xerox ranked as one of the most successful corporations on Earth. The original source of its almost unimaginable wealth was the Xerox 914 copier, introduced in 1959, which revolutionized office routine by making copies cheap and fast.

It would later be said that Xerox became a prisoner of the vision of Chester Carlson, the main inventor of the 914, because it was so very successful that the company viewed all aspects of its business through the 914 prism.

That’s true in a sense, but the company’s most successful invention really was its business model: The 914 could not be purchased but only leased, with the lease payments based on how many pages an office put through it. This was the “click,” and the model was so lucrative that the executive who reputedly conceived it, Peter McColough, eventually became Xerox’s chairman and CEO.

Xerox’s franchise eventually came under attack from Japanese companies selling cheaper copiers that could fit on a desk rather than a behemoth installed in a “copier room” to be fed by secretaries standing on line. McColough also perceived that the company was vulnerable to technological developments that might make paper obsolete in the office of the future.

As a counterstrike, he founded PARC and allowed it to be established in Palo Alto, as far from the company’s Rochester, N.Y., headquarters as possible. PARC was staffed with a cadre of brilliant young engineers and computer scientists who rewarded their independence from Rochester by inventing the personal computer, Ethernet, and the laser printer, among other novelties.

Xerox has been ridiculed for failing to exploit these inventions (except the laser printer, from which it earned millions), but that’s unfair. The corporation had a sales force of hundreds of thousands trained to put big copier machines into big offices.

The market for PCs didn’t exist and was scarcely foreseeable; it would eventually be exploited by a company with fewer than 50 employees, Apple — into which Xerox actually pumped a few millions in venture capital. PARC is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox.

Xerox did put PARC’s technology into a product, the Xerox Star, introduced in 1981. The Star was a gorgeous machine, integrating software and hardware so perfectly it never crashed, with a graphical display and point-and-click mouse (I witnessed a 1998 demo of a Star cobbled together from bits and pieces its engineering team exhumed from, sometimes, their attics). But it was conceived on a Xerox office machine scale, with a central unit needing its own room and big desktop workstations. A full networked installation would cost $250,000 in 1981 dollars. The product failed.

Xerox’s struggles in the last couple of decades have been painful to witness. The stock has almost doubled this year, but that only puts it back roughly to where it was five years ago. The company’s most recent innovation was its conversion into a holding company in July, a nugatory restructuring that has virtually no impact on shareholders, customers, or anyone else, except perhaps for the investment bankers and lawyers collecting fees for the paper shuffling.

The corporate ambition, according to its 2018 annual report, is to “return at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders” via dividends and share buybacks. Oh, yeah, it also says it wants to “re-energize innovation,” though its R&D spending of $397 million last year represented about 4% of its $9.8 billion in revenue. By comparison, Apple spent $16.2 billion on R&D last year. Granted, Apple is a much bigger company, with $260 billion in sales, but its R&D spending is 6% of revenue.

Then there’s HP. The company’s legend began with founders David Packard and Bill Hewlett inventing an audio oscillator in a Palo Alto garage (now a corporate landmark) in 1938. Not only were the company’s products standouts in their field, so was its management style — nurturing engineering talent through collaboration and a flat corporate hierarchy dubbed “management by walking around.”

The rapidity of the PC and internet revolutions eventually threatened to leave HP behind. Its most profitable business model was a razor-and-blade strategy in its printer line — sell the printer, and make money from repeat purchases of consumable ink. But those riches began to wane as cheap knock-off cartridges infiltrated the market.

In 1999, HP’s traditionalist CEO Lew Platt stepped down and gave way to Carly Fiorina, then the CEO of Lucent Technologies. She took over a company that was big in PCs, a stagnant market with profit margins close to zero.

As things turned out, Fiorina’s imagination focused largely on burnishing her personal image. She boasted about HP’s superior innovation, but in truth HP technology was all but invisible in many of its products. HP marketed Apple’s iPod, a product identical to the Apple version except for an HP logo etched into the case. Her big consumer product breakthrough was a hybrid computer/home-theater-in-a-box that was a showcase of other companies’ innovation — it had a Microsoft operating system, ran on an Intel chip, and used Apple’s iTunes as its music file system. When I costed out its components in a 2005 experiment, I found they could be had separately for about $900. HP sold the same things bundled together for $1,899.99.

Fiorina’s downfall at HP could be traced to her doubling down on PCs through the 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer. The deal was compared by Scott McNealy, then the head of Sun Microsystems, to “two garbage trucks colliding.” The deal inspired a ferocious internal war, with some of the founders’ own children lining up in opposition. More to the point, the acquisition failed to turbocharge HP. Fiorina was sacked in 2005, after presiding over a stock slide of about 60% during her tenure.

Her successor, Mark Hurd, was credited with turning the company around, though during his tenure a scandal erupted at the board level when it transpired that some board members and journalists had been spied on as the company searched for the sources of corporate leaks. Hurd, who died last month, was forced out of his job in 2010 amid accusations of sexual harassment (unfounded) and financial misdeeds (validated). He eventually became CEO of Oracle.

His eventual successor was former EBay CEO Meg Whitman, who took over in 2011. Whitman touted a computer based on a hugely innovative technical architecture and called “The Machine,” which is still in development but with sharply scaled-back ambitions.

Whitman’s big idea was another feat of corporate restructuring in 2015 — the hiving off of HP’s business technology service division as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with its PC and printer businesses remaining with the original company. The investment community hasn’t been particularly thrilled about the move, since both offspring face difficult markets and lots of competition.

HP’s third-quarter report was unencouraging, with printer income down 5% over the year-earlier period. On the plus side, the company returned $800 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, which should please the Carl Icahns of the world.

It’s fair to assume that good and innovative work is still being done at Xerox and HP, both of which employ platoons of talented engineers and scientists. Indeed, HP’s Spectre x360 laptop, refreshed late last year, has received sterling reviews in the consumer tech press.

Will the proposed merger be a plus for these companies or a minus? Toni Sacconaghi, a tech analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, is among the doubters. “The traditional printing and copying business is slowly collapsing,” he said in a note to clients. Mischievously, according to Fortune he titled his analysis, “Xerox buying HPQ: Brilliance? A Dare? ‘Two Garbage Trucks Colliding?’”

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It’s hard to imagine a tradition of truly groundbreaking work arising from a merger of two companies determined to cut costs. The sad truth is that the vast majority of corporations, especially in technology, get one or perhaps two cracks at reaching the business pinnacle and fewer can stay there.

IBM, General Electric, Apple and Microsoft have shown that it’s possible to survive a few turns of the wheel, but the first two are struggling and the latter two have had their ups and downs. For the most part, yesterday’s kings of the hill are doomed today or tomorrow to drift off, like old pensioners, into the sunset.

SEOUL — 

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday he was certain that the awarding of a $10-billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft instead of Amazon was done fairly.

The Pentagon awarded the contract to Microsoft in late October, and Amazon said that there was “unmistakable bias” on the government’s part and that it intended to challenge the decision in court.

Esper recused himself from the contract decision because his son had worked for one of the other unsuccessful bidders.

“I am confident that it was conducted freely and fairly without any type of outside influence,” Esper said at a news conference in Seoul.

Amazon’s competitive bid for the “war cloud” project drew criticism from President Trump and its business rivals. The project, formally called the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, pitted leading tech titans Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and IBM against one another

In a statement Thursday, Amazon said “numerous aspects” of the bidding process involved “clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias.” It did not elaborate on those allegations but said “it’s important that these matters be examined and rectified.”

Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment. A Defense Department spokeswoman would only say that the Pentagon won’t speculate on potential litigation.

JEDI will store and process vast amounts of classified data, allowing the U.S. military to use artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning and fighting capabilities.

Amazon was long thought to be the front-runner for the contract. Its Amazon Web Services division is far ahead of second-place Microsoft in cloud computing, and Amazon has experience handling highly classified government data.

It survived earlier legal challenges after the Defense Department eliminated Oracle and IBM and whittled the competition to the two Seattle-area tech giants before choosing Microsoft in late October.

The Pentagon was preparing to make its final decision when Trump publicly waded into the fray in July, saying he had heard complaints about the process and that the administration would “take a very long look.” He said other companies told him that the contract “wasn’t competitively bid.” Oracle, in particular, had unsuccessfully argued Pentagon officials unfairly favored Amazon for the winner-take-all contract.

Experts had generally expected Amazon to appeal the award, saying it had little to lose. Steven Schooner, a professor of government procurement law at George Washington University, said Trump’s comments were “inappropriate and improvident,” but said it would be a challenge for Amazon to prove the White House applied undue pressure in a way that made a difference.

Amazon said it filed its protest in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which deals with financial claims against the federal government.

It’s not uncommon for losing bidders to file a protest, either with the U.S. Government Accountability Office or in court. Unlike a review by the GAO, Amazon’s court filing will enable it to seek documents from the government as evidence for its case.

With Thanksgiving approaching, it’s time to charge into the holiday season. Fashion brands and local shopping centers want to get you in the mood as they celebrate with tree-lighting ceremonies and other festivities.

Starting this week, some of your favorite Los Angeles and Orange County retailers will have holiday activities. Here are several to check out.

1. Rodeo Drive

The annual Rodeo Drive holiday lighting celebration on Thursday will kick off what Beverly Hills is calling its Bold holiday events. The night will feature a live performance from Broadway star and “Glee” alum Matthew Morrison, who will sing holiday tunes along with offering a preview of his upcoming 2020 album of classic Disney covers.

The night will also include appearances from DJ CoryLive!; jazz ensemble the Cufflink Crooners; and Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch. There will be fireworks, food trucks and an interactive photo booth from the Scenario Studio. Participating Beverly Hills retailers will offer extended shopping hours for the season, and there will be special holiday festivities on Friday and Saturday nights through Dec. 21.

When: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: 200 to 400 blocks of Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

2. Louis Vuitton

Independent of Rodeo Drive’s Bold festivities, Louis Vuitton will have its own tree lighting on Thursday with a towering two-story, Louis Vuitton-themed Christmas tree that will be lighted with the French luxury label’s ubiquitous monogram.

The Beverly Hills boutique will also unveil its window displays, which feature art installations and never-before-seen fluorescent sculptures, along with the brand’s Twist bag, Archlight sneakers, Damier Graphite Map leather goods and newly released Cœur Battant fragrance.

When: 7:55 p.m. Thursday

Where: 295 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

3. The Americana at Brand

This year’s holiday tree-lighting ceremony at the Americana at Brand will be a “Nutcracker”-themed affair with host Ava Michelle, Netflix’s “Tall Girl” actress.

When: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: 889 Americana Way, Glendale

4. The Grove

“Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr. will be the host for this year’s annual celebration at the Grove. The event will feature musical performances by Aloe Blacc, Ashley Tisdale, Isaac Slade of the Fray, Tori Kelly, the Tenors and Malea Emma.

Per tradition, the holiday celebration will include a 100-foot tree with 15,000 sparkling lights and 10,000 ornaments. At this year’s gathering, 25,000 people are expected, and the event will have a fireworks display and a visit from Santa Claus. Through the season, holiday pop-ups at the Grove will include Swarovski (Nov. 21-Dec. 31); Tom Ford Beauty (through Dec. 31); and Dior Fragrance (Dec. 4-29).

When: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles

5. South Coast Plaza

A 90-foot white fir tree decorated with more than 94,000 colorful LED and strobe lights will be unveiled at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Entertainment will include Santa Claus, a live band, a holiday production by Orange County School of the Arts and carolers. There will be complimentary drinks and treats.

More than 5,000 guests are expected. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. (Note: The tree-lighting event will be adjacent to the South Coast Plaza property directly across at the Town Center Park.)

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When: 6 to 11 p.m. Nov. 21

Where: Town Center Park, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa

6. Palisades Village

Disney Channel’s Dakota Lotus and Jayden Bartels, as well as Fik-Shun and the Adderley School will perform at the shopping center’s tree-lighting ceremony in late November.

On Dec. 7, Palisades Village will have a holiday market with fake snow, festive activities and music; in-store promotions; complimentary apple cider and hot chocolate; and sparkling lights. A wintry alpine lounge will also serve up yuletide cocktails.

When: 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 24

Where: 15225 Palisades Village Lane, Pacific Palisades

7. Westfield Century City

Cobblestone streets, pine trees and twinkling garlands will set the scene for the Market at Westfield Century City, which features its first-ever outdoor ice skating rink. (Tickets can be purchased through Westfield’s website. It’s $18 per person for a one-hour weekday visit; $20 for a weekend day.)

The shopping center will also have holiday carolers; a 20-foot-tall clock tower; Santa’s post office, where children can write letters to Santa; a life-size train station; and a home with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Thirteen specialty shops including Dandelion Chocolate, Von Holzhausen and Nura will offer limited-edition gifts, there will be live performances, and Papyrus will have gift-wrapping services. Look for Nickelodeon’s holiday pop-up from Nov. 16 through Dec. 31.

There will be a Hanukkah celebration from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 23 with a menorah-lighting ceremony, live entertainment and snacks.

When: Nov. 29 to Jan. 5, 2020

Where: 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles

L.A. Live has replaced Hollywood Boulevard as the bright, bejeweled bellybutton of Los Angeles.

What’s your pleasure? High-stakes basketball? Red-carpet concerts? Stunning views? This downtown destination has them all. Maybe I’m biased, but I’d say it now rivals New York’s more-celebrated Times Square for things to do, places to go, celebrities to see.

I’ll go even further and declare L.A. Live superior to Times Square on nearly every level. Jack Nicholson is its honorary king. LeBron James is the court jester. Beyoncé and Ariana Grande are its wild-child courtiers.

All because Staples Center, which opened 20 years ago, transformed a drab part of town into an entertainment vortex.

Like the city itself, L.A. Live and the surrounding neighborhood can seem impenetrable at first — a dense and dizzy light show. But not with this little checklist of 20 attractions — some party-loud and obvious, others quietly off the beaten track.

(All venues within L.A. Live itself, unless address is listed)

WP24: A soft spot in a brittle city, Wolfgang Puck’s place on the 24th floor of the Ritz-Carlton is a great vista to overlook the skyline at sunset. A festive meet-up spot or a dark, quiet place to unwind. The food is always fine — get the scallops ($39) — but I prefer the bar to the restaurant. wolfgangpuck.com

Hotel Figueroa: Tell your friends: “Meet me by the fireplace in the front lounge.” They’ll figure it out. Kind of clubby, with rich architectural touches. The 100-year-old Fig will quickly become your go-to spot. Taco Tuesdays by the pool is a worthwhile stop too. hotelfigueroa.com

Grammy Museum: I suspect many folks think this will be a glorified gift shop, a la Hollywood Boulevard. No way. This is a first-rate, hands-on museum that celebrates music. Kids love it. And you can even take a drum lesson from Ringo. Admission $12. grammymuseum.org

The Original Pantry: A landmark … a great nosh … the greasy spoon of greasy spoons. This cash-only monument to late-night binging will be here long after Staples is gone. Look for legendary Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich sneaking a midnight bite. Yes, cash only. 817 S. Figueroa St. pantrycafe.com

Conga Room: Though home to the Grammys and audacious mega-concerts, L.A. Live is remarkably light on late-night music options. That’s what makes the Conga so popular on weekends. Sometimes live bands, sometimes DJs, sometimes salsa, sometimes EDM. But always a party. Covers vary. congaroom.com

Fleming’s: A proper martini is your revenge on the world. It should come with a skin of ice across the top that sparkles like a skating rink. You can get that here, along with a sizzling chunk of prime cow that you’ll be reliving a week later. Steaks from $49. flemingssteakhouse.com

The rink and the tree: Speaking of rinks, there’s a great one here during the holidays. A destination all its own, this is a selfie or a Christmas card waiting to happen. It’s also a first-date venue right out of a Hallmark movie. Nov. 30-Jan. 12. Adults $22, 6 and under $17 (includes skate rental). lalive.com

Ace Hotel: Well worth the six-block schlep, the old United Artists building is noted for concerts and a bar beneath the stars. Small plates won’t break your budget: street tacos ($3) and a robust stack of nachos ($10), along with an eclectic list of cocktails that range from $12 to $14. To get to the rooftop, look for the street entrance labeled “Upstairs.” 929 S. Broadway. acehotel.com

Lucky Strike: Not exactly the ma-and-pa bowling alley of your youth. It’s a nightclub is what it is, with bowling as an option. Great for birthdays or group nights out. Also great for people-watching, including — if you hit it right — athletes kicking back after their games. Hourly rates, up to eight bowlers per lane. Beware of food and drink minimums after 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. bowlluckystrike.com

Shaquille’s: Shaquille O’Neal’s upscale restaurant adds some welcome Southern flair to the dining choices. Noted for the fried chicken and biscuits. But you can get that anywhere these days. If you’re a true Southerner, you’ll probably opt for the shrimp and creamy grits. Dinner entrees in the $30s. shaquilles.com

The Palm: They pour a good drink at this pre-game hot spot, and be sure to add the Gigi salad ($17) or crabmeat cocktail ($26). This handsome old place, in a former toy factory, almost always impresses. 1100 S. Flower St. thepalm.com

Broken Spanish: What contemporary high-end Mexican cuisine looks like. “There’s a playfulness that permeates the cooking, along with all the guajillo chiles and green garlic and epazote,” Los Angeles Times food writer Amy Scattergood says. Entrees from $39. 1050 S. Flower St. brokenspanish.com

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Red Mango: Grab a seat at a sidewalk table and watch the world rush by on Fig, while you calmly treat yourself to a decadent, berry-laden smoothie or yogurt. Yogurt from about $5. Smoothies about $7. (213) 746-2646. redmangousa.com

Regal L.A. Live: Big as a presidential palace, this movie house now hosts occasional Hollywood premieres. If a major release is in theaters you’ll find it here, with shows that start mid-morning and go late into the night. Check out $9 Tuesdays. regmovies.com

Club NOVO: Leave the major pop stars and awards shows to Staples and Microsoft Theater — you’re probably too cool for that. This music venue focuses on edgier up-and-coming artists. Prices vary. thenovodtla.com

JW Marriott lobby: High-end cookie cutters are still cookie cutters. I shouldn’t like this chain hotel but the lobby bar always outperforms expectations. Live music helps, and the roomy lounge areas are casual and comfortable. A touch of class without feeling stuffy. marriott.com

Smashburger: Admit it, you usually just want a burger most of the time anyway. Smashburger proves that not every meal at L.A. Live is 30 bucks (though it sometimes feels that way). These delicious, loose-packed burgers drip with flavor. From $6. smashburger.com

Rock’N Fish: The sourdough bread ($2.95), among the best in the city, alone is worth a stop. I like the bar here for the rum cocktails. But the place is usually packed for blackened fish ($25.95) and a relatively affordable chowder and salad combo ($16).la.rocknfish.com/

Tom’s Watch Bar: Everyone swears by the Yardhouse, but I prefer this sprawling sports bar that is about to renovate and get a video upgrade. Friendly wait staff hustles like a sixth man off the bench. Burgers from about $15. tomswatchbar.com

Rosa Mexicano: Great selection of sipping tequilas and a beloved guac ($16.50) made at your table. Regulars also pounce on the queso fundido ($12.50). rosamexicano.com