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| - 4.5 stars, but mostly because when this place gets ubercrowded, you'd better already be seated and/or buzzed. Even though this is my happy place on the weekends, I actually adore Hanny's on a weeknight when the lounge vibe is in full effect and I can have a convo and sip my Old Fashioned like a goddamn queen. But I also love weekends for killing St. Germain martini after martini, rapping to the old school hip hop playing from the DJ booth, occasionally ordering a Proscuitto di Parma pizza to soak up the alcohol from the spots I hit before I made it to Hanny's (I'm talking to you Candlestick Makers at The Arrogant Butcher). And I second Bryan B's comment about the staff - they definitely remember regulars and make sure to go out of their way to keep you happy.
I think, as an east coast birdie, a good deal of my love of Hanny's is the fact that I feel like I'm back in NYC or DC for a night, all without leaving the valley. The starkly modern decor that embraces the bones of the old department store that Hanny's calls home is preserved so elegantly well. And I still giggle as I snap pictures in the abandoned elevator shaft. The bathrooms aren't gimmicky in my opinion (I love the ecstatic silhouette of the people in wheelchairs!) but you may have to walk past people that don't understand that you need to just push on doors to see which ones are vacant. Let your city panties show and walk right in.
The menu is tasty enough, but this is a place for bar food and not necessarily a special trip for dinner. Aside from the aforementioned pizza, the salumi plates are killer (with the prosciutto cut right before your eyes) and the sandwiches similar to the offerings at AZ88. Eat before you come, and sip away on bespoke cocktails strong enough to set your ass a-groovin. That's why you came, isn't it?
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