"Is this the year that the mall date makes a comeback? Here’s hoping, especially since American Beauty is open at The Grove. This new-school steakhouse has been charming Venice for years, and now has a larger location inside our favorite Beverly Grove shopping center with dancing fountains and a trolley. The retro-tinged space has dining rooms for big groups and a leafy front patio, but our pick before movie night is a meal at the horseshoe-shaped bar. Grab a dirty martini, decadent hash browns stuffed with onions and sour cream, the $33 hangar steak, then head over to AMC afterward." - sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park