Boozseller at the Executive West

Living up to its name
Hotel's Boozseller is a charming throwback

Address: The Boozseller at the Executive West, 830 Phillips Lane

Small print: Open daily from around 2 p.m. until midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the crowd.

Why you should go: It's like going back to the womb … the sexy, sleazy, drunken womb.

The Boozseller has been inside the Executive West for 30-odd years. Apparently it's retained the original furnishings, making it equally thrilling for lovers of architecture and design and lovers of vintage kitsch. It's like a ski lodge, but if you go outside you'll see our airport instead of the mountains of Ketchum, Idaho.

The chairs are old, thick, plush and red. There's a fireplace -- it's fake, but when the Boozseller was considering removing it, the regulars complained.

That's right, the bar in the hotel next to the airport has regulars. I think I'm becoming one of them.


PHOTO BY JAMIE RHODES

I haven't even seen Randy Meyers yet. Apparently he's a one-man band who plays on a stage behind the bar. The setting brings to mind the Country Bear Jamboree, only this is Charles Bukowski's Disneyland.

The room is large -- big enough for a wedding, bar mitzvah or Lebowski Fest.

If you want to get romantic, there are some booths tucked away in the back that are very good for getting to know someone better, or planning a coup (or, if you're extremely romantic, both).

The service is excellent. As I sat down, the bartender offered me the TV remote, something that that sullen character at Freddie's would never consider. When his replacement came on, she immediately announced that she was having a bad day: "I was about to kill my man."

Regardless, it did not affect her performance.

Bottom line: The Executive West is a family-owned business surrounded by chains. The hotel's Web site brags of visits from everyone from Foghat to Patrick Swayze to President Nixon. The Boozseller is as weirdly enjoyable as the name suggests. It's an awesomely American institution that deserves another visit.