Though it's sadly no longer as fashionable, smoking in restaurants and bars was among my favorite activities. When I was much younger I remember the Polo Lounge (great for Cougar-Hunting before the word was invented) and Chasen's. Elegant places with beautiful, elegant people smoking. I always thought that Chasen's transcended, or at least swerved around, the typical bullshit that comes to mind with LA/Hollywood eateries.
David Sedaris just published an article on smoking in the most recent New Yorker:
When New York banned smoking in the workplace, I quit working. When it was banned in restaurants, I stopped eating out and when the price of cigarettes hit seven dollars a pack I gathered all my stuff together and went to France.
