Aura: No, The Valley Is Still Tangible

This weekend we hit Aura: that Valley club on Ventura Boulevard above Peet's Coffee and Tea and behind Chin Chin. LA.com gives it a 323 chic rating with "its red velvet decor, maple floors, state-of-the-art sound and light system, and elevated DJ booth that sits in the middle of a sparkling glass bar."

So wait, rewind...."maple floors"? You look at the floor and it looks like this used to be a dance studio for ingénue ballerinas south of the boulevard. Besides that and the $12 cover charge to hear just-okay bands, the club, with its extremely nice staff, is a good drinking spot before or after late night eats, a half block away at Mexicali (even if we do hate it "with the fiery passion of a thousand suns."). Later into the evening, the club goes four-on-the-floor with spinning DJs on stage and booty shaking (and maybe that's reason to keep that old looking dance studio floor - it's good on the knees).

Aura is located at 12215 Ventura Boulevard, Suite #209 in Studio City.