I currently live in Silver Lake, but spent my first years in LA bopping around different places on the Westside. 

With so many clients and agencies based in the area (and few people keen on trekking across the city after work), this week we’re looking at ideas around Venice and Marina del Rey.   

As I was chatting with sales friends about MeetWell and Westside ideas, one person told me that sales entertaining is a bit like we’re all dating the same person and no one wants to admit where they went with their client.

So this week we’re blowing that open and tapping the collective sales hive mind.

— Robbie

Magical Tiki is a 2-hour private charter boat experience where you and your fellow buccaneers enjoy tiki drinks and live magic as you cruise around Marina del Rey.

The boat can accommodate up to 18 people and typically takes off between 5:30-6:30pm to catch the sunset (you can choose the exact time). 

You’ll be joined by a Coast Guard-certified captain and a deckhand who’ll be working a full tiki bar slinging Mai Tais, Painkillers, and Piña Coladas all made to order from their own mixes (everything can be made alcohol-free). 

It’s BYOB, so you’ll need to provide the alcohol, and you’re welcome to bring whatever food you like. Magical Tiki provides two coolers with ice and a bluetooth speaker for sunset boat cruising vibes.

Beyond the drinks, the ‘magical’ part of the experience is a 30-minute close-up magic and mentalism show. I’m not sure why anyone would pass up magic, but it is optional if your group would rather just cruise.

The boat is a pontoon catamaran, so it stays flat and stable and never actually leaves the marina. Importantly, the boat also has a flushable toilet!

Cost:

Group size: Up to 18, dogs are welcome

Location: Departs Marina del Rey. Exact dock and parking are sent once you confirm.

Contact and booking:

Added value: I have fond memories of boating around the Marina with all my media friends at ThinkLA’s classic Schmooze Cruise (RIP). ThinkLA actually did post a recap video from the 2011 Schmooze Cruise earlier this year, and based on the comments, I’m not the only one who misses it. If you've got a client who still brings up the Schmooze Cruise, or one who came to LA too late to catch it, Magical Tiki is a way to get everyone back on the water.

A beloved Abbot Kinney restaurant of the 2010s, The Tasting Kitchen has recently reopened this July to much foodie fanfare.

The restaurant had been closed since March 2023 due to a fire and a month-long repair process that morphed into three years of permitting and construction (a story familiar to anyone who’s ever experienced construction in LA). 

Thankfully, they’ve made it to the other side with the founding chef Casey Lane back in the kitchen. The menu evolves based on seasonality but leans into simple, fresh dishes and pastas.

Tasting menus are also available for $115 (4-course) and $135 (5-course).   

In a fun twist, the olive tree at the center of the restaurant survived the fire and was kept as part of the design.

Basics:

Added value: I spent a decent part of my Westside years crawling up and down Abbot Kinney, and The Tasting Kitchen was always a staple. If you have any clients who fondly remember The Tasting Kitchen or who never went and just want to see what the hype was all about, this is a great option.

Den Mother is a beautiful, holistic spa on Abbot Kinney, and a great option for clients curious about the bougie, Goop end of the LA wellness spectrum (something I personally love). 

The Garden Massage works well for client entertaining since you can actually talk and connect with your client throughout the experience. Only four people can do it at once, so it’s one to keep in mind if you’re entertaining an individual or small group. 

You’ll sit together on the covered garden patio in a cozy robe for a treatment inspired by Chinese medicine that focuses on your scalp, neck, and shoulders, then your feet in a coconut milk soak infused with tea and seasonal flowers.  

If you do opt for a more traditional solo treatment, you can still enjoy the garden before or afterwards. For any treatment, you can order food and drinks from The Butcher's Daughter next door. 

Depending on the vibe of your crew, you can add fun enhancements like a live tarot card reader ($100/hr) to lean even deeper into the ‘woo-woo’. 

Costs (plus 18% auto-gratuity):

Reservations:

Basics:

Added value: The few times I’ve done the spa thing, it’s obviously been pleasant, but you really only get to hang out with your client in the short window before the treatment, and the blissed-out 10 minutes afterwards when everyone kinda just wants to go home. The Garden Massage solves that by letting everyone unwind and actually connect.

Ever been hanging with a client and conversation just runs dry? Whether it’s recent and topical, or general and evergreen, the Oasis is about giving you one idea for helping in that moment.

The NFL Continues To Ride The Taylor Swift Effect

With the NFL machine waking up from its hibernation period, I noticed this article from Jezebel about how the NFL is no longer hiding its ‘weaponization of the WAGs’.  

According to a 2025 MarketWatch report, Taylor Swift alone added nearly a billion dollars’ worth of brand value to the league.

Shake it off the NFL did not, and they are now heavily pushing the romantic entanglements of star players and their famous significant others with what the article describes as a “coordinated content rollout”. 

Is the NFL waking up to the fact that there is an insane amount of money to be made by drawing in young female audiences and shamelessly targeting them with gossipy relationship content? 

Or is this very jargon-salad rebuttal from one NFL exec more accurate: “We’ve engaged our players’ families and loved ones for years… Whether it’s training camp, weekly practice or a major event like the Super Bowl, we look for authentic opportunities to highlight our players and the people who are part of their journey.” 

The answer is probably somewhere in the whatever makes more money direction, but in my focus group of one (my wife), I can confirm that she is 1000x more interested in this content than actual football, so the NFL may be on to something.

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