Best of 2000: Best Midnight Cocktail

Babcock and Story Bar at the
Hotel Del Coronado
1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado
(619) 435-6611

For years the Del's owners were in denial about their view of the ocean and Point Loma. They stuck tennis courts between their beachside cafes, restaurants, bars, and the beach. Now the courts are gone, a green lawn leads the eye to the blue ocean, and the restaurants under the striped canopies make this place look like one of the oceanfront hotels of Cannes or Nice. The Babcock and Story Bar, named after the partners who built the hotel in 1888, was shifted seaward in the recent renovations. The original Pennsylvania cherrywood of the bar only fit half the new area. So the owners went back to the same Pennsylvania cherrywood forest the builders had used 100 years ago and carved out the second half. Suddenly, this is a place to come after midnight. Be ready to pay $5.39 for a beer, or $6.47 for a well drink, then take it out to the wicker chairs outside.