On the rocks or straight up

IT’S time for our annual look back at the clubs that made L.A. pulse in 2005. And what a year it’s been. We’ve been predicting this boom in Hollywood nightlife forever, but now that it’s actually here, it’s a bit overwhelming. It seems every shuttered storefront in Tinsel Town is being morphed into a nightclub, and Hollywood Boulevard is king again. The competition for top honors is stiffer than ever this year, and to earn your Buzzie tiara, you had to nail the three “F’s”: fun, fabulous and friendly.

Best New Nightclub

LAX

There’s just something about the flow of this nightclub that’s intoxicating. Located at Las Palmas and Hollywood Boulevard, an intersection that also includes such new hotspots as Rokbar, Bella and L’Scorpion, LAX has it all: A hot DJ/owner (DJ AM), a smooth look courtesy of newcomer Alejandro Rivera and clubland veterans like co-owner Loyal Pennings (Las Palmas/Concorde/El Centro) and promoters Brent Bolthouse and Michael Sutton, all of whom know how to throw parties. But don’t get it twisted. If you misbehave, as Paris Hilton did last Wednesday, they will toss you out faster than you can say, “Where’s my limo?” The truth is, even in hedonistic Hollywood, you still gotta have class.

* LAX, 1714 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood, (323) 464-0171

Best New Bar

Broadway Bar

Cedd Moses and Ricki Kline are a dream team. They dream big and they have the wherewithal to pull it off. Moses buys the bars and Kline builds them. This latest addition to the growing empire (five more are on the horizon) is gorgeous, grown-up and just what downtown needs to continue on the path to a glorious revival. Last year, they, along with partner Marc Smith, gave us the Golden Gopher. Now, Broadway Bar, with new partner Joe Baxley in the mix, offers a lavish mix of old-school aesthetics and haunting decor to make it a great place to meet and greet.

* Broadway Bar, 830 S. Broadway, L.A. (213) 614-9909

Best Design

Mood

This is a year that saw designers working overtime. From the luscious pop-art dream Geisha House to the sexy Southern belle Memphis, downtown Hollywood is finally achieving bona-fide class. At the top of the heap is Mood, a nightclub that pays such close attention to detail it’s almost obsessive, and we mean that in a good way. David Judaken (Garden of Eden) and Mika Designs created a space that gives more than it takes. Guests shimmy in a club chock full

of artifacts from Bali and

Vietnam, but decked out with plenty of Hollywood frivolity, e.g., despite its zen-induced look, it’s got a sick tequila menu. Arriba!

* Mood, 6623 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-6663

Best Old School Hang

Frank & Dean’s

For those who want to add some ring-a-ding-ding to their existence, Frank & Dean’s is where it’s at. The Pasadena nightclub pays tribute to the Rat Pack era with such loving care, you could swear Sinatra is still in the house. From the walls of memorabilia to the nightly entertainment, which includes top-notch Elvis impersonators and big band karaoke, Frank & Dean’s earns this year’s Buzzie just for being so dang cool. Owner Frank Abbadessa, a lifelong Sinatra fan who became friends with the Chairman, is releasing his first CD, a comp of Sinatra classics titled “The Other Frank,” a nickname Ol’ Blue Eyes gave him. And, hey,

the Unknown Comic (of “Gong Show” fame) is playing there next week.

* Frank & Dean’s, 3768 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 793-1847

Best Westside Club

The Hideout

When Will Rogers wanted to gallivant, he’d head to his “hideout,” a nickname he gave Doc Law’s Drugstore, a Prohibition-era joint that housed his favorite speak-easy. Eight decades later, a couple of cool cats, Mark Verge and Kevin Miller, bought the Santa Monica bar, renamed it the Hideout as a homage to Rogers, and it’s become one of the best bets around town for some good old-fashioned fun. The key to the Hideout’s success is it allows Westsiders to let their hair down at a beachside haunt that offers cool tunes, a game or two of pool and the chance to rub elbows on the patio with Sean Penn.

* The Hideout, 112 W. Channel Road, Santa Monica, (310) 429-9920

Best Remodel

Cabana Club

When the Sunset Room morphed into the Cabana Club, the Cahuenga Boulevard nightclub reinvented itself from the inside out, literally. And it was a smart move. In the city of endless sunshine, why not have a club on the outside? Where there once was a parking lot, there’s now a lovely tented nightclub filled with water streams and a bridge. It really does feel like South Beach, with dashes of Laguna Beach (think: good-looking rich kids).

* Cabana Club, 1439 N. Ivar Ave., Hollywood, (323) 463-0005

Scene King

Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein

He rocks the clubs, period. In one leap year, DJ AM went from Hollywood royalty to worldwide royalty. He credits luck and timing. We claim talent. It didn’t hurt that his erstwhile sweetie was tabloid hottie Nicole Richie and that he finally opened his own nightclub, LAX. But fans know he earned his stripes the hard way, by slinging records.

Scene Queen

Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie is living proof that the children of the rich and famous don’t always have to turn out badly. Like Christina Aguilera, who classed up her act as she got more famous, Richie went from naughty to nice in the blink of a year. She’s always out and about on the scene, looking fresh and enjoying her perch at LAX, where she has her own private booth. But of course.

Most Offensive

Velvet Rope

Teddy’s at the

Roosevelt Hotel

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel was once a best bet for out-of-towners. It was cheap, low-key and filled with the ghosts of Hollywood past. I know because I lived there. One of my first jobs in L.A. was editing a magazine out of the funky hotel’s Cabana No. 9, which had a sweet view of the pool made famous by artist David Hockney. Sure, the hotel’s recent renovations, which include the poolside lounge Tropicana, and the exclusive new bar, Teddy’s, are easy on the eyes. But when they got rid of the funk, they got rid of the ghosts, and there went the charm. Now, even hotel guests may not have access to the Tropicana (apparently it depends on “you,” honey). And Teddy’s, well, pretentious doesn’t begin to describe it. But here’s some advice: Teddy’s has a very strict dress code. We recommend you wear your three-piece Botox suit. You just might fit in.

* Teddy’s at the Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

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Heidi Siegmund Cuda writes the Buzz Clubs column for The Times. She can be reached at weekend@latimes.com.