Vine Street is one of Hollywood’s main arteries, yet for a long time, its nightlife offerings paled in comparison to Sunset’s. But lately, things are trending slightly more upscale on Vine, especially near the famed intersection at Hollywood Boulevard, where several large nightlife destinations are dominating L.A.’s clubland, like The Redbury’s Cleo, the W hotel’s Drai’s, and SBE’s Katsuya.) Now, two new hangouts are set to debut at this new nightlife nexus: the Lexington Social House and Cafe Entourage.

Last year, it felt like everyone in Los Angeles finally realized the dream of opening their own bar. But nightlife being the fickle beast that it is, not all of them will last. The bars that made the most noise in 2010 will likely survive to see 2012 and beyond, but they're not necessarily the best of the bunch. Brent Bolthouse and Guy Starkman’s Trousdale (pictured above) had a very successful year and recently paid back all its investors (a coup in under 12 months). Across the street from Trousdale on the Sunset Strip, Soho House had an equally successful 2010.

In tough economic times, people want to escape, and no city does escapism better than Los Angeles. This week, the charts are owned by L.A. artists that produce guilty pop pleasures (Ke$ha reigns atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart followed by downtown L.A.’s Far East Movement, who held the top spot last week), haters be damned. Last night, Far East Movement were still feeling “Fly Like a G6,” and hit up Hollywood’s most escapist club, Drai’s, to celebrate. So what does the foursome think about penning the surprise guilty pop pleasure of 2010? We braved tragic “electro-hop” groupies to find out.

Last night was another crazed night in Hollywood, with sold-out shows by The xx at the Palladium and MTV’s “Buried Life” party at Drai’s. But the mid-week bash I keep replaying in my mind was Tuesday's fantastic party at the unlikeliest of venues: the Dunes Inn. Whoever dreamt up this party for Axe deodorant deserves a raise, because on Tuesday night, organizers took over an entire semi-sleazy motel on Sunset Boulevard and had Weezer play a concert in the courtyard, all in the name of smelling manly. The “One Night Only” event was truly that: an event, with hordes of hopefuls trying to get in to the circus-like happening wrapping around the block, complete with open bar, free food and a name band.

One last attempt to convince the groom-to-be he's throwing his life away.

“It’s the Godzilla of nightclubs.” That was the reaction of our nightlife guru Steve Lewis when I asked him about XS, the mega club at casino maven Steve Wynn's Encore hotel in Las Vegas. But unlike the fictional Japanese monster who stomped on citizens and cities with uncontrollable glee, XS is a tightly controlled, carefully calculated environment designed to redefine nightlife and provide customers with the ultimate Vegas experience. As Lewis later put it, “This is the machine.”

● Soho House West Hollywood (West Hollywood) - Members-only club for trendy people ... can't say it's a sure-fire success in L.A. ● Drai's (Hollywood) - The most exciting thing going down in Hollywood this week. ● Industry (West Hollywood) - Burgers! Stripper poles! Okay!

Door guru Timothy Sheldon rules the gate at Southside, one of my favorite haunts. Let’s talk about larger than life -- he already measures up to about 6' 5'', but on a weekend night he still stands on a wooden crate to pick through the crowd. Southside and Timothy have a firm attitude about their door; they firmly believe that mixing up the crowd and having a variety of enthusiastic patrons is the key to long-term success. Timothy is a classic figure -- invariably dressed to the nines -- and he takes being a gentleman very seriously, both on and off of his little box.

Friday 2 p.m.: The Venetian. Check in. Large, velvet-upholstered rooms make one feel like an imperial mistress. 3:30 p.m.: Lunch at Mon Ami Gabi. Sit on the patio, watch the Bellagio fountains, and plan the weekend’s attack. 5 p.m.: Sephora. Someone forgot their cleanser/lipgloss/eyeshadow brush. Or whatever excuse you want to make.

You’ll sleep when you’re dead.