This past weekend I spent time consciously coupling with my husband. We both worked out on Saturday morning and he suggested, I shall repeat this, he suggested heading to Beverly Hills for lunch and shopping.

You have to understand that my husband would rather walk across glass, smothered in scolding black tar then go shopping. It is such a waste of talent because he has maaaavelous taste.

We were trending, indulging in a delicious lunch at Barneys, which has recently abbreviated their longstanding moniker, Barney Greengrass to Barneys. Within the next few months the restaurant will be closed for approximately 2 months and the eatery popular with high roller deal makers will have a face lift and relaunch as Fred’s, the new American restaurant within Barneys New York.

Barneys, what’s in a name? I would have to say good food.

We sat outside on the lovely balcony with a panoramic view of Beverly Hills, the iconic city hall steeple gleaming in the distance. The sweeping view also took in a pu pu platter of metrosexuals. Other than enlarged, pouty lips and tight faces, the men really out glammed the women.

The male peeps all had form fitting silk shirts and white jeans, Ferragamo suede driving loafers adorning sockless pedicured feet (yes, I did see flashes of naked feet). The guys were all tanned, slicked back Pat Riley do’s, plucked and waxed brows and recently buffed or lasered. Cartier was the timepiece of choice.

Every single wafer thin woman sported a black Celine bag. I actually checked the side streets for a van selling perfect knock offs. Ooh la la, the Celine Phantom pebbled leather bag starts at $3100 a pop.

Back to Barney’s food. They present a luscious bread basket filled with flat breads and bread sticks. The initial concept was based on the classic Barney Greengrass on Amsterdam and 86th on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Barneys serves the luscious smoked fish which is flown in from New York.

I am all about sable (not the fur), but they do not it in house so I ordered a sturgeon appetizer ($23) which comes with salad, capers, red onion, olives, pickle, tomato and 3 thick, divine slices of sturgeon and a fresh NY bagel or bread of your choice. The fish is silky smooth and flavorful, never oily.

If you are in NYC you must go to Barney Greengrass. The deli has been around since 1908. The waiters are out of central casting, the decor has not been altered in many decades…the wallpaper in the main room is the same wallpaper my grandmother had in her kitchen nook in Connecticut so I have experienced many nostalgic brunches in the throwback restaurant.

The smoked fish is in such demand that they ship the lox, sable, sturgeon, white fish all over by FEDEX Prority Overnight.

We shared the sturgeon appetizer and also ordered the grilled salmon and crunchy quinoa salad ($23) with cucumber, carrots, snow peas and radish with a citrus mojito dressing. The salmon was charred on the outside and a perfect medium rare inside. The quinoa was greatly enhanced by the crunch. Both selections are our top picks at Barneys. We look forward to Fred’s new menu…thankfully, the view and outdoor ambiance will remain untouched.

The menu offers everything from egg dishes, salads and smoked fish to homemade soups and heartier entrees. It is a great brunch destination, as well. You can eat and do retail damage and are rewarded with 3 hours of free parking. We all need validation.

We browsed the men’s shoe department because I have large American feet and often buy men’s Christian Louboutin’s. Barney’s always has a nice sampling. We blew through the packed women’s ground floor shoe department and found a divine pair of Louboutin sandals. It was a knee jerk purchase which will probably be rationalized and then returned.

We strolled over to Neiman Marcus and browsed the ground floor and I tried on shoes for an upcoming special occasion. I pointed out a pair of sunglasses that I had previously coveted. The salesman, who is a charming man from India and a huge cricket fan, whipped out the Valentino’s and I seductively modeled them for my husband (right!) My in house stylist loved them and slapped down the credit card…now that was a turn on!

Next stop, Saks 5th Avenue. The shoe department has its own zip code as in NYC, but it is tiny compared to the 5th Avenue store. Another pair of shoes were purchased. Thankfully, the dogs outdoor ablutions were reaching the statute of limitations so it was onward.

I would call it a very productive day.

I must say that spending the day having lunch with my fabulous husband and then sharing retail therapy moments and rewarding conscious coupling made for a magical moments…no matter how shallow it may appear.

Barneys New York Restaurant 9570 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, California. 5th Floor. Validated parking in Barneys lot. Reservations on OpenTable. Hours: Monday-Wednesday 11:30-6pm, Thursday-Friday 11am-7pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, Sunday 10am-6pm.