‘Bars’

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The Valley Goes Gourmet with Laurel Tavern

September 9th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

From here it looks like any other burger.

Gourmet burgers and their associated gastropubs have been predominantly the domain of LA’s greater west side.  Father’s Office, Umami Burger, Comme Ca and The Foundry all have roots on the west-ish side.  So when I heard Laurel Tavern in Studio City was not only a gastropub, but had a burger worth writing home about, I was surprised.  Gourmet burger?  In the wretched valley?  I had to try it out.  And try I did.  More than once.  You see, Laurel Tavern is not the easiest place to get into.  Not because of some dress code or something stupid like that, but because they simply have an extremely small space.  On weekends, it’s nearly impossible to get in unless you show up mid-afternoon.  But when I heard some friends were going on Labor Day, I felt my odds were pretty good and I ventured out to Ventura Boulevard. Continue Reading»

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Hustling Bricks

August 31st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I prefer my bricks customized. Also my mortar.

Given that you are taking the time to read this food post on this meat blog, I’m going to assume that you enjoy eating delicious meals with great company. We all have friends and family members with whom it is an absolute pleasure to share great meals and last night I had the special opportunity to do just that.

My friend Raffi and I bond greatly over very important things like food and football. Last night, he, his co-worker, and I went to a pizza restaurant in Chicago called Bricks. Bricks is located on a stretch on Lincoln Ave. with few other businesses and, as opposed to having a window-front, simply has an arched red awning over a staircase that leads down to the restaurant. Raffi and I are firm believers that you can judge a restaurant by its cover and even though the outside of Bricks is inconspicuous, it calls out at you and makes you think and/or say, “DAMN, this place is going to be GREAT!” Continue Reading»

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Rocks Your Socks

August 4th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Pickle me this, pickle me that.

When striving to live the high life, there is nothing better than a good, honest unvegan meal at a tasty price. In Chicago, and I imagine in all other major metropolitan areas, knowledge of the specials around town allows us to fulfill our unvegan needs without crippling the budget, especially on weeknights.

On Wednesdays, Rocks, a bar with very good burgers and locations in Lincoln Park and Lakeview, has a special of $5.00 burgers and $5.00 24 oz. beers. The latter is a distinction in which I differ a little bit from some other unvegans. When I am eating, my first choice for accompanying beverage is cola and my second choice is water. As I tend to eat really fast, I really don’t like consuming alcohol with my food. Continue Reading»

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A Burger to Drink with at City Tavern

April 20th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Warning: I did not take this picture sober.

Well, someone finally beat me to the punch.  Ever since I moved to the west side of LA, I’ve thought that downtown Culver City has needed a real bar.  Kay ‘n Dave’s and Rush Street are good places, but they are first and foremost restaurants.  Finally, the guys behind Rush Street have pumped out City Tavern (in the location that formerly housed the Meltdown grilled cheese joint) and I don’t think I could have done it better myself.  I arrived a solid 45 minutes before my friends, which gave me a chance to put our name on the list for a table and to sample the beers they were purveying. Continue Reading»

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Some Mad Cow at the Mad Bull’s Tavern

September 15th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This bull actually looks quite content.

While I rarely venture into the valley after work hours, I recently took a trip there after dark for a bit of a birthday celebration.  The gathering was at the Mad Bull’s Tavern in Sherman Oaks and although I wasn’t quite in a drinking mood (plus I was the driver and Sherman Oaks is a long way from home), I actually found myself in an eating mood.  It was five minutes to 11:00 pm and when I asked for a menu, I was told that most of the food, except for appetizers, would only be available until 11.  I had to think fast. Continue Reading»

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Thinking Outside the Box at Village Grille

July 9th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Pizza! Nachos!

Although I grew up in Michigan, I can’t remember ever setting foot in Grosse Pointe.  I guess it was just too far outside the bubble of Farmington Hills/West Bloomfield.  Fortunately, my buddy decided to marry a Grosse Point native, giving me my first chance to see what food was like on the other side of Detroit.  We headed to the nice little downtown area of Grosse Point and got ourselves a table at the Village Grille. Continue Reading»

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An Hour of Happiness at Q’s

June 8th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

What sort of bed have these wings been laid upon?

Finding a happy hour around town on a Sunday afternoon isn’t the easiest thing to do.  You would think bars would be itching to get customers to come in for a post-Mass drink, but we had a to call a good four or five bars to find ourselves a nice happy hour with a combination of food and drinks.  The bar we finally landed on was Q’s Billiard Club in West LA.  Their happy hour involved $10 pitchers (of any beer) and half-off appetizers.  It all sounded perfect for a fun little hockey-watching Sunday. Continue Reading»

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An Amusingly Tasty Burger at Beechwood

February 12th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Thank you for being tasty.

Heading into Beechwood, I was feeling a bit skeptical.  Bars in Venice can tend to be a bit trendy, especially the food-serving kind.  Once inside, part of my skepticism was confirmed, with strangely shaped lounge seats and a half hour wait even though we had reservations.  Oh well, at least they had a pretty sweet beer menu so I could have a little something to drink while waiting.  They had a pretty cool-looking wheat beer called Moosbacher from Germany.  Since I like moose and wheat, I figured these would outweigh my distaste for Germany, and I was right.  It was quite good and came in a huge bottle. Continue Reading»

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A Pretty Happy Hour at Capitol City

January 22nd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Oh you know...just wingin' it.

Some bars are known for their food, some bars don’t have any food (losers) and some bars happen to have food, but aren’t exactly known for it.  Capitol City, a semi-new sports bar in Hollywood is one of the latter.  Nonetheless, there was a football game to be watched and it happened to fall during happy hour, so Capitol City became my dinner and drinks destination for the night.

First off, their happy hour is pretty badass by the looks.  It includes some pretty decent beers, including Blue Moon for four bucks, which is as good as you’re gonna get in Hollywood.  Drinks aside, they have some great-looking $5 appetizers, so after downing a couple Blue Moons, I decided to order their wings. Continue Reading»

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A Food Trailer Named Derb’s Gourmet

December 24th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
This is not a truck.

This is not a truck.

One day I received a random Twitter follow from @derbsgourmet.  It piqued my interest so, I decided to follow them and found out that they were a new food truck called Derb’s Gourmet and set to launch in a couple days.  Not only that, but they were launching at a bar right down the street from me, Bigfoot West.  The sheer convenience was a sign that I had to try them out.

I arrived at 10:00, since that was supposed to be their launch time and saw that this was no normal food truck.  Continue Reading»

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Going Global at Plan Check

Fries of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.

Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.

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The King of Fruit.

What is this?»

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