The Unvegan

Hinano Cafe: The Diviest Cafe of Them All

January 17th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Which came first?

Ever walk into a “pizza parlor” that actually functions as more of a full-on Italian restaurant? Or how about a “Japanese place” that only serves sushi? We are constantly being misled into restaurants that either offer a lot more than expected or a lot less. And then there is Hinano Cafe in Venice, which only a crackhead would consider to be a cafe. You see, Hinano is pretty much the definition of a dive bar. Sawdust coats the floor, there are maybe five real tables and the two guys behind the bar take turns dishing out beer or flipping burgers on the lone griddle in the middle of the bar. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Bar Food, Bars, Beer, Burgers, father's office, hamburgers, Hinano Cafe, Los Angeles, Venice

Beer Belly for My Fearless Belly

January 6th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

There are peas in my cheese!

Two of the things I love most in this world are beer and my belly. No, I don’t have a beer belly…much, but when a gastropub in Koreatown called Beer Belly opened up, I figured I had to try it out. I was meeting a group of people, and arrived to find the place packed. And this was not a big place. Like about 8 tables and a few bar stools big, and all of them were loaded. Plus, it was first come, first served, so we got to hang around the tables like vultures surrounded a wounded gazelle. It was the tail end of happy hour, though, so I ordered a beer and hoped a table would clear out soon. Fast forward thirty minutes and we’re still waiting when a woman working the place asks if we’re waiting for a table. Uh, no, lady, we’re just standing here awkwardly for the hell of it. She then proceeded to ask us if we wanted to be on the list. This “list” was new to us, and apparently also new to her, as she told us she had just started it. Well, at least we wouldn’t have to stand awkwardly any longer. Continue Reading»

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Bar Food, Beer, Beer Belly, duck, gastropubs, grilled cheese, Koreatown, Los Angeles, mac and cheese, meat

Beer Me Some Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve

August 9th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Henry's private parts.

In my continuing quest to find the perfect beer for every occasion, I happened Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve. Further research has taught me that Henry Weinhard’s has a history even older than my beloved Leinenkugel’s. I also learned that the beer is affectionately called Henry’s (as though you could call a beer anything not affectionate). Described as a Classic Northwest Lager on the label, I hoped the Private Reserve would be good for the situation I was in – namely, I wanted good beer, but I was pretty full for dinner. I had no desire for a Coors Light-esque beer, but don’t get me wrong, I know the Silver Bullet has its place. At $9.99 for a twelve pack, Henry’s was definitely worth a try. Continue Reading»

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Beer, henry weinhard, henry weinhard's private reserve, lager

Beer Me Some Spotted Cow

July 12th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Where have you been all my life?

Two summers ago, I went to Bridge’s Bar in Lake Nebagamon after years of drinking dirt cheap pitchers of Leinenkugel’s there. But upon arrival, I found that the Leinie’s was missing. It was just about the scariest moment of my life. As I wallowed in sorrow, a friend brought a pitcher of beer to me excitedly. “They have Spotted Cow,” he proclaimed. I was unswayed, but he poured me a glass and I drank it because it sounded better than the Bud Light that was also on tap. My disappointment disappeared and I vowed never to return to Wisconsin again without drinking some Spotted Cow. Continue Reading»

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Beer, Bridge's Tavern, new glarus brewing co, spotted cow, Travel, Wisconsin

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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Bar Food, Bars, Beer, Burgers, City Tavern, Culver City, hamburgers, Los Angeles, meat

A Confusing Lunch at The Federal Bar

March 22nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

No veggies to be found.

The Federal Bar in North Hollywood just opened last month and it wasn’t a moment too soon. North Hollywood has desperately needed some bar variety, because you can only go to Big Wangs and Pitfire Pizza so often. Plus, The Federal Bar is not simply a bar, it is a gastropub featuring a tasty-looking menu just waiting for an unvegan visit. The visit came on St. Patrick’s Day, when my coworkers and I were in dire need of a beer and didn’t want to wait in line anywhere. We were amazed to find The Federal Bar had a surplus of seats available and sat down to see what it was all about. Continue Reading»

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Bar Food, Beer, Burgers, gastropubs, hamburgers, Los Angeles, north hollywood, restaurants, the federal bar

Gator Sausage at Steingarten

March 21st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Someone dropped a burn in my beer.

You know what’s great? Sausage. You know what goes great with sausage? Beer. So what does Steingarten, a recently opened restaurant/bar in West LA, have to offer? That’s right, sausage and beer. But not just any sausage and beer, sure they have your generic bratwurst, buckwurst, Polish and Italian sausages, but similar to Wurstkuche, they like to get exotic. With rabbit, venison, alligator and elk, these are truly some sausages to be reckoned with and not for those with a weak stomach. Continue Reading»

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Alligator, Beer, german, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, sausages, steingarten, West LA

Beer Me Some Bell’s Oberon

August 23rd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Look like summer to you?

It’s really not summer until you’ve had some Oberon. Sure, the weather may be warm, the grass may be green and the county may be forcing you to water your lawn only on odd-numbered days, but in truth, none of this matters until you get some Oberon in you. Now, you may be wondering, “What is Oberon?” If you turn to Wikipedia (the source of all knowledge), you will be lead to believe that Oberon is the king of the fairies. But this is just hogwash. In fact, Oberon is more likely to be a king of beers. No, not the king of beers…some brewery in St. Louis has that copyrighted. Continue Reading»

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Beer, Bell's Brewery, oberon

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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American, Bar Food, Bars, Beer, Burgers, detroit, grosse pointe, hamburgers, labatt blue, meat, michigan, nachos, Pizza, restaurants, Travel

Brews Over Burgers at Mill Street

June 24th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I like this street corner.

For a night in Toronto, I really didn’t have much of a clue about where to eat. Finally, a buddy of mine told me to check out the Mill Street Brewery. I am always up for a microbrewery since that seems to be a lost art in LA, so I looked it up. It turned out that the place was actually pretty easy walk from our hotel, so we headed to Mill Street to see what we could find. After a twenty minute walk through a mildly sketchy part of town featuring a homeless pirate watering plants with a two-liter of Canada Dry, we arrived at the Distillery area. This part of town was once some sort of huge brewery, but now had shops, restaurants, bars and people testing Smart Cars and Segway Scooters. Even before we started drinking, our goal was to take a drunken ride on/in one of these (no, we did not achieve our goal). Continue Reading»

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Beer, Brewhouse, Burgers, Canada, hamburgers, microbrewery, mill street brewery, ontario, restaurants, toronto, Travel

Rants and Raves

Cheers to Beer for Beef!

January 6th, 2010

Top me off!

Everyone knows about wine pairings. It is a mostly pretentious way for restaurants to sell their expensive wines in conjunction with their dishes. Even for those who avoid those pairings, any good eater or drinker knows to match red wine with red meats and white wine with white meats and fish. But enough about wine, where has beer ended up in this alcoholic conversation? Fusion Brewing in Australia has tried to answer this question with a beer made specifically for drinking with red meat.

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State. No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries. While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery. The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

The Unvegan

‘Beer’

Hinano Cafe: The Diviest Cafe of Them All

Beer Belly for My Fearless Belly

Beer Me Some Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve

Beer Me Some Spotted Cow

A Burger to Drink with at City Tavern

A Confusing Lunch at The Federal Bar

Gator Sausage at Steingarten

Beer Me Some Bell’s Oberon

Thinking Outside the Box at Village Grille

Brews Over Burgers at Mill Street

Rants and Raves

Cheers to Beer for Beef!

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends