The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Gastropubs’

Melting Down at Blue Monk

So melty and eggy.
So melty and eggy.

Elmwood Village is definitely one of the cooler parts of Buffalo, with lots of cool shops and restaurants. One of these restaurants is a gastropub known as Blue Monk. Where the name comes from, I cannot say, because a look at the menu might have led me to think it should be called Blue Duck (in the style of Billy Madison). That’s because half of the menu items seemed to be duck-based.

Sweet Baby James Street Tavern

Not-So Hot Buffalo.
Not-So Hot Buffalo.

I don’t always go to Pittsburgh’s North Side, but when I do, it is for BOGO (buy one get one free) wings. And these wings were at James Street Tavern, a sort of gastropub with a jazzy theme and some actual live jazz music if you show up at the right time. I, of course, did not, but I did show up on Thursday night when the place has those 2-for-1 wings. And we went all-out with the wings, beginning with some Classic Hot Buffalo over there on the left.

Burgher Time at Industry Public House

Oh I get it.
Oh I get it.

Industry Public House is pretty much the first gastropub I have come across in Pittsburgh. This is shocking, because I have been here for more than 9 months and I couldn’t go more than 9 blocks in the last city I lived in without coming across one. And, as much as I tired of every new gastropub’s attempt to find unique craft beers and craft burgers, I must say I was happy to find both at Industry Public House.

Winged Out at Black Swan

That's a pretty picture.
That’s a pretty picture.

While gastropubs may not be a growing industry in Pittsburgh, a quick trip to Brooklyn showed me that they are still alive and kicking. Take, for example, Black Swan, a semi-divey bar that serves a brunch that brought me in. With standard gastropub fare, I made a rare move to not go with the burger that seemed overloaded with vegetables and instead went with wings. And not swan wings like you may expect from a place with such a name.

Good to the Marrow at Meat & Potatoes

So much bone, so little time.
So much bone, so little time.

Essentially the day I arrived in Pittsburgh, a buddy of mine told me I had to get to Meat & Potatoes in downtown. With an unvegan name like that, I didn’t exactly need convincing. Yet, when I took a look at the menu and prices I quickly realized this was a destination for when parents came to town. After all, that whole being a student thing can make eating out tough. But the parents did come, and to Meat & Potatoes we went.

Enrolling at Public School

Not your mama's tots.
Not your mama’s tots.

It might not quite be new anymore, but Public School 310 in Culver City isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. With its novelty school theme, beer menu and interesting food menu, it is a place I definitely had to check out. So check it out I did, with a huge group that gave me the opportunity me sample a bit more than I usually would. This was certainly going to be a change from the food used to eat growing up in public schools.

Winging it at The Corner Door

Anyone want some char?
Anyone want some char?

The Corner Door is the most recent snazzy new restaurant to help make a once-strange corridor of Culver City one of LA’s best food hotspots. But with the likes of A-Frame, the Alibi Room and Waterloo & City, the competition is undoubtedly intense. To find out if The Corner Door could stand up to its competition, I had to check it out for myself and see if it could handle the unvegan.

The first thing I noticed was that the place was packed. But not packed with diners, rather it was full of people hanging out for an after work drink. I was a bit surprised, but despite all these people we were seated immediately. I also noticed that the acoustics weren’t especially good. As our awesome waiter told us, the space had previously been a law office, so the walls weren’t really made for drunken yuppies.

A Happy Lunch Hour at Windsor

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Strong start.

Until my most recent visit to Phoenix, the only Windsors in my mind were a Canadian city across the river from Detroit, a castle in England and way to tie a tie. But now I know better, because the Windsor in Phoenix that Heather and Albert brought me to rivals all of the other Windsors combined. Why? This Windsor has possibly the most productivity-annihilating happy hour I’ve ever experienced. From 11 am to 5 pm, Windsor offers wine, cocktails and mini beer pitchers for the low price of 5 bucks. In other words, lunch break becomes drunk break.

Beer Belly for My Fearless Belly

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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 surrounding 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.

The Valley Goes Gourmet with Laurel Tavern

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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.