Bar Food – Page 7 – The Unvegan

5/21/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

A Very Happy Hour at Islands

People just seem to think carrots and celery belong with wings... — People just seem to think carrots and celery belong with wings…

The never-ending search for a great happy hour in LA led me to Islands, a burger chain out in the west that reminds me a bit of Applebees with an island theme (what island that is, I cannot tell).

For their happy hour, they offer a great discount on drinks, as well as half-priced apps. They had some good-looking unvegan apps like Tiki (Chicken) Tenders and Cheddar Fries, but when places offer half apps, there’s really only one food I have in mind: Buffalo Wings!

With the knowledge that the wings came with carrots and celery, I made a great personal sacrifice and allowed the dish to come with them so my girlfriend could eat them. I know that makes me look soft, but at least I had spicy wings and beer.

American Bar Food Happy Hour Islands Los Angeles Meat Restaurants West Coast Chains West LA

4/9/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

One Coin, Two Sides, Part I: Father’s Office

For a huge selection of beer, Father’s Office is the place to go. They also happen to have a reputation for one of the best burgers around town. With this in mind, I set off for the Father’s Office in Culver City to get myself a taste of their legendary burger.

On the menu, I saw they had a few pretty good unvegan options, but they had a reputation for burgers and that’s what I had to get. It came with carmelized onions, some sort of bacon substance, arugula, gruyere and maytag blue cheese. This already wasn’t looking good. Then I saw on the menu that the burger couldn’t be special ordered. You either get it the way they make it, or you don’t get it at all. We aren’t exactly talking a steak dinner here, so I felt it was pretty pretentious for a burger. Nevertheless, I felt the need to try the burger.

American Bar Food Bars Burgers Culver City Father's Office Hamburgers Los Angeles Meat Restaurants

4/6/2009 Reviews San Francisco

A Bizarre Mix at Liverpool Lil’s

In desperate need of brunch and a beer in San Francisco, I headed to Liverpool Lil’s, a nice little pub with that serves more than just your average pub food. A lot of their offerings looked pretty good, but the one that stood out most to me was one of their daily specials, Chicken and Waffles. I have always been intrigued by the concept of chicken and waffles. I feel like for most foods, you can’t really credit one specific person. In my mind, most were developed through the ages by a group of people, a village or a town. But chicken and waffles, on the other hand, had to be one lone genius who decided this bizarre mix would produce a beloved dish.

Regardless of how the dish was born, I was just happy with the knowledge of their existence and looked forward to trying it for myself.

American Bar Food Bars Brunch California Chicken and Waffle Liverpool Lil's San Francisco Travel

4/3/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Kogi BBQ Revisited at the Alibi Room

A while back, many of you may recall, I visited the Kogi BBQ taco truck at The Brig. I guess this was before they got big, because I ordered in two minutes and only waited another two to get the food. Soon after, I began hearing stories about how people would be waiting in line for 45 minutes to get in on that Kogi and there was even an article written about them in the New York Times! In response, they added a second truck, and finally expanded into the kitchen at the Alibi Room.

Eager for another piece of that Kogi, I went to the Alibi Room to see the new offerings. Everything was slightly more expensive, as I suspected it would be. In addition, Kogi expanded their menu to include such unvegan no-nos as kimchee quesadillas and the vegan sesame leaf taco platter. I was mildly intrigued by some of the new unvegan offerings like the sliders, but in the end settled on the burrito.

Alibi Room Bar Food Bars Culver City Kogi BBQ Korean Los Angeles Meat Mexican

3/16/2009 Reviews Culver City

Drunken Munchies at the Backstage

Sitting right next to Sony Pictures Studios is the Backstage Bar & Grill. Claiming to have the best bar food in LA, I decided to take them for a spin.

First, I downed a few beers to make sure I was in the right state of mind to be eating bar food. Then I took a look at their happy hour menu, which is quite conducive to the unvegan. From garlic fries to quesadillas, most everything looked to be free from the bondage of vegetables. As soon as I saw the wings, though, I knew they had to be mine. Any opportunity to eat with just your hands should be fully embraced, especially after a few drinks. They come in hot, BBQ or teriyaki, and with my trusty beer in hand, I felt strongly about taking on the hot wings. At only $5, I knew I couldn’t go wrong.

American Backstage Bar Food Bars Buffalo Wings Chicken Wings Culver City Los Angeles Meat Restaurants Wings

1/23/2009 Reviews Heathrow

The Crown Rivers

This is as good as British food gets... — This is as good as British food gets…

Being stuck in London’s Heathrow airport, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to find anything to eat beyond a bag of “crisps” and a bottle of Irn-Bru…gag. I was actually surprised when I found myself with a decent selection of restaurants. After carefully checking out each menu and price (since the British pound is worth about 1.5 dollars) , I settled on The Crown Rivers. They served up mostly pub food, but also had a good-looking selection of curries. I settled on the Thai Green Chicken Curry, since I always wanted to know what green chicken tasted like…just kidding…maybe.

The ingredients listed in the curry were lemon grass, coriander, lime leaf, cumin, coconut and choi sum. None of these sounded like vegetables to me except for the choi sum. I figured I would take a risk and allow it, hoping it could be some incredible new meat I had never heard of.

Airports Bar Food Great Britain Indian London London Heathrow Meat Restaurants Thai The Crown Rivers Travel

12/9/2008 Reviews Manhattan Beach

Baja Sharkeez

Today the taco of choice was Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach. Sharkeez is better-known as a late-night college-style bar, but on Tuesdays they serve up a variety of tacos, from Mahi to carnitas to lobster. Being my first time, I ordered a “Maui” style mesquite chicken and a tri-tip steak. The cashier told me they would come with Pico de Gallo** on the side, and inside would just be the meat, cheese and sauce. This sounded great to me, so I sat down to wait for my food. Sharkeez has a good all-you-can eat chips and salsa bar, which is nice to munch on when you’re wating for more food, so I grabbed a trayful.

As I waited for my tacos, I noticed that some of my friends were getting their tacos and they all had a frightening green substance in them. Lettuce!

Bar Food Bars Los Angeles Manhattan Beach Meat Mexican Restaurants

11/22/2008 Reviews Chicago

Duffy’s Tavern and Grille

On Saturday morning, I headed to Duffy’s Tavern and Grille in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Duffy’s is the big Michigan bar in Chicago, so on a Saturday football morning, it was loaded with recent graduates. My friends and I were unable to find a place to sit, but we were more than happy when we found a table top to stand next to, eat/drink on, and lean against. Since Duffy’s is more of a bar than a restaurant, I didn’t order anything to eat until taking down at least three beers (I always lose count at three).

With the beers in me, I scoured the menu for something greasy. Only a few items down from the top, I found a shining beacon of grease, sliders!

Bar Food Burgers Chicago Hamburgers Illinois Lincoln Park Meat Restaurants

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