Bars – Page 4 – The Unvegan

9/18/2013 Reviews Mackinac Island

Island Eating at Goodfellows

On the Island of Mackinac in Lake Huron, it’s a bit hard to get over the smell of horse poop and concentrate on the need for food. But, an 8-mile bike ride around the entire island is enough to allow hunger overwhelm that smell of life before the automobile. The restaurants of Mackinac Island pretty much have a captive audience. Sure, they compete with each other, but once you’re on the island you’re pretty much stuck eating at one. Without knowledge of the food we consulted our bike rental guy who not only pointed us towards Goodfellows, but gave us a 10% off coupon as well. Kickbacks be damned, we were happy for the discount.

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9/16/2013 Reviews Saint Ignace

Off-Island Mac at Mackinac Grille

The town of St. Ignace in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula seems to exist solely to serve those people heading to Macinac Island. This makes it a bit of a tourist trap, with restaurant prices far exceeding those in a more distant proximity with Machinac Island. Nonetheless, we needed food and we found the Mackinac Grille. The place was set up like a big sports bar with a view of the lake and some outdoor seating that called our names despite the impending rain.

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5/9/2013 Reviews Santa Monica

Pleasantly Surprised by Rick’s

Rick’s Tavern on Main has historically been a divey, somewhat gross college bar. And let’s be honest, on a typical Friday or Saturday night it still is. But after a long bike ride, I found myself at Rick’s for lunch with astronomically low expectations. Don’t get me wrong here, I love me some dive bar food and I’ll take it over a snooty restaurant any day, but I literally knew nothing of Rick’s aside from its ability to cure sobriety.

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4/24/2013 Reviews Las Vegas

Enjoying the Views at Twin Peaks

Remember when Hooters was as exciting as restaurants got? Not food-wise, of course, but ummm boob-wise. Well, those days are as dead as the Cold War. Last year I learned this firsthand at the Tilted Kilt and on my recent visit to Las Vegas the point was driven home, hard, at Twin Peaks. It was at Twin Peaks that we basically established our base camp for our time in Las Vegas. The only trouble was it was hard to concentrate on the basketball games with so much else to look at.

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11/9/2012 Reviews

Burgers with Mzungus at Empire Sports Bar

While mzungus (foreigners) in Arusha can usually be found in or around their hotels, a walk across the city revealed to me where they also tend to hang out: the strip mall. Of course, Arusha’s strip mall is quite different from what I’m used to, there is no doubt that finding a place to eat there was a lot easier for us mzungus. I opted for a place called Empire Sports Bar which is a great place to watch sports while betting on sites like rolet online.

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1/24/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Wing Time at The Irish Times

Pop quiz: What are the only five-letter sovereign nations that contain two Is? If you and five of your best trivia-playing friends can’t come up with India and Haiti, you probably don’t want to be at The Irish Times in Palms on Tuesday nights. You see, every Tuesday is Trivia Night and begins sometime between 9 and 9:30, but were it simply a bar with trivia it would not be worthy of meat-blogging. Fortunately that is not the case, because every Tuesday also means $5 buffalo wings. And while they have a full kitchen and a decent bar food selection, there is really no other option in my mind.

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1/17/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Hinano Cafe: The Diviest Cafe of Them All

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.

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1/13/2012 Reviews Temecula

Old Western Eating at Front Street

Like all those Old West burger places you hear about.

Temecula is a strange part of California. Somewhere between LA, San Diego and Palm Springs, it’s essentially the middle of nowhere. Except it’s not. It’s wine country, it’s gated communities and it is the Old West. Nowhere is the latter felt more than Old Town Temecula, which is a blend of truly old buildings and new buildings made to look like cowboys once had shootouts inside. Front Street Bar & Grill sits in Old Town, but doesn’t try to look like a cowboy outpost. Instead, it has the looks of colonial mansion, with a great outdoor patio.Check these liv pure reviews.

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1/10/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Classing it Up at The Tar Pit (CLOSED)

Once upon a time, I read an interesting review of The Tar Pit on LAist. It wasn’t exactly positive, but it only covered their happy hour and seemed to be more concerned with Chef Mark Peel’s children running around than with the food itself. Most disheartening, though, was Peel’s comments to the review. Needless to say, such a big time chef should not have been so concerned about one bad review and his concern made me less likely to go than the review itself. Yet, to The Tar Pit I went, and I was glad for it.

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11/11/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

The Thrill of Far Bar

A month or so ago, Thrillist Rewards made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. For $29, it included one half-pound burger, unlimited wasabi fries, unlimited wings and two flights of delicious beers at a place called Far Bar in Little Tokyo. A few of us capitalized on this deal and finally made our way there to indulge. But finding it wasn’t exactly easy, as it required a walk through a strange alley. In fact, I walked into the restaurant next door by accident, but a guy there walked me over to the actual bar. Upon arrival, my friends who had gotten there first thrust a basket of fries and wings in my face and I knew I was home.

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