One Woman, One Beer: Bar Food LA: The Neighborhood Bar

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Bar Food LA: The Neighborhood Bar

One Woman, one pair of shoes, one bike, and many, many buses have been busy rambling along the streets of Los Angeles. And, yes! it is possible to get around in this town without a car, and much less miserable than sitting in traffic for hours. In fact, I'm starting to believe that the reason I've fallen in love with this town is because being car free means avoiding all the things that piss people off about LA: freeways, parking, and traffic. (For those who have been following... yes, I did get a license; no I did not get rid of my fear of driving; no, I didn't acquire the will to possess an automobile either).

So, on the bus one day, I spotted Bar Food on Wilshire. Anywhere with sidewalk patio seating has an immediate charm in my mind, and so Bar Food drew me in. The Bar has the quaintness, the casual attitude, the cheap happy hour specials, and the open-to-all vibe of a friendly neighborhood bar. It also has the decor of a hip Thai Restaurant (kind of like the ones in the East Village or Williamsburg). Perhaps the particular neighborhood bordering Santa Monica and Brentwood has something to do with that, but I'm not sure.

But so what? One Woman loves that Bar Food has three house brews for $3.50 during happy hour (I'm told Firestone makes them--your choice of Amber, Pale, and Blond)! The pale ale that I had was very drinkable--beach bum tan color, typically pale ale hoppy green aroma, and a tiny bit of a smokey roasted poblano flavor--nice! As for food, besides the $0 hot dog, other low-cost happy bar bites will melt your thrifty heart too. Finally, the sidewalk seating--little wooden patio furniture looks out onto quiznos, bagels, and sushi nestled between shiny new office buildings, and rush hour traffic zooms on by along on a busy street that opens up to a surprisingly big sky. And palm trees emerging from concrete. Of course.

If all that seems a little bizarre, there's also something comforting about this desert of the real, because you know it's only real if you think it is... or because you know it isn't. Yes, those are real fake boobs on the lady who just walked out of a cab wearing a tiny bikini and incredibly tall stiletto heels.