#1212 - Cuba Libre, Los Angeles - 8/24/2010

1745 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 - (323) 661-5900
yelp - citysearch

#1211 - The Bahooka, Rosemead CA - 8/24/2010

Update: The Bahooka closed in March 2013

This may be my favorite tiki bar I've ever been to.  Yes, the Mai Kai is grand, and perhaps holds an edge thanks to the gardens.  But inside Bahooka Ribs & Grog has the dark, ramshackle, non-corporate vibe that I love in a tiki bar.

The food is fairly plain and the drinks do not compete with the best tiki joints (though they are better than average), but the fact that there is nothing fancy about their food somehow makes it all the more likable.

Then, of course, there are the aquariums (over 100 of them) and the alluring feeling of being lost in the labyrinth hold of a sunken ship.  Each booth is surrounded by fish and seafaring paraphernalia, dark and woody with the tables hanging by a large iron chain.

It is out of the way enough to have a shack ("bahooka") feel to it from the outside, and the small bar, where a turtle paddles under your drinks, preserves the vibe of an old neighborhood joint.

I love this place.

(More photos)

4501 Rosemead Boulevard, Rosemead, CA 91770-1476 - (626) 285-1241
Est. 1967 - Closed March 2013
bahooka.com - critiki - myspace - facebook - tikizone - yelp

#1210 - El Compadre, Los Angeles - 8/24/2010

7408 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046 - (323) 874-7924
elcompadrerestaurant.com (cheesy music & web graphics warning) - yelp

#1209 - Angels and Kings, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

Peter Gronquist sculpture at Angels and Kings, Los Angeles, CA

Swanky club by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz.

Angels and Kings, Los Angeles, CA

  

1708 N Las Palmas Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - (323) 468-8815
angelsandkings.com - 944 - yelp

#1208 - L'Scorpion, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

215 Tequilas in a now well familiar format (Seattlelites think "Matador").  Had some good tequila and met a cool Austrian couple there (who seemed impressed that I knew Einsturzende Neubauten).

6679 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028 - (323) 464-3026
scorpionhollywood.com - myspace - yelp

#1207 - Kubar, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

Kubar Mediterranean Cafe & Hookah Bar

6669 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028-6220 - (323) 962-5555
kubarrestaurant.com - facebook - yelp

#1206 - Te'Kila, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

Bartender Elena, from Te'Kila

A new place with Mexican food, cocktails, 100 and some tequila choices, and in the Hollywood spirit, a $300 burrito option.

6541 Hollywood Blvd; Hollywood, CA - 323.960.2404
eater.com - savoryhunter - thrillist - yelp

#1205 - Five O Four, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

I happened upon the soft opening of this New Orleans style restaurant and bar, and chatted with Roger, one of the owners.  All the seating is on an outdoor patio, with the exception of a single table.  I know it's not quite the weather one associates with it, but I wish Seattle had at least one place with the rows of daquiri machines like this (and so many bars in the south).


6541 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA -(323) 960-0224
five0four.com - savoryhunter - yelp

#1204 - Power House, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

This bar has been around since at least the early 50s and guestofaguest calls it "By far the diviest and most random bar to grace Los Angeles."

1714 North Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028-4404 - (323) 463-9438
facebook - citysearch - yelp - zagat

#1203 - The Woods, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

Don't be put off by the strip-mall location -- this is a swanky place with a dark, woodsy interior and a bit of a Twin Peaks vibe, somewhat redolent of the Doug Fir in Portland.

There are antler chandeliers, a starlight ceiling, woody and rocky decor, reasonably good cocktails, and a small, cool crowd.

1533 North La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046 - (323) 876-6612
vintagebargroup.com - citysearch - yelp  - zagat

#1202 - Ye Coach and Horses, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

I was very lucky to be able to visit the historic Ye Coach And Horses bar a couple times on this trip, as it was served an eviction notice on July 1 and likely will have to shut it's doors in a few weeks.  This British-themed bar was established in 1937 (although for a period it was called "Viva Tirado" and had a Mexican theme), and Peter the bartender told me it is the third oldest in the Hollywood area.

Naturally it has stories of hosting various celebrities, from John Barrymore Sr. to Drew Barrymore, from Alfred Hitchcock and Richard Burton to Quentin Tarantino writing notes for "Pulp Fiction" on bar napkins.  Jim Morrison used to hang around when his girlfriend worked there, and Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris, and Kevin Spacey have all tipped a cup inside its dark interior.

The generations of celebrity stories notwithstanding, the charm of the C&H is its gritty ordinariness -- not at all the kind of bar you think of in West Hollywood, but a fine, old neighborhood dive.  It's of a comfortably moderate size, with high gabled ceilings and tudor style upper walls, and high-backed seats of crimson naugahyde.  It's a damn shame such a fine old place has to close its doors after 74 years.

7617 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046 - (323) 876-6900
facebook - myspace - KTLA video - franklinavenue - laist - lakompany - eater.com - yelp

#1201 - Frankie's New York, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

Pretty much exactly what you'd expect when you hear the name ...

7228 Melrose Ave, Hollywood, Ca 90038 - 323-937-2801
frankiesonmelrose.com - yelp

#1200 - Village Idiot, Los Angeles - 8/23/2010

I had an "Idiot's Cup #1" (Tru Lemon organic vodka, Pimm's, cucumber, lemon-lime soda), which was okay, but was also as close as I've yet come to a debunking of my theory that there are no bad cocktails that include cucumber.  (St. Germain seems to be another "always good cocktail" ingredient.)

7383 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90189 - (323) 655-3331
villageidiotla.com - la weekly - tripadvisor - yelp

#1199 - Club Monte Cristo, Los Angeles - 8/22/2010

This is a large, somewhat hidden space on the third floor of a Koreatown warehouse, where at night the music rattles the windows of the World Vision Full Gospel Church and other small businesses below.  The main room is a dance floor surrounded by couches and armchairs, though there are usually just as many people out on the capacious open patio.

 Obviously the vibe varies with the particular event -- I attended the Malediction Society gothic night, with DJ Amanda Jones, but where cameras were not allowed (with the exception of the house photographers).

3102 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010 - (213) 252-9343
citysearch - yelp - ladead gallery

#1198 - Encinitas Ale House, Encinitas CA - 8/22/2010

A good selection of beers (I had a tasty Mongo Double IPA, from Port Brewing) and monster hamburgers with various high quality beefs.

1044 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 - (760) 943-7180
encinitasalehouse.com - facebook - beer advocate - yelp

#1197 - Barra Barra Saloon, San Diego - 8/21/2010

A fairly cool (in both senses of the word) space with pretty good magaritas.

4016 Wallace St, San Diego, CA 92110-2743 - (619) 291-3200
plazadelpasado - yelp

#1196 - Old Town Mexican Cafe, San Diego - 8/21/2010

The Old Town Mexican Cafe and Cantina is a fairly large place with pretty good food, and seemingly about an even split between tourists and locals.  Their magaritas and signature carnitas were both better than average.

One bizarre element of the decor is a series of gawdawful sculptures of clowns with balloons suspended from the ceiling.  One can hardly help speculating about the back story for these, perhaps the pressured purchases from the owner's senile aunt?

2489 San Diego Ave. (Harney St.) San Diego, CA 92110

2489 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110 - 619-297-4330
Links: oldtownmexcafe.com - The Atlas Heart - frommers - zagat - yelp

#1195 - Old Town Saloon, San Diego - 8/21/2010

A nice little dive in the Old Town section of San Diego, though inside it is the standard Bud Lite paraphenalia and etc. and not distinguishable from a thousand other dives across the country.

2495 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110-2839 - (619) 298-2209
yelp - citysearch 

#1194 - The Islands, San Diego - 8/19/2010

The Islands Sushi and Pupu Bar, in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego.

2270 Hotel Circle N., San Diego, CA 92108 - 619-297-1101
islandssushi.com 

#1192 #S729 - The Scarlet Tree, Seattle - 8/16/2010

Update: This version of the Scarlet Tree closed in 2014.


The Scarlet Tree is back, 4 years after shutting down the location on Roosevelt, where I believe they've been since the 1940s.  I'm not a big fan of the new space, I don't like all the windows for a music club, and the bar was decidedly uninteresting when I visited.  But this was on an afternoon, and I can't really judge the new place by its strengths until I've seen some music and sampled the breakfast again.

801 NE 65th St Suite C, Seattle, WA 98115 - (206) 523-8888 - info@scarlet-tree.com
scarlet-tree.com - facebook - yelp