tonight is the 2 year anniversary of the vegan happy hour and potluck at the short stop in echo park!
come check it out, drink some beer and eat some fine vegan foods. 5 to 9pm.
who’s in?
the short stop
1455 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 482-4942
My three favorite things in the world are Music, Beer and Vegan Food - in pretty much that order. Now, if you take one of LA’s top music venues, the Fonda Theater, add in LA’s top ale house and a damn good vegan entreé, you have me SOLD. I will go there as often as I can, sometimes several times a week.
The Fonda Theater in Hollywood, as any music nut knows, hosts The Music Box, an eclectic live music venue for reasonably popular acts. Recent appearances include MGMT, Rancid, Tegan and Sara, The Arctic Monkeys and Conor Oberst…. I’ll be there in a couple of weeks to see the Kaiser Chiefs from my homeland.
Some bright spark had the idea of converting the awful Blue Palms Lounge, which I had frequented on occasion to consume over-priced martinis and bottled Heineken, into an absolute mecca for beer lovers in LA. Blue Palms has undoubtedly the best beer selection south of San Francisco, including several rapidly rotating taps and a single cask ale pump. In addition, you’ll find knowledgeable staff and even a video/audio feed from the stage so you can continue to enjoy your favorite act while you pop into the bar for a quick one.
On the food front, they have only one vegan selection, but it stands head and shoulders above what you’d typically get in a brewhouse: Blackened Tofu. This dish is perfectly prepared firm tofu, blackened in a pan and served with steamed spinach and a selection of delicious grilled vegetables. It’s absolutely vegan, as the chef knows what vegan means, and even prepares it separately from non-vegan dishes. That’s really cool, if you ask me.
But, for me, the best part is the beer selection — especially the cask ale which reminds me so much of rainy England.
Here’s a sneaky pic I took recently when the bar staff (and owner/leaseholder) were huffing and puffing to change a cask. You can clearly see the zillions of beer taps, along with the cask beer engine in the middle:
I think, on that visit, I was drinking a Porter from Craftsman, perfectly pulled into an English-style glass. Oh boy, it was quite a night. In fact, I absolutely refuse to drive when visiting Blue Palms, except on the odd occasion that I find myself wandering on Hollywood Blvd. after some event where I’ve drank a bottle or two of way-too-cold-American-Beer and absolutely, without a doubt need to wash my mouth out with something like this:
Alternatively, if you’re not completely sold on the whole cask ale thing (and it’s not for everybody, I can admit), the other two dozen or so beers on tap will, without a doubt, whet your whistle.
For those rare beer lovers who are also vegans, the blackened tofu is really a treat. Here’s a close-up so you can get excited about it:
So, if you’re looking for good music, great beer and above-average vegan food (for a bar, goddamit!), please visit the Blue Palms. You will get a warm welcome, a cold beer and a very soothing environment to imbibe. Highly recommended!
Oh, and beer is, mostly vegan. For the record, I don’t care if the grain used to make my beer is fed to dairy cows after, or if isinglass or gelatin is used in the filtering process. The reason I don’t care is that none of those products are in the thing I’m actually drinking - they are long gone on a molecular level.
The most steadfast vegans in the city eat at Pure Luck: I watch the dude from La Brea Bakery deliver the bread some mornings, and I’ve see him happily eating Mc Donald’s as he drops off the goods. The fact that animal products are used to bring me what I eat bears no relevance on the fact that I eat it.
Try living a TRULY vegan lifestyle in western world, and tell me how you manage it.
I live in LA. A 40+ mile round trip involving a canyon road, three freeways and multiple surface streets in a very high crime area of town REALLY needs some justification. To make that journey pretty much every weekend must mean there’s something very special at the destination, and I’m pleased to announce that there is. The York on York in Highland Park.
Anybody who has ever travelled out of LA and is into a bar scene will recall those large, open industrial bars with lots of beers on tap, a full cocktail compliment, friendly staff (who actually act like they are pleased to serve you) and extensive menu. Sadly, LA is NOT a bar town by any means so I’m set to drive the equivalent of half way to San Diego every weekend to enjoy a few drinks at what I can confidently call the best bar in LA.
The York on York, bathed in afternoon sunlight and cask ale....
Seriously, the York is an amazing place. It really does remind me of large brew houses in Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area etc. Although the York doesn’t actually brew anything, it seems to be in bed with some leading local breweries (Craftsman in particular) and has the very best of their products available.
In some ways, a well stocked bar can be better than a brew-pub as they can change out the beers at will, and not have to serve a bad batch of their own product from time to time. The beer list rotates slowly, so there’s usually something new to try. The bar seating area is HUGE, and there are booths at the back if you want to sit down and dine while you drink.
The Bar: well stocked, and even a beer engine for cask ale!
For me, The York is one of the very few places in LA that serve cask conditioned ale – something that reminds me of my native UK and is an increasingly welcome addition states-side. The stronger, slightly warmer and less gassy beer is just how we Europeans like it. America: stop drinking Budweiser!
Tasty Craftsman brews: Cask Ale and 1903 lager
Now, around the same time I discovered The York, a new bar opened in Hollywood at the Henry Fonda Theater. Some bright spark took the ageing Blue Palms Lounge and converted it awkwardly into the Blue Palms Brewhouse. Although I’ll be writing about this bar soon, suffice to say I’ve only had a 50% success rate in getting into the place when I’ve showed up. First, the opening hours were posted incorrectly on their website, and second the new owner had some kind of smug party where we felt as welcome as bacon butties at a bar mitzvah - so we left immediately.
The sign. So classy. Looks like it used to be a Denny's!
Enough of that… there are several things I like about The York, principally:
There’s really nothing to hate, other than its out of the way location for most Los Angelinos. I’ll probably try and go there every week, even though the Blue Palms has similar beer offerings and is right on my doorstep.
Oh, and the only vegan option other than a green salad on the menu is french fries and some olive thing that doesn’t sound to appetizing. Don’t worry about that, though as Cinnamon is only a few blocks away — possibly even walkable with a buzz 
The York on York. It SO WOULD have a scooter outside!
with pure luck under construction lately, i’ve been searching for new ways to get my fancy beer/vegan food fix. over the weekend i discovered a pretty great alternative: flore. but they don’t serve beer, you say? nope…but the good, located right across the street, does. the good offers tons of beer on tap and like a million bottles, so it’s a great place to get a buzz before walking over and soaking up the drunk with pure vegan awesomeness. i just cannot get over flore’s amazing food…and the menu is freakin’ huge!
the wrap: stuffed with baked tofu, roasted vegetables, shredded kale and brown basmati rice with a drizzling of creamy tofu dressing wrapped together in a wheat tortilla. served with potato salad. $9.95
the wrap is enormous, delicious and satisfying—filled with delightfully seasoned tofu and very tasty dressing. it comes cut in half, so it’s perfect for sharing. hell, get 2 wraps and switch it up! the potato salad hit the spot as well—light, fresh and not too soggy.
burrito flore: brown rice, black beans, tempeh bacon, cilantro cream, cashew cheese, lettuce, avocado and tomato wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. served with a side of pico de gallo and a green salad. $10.95
i really, really, REALLY love burritos. when i was a vegetarian they were my second favorite food, and now that pizza is gone, they are definitely #1. seriously, when i eat at a restaurant that has a burrito on the menu, i find it very difficult to order something else. that being said, flore’s vegan burrito is one of the best i’ve ever had. they cram so much stuff inside, i almost can’t handle it. they’ve got the fake meat, beans, fake cheese, vegetables and even fake creamy stuff as well. with most vegan burritos, you are lucky to get any kind of protein along with the standard rice and beans…not to mention fake cheese! this burrito really takes it to the next level.
i mean look at that. it just belongs in your face, right? and it’s not just crammed full of cool shit, it also tastes really good. all the ingredients are so fresh and juicy, your mouth will have a party. thanks a lot flore, now i am gonna have a really tough time ordering anything else off your majorly enticing menu.
now, i’ve talked about naja’s place before…but i really didn’t do the hummus justice. i was too busy babbling on about how great pliny the elder is. let me set the record straight and say that naja’s serves up the best plate of hummus in town.
hummus plate: served with naja's green sauce, pico de gallo and pita bread. $8
the hummus may actually be the only vegan thing on naja’s menu (which is filled with disgusting items like chicken strips and kabob plates), but it really is worth making the trip out for…especially if you love tap beer. what makes naja’s hummus special isn’t just the way it’s perfectly blended to the right flavor and texture, but also all the delicious garnishes that come on top. spices, homemade pico de gallo and the hottest green sauce ever cover the mound of already scrumptious hummus. this is so damn good on its own, i don’t even need to add hot sauce!
let’s not forget, naja’s also has 88 beers on tap. that alone is reason enough to check this place out. plus, they were open early on labor day…rather than closing all together. this place knows how to give the people what they want.
and while you’re there, be sure to try out pliny the elder. it remains the hoppiest, most wonderful beer we at quarrygirl.com have ever tasted. sitting and drinking just 2 pints is absolutely maddening (this is la, so we have to worry about driving home after a visit to the bar)! we were digging pliny the elder so much, that we swung all the way over to rock n roll 7-11 to pick up a supply of bottles. even at $5 each, these were a bargain.
so go check out naja’s, drink some good beer and stuff your face with spicy hummus. great times guaranteed. the service at the bar isn’t great, but hey, after a few drinks you won’t mind so much!
friday update, after the post.
if you read my blog, there are probably 2 things you know about me: 1.) i hate bell peppers and 2.) i loooOOOOoooOOOove pure luck. the very first time i ate there, i knew i had something special: fancy tap beer, the best vegan food ever, great service and a funky chill atmosphere. i often found myself relaxing at a window table, bathed in sunlight, about 1/2 way though my second pint of craftsman as a steaming hot plate of potato pals was brought to my table and lou reed’s transformer drifted through the speakers…thinking, this place is just way too good to be true.
i’m beginning to believe i was right.
torta: sauteéd jackfruit "carnitas", plus pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, tomatillo salsa, sliced avocado and vegan mayo on a grilled rustic roll. $9
ahhhh…the torta, pictured above. this photo was taken months ago, before the restaurant started going downhill. please notice: a plastic order number to the way upper left, a 20oz beer next to it, and a generous serving of potato pals with the entrée (at no extra charge, mind you)! these things have now all gone…they don’t exist at pure luck anymore, and neither does the window that’s lighting them.
you see, on july 19, 2008, a fucking truck plowed through the window and wall of pure luck, fatally wounding my favorite eatery. i was hopeful at the time that they’d get the shit repaired stat, but unfortunately since the accident i’ve seen the best employees leave, the portions reduced, and the atmosphere sacrificed. plus they haven’t even bothered to fix the window. even before that awful day, they had switched from counter to table service…a decision that formalized the once-super-chill establishment and led to many an awkward moment between me and my plastic-carrying/no-cash co-workers. (splitting the check sux.) anyways, the truck barreling through the restaurant seemed to be the last straw. pure luck jumped the shark; the shit officially hit the fan. i’m so sad. and so over it.
let’s take a look at what changed.
the first thing i noticed after that dreadful day, was the portions got smaller at pure luck and the prices (kind of) increased. i say (kind of) because, they didn’t officially. it used to be a sly trick to order the unadvertised potato pals as a side dish, and the staff would happily comply. well, after the accident, the staff still happily complied…but for a dollar more. an extra dollar, that was never mentioned, just sitting there on the bill. the portion of potato pals (or any side for that matter) also shrunk a great deal. don’t believe me? see for yourself:
angélica's garbanzo salad sandwich $7
before the truck crashed into pure luck, life was good and this sandwich was awesome! so much vegenaise and so many chickpeas! they forgot to put the tomato on, but that problem was promptly fixed when i questioned my waitress. plus, a HUGE pile of potato pals—subbed for fries, no worries, no extra $$. let’s jump forward one month to after the truck went through the window:
todd's bbq sandwich: bbq jackfruit "pulled pork" with pickles, onions and vegan mayo on a rustic roll. $9 (or $10 to my surprise with potato pals!)
totally disappointing. not only am i forced to pay a premium for my favorite side…but the quantity is reduced! both the side and the main dish are considerably smaller. i know this, because one of my insatiable carnivorous co-workers even noticed…”hey, isn’t this bbq sandwich much smaller than it was like last week?” uggggggggh. the last thing veganism needs is “the best vegan restaurant in LA” recruiting meat-eaters by serving them tiny portions at a high price in a darkened restaurant that appears to be undergoing demolitions. oh well.
…at least the beer is a good deal, right? NOT ANYMORE! first pure luck tried to spoil the fun by raising beer prices for 16oz pints AND 20oz pints, each by a dollar. then they changed the plan and stopped offering 20oz pints all together. in the old days you could get a 16oz for $5, and a 20oz for $6. now, after all the blackboard erasing and price-changing fuckery, a 16oz is still $5 and an 18oz is $6. 20oz beers are no longer available. sigh. to beer drinkers like me this is a huge setback. not to mention the selection of brew on tap is constantly dwindling, and they tend to be “out” of the better beers more frequently. i can tell you, it’s not what it used to be.
and to be fair, it’s not just the sides, or the beer…but the portions themselves are getting smaller. check out the difference in the fresh noodle salad. it used to be a plate of spinach with a mound of tofu and other good shit on top…now it’s an entire bowl full of spinach, with a skimpy amount of tofu & toppings sprinkled on. totally disappointing.
oh, and the atmosphere. yeah, that sucks now. at first, after the accident, it was charming like, “what a great restaurant, they are pulling through even though a truck smashed into them!” now a month later, it’s just annoying like, “why is this place always so fucking dark and why is there nowhere good to sit.” oh yeah, and TONS of flies get in and swarm around your food now, because they haven’t repaired the damage properly. one window went a very long way. sad. sad. sad.
pure luck window, before and after the crash
as you can see, pure luck is totally bumming me out. as if all this accident-related and price crap wasn’t enough, they fucked with the menu as well. each dish used to come with a side of fries or a cesar salad. now, they just serve your meal with a boring spinach italiany salad instead. i haven’t bothered to order it, i was pretty disappointed when i saw my friend’s wrap arrive with a tiny mound of spinach and some see-through dressing. i prefer to remember the wonderful wrap and side in their former glory:
kristen's carnitas wrap: jackfruit "carnitas" with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and césar dressing, wrapped in a flour tortilla. $8
when i ate that wrap i wish i’d have known that it was a shrinking commodity: the new wraps are much smaller and their side salads are waaaaay boring. ugh. if only i could have the old pure luck back.
more injustice after the jump.
way back in march when i started this modest blog and was still posting pix taken with my cell phone, my first post wasn’t really about vegan food, but instead a super hoppy and wonderful beer: pliny the elder. now 4 months and 87 posts later, i’m returning to pliny. while in santa rosa, i had the fortunate opportunity to visit the place where the magical beer is actually brewed, the russian river brewing company.
now, unfortunately there isn’t much vegetarian stuff on the menu. but honestly, who needs food with beer like this?
with an abv of 8%, pliny is too strong to legally be sold in a pitcher. that didn’t stop me from ordering 3 pints of the hoppiest beer i’ve ever tasted!
so if you are a beer lover in santa rosa, drink up at russian river. you won’t regret it! and hungry vegans can be satisfied at the sushi restaurant down the street.
I am known to frequent The Grove on a regular basis, usually at the weekend and usually to eat and drink rather than just to shop. While there are some very nice mid-tier restaurants there, I usually sneak 100 yards west to the Farmer’s Market and head over to Unit 326, where the creatively-named 326 Bar is located in all its glory.
326 Bar is sandwiched in between a mexican food stand and a candle shop, which means the ambient smell is a confusing cross between fried beef and Hillary Clinton’s neckerchief. Why, you ask is it like a dive bar? Well, the Mr. Meaner Checklist of bar dive-ness rate card shows as follows:
Dirty [✔], Cash Only [✔], Smoke-filled [✔], No food served [✔], People eating at the bar [✔], At least two senile old ladies drinking rosé wine [✔], Plastic cups instead of glasses [✔], Plastic pitchers [✔], Serves PBR [✔], Has Coors Lite as a “premium” beer [✔], Has at least one person drinking who has less than three teeth in their head [✔], Has a bartender with visible injury [✔], Keeps the kegs in fridges under the bar [✔], Has illegible beer list on a chalk board [✔], Serves wine from a box [✔], Random kids wander through on occasion [✔], Restrooms less than satisfactory [✔], TV with dirty glass shows sports programs on mute [✔], Strange sticky substance in random places on the bar [✔]
Yes, indeed, 326 Bar has it all — and then some! But where in LA can you get a pitcher of Bud Lite for $13, have the bartender happy that you tip $2, and get to people watch the entire Farmer’s Market from the comfort of your barstool? Nowhere, that’s where.
Read the rest of this entry »
Since the early 70s, the Pike Brewery has been serving ales in Seattle, moving to its present location in Pike Place Market during the early 90s. If you can deal with the nightmare that is parking in downtown Seattle (or better still, get a taxi: you probably won’t want to drive after a visit to the Pike!), you are in for a beer TREAT with several vegan options on the menu, including my favorite, Hummus and Pita, which is lovingly prepared, saladated with cucumber, lettuce, and the all important kalamata olives:
Having said all that, I forget my veganism when I show up at The Pike, because the thing that gets me every time is the cask ale, served at just the right temperature from traditional British-made hand pumps. If the stars are aligned, you can get a porter, stout or (if you’re really lucky) the perfectly hopped IPA, which I was lucky enough to find on cask suring my last visit.
The vibe is similar to a large English pub, but with a very Pacific Northwest feel: comfortable pleather couches, large plastic covered menus and the stench of fried food everywhere.
Visiting at peak times usually means a wait unless you’re lucky enough to get a seat at the bar, or you have to line up at the bar and order if you’re sitting in the “pub” — just like in England! If you visit off-peak, though, you can get a comfortable bar seat and chat away to one of the knowledgeable bartenders while enjoying one too many cask beers
The Pike is one of Seattle’s best breweries, arguably the best location, probably the best vegan food offerings and, albeit at certain times, the best atmosphere. If you enjoy good vegan food and great beer in a hassle-free environment the Pike is certainly for you.
Check it out on your next trip Up North.
On occasion, I spend the night on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. It is the only ‘thing’ in the USA that actually truly evokes Great Britain. Yeah, there are edifices like London Bridge in Lake Havasu and fake English Pubs in every city but Queen Mary is the only thing built in Great Britain, storied with direct history from Great Britain (Winston Churchill, Laurel and Hardy, several monarchs, movie stars etc.), and sold to the oil-rich Long Beach Americans by Britain in 1969. Hell, it’s even had 75 people croak on it since it was launched back in 1933.
In 2003, the ship had actually spent more time crippled and mummified in Long Beach harbor than it did sailing to and fro across the Atlantic for decades before. One of the most special places on the ship is the Observation Bar on the promenade deck, which is surprisingly well preserved from the original 1920s construction, and is one of the very few parts of the ship which retains its original function intact, as well as most of its interior fixtures and fittings.
The Observation Bar, 1934
Sitting at one of the tables, it’s possible to imagine the bar just as it would have been 40, 50 or even 60 years ago with tuxedoed barmen (always men in those days) polishing silver Martini olive spoons (500 gallons of gin were loaded up before each transatlantic sailing), before serving the perfectly shaken and stirred cocktails to the elite of America and Europe as they travelled on this five-day long party.
The Observation Bar, 2008
You can see from the pictures above just how well the physical presentation of the bar has survived through nearly 3/4 of a century, but the clientele have changed somewhat over the last 70 years….
Usually, when somebody says they’ve hit “rock bottom” it’s not a good sign. when I hit Rock Bottom, though, Holy Mother of God it’s a GOOD sign!
Rock Bottom is a chain of 32 breweries from Seattle to San Diego to Boston that offer so much more than a glass of Bud Lite when it’s “that time” of the day. I’ve had the privilege of eating and drinking in outlets in Bellevue and Seattle, WA as well as Denver and Colorado Springs, CO and Long Beach and San Diego, CA.
I can honestly say that the consistency of the on-premise breweries are spot on. The only vegan food at Rock Bottom is french fries or a “ball park pretzel” - both of which have sufficient carbohydrates and/or salt/fat to soak up some of the amazing beer.
Only last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be in Long Beach where I visited the Rock Bottom and enjoyed several pints of Dry Hopped Red straight from the cask, pulled expertly from one of two beer engines, the other of which contained Vanilla Stout.
The ale had all the constituents necessary for a perfect palate. From the initial hoppy aroma through the sumptuous gulps of smooth malty goodness rounded off by a slap in the face of dry hops as an aftertaste I was completely hooked. This beer can be better than stuff back home in England (not always, but sometimes!), and I can highly recommend it.
I’ve been to Yard House outlets in Long Beach, Pasadena and Palm Desert, although there quite a few in the chain. What I like best is the selection of beers on tap (usually over 100) and a very nicely prepared vegan option on the menu. What better way to enjoy four beers than by ordering two half-yards of beer (or one yard if you’re feeling rather adventurous and have strong biceps).
Sitting at the bar (and this is a real bar: black granite and stainless steel with cared-for keg pumps by the polytope, and nice seats to boot) one can choose from by far the best selection of beers in any bar probably anywhere.
I usually order Young’s Double Chocolate Stout which is also served from a keg back home so tastes almost the same as in the White Hart (incidentally a pub that Roger Waters can often be found drinking in).
Oh yes, a Yard House is a GREAT way to drink away the afternoon with nice beer and chilled edamame served just right. Do it. Do it now. You know it makes sense. And, there’s a Yard House under construction at LA Live right now, due to open at the end of the year so we Los Angelinos will have less distance to travel.
See the rest of this post for more pictures…
The intersection of Wilshire and La Brea used to be one of the most famous crossings in LA. It was through here that the glitterati would be driven, gin-sodden, from an event in Hollywood to food, drinks, ladies of the night and (finally) bed at those catty-cornered sin bins of the Golden Age: The Brown Derby and the Ambassador Hotel. I guess scarcely a glance would be afforded to the Wilson Building, once listed for its historical importance (LA’s only dirigible landing station, destined to have flights direct from the Empire State), and now rudely emblazoned with a gaudy, blue neon Samsung logo.
Half a century since Charles Chaplain Jr. hung out at Pierinos, a drink of a very similar sounding name (Peroni) is making its way to that storied intersection by way of the Little Bar at 757 S. La Brea, only a block from Wilshire, and within easy walking distance of the El Rey.
(see the Wilson building, center-right with the Samsung sign? UGH!)
The Little Bar is a nice neighborhood joint with a balanced list of pros and cons:
Pros
- Great beer selection: 15 top-class beers on tap including rare brews like Chimay
- Always easy to get a seat
Cons
- Indifferent, almost rude service
- Locals and regulars get all the attention - they ride their bikes around the bar, push in front of patient customers (like me!) and get served whenever they want to.
- The juke box is awful, the audio quality of the speakers is shitty
- The credit card printer takes 5 minutes to process the fucking card swipe
- There’s no hard alcohol
- The seats (although available) are uncomfortable
- People order pizzas constantly and eat them at the bar
- There’s one man’s restroom which has dried puke on the floor (been there for over a month)
BUT, I’ll probably go there a few times a month because you can park on Olympic and Cochran after 6pm, and walk to the bar easily. If the constant smell of pizza and inane music don’t put me off I might keep frequenting the place so I have the opportunity to become a regular and become assimilated into the holier than though clique called the Little Bar clientele.
i try to avoid hollywood boulevard at all costs. the stench of vagrants and the irritating tourists who stop every few steps to goggle at stars on the walk of fame are enough to drive any LA native crazy. unfortunately, i find myself there quite often, usually attending a concert at either the music box or the avalon.
and as all experienced concert-goers know, when attending a gig, the band usually doesn’t start until hours after the doors open. so rather than standing in front of an empty stage surrounded by assholes and drinking 8 dollar beers, i usually spend those hours wandering around hollywood boulevard looking for a bar.
luckily, a couple months ago, i happened upon this place:
the frolic room is a great little dive bar, located at hollywood and vine, right next to the pantages theatre.
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a lot of bars aren’t open on easter sunday. fortunately, naja’s place in redondo beach is. while this is supposed to be a blog of vegan things, i can’t find anything more inspiring to write about in my first post than beer…hoppy, tap beer. and i will throw in some hummus as well, so this post will technically qualify as a vegan post. hummus is vegan. now, back to the beer…
naja’s is a great place to go if you love beer; they must have about 20-30 different choices on tap. the service is pretty crap, though (unless you happen to be one of the toothless “regulars” who makes out with the bartendress while the rest of us are waiting for our drinks).
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