Reds Bar Ceiling
There’s a couple bars on First Street near Soto that have so far survived the construction of the Gold Line. So next fall they might actually benefit from the underground light rail station on the corner. Or God forbid that they become victims of of gentrification. Two bars I want to talk about now are Chuparosa (formerly called Redz) and Villa Ranchera. They are must sees for their ceilings. Above is a picture of Chuparosa bars album covered ceiling. Put up by the former owner, the entire ceiling is covered by records. Well not literally, there are gaps between them but you get the point. The new owner decided to keep them since the records generate a lot of attention.
Be prepared to speak spanish and it wouldn’t hurt to put on some lipstick and a dress since this is mostly a lesbian bar. A certain staff member is not the friendliest but you can at least go in for one drink and admire the ceiling. The bar is located across from the micro park where theres one of those 25 cent bathrooms.
A few doors down from the corner of Soto is Villa Ranchera. It’s easy to miss because it doesnt really look like a bar nor a restaurant from the outside. The door looks more like something you would see at a dentist office. Pictured above is the ceiling from that bar. Brightly colored ceiling boards are the best feature of this otherwise plain room. It’s usually not very full and the beers are priced cheap that you can buy a round of drinks for everyone for under 20 bucks and have some left over to pick some songs from the jukebox.
Be prepared to speak spanish. I dont think they speak anything else in there. They are open early everyday at 7AM because they do serve food although there are no menus. I guess it’s just tacos that they make. But I haven’t found out for sure.
Categories: Bar Visits · General
Another Bar Bites the Dust – and other News
Wow how time flies. It’s been a couple weeks since my last post but it felt like just a few days. So where to start. Well I’ll talk about the picture. That was Mistys bar in the city of Maywood, on Atlantic a couple blocks north of Slauson Ave. I hate to see bars close. Part of history is being lost. Plus another place for me to hang out is gone. I like variety. I like going from one place to the next. Checking out the people. Listening to different music from the jukeboxes and watching different things on the Tvs. Customarily sports are shown in bars, but its not uncommon to see news shows like Ver Para Creer, or novelas or talk shows like La Flaca y el Gordo. I might have the order reversed – so i’ll try El Gordo y La Flaca – well i still cant tell which is right.
Mistys was a small bar with a jukebox, pool table and couple of TVs. It was probably a bar from the 50s or 60s, run down by now, but part of its charm. It was always hot inside so they kept both doors open to allow circulation. It didn’t help much so it was best to get a seat where the air from one of the fans could hit you. The meseras were friendly, one example is they told me to bring my bike inside once rather than risk it being stolen outside. It was locked up but they said it was not a safe neighborhood for bikes. The bars on the doors and windows prove that point. Well Mistys is gone but there are two bars nearby to hang out instead, The Redwood Room and Bar Noa Noa, but I will still miss Mistys.
The past few weeks has been a busy time for me visiting new bars. Starting in Commerce across the street from the KMART is Alcoa Restaurant and Bar. Don’t let the restaurant in the name fool you, everyone is crowded in back area where the bar is. Its a full liquor bar with pool table and jukebox and sports showing on the TVs. I found it really by accident while waiting at the bus stop in the hot sun. I noticed men coming out of what appeared to be an empty building. Through the windows I didn’t see anyone eating, but still men were coming out. So I went inside and noticed the crowded bar area in the back. I was brought a chair and luckily was sitting near a fan and by a man which struck up a conversation withe me. A couple beers later i was back in the hot sun to get the next bus toward my house.
In Montebello there is teeny tiny bar on Beverly Boulevard called El Torito Cafe. No relation to the big restaurant chain. Blink and you may miss it. Walk in and you step back in time – boy I love those bars. The owner of the bar hasn’t remained young though. She is 81. She is fragile and can’t hear very well. I am surprised she doesn’t always have someone there to be security. Well maybe she does at night when it is busy. The place manages to fit a kitchen in the back and there is a pool table and jukebox squeezed in. The neighborhood isnt the greatest though. Next door in a small gap between buildings is where lots of guys hang out drinking and playing loud music. At first I thought it was the smoking area of the bar but it turns out that is not the case. If thats not bad, i was told a few months ago that a customer actually beat up the 81 year old owner sending her to the hospital and bringing in the police to the whole neighborhood to find the assailant. What kind of person would beat up an old woman? While I was there the man next to me appeared to be a veterano, talking about guys that had died recently. Not sure if he meant gang related deaths but I didn’t want to find out. But he wasn’t the strangest character. In walked in woman and a teenage girl. Yes a teenage girl and her mother. I guess that made it alright to order her a budweiser. I overheard them and the veterano talk about the continuation of the girls education through troubled youth programs. Once again I didn’t want to know any details. Two beers and I was out of there. I’d hate to go there when the bar is actually busy – multiply the bad characters by 10.
On Santa Monica Boulevard near Western is the Prime Time bar. A comfortable sized bar with full liquor and friendly service. Lily the bartender is quick to strike up a conversation with patrons. The bar has a high ceiling and there are interesting pictures on the walls of celebrities. I didn’t stay there long and thank goodness – the karaoke was about to start.
I made a trip out to the valley one of the hottest days of the year so far. Constantly sweating while walking down the streets – it was miserable. Sepulveda Boulevard surprisingly has few bars. I managed to find one called Liquid Zoo. Upon entering you see a long full liquor bar on the left and on the right is an area with tables and a tiny stage in the corner for performers. Its pretty narrow but the mirrors on the walls help with the claustrophobia. In the back is a small pool table. Now most bars have small pool tables but this one was even smaller. Not suitable for league play. The patrons where mostly men in the 40s and 50s. They seemed to be having a good time drinking and eating the free soup that the bar owner made. It was yummy. The only younger goodlooking person in the bar struck up a conversation with me. We talked about the baseball game on the TV, then he went into how he hated the tiny pool table. He was disappointedthat the bar had been remodeled since his last visit and that the clientele had changed along with the remodel. He missed the rowdy atmosphere and younger crowd of the bar a year ago. He hinted at drug use but i showed my disinterest in that, thinking that he maybe was some undercover cop. He and his friend left after one beer and I left soon after that.
Categories: Bar Visits · General · News
It’s time again for another bar crawl. Join us Saturday May 17th as we visit up to 10 bars (most likely less) in the Lincoln Heights/Highland Park Area. Contact me for more info or just show up. See flyer and google map link for names and addresses.
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Categories: General · News
Oh Happy Day. After over 2 months of being closed for violations – not sure what that coulda been – underage drinkers or drugs being sold – who knows – Club Chapala was open again today. Well open for cleaning but scheduled to open tomorrrow for service. YAY. It’s on the way home from from the job i recently started. How i coulda used the place during the summer as i rode my bike on those hot summer days home from work. Lets hope it stays open longer. The for sale sign is not a good sign though. But hopefully with the bad economy the property wont sell for a long time. It.s right across from the Lou Costello Senior Citizens Center.
