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.

After being closed for about a year, Echo Parks El Prado is open again. If you want a cool yuppie trendy hangout then this is the place for you. I will never go back though. This former latino clientele neighborhood bar was another victim of Echo Parks gentrification. The bar was gutted out and remodeled and retains nothing of its former life. It’s plain interior is accompanied by its expensive beer prices.

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.

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.

The Best Happy Hour

Not the typical kind of bar I like to visit. In fact although I know hotels have bars in them, I really don’t consider those as bars – they are, well, hotels. But while looking out the window on my bus ride from home one day, I noticed a banner on the marquee announcing a happy hour with $2 budweisers. So the next day i made a point of stopping in. It’s a not a super nice hotel but the bar area looks nice. There are a couple of large TVs showing sports and a jukebox with oldies and top 40 music.

The Happy Hour special is quiet good. A 16 ounce Bud or Bud Light on tap is only $2. Yes just $2. And the bartender is friendly and constantly offering snacks including fresh popcorn. The promotion is new and the manager is hoping word of mouth will increase patronage. For now though, its a good place for some cheap beers with snack in a well air-conditioned and not crowded place.

Le Barcito, Silverlake Lounge and Club Chapala

I just found out the Le Barcito switched owners. The bar is exactly the same. I guess the new owner is happy with the current format. UPDATE!!! (6-5-08) I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP IS NOT TRUE. I GUESS I SHOULDN’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING I HEAR IN A BAR. LOL. I THINK THE PERSON THAT TOLD ME WAS CONFUSING LE BAR WITH LEBARCITO. Also ex bartender at Le Barcito, Sal, has a new job at the Silverlake Lounge down the street on Fridays Saturdays and Sundays. Local bar patron Brian also DJs there on Saturday afternoons (4-8pm)

In sad news, it appears Club Chapala is up for sale (pic coming soon). Darn, I have only lived in the neighbood less than a year and things are already changing. That is the closest bar to my house. I will miss it when its gone. It appears to be the effects of the bad economy and maybe immigration raids. Latinos are opting to stay in more and more.

Friday Night at Cancun Ole – Club 81

I was initially going to stay in but my homie Jose asked me if i wanted to go out for a while. I recommended Club 81 since i love 80s music, it was nearby and i had just received a MySpace friend request for it that day. So off we went to Cancun Ole restaurant and club. What a dissapointment! The place is tiny and we immediately felt unwelcomed. There was a birthday party going on so most of the people in there seemed to know eachother. also because of the party, every single table had a reserved sign on it even though there was no on sitting there. We had to stand up near the bar and fend off people constantly brusing by us to order drinks. One good thing was the my other homie Jesus staggered into the place unexpectedly. That was a surprise. I didn’t know he had ever heard of the place b4. So we had a couple beers with him and his friends before finally leaving due to the increased uncomfortableness brought on by the stange looks of other guys. It’s not like I’m a gangbanger. I may have a shaved head but I aint no cholo nor do i dress like like one.

So we went to Club Chico in Montebello only to find out there was a cover charge which we were not in the mood for paying. So we quickly went to Almas bar in East LA where there was no cover and cheap beers. All we wanted was one more drink b4 heading home so that place worked out perfectly.

Club Chabelitas – Downey

Memorial Sunday I went to Rebel Rumble at Chabelitas bar. There were 4 rockabilly bands plus a DJ. The crowd was good and i had fun even though I went on my own. My friends don’t have the same interests as me. They like going to the same old bars all the time while I like to try different things. After 2 pitchers there, I called a buddy that lives nearby and we walked across the street to Gardens bar for a couple beers. It was a fun Memorial Day afternoon. I went home and crashed and didn’t go out in the evening.

Monday I went to Club Tempo for a tardeada. I was home early enough to recooperate for work on tuesday.

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.

View Larger Map

This past Saturday, i was hanging out with my homie in Casa India Restaurant. It’s mostly a bar but does serve good food if you want it. Despite the tiles on the wall that makes it look like the inside of a bathroom, the place can be quite fun. The beers are just 2 dollars and the brand new humongous refrigerator keeps the beers nice and cold. So after 5 beers and some food – i stepped out to El Pollo Loco for chicken – i was off to the bus stop to return home.

That’s when i saw what looked like the aftermath of a fight between a group of skaters and another group, which i did not see because of my late arrival. I snapped some pics of it (location Spring and 9th). You can make up your mind what happened.

35er – Pasadena
5157 – Hollywood
Airliner – Lincoln Park
Akbar – Silverlake
Alibis – Pomona
Alices Palace – El Monte
Almansor Court – Alhambra
Almas – ELA
Angelicas – Commerce
Apache / Fuel – NOHO
Arena – Hollywood
At My Place – Santa Monica
Atados – Mid City
Autobar – Silverlake
Bar 107/Score – Downtown
Bar by 1350 – Wilmington
Bar by Blue Line – Huntington Park
Bar By Westchester – LAX
Bar on LA Brea near Melrose – Hollywood
Bar Tu Y Yo – ELA
Barra – Hollywood
BB Kings – Universal Citywalk
Belly West – Alhambra
Bit – Arcadia
Blacklite – Hollywood
Blvd – Boyle Heights
Boom Boom Room – Beach
Boulevard – ELA
Boulevard – Pasadena
Bowling Alley – Glendale
Bravo – OC
Brite Star – Glendora
Brown Barrel – Azusa
Bufalo – ELA
Bullet – NOHO
C Friends – Reseda
CA Nightclub – Lincoln Park
Cabana – Bell
Cabos – Pasadena
Cal Tiki Bar Tolo – ELA
California Pool Hall – ELA
Casa de Parton – Maywood
Cascada – ELA
Central City Cafe – Downtown
C’est Si Bon – Westminster
Chabelitas – Downey
Chalet – Eagle Rock
Charlie Ohs – Downtown
Charro – Mid City
Chatterbox – West Covina
Chavalas – Reseda
Chavas – Downtown
Chico – Montebello
Chubasco – Echo Park
Chuys Playroom – ELA
CIA – NOHO
Cid – Silverlake
Circus – Hollywood
Cita – Downtown
Club 21 – Monterey Park
Club 740 L- BC
Coco Bongos – Universal Citywalk
Coles – Downtown
Colombos – Eagle Rock
Colorado – Pasadena
Compadre – Echo Park
Corner Club – Chinatown
Costena – Downtown
Craby Joes – Downtown
Crest – LBC
Cuffs – Silverlake
Daves – Glendale
Davids Den – Tarzana
Deloys – ELA
Detour/4100 – Silverlake
Diamante – ELA
Diamond – Pico Rivera
Dos Amigos – ELA
Dos Oros – ELA
Durango – Huntington Park
Dustins – Highland Park
Eagle/Guantlet – Silverlake
Echo – Echo Park
El Rey – Mid City
El Saloon – South Gate
Elvas – Huntington Park
Encounters – Pasadena
Erickas – ELA
Executive Suite-  LBC
Faultline – Silverlake
Fiesta – Downtown
Fiesta – Cantina WEHO
Fire Island I – LBC
Fire Island II – LBC
Five Stars – Downtown
Fluxx – Bellflower
Footsies – Lincoln Park
Frathouse – OC
Friendship – Beach
Frolic Room – Hollywood
Fubar – WEHO
Gage Bowl – Maywood
Gig – Hollywood
Ginas/Papis – Commerce
Gold Coast – WEHO
Gold Room – Echo Park
Golden Gopher – Downtown
Good Hurt – Westside
Grasshopper – Hollywood
Guardsman – Downey
Guatalinda – Hollywood
Hanks – Downtown
Hi-D-Ho – ELA
Hookup – Pomona
India – Downtown
Indiana – ELA
Jalisco – Downtown
JC Tavern – Downey
Jox – NOHO
Karlas – ELA
Kat Club – WEHO
Kikos – Huntington Park
King Eddy – Downtown
Kitty Kat – Huntington Park
Kulauh – Huntington Park
La Boom – Downtown
LA Cita Bar – ELA
La Fiesta Sports Bar-  ELA
La Victoria – Reseda
La Villa Basque – Vernon
Lamplighter/Farol-  ELA
Le Bar / Cha Cha Lounge – Silverlake
Le Barcito – Silverlake
Le Blanc – Lincoln Park
Lil Pedros – Downtown
Litos Cork Room – ELA
LIttle Cave – Highland Park
Little Joy-  Echo Park
Lodge – NOHO
Lorenas – ELA
Louisas – ELA
Lucky Baldwins – Pasadena
M&Ms – El Monte
Mals – Downtown
Marcelinos – Lincoln Park
Mariscos – ELA
Mariscos Puerto Escondido – ELA
Memos – ELA
Metropolis – OC
Mi Hacienda – Whittier
Michaels – Azusa
Mickeys – WEHO
Milas – ELA
Mirimar – ELA
Mistys – Maywood
MJs/Woodys – Silverlake
Moctezuma – ELA
Montebello Inn – Montebello
Moose McGillicuddys – Pasadena
Motherlode – WEHO
Mr Ts – Highland Park
Muse – Pasadena
Naco – Westlake
Nardis – Pasadena
Nata – ELA
Noa Noa – Maywood
Noa Noa – Whittier
Normandy Room-  Bell
Nuevo Carioca – Boyle Heights
Numbers – WEHO
Oasis – Upland
Office – Lincoln Park
Oil Can Harrys – NOHO
Olmos – ELA
Other Side – Silverlake
Over the Boarder – Chula Vista
OZZ – OC
Ozzies – Pico Rivera
Palamar – Bell
Palomas-  ELA
Palomino/El Club – Huntington Park
Paradise – ELA
Paraiso – Downtown
Parlour – WEHO
Pauls Cocktail – Bar Bell
Peanuts / 7760 – WEHO
Pistons – LBC
Plaza – Hollywood
Plush Cellar – Lincoln Park
Produce Tavern – Downtown
Qs – Pasadena
Qs – Whittier
Rage – WEHO
Rancho Alegre – ELA
Rawhide/Cobra – NOHO
Red Lion – Silverlake
Red Rock – WEHO
Reds/Chapurosa – ELA
Redwood Room – Maywood
Rincon Latino – Bell
Rinconcito – Huntington Park
Ripples – LBC
Robbies – Pomona
Rodriguez – ELA
Roost – Atwater
Roosterfish – Beach
Rudolphos – Silverlake
Sabor Lounge – Downtown
Scene – Glendale
Shady Bradys – Arcadia
Short Stop – Echo Park
Shuttle – Lakewood
Silver Cue Pool Hall – Huntington Park
Silver Platter-  Westlake
Silver Rail – NOHO
Silverfox – LBC
Silverlake Lounge – Silverlake
Snakepit – Hollywood
Spaceland – Silverlake
Spike – WEHO
Spikes – Rosemead
Spotlite – Hollywood
Stone Bar – Hollywood
Study – Hollywood
Sugar Shack – Huntington Park
Tango Room – Westlake
Tarasco – El Sereno
Tee Gees – Atwater
Tempo-  Hollywood
Tonys – Glendale
Tonys/Rossis – Downtown
Toppers-  Beach
TQs – ELA
Trunks – WEHO
Twin Gables – Montebello
Universal City Bar and Grill – NOHO
Utopia – LBC
Valle Ranchito – Boyle Heights
Veterans Hall – Pico Rivera
Victoria – Downtown
Viper Room-  WEHO
Westchester – LAX
Wheel – Glendora 
Wild/Tortillas – Montebello
Winchester Room – Glendale
Woodys at the Beach – Beach
Zarape – Downtown
Zona Rosa San – Pedro

IS ANYONE HAPPY?

I went to Durango’s Bar in Huntington Park to take advantage of their 2 for 1 happy hour special only to discover that they no longer offer it. So I paid the $3.00 for a single Miller Lite (plus tip). I’m doing the Atkins diet and Miller Lites have only 3.2 carbs. I’m low on money this week so I headed home after that.

I guess the bad economy is hitting the bars too. Several bars I regular have increased their prices in the past 6 months. Unfortunately for Durango, it seems to have had a bad effect. The place had less than half of the customers than in the past when the happy hour special was in place. I hope that they think of some other happy hour pricing to get the customers back.

HOW ABOUT A GAME OF POOL?

Also this week after a few months absence, I went to Club Chapala in Boyle Heights. It was to reward myself after a bike ride from the City of Commerce. The place had a only a few guys in it. There used to be more. Maybe it was because the pool tables were moved to the wall and covered with cloths. I hope it’s not permanent. Maybe they had a party recently and used the tables to place food on. I hope they didn’t lose their pool table license. I know that many men like going to bars to play pool. It’s half the draw. I will check back and post my findings.