Allston Yacht Club

1320 Echo Park Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90026-3318
(213) 481-0454
allstonyachtclub.com/
twitter.com/aycrestaurant

Parking: Metered & Free Street Parking
Days: Tuesday-Saturday
Times: 5:30-7pm
Drink Deals: $4 Tap & Bottle Beers, $5 Well Drinks & Select Wines by the Glass, $20 Select Wines by the Bottle; $7 Specialty Cocktails
Food Deals: $4-6 Small Plates
Extra Deals: Wicked Wednesday: $20 Select Bottles of Wine + $5 for all items on food menu
UnBrunch Sunday: $2 off beer, wine, and cocktails with any food purchase from 4-9pm.

Allston Yacht Club is located in a very warm space on Echo Park Blvd., just north of Sunset. The dining room is not much larger than a large dining room in a home, so it’s cozy. The walls are painted a warm yellow that picks up the Western setting sun during a summertime Happy Hour and the walls adorned with artsy posters. On top of that, the waitresses are very nice, so much as letting 2 on-their-way-to-drunk-asses (that’d be Kitty Packard & yours truly) sample the excess Basement Window martini they had made for another table.

I was glad to finally have a chance to visit the spot since I had heard good things about its Tuesday-Saturday Happy Hour and its Wicked Wednesdays with every item on the food menu item for just $5 and $20 select wine bottles all night, plus I really like the fact that it has Yacht Club in its name! KP and I found our way this time on a Saturday night after a terrific classic film screening of WILD RIVER at the LA Film Festival and before an art show at our friend’s gallery exhibiting hand-drawn maps of the LA area. A very hip night indeed – ripe for a hip Happy Hour!!

Don’t let the Yacht Club name trick you into thinking it’s all Cape Cod drinks and Maine Lobsters with dudes in madras shorts and loafers with no socks (I don’t know – I think I’m just cobbling together all my stereotypes of rich “Yalies” at a yacht club :) - the AYC is actually kind of a gourmet restaurant/bar whose website description sums it up well: “Serving up creative cocktails, eclectic small plates, good wines by the glass.”

Complimentary Spiced Chickpeas and $5 Farnese Montepulciano

Happy Hour falls along those lines as well and we set about to ordering the 2 glasses of Farnese Montepulciano, a very smooth red wine that’s definitely light enough for summer and several appetizers – Fries with Chimichurri (a parsley and garlic pureed dipping sauce) for $4, Flatbread with Swiss cheese and Shitake mushrooms for $6, and Jalapeno & Corn Fritters for $5. Everything tasted delicious – I especially loved the corn fritters with their crunchy outside texture and hint of spiciness and the Chimichurri dipping sauce with the fries.

Fries w/ Chimichurri ($4) and Jalapeno & Corn Fritters ($5)


Flatbread ($6)

Be warned that “small plates” does mean kind of small plates (except for the fries, which were more medium plate – KP and I went in pretty hungry and the small plates were almost just enough, but still left us slightly hungry. A visit to Barragan’s would remedy this, though I’m sure one more item from the Small Plates menu would have done it too!

Although I did kind of want to be adventurous with the $7 specialty cocktail Happy Hour list (including the Allston Sunrise (Vodka, Campari, Canton, Tangerine), a Dark & Stormy (with Peach-infused Dark Rum (yum!), Fresh Lime, and Ginger Beer), and more), I stuck with the Montepulciano for Drink #2 and KP had the Falernia Pedro Ximenez wine – a crisp and summery white wine. As mentioned above, our kindly waitress/bartender let us taste-test one of the Basement Window, a non-HH drink priced at $9. We were told that it would taste like a Tootsie Roll, which it totally did with its odd, but inventive mix of Tequila, Kahlua, and Pomegranate.

Happy Hour does run a little short – just an hour and a half on Tuesday-Saturday, but it’s all good with its Wicked Wednesdays and the fun sounding “Unbrunch Sundays” with $2 off beer, wine, and cocktails with any food purchase from 4-9pm.

--JB

Rating: 4 Martinis

Weiland Brewery Underground

505 S Flower Street
Suite B-410
Los Angeles 90071
213-622-1125
www.weilandbreweryla.com *NEW Site!twitter.com/weilandbrewery

Parking: Downtown street parking + just blocks from the 7th St. Metro Station (Blue & Red Line stop)
Days: Monday-Friday
Times: 3-7pm AND 10pm-close
Drink Deals: $2.50 Draft Beers (4 Weiland Brewery Beers), Swell regular prices on other drinks
Food Deals: Bar food bites running from only $1 - $4.95

What can you say when a bar’s greatest attribute is its weirdness, its idiosyncratic and unbelievable location? How David Lynch should consider it for one of his character’s regular hangouts? Well, I guess that’s what you can say! And I for one totally dig it. In fact, I will volunteer to be the David Lynch character.

View looking up next to the WBR Underground Building

See, Weiland Brewery Underground sits in a food court 2 floors below the 52-story City National Bank Tower on Flower St. in downtown LA and it features 2 nightly Happy Hours – from 3-7pm and 10pm-close. The bar is closed on Saturday and Sunday – I guess because it caters to a business clientele that just isn’t there on the weekends. That sounds about right since when JG visited their Little Tokyo location for happy hour, it was pretty popular lawyers and court house officials. But when Kitty Packard and I visited on a Thursday night late Happy Hour (post-Library party, true story), there didn’t seem to be much clientele either – all of the other food court restaurants were closed and the empty space felt a little post-apocalyptic/Overlook Manor from THE SHINING. Maybe both! Add to that a weird Teddy Roosevelt statue and a Kronenberg beer sign when they didn’t even sell Kronenberg and you’ve got yourself one weird Happy Hour!

Spooky Quiet Food Court!

Entrance to WBR Underground

Despite this strange experience of going to a zombie-ready Happy Hour 2 floors beneath one of the city’s tallest buildings, the Happy Hour was actually pretty cool. The food and drink prices were AMAZING! KP and I had 2 beers each and shared 3 appetizers and in the end, only paid $13.50/person with tip!!

Drink Rounds 1 and 2

For drinks, we had the 2 rounds of beers – the first round was not on Happy Hour, but still, we only paid $4 each for my Strongbow Cider and KP’s Pilsner Urquell. For the second round, we went with the $2.50 Happy Hour drafts – the WBR Honey Blonde Ale and WBR Hefeweizen, both totally (more than) fine for $2.50! For food, we shared an order of Fresh Cut Garlic Fries ($2.95) – very garlic-y, but great if you like garlic(!); Sam Adam’s Onion Rings ($2.95) – in which you could definitely taste that delish beer batter; and Cheddar & Jack Cheese Quesadilla ($2.95) – very tasty as well. The food was definitely bar food, but it was pretty good and again, remarkably well-priced.

Fries & Onion Rings (both $2.95)

Quesadilla ($2.95)

I also loved, loved, loved the awesome jukebox which played David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, Morrissey, Elvis, the Clash, and more during our visit. And I also love that WBR Underground hosts a Thursday night trivia. Although the start time is early (6pm), that at least gives you one good Happy Hour hour of booze and bites.

Trivia must have finished up a bit before we arrived at 10pm, but there was still a handful of people at the bar and by the time we left, it was up to maybe 15 or so people. Not a lot, but not bad for the strangest location ever! I guess maybe WBR Underground has a small following in the know about the awesome Happy Hour prices!

Check out the Little Tokyo location if you’re in the mood for good prices on a Saturday or Sunday night!

Teddy Roosevelt(?) & yours truly

--JB

Rating: 4 Martinis

Boneyard Bistro

13539 Ventura Blvd.

Sherman Oaks, CA
818.906.7427www.boneyardbistro.com
twitter.com/boneyardbistro

Parking: $4.50 valet or $2 for 2 hours metered street parking

Days: Monday-FridayTimes: 4:30-6:30pmDrink Deals: 25% off Draft Beers & glasses of Wine. $4 Wells, $7 Daily CocktailFood Deals: $4-12 on comfort food bites

It’s so hard to go to happy hour at a great place like Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks because you want to eat EVERYTHING! Since I’ve recently gotten into the Cardio Barre workout (love it!), I’ve been a bit more cautious about what I eat. Not to worry though, I’m a Midwestern girl with an appetite so I’m always going to dig in… just now I may be putting in an extra workout as a result.

Boneyard Bistro is all about the BBQ and an interesting take on comfort food. The happy hour menu features 10 items from hummus & pita ($4) to a rib basket ($12). My friend, Arielle, and I ordered the Fried Mac & Cheese ($4), Bacon-wrapped Kobe Meatloaf Sliders ($7) served with a side of coleslaw, and Ragin’ Cajun Gator Tacos ($9). Yes, the tacos are made with real gator meat flown in from Louisiana. Once upon a time, I had gator nuggets on a trip to Mardi Gras, but don’t really remember anything about them (perhaps it was all the hurricanes?) so I was willing to be daring again. The gator meat is lightly breaded with cornmeal like most catfish dishes, and it has a texture between fish and chicken. The tacos were pretty tasty and I’m sure to remember them this time. Hands down my favorite dish was the Bacon-wrapped Kobe Meatloaf Sliders! The bacon! The meatloaf! The crispy onions! I could easily eat a regular sized sandwich of that, but it’s probably better they stay slider size.

Bacon-wrapped Kobe Meatloaf Sliders ($7 for two + coleslaw)

Ragin’ Cajun Gator Tacos ($9)

During happy hour, all draft beers and glasses of wine are 25% off. I had the Stoldman Sauvignon Blanc ($7.50) and my friend, Arielle, ordered a Russian River Redemption beer ($4.50) at the suggestion of the bartender. There are 42 beers on draft that are always changing so there’s something for everyone! If you’re a fan of The Surly Goat in West Hollywood, then you would definitely love Boneyard Bistro. As for cocktails, there is a different cocktail featured each day for $7 and judging by the bar set-up of eye droppers, different bottles of bitters, and more, a cocktail is always sure to be a good one. On my visit, the featured drink was the Panama Hat, but the bar got so busy that I didn’t get to find out what was in it.

Drinking wine for a good cause

42 ever changing beers on draft!

In addition to the amazing food and drinks, the service was pretty outstanding, too. The staff didn't break a sweat as the place got crowded, and one bartender even kept his cool when a rude guy walked in and placed a difficult to-go order. I was impressed because I would have told that guy “To Go!” The bartender, Quinton, was even great about helping us select dishes and even pointing out other popular dishes on the menu or as they were being served to other people. Damn him. That was so nice of him.

Big thanks to Arielle for introducing to me to this amazing happy hour!

There’s no doubt that I will be back to Boneyard Bistro for happy hour.

-JG
Rating: 5 Martinis

Villains Tavern

1356 Palmetto
Los Angeles, CA 91003
(213) 613-0766 ‎
villainstavern.com
twitter.com/VillainsTavern

Parking: Free lot, street parking in the Arts District
Days: Tuesday-Saturday
Times: All the time
Drink Deals: Not technically a Happy Hour – $3 Schlitz, Tecate, and Bud Light; $8 for a Draft Beer with a shot
Food Deals: Nyet, but appetizers range from $4-6

If you’re going to get all technical on me, Villains doesn’t technically have a Happy Hour. But that’s just a technicality because really, what’s not Happy about $3 Schlitz Tall Boys all the damn time?! Especially at a cool ass space that looks like the best of the Wild West mixed with a little Gothic Romance, a side of Steampunk, and more artsy folks than you could shake your fist at!

The bro was in town visiting before his upcoming move (yeah for the visit, boo for the move) and he & Booze & I had already taken the subway to Chinatown and Little Tokyo, where we’d hit Far Bar (no weekend Happy Hour); then moseyed through the Arts District, where we’d hoped to visit Yxta Cocina Mexicana, one of the rare downtown Saturday Happy Hours I had hoped to review. Unfortunately, they were closed for a private event, so we hauled bootay over to Villains, whose goodness had been extolled by everyone from JG to Booze to Kitty Packard.

I was excited to finally visit the spot and loved it upon arrival – there’s a big free parking lot that leads right into the double-wide doors, which lead right into the heart of the bar, which sits in front of this amazing wooden mirror art. From the bar looking out, there are hundreds of colored glass bottles sitting on shelves along the large glass windows, filtering the light in their rainbow colors. There’s seating inside and outside and best of all, upstairs. This is where the Wild West comes in – sitting upstairs, I felt like I was in an old Western shanty-town keeping tabs on all the locals. Very cool.

Besides the $3 Schlitz, Villains also offers $3 Bud Lights & Tecates (which they had run out of). On top of that, they’ve got a wide selection of draft beers served in glass mugs for $6 – add a shot and it’s only $8. For a medium-sized draft beer + shot, it’s $10 and for a large w/shot, it’s $16. Prices go up for Premium & Super Premium drinks.

Not as budget friendly are the $10 wines by the glass, the $12-13 specialty drinks, and sadly, the awesome $9 Sno-Cone Fix that Villains is known for. Pick any fruit and any spirit and they’ll make you up a delicious grown-up Sno-Cone treat; I don’t think I’ve had a better cocktail in recent days than the fantastic Strawberry & Rum concoction I ordered. Booze got Lemon & Vodka, which was all right, but man, mine was better :).

As we had dinner plans to visit Wurstküche just a few blocks away, we forwent the dining experience at Villains, though I definitely plan to sample some vittles next time I visit. In the past, JG has tried the Grilled Cheese with Bacon Marmalade and loved how crispy the sandwich was. Some other exciting Happy Hour-y food options include Fire Roasted Corn on the Cob ($4), Bourbon Bacon Caramel Corn ($5), Wicked Fries w/ Parmesan & Parsley ($6), and Indian Peas – Deep Fried Chick Peas dusted with Chili-Lemon Sea Salt ($5). Dios mio, I’m salivating just thinking about my next visit!!

Slushie Station!

Final note – I mentioned arty folks at the bar, don’t be alarmed, it’s not Hipster Heaven, it’s more like “Shiiiiiiiiit… Anything Goes.” Everyone seemed super-chill from the nice bartender ladies to the other patrons to the cool bouncer enforcing the Dress Code at the door. The Dress Code sign leads me to believe the scene might get a little rowdier at night, but hey for a Saturday afternoon adventure, we say – head downtown!

-JB

Rating: 4 Martinis (pretty good for a non-Happy Hour!)

Robert Mondavi Discover Wine Tour at LA Wine Festival

In celebration of the late Robert Mondavi’s 98th birthday on June 18th, we present to you “The Happy Hour Tour goes to the Robert Mondavi Discover Wine Tour!”

Put simply, Robert Mondavi believed that when it came to wine drinking, you should like what you drink and drink what you like. The Robert Mondavi Discover Wine Tour, an 11-city tour now in its 6th year, was founded on that platform – to democratize the sometimes-snootiness of wine appreciation and help everyday people decide what kinds of wine they like.

Keep it coming, my friend!

As the Happy Hour Tour was also founded on pretty much the same “Power to the People” and have fun while drinking and eating well idea, we were happy to be invited to visit the RMDWT (the HHT loves acronyms!) during its first-ever stop in Los Angeles – at the LA Wine Festival, held over June 11-12th at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. Set near the entrance of the multi-lot fest, the RMDWT stood out with its vineyard-inspired décor, long tasting bar, and education stations with information about aromatics (subtle aromas and flavors present in every wine), the Mondavi company-timeline, and several iPads with pictures from past RMDWT stops and food pairing recipes.

Aromatics Information Station

After perusing the information, we realized we had made it just in time for a Mondavi master-class, where we sampled 4 wines from the Robert Mondavi Private Selection (one of the four Mondavi lines now owned by Constellation) in awesome recyclable Govino glasses:

• Riesling – A very delicious Riesling that wasn’t too sweet, with a touch of sharpness and taste of honeysuckle
• Chardonnay, Central Coast – a slightly smoky tasting Chardonnay that would go perfectly with soft cheeses or fettuccini alfredo
• Pinot Noir, Central Coast – apparently ever since SIDEWAYS, this wine has become more and more popular – RM’s Private Selection was slightly smoky as well, a nice lighter red wine
• Meritage, Central Coast – a combination of the words Merit & Heritage and a Bordeaux style belend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, andCabernes Franc – again a lighter red – that I wish I took more notes on, but I was trying not to get stung by a bee – true story!

Class is in session!

While sampling the wines, we learned more about Mr. Mondavi’s story – how he was born in Minnesota to a family of Italian immigrants. After Prohibition hit, the family relocated the family to California –seeing a business opportunity brought on by the Prohibition clause wherein families were allowed to produce 200 gallons of their own wine every year. After working in the industry for some time, the Mondavi family purchased the Charles Krug Winery in 1943. In 1966, Robert Mondavi had left the family business and created the Robert Mondavi Winery, headquartered in Napa Valley, and in 1979, he expanded his wine empire with the Woodbridge Winery in the Central Coast.

We also learned the 4 S’s of Wine Sampling:

• See – looking for clarity in the wine
• Swirl – releasing the aromatics, which you can then…
• Sniff – quick sniffs of the wine from the top of the glass
• Sip – YUM!

Apparently, there’s a six-step process as well, but we like whatever gets us to drinking the wine quicker! The seminar was very interesting and helpful, and with just enough of a sales pitch that you might want to visit the wineries – or at the very least sample the Woodbridge Brut Champagne that our teacher mentioned was her favorite. We will admit that it was pretty tasty.

Genius Invention, the Wine Lanyard!

After our stop at the RMDWT, we made our way throughout the rest of the fest, making sure to buy and wear our own wine lanyards, quite possibly the most ingenious invention of the last 50 years. We enjoyed sampling from some of the more boutique labels along with trying out bites from Bread Basket Cake (OMG-good truffles!) and Tsunami Sushi and Strictly Vegan Jamaican Cuisine. We were very, very impressed with the organization of the fest, never waiting more than 2 minutes in line for a drink, and the nice crowd of LA-wine fans!

Who doesn't love a sushi mascot?!

Thanks to Max Benesi and Jenn Guillette of Grand Central Marketing and to the Robert Mondavi Discover Wine Tour for hosting us. The tour is making its way through the rest of the US, we recommend checking it out at:

• Denver, CO | July 2-4 – Cherry Creek Arts Festival
• Atlantic City, NJ | July 29-31 – Atlantic City Food * Wine Festival
• Lenox, MA | August 19-21 – Tanglewood
• Royal Oak, MI | September 2-5 – Arts, Beats & Eats
• Chicago, IL | Sept. 24-25 – Chicago Gourmet
• Philadelphia, PA | October 21-23 – Philadelphia Wine & Food Festival

If all this makes you want to watch SIDEWAYS or BOTTLE SHOCK, join the club – they’re in my Netflix queue now! Can’t wait to curl up with a nice glass of… guess what?!

--JB

Primo

JW Marriott Starr Pass Tucson Resort & Spa
3800 W Starr Pass Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85745
(520) 792-6071
primo.jwmarriottstarrpass.com/

Parking: $10 Valet at the Hotel or Self-Guest Parking (follow Servance Entrance road)
Days: Tuesday-Sunday
Times: 5:30-6:30pm
Drink Deals: $5 Specialty Cocktails and Well Drinks; $4 Draft Beers
Food Deals: $5 Select Bar Food Items

Nestled into the mountains on the West side of Tucson sits the fancy Starr Pass Marriott resort, built to house wedding parties, conventions, and students’ and snow-birds’ visiting families. Come Memorial Day weekend when those with the means to get out of hot Tucson are gone, the remaining locals will find excellent deals at local hotels like this.

We had the same idea as quite a few other folks – hauling our bums to spend an afternoon in the cool pools and Lazy Rivers (a slight misnomer due to the high winds you had to contend with to make it around said Lazy River) of the Starr Pass Marriott. Of course, being on a Happy Hour Tour, you are always on the lookout for a good Happy Hour time, which we happily found at Starr Pass’ Primo restaurant.

Sufficiently sun-burned, our happy gang of AP and her husband, MP, her bro, Nate-Dogg, and our friend, MF-er (close to her real name :) headed down to Primo to meet up with our high school valedictorian friend and his fiancée over a fun Happy Hour meal.

The Happy Hour at Primo is short – only 5:30-6:30pm, but it offers tasty $5 cocktails and well drinks that normally go for $10 – so we made sure to be there early. Drink early and often. The food deals aren’t as great – Primo offers a couple different $5 options from their light bites menu; the rest of those options still cost anywhere from $7-20. Still – those prices seem a little better for a big group since you get to sample more options!

Copperhead Pale Ale & Piatti Margarita; Blood Orange Martini & Berry Lemonade

For drinks, we tried the:
• Blood Orange Martini – Vodka Shaken w/ Blood Orange Puree, Triple Sec, and Cranberry Juice
• Piatti Margarita – Tequila & Triple Sec w/ fresh-made Sweet & Sour
• Gin-Thyme – Gin w/ Thyme & Citrus, mixed with Club Soda, and a splash of Celery Bitters (my favorite – a strange, but nice blend of savory and refreshing)
• Berry Lemonade – Citrus Vodka & Strawberry Puree with fresh-squeezed Lemonade • Full Sail Amber Draft - $4
• Barrio Coppherhead Pale Ale Draft - $4
And for food, we had the:

Fried Olives – Lightly Breaded and stuffed with their own house Italian Sausage - $5 ($9 normally)

Grape Leaves – Stuffed with Black Mesa Ranch goat cheese and herbs - $14


Carciofi Alla Giudea – Fried Artichokes, Lemon, Parmesan, and Garlic & Aioli - $11

Fritto Misto – Mixed Fry of Calamari, Shrimp, & Vegetables - $5 Special ($14 normally)

Summer Squash Pizza w/ Ricotta - $15


Gnocco Fritto (Fried Gnocci) – Tossed in Garlic w/ Parmesan and garlic, served with Pomodoro Sauce) - $7

All the food was excellent and I really loved having the variety of items to choose from. One of my favorite bites was the Fried Artichokes, but they didn’t seem too popular with the rest of the group. More for me (though really, you can only eat so many Fried Artichokes!). I also loved the pizza and its creamy Ricotta cheese!

The general vibe of Primo is upscale hotel dining, but it was still cozy enough to have a variety of seating options, including our high-top table that accommodated our party of 7 and the mounds of food & beverage we consumed! Like most Hotel bars/restaurants, it seems like deals may change often – so head on over soon!

--JB

Rating: 3 Martinis (4 Martinis if you’re an actual guest and have easy access to the restaurant!)