Posted November 10th, 2008 by Meg
Not so long ago I was having a high stress day. I was driving home from an important meeting and was sitting at a red light. My foot was on the break for a good 10 seconds. And then out of nowhere, bam!, someone had rear ended me. I screamed in terror. Apparently, the man who hit me was looking for an Altoid. God damn you curiously strong mints. My bumper was bruised with screw driver marks from his Mercedes license plate. The man said he would pay for it and we decided to not involve insurance. I immediately went to my body shop (cars like to hit my car) and got an estimate of six hundred and three dollars. Because the man said he would pay, this wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it would take three days to repair my bumper. I needed a drink. In order to forget about the bad, my roommate and I went to find some good. Good in 5 dollar glasses of wine at Bodega’s Happy Hour. Sadly, the happy hour used to be 4 dollars a glass but had gone up a dollar since we had last gone.
The layout of the bar is relaxing, hip, sexy, and kind of dark. It is bigger than the flagship Bodega in Pasadena. The service is usually always attentive and friendly. They always have a wide variety of wine options with different kinds of reds, whites, and sparkling. They also keep it interesting by rotating the wine list every few weeks. When I arrived at the wine bar, I planned to order wine that I would not normally order (like the episode of Seinfeld where George does everything opposite of how he would normally do it and everything comes up roses). Instead of tuna salad, I ordered a a pinot noir. Sadly, I was too shook up from the accident to think to write down the name of the wine or the pleasant adjectives used to describe it on the menu. What I do know is that the wine is always pretty good and hits the spot, especially when you’re having a bad day. I do consistently find their red wines to be more on the light/thin body side of the spectrum.
We also ordered from their happy hour meal menu. They offer a few items from their menu for happy hour price of 5-6 dollars: margherita pizza, pepperoni & mushroom pizza, hummus and pita, pepperoni and cheese plate, a bruscetta and olive tapenade, and I think a warm goat cheese crostini. We ordered the pepperoni & mushroom pizza because my roommate had hummus at home (and what’s the point of ordering something you can make/have at home?). We are professional happy hour goers and have tried most of their menu and all of their happy hour menu so I can tell you off the bat the the best options for happy hour are the pizza, hummus, the bruscetta, and the crostini. The cheese and pepperoni is not worth your money; It’s like a cracker barrel rectangle of orange cheese (I’m assuming cheddar) and slices of pepperoni that obviously came out of a plastic bag in the kitchen along with little pieces of toast; nothing special and not very healthy! If you have money to spend, I always enjoyed their smoked turkey breast panini ($10 - w/ goat cheese, tomato, arugula & pesto may) and their big chopped salad ($10 or $13 w/ chicken - mixed greens, mozzarella, mushrooms, jicama, chickpeas, zucchini, & tomatoes with balsamic vinaigrette).
They also offer beer, cold sake, and soju cocktails. What’s a soju cocktail you ask? Soju is distilled beverage native to Korea commonly made from rice (but sometimes potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca)! Soju is clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about 20% to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 20% ABV being most common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter because of the sugars added in the manufacturing process.The liquor licensing laws in the states of California and New York classify soju in the same category as beer and wine, allowing businesses with a beer/wine license to sell it without requiring the more expensive license required for other distilled spirits. The only stipulation is that the soju must be clearly labeled as such and contain less than 25% alcohol. The cocktails are nice, but I find it’s lower alcohol content less fun than regular hard liquor.
In the end, I recommend Bodega Happy Hour to everyone. When it is not happy hour, wine is 8 dollars a glass (which I probably would not recommend). It is a fun to go with friends and co-workers and will always have a place in my heart. The location is kind of hidden and easy to miss. It is a few stores away from Swingers on Broadway. It always looks dark. Happy Hour is from 5-7pm. Street (metered) parking and valet.
List of weekly events:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Andrew Jackson Night (any bottle = $20, but that’s not much incentive because any other day the bottle = $21)
Wednesday: Modelo Madness - (Modelo in the can = $2)
Thursday - Saturday: DJ’s play
Sunday: Service Industry Night - Happy hour prices and $1 sake shots all night long
Bodega Wine Bar
814 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 394-3504
Posted October 10th, 2008 by Meg
Last week my roommate and I went to Library Alehouse in Venice. We have both been there before, so our continual return only shows that we enjoy it. They have an excellent beer selection and good food to go with it. They also have a Happy Hour that we always seem to forget when we say “Hey, let’s go get a drink” at 2pm 4pm. Before my roommate arrived, I killed time by trying the Shipyard Blueberry Wheat Ale. It was refreshing, sweet (more on the cider spectrum than I thought it would be), but tart! I can’t find any links for this type of Shipyard, but believe me it’s real (I called to confirm).
When we were seated in the back patio, I ordered a basic flight of beer. I asked for the wide variety of “light to dark.” I wish I had been more specific because everything that was brought to the table I had tasted before (a total life lesson). Although they were good beers, it wasn’t very exciting. My flight was composed of (from right to left on the photo): Allagash (Belgian Style White from Portland, Maine), Lost Coast Apricot Wheat (Eureka, CA), Franziskaner Hefeweizen (Munich, Germany), Stone Pale Ale (San Marcos, CA), Lost Coast Downtown Brown Ale (Eureka, CA).
For dinner I chose the Alehouse Fish and Chips (made with cod and beer batter) because I have been craving them forever. They fish was amazing and soft and the friedness made it chewy and wonderful. The curly fries were quite a treat because I rarely ever see them or order them.
Although the parking is metered on Main Street and it seems like it is always busy… you get moments like this. You can see the moon!
Library Alehouse
2911 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4855
Posted September 19th, 2008 by Meg
Border Grill is one of my favorite Happy Hour Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles. Not only do I enjoy the food, but I have many positive memories eating there with my family. Over six years ago, my parents took me out there the night before I started college and when it was located in Pasadena. My how time has flown by! Now Border Grill is located in Santa Monica by the Promenade. It is owned by the chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger from Food Network’s TV Show Too Hot Tamales. They also own the downtown Spanish restaurant Ciudad. And if you have ever bought any food at Whole Foods that had the label “Border Girls” on it, these are those ladies behind that brand.
The best part about Border Grill is their amazing Happy Hour at the bar: $4 Margaritas/Mojitos /Wines. Free chips and salsas (tomato, chipotle, and tomatillo). Various appetizers all between the price of 4-7 dollars. Their margaritas and mojitos are delicious, you can never go wrong ordering them! During this visit I tried their red wine for the first time, an Esser cabernet sauvignon.
What we ordered:
Black Bean Dip - warm refried organic black beans with salsa fresca, crema, and plantain chips
The dip was not as heavy as I expected nor was it bland (which is the usual vibe I get from bean dips). I especially enjoyed the plantain chips which were soft and salty sweet. I preferred those chips over the regular table chips.
Q
ueso Fundido - panela and manchego cheeses melted over raja (potato), and spanish chorizo
This appetizer was more than I expected on both the amount and satisfying levels. It was a plethora of cheese that dominated the raja potatoes and the chorizo. It was an excellent appetizer, but was probably too much for two people to share.
Carnitas Sope - slow cooked carnitas topped with jalapeno citrus slaw and border guacamole
A sope is a relative to a tortilla. It is made from the same ingredients as a tortilla, but the size and thickness are much different. The sope is smaller in diameter but much thicker. Other than that, they are used for the same purposes. This was my favorite appetizer of the night because it had a nice and refreshing citrus sour flavor mingling with the salty and savory carnitas.
Seriously, it is the best happy hour on the west side of town. Fact.
Border Grill
1445 4th St
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Get Directions(310) 451-1655
Happy Hours:
Monday - Friday: 4:00-7:00pm
Posted September 15th, 2008 by Meg
This past Friday I met up with some friends at The Oinkster in Eagle Rock. I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. Their pork is brined with soy and honey so it has a sweet and savory taste going for it, combined with the red cabbage slaw and caramelized onions. Even though you can’t really see it, there was also some Carolina BBQ sauce in the sandwich.
Through research I have found that Carolina sauce could mean either North Carolina sauce or South Carolina sauce. North Carolina has three types according to the region of origin: Eastern (vinegar with pepper flakes), Piedmont (tomato-based and vinegar), and Western (tomato-based and thicker). South Carolina is home of the yellow mustard and vinegar based BBQ sauce (sometimes a little ketchup is thrown in there, but primarily it’s a mustard sauce). The sauce the Oinkster was using was most likely a North Carolina version, but I am not qualified to determine the region. I do know that it was delicious. Also, they have homemade house ketchup and chipotle ketchup. Yum!
Although I did not drink, I recognized the sweet deal of 3-5 dollar beers (draft: Stella, Widmer, Fat Tire, Miller Light, Stone Pale Ale, Arrogant Bastard; bottle: Rolling Rock, New Castle, Grolsch, Guinness, Kirin Ichiban, Corona, Stone Levitation, Stone IPA, Boddingtons). They also have a happy hour during the week from 3-6pm for both beer and food.
Overall, everything was quite tasty, making it a great post-drinking (or between drinking) spot. Of course you can always dine here without the involvement of alcohol, but what fun is that? Eating here reminded me of what it was like to live near a variety of food options (there are a lot of too many Italian restaurants, Starbucks, and Pinkberry in my neighborhood). I giggled when I saw the cops.
The Oinkster
2005 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 982-8865
