Saints and Sinners (Culver City)

Go there. Do it as soon as the place opens. I hope Colleen is behind the bar. If she is ask her for her special. It blew my face off with pure deliciousness. Mitch and I met there on Thursday to grab a few drinks and stumbled in to Karaoke! Nothing better than two white boys singing "Forgot About Dre" or a woman screeching "Let's Hear it For the Boys" Kept us entertained while we sipped on the house amber ale and took in the dark, cozy ambiance. Some back areas for a little more privacy were available, but we prefer to stay right in the thick of things so the singers could walk right up and serenade us. This place has a lot going for it. Great bartenders, a cool atmosphere, and a laid back crowd combine with a great selection of liquor (though a pedestrian selection of beer) to make this place a quick favorite of mine. They sell Colt 45 in tall cans so that's a good thing. Plus, there's a Fatburger open late just down Venice so you can take care of your drunk munchies like we did.
Facts:
Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: $$ ($5 for house 6.5 for other beers on tap)
Parking: Valet/Street (I found street with little effort)
Service: Perfection
Selection: Good all around
Vibe: Laid back fun
Bonus: Karaoke Thursdays
Website:http://www.saintsnsinnersbar.com/
Address: 10899 Venice Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034

Sheddy's (Mid-City West/Fairfax)

I was at Sheddy's last week for a going away party for a friend moving to London. This place scores excellent marks for atmosphere! Reproductions of classical paintings of greek mythology line the walls of this tiny, dark, red-hued hole in the wall. An excellent place to kick back and have a beer, of which they have many. The selection tends toward the obscure, which I love. They even have Delirium Nocturnum, the darker and stronger cousin to my all time favorite, Delirium Tremens. Upon ordering, however, so problems started cropping up. First of all, the bartender was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes she appeared and took our order. I ordered, then ordered something else for my wife. They were out of the second beer so I asked her for another of the first. The keg blew while they were pouring the second so then they were out of that too. A beer bar should not be running out of tap beer! I was forced (oh darn) to order a Delirium Tremens in a bottle. I was informed that it was $11. That's almost $1 per ounce kids, and not a fair price at all. IO West has it for $8! This price gouging cut my night a little short, but I was glad to go and send Justin off to London. The word on Sheddy's: a great place to hang out if you can afford it.
The Stats:
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Price:$$
Selection: Obscure (aka awesome) as long as it's in stock
Service: Good when it was there
Parking: Street, but watch for permit zones!
Vibe: Eclectic and hip, 20's to 30's
Bonus: Quote board of things overheard at the bar
Address: 361 S Fairfax Ave
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sheddys-los-angeles-2

Tattle Tale Room (Culver City)

Hello Los Angeles! It's been awhile and for that I apologize. A crazy May kept me out of the bars far more than I would like. I am coming back with a great dive bar though, Roger's Exciting Tattle Tale Room in Culver City. This place is NOT for tourists or trendy people. It has three tvs, two pool tables, and karaoke. Is that how you spell that? Anyhow, the singers (including me) were terrible. I sang "I wanna sex you up" by Color Me Bad. D is not my key I guess.... I love terrible drunken mumbling into a microphone though, and when paired with free pool (Tuesdays) and PBR tallboys ($6) this place is great for unwinding after work. If it wasn't on my way home (ish) I probably wouldn't make an effort to go, but it's a place I really do like. Definately bring your own group though, as the clientele consists mostly of old alcoholic townies. Not that there's anything wrong with that, you just might not like it so much if you wander in by yourself.
Conclusion:
Rating: 3.5 stars
Price: $$ (high for a dive, not LA)
Service: Awesome (great lady bartenders who know their business)
Selection: Beer is pretty good(no taps :( ) Liquor is solid Wine is??? (It's a dive)
Parking: Lot
Vibe: Townie
Bonus: Pool, karaoke
Address: 5401 Sepulveda Blvd Culver City, CA 90230

Here Lounge (WeHo)

OPEN BAR! Got your attention? Good, now I will explain. This place has an open bar until midnight WITH NO COVER if you get there before 10pm on Wednesday nights. If you don't mind going to a gay bar with shirtless male dancers and bartenders who make you feel very bad about yourself then don't miss this place on Wednesday night. They gave you a choice of vodka, rum, or gin. The vodka was terrible, but free. I assume the other liquors were equally terrible, but equally free. Seriously though, the music was awesome, the drinks were free, and if you like looking at man candy there is not a downside as far as I can tell. Except make sure you designate a driver because with an open bar it's real easy to get too smashed to drive anywhere. The other potential downside is over-consumption (finger pointed at you Brandon) so try to keep yourself from passing out and having to have the security guard question you about whether you're going to puke or not. If you can handle an open bar (in every sense of the word) then you should hit up Here Lounge on Wednesdays
Conclusion:
Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: -$
Parking: Street/pay lot
Selection: Limited for the open bar, I assume decent if you're paying
Vibe: Gay Dance Club
Service: Fast, friendly, and mostly naked
Bonus: Besides free booze? Go-Go boys I guess
Website: www.herelounge.com
Address: 696 N Robertson, West Hollywood, Ca

Howl At The Moon (Universal Citywalk)

This is a cool place! Once you get yourself over the citywalk prices like $10 parking and cover charges you can have a good time. We got a special deal since a friend of mine was throwing a party there. Being with Tony meant we got in for free and got two tickets each for $1 drinks. In hindsight we probably didn't need to pregame...but it made Mitch dance in front of the window for everyone's amusement so I guess that was for the best. The music is what brings you all the way to Universal City folks. The Piano show on Thursday night was incredible, even though most of our group's requests were not played. In the defense of the band Virtual Insanity might be hard to play on the piano. These guys were doing everything from AC/DC to Prince and MJ. One of the male singers even did Mariah Carey. Well. Anyhow, decent selection of liquor, $1 miller lite cans, and a good overall vibe. Thanks to Tony, Ashley, and Lisa for getting us out to a place I would never even have thought of!
Conclusion:
Rating: 4 stars
Price: $$-$$$ (depends on night and if you tip the band (which you should))
Parking: $10 garage
Vibe: Young and fun
Selection: Better than average beer and good liquor
Bonus: Amazing music shows!
Website: www.howlatthemoon.com
Address: 1000 Universal Studios Blvd, Univeral City, CA

Bigfoot Lodge West (Culver City)

Once I found the place it was pretty awesome. Their sign is a work in progress, and at the moment consists only of a theater marquee with "Bigfoot Lodge West" in tiny black letters. I passed it twice in the car before I found it on foot. I really like this place, just like the other Bigfoot in Los Feliz. They are very similar in decor, only sans animatronic puppets and make it a little smaller. Rustic lodge feeling with cool semi-ghoulish animal displays here and there. The best physical feature of the place is definitely the huge patio opening up onto Venice in Culver City. Ideal for smokers and people who just like to be outside, the patio is a real selling point to this place. Another selling point would be the service. It was pretty busy for a Tuesday and the bartenders were handling business nicely. Our bartender was nice, flirtatious, fast, and gave some good strong pours. Mitch was definitely loving her. We drank our Jamesons and beers (a good selection) and enjoyed the cool night air on the patio. A nice chill evening, and a great way to cap a hard workday. Just like the other Lodge, this one is a little pricey but worth it every now and then for a good night out. Try the Toasted Marshmallow!
Conclusion:
Rating: 4 Stars
Price: $$
Selection: Good all around
Service: Exceptional
Vibe: Low Key, early 30's
Parking: Street
Website: www.bigfootlodge.com
Address: 10939 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Kegs (Redondo Beach)

Way to go Population 8! A great 1st show for a band with a hopefully bright future. I rode down to Redondo with coworker Jesse to catch Mitch's band at this small boardwalk bar. I really like the boardwalk feel, with so many bars together in a small area it feels like a college campus bar section, only without the minors. A variety of bars with live bands on a Saturday night give a vibrant atmosphere set against a backdrop of sailboats and salty ocean breezes. If it didn't take me so long to get down there I would probably spend a lot of time on the boardwalk. Also if we didn't have such a hard time getting there. We parked without really knowing where we were going and ended up walking really far. I recommend springing for the parking garage if you don't want to hike around looking for an entrance to the pier. We did find it eventually, and made it in before the band started their set. Kegs itself seemed typical in size and layout to the rest of the boardwalk. In a word, small. Also loud. Very loud. But since the music was good that was okay. If there was a bad band playing it would be a little harder to hang out there. The bartender was great. She was fast, fun, friendly and she gave me free beer samples. The best feature of this place (besides the great music last night) was the great beer selection. For such a small place they have a lot of taps. (hence the name kegs but you might not have remembered the name until now.) They have a very limited liquor selection though, so if you need the vodka probably head elsewhere. When Population 8 wrapped up their set, Jesse and I hit the road so I could make my long drive back to Koreatown before I fell asleep. Workdays followed by beer drinking not exactly a recipe for alertness. I want to be sure to mention, however, that I did not drive drunk. Google is very clear that blogs must not condone illegal activity such as drunk driving, and I don't. Don't do it. Designate someone, take a cab, or find a good bar you can walk to. That PSA out the way, I'll wrap this post up with the important facts.
Conclusion:
Rating: 3.5 stars (no liquor selection, parking, cramped)
Price: $
Parking: Pay garage, distant street
Vibe: Depends on the band, but beachy/divey/ trashy/laidback when I went
Bonus: Live bands
Service: Good
Selection: Great Beer, poor liquor
Website: http://www.kegs-rb.com
Location: 120 North International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach, CA 90277 USA