Well folks, it's been about 5 months since we posted a Bar Review at the HoL website so I figured I'd add one in. To cut to the chase, Yard House is all about beer...about 120+ beers on tap to be more precise. Another thing to note is that Yard House is really more a restaurant than a dedicated bar. But with 120+ beers on tap I figure it's worth a House of Love endorsement.

The evening began with Stevie, Hilary, and I making the long trek out to Irvine for the KROQ "Pop Disaster Tour" featuring Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, and Green Day. The plan before the concert was to meet Eric Hallinan, Jeff Dawdy, and Jeff's girl Christina at Yard House for dinner. This was Jeff's recommendation which was agreed to since the place had 120+ beers on tap.

Once we had arrived, I noticed that the Yard House presented a pretty trendy atmosphere which was confirmed by the prices of the entrees on the menu. This isn't exactly a regular place for your typical penniless college student. However, any doubts were put to rest when I set my eyes on the 120+ beer taps sitting behind the bar. Time slowed down and "Dream Weaver" played softly in the background of my mind. It was truly beautiful. I was on the verge of tears, but was quickly pulled back into reality as we were seated at our booth.

As our waitress Nicole (yeah she was cute enough for me to remember her name) showed us our way to the table, I noticed the yard long glasses (hence "Yard House") resting at the top of the bar and was once again sent into a trance. Once seated, we were given our menus (two pages of which were dedicated to beers of all sorts). It's really hard to describe all the different kinds of beers tried that night, but needless to say, we were all pretty impressed by the quality, quantity (I got myself a half yard of the "Hula" Hefeweizen), and selection. Follow this link to the Yard House website.

It was a great dinner and even better beer even if I did almost order a yard long Non-alcoholic Root Beer. Since I don't feel like breaking down the numbers I'll just say that if you're a beer lover, then Yard House is the place for you.


Howl at The Moon Saloon
by RJ Victoria. Additional observations by Vince Villanueva

After a hiatus of 2 weeks due to poor planning the Fall Bar Festival started up again with a trip to Howl at The Moon in Universal Citywalk. For those of you unfamiliar with 'Howl', it's a dueling piano bar where the audience is encouraged/forced to sing-along and participate with the performers on stage. This, combined with alcohol, makes for a potent combination of fun and excitement.

With the night still young and a now 23 year-old RJ still slamming 'em down, the night took a turn for the better when the Jello Superman (ask Hilary, Alison, Alyssa, or Katie about him) came by with some syringes filled with Jello Surprises! RJ, being the trooper that he is, partook in what looked like a drug attempt gone terribly bad! He had Painter shoot him up with Jello and a new brother for the beer bong was adopted for possible future House of Love Parties . . . Jello "Shots"!

The night kept on rolling when I (Vince) noticed a somewhat familiar looking guy singing along to "Jack and Diane". It was none other than Ian Ziering!!! You may remember him from such television shows as Beverly Hills 90210! As I returned to the table, I alerted the party that we had an official "C list" sighting. It was confirmed by all in attendance.

As the night and songs rocked along and after RJ had a few drinks, he decided to take another one for the team and represent the House on the Howl stage. For a mere $20.00, RJ played and sang his heart out to the tune of "Piano Man" along with the regular Howl players. The crowd went wild when he belted out the alternate "porno star" lyrics(if you don't know what that's about then ask him some time). Needless to say, RJ--the attention whore that he is--counts this as one of his most memorable moments of all time.

How can you top an evening like that? Well, to put it mildly, you can't! We kept the drinks coming and by around 12:45, we decided to call it a night. Four hours at a piano bar is just the right amount of time. Although some people may have wanted to leave earlier, it wasn't their birthday to decide! We returned to the House to find Steve on the internet (shocker) and then capped the evening off with some Jack in the Box. It was a great night complete with song, dance, and Ian! See pictures here!

You can go to the Howl at the Moon Website for more info.

Marix Tex-Mex Playa
by RJ Victoria

The visit to the weeks Fall Bar Festival locale started less than wonderfully. From the House, the Festival goers hopped onto the 10 west toward PCH in hopes of making it for Happy Hour at Marix. Unfortunately, we--Limo, Alyssa, and RJ--were almost thwarted by one of the biggest evils in the LA area; rush hour traffic. Once through traffic we arrived with 15 minutes left for Happy Hour. Just enough time to order food and drink.

We then took some time to take in the view at the Marix bar consisting of a very large assortment of alcohol and most importantly the variety of tequila. Happy Hour specials are great. With Margaritas at $3.50 and beers at $3.00. Since it was a Wednesday night there really wasn't a big party atmosphere, making it that much easier for conversation.

The food was pretty good with approval from Alyssa on the "Big Ass" Burger with Green Chiles. I had the nachos which were pretty good, but nothing revolutionary or special there.

Onto the numbers...the clientele and atmosphere receives a 5.5, the food a 6, and the bar itself a 6.5. This gives Marix an overall rating of 6.0

Westwood Brewing Company
by RJ Victoria

Though visited a few times before and more a restaurant than a bar, the next stop on the House of Love Fall Bar Festival was the Westwood Brewing Company (aka Brewco). Known mainly for their various microbrews, Brewco is probably one of the quieter places to share a drink with your friends. However, this visit would yield some of the less spectacular ales from their in-house vats.

Our group tried everything that was available from their very nicely priced menu of microbrews. Everyone pretty much got a taste of the Hefeweizen, Pear Cider, Pale Ale, Honey Porter, and the Bitter. A quick side note, tasting the Hefeweizen and Cider together is not a good idea! Anyway, although some of the flavors were "interesting" none really came out as an overall favorite.

The appetizer choice for the evening was the Spinach Dip which is always a favorite unless you completely dislike cooked spinach. But again, nothing extraordinary there. One of the saving graces was that the atmosphere did lend itself nicely to conversation. Also, I hear there's a pretty good comedy improvisational act on saturday nights but you'd have to ask the boys from the Temple of Goon for more info.

I suppose it's time to get to the numbers for all you statiticians out there. I give the clientele and atmosphere a 5, the appetizers a 4.5(the chips were a bit stale), and the bar itself a 4.5 (we were all quite dissatisfied with the beer). This gives Brewco a mediocre rating of 5.00

I guess that's all there is to that. Join us for the next stop. Same Bat-time, Same Bat-Channel!



Father's Office
by RJ Victoria

The second bar in the Fall Bar Series had one huge expectation to live up to. Father's Office is known as "LA's Best Beer Bar" and after our visit I would have to totally agree. When we first arrived, the bar was crowded and a little loud. However, any doubts we had about the place disappeared when we eyed the incredible tap behind the bar itself. With the help of the two page menu(one page for beer, one for wine, and a small insert for food items), we were able to make our beer selections and within a few moments actually find some seats.

Just from looking around at the place, we knew we were in a fairly trendy/hip joint. The lighting was turned low and the bar had a nice vibe to it. As mentioned before, there were several taps to choose from at the bar. Just above these taps were some interesting mugs...most notably a big cheers mug. No celebrity sighting this time, but I wouldn't be surprised if Father's Office didn't get its fair share of those.

Of course to make the experience complete, we had to try one of their appetizers. Unfortunately the food menu was a little small and a bit expensive. You definitely wanna have dinner before you come out to this place. We eventually settled on a basket of fries with garlic "alioli" (aka fancy mayo). What would have been an underwhelming appetizer turned out to be pretty good due to the fries being presented in a mini-shopping cart.

Overall, Father's Office lives up to its title and comes with a pretty good House approval. Oh, and for you numbers people I give the clientele and atmosphere a 6.5, the appetizers a 6, and the bar itself a rating of 8.7 (some really great beer)! This gives Father's Office and overall rating of 7.07!

Till next time...Bottoms Up!



Ye Olde Kingshead Pub
by RJ Victoria

      We(Vince, Limo, and myself) originally decided to kick off the Fall Bar Festival with a visit to the Temple Bar in Santa Monica. However, our plans were thwarted by an $8.00 cover fee. Figuring that the only reason to pay such a fee was either naked women or dueling pianos (or naked women on dueling pianos), our plans had to be changed. So, from the suggestion of Mr. Lima we set our sights on Ye Olde Kingshead Pub.

      Like most other English Pubs we had visited in the Summer Bar Series, this one had a pretty friendly atmosphere and a nice assortment of beers on tap. Also, like our previous visit to O'Brien's we found seats right next to a gaming area...this time darts. From our seats we tried to figure out exactly how the game worked but gave up when we realized that we were thinking a little too hard about it. Anyway, our waitress, although brave enough to run the darts gauntlet in close proximity to our table, was less than helpful in making a beer recommendation. Furthermore, the "snack" menu was populated by various British appetizers so we had to fall back on the always reliable chips and salsa. Hoping, of course, that they weren't going to send us french fries(British chips) and salsa.

      The clientele and atmosphere receive a rating of 6, the appetizers a 3, and the bar itself gets a 6.5(my second beer sucked). This gives us an overall rating of about 5.2 for this pub. As for the Temple Bar, if you really wanna know, then go out there, pay the cover, and write us a review.

      Cheers!


O'Brien's
by Vince Villanueva

      Well, it was a little sketchy as to who was going to this bar (did Limo forget about the Summer Bar Series?), but me, Stevie, and RJ ended up going without him. Driving West on Wilshire just a little bit, we got to O'Brien's. Parking is somewhat limited but if we were to arrive a little earlier than 9:30 pm, then we would have had no problem. We walk in and are greeted by someone from Hennesay saying they have $2.50 specials on Hennesy drinks. So, I bought the first round as myself, Stevie, and RJ took a temporary home by the pool table . . . the only spot available. The drink specials saved our pocketbooks, but the thing that really made the night was a celebrity sighting! RJ noticed him first and I confirmed the sighting. It was none other than Jason Patric! You may remember him from such films as Speed 2: Cruise Control, Rush, and as older brother Mike in The Lost Boys! We did not try the appetizers so we can't give a rating on those, but as far as ambience, it wasn't as good as others (6.5 out of 10). The clientele, 7 out of 10 (9 out of 10 if you count Mr. Patric). The bar, 8.5 out of 10 (great drink special that night). So, overall, I would give the bar a 7.3! Nothing really special (except for the 12 year old girl who kicked Stevie's ass at pool and great television placement)!

Stay tuned for more!