Our Addiction: Burgers & Beers

It’s sad when you live in a city where $20 for a burger and a beer is a deal. But, alas, in LA everything is expensive and the $20 seems well worth it for the deliciousness of red meat + suds.

When we're craving this ultimate combo we head to our favorite neighborhood burger + beer joint: The Golden State. 

The Golden State Burger 

(Photo from LA Weekly)

The Golden State burger (which Jonathan Gold from LA Weekly deems one of the best in LA) is absolutely delicious. The burger comes with your choice of side (the sweet potato fries with curry ketchup are a must), and to compliment your burger Golden State has a great menu of beers from Cali. If you’re feelin' a jones for something sweet you can add a scoop of gelato to your beer for a strange, but tastey, combo called the beer float. Note: Golden State is itty bitty in size and doesn't have reserved tables (its a seat yourself type spot) so don't show up with a giant party.

Golden State Burger: $10 + Tastey Beer: $5-$7 = Under $20 = Score.

But if you live Downtown there’s an even cheaper burger+beer spot. This place not only serves you a burger+beer for under $20, but goes even further to offer a burger + PITCHER OF BEER for under $10. 

The spot? Carl’s Jr. 

Carl’s has sneakily operated three select locations in Downtown LA that serve beer for years now. For just $6.50 Carl's will serve you a pitcher of Bud Light along with your $2.50 Hot Carl Big Carl Burger. 

Granted the burger is not nearly as good as the one at Golden State, but hey – it’s a cheap fix for a constant craving (what? You don’t crave burgers and beers every day?.... Well we do.)

Either way you now have burger+beer options under $20 bucks in LA. We'll probably stick with Golden State for dinner, but Carl's+Beer might be the perfect fourth meal after a night out in Downtown.

 

The Golden State

426 N. Fairfax Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90036

Open:  Tue. - Sun. (12pm - 10pm)

Carl's Jrs that serve beer (Downtown Only):

* Macy's Plaza on 7th & Flower

* California Mart at Main & Olympic

* Citigroup Plaza at 5th & Flower

Burger Bargain

I feel like I am on a constant search to find the best burger in LA, but there are so many options that so far we are at a probably 10 way tie. Sometimes I crave a Father’s Office burger and sometimes I dream of the shoestring fries that accompany my Rush Street burger. And almost always at 3am on a weekend, I want my In-N-Out burger with animal style fries (I know…it’s fast food…and a chain…but you can’t beat In-N-Out).

One place I have yet to try but have heard great things about is the burger at The Counter. And on Tuesdays (today!), they have a great burger special that almost makes me want to leave the house in this rainstorm and head there tonight.

Every Tuesday starting at 4pm, at the Santa Monica and Marina del Rey locations, The Counter has a $12 special where you can get 4 mini burgers and 4 beer pairings. These are not your regular mini burgers either, you can choose from a beef, turkey, chicken or veggie patty and they have a large variety of cheese, toppings, and sauces (including grilled pineapples, caramelized onion marmalade, roasted garlic aioli…yum!)

So if you are in the mood for some burgers and beer get there tonight, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

The Counter. http://www.thecounterburger.com/

Not classy - But It'll Get Ya Fat

St. Nicks is a dive bar. Its grungy and informal and the crowd… well there usually isn’t a crowd. But the drinks are huge (full 12 oz glass when you order a mixed drink) and the burger… oh god that burger is good.

Don’t bother with the rest of the menu – save for the French fries the rest is pretty unpalatable. The thought of their club sandwich makes my stomach turn. But the burger is worth the visit.

If you’ve been drinking – the burger is even better.

Its incredibly greasy and there isn’t anything gourmet about it – no arugula, no caramelized onions. Just the standard patty + cheese + lettuce + tomato. But the meat must be of the least healthy variety because its tastes so good.

I’d recommend dropping by this weekend, grabbing a burger and a beer, and then head to your next drinking destination. Or come here after you're nice and toasted for fourth meal (call ahead to see what time the kitchen closes though so you arn't terribly disappointed when you arrive at 2am and you can't order your burger... and forced to go to Taco Bell...)

St. Nick's Pub

8450 W. 3rd St.

Los Angeles, CA 90048

323-655-6917

$4.99 Pitchers - 'Nuf Said

My brother went to Washington State University – a school in the middle of nowhere: Pullman, Washington. Because of its rural locale things are cheap in Pullman. I’ve heard outrageous stories from the bro of $2 beers and $3 pitchers being sold at Denny’s (yes Denny’s!). Unfortunately to take advantage of these amazing prices you must live in Pullman. Not worth the trade off.

Los Angeles is far more expensive - $4 beers are a steal in this city.  But I'll let you in on a little secret: it is possible (I swear) to drink like a WSU undergrad in Los Angeles.

Where you ask?: Gyu Kaku's Happy Hour. During these 7.5 joyous hours (exact hrs. vary by location) pitchers are $4.99 each. Single beers are $.99/ea and there’s a menu of tasty food at Happy Hour prices ($1.99 - $4.99 per item for plates of marinated and ready-to-cook meats and veggies.)

When we went last week we were so impressed by the cheapness of the pitchers that we immediately ordered three pitchers for the four of us to share. Hey, it was 6:15pm so we were in a rush to get orders in and three pitchers was still only the price of one drink at XIV. As it turns out the pitchers were bigger than expected and our eyes were bigger than our livers so we ended up canceling one of the pitchers before it came out. Either way, 2 pitchers of beer, 2 large hot sakes, 4 miso soupss, and 12 plates of food later we had had our fill of food and booze and left sated and happy (at around $25/pp total.) 

Gyu Kaku has locations all over but the one we hit up on Friday was on Pico, near Westside Pavillion. The hours of happiness vary by location but the one on Pico has happy hour from 12pm – 6:30pm, and then again from 9:30pm – 10:30pm (M-Th, its 10:30pm – 11:30pm on F/Sat). If you're not familiar with their set-up (and thus grossed out that I mentioned above ordering uncooked meat), Gyu Kaku is a Japanese BBQ spot that brings you the marinated meats and veggies and then you cook your own food at your table over a little grill.  So now ya know. 

Check out their website for each location’s hours and pricing. 

http://www.gyu-kaku.com/ca/index.htm

Hump Day Specials!

Burger Bargains

TGIW? Just 2 more days left until Friday...and 6 more days left until the premiere of LOST.  I know that is irrelevant to this blog but I can't wait.  If you don't feel like watching the State of the Union tonight, there are some great burger and beer specials around town.

Kings Road Cafe in West Hollywood has $10 burger and beer night, where you get your choice of a regular, veggie or salmon burger + a glass of the beer on tap. Pretty good deal considering it's hard enough to find a $10 beer in West Hollywood.  They also feature live music on Wednesdays.  Be warned you might have to wait a bit, it is a small place and fills up quickly.  Not good for large groups.

If you find yourself in Echo Park there is a $5 burger special at The Park restaurant. The Park offers a 6 oz sirloin burger or a veggie burger, no beer included sadly, but you do get a choice of a side along with your meal.  For $5 that beats the Big Carl (also known as the Hot Carl haha) combo at Carl's Jr so you really can't complain.

Lastly, this isn't really a special but you can order a burger so I think it counts? Every Wednesday night at 7pm and 9pm is Bingo night at Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood.  Hosted by Bingo boy and his drag queens, so if you don't play for the other team make sure you are secure enough in your manhood to attend.  $20 for ten games, all proceeds go to charity.

Kings Road Cafe. 8361 Beverly Boulevard. (323) 655.9044
The Park. 1400 Sunset Blvd. (213) 482.9209
Hamburger Mary's. 8288 Santa Monica Blvd. (323) 654.3800

Are you ready for some football?!

So its the NFL playoffs (or superbowl, or birthday, or office party, or random weekend) and you want to have a partaaaaay to celebrate the awesomeness of your favorite team/business/birth/drinking habits. Rather than hit up the usual bar/restaurant we have an idea:

Hold a tailgate. And we don't mean the usual - pull up your pick up truck and grill in the back while listening to the football or baseball game on the radio - we're talking a totally unique tailgate involving the best tailgating vehicle known to man:

The Games2U Bus.

This bus comes fully equipped with three TVs (satellite connected) inside for video games or sports, and two TVs outside to play Wii (or to watch more sports) and a large 12ft inflatable projection screen TV for...err... watching sports. Games2U even brings a laser tag set up and a giant human hamster ball for those who can't handle standing around, drinking, playing video games, and watching sports (if you are such person we obviously could not be friends).

Now we don't want you to stop at renting just one 'vehicle of fun' - but rather go for TWO. The second vehicle being a food truck of course! We love the idea of hiring the Border Grill or Grilled Cheese Truck (or similar mobile kitchen) and then just buying a few 30-racks of beer at Ralphs. Just think - food truck on one side, video games/TVs on the other, big tub of beer/wine in the center. This is definitely party love.

Games2U fees start at $249 for the first 90 minutes, each additional hour is another $100.
Whether you charge your buddies a per person fee, or you're ever so generous and host the whole thing yourself, this is bound to be the best party you've ever had.

BONUS: If you mention FinerThingsLA when you make your reservation with Games2U LA you'll get 10% off!

Shoot them an email for reservations and more information: games2u.la@gmail.com

Deals Found at the Foundry!

I'll admit - we've never been to the Foundry. We've heard great things about the food there but its always been slightly out of our budgets.  However, after a quick look at their website today I believe we will be making our first visit there this Sunday.

What: Suds and Song Sundays @ The Foundry on Melrose
When: Sundays, 8:30pm - 11pm (in the Lounge)
The Low Down: $2 Featured Beers + Live Music

 BUT WAIT FOLKS! THAT'S NOT ALL!

The Foundry also has a few other great deals early in the week (And an extra special DineLA menu):

Mondays: Lunes Latinos
Latin inspired cocktails, Greenspan's Gorditas (3 kinds / $3 each), and Latin Jazz
8:30pm - 11:30pm every Monday (in the Lounge)

Tuesdays: Bluesy Tuesdays
Listen to the Blues while eating up Chef Greenspan’s take on Southern food - fried chicken (priced by the piece) and waffles ($4), sides of creamed corn, grits, and greens($5), Green Tomatoes ($5), Corn bread pudding ($7). 
8:00pm -10:00pm every Tuesday (in the Lounge)

DineLA
While other restaurants are offering three courses for a set price for DineLA Week, The Foundry is upping the ante to offer four (4!!) courses for the same $44/per person price. The menu includes items like White Gazpacho, Beef Tenderloin, Duck Breast, and a Blood Orange Bar for Dessert (I want I want I want!)


As you know from our detailed love for the Windows Lounge at the Four Seasons - we love any place with live classy music*. A place with live swanky music and drink specials = True Love.

*Note: a DJ is not 'live music' by any stretch of the imagination... and though we really love 80's cover bands (one of us has even dreamed of having Fast Times play at our wedding...) these just don't fit in this classy equation for love.

Hope to see you at the Foundry this Sunday!!

Dudes Love Hot Chicks

Guys love them some chicken wings.

As one male friend of ours said ‘there’s something manly about leaving a pile of bones behind when you eat.’ And as we learned last night – give a man chicken wings from any vendor (Hooters not required) and within a minute his face and fingers will be glistening with the beautiful red sheen of hot sauce.

Last night at the begging and pleading of our male companions – we agreed to go out for wings. But rather than force ourselves into a self-esteem killing environment of orange booty-shorts and fake boobs we decided to try someplace new:

The spot: Hot Wings Cafe / 7011 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

Long story short – regular beers are $3.50/ea, nicer beers $5/ea and after ordering nearly 50 chicken wings (split between five of us) we were only out $6.00/ea for food.

End of story: great deal to keep men happy. Plus there are TVs on every wall, service was speedy, and we saw some D+ celebrity from the Real Housewives of Atlanta.  

Done deal – see you there next week for football playoffs.

Quick Note on Melgard Public House

Just a quick tidbit:

Following up on yesterday's note about new bars opening up in the area - Melgard Public House (7505 Melrose) has announced (via Urban Daddy) they will be holding a soft opening this Saturday.

They will be offering free food  (pizza, maybe burgers too...) but no beer or wine until their license transfers over next week. There will be an outside patio opening up too in a couple weeks (construction not quite complete yet).

If you're cool with just free food head over Saturday - otherwise we'd recommend waiting a couple weeks until you can get the full food/booze/patio experience.

Coming Attractions

Just last year we were talking amongst our friends, nursing our hangovers from the day before over brunch,  WISHING there were more nice sports/beer bars in Los Angeles. At the time it seemed all LA was good for was Clubs/Lounges and sleazy bars (not that we don't love spots like Backstage Culver City - karaoke, drinks, Seahawks fans - what's not to love?).

Now it seems nice sports bars and burger/beer joints are popping up everywhere around our LA neighborhood. If only we had the foresight, and funds, to open our own! With our expertise in booze and fun times we'd be gazillionaires if we owned a bar...

Here's a few new spots opening in the next couple months you should keep your eyes out for:

* Melgard Public House (7505 Melrose Ave.) - Opening next week in former Louise's Trattoria Spot. Easy American food, tons of beers on tap, and lots of flat screen TVs (From the guy who owns 3rd Stop and 1739 Public House)

* The Surly Goat (7929 Santa Monica Blvd) - Opening soon. Main focus of the Surly Goat will be craft beers - and tons of them.  (From the guy who started BoHo and Bar Delux, was expected to open in 2009 but, accordingly to EaterLA, ran into liquor license problems....)


* Name TBD - LAist reports a new Gastropub is expected to open just north of Golden State on Fairfax in a few months. More details to come...


* Locals Sports Bar & Grill (5047 W. Pico) - Just Opened! TVs, Beer/Wine/Liquor, 'Fresh' Bar Food (Whatever that means...)

* Capitol City (1615 Cahuenga) - Opened Sept. 2009 in former Goa spot. Lots of TVs, 60 Beers on Tap + Wine + Full Liqour, Two Stories, and Dance Floor/DJ Set up at back outside patio.

.

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days...

I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too..

Just because it's Monday doesn't mean the weekend has to end, to keep your drinking binge going, here is our round-up of drink/food specials to last you through the week:

Monday:

• Taste on Melrose (West Hollywood): 1/2 off bottles of wine
• Nic's (Beverly Hills): $7 Appetizers & Martinis, $21 Three Course Menu
• Citizen Smith (Hollywood): Half off food and drinks, 6pm-midnight
• Malo (Silverlake): $1 Tacos (Thanks Harry!)
• Kitchen24 (Hollywood): $3 Beers, $5 Cocktail, $5 Apps, 3PM - 11PM

Tuesday:

•  Taco Tuesday!...the choices are endless but here are some highlights:
• The Spanish Kitchen (West Hollywood): $2 tacos
• Marix (West Hollywood): $7.95 all you can eat tacos + Margarita Madness from 4-7pm
• El Toro Cantina (next to Busby's East - Mid Wilshire): $1 tacos
• Cabo Cantina (either Sunset or Wilshire on the westside): $5 all you can eat tacos
• Kay & Dave's (Pico/Overland, Pacific Palisades, Culver City, Brentwood): $1 Tacos + Happy Hour Drink Specials (i.e. $1 Margaritas) from 4-7pm. 
• Cha Cha Lounge (Silverlake): if you don't like tacos or enjoy hipsters, the Cha Cha lounge has $1.50 PBR all night on Tues

Wednesday:

• Bodega Wine Bar (Santa Monica): Wine Caraffe Night, regular carafes $15, premium $21
• The Edison (Downtown): $4 drinks
• Big Wangs (Hollywood): $0.25 chicken wings and $2.50 beer (chosen by the bartenders), 4pm to close

Thursday:

• The Edison (Downtown): The Edison strikes again! $0.35 cent martinis, 5-7pm
• Lola's (West Hollywood): Late night happy hour special, $5 martinis 10:30pm-12:30pm

So if you didn't have a reason to drink every night before, you should now, hope this makes your week a little more bearable.

Happy Hour Alert

Just a quick note before you head out for the weekend,

8oz Burger Bar announced yesterday on Twitter they have a new 2010 Special: Happy Hour Every Day (10pm - Close). Tonight being Friday they should be open until around 2am.

Happy hour specials include discounted beer, wine, and cocktails as well as a limited happy hour food menu. Happy Hour is served only at the bar though so take time to practice your lurking skills so you can score a seat.

80z Burger Bar

7661 Melrose Avenue

323.852.0008

www.8ozburgerbar.com