With a week before the presidential election, Dookie and the “WASSUP” boys are back after spending 8 years in hibernation with a new comedy. Only this time, they aren’t just pushing a beer but have jumped on the pro-Obama bus. Their latest video critiques the current state of the economy, the Iraq war, the Hurricane Katrina disaster and gives a big shout-out to Obama.
beer
Secret Series: A Guide to Some of LA’s Beer Gardens
Thursday, September 18th, 2008
Cat & Fiddle. Photo courtesy of Hollie Nell.
“Los Angeles is 72 suburbs in search of a city.”
—Dorothy Parker
But what suburbs. They’re like craters on a moon; at first glance, they resemble mere shadows, but reveal themselves to be complicated entities with deep crevices and mysteries of their own. And the beer gardens within LA’s many neighborhoods are like suburbs within suburbs, craters within craters.
Though the beer garden is a concept arising from German culture, I think it finds its best home in year-around warm climates such as the one Los Angeles so gloriously hosts. Patrons may tuck themselves into lattice chairs, pulling into mosaic tables that make a nice counterpoint to surrounding bushes and potted plants. A patio absent of balcony tables can offer benches and long tables that give strangers the chance to meet. Those leery of vodka-soda sipping, fedora-wearing and business card-toting industry types can relax with a pitcher of beer and a basket of french fries, free from Hollywood’s overbearing presence. They can enjoy the fresh air while warming up to heat lamps and a chat beneath strings of Christmas lights or lanterns.
That’s a rather over-idyllic scene, perhaps. But a beer garden by nature (pun-intended), with its fusion of “libations” and greenery, is pretty idyllic. And if a suburb within a suburb should act as an island or vernal oasis, then this brief list of beer garden-eateries fits the bill.
I must, however, begin with a dual-pronged disclaimer. Some of these restaurant-bars are well-known, oft-frequented, but I’ve rarely seen them together in one list. Also, if it’s the city’s best beer you seek, these should not be your principal destinations (try Father’s Office. It garners too much praise for its untraditional hamburger; the more than 30 beers on tap are what stands out most in my memory). I find it necessary to dole out the latter warning because what makes these beer gardens so exciting is not so much the beer (or even simply the ale) they boast, but the atmosphere they present. These magnificent seven are sprinkled throughout the town, do not have dress codes, are not too over-priced (at least for drinks) and make excellent spots for weekend, post-work or after-school merry-making.