Pub Crawl: What's Hot and What's Not in Downtown Bars
Michael F. Robleto
Drinks are prepared inside Caña Rum Bar.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Working as an advertising executive, I’ve spent many an hour entertaining a client over drinks. I’m what you might call a professional regular when it comes to bars. Over the last two years that I’ve lived in Downtown, I’ve done enough drinking in the neighborhood to fill up a shoebox or two with receipts.
I have also always enjoyed checking out new spots, and that has resulted in a custom-crafted and ever-changing pub-crawl list for myself or visiting friends. Walking (or cabbing) from location to location is one of the best parts of drinking in DTLA so I highly recommend it.
Here I share with you the Cliffs Notes of what’s on my list of places to go and places worth skipping. The list is ever-changing and with so many new nightlife options coming, it undoubtedly will continue to evolve:
My South Park Swing
The South Park area has a nice three-block span of hot spots few of us think about when it comes to drinking. I find it great for Thursdays and weekends when the other bars are usually slammed with a bridge and tunnel crowd.
Corkbar – This beer and wine-only bar is a great place to kick off my evening. Staff members Natalie and Greg are quick to introduce new wines and offer ample samples to get your night going in the right direction. Owner Garry Muir is always onsite to drop by your table for a chat. The crowd is mixed with first-daters, gaggles of giggling girls and talkative locals perched at the massive bar. A recently added patio fireplace offers up great people watching on this busy corner of Grand and 12th. 403 W. 12th
Arashi Sushi– Plotting my route north from Corkbar, I often drop into Arashi Sushi for a quick nibble and some sake. This ultra hip sushi spot is well aware of its sushi competition to the North so friendliness and freshness for locals takes priority. 1111 S. Hope, but located on 11th between Hope and Flower.
Rivera— Around the corner from Arashi is the bar at Rivera. Matt the bartender, a DTLA resident, is quick with a handshake and a dazzling show of mixology. With a drink menu crafted by legendary mixologist Julian Cox, the appeal of the bar is easy to see. Creative cocktails ranging from the Blood Sugar Sex Magic (a blend of rye whiskey, red pepper, agave nectar and basil) to the Sabertooth (cachaca, lime, Eau de Vie and bluberries) ensure there is an impressive cocktail for everyone. The crowd is an upscale blend of locals and those trickling over from L.A. Live. I tend to arrive after 9pm to avoid the heavy dinner crowd. 1050 S. Flower, corner of Flower and 11th.
Caña Rum Bar— From Rivera I saunter over to Caña Rum Bar. Formerly the high priced membership joint called Doheny, Caña is a Cedd Moses bar that many locals never find. The heavily adjusted membership fee (a requirement linked to their liquor license, I am told) is now just $20 for an annual membership and purchase includes your first cocktail. Not a bad deal when you think that this offers some very cool cachet when entertaining guests. Seating is ample throughout and the weekends offer live music with a Latin flair. Head bartender John Coltharpe is always down to get deep on cocktail theory and makes some of the most impressive blends I have seen around. The guy is an encyclopedia of mixology. To find this hidden gem, look for the driveway just south of Olympic on Flower’s west side. 714 W. Olympic
The entire route makes for easy walking -- female participants always thank me for this -- and gives us a glimpse of this less-often traveled part of town. For the squeamish guest fearful of what lurks beyond Main St, you are less likely to run into panhandlers and sidewalk sleepers on this route.
The Tried and True
The Historic Core is booming with bars yet care in choosing the right bars for the right nights can be the difference between a great time out and just a good one. Granted, we can always bar hop, but that can cut into time that should be spent enjoying the evening. Here is my rundown of the Historic Core and beyond and what nights I find to be most appealing at each.
Broadway Bar— This bar is literally across the street from where I live, yet I frequent it the least. It has a great décor and some of the friendliest bartenders in town (all with heavy hands), yet I find the crowd to be very hit or miss. Fridays and Saturdays are absolutely packed but unfortunately with not the best crowd (think Mayan or the Exchange). Earlier in the week the place is most often quite empty. Best bet here is a Thursday as a kicking-off point for your evening. 830 S. Broadway
The Golden Gopher— is probably my most frequented spot. I pop in on weekends before the small bar gets slammed with USC students or I swing through late to take advantage of their off-sale liquor license (yes, the Golden Gopher is also essentially a liquor store). Earlier in the week is when I enjoy the Gopher the most. The crowd mid-week seems to be more local and you don’t have to fight for a drink at the bar. From themed nights like iPod Tuesday (essentially BYOB but with your music in a bar!) to the expansive back patio, Golden Gopher typically has some reason to be on my pub-crawl. 417 W. 8th
Big Wangs- seems to have waned in popularity lately, the hot-female-staff-only policy is slipping and I rarely see a local crowd in here. Drinks are potent, the street-side patio and fire pit is massive, but I just don’t see many locals. Maybe it is difficult for us to feel comfortable telling our friends to meet us at “Wangs” or perhaps it is a lack of local promotion. Maybe they need a music-themed night. I do find myself here for the occasional blacked out sports game or the UFC fights (Big Wangs is the only location in Downtown that broadcasts all the UFC fights). 801 S. Grand
Seven Grand- I have to assume that 7G is on every local’s pub-crawl list, and it is easy to see why. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have live Jazz jam sessions filled with many of our resident musicians. My favorite drink of all time, the Old Fashioned, is done the best here and the staff, from managers to bar-backs and doormen to bartenders is a solid bunch of people. Weekends are absolutely slammed here so I often opt for other choices (unless the uncontrollable urge for an Old Fashioned takes over). 515 W. 7th
Spring St- is the newest must-see addition to my nightly pup-crawl and a pleasant surprise at that. Staff and affordable drinks take high marks. From the so-cute-they-are–adorable female bartenders in suspenders to the smiling gruff of Scott at the door and manager Steen ensuring a good time is to be had by all, Spring St gets A’s and is a solid addition to the growing hustle of the core. Ideal for early and mid-week drinking, with a genius communal table on the patio that forces people to converse. To aid in the absorption of alcohol, you can always grab a fresh sandwich here that is made with bread from Hygge Bakery and a solid late night snack. 626 S. Spring
The Falls- This well-decorated place hasn’t sunk in with me yet. Drinks are at par and the crowd seems distant, as do the bartenders (who you can tell by reading this story are a key factor for local love). Maybe it is the Hollywood roots of the staff and owner that give off an arms-distance vibe. But being next door to Spring usually makes it easy for me to pop in for progress checks. 626 S. Spring
Las Perlas- Down the street and around the corner from Spring St is Las Perlas. Weekdays are solid, drawing in mostly locals while leaving seating. Weekends get busy but they seem to do a good job at the door of not overwhelming the bar staff. The challenge I see with Las Perlas is that tequila intake must be carefully monitored to prevent overheating. 107 W. 6th
Villains- Only a bar like Villains could make me seek out a late-night cab ride to the east side of Downtown and these days it often does. With former Golden Gopher bartenders Sonny and Rodney and the same for-hire door staff as all the Cedd Moses bars, co-owner Dave Whitton is hitting on all cylinders. Live music is featured Wednesday through Saturday nights and the massive patio fills, resulting in a line to the street. Get there early and do my pub crawl in reverse if you are not a fan of the crowds. Or stop me on the street for a super-special secret in beating the crowds at Villains! 1356 Palmetto
To see where Michael is at throughout the week, follow him on Twitter where he can be found @mikerobleto.
Guest on August 20, 2010, at 01:13PM – #1
Everyone has to STOP using the phrase "bridge and tunnel" when referring to people who don't live in downtown.
Downtown Los Angeles is not Manhattan. Downtown Los Angeles will never be Manhattan. This is not a good or bad thing. This is just a fact. LA is not NY. Using "bridge and tunnel" is just embarrassing for everyone. Spend 24 hours in Manhattan and you'll understand what NYers mean when they say the term. To them, people who live in LA are "bridge and tunnel." All of us. Even if you live in downtown. As downtown stands today, it's about as interesting as Newark, NJ , but with a fraction of the population.
The phrase just doesn't work here. You could say "valley and freeway" but that would be just as retarded. Cool people, places, and things are scattered all over the LA Basin.
You've got to stop using this phrase.
Allison C on August 20, 2010, at 01:36PM – #2
As someone who loves a good night out, I'd have to disagree with some of this list. Mostly because the majority of these bars are just too expensive to go to on a regular basis.
If friends are in town, you take them to Seven Grand for happy hour. If it's Thursday, you go to Broadway bar for $4 Stellas.
The idea of paying $10-$13 for a drink on a regular basis has lost it's appeal now that I've been here longer. When I first moved downtown, I was always at those places. I enjoy a well made drink as much as the next person, but I just can't justify it.
Guest on August 20, 2010, at 03:58PM – #3
Bridge and tunnel
Bert Green (@bgfa) on August 20, 2010, at 05:46PM – #4
To anonymous Guest #1: I lived in Manhattan in the 70s and 80s when the term "bridge and tunnel" was coined. It referred specifically to a certain type of badly dressed, unfashionable person. The fact that most of them came from the outer boroughs or the suburbs is where the name comes from, but it in no way included people from other cities, especially if they were cool and got the vibe of the place.
I don't use the term myself in downtown LA, but only because I think "suburban" or "high desert" are more accurate. But the intent is the same. Downtown LA should not be defined by or overrun with people who have no use for or sense of urban life. A healthy amount of snobbery is a good thing.
Guest on August 20, 2010, at 06:31PM – #5
"Bridge and tunnel" is just a metaphor. But we do have bridges (and viaducts and overpasses and flyover interchanges) and tunnels (subway, 2nd St, 3rd St), so maybe it's just as apt if you want to be literal.
It's used in cities all over...I first heard the term in the San Francisco Bay Area, which also has its share of literal bridges and tunnels, but that was never the full point.
Recently I heard the term in Batman...so even Gotham City has the bridge and tunnel crowd!
Guest on August 20, 2010, at 06:49PM – #6
As downtown stands today, it's about as interesting as Newark, NJ
Ha! That sounds like something a bridge and tunnel person would say. You know, the type who doesn't complain about an area not being "interesting" just as long as it's bourgeois-homogenized, trendy-ized, boutique-ized and superficially attractive.
Guest on August 20, 2010, at 08:42PM – #7
Using "bridge and tunnel" in reference anything or anyone outside of the small (relative to the city of LA) area of downtown LA just makes the speaker seem aspirational at best and delusional at worst. If you want to be an elitist, be an elitist. If you want discriminate against people who you perceive as "tacky", go for it. If you want to exclude people because they aren't cut from the same cloth as you are, have at it. Whatever way you choose to be discriminatory, just please, don't cloak it in some borrowed phrase that has absolutely no meaning or application in our vast city.
As for NYC in the 1970s or 80s, I have no idea what people were saying 30 or 40 years ago. But NYC in 2010 has some of the most interesting and cutting edge people and places across a bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, in Williamsburg. So even in NY, the phrase is loosing it's meaning as lots of "cool" people have up and moved across a bridge (to Brooklyn) or a tunnel (to Hoboken or Jersey City). But again, we're talking about LA here, and LA is not NY.
Guest on August 20, 2010, at 08:58PM – #8
whats funny about your post is that to get across the freeway from the westide into downtown, you invariably have to go over some bridge or through some tunnel.
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 12:44AM – #9
just words...who cares... bridge and tunnel hipster scenester yuppie elitist
John Apodaca on August 21, 2010, at 07:29AM – #10
I have to agree with Seven Grand and Cana Rum bar, I've been to both of these places on several occasions and love them. Yes the Old Fashion is my favorite drink of choice and it's done best at Seven Grand. When people ask me what bars to visit in downtown, I'll direct them to some of these places.
God bless & Cheers,
John Apodaca www.daddyosmartinis.com
jojinks on August 21, 2010, at 07:48AM – #11
Bridge and tunnel? Seriously!
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 08:17AM – #12
I agree with the other gust commenter. @Bert Green, no amount of snobbery is healthy. The very thing I love about L.A. over NYC is its inclusiveness, not the opposite. Manhattan can have its superior attitude. The day I sense it here in L.A., I will mourn. Whatever you call it, "bridge and tunnel", "suburban", what is with the need to condescend? I love a good mixed drink too, but I go where people are cool. As in friendly cool.
Dixon on August 21, 2010, at 09:50AM – #13
"I’ve done enough drinking in the neighborhood to fill up a shoebox or two with receipts."
Dude, you know the area's bars all too well. You gave details from personal experience on a dozen (12!) downtown bars? I suspect that if you don't have a drinking problem now, then you will soon.
A shoebox or two, huh?
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 09:54AM – #14
THe downtown scene is getting better in the sense that there are more options for locals the bad thing is that those options are getting filled with suburban cool hipster who want to be "URBAN".
When i first moved here 4-5 years ago there was only a handful of bars a local would even want to go to. It seems that ever since Downtown started becoming "cool" to the suburban world, people started coming out in droves to see this up and coming scene. Now a days the bars are filled with idiots from hollywood, machismo assh*les from the burbs, and ghetto ass woman all looking for a fight. I really miss the days when D-Town was a gem to locals and was still somewhat of a secret. The sad thing is it can only get worse, since ever art walk i see more and more of these idiots coming down and stealing glimpses of our once secret "el dorado".....In a couple of years D-town will no longer be the dirty, rough, and gritty LA that i love and remember, it looks like it will turn into a gentrified, cool spot filled with suburbans looking for a way to remain hip, cool and part of the hipster scene......FML!
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 11:04AM – #15
"In a couple of years D-town will no longer be the dirty, rough, and gritty LA that i love and remember..."
Makes me think of Oprah Winfrey worrying that one day she'll be too thin, beautiful and poor.
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 11:51AM – #16
Why does NYC always have to be brought up in any discussion about LA? It's comparing apples and oranges. The only thing they have in common is that they're big cites. Thank God LA is not NYC!
@#14: With all due respect: Get over yourself. It's all a matter of perspective. You say you moved 4-5 years ago. To the people who moved in 10 years ago, not to mention those who lived on the streets of downtown before the very first prospector developed the very first loft, YOU are the suburban looking for a way to remain hip, cool and part of the hipster scene.
I'm glad others want to share the city while bringing their money to downtown. The successes ensure we can continue to enjoy what we have and look forward to what's to come, while at the same time preserve and renew some of the best examples of historical architecture left in Los Angeles. Only a true native would look at the new crowds and take pride in it. Change is good. Cities are interesting when they are dynamic.
Susana Benavidez on August 21, 2010, at 11:59AM – #17
Thanks for the article. I hope it's a recurring theme. :)
Jamie DeFrisco on August 21, 2010, at 11:59AM – #18
This guy has only been living in downtown for 2 years? There's others who have been doing pub crawls for longer, but I'm sure most them wouldn't want to share their goods anyways. There's so many places he left out though. I assume another post or two is in order.
I somewhat agree with you, Guest #14. However you should know that there are many bars out there that even the people trying to be urban never go to.
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 01:24PM – #19
I was going to live in New York in 1946, went there, left there in 2 weeks. Could not stand it, Then went to LA and loved it right off. It was my lifestyle, All of it - downtown, the valley, Hollywood, the beach. I have lived downtown over two years and am happy to be here. It has a sense of energy, growing, righting itself. You don't have to young and hip to love downtown. Apples and oranges I believe is correct in a big way when comparing it to NY. Drinking is not my thing but eating is and I have had a lot of great meals downtown at many restaurants. The best "the Ritz" the most expensive "the Ritz"
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 01:54PM – #20
I have a house in the High Desert and I spend time downtown. I think Bert's remarks are retarded and offensive. The first time I pick up that kind of an attitude at a gallery or a club, I will not be back.
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 03:18PM – #21
@guest 21: Exactly, there's no room for that kind of attitude. Keep if friendly or it's over before it even really started.
Guest on August 21, 2010, at 10:08PM – #22
@ guest 15 I agree that change is good, and you're right about perception and all. I think that i'm just a little bit too nostalgic since i've been coming here for the last 20 years and living here for 5. I do want more people to come down here and spend their money so this area can flourish, I just hope that this place doesn't become a joke or too cliche.....dynamic cities are fun. I will learn to embrace this new change as much as i can, thanks on the perspective changer upper.
Jasmijn on August 21, 2010, at 10:26PM – #23
Thanks for the tips on the bars I haven't tried yet: there is still so much to explore downtown! I tend to go to a couple of favorites but change is (if not always good) usually interesting.
Guest on August 22, 2010, at 02:22AM – #24
There is no comparing L.A. to NYC. All NYC has is Manhattan, whereas the City of L.A. has downtown, the valley, hollywood, the westside and even the largest port in America...I'm so tired of all the transplant from all over the world who come to L.A. to live but, complain about how it's not this place or that place...well guess what? GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND L.A. WILL BE THAT MUCH BETTER WITHOUT YOU (i.e. LESS TRAFFIC!!!)
Guest on August 22, 2010, at 03:53AM – #25
"Go" (1999) had some fun using "818" as a derogatory term vs. "Bridge & Tunnel"...and it was a great LA film, to boot. I vote "818" because, hey, it's funny.
Only issue I had with the article was the constant referencing to the hotness of staff. My experience in LA is that most of the hot staff can't make a drink to save their lives. For me, it represents the worst of LA image over common sense. Cute girls who submitted a headshot for a bar spot, and can only make one drink at a time, have to go. At $12 a cocktail, give me a psoriasis-laden lumberjack with some skills, and I'm happier.
Guest on August 22, 2010, at 08:01AM – #26
Jaja... BRIDGE AND TUNNEL!!!
Oscar
(ps: get those 818'ers out o heea')
Guest on August 22, 2010, at 06:25PM – #27
"A healthy amount of snobbery is a good thing." This is coming from a guy who runs an art gallery a block from Skid Row. You stay classy Bert Green.
Guest on August 23, 2010, at 02:05AM – #28
We like the variety of dozens of bars and restaurants but there is a point where the neighborhood cannot supports that many establishments. We have <3% of the residents of Manhattan. We should welcome our bridge $ tunnel crowd (818 & 323) to keep it fresh. At least until we get 1.5 million more residents in DTLA. At that point, we can be a little snobby.
Alexandra Leh on August 23, 2010, at 02:24AM – #29
ah! yet another opportunity to raise my customary rant about DTLA bars! from my (unfortunate) 3rd floor vantage point on 6th street between main and los angeles (where i moved well before there were 4 -- count 'em, 4 -- drinking establishments), directly across from las perlas and above the association and cole's (i notice the last two aren't mentioned in this piece), the weeknight crowd and the weekend crowd are quite different in demeanor. i don't want to cast aspersions on those who visit DTLA for a little nightlife -- come on down and drink your livers silly; it's good for the economy! but PLEASE, i (and my fellow neighbors) beg of you: STFU when you're out on the street. we don't want to be disturbed by your random sloppy screaming, we don't want to be awakened by your inebriated revelry, we don't want you here one night if you can't respect the fact that we live here all the time. i'd actually rather hear the occasional angry shout from a crack-addled street denizen than the intentionally rude and drunken ravings of a...well, you get the drift.
Guest on August 23, 2010, at 03:46AM – #30
Jaja! I just throw water at them! (yes, clean water!)
Guest on August 23, 2010, at 01:42PM – #31
@guest #1 - "As downtown stands today, it's about as interesting as Newark, NJ , but with a fraction of the population." Ha! Brilliant and totally true! I've been living in downtown for over 12 years so I've seen it before and after this latest renaissance or whatever you want to call it. I love it but the reality is downtown is just another L.A. suburb. Newark...that's the best thing I've heard all week!!
Guest on August 23, 2010, at 03:49PM – #32
THANK YOU @Alexandra Leh!!! Spot on. It's like Downtown has turned into people's Hollywood or Vegas night out. STFU is right.
the weeknight crowd and the weekend crowd are quite different in demeanor. i don't want to cast aspersions on those who visit DTLA for a little nightlife -- come on down and drink your livers silly; it's good for the economy! but PLEASE, i (and my fellow neighbors) beg of you: STFU when you're out on the street. we don't want to be disturbed by your random sloppy screaming, we don't want to be awakened by your inebriated revelry, we don't want you here one night if you can't respect the fact that we live here all the time. i'd actually rather hear the occasional angry shout from a crack-addled street denizen than the intentionally rude and drunken ravings of a...well, you get the drift.
Guest on August 23, 2010, at 08:27PM – #33
TROLL ALERT!!!
Guest on August 24, 2010, at 07:05AM – #34
To play the devil's advocate: how do you know the rowdy weekend crowd are outsiders, and not insiders letting loose in their playground because it's the weekend and they can walk home?
Scott Mercer on August 24, 2010, at 09:24AM – #35
This about what people do, not who they are.
If people come into Downtown who are obnoxious, loud and vomit on the streets, they are not going to be welcome by those who live there on a daily basis. I don't care where they come from, who they are, or how they dress.
By the same token, if people who live in Downtown take the attitude of "let's laugh at the provincial hayseeds from Woodland Hills and Rancho Cucamonga who are invading our precious space that I found and discovered because I am so damn discerning and cool and you clearly are not because you shop at Wal-Mart" then people from outside the area are right to flee and take their money with them, never to return.
Everybody should just play nice and enjoy a good drink.
Guest on August 25, 2010, at 08:39AM – #36
loud, vomit spewing, out of control west-siders or southlanders ARE bridge & tunnel. that is part of the definition. the lack of respect and knowledge of downtown other than a weekend stomping ground makes them bridge & tunnel... lack of style is just an unfortunate side effect of the bridges & tunnel crowd, lol.
that said, keep coming. the more you come, the more you spend, the more my weekdays are full of new bars, restaurants & retail waiting to lure you in with their dollars but ultimately making my life easier and spoiled for choice. and the dorkier you look, the cooler we look.... bring it :)
Christophe Serafino on August 25, 2010, at 09:58AM – #37
Bridge and Tunnel = People who don't live downtown.
I like having pride in my neighborhood and mingling with locals on the weekdays. It gives a sense of community.
When the bridge and tunnel crowd shows up on the weekends and packs the bars, the sense of community diminishes.
I don't know about you, but I enjoy mingling with people in my neighborhood as oppose to hearing what someone from Moreno Valley has to say.
I use "bridge and tunnel" often, it's a figure of speech and it sounds better than "the freeway crowd".
Cheers!
Guest on August 25, 2010, at 11:19AM – #38
without the so-called bridge and tunnel crowd downtown might as well roll over and die. there is no retail to speak of. 90% of the art galleries pay no rent, but it's better to have something in all the otherwise empty storefronts than nothing at all. the bars and restaurants are what is bringing in the cash. lose the bridge and tunnel crowd crowd and downtown is f**ked. so instead of bitching about them, why don't all of you buy them a drink instead.
Amanda Leon (@LoveableLion) on August 25, 2010, at 07:47PM – #39
I don't agree with a lot of the observations about the crowds but obviously Mike and I have a difference of opinion about what the "best crowd" is (he didn't include any of the more casual or dive bars on the list and I can't stand Seven Grand) but I just wanted to say that the best night at Broadway Bar is definitely Wednesday, not Thursday :)
Alexandra Leh on August 26, 2010, at 10:16AM – #40
the "best crowd" brings their business to DTLA and has a good time...but not at the expense of the people and the community around them. we all know it's hard to be respectful when you're drunk. so it's really up to the bar owners and bouncers to enforce the "please be respectful of our neighbors" edict. on 6th street, there is no such respect, no such signage, and no such enforcement -- yet. i'm just saying, i don't care if you've taken a bridge or a tunnel or a freeway to get here...or if you've walked 2 blocks from your loft. play inside, and keep it to yourself on the way to your car...which you shouldn't be driving, but that's another rant for another time.
Guest on August 27, 2010, at 09:25AM – #41
Isn't Bridge and Tunnel talking about the people in NY that must cross the bridge and tunnel to get to MANHATTAN? I thought it was! I guess it sounds pretty stupid here in L.A. becuase we dont need to cross a bridge or a tunnel to get into downtown. And when I say bridge I mean as an only option. Dont give me that 1st street bridge crap. We dont need to cross it when coming from the westside or southbay.
Guest on August 27, 2010, at 09:37AM – #42
Hello. I'm Captain Literal. I do not use the term Bridge and Tunnel because only Manhattan has bridges or tunnels. Words and expressions should never transcend the time or place they were created or used for.
Guest on August 28, 2010, at 01:38AM – #43
Guys. Enough with the criticism of bridge & tunnel usage. It's so...bridge & tunnel.
crystal on August 30, 2010, at 11:27AM – #44
Alexandra brings up good point. why does downtown not have signage to keep it down like other areas. I know Wilshire in Brentwood, Abbot Kinney, and a few places in Venice have 'please keep it down we have neighbors' signs. I realize that is not a solution, but it has been a reminder to me in the past. Its at least a start.
DawnC on August 31, 2010, at 10:03AM – #45
I was out for drinks with a girlfriend a few weeks ago and we were mad-dog stared down by a girl that looked like a cross between Snookie and Jwow from Jersey Shore. I'm not sure why she was unhappy with us, maybe because we weren't dressed in the super tight mini dress black hair and spiked heels uniform that seems to now be required at certain Downtown establishments on the weekend. We crossed the street quickly as she joined the rest of her Pauly D, Situation and Vinny clone crew at the Crocker Club and headed to Los Perlas which was thankfully populated by a more local crowd.
I enjoy the show on TV but don't really want to deal with their National Geographic worthy antics in person. If that's not a crowd worthy of the "Bridge and Tunnel" moniker, I'm not sure what is!