Los Angeles' Best Bars

For the majority of people living in Los Angeles, walking from bar to bar is always a rare treat. For the two or three minutes it takes to stroll from one place to the next, we are free from our cars, from parking nightmares, from the din of voices and loud music inside. We are free to smoke on the sidewalk, to call our friends without yelling. So to celebrate the near extinct 'walk' in this land of automobiles, I've compiled a list of the best bars in Los Angeles, but with a twist: each bar has a partner within walking distance, making this a list of ten bars, five locations. Got it? Let's pub-crawl LA style!

Cha Cha
2375 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Red Lion Tavern
2366 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Cha Cha smells like Pabst Blue Ribbon and looks like a Mexican wrestling fiesta/fiasco. The Silver Lake hipsters love this place so much they hate it and now all the posers from out of town are coming to take their Myspace pictures in the photo booth, which has an 'anonymous' box for any exhibitionists out there. Despite all the 'cooler than thou' vibe you may or may not get from the patrons or the bartenders (it really depends on the night), it's always a good time. The tunes on the jukebox are mostly punk and alternative classics and the drinks are dirt cheap.

Take a walk across the street to the Red Lion to wind down with some late night sausage platters and a stellar variety of German beers on tap. The waitresses wear dirndls and the downstairs bar has a piano player who kicks out the 80's jams like nobody's business. Go upstairs to the middle bar for a more intimate setting and more attentive service, or outside on the patio if you want to smoke and watch the latest soccer game. The atmosphere throughout is laid back and truly local. And the price is nice as well.

Tiki Ti
4427 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, Ca 90027

Good Luck Bar
1514 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027-5516

The Tiki Ti is a tropical kitsch explosion stuffed into a 200 square foot room. Get here early because seating is extremely limited, but then stay until it gets packed so that you can order the Uga Booga and listen to the whole bar chant that phrase as long as the bartender keeps asking for it. For some strange reason, you can smoke inside this place.

After you've had your fill of Mai Tai's, head on over to the Good Luck Bar for, uh, some more Mai Tai's! Drinks here are similarly tropical and moderately priced, but the decor is reminiscent of an Oriental opium den. If you're feeling footloose, order the Double Happiness: a shot of Chinese herbal whiskey and a bottle of Tsingtao to wash it down.

Big Foot Lodge
3172 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039

The Roost
3100 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039

The Big Foot looks like a 50's ski lodge inside-- cozy, dark, and intimate. The music and the crowd vary depending on the night, but it's always a friendly environment and the bartenders are very pleasant. Their signature drinks have great names like 'Girl Scout Cookie' and 'Sasquatch'.

Head north on Los Feliz a block or two and you'll come upon a more conventional kind of place, but still just as charming. The Roost is never truly at capacity which is nice when you want to wind the night down with a friend or two. There's free popcorn to soak up the alcohol and the drinks are a little bit cheaper than the Big Foot.

Redwood Bar and Grill
316 W Second St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

7 Grand
515 W Seventh St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Ah, downtown Los Angeles. This neighborhood is starting to explode with nightlife. To get just a taste of it, start at the Redwood for dinner and a drink. It is truly an amazing feat that they made this pirate-themed bar look so damn classy without making it look like Pirates of the Caribbean. The staff are friendly and well informed when it comes to their fine selection of rums. Drink prices are moderate, unless of course you're aiming for top shelf rums-- then all bets are off.

Take a leisurely stroll to 7 Grand, a place that takes its whiskey selection very, very seriously. Shoot some pool, enjoy the dark wood paneling and the low lights. This place feels like old money, but with a twist. The heads of jackalopes are mounted to the walls, giving the place a whimsical, rather than stuffy feel.

The York
5018 York Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90042

Johnny's

Neighborhood: Highland Park

5006 York Blvd

Los Angeles,

CA

90042

Highland Park is an up and coming neighborhood that has seen a lot of improvement in the past five years. The York used to be a local dive bar, but they gutted it and turned it into a real beauty. Inside the vaulted wooden ceilings and exposed brick walls remind one of Brooklyn or maybe Seattle. The large windows in the front open up to the street, perfect on a hot summer's night. The food here is a little expensive, but the menu is sophisticated gastropub fare, all of it delicious and definitely worth the extra buck or two. Drinks here are moderately priced and the service is efficient and down to earth.

Head a few doors down to Johnny's for some good conversation with Highland Park locals. Great friendly vibe in here. Sometimes local bars get a bad rap for being insular, but the patrons of Johnny's are always welcoming.