Neighborhood Watch: Downtown Edition | LA2DAY - The Los Angeles Lifestyle Magazine

Neighborhood Watch: Downtown Edition
By Tom Madden FOR LA2DAY.COM 05 Jun 2008

Vaguely gazing out the window of Shojin (333 S. Alameda), a vegan restaurant located in a vacant and non-descript mall Downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo, the lonely and gray escalator’s stairs and their up-and-down patterns mesmerize me.

“I haven’t seen one person come up that thing in the last 30 minutes,” I thought angrily to myself, this is not the way I wanted to start off a night of in-depth downtown coverage.

In an area currently experiencing a renaissance of gentrification, downtown Los Angeles has become quite the destination for those who haven’t met the demise of our current economical woes and who can still afford a meal that doesn’t come served in a paper wrapper.

However, considering I’m one-third of the way through a vegan detox, my options for a tasty yet gluten-free dinner in Downtown Los Angeles are slim to none. And in a downtown filled with meaty, personal favorites, like the homemade taquitos and guacamole at Cielito Lindo (which is the only worthwhile Mexican joint on Olvera Street), I find myself clinching my teeth and giving disingenuous smiles to the waiter as I order something called kale salad and an entrée of grilled seitan and vegetable curry.

While the options for vegan dining might be thin, locating an establishment for merrymaking and indulging is rather effortless in downtown.

Seven Grand (515 W. 7^th St.) is a downtown relic. With wall-to-wall green tartan carpeting, big oaky pool tables, and a whiskey list the size of a Kerouac scroll, Seven Grand is a man’s bar, you can almost feel the stubble growing.

I suggest asking their knowledgeable staff for a whiskey “old-fashioned” complete with lemon peels and ice. Many complain that the service is slow, but I think that’s just the unfortunate west-coast mindset of ranking speed with quality. Sometimes a respectable drink takes time to construct, hell even a cheeseburger at a Midwest McDonalds take about ten minutes too long, so relax and enjoy the Laker game while your $6 drink is poured.

A couple steps past a bum-clad Seven-Eleven, and down some quiet, unwelcoming streets lies Seven Grand’s worthy neighbor.

The Golden Gopher (417 W. 8^th St.), voted one of the best bars in America by GQ magazine, has been a city favorite for years. In fact, its been serving up drinks for so long that they still have a “liquor to go” license to sell you six-packs of beer and bottles of your favorite rotgut before you call it a night.

Crystal lights dangle and subtly illuminate this brick-walled downtown hangout, and if you can get past having to surround yourself with fatheaded SC frat kids ordering rounds on their parents tab, then you will see all that this bar has to offer. With an outdoor patio complete with unobstructed views of the nighttime sky, I suggest taking your drinks outside.

It’s neat to feel the city’s immense power, with its stretching walls and overwhelming way of making man feel so microscopic and the Gopher’s alley patio affords you this experience minus any bum interruptions or sketchy shadowed strangers.

Speaking of unobstructed views, the Rooftop Bar at The Standard Downtown (550 S. Flower), still remains one of the sultry mainstays in the downtown scene.

With Kubrick styled lounging and waterbeds big enough for some 70’s Heffner debauchery, Downtown’s Standard is much more attractive than it’s Sunset sibling, but I suggest staying on a week night when the Ed Hardy clad mutants aren’t in full effect.

Finally, the Broadway Bar (830 South Broadway) is Downtown’s newest and possibly it’s swankiest watering hole. A collaborative effort between Cedd Moses, who brought you the The Golden Gopher and the 4100, and New Yorker Joe Baxley, the Broadway houses a gigantic circular bar and gives off a glitzy 40’s vibe. Located next to the Orpheum Theatre, this is prime real estate for a post-concert cocktail.

Sure this next month of detox and vegan nourishment might be rough, but alcohol is a staple ingredient for many past bhikkus searching for some kind of enlightenment. Thankfully, Downtown is blanketed in worthy suppliers.

And if I fail, Cielito Lindo, I’m coming for you my dear.

Edison
108 W Second Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-0000
www.edisondowntown.com