Do you ever just have a night in the middle of the week that's so amazing, that you think to yourself "Wow! How is it NOT a weekend?" Well, that was my Thursday night. I said I wasn't going to post until I did something really fun and cool, and then BAM, really fun and cool happened practically instantaneously, and literally 1 block from my apartment.
I'm almost reluctant to post about this awesome new spot that I found, because I'm selfish, and I want to keep it a secret, but seriously, it's so good, I know that lots of people are going to find about it anyway, so I won't hold out on you (plus everyone who reads my blog is pretty cool anyway, so I'd like likely want you to hang out with me at this place).
Here's the scoop: Last night I met up with my dear friend and co-conspirator Annalise Dry for a quick drink after work. We wanted some place laid-back and beachy, but with good food and beer. Enter, Venice Ale House. Now, I love the boardwalk and all of it's craziness, but there's definitely a demand for some better quality food and drink options. Don't get me wrong, cheap street food is alive and well on the beach, but you'd be hard pressed to find anything that's not pizza or a churro in most establishments on Oceanfront Walk. Venice Ale House is filling a big void.
It also manages to seamlessly blend the kick-back Venice vibe with delicious organic food, artisan drinks, and really great service. Por ejemplo, this really neat flight of beer served on a skate deck!
Annalise pointed out to me later that there are art installation on the ceiling that are made out of different parts of skateboards, and I know that this won't matter to any boys reading, but there are skateboard trucks installed underneath the bar as purse hooks. That feature alone is enough to make me come back, but let's get down to the other great things about this place...
Our bartender Allie, was phenomenal. Not only did she carefully pick out the beers in our flight, she was very friendly and knowledgeable about each one, and even let us sample a couple to figure out exactly what we were looking for. Allie hand selects the beers that are on special, as well as the seasonal and featured beers that they rotate through. She picked us out what is bound to be a new fave, Lagunitas Lil' Sumpin.
She also custom made me one of the best cocktails I've ever tasted: Strawberry-lemonade mint mojito. This sounds like something you could get anywhere, but this cocktail has a secret: it's made with Soju (soju cocktails are starting to pop up in certain beer and wine bars, because they don't technically qualify as hard alcohol). It has a very light and delicate taste and the fresh strawberries, blueberries and mint makes this drink flawless.
Although I don't have a photo of it, they also had a wonderful grass fed beef burger on the menu that rivals the burger at Father's Office. The reason there's no picture is because Annalise and I practically devoured it whole before we had the good sense to try and photograph it. Yum.
If all of that weren't enough, I also discovered today that they do occasional wine and beer pairings...Last month they did a beer & chocolate pairing. Yep, I almost died.
I could go on for another 1,000 words about how great this place is, from their great local art and fantastic music selection, down to their organic ketchup (as an aside, I'm not the kind of girl who insists on organic anything, but one taste of this Muir Glen Organic Ketchup, and you will be ruined for anything else. Don't say I didn't warn you). Truthfully though, I don't want to talk about it anymore.
I just want to go back again and again..... I have a crush on this bar.
**Big thanks to the GM, Thomas Elliot, for answering the 100's of questions I asked last night. Also thanks to A-Dry for taking these pics with her magical-beaming iPhone.
Check out their site: http://venicealehouse.com/
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