Hunting For Happy Hour Bars

It's one of the great creations of bar and restaurant owners, a chance for professional patrons, to act like college students again by watching their wallets instead of their waistlines.

I am referring, of course, to Happy Hours. Yes, those lovable little nibbles that bars and restaurants give us for brief moments, usually 5-7 M-F. Half-priced appetizers and drink specials bring in post-work crowds with the idea, of course, to have people stay after Happy Hour expires so they buy food and drink at regular prices.

Some, of course, are better than others. I had taken it upon myself to research not just a few but ALL the Happy Hours in the Hermosa Beach/Manhattan Beach/El Segundo area of Los Angeles to post and article on PubClub.com. The challenge was immense, far greater than I had originally envisioned, because so many places in these South Bay Beach Cities now have a Happy Hour.

I not only wanted to review the place and the deals, but also to hit them when they were happening. A unique aspect of PubClub.com – and one of its strengths, if you ask me – is that it focuses as much on the atmosphere of a place and the crowd in it, as it does the actual establishment. After all, how much fun is it to be sitting practically alone somewhere when throngs are having the time of their lives just a few doors down the street? Very little, I tell you!

So not only did I have to hit the Happy Hour spots and check out the menu and drink items, I had to hit them at their Happy Hour peak.

I started in what I call the "Rosecrans corridor," a four or five block area of Rosecrans Ave., in what is technically El Segundo but locals still count as Manhattan Beach. For a while, the town's top Happy Hour was located here and the spot was McCormick & Schmick's. You pay normal price for drinks but could get many menu items for less than $5. It was once packed with locals on Fridays but now has only a few of the long-time regulars.

Also on this evening's agenda was Cozymel's, the Daily Grill (since closed), a bar at the Belmar Hotel that turned out to be nice but practically empty and the new "hot spot" of this area, Salt Creek Grill. I did all but Salt Creek in one night. Since that time a couple of new players have emerged and most recently I tried out the $6 burger at Fleming's Steakhouse. It's big and hearty, and Fleming's Happy Hour is in effect seven days a week, and even on holidays. Here's PubClub.com's review of Fleming's Happy Hour.

And so it went for several weeks, from Sharkeez Hermosa Beach to Sharkeez Manhattan Beach (#1 in the list for the combination of the crowd and the 2-for-1 drinks), all over the Hermosa Beach Pier and surrounding area, downtown Manhattan Beach and even back again to places. Two spots have since closed (Beaches, which had the longest Happy Hour running until 9, is the other) new places have emerged.

For instance, the day before checking out Fleming's, I was at Union Cattle in Hermosa Beach. I certainly enjoyed drinking 22 ounces of beer for $8 as much as the view of the Pacific. Here is that review.

PubClub.com will be doing individual reviews as well as keeping the main article up to date. And you can guess what that means – a lot of time spent researching the Happy Hours in the South Bay!




This blog is written by Kevin Wilkerson, publisher of PubClub.com

Soutb Bay LA Party Report. The scene in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach

Welcome to the PubClub.com South Bay Party Report!

For specific information on bars in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, go to these URLs:
http://www.pubclub.com/losangeles/hermosa.htm
http://www.pubclub.com/losangeles/manhattan.htm


Welcome to the PubClub.com South Bay Party Report!

Memorial Day Weekend is over – and can you believe those crowds at Fiesta Hermosa – but this is the South Bay and there’s always another party.

For starters, the Lakers play TONITE and there are plenty of local places to watch the game. Tip-off is 6 p.m., which means an hour of Happy Hour power at Sharkeez, Blue 32 was packed for Sunday’s game and has a Happy Hour lasting until 8 p.m. And how this for something different: Upper Manhattan will be featuring The Laker Gals cheerleaders, Laker shots (yes, they are purple and gold) and other drink specials. That’s where I’ll be for all the action. Can’t wait to see those Laker Gals!

SiX-MAN STYLE GOLF TOURNAMENT!

Can’t wait for Surfest/6-an? Then check out this 5-man golf tournament taking place on Saturday, June 13. People play in costumes, there’s cocktails on the course and then a shuttle bus to Sharkeez. Get creative on the costumes; I know what you can do with a little inspiration! I would assume the skill level is not quite, ahem, up to par with that of the participants in Surfest. Duffers welcome! There are still spots open for teams to play (and there’s no need to line up at the Pier at 2 a.m., to get a good spot!) so hit the link below. There’s also opportunities for sponsors. PubClub will be there with the PubClubettes!
http://www.5mangolf.com/

FIESTA HERMOSA
I remember when this was a “well not much else is going on so I might as well check it out” event, and the beer garden had fun bands but was nothing special. So what happened!? It has been rocking lately. There had to be tens of thousands of people in and around the Pier and the entire area has a great vibe. The beer garden was packed and was THE place to be for the weekend. Perhaps I should rename it The Launching Pad because that’s what it became for going out on the town afterward. Those cover bands are great but it was also nice to see a local artist, Shari Puroto, featured in the beer garden. I’ve posted photos and and article on PubClub.com (with a video to be added): http://www.pubclub.com/losangeles/fiestahermosa.htm

AROUND TOWN: SEEN ON THE SCENE
Went to Fenner’s after the beer garden on Sunday but we promptly turned around and spent our money at Sangria instead. That’s because FFFF wanted five bucks cover charge! At 6:30 at night!! On a Sunday!!! Those doorguys sure are making it tough to give business to the best bartender in town, Juan...Sunday we gathered at Blue 32 for a birthday gathering and Laker game and, as mentioned earlier, it was jumping more than, well, the Lakers...Popped into the new Café Boogaloo on Sunday and am happy to report there was a live band. A long-time regular has been there a few times and says the bands he’s seen have not not the Boogaloo traditional blues, zydeco and other New Orleans-type music, but more funky. The crowd is younger, too. I ran into new owner Gary Alonso (a former manager at Sharkeez, who he knows the local scene) and will be conducing an interview with him for a future PubClub.com Party Report about his new vision for the bar...Who went to Jimmy Buffett on Thursday? I much prefer Saturday shows, but we took a party bus, arrived about 5 and had about three hours to walk the parking lot. There were three lively rows of tiki bars and churning blenders. What a great way to start the Memorial Day weekend but Jimmy, come back on a Saturday! Irvine Meadows, by the way, is the best parking lot scene for Buffett but is the worst venue. Here’s photos: http://www.pubclub.com/specialevents/buffettirvine.htm

PubClub.com has somewhat of a new look these days and hopefully you will find it much easier to locate new and existing content. The home page is now focused exclusively on the party stories on the site. Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the individual destination guides (you’ll find writeups on worldwide cities like San Francisco, Honolulu Vegas, Prague, Amsterdam, etc.) and, like a newspaper, there are now specific sections on Music and Sports.

That’s it for this edition of the PubClub.com Party Report! I’ll be out on the town checking things out for you and putting it in the next report. Thursday, I’ll be covering the Hollywood premier of the new John Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal’s City Walk. Be sure and bookmark PubClub.com.

Cheers!
Kevin Wilkerson
http://www.pubclub.com.

Memorial Day Fiesta Hermosa in Hermosa Beach, CA

Welcome to Fiesta Hermosa!
Fun, Food, Bands and a Beer Garden!

Fan Halen, a popular Van Halen cover band rocks the beer garden.

As if a holiday weekend in lively beach town is not enticing enough, the city of Hermosa Beach, CA makes it more of a festival atmosphere with Fiesta Hermosa.

Held each Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend, the three-day event features local arts and crafts booths, food booth, live music in two locations and, of utmost interest to the many singles of this South Bay part of L.A., a beer and wine garden.

People turn out on the Pier area for Fiesta Hermosa.

Thousands turn out each day, crowding lower Pier Ave., which runs right into the Pacific Ocean, and for five blocks along Hermosa Ave. Vendors hawk jewelry, clothes, photography, wall and house decorations.

In addition to the festival itself, several more people are participating in local beach volleyball tournaments, are cruising along The Strand – a sidewalk that runs parallel to the Pacific – on bikes and rollerblades or are enjoying the ocean, wide beach.

"You can feel the excitement," one resident says. "It just says: celebration!"

That's certainly evident at the intersection of the Strand and Pier Ave. It's the focal point of activities. The centerpiece is a stage featuring live music and along the sides are the restaurants and bars of downtown Hermosa, their patios filled with pacified patrons.

The Pier area vendor booths

There are families and couples, to be sure, but the place is also swarming with singles. They patrol the crafts and eventually head to the food booths, which are located in a parking lot just south of Pier Ave., Grilled meats and shrimp, Thai, Mexican, corn on the cob and other tasty treats are sold, for prices in the $4-7 range.

This is a necessity for those who spend their afternoons in the beer garden, And several people do, enjoying the rotating bands, the beer (of course) and the boys and babes that comprise the crowd.

Grilled shrimp is one of he offerings in the food court.

It's such a popular destination that there's always a line, and while it tends moves fairly quickly it's also evident it's time for a small beer garden expansion. This could be accomplished by relocating three food booths next to the beer garden's entrance.

The beer garden lines require some planning and perhaps planting, as it's difficult to check out the bands here and also at the Pier. And those bands are one of the key draws of Fiesta Hermosa. Organizers bring in great music.

Babes and bands – that's Shari Puroto singing – in the beer garden.

Many are cover bands of popular acts – Fan Ha len (Van Ha len), Led Separating (Led Zeppelin) and The Long Run (Eagles) – along with bands playing classic rock and local musicians such as Hermosa Beach's own blues rocker Shari Puroto. Fan Halen is particular popular and has closed out the last two beer gardens on Mondays.

Fiesta Hermosa runs Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with bands playing from 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.