The day after we posted the Redwood Bar review... Justin's came down the pike

I've been to a few bars in downtown Los Angeles and my experiences have been pretty varied, but they had many aspects in common: the bars were typically totally professional, had deep selections of beer (or in the case of Seven Grand, whiskey), and were frequented by crowds of horrible douchebags reeking more of Wall Street than Los Angeles. So I headed to the Redwood with some reservations, which ended up being unfounded because the reservations I ended up having were totally different.

The service at first seemed so non-existent that I made a beeline for the bar, desperate for a drink, when our server ambushed me en route and asked me what I wanted to drink. From that point forward she stopped in to check in on us every few minutes, chatting us up about random shit like our middle names and the like. Unlike service which is often considered "pleasant" at other joints I've been to, this was completely genuine, the sort of which you tend to only get at bars pitched halfway between "complete, scary, gaping maw of a dive" and "middle class".

I had two pints of Craftsman Hefeweizen, which is the best of its kind I've ever had. This wasn't the first time I'd tried it, but it may have been the best pint of this beer that I've ever had. The selection aside from that seemed to be a little run-of-the-mill, just slightly better than average. Guinness, Bass, Boddington's, Pabst, and a couple more that I can't remember. A little help, fellas? There was a Craftsman 1903 on tap as well, but they were out.

The menu looked pretty good, but I wasn't hungry so I just stole some fries from Evan and Simon. Thumbs up to both types (regular and sweet potato). The burgers looked good. I liked the seafaring decor, which wasn't too overbearing. The crowd was pretty sparse (maybe because it was Cinco de Mayo and everyone else in town was sucking down margaritas at El Cholo or partying on Oliveras St.), which was a plus.

The problem with this place, at least on this night, was the shitty bar bands they had occupying the stage for most of the night. The first one was some roots-rock nightmare, coming off like bad Mellencamp or Tom Cochrane (you know, that "Life Is A Highway" jerk). The second act was acoustic blues, and it was totally inoffensive and much quieter. I really don't like live music at places that are not advertising themselves as performance venues, for two reasons: usually most people there aren't looking to hear live music, and all-too-rarely do such places have a separate room for such events (one positive mark for the otherwise awful Molly Malone's). This is why I also tend to despise karaoke bars. But that's just me.

I would go back to the Redwood, despite my reservations. The food was reported as being good and I did like the service. I would just make sure to return when there's no balladeers braying onstage, and I also hear that it's really packed on the weekends. Fuck that.