ELANA'S TAKE:
Mexican Restaurants dot the landscape like liver spots on Elizabeth Taylor; there's so many around LA that they blend into the background. What makes one stand out from another 3 doors down the street depends on some unique charm that makes them stick out over and over again. Like having a good bar. And with fluorescent sombreros tacked on to the ceiling.
El Chavo has apparently been bought and remodeled by Melanie Tusquellas, the owner of the Edendale Grill in Silverlake. I do admire the fact that they tried to keep the bar in pretty much the same condition as the 'old' one. Although, in trying to make it into a larger bar, they've only succeeded in stretching it out slightly, and up. Why up? More room for the black light sombreros?
Anyways, for this being my first post here, I'm going to try to stick to a formula for getting all my information out, without going off on a tangent and forgetting to actually write about the bar.
So...PROS:
· Cheap and tasty liquor. That should be a priority for anyone who likes to go out drinking on a more than social basis. Total bill was $20 for 3 Coronas and a shot of Casadores. They also boast, and by boast I mean other patrons have raved and I personally like, a strong ass margarita. The drink itself being somewhere around the 5 dollar mark, you can toss a couple back and make a night of it. Their liquor selection is a decent size, and they offer more than tequila.
· Friendly staff. There was 3 waiters/bartenders (they may possible share duties, I'm not sure) hovering around the bar for the hour or so we were there. I'm almost pretty sure these are the same guys who've been there since I started coming a few years back. Older dudes, the kind that could make you your drinks in their sleep, and also know that you should be drinking your beer out of the cold glass they just got for you and not straight out of the bottle like a jerk. Sorry guys. They will entertain you in conversation briefly and aren't put off by questions. And showing how accommodating they really could be on the night we visited, they were totally ok with us switching out the card for the tab to another person in our party. For some reason I appreciate the lack of questions in doing things like that and just like the simple answer of Sure, go ahead and do that.
· Free bar food. And not crap free bar food. No urine smelling peanuts here. Just chips and salsa, brought to you when you sit down, and refilled without asking. Their variation of a salsa roja may be a bit too spicy for those of you who like your Mexican condiment more on the mild ketchup side, but for me it is perfect. You get a decent cup size of salsa and the chips are fresh.
· Atmosphere. I am only now just learning the name of this place. For a couple years now it was just known as, "That bar with the black light hats on the ceiling by the Vista". And it's the kitschy niche in the Mexican Restaurant world that earned my patronage. If I remember correctly, they used to have live music playing in the dining room. Tonight they had an ipod. I should have asked if the live music went away with the remodel, maybe next time I'll find out. However, the playlist they had going was a mix of what the live band would have been playing, but also thrown in was some mondo lounge and some old surf en espanol. It wasn't offensive, I just hate it when places proudly display their ipod out like you actually care. Anyway, the decor tried to stay as close to the original as they could. The hats are there, christmas lights are entwined through the glass shelves holding up the liquor, the colorful yarn folk art hangs next to little donkey pinatas, a nice heavy wooden bar- the kind where you feel safe holding on to after you realize you've had one too many. Except, where you would expect an over-sized velvet Jesus painting, you get an over-sized black and white photo of Dolly Parton. It all seems like a mess, but it's something to talk about.
· Crowd Control. The bar is small, maybe 10 bar stools total. And yet I've never had to wait for a seat. It could be just luck, or that a Tuesday night at 8:30pm is not a really busy time for a bar, in a Mexican Restaurant. Our party pretty much filled up the room. One patron came in and began writing in his notebook at the end of the bar, apparently journaling too. It didn't start to pick up until 9:30 when a couple came in.
· Location. When more customers starting trickling in, it was time for us to leave. Not because of more people, but because we had a movie to catch at the Vista. This place makes a great alternative to the Good Luck or Tiki Ti (which is a crapshoot whether or not it will even be open when you want a drink) when you want to get a quick drink before a movie. However you probably won't be able to get a drink after, unless you see an early show.
CONS:
· It's not a dark cave of a bar anymore. This remodel opened it up more to the restaurant making it lighter and brighter, which sucks. I liked the closed in, almost suffocating feeling, of cheap decorations hanging near your head as waiters came dangerously close to you with large trays of hot food.
· The fear that those 10 bar stool will all be full when all you want is a quick drink. On the one hand, I like an intimate bar setting, on the other, when it's too small you always run the risk of having to drink over someone's shoulder. So here El Chavo runs pretty favorably in my eyes. One bizarre question though was answered this night. The Dolly Parton photo on the wall? Well, taped to the cash register is a regular snapshot of her just standing at the bar. The waiter responded with "It's Dolly Parton's bar". Not an owner, just a patron. And that's why they lovingly display her blowup mug on the wall.
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