This is primarily an excerpt for Sky Bar, though we also hit the Well that night.
Sky Bar Pool
So my house mate (let’s call him House) and I meet up with Ra and a few friends for a night out in Hollywood. The plan is too take a taxi around to a few bars that we have never tried before. We meet up with Ra at a friend’s house and proceed to do some drinking. About half an hour to an hour later we get a cab and set out to Sky Bar. Now if you don’t know already, Sky Bar is a very popular spot in Hollywood. I am actually surprised that no one in our group had actually been before.
We arrive and get into what appears to be a short line. In a few seconds we are in the front because the party ahead of us decides not to wait. This is where Sky Bar earns its first strike on my list. We talk to the bouncers who give us this bullshit song and dance about how they can’t let us in yet. Not only are we in the front of the line, we are the ONLY people in line. Nice. There is a second bouncer there who is a little more down to earth. He lets us know that we do not have enough girls in our party. This makes sense because we have three guys and two girls. Honestly this is a faux paus for many places in Hollywood, but our plans were made last minutes.
Since the doormen decide to bullshit us, we decide to bullshit them right back. The booze we had earlier starts to hit us and we are feeling a little cocky.
- P-Tyme: How’s the night going so far?
- Door-Guy#2: Eeeeh, it’s alright
- P-Tyme: Just alright? How’s the girl situation?
- Door-Guy#2: It’s nice, it’s nice
- Ra: Well we’ve never been here before, so how do we even know we want to be in there?
- Door-Guy#1: You want to be in there.
- P-Tyme: Well would it be possible for just me to go in and look around. If I like it, we’ll stay.
- Door-Guy#2: As long as it’s alright with my man over here
- Door-Guy#1:……alright
The bouncers let me through.
- Door-Guy#1: Hey when you come back, be nice…
- Door-Guy#2: Real nice…
- P-Tyme: Right…
I go into the bar leaving the rest of my party back in the front of the line. The bar itself is nice. It is a spacious outdoor lounge with two different bars on either side of the establishment. I walk in and look around. The place is dimly lit, save the lights scattered at random tables and the lights emitting from the pool in the center on the place.
I walk up to two women and introduce myself. I learn they are from Germany and are visiting a few friends. I ask them what they think of the place and they honestly do not know. They tell me they came with a group of friends, but the rest of the party could not get in because there were too many guys. They tell me that since the rest of their party consisted of three couples, they were turned away. At this point, I’m already thinking this place is shitty, but the area seems nice so I shrug and return to my friends. I come to the conclusion that they should be able to see the place for themselves.
As I get back to the entry way and my friends, I slip the first door guy $20. He asks me if I can be a little nicer. At this point I’m tired of waiting and just could not care less, so I slip him another $20 with a dirty look. This is strike two. The door guy asks me if I can afford the bribe, so I try getting my last $20 back. Regardless they let my friends in and I was out $40. Ra scolds me a little because he say he was negotiating with the bouncers to let everyone in. I shrug, booze makes me impatient.
Everyone is in the bar now and the group splits. Ra and the two girls go to check the place out, while House and I go to talk to the two German women from before. The conversation is nice, but not going anywhere, so we eventually leave to find the rest of our group. We meet up with Ra and crew and take in the view. Sky bar is known for its view of the LA skyline, which was probably the best part of the night.
Ra attempts to usurp someone’s table while House and I hit the second bar. Though the bar is unnecessarily crowded we bump into another pair of women. House starts a conversation and we find out that they just moved to LA from Kansas or Nebraska to be hair stylists. Neither one of them have been to Sky Bar but heard it was fun place. The conversation eventually dies and we leave the section because Ra is kicked out of another table.
I mention to House that the bar is full of people that have no clue why they should be here. We go back to the area near the entrance and Ra swoops in on three women. I give him 30 seconds, then go in to wing man for him. The first girl he speaks to is taken and the second appears to be a bitch. Her face remains perpetually furrowed and she makes rude comments off to the side.
The girl I manage to talk to is cool though. She is a school teacher and teaches in a rough neighborhood. She too has never been to Sky Bar before and thinks the place is a bit odd for all of the hype it receives. We talk about America’s education system for a while and I eventually ask her out for coffee. She tells me she has a boyfriend, but likes talking to me. I think, “Who cares?!” Strike three. I cordially excuse myself and tell everyone that I’m through with the place.
We all leave and hail a taxi after Ra convinces us to walk several blocks in a random direction. As I mentioned before, we hit another bar called The Well, which is easily accessed from Sunset blvd. The place is super crowded with an older crowd, so we do not stay there long. In the end, we walk back to our friend’s house and call it a night.
Recommendation:
If you hit Sky Bar, bring plenty of women with you. That is a rule to live my for most places in Hollywood. Check it out, see what you think.
~P-Tyme
January 23, 2010 | Categories: Blurbs | Tags: Bar, Blurb, California, Full Bar, Hollywood, LA, Los Angeles, Sky Bar, The Well | Leave A Comment »
Check out their their extensive beer menu.
Review and Overview:
Happy hour here goes from 3pm to 6pm Monday through Friday and once more from 10pm to 12am Sunday through Wednesday.The drinks are decently priced, though somewhat on the higher side on it’s pricing. The Happy Hour prices here are comparable to that of most bars during normal business hours. That is one reason why we stopped frequenting the location, though to their credit they have over 100 beers on tap! It has an amazing roster that most establishments could only hope to surpass. They also have a full bar, a number of specialty drinks,all and the infamous half yard. That’s right you get a glass that is half a yard tall. It’s pretty amazing! Check out their drink menu.
The food is is incredible! They also put some of these tasty items on their Happy Hour menu for half off the normal price. Not a bad deal. I recommend the sliders or pepperoni & mushroom pizza for Happy Hour. For normal dinner though, there are too many options. During my last visit I ordered the Surf and Turf Burger which was pretty amazing.
For many of our visits the staff has been friendly and attentive, with the exception of a few who were having a bad day. There is one waitress I am pretty sure swore an oath of vengeance against me because other members in my party stiffed her on the check, but that’s a story for another day.
Since this location is in the Paseo, parking is located in the Paseo parking garage.
This is a major chain restaurant. Though you can be casual, you’ll find a lot of people coming here for dinner for meetings or after work, so a lot of people will be dressy casual. The atmosphere is bustling when it is busy, and quaint later in the evening. A great place to bring a date.
http://www.yardhouse.com/
330 E. Colorado Blvd, Suite 230
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 577-3486
Information:
Located in the Paseo off of Colorado, between Marengo and Los Robles, Yardhouse is next to Pacific Paseo Theaters and Cold Stone on the top most level.
Our History:
This was literally one of our first hang out spots, so there are many fond memories
Pros:
Though we do not come here much anymore, when we did we received excellent service. Some of the servers would recognize members of our group and comp our drinks from time to time. Can’t be mad at that. Also the extensive beer selection and tasty food makes this a nice place to hit for Happy Hour.
Cons:
Don’t expect to have a ridiculous time here beyond sitting with your friends during Happy Hour, Lunch, Dinner, etc. This is a still a restaurant that serves families as well as professionals.
~P-Tyme
January 23, 2010 | Categories: Reviews | Tags: Beer, Delicious Food, Dinner, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Local, Pacific Paseo, Pasadena, Restaurant, Review, Reviews, Specialty Drinks, Yardhouse | 1 Comment »
Consistently a good time
Review and Overview: This is a cool spot
Not an expensive place at all. Drink’s usually range between $4-$5 normally unless it’s Happy Hour, which runs from from 4pm-7pm. They have a large variety of domestic and imported beers to try.
So Barney’s is known for its 12 page newspaper menu. There is also a section specifically for Happy Hour food items. There is a large variety to choose from. Check out the menu.
The place has an assortment of games. When you first walk in you will notice that there will be sports on practically every television in the place. Head straight back and you will see the first pool table.
Now you have a few options. You can go downstairs where there is another bar, pool table, foos ball table, and air hockey table. You can go upstairs which has a bar and a number of pool tables. Unlike the other floors, the tables can be paid for by the hour (14/hr) instead of by game.
There is also a half floor between the main floor and the 2nd floor with another pool table which runs $1 a game. There is also a screen hooked up to a Nintendo Wii. Cant’ go wrong there.
This Barney’s has Karaoke, Comedy Showcases, and Trivia. Check the events calendar for further info! This is also a great place to go for those awesome drinking holidays such as St. Patty’s and Cinco de Mayo.
Staff is nice enough. I have had several conversations with the staff. The bouncers are generally pretty cool and the servers and managers are generally pretty attentive.
This location is in Old Town Pasadena, so your options are either a parking garage or street parking. If you can’t find street parking, I recommend the parking structure across the street off of Green and Raymond (or Green and Fair Oaks). Though this parking garage does not validate, you get an hour and a half free (except on Saturdays)
There is no cover for Barney’s. There really is no line. If there is a line, it is short and only exists because the bouncer can’t check at everyone’s ID’s fast enough. You may be in line for 30 seconds tops. Dress code is casual.
Great for a group! (this is true for most places in Pasadena). Go for Happy hour and play a game of pool!
http://www.barneysbeanery.com/
99 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 405-9777
Information:
Located in Old Town Pasadena on Colorado at Arroyo and Colorado, this is one of the most popular places in Pasadena!
Our History:
This was one of our first spots to hang out years ago. Originally we went for the Happy Hour, but eventually started going more often to hang out. We learned quickly that this place was meant for groups.
Why It’s Cool:
This place has always been a good place to bring friends. You never regret the night if it ends here. In fact I remember leaving from (the now closed) Fred’s Mexican Grill on Arroyo and Colorado because the service was terrible. The bouncer at Barney’s looked at us and laughed, “Coming from Freds?” We nodded and let him know that we spent half an hour trying to get served and left out of frustration. He let us in and we had a pitcher at or table within five minutes.
Besides this night, we have been to the spot far too many times. Check it out!
~P-Tyme
January 23, 2010 | Categories: Cool Spot, Reviews | Tags: Bar, Barney, Barney's, Beanery, Beer, Full Bar, Games, Happy Hour, Local, No Cover, No Line, Old Town, Parking Garage, Pasadena, Pool Table, Restaurant, Review, Street Parking, Three Stories | Leave A Comment »
