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The nexus of perfection: Blue Palms Brew House
6October 25th, 2008blue palms brewhouse, LA restaurants, venuesMy three favorite things in the world are Music, Beer and Vegan Food – in pretty much that order. Now, if you take one of LA’s top music venues, the Fonda Theater, add in LA’s top ale house and a damn good vegan entreé, you have me SOLD. I will go there as often as I can, sometimes several times a week.
The Fonda Theater in Hollywood, as any music nut knows, hosts The Music Box, an eclectic live music venue for reasonably popular acts. Recent appearances include MGMT, Rancid, Tegan and Sara, The Arctic Monkeys and Conor Oberst…. I’ll be there in a couple of weeks to see the Kaiser Chiefs from my homeland.
Some bright spark had the idea of converting the awful Blue Palms Lounge, which I had frequented on occasion to consume over-priced martinis and bottled Heineken, into an absolute mecca for beer lovers in LA. Blue Palms has undoubtedly the best beer selection south of San Francisco, including several rapidly rotating taps and a single cask ale pump. In addition, you’ll find knowledgeable staff and even a video/audio feed from the stage so you can continue to enjoy your favorite act while you pop into the bar for a quick one.
On the food front, they have only one vegan selection, but it stands head and shoulders above what you’d typically get in a brewhouse: Blackened Tofu. This dish is perfectly prepared firm tofu, blackened in a pan and served with steamed spinach and a selection of delicious grilled vegetables. It’s absolutely vegan, as the chef knows what vegan means, and even prepares it separately from non-vegan dishes. That’s really cool, if you ask me.
But, for me, the best part is the beer selection — especially the cask ale which reminds me so much of rainy England.
Here’s a sneaky pic I took recently when the bar staff (and owner/leaseholder) were huffing and puffing to change a cask. You can clearly see the zillions of beer taps, along with the cask beer engine in the middle:
I think, on that visit, I was drinking a Porter from Craftsman, perfectly pulled into an English-style glass. Oh boy, it was quite a night. In fact, I absolutely refuse to drive when visiting Blue Palms, except on the odd occasion that I find myself wandering on Hollywood Blvd. after some event where I’ve drank a bottle or two of way-too-cold-American-Beer and absolutely, without a doubt need to wash my mouth out with something like this:
Alternatively, if you’re not completely sold on the whole cask ale thing (and it’s not for everybody, I can admit), the other two dozen or so beers on tap will, without a doubt, whet your whistle.
For those rare beer lovers who are also vegans, the blackened tofu is really a treat. Here’s a close-up so you can get excited about it:
So, if you’re looking for good music, great beer and above-average vegan food (for a bar, goddamit!), please visit the Blue Palms. You will get a warm welcome, a cold beer and a very soothing environment to imbibe. Highly recommended!
Tags: blue palms, cask ale, hollywood
3 responses to “The nexus of perfection: Blue Palms Brew House”
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they only need one vegan dish if it looks like that. That is one sexy plate of food.
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I love the Fonda… it’s a great venue for shows and they get excellent bands to play there. Last show I saw was Siouxsie, and she rocked it! My favorite thing about The Fonda is that it’s about a two minute walk from the Metro stop. Too bad I’m not much of a drinker because this would be the perfect place for me to get shitfaced drunk and then not have to drive home! I just might need to make an acception though since you’re saying they’ve got the best selection around… not to mention that gorgeous tofu dish!
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What a fabulous-looking blackened tofu dish! It’s so nice when a place that would SEEM to be not at all vegan-friendly ends up having an amazing vegan dish. The Fonda is a great venue and I’m happy to know that I can eat well in close proximity! If I had a taste for alcohol, I’d be sitting on a stool at Blue Palms ASAP.
3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
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vegan food and beer in close proximity! | vegan food and living in Los Angeles January 29th, 2009 at 09:37
[…] Blue Palms Ale House and Truly Vegan in Hollywood (although Blue Palms has a great vegan offering in-house) […]
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vegan brunch and beer at boho in hollywood | quarrygirl: a vegan food blog in los angeles September 8th, 2009 at 07:32
[…] a year, but their beer selection has already made them one of my favorite bars in town. other than blue palms and the verdugo, i can’t think of anywhere with such a great beer selection. plus unlike the […]
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[…] fans of the craft beer bar since it opened 3 years ago (the draught selection is bonkers!!!), and back in 2008 we sang the praises of their blackened tofu platter. i’m happy to report that since then, their cruelty-free options have expanded to include […]
bex October 25th, 2008 at 09:34