I am known to frequent The Grove on a regular basis, usually at the weekend and usually to eat and drink rather than just to shop. While there are some very nice mid-tier restaurants there, I usually sneak 100 yards west to the Farmer’s Market and head over to Unit 326, where the creatively-named 326 Bar is located in all its glory.

326 Bar is sandwiched in between a mexican food stand and a candle shop, which means the ambient smell is a confusing cross between fried beef and Hillary Clinton’s neckerchief. Why, you ask is it like a dive bar? Well, the Mr. Meaner Checklist of bar dive-ness rate card shows as follows:

Dirty [✔], Cash Only [✔], Smoke-filled [✔], No food served [✔], People eating at the bar [✔], At least two senile old ladies drinking rosé wine [✔], Plastic cups instead of glasses [✔], Plastic pitchers [✔], Serves PBR [✔], Has Coors Lite as a “premium” beer [✔], Has at least one person drinking who has less than three teeth in their head [✔], Has a bartender with visible injury [✔], Keeps the kegs in fridges under the bar [✔], Has illegible beer list on a chalk board [✔], Serves wine from a box [✔], Random kids wander through on occasion [✔], Restrooms less than satisfactory [✔], TV with dirty glass shows sports programs on mute [✔], Strange sticky substance in random places on the bar [✔]

Yes, indeed, 326 Bar has it all — and then some! But where in LA can you get a pitcher of Bud Lite for $13, have the bartender happy that you tip $2, and get to people watch the entire Farmer’s Market from the comfort of your barstool? Nowhere, that’s where.
Read the rest of this entry »