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Late Night Eats: Swingers (Beverly Blvd.)
Three years ago I moved to LA after spending six years in Boston, a city where the 24 hour convenience store is practically your only option for late night eats. My first weekend here, I took advantage of the fact that I could sit down and be served real food after 2 A.M.. Where did I go to enjoy my first late night meal in LA? None other than the LA late night institution that is Swingers.
It's only fitting that I would take the assignment of writing about the place that introduced me to the world of late night eats.
Because Swingers is such an institution, the wait for a table is often pretty long. Previously, I have waited as much as 25 minutes to be seated. On this particular night, a Sunday, however, there is no wait. We were seated in a comfortable booth by a window as soon as we walked in the door.
The celeb factor at both Swingers locations (there is another spot in Santa Monica) is very high. Almost every trip has turned up a sighting of someone who is or was famous. Not on this night, however.
The crowd on this night did offer a nice mixture of all things LA. We were sandwiched in between a group of well dressed guys who danced along to every song that blasted on the diner's sound system and a pair of drunk girls who were complaining about their commercial agents. In the back, near the bathroom there was a long table full of men dressed in drag. An older guy with a cup of coffee, a newspaper and a depressed look on his face sat at the counter all alone. Black, white, Latino, Asian, gay, straight, young, old, drunk, sober, pretty, ugly, Swingers' crowd offered a little bit of everything.
Just like the crowd, Swingers' menu offers a little bit of everything, as well. From Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes in the breakfast portion of the menu to the Vietnamese dish of Bahn Bi Mi to meatloaf with mashed potatoes to tofu saute, the menu here is too diverse for words.
This eclectic mix might sound good to you, but I'm not all that adventurous when it comes to food, especially when eating in the wee hours of the night. I played it safe, starting out with Mac & Cheese. Our waiter seemed excited about our selection, calling it "brilliant". His enthusiasm for my appetizer selection was contagious, we were now anxiously anticipating our Mac & Cheese. Unfortunately, it was somewhat of a letdown. It could have been the overhype of our waiter or it could have been the over-generous helping of cheese in the Mac & Cheese. Some might appreciate the plethora of cheese, but to me it was a little too much.
As a creature of habit, I always order the Turkey Club. But on this night, I decided to mix it up and go with the Swinger Burger. I am sucker for eating items on the menu that carry the same name as the establishment. The Swinger Burger is "a fresh ground patty grilled to taste and topped with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and mayonnaise on a poppyseed bun". I'm not going to say that this was the best burger I have had in LA, but I will say it was quite tasty. You can find a better burger in town, but most of the places where you will find a better burger are not open late night.
My girlfriend who came along for the assignment decided to go with the Tuna Salad. She said the salad "wasn't bad". Despite the fact that I have never met a salad I have ever liked, I took a couple bites and agreed that the salad "wasn't bad." I guess that's a good thing, I mean we successfully ordered something that wasn't awful, so we should pat ourselves on the back. But I'd much rather take a bite into something and say "that's good" but what can you really say about tuna and vegetables, right?
While you are bound to run into someone who has made great money as a series regular, good money as "that guy" from "that commercial" or some money as reality show cast member, the prices at Swingers are pretty reasonable. Our meal came in around $26. After throwing away money on overpriced drinks all night for a girl who ended up having a boyfriend, the last thing you want is to pay too much for your late night grub. Fortunately I don't have to worry about that, just looking out for the single guys.
For that price we were treated to a fantastic retro decor (you can't go wrong with the Warhol-like cows on the wall), good service, an amazing cast of characters (speaking of cast - LA Ink's Pixie used to work as a waitress before leaving to go work with her friend Kat Von D), great atmosphere and pretty decent food.
Unlike most late night establishments, Swingers is not located near a whole lot of nightlife. It's not one of those spots where you can stumble into. In fact, the neighborhood is pretty dead at night. Despite it's location, Swingers remains one of the city's most popular late night destinations.
Swingers
8020 Beverly Blvd. (@Crescent Heights Blvd.)
323-653-5858
Hours: 6:30 A.M. to 4 A.M.
Despite what their slogan says, "Ass, Cash, or Grass, Nobody Eats for Free" they do accept credit/debit.
Photos by Tim Hammer for LAist