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Last night the girls and I decided to go out for Happy Hour - which we'd hoped would extend into Happy Hours and perhaps Happy Night. We went to a few bars in Santa Monica, made our way down to Venice, and after a few drinks and a lot of parking, we decided to head back east.
Fortunately we happened upon The Parlor, on Wilshire and 15th in Santa Monica. I'm starting to wonder if God directed us straight to this bar (we'd made a wrong turn and didn't even mean to be on Wilshire) because I think it was created just for me. There are three things I look for in a bar: well-placed, visible TVs showing relevant sporting events; pear cider (don't ask, it's my favorite bar drink, I don't know why); and (given that my friend and I are now single) a variety of attractive people. That's it. I'm not particularly high maintenance.
The Parlor suited all of my needs. I admit I was immediately enamored by the large impressionist painting of Kirk Gibson's game one World Series home run just to the left of the bar and perhaps from that point on, my views were biased. Who cares. There are 50 (YES, FIFTY) TVs showing nine different games. Did you hear me? I said FIFTY. I wanted to see the Pac-10 tourney and pretty much everywhere I looked, there it was, clear as day. They have 20 beers on tap and plenty of bottles of (you guessed it) pear cider. Heaven.
As for the people, there was a good mix for a girl like me. Big boobs, Ugg boots, short skirts, dumpy professionals, dorky men in Converse high tops, those dudes who look like they're going for "homeless chic," giggly blondes, a couple reality TV guys, and some rather attractive dudes in white t-shirts. It's possible I could have gotten laid if my attention hadn't been so terribly focused on making sure Stanford lost (they didn't). Or that's what I tell myself.
Fortunately for me, the Parlor has a nice set-up for a girl on the prowl. Think Yankee Doodles but classier and much more cozy. There's an upper area with the bar, some tables, a few games, very comfy couches, a DJ booth, and a great view of the tables below which mostly contained large groups of professionals, a few sports fans in jerseys, and some drunk tittie girls. Oh wait, and did I say FIFTY TVs? Yes. Fifty TVs and every single one was showing sports. To appease the smokers in our party, we headed to the upstairs bar with a semi-enclosed patio to keep my buddies warm while inhaling their nicotine. A little something for everyone, and it wasn't too crowded so I didn't have jackasses blocking my view of the TVs. I didn't have beer spilled on my shoes. The staff was accommodating; they saw a person in our party didn't have seat and someone rushed to the back and pulled down an extra chair for us. Sweet.
We ordered a few appetizers to complement our drinks, hot wings and nachos, the quintessential bar food. Not bad. The hot wings were nice and crispy, and we could devour them and embrace the spicy flavor without getting sticky, gooey hot wing goop all over our fingers. The nachos were loaded with meat, beans, salsa and jalapenos (the cheese was a bit thin, but I'm not particularly picky after 3 drinks) and we finished off both plates despite insisting that we weren't at all hungry.
All in all, I am glad God led us to The Parlor. I also found out they have dualing pianos on Sundays, Beer Pong (BEER PONG!!!) on Mondays and a Guitar Hero contest. I'll see you all there for March Madness. Bring your brackets.
The Parlor
1519 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA
yes, I took all of these crappy photos. Whatever, I was drunk. Give me a break.
