Step Back in Time at This Train Station Depot on Sunset Boulevard | Electric Owl Happy Hour
Now. If you're a fan of Meltdown Comics and their roulette of comedy shows then you've undoubtedly seen the iron wrought gated bar with a fancy clock tower and... crickets. It used to be this little joint called Gardner Junction which I pretty much always wanted to believe was just an elaborate drug front because the few times I tried to go - I called. And was told that it was "always booked" even though I could peer over their not too tall fence to see scores of empty tables. Weird, right?
So it didn't surprise me when I heard that it closed. Was I sad that I'd never get to saddle up to the bar and sip a few cocktails? Sure. Thank god someone had the good sense to keep all that hard work in place and re-opened it under the name Electric Owl and brought in Chef Ernesto Uchimura (from Plan Check) to helm the menu.
I met up for drinks with my friend last night and in the ever searching quest to find bars with parking, I saw that this was up and open for business... and featured a #420 happy hour menu. Plus, knowing the 'hood, I know there's tons of metered parking behind the building and lots of yellow loading zones ripe for that 6pm pickin. So off we went!
They actually JUST started happy hour last night, so we were in luck. $6 gin or vodka martinis and a short stack of $4.20 food options make for quite a nice happy. I went extra dirty with mine and we tried out the fried chicken with a cacio e pepe ranch.
WOW. Just wow. That was one stunning piece of spicy fried chicken. Not death defying hot like the new kids in town... yeah Howlin' I'm looking at you... but just an even smoky spice paired with an incredibly juicy fried chicken and a creamy cooling ranch dressing that is going to keep me coming back for more. For sure.
We also tried out the white pizza with three cheese, artichokes, mortadella, and stinging nettle. It was solid. Nothing that blew my mind, but delicious all the same.
That said there are a lot of things left on the menu that I'm dying to try... they have a cornbread in husk with a huitlacoche butter, corn jam & ramps, a king crab cocktail with tabasco nuoc chan, radishes, and cucumber ice, and a yerba mate martini made with yerba mate gin, eucalyptus, lemon verbena, and salted cucumber.
It feels like it's going to be a great addition to the neighborhood and I have to say it's absolutely a lovely patio for some solid daytime drinking.
Electric Owl
1451 N. Gardner Street
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.electricowl.la/
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