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Now I
wouldn't say I'm cheap, but there is nothing that irks me
more than having to pay $8 for a cocktail. After all, I can
make a mean cocktail at home for free. So I am a huge fan
of the happy hour, that time-honored tradition where bars
offer up food & drink for a reduced price so people can
meet after work, get loaded, and still make it home in time
to watch Friends. Tammy Tonic is always in search of
a good happy hour, and when she wants to have a few cocktails
and some chow without having to pull out her gold card, she
heads west to North.
North has all of Tammy Tonic's prerequisites for a
good bar: before 9pm there is a startling lack of people;
they serve tasty cocktails; and it's dark. In true LA "we
think we're cooler than we actually are" tradition, North
is hidden behind an unmarked door that you enter through the
parking lot off a side street. When visiting North
at happy hour, you usually arrive when it's still daylight,
so you'll have that blinding moment where the brilliant evening
light of Los Angeles eclipses into the dark bar light of North.
There is a transitional entryway before you descend the wrought
iron and wood stairs, but I'm always a little disoriented
every time I enter the place—which isn't necessarily
a bad thing. It gets you in the mood for some serious drinking,
which is de rigueur for the patrons—a mix of Sunset Blvd
singles, a smattering of former regulars (North use
to be a notorious gay bar), washed-up actors (hey isn't that
Emily Valentine from 90210 over there?) with a few
late-night prostitutes thrown in if you stick around into
full-priced drinking hours.
North's flagstone and brick walls and blonde wood beam
ceiling always give me the cozy feeling of being in the den
of some eccentric rich playboy. Just a fireplace and a few
bearskin rugs scattered on the slate floor and we'd be all
set. The rest of the decor is sort of like a steak house as
imagined by Ikea, with powder blue leather booths lit by stylish
chandeliers and backed by panels of Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired
stained glass, which face a long, copper-sheeted bar.
Tammy Tonic always values cute bartenders that engage in witty
banter, and North has its fair share. If you're lucky,
Jeff or Paul will be behind the bar, both cute, both chatty
(although Jeff seems a little bitter about his bartender status
and sometimes takes it out on the unsuspecting patrons.) If
Paul is tending bar, see if you can get him to make his signature
drink "A Whole Lotta Paul." Both he and Jeff make
a mean margarita, and North has a full menu of cocktail
specialties including The Green Fairy (absinthe and lemon-lime)
and The Crazy Girl (a tropical fruity concoction featuring
the under-utilized liqueur Peach Schnapps). They also have
excellent food on their happy hour appetizer menu (I recommend
the smac & cheese, the calamari and the "nite club,"
a fancied-up club sandwich).
A warning to the North novice: this bar is to be avoided
after 9pm, and on weekends at all costs, unless you want a
see and be seen kind of scene. In general, you are only safe
on a weekday before 8, after that, I'm not responsible for
any bad crowds you may encounter. But in a town that has a
dearth of happy hour options, North is Tammy Tonic's
favorite half-price libation destination.
North: 8029 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA. 323-654-1313.
Mon - Sat: 6pm - 2am; Sun: 7pm - 2am. Happy Hour: Mon - Fri.,
6pm-8pm. Cocktails $3.50; Appetizers: $4-$5.
(FYI: Daylight savings Happy Hour hours at North
are 7pm - 8pm. Just one hour of serious drinking—make
it worth your while!)
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