Gastropub

I'm not sure if it was the influence of some carne asada fries during a recent trip to San Diego or a dinner at Guelaguetza accompanied by a particularly potent dose of mezcal, but I had a dream about mole fries a few weeks ago. It was a rather vivid one, where the potatoes crackled with hot life, tangles of melted cheese stretched into infinity and whorls of ink-black sauce carried with them intimations of the yawning void. It wasn't dinner on that plate - it was a cosmology summarized as a plate of drunk food.

When Ben Ford introduced his Ford's Filling Station in 2006, the fledgling gastropub was mobbed. The right idea at the right time: moderately priced comfort food in a rustic, no-frills setting. Big portions and hearty dishes — in other words, fuel. Now we've got gastropubs — a term that originated in London to denote pubs with seriously good food — popping up all over the city. Some, like Bar Marmont in WeHo, Waterloo & City in Culver City and the Parish in downtown L.A., hew to a British model.

Sang Yoon started the no-substitutions or modifications trope at Father's Office, I think, where he refused to serve his notorious hamburger without blue cheese or countenance ketchup on his fries. Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook turned it into an aesthetic at Animal; you ate their pig's ears and oxtail loco moco their way or you didn't eat it at all. The chefs at sushi bars like Nozawa and Hiko famously threw patrons out of their restaurants when they asked for spicy tuna rolls, and I have no idea what Jordan Kahn at Red Medicine might do if a table asked for the sauce on the side.

The Parish Casey Lane reinvents the gastropub ... as a gastropub. LOCATION 840 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, (213) 225-2400, theparishla.com. PRICES: Snacks $6-$11; small plates $6-$12; larger plates, $12-$20, more for big meat; desserts $7-$9. DETAILS: Open daily, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Credit cards accepted. Full bar. Valet parking.

No reservations. Loud. A gastropub from the Counter owner Jeff Weinstein and a consulting chef known for his vegetarian cooking. In theory, Freddy Smalls didn't sound all that appealing. Plus, it is small, making it almost a guarantee that you're going to have to wait, except on an especially slow night. And my dining crew is generally more impatient than I am. I finally risked it on a weeknight. We had to wait. I didn't mind, entertained by the hoard of photos pinned to a board in the entryway, all Freds and Freddys.

It is toward midnight at the Pikey, the lights are fairly low and the Kinks are playing so loudly that you swear you can hear Ray Davies scratching his ears. You are seated beneath one of Ben Watts' photographs of aging Teddy Boys - tattooed Robert Mitchum types in dark, bespoke suits, and you may be drinking something called a Divine Brown, a peculiar mixture of Ancient Age whiskey and Dr Pepper named for the hooker caught with Hugh Grant just a few blocks from here in Hollywood. You will definitely be observing members of the crowd - in their early 20s - who don't sit down to dinner as much as drift from table to table, having a drink here and an appetizer there before vanishing into the night.

Ford's Filling Station and Father's Office now have some company in the Culver City area. Brit chef Brendan Collins (Mélisse, Anisette and Palihouse) and manager Carolos Tomazos (Essex House, Per Se and Le Bernardin in New York) have just opened the gastropub Waterloo & City, named after the London tube line, in the old Crest House Family Restaurant on Washington Boulevard. The building is no beauty queen, but it cleans up nicely, and, once inside, it's a whole new world. The crowd — and it's a big one — perches on old church pews and banquettes savoring a fine cast of draft and bottled beers and feasting on housemade charcuterie and such.

The Parish , chef Casey Lane's new downtown gastropub, is the house that booze built. Although Lane is widely admired as the chef of Venice's well-regarded Tasting Kitchen, he has created the menu of his new place entirely in homage to its bar. It's a move that is at once bold and humble, and it's part of the mounting proof that the city's thriving craft cocktail scene is changing the face of its restaurant culture. "It was really all about me designing a menu that was going to be able to stand up to cocktails," says Lane, adding that the Parish's head mixologist John Coltharp is one of the best bartenders he's ever encountered.

The Parish Casey Lane reinvents the gastropub ... as a gastropub. LOCATION 840 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, (213) 225-2400, theparishla.com. PRICES: Snacks $6-$11; small plates $6-$12; larger plates, $12-$20, more for big meat; desserts $7-$9. DETAILS: Open daily, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Credit cards accepted. Full bar. Valet parking.

  The newest project of Ricardo Diaz, this Mexican-flavored gastropub continues his winning streak. Location 12706 Philadelphia St., Whittier, (562) 945-2426 Prices Antojitos, $3-$6; ceviches, $5-$19; main dishes, $9-$13; desserts, $6 Details Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and for dinner 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Credit cards accepted. Full bar. Lot parking.

Sang Yoon started the no-substitutions or modifications trope at Father's Office, I think, where he refused to serve his notorious hamburger without blue cheese or countenance ketchup on his fries. Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook turned it into an aesthetic at Animal; you ate their pig's ears and oxtail loco moco their way or you didn't eat it at all. The chefs at sushi bars like Nozawa and Hiko famously threw patrons out of their restaurants when they asked for spicy tuna rolls, and I have no idea what Jordan Kahn at Red Medicine might do if a table asked for the sauce on the side.

The Parish , chef Casey Lane's new downtown gastropub, is the house that booze built. Although Lane is widely admired as the chef of Venice's well-regarded Tasting Kitchen, he has created the menu of his new place entirely in homage to its bar. It's a move that is at once bold and humble, and it's part of the mounting proof that the city's thriving craft cocktail scene is changing the face of its restaurant culture. "It was really all about me designing a menu that was going to be able to stand up to cocktails," says Lane, adding that the Parish's head mixologist John Coltharp is one of the best bartenders he's ever encountered.

It is toward midnight at the Pikey, the lights are fairly low and the Kinks are playing so loudly that you swear you can hear Ray Davies scratching his ears. You are seated beneath one of Ben Watts' photographs of aging Teddy Boys - tattooed Robert Mitchum types in dark, bespoke suits, and you may be drinking something called a Divine Brown, a peculiar mixture of Ancient Age whiskey and Dr Pepper named for the hooker caught with Hugh Grant just a few blocks from here in Hollywood. You will definitely be observing members of the crowd - in their early 20s - who don't sit down to dinner as much as drift from table to table, having a drink here and an appetizer there before vanishing into the night.

No reservations. Loud. A gastropub from the Counter owner Jeff Weinstein and a consulting chef known for his vegetarian cooking. In theory, Freddy Smalls didn't sound all that appealing. Plus, it is small, making it almost a guarantee that you're going to have to wait, except on an especially slow night. And my dining crew is generally more impatient than I am. I finally risked it on a weeknight. We had to wait. I didn't mind, entertained by the hoard of photos pinned to a board in the entryway, all Freds and Freddys.

  The newest project of Ricardo Diaz, this Mexican-flavored gastropub continues his winning streak. Location 12706 Philadelphia St., Whittier, (562) 945-2426 Prices Antojitos, $3-$6; ceviches, $5-$19; main dishes, $9-$13; desserts, $6 Details Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and for dinner 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Credit cards accepted. Full bar. Lot parking.

First of all, Black Hogg, the name of the new Silver Lake gastropub, doesn't refer to a heritage pig or even a plain old hog or wild boar. According to the staff, it takes its name from the alternative definition of hogg, which the Oxford English Dictionary says refers to a young sheep, especially "one from the time it ceases to be a lamb until its first shearing"). And there that hogg is, ambiguous in neon outline at the very top of the restaurant's understated sign. A subliminal suggestion to order the buttery lamb burger?

Thierry Perez, former co-owner of Fraîche, says he is planning to open Waterloo & City in Culver City by the end of this month or the beginning of 2010. Perez says he has partnered with Carlos Tomazos, who had been manager at Gilt and had worked at Per Se, both in New York. The third partner and chef, who asked not to be named because he hasn't notified his current employer, describes it as a British-style gastropub with a predominantly Italian and French menu. "He's English and I'm French," Perez offers as an explanation.

When Ben Ford introduced his Ford's Filling Station in 2006, the fledgling gastropub was mobbed. The right idea at the right time: moderately priced comfort food in a rustic, no-frills setting. Big portions and hearty dishes — in other words, fuel. Now we've got gastropubs — a term that originated in London to denote pubs with seriously good food — popping up all over the city. Some, like Bar Marmont in WeHo, Waterloo & City in Culver City and the Parish in downtown L.A., hew to a British model.

I'm not sure if it was the influence of some carne asada fries during a recent trip to San Diego or a dinner at Guelaguetza accompanied by a particularly potent dose of mezcal, but I had a dream about mole fries a few weeks ago. It was a rather vivid one, where the potatoes crackled with hot life, tangles of melted cheese stretched into infinity and whorls of ink-black sauce carried with them intimations of the yawning void. It wasn't dinner on that plate - it was a cosmology summarized as a plate of drunk food.

At first glance, City Tavern seems like the quintessential modern American gastropub: exposed brick walls, bare beams, walnut surfaces, reclaimed wood flooring and a long line of local craft beer taps standing at attention behind the bar. But three booths near the back boast something never before seen in California: TableTenders. These self-serve spigots offer curious imbibers the opportunity to sample beer at their own pace, while giving managers the ability to monitor and control the amount of beer their patrons consume.