Pub

It's 7 on a Sunday night in the Haight. Outside the Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery a few ghosts from the '60s occasionally glide by, but inside the food is contemporary -- whole roasted quail and moules frites on the menu -- despite the old wood bar, stained walls and worn tile floor. It was the fifth night of a weeklong trip with Steve Dollar, a friend of 25 years, who wanted to travel Highway 1 from near Santa Barbara to where it ends at the edge of the Humboldt County redwoods.

A group of neighbors who said they were "tortured" by booming music and noise from a Barcelona pub may finally get some shut-eye after a court sentenced the pub's owner to more than five years in prison. The court ruled that the owner ignored repeated complaints from neighbors living in apartments above the pub in Las Ramblas. -- times wire reports

Progressive, eclectic Main Street in Santa Monica is notable for its green businesses. With organic cafes and boutiques catering to environmentally conscious living, this shopping street just steps from the Pacific is a great place to go green. But on St. Patrick's Day, going green means something else altogether. Between Hill Street and Rose Avenue, Main is prime for a bar crawl -- with taverns, lounges and alehouses aplenty -- making it an ideal place to toast the Irish spirit.

A card, chocolate and roses, an affectionate evening with your sweetheart -- what's not to like about Valentine's Day? Plenty, if you're one of the extremist groups in India that see in Cupid's pointed arrow a lance aimed at the heart of Indian culture.

Savvy downtown denizens who have taken a stroll down 6th Street near South Main Street recently may have noticed a familiar-looking black door leading to the basement of a residential loft building. "This is an exact replica of the 10 Downing door," said London-born bar owner Ashley Joyce, referring to the official residence of the British prime minister at 10 Downing Street in London. The L.A.

A European friend has a teenage son who loves ketchup so much that Dad carts home giant bottles of the stuff in his checked suitcase every time he visits the U.S. I know one person I won't be taking to Father's Office the next time he visits, because they don't allow the tomato-based condiment. No how. No way. "How will I eat my French fries?," the ketchup-addicted might wail. Without the red sauce, that's for sure.

For some L.A. thirtysomethings, the last place they want to meet for drinks is anything that resembles a "sexy" lounge. Instead, sizable swaths of drinkers, specifically beer fans, are flocking to contemporary pubs with just enough of a modern twist to feel like something fresh. Case in point: Studio City's just-opened Laurel Tavern (formerly a trendy late-night lounge called Sapphire), which offers 16 microbrews and serves upscale bar food such as pork belly skewers with a maple glaze.

The two men drink standing near the back of the long bar at Davy Byrnes, one of the many watering holes in this city that, in the words of writer Samuel Beckett, who once lived upstairs, have been known to house "broken glass and indiscretion. " In the back, because that's well away from the "whippets" and "blow-ins" who tend to wander in, armed with neither intellect nor wit, if one distinguishes between the two, settle on the first available stool and ask for a "Boodweiser" from the barman.

THE GENERAL public may scarcely have heard of it yet, but kolsch, one of the great summer beers, is definitely a coming style. American craft brewers are getting into it -- at least 30 of them already brew a kolsch, though not all call it by that name. But if it weren't for our craft breweries, we'd have very little chance indeed to taste this style of beer, because German examples are rarely exported. It's the home-town beer style of the ancient German city of Koln (otherwise known as Cologne)

The singing is boisterous; the words are slurred. The vocalists are all male and all -- shall we say -- feeling no pain. They've flown all the way from Northern Ireland to Las Vegas for a "stag party," the Irish equivalent of a bachelor party. Isaac Mulholland, who'll be getting married at the end of March, and 12 buddies from a small town in County Down are determined to make the most of their long weekend in Sin City. So where do these 13 Irishmen end up on their first day in Vegas?