el michilada prado
July 23, 2008
Once again- I have enlisted the help of a friend and bar enthusiast, Jonathan Miertschin. Please read on for his insightful, un-sugar coated impression of his experience at a relatively new drinking hole in Echo Park, Los Angeles, El Prado. The fact that he would order a michilada and collects art with any member of the feline family on it is enough to hear what this lad has to say.
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Part of the effort to turn Sunset and Echo Park into Abbot Kinney and Venice, El Prado is not what I call a local favorite. I don’t know if I went on some sort of theme night or what, but everyone there last Saturday was so 80’s retro’d out, it was kind of weird. In one corner were a group of young hipsters that looked like a cross of Buddy Holly and Anthony Michael Hall from Weird Science. They all seemed like they were cowering away from the crowds, as though they were trying to avoid having Robert Downey Jr. dump an Orange Julius on their heads.
The bartender looked like Jennifer Grey, and she was pissed off as though her brother was skipping school and not getting caught/someone was putting her in a corner. I ordered a michilada after she brought it, she yelled the price. No big deal, it’s a noisy bar. However as I was reaching for my wallet so I could pay, she yelled the price at me again, letting me know I wasn’t paying fast enough. The drink itself was actually pretty good. They make their michialada like a bloody Mary with beer instead of vodka. I’m originally from Texas and down there (the only other place I’ve ever had a michilada) they made it with just beer, ice, salt, and lime, so this was an unexpected change, albeit a nice one.
To go along with the theme of the night they had Hall and Oates on the turntable, although they had no DJ that I could see, just Jennifer Grey flipping the record every 20 minutes. Perhaps this extra work explains why she couldn’t wait 3 seconds for me to pay.
The décor of the place was unremarkable, although I will remark on it. It’s a lot of wood and low light. Again, I thought I was down in Venice somewhere (maybe the Beachwood on Abbot Kinney).
Whoever took El Prado over and redid it (it used to be a Latino bar also called El Prado) might be realizing their dream of having a little hole in the wall bar. However, it seemed at odds with the natural rhythm of the neighborhood. I was there with two other Echo Park locals, and we all felt that this wasn’t just another new place that we just weren’t used to yet. It seemed like an imposter here in the heart of the East Side. It was like one of those places that you hoped you got away from by moving over here years ago. Although, maybe this is the new neighborhood and I need to roll with the punches if I’m going to stay here. Then again, maybe I’ll be lucky, and like 80s retro, this trend will play out soon too.
xo
Once again- I have enlisted the help of a friend and bar enthusiast, Jonathan Miertschin. Please read on for his insightful, un-sugar coated impression of his experience at a relatively new drinking hole in Echo Park, Los Angeles, El Prado. The fact that he would order a michilada and collects art with any member of the feline family on it is enough to hear what this lad has to say.
************************
Part of the effort to turn Sunset and Echo Park into Abbot Kinney and Venice, El Prado is not what I call a local favorite. I don’t know if I went on some sort of theme night or what, but everyone there last Saturday was so 80’s retro’d out, it was kind of weird. In one corner were a group of young hipsters that looked like a cross of Buddy Holly and Anthony Michael Hall from Weird Science. They all seemed like they were cowering away from the crowds, as though they were trying to avoid having Robert Downey Jr. dump an Orange Julius on their heads.
The bartender looked like Jennifer Grey, and she was pissed off as though her brother was skipping school and not getting caught/someone was putting her in a corner. I ordered a michilada after she brought it, she yelled the price. No big deal, it’s a noisy bar. However as I was reaching for my wallet so I could pay, she yelled the price at me again, letting me know I wasn’t paying fast enough. The drink itself was actually pretty good. They make their michialada like a bloody Mary with beer instead of vodka. I’m originally from Texas and down there (the only other place I’ve ever had a michilada) they made it with just beer, ice, salt, and lime, so this was an unexpected change, albeit a nice one.
To go along with the theme of the night they had Hall and Oates on the turntable, although they had no DJ that I could see, just Jennifer Grey flipping the record every 20 minutes. Perhaps this extra work explains why she couldn’t wait 3 seconds for me to pay.
The décor of the place was unremarkable, although I will remark on it. It’s a lot of wood and low light. Again, I thought I was down in Venice somewhere (maybe the Beachwood on Abbot Kinney).
Whoever took El Prado over and redid it (it used to be a Latino bar also called El Prado) might be realizing their dream of having a little hole in the wall bar. However, it seemed at odds with the natural rhythm of the neighborhood. I was there with two other Echo Park locals, and we all felt that this wasn’t just another new place that we just weren’t used to yet. It seemed like an imposter here in the heart of the East Side. It was like one of those places that you hoped you got away from by moving over here years ago. Although, maybe this is the new neighborhood and I need to roll with the punches if I’m going to stay here. Then again, maybe I’ll be lucky, and like 80s retro, this trend will play out soon too.
xo
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