courtesy Tony's Darts Away

The glorious San Fernando Valley. Spatially vast, heavily populated, and wildly lacking in proper places to drink. Or so we thought. Today, it's time to put your ignorance to bed and minimize the attitude long enough to see the truth -- that from Burbank to Agoura Hills you can always find a decent beer.

From properly sanctioned establishments pushing the envelope of the beer industry, to dusty dives where you can still drink quality beer cheaply, to burger joints that perfect craft beer pairings, there are no excuses for being thirsty. Turn the page for eight reasons why you should stop complaining about being in the Valley, listed from east to west.

More >>

A. Simmons

Cucumber Julep

The Place: The Churchill: 8384 W. Third St., Los Angeles; (323) 655-8384.

The Hours: 3-7 p.m., daily; 10 p.m.-close, Sunday and Monday.

The Deals: $4 for selected beers, wines and well drinks; $8 "bar bites" (only from 3-7 p.m.).

The Digs: Like designated hitters in the '90s, gastropubs are getting big. The Churchill sprawls across two floors, in much the same way that Winston, its presumed namesake, in the form of his empire sprawled across Africa and Asia in the '30s and '40s. With its fireplace, exposed-bulb lamps, sumptuous wood tables and long, room-wrapping leather lounge couches, the bar is meant to evoke, we imagine, an English manor house where a Ralph Steadman cartoon of a mustachioed country gentleman might get cross-eyed on gin, albeit to a DJ soundtrack.

More >>

B. Mesirow

The Place: Vinoteca Farfalla, 1968 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz; (323) 661-8070.

The Hours: 4-7 p.m. every day.

The Deals: Wines for $5 and $6, beers for $3 and $4, discounts on the entire menu.

The Digs: You might expect Vinoteca Farfalla, a wine bar about equidistant from hot spots The Alcove and Little Dom's on trendy Hillhurst Avenue, to be a destination for the neighborhood's cool kids, but then you may not have heard of the affiliated Farfalla Trattoria. The trattoria and, probably not coincidentally, the Vinoteca both serve a slightly older, more subdued crowd. You're more likely to find the parents of the skinny-jean'd kids than the kids themselves.

Turn the page for our verdict...

More >>

Kings Row Gastropub

Kings Row Gastropub is among the restaurants participating for two weeks in the event. The bar has a selection of more than 60 beers.

Old Town Pasadena is kicking off its second annual Happy Hour Week on Thursday, March 1. And much like an extension of happy hour, the "week" will run for two weeks, until March 15.

Participating restaurants, bars and lounges are set to offer cheap items such as $1 martinis, $2 beers and $3 appetizers. The recently opened Dog Haus Biergarten will sell sliders and fries for $1 and lots o' drinks for $3 between 3 and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

More >>

Guzzle & Nosh

Pizza!

Chef Bruce Kalman recently took the reins as exec chef at Urbano Pizza Bar in downtown L.A., replacing chef Brad Winnaman. Kalman was the opening chef at The Misfit in Santa Monica, where he favored a market-driven menu, specifically a Santa Monica Farmers Market-driven menu.

More >>

Erika Bolden

Happy Hour at City Tavern

Last week's State of the Union promoted a generally positive economic outlook. If your pocketbook is more cynical about times ahead, you may find yourself defeated by the meager options at your disposal for living well in an expensive city. If you define "living well" as indulging your craft beer habit, rest easy. That's where happy hour comes in.

Happy hour is a golden moment in a beer lover's life. Peak occupancy is hours away, bartenders are available for information and conversation, and if you're in the right place, the beer you adore is cheaper than at any other time. Not every beer bar offers happy hour, but there are a few places where you can get in before crowds and costs escalate and enjoy a moment of beer bliss. Turn the page.

More >>

jgarbee

Sushi Art, In Its Many Forms

The notion that sushi is an art, both in its meticulous construction and finished form, is a cliché -- but one that gets a Happy Hour reprieve at the recently opened Kimuya Japanese restaurant and sushi bar in Santa Monica (formerly known as Hakata). The bonus, other than those $1.50 pints and generous sushi bites, is that if you sit at the bar closest to the parking lot entrance, you'll notice a half dozen impromptu ink sketches behind sushi chef Matthew Han Cho's station.

"Why do you keep looking at him and not me?," joked the head sushi chef when we kept staring at those black and white ink drawings of mountains and full moons. To our amateur eye, they were an endearing combo of calligraphy-inspired classic Edo period designs, but we were admittedly biased by the edible (sushi) art -- and those $1.50 all-night pints.

More >>

Guzzle & Nosh

Sotto's pittule pugliese.

They couldn't just call it happy hour, but that's what Sotto launches tonight with Aperitivo and Digestivo hours featuring specially priced $9 cocktails from its Italian-inspired cocktail menu designed around liquors like grappa, sambucca and Campari. They'll also offer bar bites like calamari, crostini, fried chickpeas and pickled Lupini beans, starting at $3.

We're fiends for Sotto's fantastic pittule pugliese. Listed under appetizers, these fried balls of dough drizzled with sweet vincotto and served with ricotta are as much a dessert as they are a snack.

The dual happy hours happen daily from Tuesday through Sunday with Aperativo setting the stage from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Digestivo happening from 9 to 10 p.m.

More >>

Roland L.

Shrimp dumplings.

The Place: Bao Dim Sum House, 8256 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles; (323-655-6556).

The Hours: 5-7 p.m. and all day at the bar.

The Deals: $1.99 Sapporo drafts, iffy wine for $4 a glass, "large" cups of hot sake for $5, and selected dim sum specialties for as little as $2.95 each.

More >>

T. Nguyen

Happy hour at Yard House

The place: Yard House (Pasadena location)

The hours: Monday - Friday 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.; Sunday - Wednesday 10 p.m. - close.

The deals: Discounted beers; $2 off wines by the glass; well drinks $4.25-$4.75; house martinis $6.00.

Turn the page to find out what we thought...

More >>