Magazines » May/June 2009 Issue » Pub of the Month: Good Microbrew and Grill
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It must be one of those only-in-L.A. things: The drinking establishment that offers the biggest and most diverse beer list in Los Angeles also has the smallest bar in the city.
Only four stools fit against the bar of Good Microbrew and Grill, a denlike pub and restaurant located in L.A.’s trendy Silver Lake district. But customers don’t come for the seats. They come for the food (including that increasingly rare, honest-to-God fried chicken on the bone) and the 300 or so craft beers.
“If I don’t have a beer from a particular country, it’s because I can’t get it, not because I don’t want it,” says owner Ron Martinez. “I’m always seeking out new beers and the most obscure breweries, if I can find them.” Good also stocks the largest selection anywhere of gluten-free and organic microbrews.
Most of the beer comes in bottles. In fact, shelves crammed with colorfully labeled vessels are a key element of Good’s décor. Even so, Martinez maintains 14 regularly rotated taps, anchored by the home beer, Good Honey Blonde (brewed for the bar by Bayhawk Ales), and Humboldt Brewing’s Hemp Ale. Menu items also rely on craft beer, like the Arrogant Bastard Cobb Salad and the Lagunitas IPA Chicken Sandwich.
Good Microbrew was transformed five years ago from a standard-style coffee shop in order to keep pace with its quickly gentrifying neighborhood. Martinez, who had formerly worked for a marble company that boasted the world’s largest selection of exotic stone, decided to apply that idea to beer. The bar’s moniker has a simple enough marketing rationale, according to Martinez: “When you think about food and beer, the first word that comes to people’s mind is ‘good.’”
Regular customers, including celebs like David Hyde Pierce and Alice Cooper, already know of Good’s reputation -- even area hotels call whenever a guest has special beer needs -- and the bar stages event nights (like the bartender’s-choice Mystery Beer Night) to promote its fine flock of brews.
As for that sofa-sized bar, Martinez says he has plans to remodel, but also states: “If it works, why fix it? And right now it’s still working.”
Address: 3725 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
Web site: www.goodmicrobrew.com
Motto: “Why drink one of those weak corporate brews when you can have a damn good microbrew?”
Most popular beer: Good Honey Blonde, Humboldt Hemp Ale.
Famous for: Stocking more international and regional microbrews than anyone else.
Crowd: Young hipsters.
What’s on the plasma screens: Sports and arts channels.
Specialty drink: Mojitos. Martinez once served 5,000 in one event weekend.
Most popular menu item: The Exorcism Burger.
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This article originally appeared in the May/June 2009 Issue of DRAFT Magazine
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