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Southwest saloons
| Wednesday, Nov 14 2007 2:35 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Nov 14 2007 2:46 PM
Cheers , 3809 Ming Ave., 836-3960
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The Bistro is known as one of Bakersfield's most upscale establishments, serving fine food and wines among other drinks. This is bartender William Snelling.
A jug of brew is prepared for a customer at Lengthwise Brewing Co. Lengthwise concoctions will be available at the 16th annual Festival of Beers at Stramler Park on Saturday.
Bartender Betty Jo Jacks helps keep things lively at Cheers on Ming Avenue.
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It’s dim and cramped, but boy, are these folks nice. Patrons will actually offer a seat if the place is full, and the bartenders don’t ignore you just because they don’t recognize your face.
Cheap beer, sports and country videos on the TVs and lottery tickets keep this middle-aged crowd happy. They go outside to smoke.
The jukebox has an impressive range of music, from Sinatra to Buck.
If you’d rather imbibe with adults, check it out.
— Erik Loyd
VIP Lounge
5460 California Ave., 322-8431
The VIP is a bar to go to for an after-work beer. It’s not a destination bar but offers a down-home feel and conversation with good people.
Tucked in a strip of shops on California Avenue, the bar was full with every table taken on a recent Friday night. But it didn’t feel crowded.
A game played silently on the television screens; “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” played on the jukebox. A few bargoers went at the dart board in the back of the bar.
The VIP is tailored to a very young cowboy crowd. Most people dress casually, but club hoppers on their way to other hot spots fit in, too.
From the Budweiser accouterments on the wall, it’s easy to see this is more of a beer-drinking bar (Bud Light for $3.25), but other drinks are still cheap. A rum and Coke goes for $4.75.
Whether you’re a cowgirl or big-city girl, you can definitely find a place here.
— Emily Hagedorn
Le Corusse Rouge
4647 White Lane, 834-1611
Special stuff: Jazz music with Richie Perez 6:30 p.m. Mondays; karaoke 8 p.m. Tuesdays; Bike Night Thursdays; occasional live music 9 p.m. Fridays and cover bands 9 p.m. Saturdays
The Cajun influence isn’t too perceptible in the restaurant’s bar, except in the corrugated tin on the walls and the use of red. When the live bands aren’t hitting the stage, it’s a place to unwind after hitting the headier bars on the weekend, more of a late 20s and 30s crowd. Uninspired but relaxed outdoor patio (except when bikers start their engines and assault your ears).
— Shellie Branco
The Bistro
5105 California Ave., 323-3905
High-end chain hotels and their attending bars are not in the business of acting independent or aiming for a new look to surprise their guests. The Four Points by Sheraton is one of Bako’s best hotels, and the Bistro offers a high standard of quality. That means a high-standard menu and high-standard liquor sitting on the bar shelf. The Bistro isn’t the bar you try for a new experience, and some nights familiarity is just fine.
From the polished mirror backing the bar to the linen tablecloths to the central-air-controlled crispness, you know where you are — a hotel bar.
The bar splits a small-ish lounge area and the hotel’s four-star restaurant. A wine list offered $7 glasses of the day’s special wine, and the top-shelf mixed drinks taste, undoubtedly, like top-shelf drinks should.
— Jeff Nachtigal
El Torito
4646 California Ave., 395-3035 Has it been a long, gray day at the office?
Go to El Torito. The “cantina” section of the restaurant explodes with bright colors, Corona table tops and televisions — enough to distract you for a few hours from that ugly bout with the boss.
Happy hour lasts from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday with half-price appetizers and drink specials that include $3 well drinks and $4.25 margaritas. Some of the margaritas didn’t really taste like the flavors they were supposed to be (i.e. melon, pineapple), but they were very refreshing, and the servers made sure our table was never without chips and salsa.
— Lisa Schencker
B. Ryder’s sports, Spirits & Grill
7701 White Lane, 397-7304
This place is the former home of Shear Sports, a sports pub/hair salon in which stylists unashamedly discussed details of their sex lives on their cell phones. Now B. Ryder’s, the establishment is a delightful place to eat, drink, play, watch a game and make friends in this 30-ish crowd. OK, the Ron Jeremy dude with the cheesy gold chains outside his shirt isn’t exactly 30-ish, but just about everyone else is.
In addition to a nice selection of draft beers — foot-tall beers — B. Ryder’s has liquor and wine. The margaritas on the rocks are stiff, and the prices are downright reasonable. There’s also a full menu.
Sports memorabilia adorns the walls from one end to the other. Along the way, you’ll discover pool tables, video games, miniature shuffleboard, 12 big-screen TV’s, free WiFi Internet access, dartboards and a stage where live bands perform from time to time.
B. Ryder’s is a clean, warm, inviting place to hang.
— Erik Loyd
Cafe Med
4809 Stockdale Highway, 834-4433
If you’re in your late 20s or 30s, this is a place to see and be seen.
Women wore dresses, halter tops and heels. Men ... well, OK, I’ll admit I was too busy mentally trying on the women’s shoes and outfits to notice what the men wore. The crowd seemed mostly professional though I definitely heard a woman at the table next to me begin her conversation with the phrase: “You know why I got kicked out of the military ... ”
Live music played inside the bar, and refreshing breezes rewarded those sitting at white-cloth-covered tables on the outdoor patio. A fountain and structure covered in leaves happily obscured the patio’s view of the parking lot. The orange, raspberry, vodka, pineapple and cranberry flavored martini Shai’s Pink Panties was the perfect cap to the breezy, relaxing evening. Jazz musicians performed inside the bar, which features a new baby grand piano. It’s a bar that lives up to the restaurant’s reputation.
— Lisa Schencker
Amigo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina
8020 District Blvd., 398-1300
Special stuff: Happy hour 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; DJ and karaoke Wednesday and Thursday nights; live band Friday and Saturday nights
A 30s and 40s crowd that likes to drink, smoke and fight. A biker crowd in a wannabe Orange County cantina. Live classic rock raises the loud, rowdy factor to magnificent heights. The chunky, tomato-stuffed guacamole and powerful house margaritas make a tasty combo for you hungry live wires.
— Shellie Branco
Lengthwise Brewing Co.
6720 Schirra Court, 836-ALES
“One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?”
The chances are, the words to this song sound familiar. But, no, this story isn’t about the show “Sesame Street.”
But when I think about Lengthwise Brewing Co., that song spins through my mind. After a few pints of Centennial, which the brewery’s Web site describes as an Indian Pale Ale that is, “the ALE that cures all that ALES you!!!” I feel like I should be walking out into a dreary day in a city somewhere in the Northwest.
This heavenly haven doesn’t seem to fit in Bakersfield, but we’re certainly lucky it’s here. The food is excellent. The beer is cold and, if you have a sweet tooth, the deep-fried Twinkie is terrific.
I tried to find something to gripe about, but there’s not much. The only thing I could come up with is that it closes too early: 11 p.m. on Friday, 10 p.m. on Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
It might not quite fit in with the bar scene in Bakersfield, but boy are we lucky Lengthwise is here.
— Mason Kelley