{"id":2193,"date":"2013-11-15T09:12:01","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T09:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/?p=2193"},"modified":"2018-07-29T03:57:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T03:57:10","slug":"villains-taverns-reinvention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/villains-taverns-reinvention\/","title":{"rendered":"Villains Tavern\u2019s Reinvention"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_2195\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2195\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/VillainsTavernEdit.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[2193]\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2195 \" src=\"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/VillainsTavernEdit-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Villains-Tavern-Los-Angeles-TheDuaneWells.com\" width=\"614\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/VillainsTavernEdit-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/VillainsTavernEdit-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2195\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Live music at Villains Tavern, Downtown Los Angeles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The cavernous and popular downtown hideaway, Villain\u2019s Tavern, has enjoyed an enthusiastic following ever since the space threw open its doors in the not so distant shadow of the famed Los Angeles 6<sup>th<\/sup> Street Bridge back in 2010. But in a city where what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not can shift over the course of a single photo shoot, resting on one\u2019s laurels is rarely a successful game plan. Dana Hollister, restaurateur \/ hotelier\/ nightlife impresario, understands this concept far better than most, which not only explains her stellar track record but also the latest reinvention of Villain\u2019s Tavern.<\/p>\n<p>I popped into Villains Tavern last night to check out the new seasonal food menu which was conceptualized by Chef Vartan Abgaryan of Hollister\u2019s Cliff\u2019s Edge and I left satisfied that this was one bar whose reputation as one of downtown Los Angeles\u2019s coolest destinations would remain intact for some time to come.<\/p>\n<p>Stellar live music each and every night is one of Villains\u2019 staple attractions and Thursday night was no exception. \u00a0As authentic Americana performed by two bands worthy of a spot on ABC\u2019s <i>Nashville <\/i>blared and patrons grooved, I sampled Villains\u2019 new cocktail experience complete with \u2018crafted cocktails on tap\u2019 alongside menu items like the Fish Tacos and the hearty Villains Burger, which is made with ground brisket, Mezzo Secco jack and topped with tomato, avocado and jalapeno aioli.\u00a0 And on all fronts Villain\u2019s excelled itself.\u00a0 (In fact, I highly recommend the Pierre Le Grand cocktail, a delicious concoction of Absolut Elyx, Yellow Chartreuse, Pineapple, Lime and Sugar Cane that is so smooth it\u2019s almost lethal).<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"embed\"><iframe title=\"Live from Villains Tavern - Downtown LA\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ov2kJFEiIHI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p>Though I didn\u2019t get to try them this go round, I\u2019m looking forward to going back to sample everything from new bar snacks like the Salted Caramel Corn featuring bacon &amp; bourbon, caramel, sea salt and black pepper to other downhome menu showstoppers like the Grilled Cheese, Kentucky Shrimp, the No Kill Burger, Bacon Dog and tempura Green Beans with chili aioli. Exactly how many ways can you spell Y-U-M!<\/p>\n<p>Hidden away on the still more industrial side of downtown Los Angeles, Villains Tavern feels more like a speakeasy and a well-kept secret than a hipster destination, which is precisely how I suspect the regulars hope it remains. And something tells me that no amount of reinvention will change that aspect of this tavern\u2019s ultracool vibe.<\/p>\n<p>Find out more about Villains Tavern at <a href=\"http:\/\/villainstavern.com\/\">http:\/\/villainstavern.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cavernous and popular downtown hideaway, Villain\u2019s Tavern, has enjoyed an enthusiastic following ever since the space threw open its doors in the not so distant shadow of the famed Los Angeles 6th Street Bridge back in 2010. But in a city where what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not can shift over the course of a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":2195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1551],"tags":[1149,1178,1191,1258],"class_list":["post-2193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-nightlife","tag-los-angeles","tag-cocktails","tag-bars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2193"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193\/revisions\/2630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}