Friday, November 30, 2012

Historic L.A.: Tam O'Shanter celebrates 90 years with craft beer, carolers, trivia and rarebit poutine

Los Feliz Blvd. was a dirt road when the Tam O'Shanter opened in 1922.
There's no doubt that the Tam O'Shanter was way cooler in the 1920s, when movie set designer Harry Oliver gave it the look of a ramshackle fairytale house with a random Indian gift shop on the side. But the Lawry's-owned restaurant deserves plenty of credit anyway for sticking around for 90 years in the same location. If you haven't been, the holidays are a good time to go if you enjoy Christmas decorations and carolers in the bar. If not, wait till the madness is over and check out Trivia Night on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting up again in January for a fun reason to sample the Tam's expanded craft beer selection, Irish coffees and other traditional cocktails, and carving bar. Gourmet Pigs and I were invited to try trivia night and the bar menu, and I'm sorry to say that our small Team Cuisine was sorely whipped by some of the regulars.
So I recommend making sure your team of up to 6 players includes someone with sports knowledge and someone with movie knowledge. Plus, there's prizes of free drinks and swag. The Tam has a much better beer menu than I recall from last time I visited, with selections from Stone, Shipyard, Golden Road, Telegraph and of course a few Scottish brews. The bar menu includes hearty carved roast beef, turkey, pastrami and corned beef sandwiches as well as fish 'n chips, Toad in the Hole, and Scottish rarebit poutine, a giant plate of cheese-covered fries topped with bacon bits that's sure to soak up plenty of beer. Come January, I intend to return with a few friends and try to vanquish some of the regulars.
Is rarebit poutine a thing?

5 comments:

sf venues said...

Most of the event venues focus on their interiors more than exteriors. Make sure, your building itself should look lovely as it will make every guest eager to go inside.

Miles said...

Here is you!
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g123/AdamTorque/photo_2.jpg

Kris said...

This does look like a very fun place, and the "rarebit fries" do pique my interest! I'm 3,000 miles away right now, but if they've been around this long, they'll likely hang around a while longer!

I'm really enjoying your work here--great variety, terrific feels for these places!

riverside shuttle said...

Wow, looks mouthwatering and crunchy. I tasted once like this but gravy was used instead of melted cheddar cheese.

Dina said...

This place is wonderful and the energy is so inviting.