It’s beginning to look a lot like winter. That’s good news for all the season-pass-holding skiers and riders out there. For the more casual snow bunny, it’s the start of a long, agonizing journey to next summer.
Winter sports are fun, no doubt, but not everyone has the cash or the schedule to trek into the hills each weekend. That means there will be some lonely, directionless nights to come over the next few months — nights that call for holing up at a bar and not coming out until bedtime.
For those times, LoHi Steakbar (3200 Tejon St.) is going to be a hit. The place opened in June but the lengthy drink menu and selection of meaty delights seems tailor-made for wintertime hunkering down.
The large space is split into two halves, one for regular, sit-down dining and one for boozing and snacking. There’s a soft, red glow about the restaurant thanks to the little tea lights in red holders at each table. A shelf behind the bar glows red, too, but it’s not the “sexy” red of a downtown club. Instead, it’s red like Christmas lights and cherry cough drops — time to find a booth near the bar and settle in for the evening.
LoHi has two missions. One is to dish up as much tasty beef, in as many different forms, as possible. The other is to get everyone loaded.
Every day, more than five hours are designated as “happy” — from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The specials are similarly generous, with $3 well drinks and house drafts, select wines for $5 and the obligatory $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon bottles.
Even if it’s not happy hour, each day has its own special, as well. Mondays, it’s “massive Mai Tais” for $5. On Thursdays, drinkers can propel themselves into a Friday hangover with a $5 Budweiser-and-Jim Beam setup. For Sunday brunch, it’s 3-for-1 screwdrivers, mimosas and Bloody Marys at $7.
Draft beers come in the 16-ounce schooner size, and they are no joke. The beer arrives in a heavy, glass goblet fit for a medieval knight’s table. People with small hands and skinny arms will probably have to use both to lift the chalice to their lips. Or ask for a straw.
Order a glass of wine, and the generous pour comes with a carafe on the side. Only it’s not a carafe, it’s a fairly large beaker.
There’s a short list of “mixology” drinks, too. One of the most intriguing, the “Berry- Basil Twist,” comes in a giant champagne flute. Muddled strawberries and basil float on top of bubbly prosecco, but it’s not as sweet as it sounds. The basil is powerful enough to cancel out the sugary overkill, leaving a mostly dry aftertaste. It almost tastes like diet soda, and it goes down quick.
Take advantage of too many specials, and you’ll have to delve into the food menu. Which is a good thing — almost everything on it can help soak up the liquor. Better yet, order a few bar snacks with the drinks, like buffalo wings, sliders or hummus. The black- bean steak chili, especially, can help set you back on course after one too many schooners.
The longer one stays at LoHi, the harder it is to leave. The little, two-person booths in the bar area are so comfortable and the conversations are so lively. Peeking out through the front door reveals crusty snow on the ground and ice on the sidewalk. The ski people are still up in the hills.
Best to just stay here.
The hot ticket this weekend.
The Crystal Method at Beta (1909 Blake St.). The longtime dance-music hitmakers are on tour behind their latest studio release, “Divided by Night.”
Advance tickets for Saturday’s show are $20. Get them early at .
