A while back I received an invite from the second 33 Taps location in Silver Lake to taste the food and check out the beer list. I finally scheduled a visit recently.
I vaguely remember wandering in and out of the Hollywood location, years ago and remarking to myself that it was a fine sports bar but that I would pick the nearby Blue Palms over it.
(FYI – The food and drink were comped but, as usual, that does not color my review)
We will focus on the beer first. As you can see from the headings there is a mixture of beer for geeks to those who eschew craft. This makes 33 Taps good for parties with a wide range of people. Especially if they are going to watch sports. The Area Code division of the beers is cute if not super helpful. The range of styles is good but beer snobs will be hating the fact that Bud and Coors is taking up space that could go to another deserving brewery. Good to see San Fernando Brewing but that is really only the small local to be found.
The decor of the space is much cleaner then when it was Good Microbrew. The seats are comfortable and the lighting is bright. TV’s are tuned to a variety of sports. (Got to see Portland eviscerated by Chicago).
The food leans toward the fried. The Fish and Chips were the clear winner of the night while other dishes were fine. The Chicken and waffles had good chicken but the batter was heavy and the waffles were a bit leaden to me.
The overall feeling is that their is a solid effort being put into it. Are they hedging their bets with non-craft people. Sure. But if you are in a group and they can’t decide and you need a fallback position, this could please more people then hitting a trendy spot.