Downtown, Los Angeles

The Mountain is this newish bar in Chinatown that is all red, outside and inside with nice light fixtures. Anyway, I found it to be sort of trendy but not oppressively so. The atmosphere was relaxed, they were playing music, but not so loud that you couldn't hear whoever you were talking to. I went on a saturday and the Tsing Tao beer was only $3 which is darn cheap! Even Hop Louie's sells it for $3.50. The bartender was awfully nice too and definitely didn't have a snobby hipster attitude.

Dress Code: NONE

Hop Louie's is both a restaurant (during the day) and a bar (at night), but I've only been there to drink, so that is what i will be talking about. This bar is growing in popularity, but when I first started going there, the clients usually consisted of about 3 old chinese men smoking cigarettes and watching tv. As of late, the place has been full of young hipsters. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but I like that. That and the Tsing-taos are only $3.50 (that goes for the Heineken as well i think). There's a juke box that plays records, but i'm not sure if it really plays what you tell it to or just does as it pleases. The pagoda facade is a landmark and is often seen in commercials and movies.

Dress Code: None

One of my favorite salsa clubs is the Mayan in Downtown Los Angeles
On Friday and Saturday nights you can dance to the best salsa bands in L.A. Occasionally, world-renowned bands perform here (Oscar D'Leon and Grupo Niche are some of the recent artists that have performed here).

Dress Code: Like most clubs in L.A. the Mayan has a dress code, which basically means no jeans, sneakers or work boots, or t-shirts.....most people dress to impress.