to Alpine we will go

I've been disappointed at the lack of internet visuals regarding the new Liars Club Alpine location, so went on a little field trip yesterday to take care of that.

We took off during the afternoon, and the drive out the 8 was a breeze. No traffic, and once you get out of San Diego County, 70 mph speed limit signs. We even got a hint of scenery.

It took about 25 minutes to reach the Tavern Road exit (conveniently easy to remember, eh?)

And from the exit, it was less than 5 minutes to our first destination: Alpine Beer Company.

Alpine Beer Company is at 2351 Alpine Blvd, and is, in my book, an essential co-destination for anyone heading to the new Liar's Club. You literally have to pass it to get to the LCA (Liars Club Alpine), so you might as well stop. It's only open until 6, so plan accordingly (and bring a cooler in your car). Growler fills are some of the most reasonable around--I think it was around $9 for Pure Hoppiness and $8 of anything else (empty growlers cost $5). Several 22-ounce bottles were also available for about $4 each.

Tastings are $1 per beer, and we tried several before moving on down the road. Alpine is best known for their outstanding IPA's, but we were impressed by the Willy Vanilly, a vanilla wheat ale, and the Captain Stout, a delicious oatmeal chocolate stout. I would have tried several more had the Liars Club not been calling.

It's about a 3 minute drive from Alpine Beer Company to the LCA, but drive slowly--we almost missed the unassuming sign. There's no bright red paint, no flashing neon beer mugs, just a couple of black-and-white signs with the Liars Club logo. 2806 Alpine Blvd is a modest tan and wood space occupying the street-end spot of a small strip mall.

Sorry for the blurriness--like I said we almost missed the turn. We parked (yep kids, nothing to lure you to a bar like a parking lot!), and then came the moment I had been waiting for since November 9 (the day after the last time I went to the Mission Beach Liars Club): stepping inside.

I have to admit, the sensation was a bit eerie, like returning to your college town and showing up to your favorite bar only to realize it's not quite the same as it used to be. This was crisp, clean, shiny and new. Black ceilings and dark walls were nowhere to be found; instead their place stood gleaming white paint and clean exposed brick. Barstools were uniform, sleek and unwobbly; leather booths were free from rips and stains. Look around as we might, there were no sorts of shenanigans to be found.



Two things assuaged our resistance to change: seeing the line-up of taps within seconds of entering the door, and seeing a familiar bartender moments after that. Looking around, we found the jukebox selection and much of the artwork had also made the trek.

We saddled up to the bar--which with it's brand new, polished wood is perhaps the location's most sexy feature--and went straight for the familiar: two pints of Pliny the Elder, and $2 in the jukebox.

Then, we wasted no time getting to the food. Truth be told, there are so many solid beer bars in San Diego now that the trek to the LCA is hardly going to be about the beer for me (although the trek to the Alpine Beer Company always will be). Within the past few years San Diego has been graced with the opening of Hamilton's, Neighborhood, and (hopefully soon) Toronado; we've also come to rely on restaurants such as Ritual Tavern and the Linkery as ones whose beer selection will rival that of the food. We've of course, had our few standbys for some time--the drive to O'Briens or Downtown Johnny Browns now seems paltry compared to the hike out the 8. And there's always the breweries themselves--Ballast Point, Port Brewing, Coronado Brewery, and Alesmith are all far closer to central San Diego than Alpine is. Not to discount the Liars Club's beer selection, but what will lure me to the LCA will most likely not be the beer but the food.

Luckily, the only change to the bar menu is a slight expansion of offerings. This came as an enormous relief, as I've developed a serious, serious addiction to the Liar's Club's jalepeno-cheese bread. I imagine cravings for the Liars Club food are highly personal, so I'm happy to report that all the usual suspects are still there--fuego melt, cholula chicken, blta, sweet potato fries, etc.

As for the newbies, beer-battered artichoke hearts served with cholula ranch are a welcome addition, as is the offering of a grilled cheese sandwich, which appears on a kind-of-strange-to-see "kids menu." I didn't order it this time (I couldn't help but stick to the traditional), but the thought of a gooey, greasy grilled cheese on thick, toasted jalepeno-cheese-bread is enough to motivate my next trip.

As it was, we found our cravings immensely satisfied.
That's sweet potato fries accompanying a cholula chicken sandwich and cajun fries with a steak melt, both, of course, on nothing other than JCB. It was so satisfying after two whole months of denial that I contemplated ordering a third sandwich just to bring home to eat the next day. (I definitely regret not doing that).

So satisfaction with the trip? Definitely high. A few years ago I made the claim: "The Liars Club is one of the few bars to meet my triumvirate of conditions: an excellent selection of local brews, a kick ass jukebox that consistently plays good tunes no matter who's feeding it money, and a seriously addictive bar menu." The Liars Club Alpine undoubtedly has all that.

But, I realized as my jukebox selection ended and no one came up to take care of the silence, that there's something more than meeting the triumvirate of food, drink, and sound that makes a good bar good. And, while I have no doubt that the LCA will eventually have that, it's not quite there yet. Let's just say that while the LCA has heart, it's still doesn't quite have soul. (Is that too harsh to say just weeks after they opened?)

Don't get me wrong--I'm going to drive out there at least once a month (hey, there was a time I was heading to the old place several times a week). And I can't wait to see how the space shapes up. But they do have a lot of work ahead of them. I mean, just to put it in perspective, the Mission Blvd. location inhabited a space that was formerly home to a bar Tom Waits chose to work at--it had soul the moment it opened. The Alpine location, well it inhabited a space that was formerly home to a Boll Weevil.

But things seem promising. Tom Nickel walked in while we were there; the Alpine Beer Company employee who poured us our tastings earlier in the day soon followed. This will always be a destination for San Diego beer lovers--and no doubt Louis will keep an enticing selection peppered with beers that will lure us out every once in a while. Plus, once the live music thing starts up, it will probably become a destination worthy of an overnight stay.

But will we ever see moments like this again?:

(uh, yes, that's a guitar being played like a violin, by a man using a fiddle as a bow, all the while standing on a rickety bar stool...the Scotch Greens, Saint Patrick's Day at the Liars Club 2006)

Let's hope it happens, and let's hope I'm there to witness it. Until then, I'll keep feeding the jukebox, feeding myself jalepeno cheese bread, and waiting to see what happens.