I love checking out bars, from really fancy ones like the rooftop at the Waldorf, to the the diveyest of all places. I love how every bar has its own vibe, ambiance, specialties, etc. On this particular day, I visited The Craftsman Bar in Santa Monica. It is located on Broadway, and if you are not familiar with the area, I would say this in a decent central location, which also gets more brownie points because it happens to be right near the ocean as well. I imagine it is quite beautiful during the day time.
Upon arrival, our lovely host treated us to what is their specialty drink, the Craftsman's Favorite Whiskey Pickle Back Shot. What it is is they give you a double shot of Tullamore D.E.W Irish Whiskey, and a shot of pickle juice. They brine their own pickles for about 21 days. I'm surprised I did it as I'm not a big whiskey drinker but I have to admit, it was actually really run. I love pickles too so the juice was a perfect chaser, washed it down as if it was nothing.
For drinks, we went with the Strawberry Fields and Angelisco Fizz. Both were tasty, I would recommend them.
For a side dish, we went with the deviled eggs which I ordered mainly for my husband because I'm not all that into deviled eggs. They fill me up fast and don't leave room for other food but I did try it and thought they were good. I guess its kind of the perfect option if you just want a lot of protein.
For entrees, we went with the BBQ Burger, which comes with coleslaw, cheddar, grilled onions, and BBQ Sauce. We added bacon and an extra patty for those gainz. We skipped the bun and got this on a bed of lettuce. My husband ate this, he was pleased with it.
I went with the Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which comes with lettuce, pickles and ranch. I also added the cheddar and bacon to it, skipped the bun and also got this on a bed of lettuce. I ate this and thought the chicken was really tasty. Its not crazy breaded or anything, it actually has a really thin crispy coating which tasted of smoked paprika (sorry Craftsmanbar, did I just give away a secret?). But that's my palate talking, can't help it! I liked that it has a thin coating cuz I just want the taste of he crispy without all the guilt.
The tator tots are where its at tho! Oh my, I was chowing down even though I promised myself I was only going to have a few. We ordered them spicy which come with a dusting of their spicy pepper blend.
The Craftsman Bar is definitely a place for locals to go and get unpretentious food and drink. What makes them special is that they serve microbrews from local breweries which I find really awesome so if you’re a fan of beer, definitely check them out for some local microbrews as well!
