3 Gold Medal–Worthy Bars to Watch the Winter Olympics With Great Food and a Shot or Two

SoCal is kicking some serious butt at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Chloe Kim from Long Beach made history as the youngest woman ever to bring home the gold for Olympic snowboarding at the age of 17. Arcadia’s Mirai Nagasu was the first American figure skater to nail the triple axel in competition at the Olympics, and she's bringing home a bronze medal. And bad-boy snowboarder Shaun White from San Diego has become a three-time gold medalist.

The 2018 Winter Games are exciting this year, and we’ve got some fun places to watch with a crowd.

Brack Shop Tavern's Olympics shooters; Credit: Courtesy White Oak Communications

Brack Shop Tavern downtown is all sports all the time. In addition to the upstairs vintage game room with Ping-Pong, darts, Pac-Man and N-64, the bar will be screening the Games every day until Feb. 25.

“When Shaun White was making his final run, there was a group of guests around a TV at the end of the bar watching with such intensity. When he won the gold, they broke out in cheers and I walked over with a tray of USA shots to celebrate with them,” bar director Sean Brown of the Brack Shop Tavern tells L.A. Weekly. “The shooters menu has been a great addition to our bar program and a great complement to the Olympics. We will continue to offer the shooters after the Olympics and intend to do different themed shots based on what’s going on — March Madness is just around the corner!”

Appetizers on the Olympic-themed menu run from $8 to $10 and include the America (maple-battered corndogs with mustard dipping sauce), the Mexico (pork mole tacos with radish avocado salsa and cojita), the Euro Sub (pretzel croissant capicola, jambon de Paris, Spanish chorizo and aged English cheddar) and the Jamaica (sous vide Jamaican jerk chicken wings).

To wash it all down and heighten the contagious excitement, the shooter menu is a competition among the USA USA USA (Evan Williams bourbon and honey scrub), Viva La Raza (Cimarron tequila, Anchor Reyes liqueur and kaffir lime scrub), the Euro Rail (apple jack brandy, sweet vermouth and pear liquor), Korean BBQ (Well-Made vodka, radish pickle brine, ginger and a scotch spray finish) and Nigeria’s Got a Bobsled Team (Flor de Caña rum, verjus and velvet falernum). All shooters are $5.

Brack Shop Tavern, 525 W. Seventh St., downtown; (213) 232-8657.

For some healthy international competition, the Biergarten in Koreatown is streaming the Winter Games on flatscreens mounted all over the gastropub and serving its unique east-meets–oom-pah-pah menu. There’s German fried rice made with sausage, sauerkraut, peas, sriracha, gravy scallion and egg ($14). The schnitzel katsu burger ($12) crosses international lines with a fried breaded pork loin, white cheddar, onions, tomatoes and katsu sauce.

In addition to such beers of the month as Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Jelly Blonde, there are traditional favorites on tap like the Franziskaner Hefeweizen (great match for the currywurst and fries).

Biergarten, 206 N. Western Ave., Koreatown; (323) 466-4860.

STK's Winners Podium; Credit: Courtesy STK

STK in the W Hotel across from UCLA in Westwood is celebrating with viewing parties dubbed “The STK Games” through Feb. 23. While cheering on the competitions on the flatscreens, guests can sample the Winners Podium, a trio of lemon drop shots with gold, silver and bronze sugar rim, served in crushed ice with a small silver seafood tower platter ($25).

The Olympic Torch at STK; Credit: Courtesy STK

The “shotski” is a long ski that has holes to put shot glasses in. Guests line up and tip the ski back to take shots all at the same time. The shot show features sparklers, the Olympic theme song and shots.

Then there’s the Olympic Torch Dessert — flaming cotton candy with a hidden strawberry shortcake dessert inside, for $16.

STK at the W Hotel, 930 Hilgard Ave., Westwood; (310) 659-3535

Plus: If you want to congratulate the Nagasu family personally, Mirai’s family owns the traditional Japanese Kiyosuzu Restaurant in Arcadia at 921 S. Baldwin Ave., (626) 445-4756.

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