father's office

father's office
1018 montana ave. santa monica, ca 90403
tel: 310) 393-BEER (2337) --> how awesome is this phone number?!?
hours: weekdays 5-ish to 1ish (kitchen closes 10-11ish), saturdays noon to 2am (kitchen closes at 11pm), sundays noon to midnight (kitchen closes at 10pm)

what was consumed: hamburger, sweet potato fries, BEER

so, connie has been raving about some place called 'father's office.' in fact, often in conversation, she will (still) mention 'FO' and semi-start planning our next visit there (mind you, we live on opposite coasts). i didn't really think much of it, considering my current east coast location, but when in so.cal, she was sure that we visited the joint.

it was a nice spring evening in LA when we began our venture out to FO. i was finally back in so.cal taking care of business and, per ush~, connie and i got together for some good times, good eatin's. while it was a saturday night, it was pretty late (past 9pm), so though we expected a line, we were hoping that we wouln't have to wait all that long. additionally, i was STARVING and was anxious to try these burgers. we found street parking (an arduous task in and of itself - you'd think with all of the cars in so.cal, parking would be easier, right? in my dreams ...) then head off to wait in the rather long FO line. now, waiting in line at FO is must different from other places. at many other locations, they'll take your name, maybe give you a pager, and give you an approximate time you will be seated. at FO, on the other hand, you wait in line until some people leave. once there is enough room to fit you inside, then they will let you in (they wouldn't even let us in to use the bathroom as we waited! my goodness ...). you see, at FO, there is no seating, per se. essentially, it has the look and feel of a bar - no waiter service, you order everything from the bar, and there are a couple of seats (seating, in actuality, is pretty sparse). but different from a bar, most people are or have eaten a full meal (ok, i'm not really one to say anything about this because i will eat full on meals at bars ... but i think you know what i mean). i suppose the skinny white guy working as the "bouncer" at the FO door gave me some reason to think that some part of this whole experience would be a little ... unexpected.

we FINALLY got in (ok, so we waited only about 15 minutes, but it felt like EONS) and were welcomed by a rather dark room, filled with people, and delicious scents of bugers, fries, and lots and lots of beer. connie and i lucked out and got a seat at the bar (luckily!) and quickly ordered sweet potato fries and a burger (to share) - they have other options of fries and entress, but connie insisted that the burgers were the bee knees. at FO, they only have 1 burger, cooked to order, on a french-ish roll with the option of arugula, grilled onions, and feta cheese. i don't know whether it is the way the burger is marinated, or the combination of toppings, or what, but the burgers at FO are de-licious!!!!!!

and may i say something about their beer selection? they have some great beers (i don't consider myself a connoisseur, but i have my fair share of beers) on tap, all lined up on their wall 'o beer. according to connie, their wine seleciton is not too shabby either (she's such a wine-o - hee hee). while the beers are significantly less expensive than the wine, it seems as though FO appeals to the taste of any patron.

later in the night, it seems as though the FO crowd became more ... intoxicated? more bar-esque, i guess. no matter - i was relishing in the good food, good drinks, and good company.

i went to the santa monica location, but connie recently told me that the new culver city location is now open. golly - yet another reason i want to go back to so.cal ... so so so delicious! i can't wait to go back ...

online: http://www.fathersoffice.com/