THE GREASY FOODIE: Barney's Beanery

The Greasy Foodie

The story begins blustry day Friday after Thanksgiving in 2008 in a cramped booth at a fake NYC deli in Nashville called Noshville. In between my wife, Rachel, and my brother, Michael, I sat across from my "cooler than me" cousins Mark and Sarah, and Sarah's just as cool husband, Danny. Mark, who lives the awesome life being a lawyer living in San Francisco working for Facebook, with his only downfall being his SEVERE lactardation..which has never been medically or scientifically proven to exist in Mark.. Sarah and Danny are foodies from NYC who have tried every dive "chicken finger" hut and "curry on a stick" in the big city. Danny and Sarah had discussed that they were trying to go to as many places from Bobby Flay's 'Throwdown' show as they could, and that there was one in Nashville we had to try.....a place that I had never heard of in my 13 years of living there..I will get to that adventure later.

I got an idea from my cool cousins idea. An idea became a hobby. And the hobby became an obsession. And thus produced the list.....a world-famous spreadsheet...of every restaurant that has ever been featured on Food Network and Travel Channel....every restaurant from the famous shows like "Throwdown", "Man V. Food", "Man v. Food Nation", "Food Feuds", "Food Wars", "Best Thing I Ever Ate", "Food Paradise" and "Diners Drive-Ins and Dives" to the obscure "Best Food Ever", "Meat and Potatoes", and "101 Best Places to Chowdown", plus my additions of the restaurants of famous chefs, favorite catergories (burgers, wings, pizza, bbq, and sandwiches) and local places of legend. Names, cities, food they are famous for, and addresses. It was and still is an obsession. As of 11:31am on November 27, 2018, THE LIST HAS 4,660 RESTAURANTS ON IT...WITH A FEW OVERLAPS HERE AND THERE. And then over Pastrami Eggs Benedict at Nate N' Al's Deli in Beverly Hills, Hannah and Andrew, our good friends, gave me the idea of the blog. Document every place I went. And thus, "The Greasy Foodie" was born. I will log the places, the shows they are from, and what I had. So far, every place I have been has been amazing, except two, one being mediocre, and another being down right awful.

If there is a city you have been to, or are going to, or are from and want to know what from my list is in the city, send me a email at agmarks@gmail.com

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Barney's Beanery

From Bar Food Paradise

8447 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

http://barneysbeanery.com/

“World famous chili (on burgers, hot dogs, fries, hashbrowns), "Champaign Breakfast"-chili cheese dog with Dom Pérignon”

This place is nothing short of an institution in LA. Part biker bar, part college bar, part sports bar, part everymans bar, it is the perfect metaphor for LA. Nobody living in LA is from LA, so we all yearn and crave a piece of normalcy and routine and comfort and Barney's is just that. It is a melting pot of everyones favorite type of hometown bar that makes everyone feel at home. Cold beer, fun music, pool tables, and so much to look at inside from the rafters filled with knick knacks to the tables covered in newspaper and magazine clippings making it look like a serial killers wet dream. However, the food stands alone! Wings, beer, chili, burgers. It is easily the best bar food I have ever had. I have had the juicy lucy, a Minneapolis staple burger where the cheese is stuffed inside the patty before cooking causing a molten lava flow of cheese (see Matt's Bar in this blog), their amazing giant wings, their buffalo chicken sandwich, and the homemade world famous wings! This place is phenomenal and amazing for a late night hangout to quench your classic casual bar fix.

THE GREASY FOODIE