la.foodblogging

We heard on City Search that Culver City’s Backstage had great food and an awesome atmosphere. We grabbed a friend as we left UCLA for the evening and drove the crowded streets last Tuesday to visit the bar.

From the outside, there’s not much to see. Backstage’s sign has Sailor Jerry-esque printing that makes it easy to spot from the road, and plenty of street parking was available. Inside the bar is dim, wood-paneled, with a large fireplace; surprisingly, it was very spacious inside. The Backstage has a big screen TV, a pool table, and a great juke box, as well as typical bar seating. We had our pick of tables, so we chose the back one surrounding the fireplace.

We ordered pretty standard drinks, and they were cheap and strong. K. ordered their specialty key lime martini, which was very tasty and frothy. The Backstage has an extensive menu — everything looked good. A. got the Kickin’ Chicken, which featured buffalo chicken wings, bleu cheese, and avocado with a large portion of garlic fries. K. tried the huge cheese burger, and our friend Kate had a ranch and bacon chicken sandwich on sourdough (both came with garlic fries). We loved our sandwiches, but their garlic fries were hands down the best fries we’ve ever tasted. We could have eaten a bucket…two buckets…a bucket for each of us.

They have good drink specials during the evenings as well as happy hour drink specials. Their online menu and hours are not current (no food on Sundays), but the service staff was nice and really friendly. We will be making the trek from UCLA to The Backstage again and again!

The Backstage
10400 Culver Blvd.
At Motor, Across the Street from Sony Studios
Culver City 90232
310.839.3892

A: We're a newly-married couple that lives in West Los Angeles. We're both graduate students at UCLA. Alison is a medievalist-in-training and Kevin is working on his Ph.D. in Computer Science. We both have developed a love for cooking and exploring the amazing culinary landscape of Los Angeles.