GOING PLACES
If you’re too trendy for the club scene, consider a Ralph Kramden redux. For those who have their own balls and names like Midge, the camaraderie of a bowling-alley bar is old news, but for the newly initiated, here are a few of the striking spots in town.
* Mar Vista Bowl, whose coffee shop offers some of the best bowling-alley grub in town, attracts a mixed mid-American crowd, not dressed to impress. Games are $2.80 a person, with computerized scoreboards. The lounge, where a bottle of Budweiser costs $1.75, is just big enough for the necessities--a bar, a pool table and a jukebox. Management is threatening to “upgrade.” Just what we need: Chinois on the Lane. Mar Vista Bowl, 12125 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista.
* The Cocktail Lounge at Pickwick Bowl attempts a manly hunting-lodge appeal--wood paneling and framed bird lithographs--but the overall effect is amped-up Denny’s--very G-rated. The crowd is wholesome--families and under-agers checking each other out under the automatic scoreboards. Beer goes for $2 (bring ID), games, $2.75. Pickwick Bowl , 921 Riverside Drive, Burbank.
* The bartender at Hollywood Star Lanes serves a lot of Greyhounds. They go well with the decor that’s somewhere between bus-station bland and jailhouse chic. The jukebox offers a good mix of tunes, from Merle Haggard to Tone Loc, and you can buy a Bud, and a game, for $1.75. Scoring is done on paper, the way God intended it. Hollywood Star Lanes, 5227 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood.
* Westsiders in trendy specs can be spotted working off their Remi dinners at Bay Shore Bowl, but the bar is red and dark and full of regulars--crusty beach denizens and anti-cool types--talking sports, shooting pool and playing video trivia. Quirky bands such as Crazy Elephant and Brooklyn Bridge grace the jukebox. Beer goes for $1.75, games for $2.50. Bay Shore Bowl, 234 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
* The bar at Little Tokyo Bowl, closed while new owners take charge, is a spot to watch--the old Aloha Lounge had karaoke. The clean, state-of-the-art alley and restaurant are full of young upscale types--where else can you get sushi and a spare? It’s $3 a game, and scoring is, of course, computerized. In the meantime, you can grab a $2 beer at the restaurant. And for a buck more, make it a Sapporo! Little Tokyo Bowl, 333 S. Alameda St. , Los Angeles.