THE ENABLER

If you’re an evangelical Christian going person-to-person trying to win souls for the Lord, there are probably more hospitable places to try it than Westlake’s Tango Room. But the bright-eyed, indefatigable young mission worker who asked us if we had a personal relationship with God (The Enabler’s answer: We’re holding our beer, aren’t we?) added just the dash of earnestness you hope for in any worthy dive.

Flanked by Langer’s Delicatessen (another homey nook in a neighborhood where the homies are serious fellows), the Tango Room has the air of a sports bar but the heart of working-class problem-dissolver. Beer posters of buxom chicas on beaches jockey with midday soccer matches and a pool table for attention. But each round of Coronas comes with a giant plate of fresh limes, and the locals routinely, with no prompting, sing along en masse when the ranchero tune is especially resonant.

Outside, MacArthur Park is slowly gentrifying, but it’s still a nervous place to walk around after dark. The Tango Room closes at 11 p.m., but the Enabler likes to think of it as a morning bar. Somewhere you don’t need makeup, or for that matter, a functioning internal gyroscope. A bar where you might even find God, or at least someone looking for her.

2028 W. 7th St., (213) 483-8788

--

-- theguide@latimes.com