The Nickel Mine

No sign marks this bar on Santa Monica Boulevard in West LA, where deep red and wood panels line a room built around a long, v-shaped bar ringed by flat-screen TVs. More than fifty whiskeys back the two dozen taps and dozen wines, and tables come stocked with Jenga, Connect Four and Scrabble for whoever isn't watching the game. Pizza, wings, garlic knots and a whiskey burger come out of the kitchen, finishing with cinnamon knots pulled hot from the oven.