Just in time for the NBA conference finals and a packed LAFC summer schedule, Highland Park’s got a new sports bar—and it’s one that’s entirely vegan.
Last week Put Me in Coach opened in the former home of the also-vegan Hinterhof German Kitchen and Beer Garden, bringing two patios, local craft beer, flat-screen TVs, frosé, boozy sno-cone–like concoctions, and an entirely plant-based menu of bar classics to York Boulevard.
The new all-vegan sports bar comes to us from some of the minds behind a few of L.A.’s most fun spots to grab a drink or a plant-based bite: the nearby but now-closed bar Block Party, where local beer, frozen drinks, food pop-ups out front and a bustling back patio made for another York Boulevard destination; West Adams’s Party Beer Co., a taproom and brewery pouring playful, crisp brews and beer slushies with a menu of vegan pizzas, sandwiches and beyond; and the vegan Nashville-inspired fried chicken concept, Wolfie’s, housed in the former Block Party space.
Wolfie’s chef Richard Chang is overseeing the menu and organizes it into sections for burgers (regular or chili cheese), Asian street food (bulgogi bibimbap or orange chicken over purple rice), sides (onion rings, house-made Cool Ranch Doritos and the like), boneless wings and tacos, covering all the bases of bar-food fare.
All the classics are there, but done with a plant-based bent: The nachos involve cashew sour cream, the esquites feature a dusting of nut-based parmesan and the vegan boneless wings come in a range of flavors, including gochujang, traditional Buffalo, beer BBQ, mole and teriyaki.
The draft list runs Party Beer Co.-heavy, but also includes hard kombucha and a pour or two from other local breweries. Cocktails, frozen margaritas—available spicy, regular and fruity—and frosé help round out the drink menu, and if you’re looking for a way to fundraise while you sip, there’s the colorful Lingonberry Longshot, which combines rum, lingonberry jam, lime, aquafaba and sea salt, and donates a portion of its proceeds to the Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue.
The new restaurant and sports bar features a tree-dotted front patio, an even larger alfresco area around the side, and indoor seating near the TVs (which sit over the bar) and all three spaces are family friendly—that is until 10pm, when Put Me in Coach flips to a 21-and-up model (yes, even if a game goes late into overtime).
Put Me in Coach is now open at 4939 York Blvd., with hours of 4pm to midnight on Sunday and from Tuesday to Thursday; and 4pm to 2am Friday and Saturday. After 10pm it becomes 21-and-up–only, Tuesday to Sunday.