Imagine a room not much larger than a broom closet, equipped with a pool table, electronic dartboard, a jukebox with an ample selection of Journey & Merle Haggard tunes, and a bartender that serves the meanest “Cape-Codders” I’ve ever had the pleasure of sucking down. One may think I’m describing “The Double Deuce” from the quality motion picture ROAD HOUSE, but what I’m in fact describing is a Korea-Town gem of a dive-bar called Frank ‘n Hank. I have never met Frank…or Hank, so the bar’s origins are but a mystery; especially mystifying is the lack of the apostrophe on a possessive title. The way it reads on the crap-tastic 1950s marquis suggests that neither Frank nor Hank could decide who to name the bar after, so they just made it Frank ‘n Hank. Classy move, guys. Though it is located in the heart of Korea Town, I wouldn’t call it an exclusively “Asian” experience, but it may just be the ultimate LA experience, as I have never come across a more random watering hole in this crazy city. It’s a true melting pot here, and it’s the kind of eclectic, puzzling, terrifying, yet satisfying experience that is eternally Los Angeles. Whenever I think of Korea Town, Frank ‘n Hank is the first place that comes to mind. It’s the first place I enjoyed a cocktail as an Angelino! That’s right, Frank and Hank both took my southland alcoholic cherry. And you never forget your first, right? God bless Frank ‘n Hank, their cheap drinks, and their horrible grammar. Talking about it makes me sentimental and thirsty all at once.
FRANK AND HANK
518 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Restaurant review by Jeff Kent