As the announcer listed out the various teams, colorful names like “Baby Jesus Butt Plug” or “The Reverse Rick Moranis,” a smile broke across my face. You see, these were names of teams that would battle it out every Wednesday night at SOUTH, a large auditorium-like bar in Santa Monica. The name of the game is trivia, and it’s a great night for all you adult board game playing, inner dorks to come out and take part SOUTH is an aptly titled bar/restaurant.

The owners, except one, are all from the Southern American Heartland and the menu is pretty exotic. I got to sample the Crawfish Popcorn, which was basically like popcorn chicken with bits of crawfish tail meat instead of chicken. It was outrageously good and most certainly an item that you won’t be finding at many other, if any at all, bars in Los Angeles. The rest of the menu is quite Southern-inspired as well, featuring Creole, pulled pork sandwiches and jambalaya as well as the ubiquitous Angus burgers and chicken wings.

Trivia Night, which takes place every Wednesday, packs the place to the brim with rowdy, pseudo-drunken nerds ready to one-up each other on questions ranging from mobster movies to baseball stadiums. You can get 20 wings for $5 bucks, and there are several other drink specials worth looking into. Recession Thursdays are also a killer deal; a night when you can order cheap eats, including $1 Grilled Cheese and $2 Pulled Pork sandwiches as well as $2 shots.

While the bar’s floor plan may scream grade school auditorium, SOUTH is definitely spacious. Weekend nights can get really packed, so come prepared.

SOUTH elevates itself over its peers due to its amazing food and unique offerings in terms of deals and specials. It’s not going to set Los Angeles on fire, but anyone in search of a fun, unpretentious and, most importantly, inexpensive bar should seriously give SOUTH some consideration.



For more information, visit southsantamonica.com.