Red Car by Ed Milich
	It’s an amazing thing. Back on the east coast and Midwest US, every town of a certain size used to have at least one working brewery. Some of these towns had fairly developed beer economies, in part due to the German and other immigrants who brought the culture of beer consumption with them from Europe. I believe Columbus, Ohio, where I used to live, had about 5 working breweries prior to prohibition. You can thank the experiment of prohibition for killing off many of these local breweries, and for the preponderance of bland, thin pilsners that plagued the American beer market for such a long time. Times have changed, though. With the American Craft Brewing Revolution, the number of working breweries in the US seems to have climbed exponentially in the past decade. “American beer” is no longer a seeming contradiction in terms and/or the laughing stock of the beer-drinking world. In fact, Americans lay claim to taking a popular style of British Ale, the India Pale Ale (AKA IPA) and blowing the doors off the barn with the internationally unequalled over the top, extreme hop content brewing style of American IPA’s. The IPA originated as ales were excessively hopped for preservation on the long passage from England to India. The style has been taken to new extremes in the USA in the past decade, and “hop heads” venture to the far reaches of the country and their local beer retailers to find the latest liqueur-like hop overdose of an IPA. So where does this lead me? Well, as I said, it’s an amazing thing. It’s taken half a century to get to this point again, but I now have a working brewery and integral pub within walking distance of my house that I go to for fresh beer and great food. That’s the Red Car Brewery, and I’m grateful to have them close by. The Red Car, owned by Bob and Laurie Brandt, is in historic downtown Torrance, located in a rustic red brick commercial building. Bob still works daily as the brew master, and his ales are among the finest on the west coast.  It’s right across the street from American Honda, so you’ll see lots of Honda ID tags during their usually crowded lunchtime. You can chose to sit at the bar, at one of the inside tables, or on the enclosed patio.   The menu features sandwiches, salads, wood fired pizzas, and revolving main courses and appetizers. The Red Car Salad is a mixed green salad with candied walnuts that are a like little sugary gems buried in the lettuce. One favorite appetizer is the Coyote Chile, which comes with Poblano peppers and cheese in a deep, dark beef and bean chili. I’ve complained to Bob that the only problem with the chili is that there’s not more of it in one serving! The sandwiches are excellent, and the French Dip is one of my favorites. It comes piled with hot roast beef on a fresh roll with a side of large, pub- cut French fries and a side of cole slaw. The pizzas are also an excellent choice. The crust is medium- thickness, chewy, and slightly smoky from the wood oven. The sauce and cheese are very competent and complement the crust perfectly. The Barbecue chicken pizza is also good, and comes with barbecue sauce instead of marinara/red pizza sauce.  In fact, I’ve never had a bad pizza at the Red Car- you simply can’t go wrong with the pizza here. Pizza and a salad is probably a good place to start if it’s your first time here. If you’re going to have a beer with lunch, do take it easy! Many of these beers have alcohol contents above the 6% mark, or roughly double that of traditional American beers. I highly recommend Bob’s India Pale Ale, the “South Bay IPA”, for its massive hop content and extreme bitterness. It’s also around 8% alcohol. Two pints of IPA on an empty stomach and someone will definitely need a spatula to lift you off your seat. If you’re a Hon-droid, you may be able to stumble back across the street to your cubicle, but you should definitely not drive a car at that point. As a beer fan, and further as an IPA fan, I can unequivocally say that their IPA is consistently the best beer Los Angeles. If I skip the beer, I can get out of Red Car for about a $10 bill at lunch. Beer, appetizers, and similar temptations can easily double that, but the food is such a great value that I can not complain about their prices. The ambience at Red Car is “Classic American Brewpub’. The inside of the red brick building is mostly bare, giving it a very genuine “weathered” look. The brewing vessels are right behind the bar, and brewmaster Bob is often around during lunch time. He’s a friendly guy, and is always eager to talk about his beer, so chat him up if you’re there at lunchtime. The bar is open after work as well, and often features live band at the perfect volume- not too terribly loud, so you can easily carry on a conversation over a pint of Red Car ale. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that the Red Car is a sponsor of some of my motorcycle racing exploits. I was a fan of this place long before Bob ever decided to sponsor me, so I have no guilt in stating how much I love this place.  The Red Car Brewery is a classic American brew pub with a wonderful ambience, prolific menu, and unequalled beer, and thus makes a wonderful lunch. Gold Star for their beer. Gold Star for their food.
		Red Car Brewery 1266 Sartori Ave Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 782-0222 www.redcarbrewery.com