Tom Bergin's
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Tom Bergin's Tavern is one of the oldest restaurant/bars in continuous operation in Los Angeles, California. Originally opened on Wilshire Boulevard in 1936 by lawyer Tom Bergin, it has been at its current location on Fairfax Avenue since 1949.
The tavern is known for its annual St. Patrick's Day celebration and its tradition of placing cardboard shamrocks on the walls to memorialize the names of its customers. Among the famous names with shamrocks are Tommy Lasorda, Kiefer Sutherland, Ronald Reagan and Cary Grant.
Tom Bergin's is also famous for its Irish coffee drink. Although the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco is generally credited with introducing the drink in the United States in 1952,[1] Tom Bergin's claims to have been the first.[citation needed] A large, shamrock-shaped sign in front of Tom Bergin's reading "House of Irish Coffee" (not visible in the photo at right) has been in place since the early 1950s.
The "horseshoe" bar at Tom Bergin's and its colorful bartenders and regular patrons were reputedly the inspiration for the 1980s sitcom Cheers.
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[edit] In popular culture
Tom Bergin's appeared as a prep location in an episode of the television program, Top Chef.[2]
[edit] Reviews
- A Los Angeles Times review pointed out that Tom Bergin's, "like a traditional Irish pub, [is] a sort of community living room."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Carl Nolte (2008-11-09). "The man who brought Irish coffee to America". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/08/BAMB140VVQ.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea.
- ^ CBS News, "Top Chef 3: Redemption in an Irish Pub". April 21, 2010.
- ^ "Review of Tom Bergin's Tavern". Los Angeles Times. http://www.calendarlive.com/search/72140,0,6092655.venue. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
[edit] External links
