Alcohol Plays a Secondary Role--or None at All

W hether you bar hop, bar crawl or belly up to the bar, a bar seems inextricably linked to alcohol. But changes are taking place.

All over the Southland, bars serve up a variety of edibles and potables , and at most of them, alcohol is a very minor player.

Some specialize in specific types of food or beverage, many appeal to the grazing fad--eating small portions of several different types of food. Most are relatively inexpensive; less than $10 for a satisfying sample. And, perched on a stool, elbows on the bar, in close proximity to other diners, you can enjoy an informal, convivial atmosphere that a more conventional restaurant setting doesn’t afford.

Here are 10 bars with a difference:

Menagerie--A dining bar at 3347 Motor Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 202-8808. Lunch: Monday-Friday, noon-3 p.m. Dinner: nightly, 6-10:30 p.m.

Imagine a sushi bar that serves American-style food with Japanese accents, and you have the idea for this offbeat bar tucked away, as the menu puns, in the heart of Palms. It looks so much like a sushi bar that signs are posted saying it isn’t a sushi bar. Menagerie serves an eclectic blend of items ranging from a Cocquille Menagerie, a casserole of mushrooms, scallops and shark ($7.75), to barbecue ribs ($8.95) and miso soup ($1.75).

Hana Sushi--A sushi bar at 11831 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (213) 477-9796. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner: Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.-midnight; Fridays and Saturdays, 5:30 p.m.-2 a.m.

There are sushi bars and Hana Sushi ranks among the best, as the line outside on weekends will testify. With 20 stools placed around a long, angular, wooden bar, this is one of the larger sushi bars. The menu offers 39 selections and several specials. All of the fish is fresh and its presentation is a work of art.

Koala Blue--An Aussie milk bar at 7366 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 655-3596. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

Like an American soda fountain with Australian accents, this bar serves American-style milkshakes ($2.50) and the thinner, Aussie-style shakes ($1.75), koala club sandwiches ($5.25), Aussie meat pies ($2.75) and pavlova ($3), an Australian dessert of meringue and fruit. Australian beer, such as Foster’s, Swan, Four X and KB are available ($2.50), as well as an assortment of red and white wines ($2.50 to $3.50). On weekends, it may be difficult to find an empty bar stool. The 11 in front of the wood-topped bar are usually filled. Koala Blue’s eight-seat Aussie milk bar in the Crystal Court of South Coast Plaza is set to open March 18 and will serve mainly drinks (no alcohol) and desserts.

Chin Chin--A dim sum bar at 8618 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 652-1818. Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-midnight.

Chin chin means to your health, so food at this high-tech, white-tiled bar does not include monosodium glutamate. Diners perched on high stools can get an entertaining view of the busy, open kitchen, where an air of frenetic activity prevails. Dim sum includes pot-sticker dumplings ($2.95 and $3.25); spring rolls ($1.95); fried won tons ($2.95), and bao --buns filled with barbecued pork ($3.25).

R.J.’s--A salad bar at 252 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 274-3474 or (213) 274-7427. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

While salad bars are fairly ubiquitous, R.J.’s is in a class by itself. As you enter, you may think you’ve wandered into a produce mart rather than a restaurant--crates of fruits and vegetables are stacked high along one wall. The bar, which winds along three walls, includes (in addition to standard salad bar fare) red and yellow pickled eggs, baby ears of corn, two varieties of avocado, assorted pasta, chicken and tuna salads. At the end of the bar are breads, grains and other toppings. A trip to the bar is $6.95, including refills.

(ixi:z)--A water bar at 474 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 274-0220. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Before you say, “Only in California,” check the 75 varieties of designer waters from Perrier and Calistoga to Borjomi, Jermak and Essentuky from the Soviet Union, Rokko from Japan and varieties from Australia, Lebanon, Romania and 17 other countries. Prices range from $1 to $2 for eight ounces. Waters are served in the bottle. Don’t ask for ice (it voids the taste), lime or lemon (they mask the taste).

Coffee and Tea Leaf--A coffee and tea bar at 238 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 469-4984. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

One of a chain, this bar serves espresso ($1.25 or $1.50 for two) and cappuccino ($1.75), individually brewed teas ($1), a “brew of the day” (50 cents; 75 cents for a large cup), hot chocolate (75 cents) and freshly squeezed orange juice ($1). A small selection of desserts, including honey-bran muffins, shortbreads and toffee bars, is also available. Call (800) TEA-LEAF for other locations.

Hymie’s Fish Market--Oyster bars at 9228 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 550-0377, and 17499 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 784-3474. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: Monday-Thursday, 6-10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 6-10:30 p.m.; Sundays, 5-9 p.m.

The food bars are at the end of the liquor bar, but as co-owner Elaine Kushner Goldberg remarked, “This is not a real drinking bar; people come here for the food.” You enter the West Pico restaurant through the kitchen, past tanks of live lobsters and clams and refrigerator cases of shrimp and fish. Specials listed on a chalkboard include New Zealand mussels in bouillabaisse, steamed mussels, clams on the half shell, steamed and cracked clams. Prices vary according to availability, generally in the $5-$6 range for shellfish items; dinner entrees average $15.

La Masia--A tapas bar at 9077 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (213) 273-7066. Hours: Fridays and Saturdays only, 7 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

This bar, in an upstairs room of the restaurant, was created in response to revelers who, after dancing the night away downstairs, needed something to stem their hunger pangs. Bite-sized tapas, Spanish-style appetizers, are sold individually ($1.25) or an assortment for $4.25. The menu offers 21 selections including empanaditas de carne (tiny meat pies), frituras de bacalao (cod fish fritters), tortilla espanola (quiche - style omelets) and papas rellenos (meat - stuffed potatoes). For tapas lovers in other areas, the Broadway stores in Glendale Galleria and South Coast Plaza now offer a selection of the appetizers in “little bites” during shopping hours, for $1.50 to $5. A “tapas trio special” changes daily and usually consists of a meat dish, a cold dish--such as artichoke vinaigrette--and any of several combinations, such as Moorish kebabs (small pork tenderloin), grilled veal sausage and spinach and paella in four-ounce dishes.)

Yagura Ichiban--A barbecue bar at 101 Japanese Village Plaza, Los Angeles, (213) 623-4141. Hours: daily, 5-10 p.m.

The Japanese name for this bar, which is located in an upstairs room of the restaurant, is robata-- a Japanese country-style fireplace. Like a sushi bar in appearance, robata specializes in grilled or barbecue-style food--including the popular yakitori chicken ($3.50). Also available, beefsteak with robata sauce ($6.90) and seafood, such as salmon, Japanese halibut, mackerel, squid and clam, depending on the season. Vegetables that also lend themselves to robata grilling include enoki mushrooms, Japanese eggplant, corn and potatoes.