‘Some People Call Me Maurice’: Best Los Angeles theme bars

But to pretend you’re totally somewhere else?

That requires a more inspired atmosphere.

The transportive kind.

With, say, exotic opium den decor and a last-call gong.

Or vintage 1970s home furnishings and a dude in a mustache serving loaded sno-cones out of an old Airstream in the back.

Or a fake log cabin featuring flaming toasted marshmallow cocktails and a friendly reminder at the entrance that “only you can prevent forest fires.”

Naturally, all of these drinking scenes are available in Los Angeles — home to some of the most treasured theme bars anywhere.

With so many of them, where do we start?

How about with some favorite haunts, where alcohol wouldn’t be caught dead without a chaser of intoxicating kitsch.

READ: CNNGo in Los Angeles: Hollywood stars, food trucks and bar-cade

The Bigfoot Lodge

Theme: Cabin in the woods

Neighborhood: Atwater Village

Signature drink: Yee Mee Loo (vodka, white rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, Blue CuraƧao)

It should come as no surprise in L.A. that the city’s most alluringly overdone Old Orient lounge has been hiding for years on a drab corner of outer Hollywood Boulevard across from an Auto Zone and next door to a vacuum and janitorial supplies store.

Don’t be put off by the misleading exteriors.

It’s what’s inside that counts.

Namely, every opium den decor cliche on the list.

Paper lanterns.

Bamboo stools.

Dragons on the ceiling.

Cozy rooms with walls as red as Mao’s Little Book.

And don’t forget the last-call gong.

All very authentic feeling after enough Singapore Slings.

Good Luck Bar, 1514 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles; +1 323 666 3524

Jordan Rane writes regularly for CNN Travel and The Los Angeles Times. A Lowell Thomas Award recipient from the Society of American Travel Writers, his work on travel and the outdoors has spanned six continents and appeared in over 50 publications. He lives in Los Angeles.

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