Bacon-Flavored Beer. Enough Said.

Beg for detention at Downtown's beer school
http://rundown.com/article.php?article_id=1878

A locker-lined window display points the way to Public School 612, a gimmicky gastropub your junior-high former self would deem rad.

The full bar’s true star is the beguiling beer menu courtesy of the Beer Chicks. The staff knows their brew and may rightly suggest an earthy Belgian Saison Dupont on tap or a bottle of Germany’s Aecht Schlenkerla Märzen, which smells and tastes, remarkably, like bacon.

You get the sense one round won’t be enough, after reading flavor descriptions as precise and poetic as any wine snob’s cheat sheet.

The upmarket pub grub gives a subtle lunch-lady wink. Homemade fried chicken pieces are poppable nugget size, while fries are served in a standard-issue brown lunch bag.

The Croque Madame is the grown-up answer to a ham and cheese, and the burger is practically inhalable thanks to balsamic-drenched sautéed onions.

With so many beers to try, you’ll want to settle in with your crew for a while, making the dart boards in back a nice addition.

Winner gets cookies and milk for dessert. Loser gets a wedgie.

Public School 612
612 S. Flower St. (213) 623-1172
publicschool612.com

Price: 2 (out of 4) Noise: 2 (out of 4)
Parking: $7 valet, street parking or public lots
Scene: Where Daily Grill patrons’ way cooler offspring hang.
Best bets: Bacon-flavored beer; fried chicken; pub burger; PB&J cookies
Hot seat: Any high top within sight of the televised game.
Teacher’s pet: Grab a shiny red apple to go from the wire basket on the bar.
Nearby: The Standard; Staples Center/L.A. Live; Seven Grand

The Rundown's restaurant reviews are based on anonymous visits by reporters, not press releases.