I am so not a wine guy. Never even heard of thatchers!
I highly recommend you check them out. The audio system alone is worth checking out.
Oh, I think I went there once! Yes, a totally diff vibe, I imagine, then Total Wine. Seemed like a place for those who are knowledgable and want a very personal experience.
For me, Total Wine is/was great b/c I saw something when I was at Ralphs (Conundrum) and then I was like, “I wonder if Total Wine has this?” And it did for, like, 30% less.
I’m not an alcohol person in general, but if I want something interesting, I’d go to The Wine House (or I guess Thatcher’s… 
).
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If you want anything that is not wine, you should probably not go to Thatcher’s? Total Wine has a pretty great selection of spirits and beer at generally favorable prices. Better selection and pricing than BevMo for that kind of thing IMO. Most specialty shops can’t match their breadth of selection for non-wine alcohol.
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Well yeah, Thatcher’s is wine only (they may have amaro and vermouths). BION, I’ve never been in a Total Wine. Had no idea they sold more than wine. In either case, Thatcher’s has amazing quality across a wide range of cost. I’m a fan and have no other connection to this business.
At the few TW I was in different cities at least their beer storage is horrible - if you store IPAs, sours etc for several months at rt you will buy lousy products with little resembling the original flavors. At least for craft beer I would avoid TW and look for specialty shops
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Leaves me wondering about the wine provenance. I think this thread somewhat illustrates a theory/pattern I’ve seen both as a sommelier and wine retailer (no longer itb). I wonder why it is that some food nerds (despise the term foodie) are willing to pay high end $ for food items/restaurants, yet for those that drink, are fine with non-artisanal beverage products (i.e. mass /corporate produced)? This is of course a generalized notion. At one restaurant I slung vino, we were known for 9+ course tasting menus that were both unique (duck tongues, pigs ears, head cheese, etc…) and somewhat pricey. We had a regular couple in their 60s that always byo’d, usually crappy stuff like 10 yr old rose from Barstow (ok I kid on location) probably a gift they forgot about. I once took their kind gesture to share a toast…big mistake. Anyhow, I would occasionally pour them something to try. They were essentially unmoved to explore the list. Puzzling.
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But they did like what you poured, or were they unmoved b/c they didn’t taste a difference?
I can appreciate “good food” (I think), but most wine still has enough alcohol that it really interferes w/ my ability to detect underlying flavors. Maybe there are people who are the opposite? As in, they like “good food” but they’re taste buds just don’t respond much to flavors in alcohol? Or maybe they like the effect of the alcohol so much that the taste of the wine outside of that doesn’t matter?
I guess what I mean is that I wonder if there’s a biological reason for what you’ve noticed.
Unmoved, indifferent.
I think when alcohol interferes with ones ability to taste, there is either too much of it (i.e. Cabernet at 16% abv) or people are sensitive. The world knows flavors in wine mirror and can enhance food. There are some great lower abv wines that are delicious with food, mostly in the natural category. I suspect you won’t find them at Total Wine.
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Last off topic from me…
Funny you mention cabernet. Partner and I were wine tasting in Paso. We got a “bonus” tasting in one room, and it was a cabernet sauvignon. Since I don’t know much about wines, I don’t know what the “usual” taste of many varietals are, but I enjoyed the other wines we had tried, so…
Thankfully, the employee assisting us had walked away after this pour, b/c I found it utterly disgusting and spit it out.
Maybe I’ll try a natural wine in the future.
I’ve drunk enough alcohol that I don’t taste alcohol anymore.
I wouldn’t advise aspiring to this, especially if you flush from alcohol. The Alcohol Flushing Response: An Unrecognized Risk Factor for Esophageal Cancer from Alcohol Consumption - PMC (nih.gov)
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Mimi’s ice cream coming to facelifted plaza at Granville/Wilshire. Looks like there’s already a location in Culver City. Anyone been?
In the ?former The Upper Crust location on Wilshire, the sign on the roof looks the same but now says Mediterranean food and… doner (!!!) kebabs. I’ll try to check it out soon.
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That was quick!
I need to correct myself. Drove by it again this evening, and it says “Doner Corner” not doner kebab).
Internet search shows nothing. Upper Crust website still lists the Brentwood location, but on-line ordering was off earlier this evening.
Upper Crust Brentwood closed a few months ago, confirmed by the remaining BH location. It’s a bummer as I liked the place quite a bit.
Hopefully the soon to open Flour Pizzeria on San Vicente can satisfactorily fill the NY style pizza by the slice hole left by Upper Crust closing.
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There’s a website now:
Rather confusing b/c there is no concrete address on the website, and the map appears to show a location in Culver City. An internet search for “Doner Corner” in Culver City does not show anything.
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I wanted to check out Thatcher’s (Need to replace some empty Sherry bottles) but when I went by it looks so jewelry box-y was too intimidated to walk in lol (same with Brentwood Fine Wine). Maybe it’s from growing up spending time in bookstores I feel more comfortable in the organized chaos of a K&L
I feel that same way about many diff types of shops (not just food related)! 
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