Rush Street

Rush Street is named after a mile-long stretch of road in Chicago that bustles with crowds in search of food, booze and entertainment at all hours of the afternoon and evening. Its owners include a Chicago native whose parents run 13 bars and restaurants in the Rush Street area of Chicago as well as Bergamot Station co-founder Tom Patchett. Together these men are helping Culver City continue its meteoric rise to a dining and nightlife destination.

Located on busy Washington Blvd., Rush Street has a sprawling sidewalk patio that is separated from the main dining area by large sliding glass doors. An exposed brick wall on the far side of the room faces a 35-foot molded concrete bar, which the owners claim is the largest bar in Culver City. Polished dark-wood tables and black leather booths occupy the dining room and sleek Contemporary art (provided by Patchett, of course) graces the walls. There is a moody, low-lighted lounge at the back of the room with super-high-backed booths and just beyond that an arched-wooden entryway leads to the energetic upstairs lounge called "Upstairs at Rush Street" where you'll find another bar and lounge, a private back room and access to Culver City's only rooftop patio.

The menu combines French classicism with American bar fare to produce items such as buffalo chicken dumplings with blue cheese and fried shallot dressing; BBQ pulled pork sliders; and Kobe pigs in a blanket, as well as marinated Ahi cubes, grilled New Zealand lamb racks, and lobster thermador ravioli. Brick oven pizzas, roasted honey marinated chicken and the “Rush Street” dry-aged burger and frites are also available.

In the upstairs lounge on Wednesday nights from 10 p.m. to midnight Rush Street hosts the "Rush Street Unplugged Mezzanine Series," which is basically a karaoke night fronted by live bands.