Button Mash

"Your Order: Thai Caesar Like everything on Poltergeist's menu, the Thai caesar salad is the polar opposite of subtle. It’s a (delicious) lemongrass bomb that smacks you across the face and then fizzles into one of the best, or certainly the most interesting, caesars we’ve tasted. There’s so much more than just acid and salt here, including that parmesan cheesiness everyone loves, enhanced with the funk of smoked anchovies. The entire thing lands at the table looking like a Frank Gehry structure, with big twisty sheets of puff rice paper hiding a bird's nest of frisee inside. " - brant cox, sylvio martins, arden shore, garrett snyder, nikko duren

"Even though chef Diego Argotti is cooking up some of the most boundary-breaking food in LA, he keeps things accessible for kids dining out with their parents. With buttered noodles, grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, and chocolate cake on Argoti’s Button Mash bar menu, children can easily fuel up before hitting the arcades." - Eater Staff

"Growing up, you always had your friends’ houses pegged. Kevin’s was where you played Nintendo 64 and ate undercooked DiGiorno pizza in his room, Patrick’s was where you watched Cruel Intentions in his basement with pillows over your laps and listened to his dad lose his mind to the Bears game upstairs, and Drew had the hot older sister you always tried to catch walking in a towel from the bathroom to her bedroom. Kids are weird, but they always know what you’re good for. We thought we knew what Button Mash was good for. We knew the arcade bar in Echo Park was cashing in hard on the 80’s/90’s nostalgia that makes 30-year-olds feel alive again. It’s a smart move—you eat some cheap bar food, get a handful of tokens, and play Indiana Jones pinball until your joints flare and you’re reminded you’re an adult again. Everybody wins. photo credit: Holly Liss But Button Mash is so much more than that. Yes, their game stock is impressive. If you’re an arcade junkie, you’re going to have your hands full for hours. The space is gigantic and its hyper-modern design is cool in contrast to the old-school machines that occupy it. And despite the fact that Button Mash is extremely popular and the crowds are intense, the well-designed layout keeps you from ever feeling like you want to die. You could just as easily go to Button Mash for an off-color date night as you could with a big group of friends for a night of NBA Jam mayhem. There’s something for everyone at Button Mash, whether you’ve ever played an arcade game in your life or not. And that’s something no one had pegged." - Brant Cox

"It’s practically impossible not to have seen Poltergeist’s Thai Caesar salad and its larger-than-life rice cracker proliferate on social media, but the salad still stands up to the hype. This frisee and lettuce salad is dressed in Parmesan and a tangy dressing before its pièce de résistance puffed cracker is positioned on top. With the lack of traditional croutons, the Thai Caesar is also entirely gluten-free." - Rebecca Roland, Eater Staff

"Tucked away in the corner of a strip mall, this craft beer shop and taproom is easy to miss. With 12 rotating taps and close to 1000 bottled varieties of local and international beers, this is not a place to miss! The friendly and knowledgeable bartenders add to the spirt of the eclectic crowd that ranges from young to old, locals to newbies. Pick up a slice of pizza from the spot next door to go with your beer, or nestle up with your sweetie in the lounge with a glass of wine and your favorite board game." - Ludlow Kingsley