The HMS Bounty

If you step into the lobby of the Gaylord Apartments, you will notice a chill in the air.

The Gaylord is an apartment building built in 1924 on Wilshire Boulevard and named after the man who made Wilshire Boulevard - Henry Gaylord Wilshire, but not by him. Mr. Wilshire was a wealthy socialist and a bit of a crackpot who developed the first four blocks of Los Angeles' Wilshire corridor.

Gaylord's socialist ways made him an enemy of LA's most powerful man, General Otis, the owner of the Los Angeles Times. The Times waged a public opinion war against Gaylord and his ideas. Otis died first but won the battle - Gaylord died broke and exiled from LA public life. He spent the last of his fortune trying to market an electric belt that would cure everything from cancer to baldness.

The Gaylord was the City's first "own-your-own" apartment building (co-op), promising to bring an egalitarian edge to a city that was beginning to boom with Hollywood glitz. The building was within full view of the Ambassador Hotel, which had recently opened and was home to the Coconut Grove nightclub, the epicenter of LA nightlife.

The site of The Gaylord was an old City dump, which had been a popular spot to dump the bodies of the murdered thieves and starlets whom hung around the periphery of all that LA glamour.

The building has a grand lobby with a restaurant initially called the Gay Room, which served as an after-hours spot for Coconut Grove clubgoers who then carried on to the apartments in the building. There was allegedly a tunnel underneath Wilshire Boulevard from the Ambassador Hotel leading to the Gay Room and used by call girls to slip and out unnoticed.

It is not known how many unfortunate souls never left the Gaylord alive.

The Gay Room became a restaurant called the Secret Harbor in the 1950s and eventually, in the early 1960s, became the English-nautical-themed restaurant it is today. It was named after the British naval ship that gained fame for its mutiny in 1789, which became known as The Mutiny on the Bounty, which spawned two movies, the first starring Charles Laughton and the second staring Marlon Brando, both of whom drank in the bar here - a generation apart.

The Ambassador Hotel carried the neighborhood along until the fateful night in June 1968 when Sirhan Sirhan shot Robert F. Kennedy in the hotel's kitchen. The assassin is believed to have eaten and drank at the HMS Bounty before committing the murder.

The Ambassador Hotel and the neighborhood fell into decline after the murder. The Gaylord Apartments did, too. However, the HMS Bounty persisted and is thriving in the Koreatown renaissance as the neighborhood is now known.

The Bounty proclaims to offer "Food & Grog for the Weary Sailor" on its menu, which counterintuitively is void mainly of fish, except for the fish and chips, a solid choice.

But you are going to order something else. You are going to order the Baseball Steak. Everyone in your party will order the Baseball Steak because you will order it for them.

What is a Baseball Steak? Technically, it is the center cut of the top sirloin, cut to resemble a filet mignon. But you can just call it cheap and delicious. The HMS Bounty still offers its "Famous Baseball Steak" with decent mashed potatoes and veggies for nineteen bucks. The Baseball Steak is tied before grilling to give it a filet-like shape. The shape doesn't always hold up but do not be deterred. It's super flavorful.

Beware that when you take it upon yourself to order for your party, you may get some pushback. Persevere anyway. You're honoring history here.

I arrived without reservations with a large party following a USC Football game. It was a long day, and adult libations were consumed throughout. We were disorganized and without leadership, and our server, who may have begun working at the Bounty when it opened, was not tolerating our indecisive shenanigans. That's when I sprung into action - ordering by decree, 12 Baseball Steaks, upgrading all to include salad, for an extra two-and-a-half bucks because I am a magnanimous tyrant.

I realize now that I may have broken decorum. But it felt like the right move in the have of a beer-soaked day of spectating. About half of our party was satisfied with my choice, which is a better approval rating than Congress.

Having been back many times since, I suggest you try some old-school Sand Dabs, the

fish above and chips, or a Porterhouse if you're hungry.

Drinks are poured heavy, and the bar is stocked with the standard favorites, but it's not a mixology sort of place.

The neighborhood still carries its scars of boom and bust, and gentrification like the Gaylord may still hold the spirits of the past.

Allegedly, residents of the century-old apartments have reported tapping sounds on windows and the sensation of footsteps in deserted corridors. The restrooms for the restaurant are in the building lobby and a bit secluded. Women have reported a pinch on the rear only to turn around and find no one. Some claim to have seen a man leering behind them in the restroom mirror.

The ghost of Henry Wilshire Gaylord, perhaps? Waiting to rejoin Los Angeles high society?

Or are the murder victims who may be buried beneath the building haunting the hallways?

Did the devil himself first tempt Sirhan Sirhan here, and he still remains?

Go and find out.

The HMS Bounty

Located in Gaylord Apartments

3357 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Open Noon-Midnight Everyday

thehmsbounty.com

(213) 385-7275