If you live in LA and even slightly pay attention to what’s happening with the food and nightlife scene, you’re certainly tired as hell with the whole “Mixology” routine. Now, I’m not going to get into this except to say that I am a fan of a well-made drink, but come on… mixology? Get off your high horse and make me a Manhattan.
That being said, if you venture into any cocktail savvy lounge you’re bound to receive a drink with a curiously shaped formation of ice. For instance, a glacier shaped cluster peeks out above the surface of a 12 year Macallen whisky in your Old Fashioned while a long lopsided sphere-like slab orbits the parameter of your Hi-Ball glass as you sit sipping your Gin and Tonic.
My first experience with these oddities was at The Varnish, downtown. Continue reading →
Hero’s Quest: Drop into Umami Burger at Space15twenty next Wednesday night for their weekly ‘dinner and a movie’ in their most awesomely, lawn chair furnished courtyard. Order the port wine and Stilton Blue Cheese burger with a glass of Montepulciano and grab a spot on the patio for a flick.
Not only will your date be impressed that you’ve chosen such a culturally attuned affair, but you get to spend an hour and a half watching Liza Minelli strut around the Kit-Kat club (seducing the bi-sexually bodiced, cross dressing love hunk, Maximilian) in the 1972 musical, Cabaret.
Next week check out a series of shorts by Milky Productions, starting at 8pm.
Cost for two: $40-50
Umami Burger 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Umamiburger.com.
Romeo and Amanda—ad execs by day and gastronomical pioneers by night—are the creators and producers of the latest in L.A.’s DIY food fetish. Their weekly blog, We Can Cook That, details their at-home emulation of some of the city’s most famous dishes, including the Flank Steak at Animal or the Grilled Duck Breast at Campanile. The site was created as a byproduct of the couple’s love for cooking, L.A. cuisine and the financial burden that comes with too many trips to the reservation booth. We chatted with them to find out where they find their ingredients, their most difficult challenges to date, and whether their own restaurant is in the cards.
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Last Monday I happened to be dawdling around The Tar Pit for some drink and friend time. Nearing close, we were lucky enough to have the man, the legend, the droopy-eared culinary extraordinaire, Chef Mark Peel, drop some knowledge on us. The topic you ask? Not food, no. Drink! A cocktail… The Sazerac.
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Wow, food is literally taking over the world. Remember that time when people wanted to go to ivy league schools like Princeton or Dartmouth to study law, politics, physics oh my? Well, now people are going to Harvard to study food. Ferran Adria, probably the worlds most esteemed Chef (El Bulli in Spain), and LA’s own, Jose Andres –currently of The Bazaar at SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills but once worked directly beneath Adria –are heading the east coast to teach a 13 week course on Culinary Physics (ie. Molecular gastronomy…[ie. The cool little foam formations and crystallized air that make dining at either of their restaurants a science experiment]) at Harvard.
This is just great, talk about the evolution of academia. Also, Hi-5 to the board of academics at Harvard for championing this, though I guess it’s a great way to bring a bit of personality to the musing and pondering that goes on within their cedar and brick covered walls. I wasn’t sure if the molecular stuff was here to stay, but it seems like it’s advocates are making quite the push.
I know Ferran closed his restaurant a few weeks back for like 2 years for some reason, but who’s going to man The Bazaar with Jose in Massachusetts and Marcel –the former sous at the Bazaar –over at the new Bar210/Plush?
Supper Rating: Supper Hero
Get my Twitts: twitter.com/LAsupperhero
In the wake (cross fingers) of the mixology craze people are starting to realize that cocktails aren’t the only booze based beverages worthy of appreciating. In fact, despite what you may think, the craft beer trend has been growing right along with mixture of fine spirits, elderflower liqueurs, and cutesy cocktail names. After a sit-down with Ryan Sweeney –of Verdugo Bar and now The Surly Goat –I began to get the picture.
In craft beer, black vest donned bartenders and their faulty egos are replaced by a brotherhood of slightly sloppy dudes moseying around a neighborhood pub in their favorite brewery’s T-shirt. There’s no hopping from bar-to-bar, “consulting” cocktail lists in search for the next highest bidder whose willing to pay you that much more for your name. There are no gimmicks or tricks, long lines or pretentious attitudes. These are just regular guys who appreciate the flavor of hops and a full, froppy head crowning their mug.
[read on for Top 5 Summer Beers] Continue reading →
The cubes at Neve Ice –a boutique ice outfitter inspired by glacier compressed snow–began circulation in ‘08 when mixologist Michel Dozois (formerly of 7 Grand) started slinging shaved edged cubes –to minimize the amount of broken ice during a shake –and bouldered slabs intended to decrease the surface area and the rate of dilution, to local bars Comme Ca and Bottega Louie. Now, selling at local retailers like Silverlake’s Bar Keeper, Dozois is only promoting the inevitability of cocktail evolution, “Not only are people realizing that they have to stop using expired Puckers mix and plastic containers of vodka, but they understand that the taste increases with the quality of every component in the cocktail, including the ice.” This month’s Nights With Neve –a 4 month old, mobile monthly showcase followed by an intimate group of LA mixologists and DIY cocktail connoisseurs– was held at Osteria La Buca with special guest Steve Lavigni from La Descarga. 323.343.1507 or neveice.com
Per Angeleno Mag
How to make yourself cooler at cocktail parties? Continue reading →
Ryan Sweeney—of the backyard beer brigade at Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park—ventured west to partner up with Adolfo Suaya (Boho) for their less-than-a-month old, neighborhood inspired, craft beer boîte, The Surly Goat. After curating the new bar’s 27 draft program as one of L.A.’s first Ciceron (a sommelier of beer), Ryan takes a minute to share his personal take on the city’s best BBQ, bars and post-pubescent boozery.
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Brownie Bites and Kasteel 10 Year Dark Ale
Just when you were about to embark on a raucous rampage, egging food trucks around the city for taking all the good parking spots, the treacly talented Miss Molly of The Sweets Truck -an amalgamation of some of LA’s most delectable spots including Auntie Em’s, BabyCakesNYC and Cookie Casa -redeems her race of road rolling misfits with an innovative envisioning of the foodtruck’s future. Continue reading →
