So how does 213 Nightlife‘s brand-new Seven Grand San Diego whiskey bar, which just celebrated its grand opening last Thursday, differ from its L.A. sister? 1) It’s got double the beer taps (25 versus 12 in L.A.), which makes sense considering San Diego is America’s beer capital. 2) It also boasts a Jackalope-esque Room with…
What’s your favorite place for apple pie in L.A.? Wherever it is, I bet it’s some diner, bakery, hot new restaurant or coffee shop and definitely not a bar. But after tasting the infamous apple pie at Jones Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard (not Joan’s on Third), your mind will be blown. Now, Jones, a…
It was my first time at Corner Door, which just opened in June next to A-Frame and Waterloo & City in Culver City, and yet the bartender made me a French 75. I looked at him sideways, sorta disappointed that he decided to lead with that at this hosted tasting. Why not show off with…
At the LuckyRice Night Market this past Saturday, I found myself triple-fisting. I kept collecting cocktails from the likes of bartenders Rosie Ruiz at Big Bar and Jayme Mandeville from Drago Centro, and couldn’t bring myself to abandon any of them. But, after that one night in New Orleans during Tales, I knew that just…
I’ve had to drink many things the three and a half days I was in New Orleans for annual cocktail industry palooza Tales of the Cocktail, many. But despite all the cocktail events and bars I went to, so many “soldiers” (aka drinks I didn’t finish) I left behind, only the following were the ones…
August 2, 2012 marks the seventh year I’ve been blogging while “on Crack.” Looking back at that first post in 2005 I’d like to think I’ve come a long way as it only had two lines of original content, with my first words being “I wanna go here!” Oh so compelling stuff. Heh. Regardless, I…
Nowadays, everyone’s coming up with seasonal cocktail menus. Basically using it as a platform for showcasing the freshest ingredients of the season. But leave it to the Raymond‘s 1886 bar team, headed by barman Garrett Mckechnie, to create a summer cocktail menu that not only features California strawberries and tropical fruit but that actually evokes…
Last weekend Bon Appetit teamed up with Belvedere Vodka and Chase Sapphire to kick off its inaugural Bon Appetit Los Angeles Grub Crawl, one of only three cities hosting the food tours. The other two cities being Brooklyn and New Orleans. For L.A. they broke the city down into three food tour areas: Downtown, Hollywood/West…
The best-kept secret for some good drinking? Top Chef Michael Voltaggio’s Ink Restaurant in West Hollywood. Usually at a celebrity chef’s restaurant, the cocktails gets overshadowed by the food. Case in point, have you heard anything about the drinks at Spago? Exactly. Thanks to Ink’s brand-new mixologists Gabriella Mlynarczyk (I have no idea how to…
NoHo Arts District neighborhoodies are benefiting from the boredom of Liquid Assets cocktail consultants Aidan Demarest and Marcos Tello. At the new Bow and Truss restaurant, which just opened this week on Magnolia Boulevard, the pair thought outside the box for the cocktail program. After doing eight bars in five years, which include The Raymond…
