If you’re like me, Valentine’s Day usually drives you to drink. Singles are basically made to feel like pariahs thanks to its inescapable PDA-filled commercialism and couples are stressed out over the prospect of overpriced dinners and boxes of chocolates. Well, I say, KISS. Keep it simple, stupid (I don’t really think you’re stupid), and…
This past December, my LA Magazine Digest blog editor Randy Clemens threw down a gauntlet: Come up with 10 classic cocktails that every cocktail noob should know how to make at home and write a post for each one including the cocktail recipe and where to get a great example of one in L.A. So…
I don’t know if rich folk ever deign to go on barhops but if they do I have no doubt theirs would resemble Blogger Barhop 3 (BBH3): Stoli Elit High-Roller Edition aka “The Whale Tour” last Tuesday. Unlike the previous blogger barhops — 2011 and 2012 — this one wasn’t sponsored by Plymouth Gin but…
Playa cocktail duo Julian Cox and Jeremy Lake teamed up to create “Mexi-China” cocktails to pair with Chef John Sedlar’s new menu which focuses on a fusion of Baja and Cantonese cooking. Said Jeremy Lake of his menu, “Whether it be the fresh, tart juices in the Chinese 5 Spice sangrita…or the bubbly effervescence and…
LA has been suffering from a long bout of chilly temperatures. I don’t care if it IS supposed to be winter, I was so over it! And then, wouldn’t you know it, just as soon as it’s finally National Hot Buttered Rum Day again, we get the high 70s. But don’t let that stop you…
Ever wanted to know more about your favorite LA bartender, beyond the fact that they make a damn fine cocktail? Follow along on my bartender Q&A series on Los Angeles Magazine’s Digest blog, “Behind the Bartender.” It’s not your usual Q&A (those bore me!). Rather it’s just quick questions like “What’s your hidden talent?” and…
I had a lot to do today but for some reason I felt compelled to do this post. 2012 was a kickass awesome year for me. I went to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and Portland Cocktail Week for the first time, got a nice LA Weekly Web Award, my Drink Here app…
OK, I was gonna do a roundup of New Year’s Eve parties and dinners in LA but, damn, there are already a lot of them out there. So here’s a roundup of NYE roundups, ha! Plus, cuz I care, some extra stuff like a roundup of hangover brunches stumbling distance from you. By the way,…
I am now the owner of a brand-new $100 bar tab at Spare Room with an hour of bowling and a round of drinks at the Magic Castle with bartender Joshua Lucas! I scored the winning bid in a hard fought bidding war against Hemingway’s big guy Alex Straus. He don’t scare me! Oh yes,…
Looking for a way to get your New Year’s Eve party guests to ooh and aah? Luckily some of LA’s top punch makers — Naomi Schimek of Spare Room, Allan Katz of Cana Rum Bar and Vincenzo Marianella of Copa d’Oro — were kind enough to share their champagne punch recipes with me for Los…
