Nowadays, a cocktail bar has to do more than simply follow a classic cocktail template to turn heads. Housemade ingredients and a strong garnish game aren’t going to cut it anymore. Besides, there are so many great bars with new ones practically opening every day, not to mention the breadth of talented bartenders in L.A….
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Looking for something fun and different — with a touch of nerdiness — to serve at your holiday party? Lucky for you barman Christopher Day (Bar Tribute, Redbird) created this recipe for a boozy butterbeer. Your Harry Potter-loving guests will squeal. It’s no coincidence that this recipe uses a butter-washed Black Cow Vodka as Chris…
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If you’re like me: addicted to acquiring Tiki mugs. LOTS of Tiki mugs. Send help rum! You’ll be happy to know that there are places in L.A. that sell these coveted cups. I’m not just talking Trader Sam’s, Tiki Ti or Tonga Hut, although those are still my favorites. But now there’s Clifton’s Cafeteria downtown,…
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We may be nearing the end of summer but I say go out with a bang and blend up huge batches of frozen strawberry daiquiri while they’re still in season. And one of the best frozen strawberry daiquiris I’ve ever tasted was at Ostrich Farm in Echo Park, where barman Jeremy Simpson serves up them…
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As if you really needed an excuse to drink rosé, it’s National Rosé Day tomorrow! This pink varietal has become the harbinger of the summer season, and not just straight out of the bottle but in cocktails, frozen rosé slushie (frosé!) and even as ice cubes. Now, when you Google “rosé wine ice cubes” all of the listings…
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If you love holiday libations then you’re in luck as L.A. has no shortage of festive winter cocktails. But of the many offerings this year, the ones that really stood out to me were the ones off Big Bar’s winter cocktail menu which debuted just yesterday. Leave it to bar manager Cari Hah and her…
If you’re a big fan of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens, at this point you’ve most likely seen it seven-plus times. I’ve only seen it three times — all while sporting my cozy Tauntaun hoodie of course — but made sure to watch it in different theaters: on a huge screen in 3D, in a…
This August marked the 10th anniversary of this blog Caroline on Crack. To put that in perspective, I remember when Sprinkles first started the cupcake craze in L.A., when Seven Grand first opened, and when the Kogi BBQ food truck first hit the streets. That’s a decade of drinking, eating and blogging in L.A. It’s…
OK, yes, Napa is an expensive place to visit. Even staying at a Best Western in downtown Napa can be a $300-a-night affair! But that’s not too surprising considering Napa is touted as the premier wine region of California. Our entire state has over 700 miles of wine country and 107 AVAs, but everyone the…
Usually expensive champagne like Krug or Dom Pérignon can only be had by the bottle. But what if you just want a simple sipper to celebrate solo? (Say that three times fast.) Or you do not want to break the bank on a whole bottle? Fortunately there are a ton of places in Los Angeles —…
Oh lawdy, Hollywood has gotten a whole bunch of new drinking options! This week for Los Angeles Magazine’s Liquid LA alone I covered three new cocktail programs created by high-caliber bartenders. And the best part is that all three bars are within walking distance of each other! OK, maybe it’ll be a long walk in…
For my Los Angeles Magazine Liquid LA post today, I shared mixmaster Matthew Biancaniello’s recipe for his coffee Cynar. A recipe so simple, mixing two things that naturally seem perfect together! I had had it again recently and knew I had to learn how to finally make it myself so I’d have a never-ending supply….
Halloween is the BEST holiday of the entire year. Costumes, candy, scary movie marathons! Come on! And this year there are a ton of fun opportunities to show off the costume you worked on all year…or, if you’re like me, the one that you patched together with things from our closet. Here are my picks…
Tonight Cana Rum Bar debuts its brand-new fall cocktail menu (see below) which will not only bring back crowd favorite, the Pumpkin Colada, but will also feature a new ice cream cocktail which uses a Manhattan ice cream! This takes the place of my summertime favorite, Schoolyard Crush, which was made with a housemade Angostura…
As much as I love wine now, I’ve never hosted a wine-paired dinner before because apart from the fact that I still don’t really feel comfortable with my wine pairing abilities 1) I don’t cook and 2) I don’t even own a dining room table. So when Rodney Strong Vineyards invited me to be one…
