For those who absolutely cannot wait til Christmas — eff Thanksgiving, you say — Melrose Umbrella Co. is already all decked out for the holidays. And I mean, ALL. DECKED. OUT. The Miracle on Melrose Avenue bar is only one of about 100 of the Miracle Pop-Up Bars around the world: 94 in the U.S….
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I refuse to put up Christmas decorations when Thanksgiving hasn’t even come and gone yet. But one thing I will allow in anticipation of the holidays are the cocktails. Beautiful, rich, cozy, festive-inspired holiday cocktails. And Big Bar in Los Feliz just kicked off their new holiday menu, which includes three hot cocktails and a…
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Quick, what’s your favorite L.A. movie and which cocktail would you pair with it? If it’s Amy Heckerling’s Clueless then you’re in luck! On August 19, as part of its summer pop-up series, ArcLight Hollywood is hosting swank West Hollywood cocktail bar, Bibo Ergo Sum, in its Balcony Bar. And the talented bar crew crafted…
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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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I’m not claiming to be an expert of anything by posting this list. Nope, these are just things I picked up during my seven years of blogging that I wanted to share. After all, this blog has come a long way from its beginnings of rants and long quoted passages, right? Riiight? At least I…
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…
Like most people I’m deathly afraid of public speaking — dropped out of several public speaking classes because of this paralyzing fear — but every now and then I can tap into that part of myself that’s “Caroline on Crack,” my alter ego, the party girl who’s out and about town making new friends. But…
This Saturday, Chef Sang Yoon of Lukshon and Father’s Office is hosting LuckyRice Night Market LA, the Los Angeles version of a New York City-based festival which celebrates Asian culinary culture. Culver City’s HD Buttercup in the Helms Bakery Building will be transformed into a traditional Asian night market complete with pagodas. Sure, our city…
Upstairs in a small, hot, dark room over New Orleans’ One-Eyed Jacks, Cedd Moses, owner of downtown LA bar The Varnish, was handing out chilled bottles of High Life beer to everyone at this impromptu private party after the Spirited Awards and the Juniperlooza gin party. Very speakeasy and fitting considering we were there to…
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…
If you’re not going to Tales of the Cocktail 2012, the annual cocktail industry boozefest in New Orleans, this week you might want to skip over this post because it’ll make you soo jealous. I should know because for years I had to gaze enviously at all the TOTC Tweets, Facebook updates and blog posts…
Every year Angeleno Magazine celebrates the recipients of its restaurant awards at its Live & Dine LA event at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, and every year it’s one of my most favorite food fests because of the location, the excellent selection of food and drink and its easy breeziness as it’s never…
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…
