Ever had a blind date where you pick a place and time, worry about what you’re going to wear and even almost chicken out, and then you get stood up anyway? Last month I wrote about Hurry Date’s Wine Tasting at Tangerine in WeHo. Dre and I got our tickets weeks ago. Unlike the dating service’s usual events, this was a wine tasting mixer and not a speed dating thing so we were almost looking forward to it. Seemed like a nice way to ease ourselves into the whole proactive dating method.
The venue for the wine tasting was Tangerine Cantina Y Cocina on Sunset and the emailed reminder we got the day before said to show up at 6:30 for check-in. But when we arrived at 6:25, the only people at the restaurant were the restaurant workers and some bar patrons watching the Western Conference Final basketball game on the TV monitors that hung over the bar.
We asked our bartender if she knew anything about it but she deferred us to the owner of the place, a man with the regal name Kingsley. He told us, “Hurry Date used to have events here regularly but then it just stopped. The last event, nobody showed up.”
Not knowing what to do next we ordered some drinks. I got a chocolate cake martini ($10) to soothe my bruised ego. Kidding. Got it because it sounded yummy and it was. It didn’t taste like an actual chocolate cake with Frangelico, Godiva liqueur and vanilla vodka, but it sure was potent and rich. A shot of cream might have helped.
Since we had been expecting passed appetizers at this make-believe event, I hadn’t eaten beforehand. Starving, I begrudgingly ordered their $11 chicken quesadilla. Yeah, I hate to say it, but even though it cost more than I’d usually like to spend on an appetizer, it was tasty plus it came with a side of sour cream and guacamole at no extra charge. The tortilla was thicker than the norm with crispy edges. The quesadilla itself was stuffed with cheese and savory grilled chicken chunks.
Sitting at the bar, Dre and I simply enjoyed the venue. The plush bar area had a beautiful crystal chandelier that hung overhead and a huge mirror sat over the bar reflecting back a room that seemed from another time and place. With black and white pictures hanging on the walls and velvet wall accents, it gave the old school vibe of an old Hollywood supper club. And the bartender was so friendly and attentive, it almost didn’t feel like we were in the notoriously attitude-y section of the Sunset Strip.
Eventually when 7 o’clock rolled around, the scheduled time for the Hurry Date event, we noticed about 10 other people looking as bewildered and out-of-place as we were when we first walked in. We even befriended a couple of girls who we convinced to go with us to the sports bar Red Rock next door for a real singles scene. There, we laughed about the whole weird Hurry Date mishap and even though we didn’t meet any date potentials we made some new friends. But I still want my money back.
8788 W Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, California 90069
(310) 360-0274
Cross Street: Holloway Drive
