Monthly Archives: October 2007

Whirlwind Tour of Myers’ Empire: Boule Atelier, Sona and Comme Ca

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Nancy of Living LArge and I had a plan of attack. We’d meet up at Boule Atelier at 6:30 before they closed at 7, get some treats, then head over to Sona for cocktails and then to Comme Ca for cocktails and maybe food. It was to be a Myers’ Empire tour, if you will, as David and Michelle Myers own all three food havens that are within walking distance of each other.

But then the 405 shut down and all hell broke loose. When it took me half an hour to get from 26th and Olympic in Santa Monica to Barrington and Santa Monica in West L.A. I knew there was no way I’d make it to Boule clear across town in time. Nancy said she’d get some treats for me, too, but I had really wanted to check out the place firsthand.

Anyway, after an hour and a half in traffic, I made it in time to catch Nancy leaving the patisserie. She showed off her cute little $11 Boule box of delicate pastel-colored macarons while we sat at the bar in Sona. I got to try the pistachio and pumpkin ones. So melt-in-your-mouth delicious. And I can see them making a cute little hostess gift.

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Seven Grand’s Very Special Halloween Cocktail List

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Image courtesy of www.swilliamshaw.com

Last night at the Hennessy event, I was chatting with Aidan, general manager of Seven Grand, about the bar’s Halloween plans this Wednesday. He said that although they don’t have anything official planned, especially since they just had a crazy huge Halloween party last Saturday, they will have a retro-inspired Halloween cocktail list for all you guys and ghouls.

  • Corpse Reviver: Plymouth gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, Lucid Absinthe and citrus — will awaken the dead.
  • La Bruja (the Witch): Partida Reposado Tequila, ginger and citrus
  • The Black Cat: Jim Beam Black, citrus, pineapple, agave nectar and Peychauds Bitters — a path worth crossing.

Thanks to Damian and Marcos for giving me the cocktail low-down. That Corpse Reviver sounds awesome…and mischievous. FYI, the Halloween cocktails will go for $8 each. And even though there is no party, per se, there will also be a DJ and…candy! My girls and I will definitely swing by after we hit the Metromix costume bash at the Standard Downtown. Look for the girl dressed as a red devil.

Seven Grand
515 West Seventh Street
Los Angeles, California 90014 (map)
(213) 614-0736

Hennessy’s Art of Mixing Academy at the Roosevelt

A room full of some of the best bartenders in L.A. (and even the nation)….and me. It was my secret little heaven. My boys from Seven Grand were there, too, of course — Aidan, Patrick and Damian. It was so cool to hang out with those guys on the other side of the bar for a change. Marcos Tello — also of Seven Grand and cocktail catering company, For Medicinal Purposes — hosted this exclusive bartender-only event and snuck me in so I could witness the mixology stylings of renowned New York bartenders Christy Pope and Chad Solomon.

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Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: Halloween Screenings


What I love most about Halloween isn’t the parties, bags of candy or the costumes, but rather all the scary movies they show on TV. Just this weekend I got to watch The Exorcist, The Blair Witch Project, The Omen and Children of the Corn all on TV. I was in Halloween heaven. Nothing makes it the most horrific day of the year like horror movies. Fortunately some L.A. theaters will be screening scary classics on Halloween night. If you don’t feel like fighting crowds to catch The Shining at the cemetery, you might want to check out the following:

The Omen at Aero Theatre: Remember when horror movies thrilled you rather than grossed you out? Sure, this suspense/thriller featured the most creative ways to kill a human being — decapitation, impalement, suicide at a child’s bday party — but what terrified audiences most was this demonic brat and his unstoppable minions who wanted to bring the end of the world…OK and those violent deaths.

  • 7:30pm. $10. The Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica. (map)

Psycho at the Arclight: Personally this isn’t my most favorite Hitchcock movie, but apparently it’s the “most heart-pounding movie of AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills,” as voted by AFI members. So on Halloween night, you can catch a FREE screening of this classic at one of the best movie houses in L.A., the Arclight. Tickets can be picked up after 5pm, October 31 at the AFI FEST Box Office located on the 7th floor, Rooftop Village of the ArcLight parking garage.

  • 8pm. Free. The Arclight, 6360 W Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. (map)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at Disney Hall: Wanna see what horror movies used to be like? Check out this annual Halloween event where Disney Hall’s pipe organ provides the eerie soundtrack to the 1920s silent movie about a sinister doctor.

  • 8pm. $22-$47. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S Grand Avenue, Los Angeles. (map)

The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D at El Capitan: OK, this Tim Burton movie is more cute than scary but presented in 3-D with a special sing-a-long during the 11:30 screening makes it a fun Halloween movie night. Before the show grab a black and white sundae at the Disney Soda Fountain next door to the theatre. Yum!

  • 11:30pm. $13-$22. 6838 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood. (map)

Steal a Base, Steal a Taco: Free Tacos for America

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If you like baseball and Taco Bell, you probably already heard about this but for those who don’t care for junk food or know that there are 9 innings in a baseball game…9, right?…then you definitely won’t care about this. However, for those into freebies…

When I was casually watching the World Series during Cabo Cantina’s happy hour in Santa Monica, something happened on the screen to make the big loud guy sitting next to me say, “We get free tacos! Free tacos for America!”

Turns out he was referring to Taco Bell’s Steal a Base, Steal a Taco campaign where the fast food chain promised a free crunchy seasoned beef taco to all comers should a base be stolen during the World Series. And sure enough a base was stolen by the Red Sox’s Jacoby Ellsbury. So on Tuesday, October 30 from 2 to 5pm, if you ask for a free taco at any participating Taco Bell, you get one. You don’t have to be a baseball fan for the freebie.

I wonder if the lines will be long? Or where in America will they be the longest?

EVENT: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 from 2 to 5pm

Ooh, Scary: Halloween Guides, Parties & More Parties

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Sorry, folks. Still trying to get my costumes together for this damned holiday. That’s right, plural, costumes. So that means no tailor-made weekend guide for you. But for your convenience, here’s a list of Halloween guides from prominent sources all in one place as well as L.A. guides’ parties and some bars’ Halloween costume contests. Also, here’s a Halloween playlist for you to listen to while you peruse.

Guides:

L.A. Guides’ Halloween Parties:

Bars’ Costume Parties:

  • The Abbey: A slasher-themed costume party with dj

What Are You Doing on Halloween, L.A.?

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Flickr Shot by Ellectric

Sucks that Halloween falls smackdab in the middle of the work week. You can’t get into anything too crazy, like gorge yourself on candy corns until you puke orange. And I’ve no doubt that you’ve got lots of big plans for this weekend, faux Hallow’s Night, but how are you going to spend the actual Halloween night? Kicking it at home and passing out sweets to the kiddies or going hard-core at a late-night Hollywood Halloween party? I asked some of my crackhead colleagues — hip social butterflies in the know who I figured would have some really awesome plans for the night — and here’s what they said:

Alexandra Le Tellier, managing editor/bars & clubs editor of Metromix: “I’m going to the Metromix party at the Standard Downtown. I’m usually costume-phobic, so I’ll probably wear all black and cat ears unless I get a great shot of inspiration over the weekend. I am not, however, candy-phobic and plan to eat as many mini chocolate bars as humanly possible.”

Andy Sternberg, Netzoo and LAist: “i have absolutely no plans or idea what i’ll be doing. i never make plans in advance and suck at picking out costumes. but i’m open to any and all suggestions!”

Chris, do-everything girl at Modular Records: “our Australian one man band Muscles…is playing a show at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa/Orange County. Supposedly, it’s going to be a pretty big Halloween party. I’ve been charged with the duty of driving him down to the show. I am probably not going to dress up because I’m a curmudgeon when it comes to commercialized holidays, excepting Christmas. I am, however, going to try to get Muscles to eat Roscoes Chicken and Waffles with me in Long Beach. We’ll see how my attempts play out.”

Damian, cocktail artist/mixologist at Seven Grand: “working at seven g. catching up on the time away but, i promise to make it spooky.woooooooooooooo.”

Dan Silberstein, CozmoCard: “Don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll be The Bachelor… it promises to be the most exciting rose ceremony ever!”

David Markland, Creepy Los Angeles and Metroblogging LA: “I’m taking the only 12-yr-old in my neighborhood (and her mom, and my girfriend) to Angelino Heights. The adults will all take turns pretending who the real parent is and wearing masks and posing as really tall kids.”

Kylee, bartender at Katsuya: “Finances are more tricks than treats these days, so I will probably be going as a bartender. It’s a stretch right? But I think I have JUST the perfect costume: Designer pumas, velvet brand pants and a matching starck-designed lycra mock turtleneck—to keep me warm in this 90-degree weather and the lycra to remind me that I really shouldn’t be eating late at nite.”

Lesley, Eater LA: “I’m kinda lame and haven’t dressed up for years, though if I did, I suppose I’d go as Dan Akroyd doing Julia Child cutting her hand off from that classic SNL episode. My SO and I end up with a big bowl of candy because every year I get so excited to hand it out to the kids in the neighborhood, but then realize we really don’t have many kids in the neighborhood. This year, however, I haven’t turned down any party invitations, though most seem to be this weekend than the real Halloween. I guess on Wednesday, I’ll drink some black Sambuca to get in the spirit, then eat handfuls of candy corn until I feel ill.”

Lisa Brenner, music editor at LA.com: “probs the ‘eagle rock bowling & drinking club‘ halloween show. either that or go treating in beverly hills for giant candy bars.”

Sarah, the delicious life: “I’m putting on one of those little silk chinese dresses (have no idea what they’re called – chee pao?) to wear to work, and a blonde wig – since wearing the asian stuff isn’t really ‘dressing up’ for an asian gal like meself. on the 31st? i think i may go to the absolut 100 party at les deux!”

Shelley Han, Yelper: “I’m waiting for flavorpill to tell me what’s up on wed night. otherwise, i’ll prob just cruise the more pedestrian-friendly areas of los angeles and see what happens!”

So it seems like a lots of folks are short on plans for the spookiest night of the year. Surprising. But then again I, myself, am still debating whether to watch The Shining at the cemetery, hit the UrbanDaddy/Absolut 100 1920s party at Les Deux or just do a chill scary movie night at home. What are you doing?