For Your Fix on L.A.

Feeling a little down in the dumps because of the state of the economy? A bit leery about spending money on going out? Here are some L.A. bars that feel ya, whether they have really cheap drinks or drinks that just look cheap.

35-Cent Specialty Drinks at the Edison
Every Friday (“til we all feel better”) as a special to get us through this financial crisis, my fave downtown bar will be selling Your 401K gin cocktail and The Bail Out bourbon cocktail for only 35 cents. You’ll nosh on free grilled cheese melts and tomato soup as well during this 5-7pm Soup Kitchen cocktail hour. And 25 percent of net proceeds will go to local food banks and charities.

• Fridays 5-7pm. The Edison, 108 W 2nd Street, Downtown (map). (213) 613-0000.

$5 Martinis and $5.50 Appetizers at Lola’s
Well-known martini bar Lola’s in West Hollywood offers its hard times special every day from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Choose from a menu of several martini flavors and pay only five bucks for each one! There’s apple, raspberry, cosmo, dirty, dry, peach or grapefruit cocktails. And during the upcoming holiday season, look out for pumpkin, gingerbread and candy cane martinis. If you’re hungry, any of the appetizers off the regular menu are priced at only $5.50 each.

• Every day 5:30-7:30pm. Lola’s, 945 N. Fairfax Avenue, West Hollywood (map). (323) 654-5652.

“Bottle Service” in a Brown Paper Bag at Ivan Kane’s Cafe W as
As an ode to these troubling times, this Hollywood bistro/piano lounge has made the usually expensive bottle service a bit cheaper for everyone. The flask service allows you and your pals to order a 375ml bottle of booze — from the $58 Bacardi Light to the $72 Tanqueray. Served in brown paper bags, you can choose to swig from the bottle and pass it around or have it in a glass like a civilized person and customize it with the unlimited mixers (juice, soda) and fruit.

• Ivan Kane’s Cafe Wa s, 1521 N. Vine Street, Hollywood (map). (323) 466-5400.

Photo by Lauren Avila

If you love Halloween as much as I do — candy corn isn’t a treat it’s a condiment — you’ll most definitely appreciate this list of cocktails where you can actually drink in the spooky holiday around Los Angeles (includes some Halloween night ideas, too).

The Edison downtown is going all out for Halloween with a kuh-ray-zee shindig ($40 advance, $45 at door, $50 without costume) showcasing an absinthe bar, live music, costume contests and the extra bendy Lucent Dossier Creepy Carnivale. Halloween cocktails ($13 each) include the Vampire’s Tonic — Ketel One Citron, pomegranate juice, Cointreau, lemon and garnished with pomegranate seeds — and the delightful-sounding Sewer Water — Ketel One Vodka, Dirty Sue olive brine and garnished with caper berries.

Ivan Kane’s Cafe W as in Hollywood wants to give your holiday an eerie green glow with its Halloween absinthe cocktails ($12 each). The Green Fairy Curse Margarita is made from blanco tequila, absinthe, lime juice and sweet and sour. Or go with the Bloody Valentine Fresa Fresca – muddled basil leaves, simple syrup, strawberry puree, Ketel One Citron, lime juice and topped with a float of absinthe. But you’ve gotta love the classic, Baby Jane Sazerac with rye whiskey, absinthe and a sugar cube saturated with dashes of Angostura bitters. For All Hallow’s Eve, the supper club will feature a special prixe fixe menu ($49, $19 additional with pairings).

Luna Park on La Brea will be offering the Love Blood cocktail ($10) through October 31. This rich red cocktail is made with Myers Rum, St. Germaine, pomegranate juice, cherries and garnished with a pair of “vampire” fangs. I’ll take 50ccs of that! Stat!

Ortega 120 in Redondo Beach will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos through November 2 with traditional Dia de los Muertos food (candied pumpkin and pan de muerto) and an art exhibit from Raul Amador. But it’s all about those spirited cocktails ($8 each): Chupa Verde — Partida Blanco, jalapeno jelly and lime juice served in a bucket — and the Calabaza Margarita — Partida Anejo, orange juice and pumpkin butter served in a martini glass and topped with whipped cream.

In Culver City, Rush Street‘s Candy Shots ($10 each) will instantly cure any Halloween candy craving. The Candy Corn is made from coffee liqueur, Absolut Vanilla and Grand Marnier. There’s Almond Joy with Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka, Cruzan Coconut Rum and Dekuyper Almond Liqueur. Or suck on a Tootsie Roll made of Patron Xo Cafe and orange juice. For Halloween, the restaurant will host a blowout featuring not only the traditional costume contest but an in-costume pole-dancing contest. No cover.

Southern-inspired watering hole, South, in Santa Monica promises a party you’ll never ferget, er remember, what with its smoking green Cauldron fish bowl cocktails ($40) that you can brazenly horde for yourself or share with your undead crew, $5 Scary South cocktails, $3 Dixie Blackened Voodoo beer, the ubiquitous costume contest and horror movies on all the TVs.

Wilshire, also in Santa Monica, presents its ode to fall, the Autumn Song ($15) — a spicy concoction of Zubrowka bison grass vodka and apple juice, garnished with an apple wedge dipped in caramel. Mmm, apple pie in a glass.

The Woods in Hollywood features Pumpkin Pie Shots ($3 on Halloween, $6 regular) made of Bols Pumpkin Smash liqueur, vodka, peppermint schnapps, Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, orange juice, half and half and topped with a dab of whipped cream. For the holiday, they’ll have pumpkin pie shots all night as well as a dj at 10pm and a $100 cash prize for best costume.

Posted on LAist.