Caroline on Crack | August 2011

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Monthly Archives: August 2011

August 9, 2011

And the Los Angeles Magazine Winner for Best Cocktail Punch 2011 Is…

The trick is to get triple-word score while drunk off punch.

Los Angeles Magazine‘s Best of LA 2011 issue is currently out on the newsstands and it’s one that’s not to be missed. Not because I was fortunate enough to be asked to contribute a couple of blurbs to it, hee!, but just because it’s usually the issue you’ll end up referring to for years to come as it becomes your reference guide for finding crucial info like who has the best Scotch selection (Daily Pint) and what’s the best wine bar (Barbrix). Plus every Angeleno should have it on their coffee table, nay, they should have issues spanning back many years in their library. Just sayin’.

I wrote up the blurb for Best Punch in Los Angeles (as well as Best Happy Hour — Drago Centro). This of course required that I choose a number of cocktail punches around town and narrow it down to the best. A very difficult task which resulted in many restless nights. Seriously. How could I pick just one? Oh the humanity! I was able to cull my choices down to the following:

In Pasadena, 1886′s fun Champagne Punch with strawberry shrub and champagne and served up in tea pots.

Downtown Cana’s Jitterbug Perfume, a heady mix of jasmine-infused Bulleit 95 rye, Meyer’s Legend 10 year, Luxardo Abano, grapefruit, lime and strawberry.

Also downtown, Villains Tavern’s Osiris Punch with champagne, rye whiskey, hibiscus, mint, citrus, spices and bitters.

In Hollywood, there’s Library Bar’s off-menu Jamaican Waiting Punch with Smith and Cross rum, Batavia Arrack, Meyer lemon peel, sugar, fresh blood orange juice and nutmeg.

Yes, it became very Sophie’s Choice. Each was made by some of the best mixologists in our fine town and all were so tasty but so different from one another. However in the end I chose The Spare Room‘s Late Checkout, a cocktail punch by bartender Naomi Schimek. Not only is it a delicious supersize version of a popular L.A. cocktail, the Medicina Latina, but it came with a very unique experience — board games and/or bowling at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s bar/bowling alley. The venue is really what helped nudged it ahead of its competitors. Where else in Los Angeles can you enjoy a punch bowl with friends in a historic landmark while ruminating over how to get a triple-word score in Scrabble? Love it! Here punch is $60 for a bowl, board games are free and an hour of bowling for up to six friends is $100.

Congrats, Spare Room on winning Best Punch in Los Angeles Magazine’s 2011 Best of issue (and my heart)!

Cheap Punch: On a not-so-random note, if you’re looking for something a little cheaper than $60 punch, The Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills has Punchbowl Happy Hour Mondays through Fridays 4-7pm where you can score a six-person bowl of market-fresh cocktail punch for $30!

Categories: Cocktails, Los Angeles

The Beer Chicks Overhaul the 213 Downtown Bars’ Taps

The Beer Chicks Hallie Beaune and Christina Perozzi.

When one thinks of 213 Downtown bars like Schmeven Schmand and Cana, no one thinks “Mm, that’s a great place to grab a beer.” So I just had to ask Beer Chicks Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune why they picked the cocktail bars yet again for their 2nd Annual Beer Crawl. I mean, there are tons of beer-serious bars in the city: Blue Palms Brewhouse, Verdugo Bar or Tony’s Darts Away. What gives?

With the intention of expanding LA’s beer culture and focusing on bars that need some beer lovin’, Christina said that the Beer Chicks are going to take over the 213 taps! She had a lonng conversation with the bars’ owner Cedd Moses and convinced him that if he could take great care to have hand-chipped ice for his cocktails, he should care what he has on his taps. Fortunately he agreed and now the Beer Chicks will curate the taps of the bars, customizing them to suit the themes.

The Beer Do-Over
They’ll start with Golden Gopher, Casey’s and Schmeven Schmand and then hopefully move on to the other bars by the end of the year. Irish pub Casey’s will serve Moylans Irish Stout and Eagle Rock Solidarity, Cana will get Maui Brewing Coconut Porter and she’s hoping to get Mexico’s Cucapa beer for Las Perlas. At Schmeven Schmand, they’ll even do high-end boilermakers.

Not all of the bars will get crafty but some will be equipped with double the taps. The bartenders have also been trained by the Beer Chicks so they will be as knowledgeable about the beers as they are the cocktails.

8th Street Bottle Shop.

The Beer Chicks’ Downtown Beer Shop
And to really kick things off, the girls have taken over that little liquor shop in Golden Gopher, where before you could take booze to go or have it delivered. Now the store has been transformed into the 8th Street Bottle Shop which will feature a selection of craft beers hand-picked by the Beer Chicks!

The store opens the same day as the 7-bar beer crawl on Saturday, August 13. You can still get tickets to the crawl which costs $49 general admission. VIP is sold out.

Here are just some of the craft breweries attending this beer-tastic event: Allagash, Eagle Rock Brewery, Craftsman Brewing, Cismontane, Taps Fish House and Brewery, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, North Coast Brewing Company, The Bruery and Brasserie D’Achouffe to name just a few.

Shouldn't that read "Beer To Go"?

Categories: Beer, Featured, Los Angeles

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August 4, 2011

This Weekend: Gin Breakfast, Night+Market Thai BBQ, KBBQ Cook-Off

Hollywood Takes a Stand Against Planking from Marielle Jaffe

Just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you guys for reading my blog. I couldn’t do this for six years without your support! Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, August 4

One Night Only: Desserts and Drinks Pairings at Dominick’s
My two favorite things in the world come together on one menu for one night only: desserts and cocktails! Dominick’s mixologist Nikki Sunseri and pastry chef Ann Kirk joined foodie forces pairing sweets with crafted cocktails like a sweet risotto of fresh peaches, raspberries and ginger sauce with an El Matador cocktail of El Jimador Blanco, Crème Yvette, pressed ginger and lemon and orange bitters. But the Valrhona chocolate panna cotta with the Bols Genever Satan’s Whiskers cocktail sounds devilishly delicious! Each of the three pairings range from $12-$15.

6pm-close. Dominick’s, 8715 Beverly Boulevard, West Hollywood (map). (310) 652-2335.

Friday, August 5

Big Bar’s Breakfast of Champions with Plymouth Gin Cocktails
Kick off the weekend with a boozy breakfast: three courses, each accompanied with a Plymouth Gin cocktail. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! First course is fruit and pastries; second is your choice of dishes like a smoked salmon stack, chorizo scramble or brioche French toast; and third is dessert crepes. Breakfast will be served in Big Bar’s event cottage in the back so rsvp asap as space is limited!

10:30am-12:30pm. $35. Big Bar, 1927 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Feliz (map). (323) 644-0100. RSVP: events [at] alcovecafe.com.

Saturday, August 6

3rd Annual Korean BBQ Cook-Off
It ain’t summer without BBQ and you won’t want to miss this event which features ‘cue from the best Korean BBQ restaurants in LA. Marvel at the eating skills demonstrated during the Orion Choco Pie eating contest, enjoy craft beer from Beer Belly and Korean Wines and take in the judging for the Top Grill Master Cook-Off. Remember this is a cash-only event so bring lots of it. Entry is free but plates are $5-$15 and beer is $5 a cup.

12-6pm. Free entry, plates $5-$15. South Hobart Street between 7th and Wilshire, Koreatown (map).

Cemetery Screening: Breakfast At Tiffany’s
It’s the 50th anniversary of this iconic movie. And even if you disagree with the casting of Audrey Hepburn as call girl Holly Golightly you must admit she’s absolutely charming on the screen. In any case, grab a carafe of your favorite cocktail to serve up on a picnic blanket. This would make an awesome girls’ night out activity.

7pm. Tickets: $10. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

Sunday, August 7

Night + Market’s Northern Thai BBQ and Wandering Wine Bar
This buzzy WeHo restaurant recently acquired three sausage grills from Thailand and will be cooking up some regional specials like the Sai Uah (Chieng Rai herb sausage) and Sai Krok Isan (Northeastern fermented pork sausage), which are hand-stuffed, for this special BBQ event. Gorge yourself on delicacies like pork satay skewers in condensed milk, salted beef and catfish tamale. For $29 you get a sausage plate plus three items of your choice. Traveling wine bar Ubriaca LA will sate your thirst with wine to complement the BBQ; glasses will be around $12 each. No reservations required.

5pm. Night + Market, 9043 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood (map).

Categories: Beer, Cocktails, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Nightlife, Sweets

AirBnB in France and Spain: From a Traveler’s Point of View

I lived here.

When I travel, I stick to five basic tenets: 1) Buy local food stuff for souvenirs, not tourist-trap trinkets; 2) no schedules; 3) walk everywhere; 4) never look at a map in a public place (unless it’s on my iPhone); and 5) do as the locals do. It’s this last one that I find makes me really appreciate a destination in a way that guidebooks can’t show me how. And during my recent trip to Europe, thanks to AirBnB, a Web site that offers a “global network of accommodations,” I was able to immerse myself in my homes away from home and be a faux local. I stayed in a posh Parisian flat, a charming farmhouse in Normandy and an apartment in bustling Barcelona, never feeling like a displaced tourist. (For the record, the site gave me a discount to try out the service which I used on two of the places.)

The hosts of each location went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Some left instructions on how to best enjoy my temporary home, others gave me a list of nearby restaurants and bars and one even cooked an amazing gourmet dinner for me and my friends. And every night it was nice to come back to a cozy place, untouched by maids armed with sanitized sheets and towels. I don’t know, I found it quaint and very comforting, like how it would be at home.

It was fairly easy to book through the site. It’s even easier if you’re looking for a place to stay in a big city since the folks in smaller towns, at least in France, weren’t very responsive to their email. But the site shows you what the response rate of each host is so you can use that to decide if you want to bother contacting them. Keep in mind you need to contact the host before booking a place, to inquire if the dates you are looking for are available. It’s only after you make a payment with the host that you get their actual contact information and address of the place. Easy-peasy.

Homes Away From Home

La Vieille Ferme Normandy

Dinner at La Vieille Ferme Normandy.

This farmhouse in the middle of the French countryside became home to me and eight of my traveling companions. The purpose of this entire European trip was to go to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and unfortunately we had waited too long to book accommodations so could only find this place which was about two hours and many toll booths away from Le Mans. But thankfully our hosts and the home itself more than made up for that inconvenience. Peter, our host, was a gourmet chef and he and his wife both had experience in hospitality and even though both were English ex-pats they made sure to give us a French experience. For instance every morning we were welcomed by a basic French breakfast of pastries, coffee, homemade yogurt, orange juice and jams. And we were able to book a five-course dinner prepared by Peter and his wife and made from fresh ingredients right from the farmers market in nearby town, Falaise. For the day after the Le Mans race, our group recovered from staying up all night by lounging around in the common area drinking Grimbergen beer and enjoying the free Wifi. I also explored the grounds, visiting the farm animals like the many roosters and chickens as well as the angry goose by the pond and the guinea pigs outside and daydreamed of moving here.

Apartment on Rue Du Faubourg Saint Martin in Paris

Where we watched Borat in the Parisian flat.

We only stayed here for a night before we took off for Barcelona but I loved how the host Jul was so attentive. He let me call him with any questions while he was at his job! He eased my mind by giving me instructions on how to get to the Charles Du Gaulle airport in plenty of time to catch our morning flight. I really liked this location for its proximity to the metro station which also got us to must-visit bar, the legendary Harry’s New York Bar. The apartment was located in a courtyard off the street and came with a queen-size bunkbed! When we just wanted to chill we popped in the Borat DVD and cuddled up on the couch. (Pano shot of the apartment.)

Romantic Ramblas Studio Apartment in Barcelona

Chilling in Barcelona.

This small apartment was basically right off popular thoroughfare Las Ramblas (think Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade on steroids), next door to the famous Boqueria Market and very central to everything we wanted to see. We walked everywhere, to the beach, around nearby neighborhoods Barri Gotic and El Raval and to two of Hemingway’s drinking spots; and the metro station around the corner took us to “far-flung” locations like Sagrada Familia and the fortress at Montjuic. And since the apartment was in the middle of it all we could always just come back and take cat naps after such exhausting days of exploring. We’d also buy fruit from the market and sit on the bed eating cherries while perusing local weeklies and listening to ’80s music on the stereo in the room while outside we could hear the sounds of the city. It was lovely. But I really liked emerging from the apartment which was located between two tourist shops but away from hotels and feeling like I belonged there.

It should be noted that during this vacation I had also stayed in a budget hotel in Paris, and these AirBnB places were wayyy better in terms of service, accommodations and location.

Safety Third

Now, if you’ve been following the news you’ve probably heard about the recent scandal the Web site has been hit with where one of its hosts in San Francisco blogged about how their place they rented out to an AirBnB customer was not only robbed but vandalized and violated. We’re talking that not only did the “renters” use the host’s credit card they took from a locked closet to do some online shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond but they even used her BBB coupons as an extra “fuck you.” Yeah, it was really messed up.

The site has since tried to repair its image by offering up a $50,000 guarantee, starting August 15, to hosts who might find themselves in the same nightmarish situation. But what you can do as a renter to gain the trust of your potential hosts is to also make sure to build up a cache of recommendations on your profile from friends and family, those who can vouch for how responsible and non-asshole-ish you are.

I really hope that AirBnB can survive this recent blow to its reputation because I really enjoyed using the service and found it more wallet-friendly than hotels and definitely a step up from budget motels.

Categories: Featured, Other, Pond Skipping on the Cheap, Quick Getaways