Cheers to this new app for LA drinkers!

You’re out and about in LA and in need of the nearest watering hole. But being a connoisseur of fine cocktails and/or craft beers, you only want to find the very best places in your immediate area. Searching for bars via Yelp will pull up too many options. And then there’s that matter of having to comb through each review wondering if you can even trust what any of these Yelpers are saying.

But what if there was an app that allowed a source that you loved and trusted, ahem, to handpick the best bars for you? Lucky for you there IS such an app, created by Escape Apps LLC, called Know What! This brand-new iPhone/iPad/Touch app, which just launched, offers a variety of guides created by tastemakers for both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Each contributor has created a specific guide covering different aspects of the city, be it the best hiking trails, the best pork dishes or the top architectural icons. It’s a quick and easy way to get your city’s experts in your back pocket!

Even I have a guide. It’s called Drink Here: LA’s Best Craft Beer and Cocktail Bars and covers my favorite bars, drink spots which incidentally are the best in LA and that I’ve heavily “researched.” Heh. For your convenience, most listings include links to the bar’s up-to-date drink list! So you can see if anything strikes your fancy or check what’s on tap before you go.

Currently I have over 50 picks but will constantly add to it as well as provide mini guides (like where to find the best current seasonal cocktail in town) that will update for free.

The Price Breakdown

The basic app, Know What Essentials, is $2.99 and gets you 400 places out of the thousands available. So that’s 200 spots in L.A. and 200 in the Bay Area (amounts to about a penny a place) and you get a taste of each of the guides. Now if you want a particular contributor’s complete guide it costs an additional amount, about 99 cents to $3.99. Mine costs $1.99!

And I’m in great company! Check out just some of the many guides available:

• Alcademics’ The City’s Best Cocktail Spots (San Francisco)
• DeepEndDining: Deep End Dining
• Esotouric: Charles Bukowski’s LA and On the Trail of the Black Dahlia
• TastertotsLA: Discerning Dining for Accompanied Adults
• FoodGPS: Global Eats: Southern California; Prized Pig, LA’s Best Pork Dishes
• Los Angeles Conservancy: Top 50 of 60s Architecture
• Modern Hiker: LA’s Best Hikes

Hit the jump to see a complete list of guides.

Feel free to purchase the app here. Happy drinking!

PS: If you like the app, please review it in the iTunes store. But if you don’t, feel free to email me using the contact tab at the top of the page. Hee.

Los Angeles

Aileen Holmes, local artist: OC: Sooo Not the Land of Bland
Caroline on Crack, carolineoncrack.com: Drink Here: LA’s Best Craft Beer and Cocktail Bars
Eddie Lin, deependdining.com: Deep End Dining
Esotouric, tour company: Charles Bukowski’s LA and On the Trail of the Black Dahlia
Francesca Lia Block, author: LA’s Dangerous Angels
Gustavo Arellano, columnist, editor, OC Weekly: The Best OC Restaurants!
Jessica Ritz, tastertots.com: Discerning Dining for Accompanied Adults
Joshua Lurie, foodgps.com: Global Eats: Southern California; Prized Pig, LA’s Best Pork Dishes
LA Bizarro, bestselling guidebook: 50 Ways to Lose Your Mind
LA Freewalls, street art collective: The Biggest Street Art Gallery in the World
Los Angeles Conservancy: Top 50 of ’60s Architecture
Mark Frauenfelder, co-founder boingboing.net: Unicorns, Carnivorous Plants and Other Angelenos I’ve Known and Loved
Modern Hiker, modernhiker.com: LA’s Best Hikes
Raina Lee, author: Karaoke Domination
Rebecca Woolf, girlsgonechild.net: Fashion & Fun (for You & Your Fam)

San Francisco

Burrito Eater, burritoeater.com: San Francisco’s Top 30 Taquerias
Camper English, Alcademics.com: The City’s Best Cocktail Spots
Carolyn Jung, foodgal.com: Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining
Catherine Weis, Local Social: Oakland’s Creative Renaissance
Gary Singh, San Jose Metro columnist: Things in San Jose that Don’t Suck
Joshua Lurie, foodgps.com: Global Eats: The Bay Area
San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association: SF’s Secret Parks and Hidden Oases
SF Heritage: Essential SF: The City’s Architectural Icons; The Building Blocks of Auto Row and Pacific Heights: The Epicenter of Old San Francisco
Thinkwalks, ThinkWalks.org: Everything Explained and Local Nerd!
Vegansaurus.com: The Best Food in the Bay Area as Picked by Genius Experts
Victoria Smith, sfgirlbybay.com: Sfgirlbybay’s Bohemian Modern San Francisco
White Walls: San Francisco Street Art

Male Order Bride aka 320 White Russian (photo by LA/OC Foodie)

When I first started drinking booze, my first favorite cocktail was the White Russian. Creamy, sweet and coffee-flavored, it was the perfect entry-level drink for someone with a sweettooth who was big into coffee. It was the first cocktail that made me feel like a grownup, like I knew what I was doing ordering a drink by its name instead of just something like a rum and Coke.

But as I “matured” and moved on to whiskies, I left that desserty drink behind. That is until last year when I finally saw The Big Lebowski at a Lebowski party screening. Watching the Dude go from house to house making White Russians made me really thirsty. (By the way, isn’t it amazing that everyone in that movie seemed to always have the White Russian fixings at the ready?)

Coffee bean grated on top. (photo by LA/OC Foodie)

And yet whenever I ordered that drink anywhere it just wasn’t the creamy milkshake of sin I had remembered. The version I got at bars was just like a coffee with too much milk. I’m drinking my coffee black these days so this cocktail just wasn’t doing it for me. Oh well, I told myself, I was fine sticking to my Negronis and Manhattans.

However, Sunday during a long eight-hour brunch in Seal Beach at 320 Main, where I got to talking with its owner Jason Schiffer, he mentioned he had developed his own White Russian. But one with gin! Skeptical of how the juniper of the gin would work in such a concoction, I begged to try it. And…

Best fricken White Russian I’ve ever had. It didn’t possess that uber sticky sweetness where you’d feel it in your hangover the next morning nor was the cream so heavy you’d feel it in your gut. Twas the perfect balance of coffee, sweet, creamy. I didn’t feel robbed of flavor, booze or an experience. And oh my gawd, that cream. Jason dry shook the shit out of it in the cocktail shaker til it was nice and frothy.

This is the White Russian realized and all grown up. David Wondrich, Esquire‘s cocktail historian, had called the White Russian “something that real alcoholics drank, or beginners.” 320 Main’s version is the one for those who have developed their taste for cocktails and drink to not get drunk but for the enjoyment of a well-made libation.

It’s not currently on the menu but I’m hoping it’ll pop up in the spring/summer version that Jason is currently working on. If it does make it on the list, I begged that he call it Male Order Bride (LA/OC Foodventures‘ HC, my drinking buddy that night, changed it from “Mail” to “Male” since I said it was MY White Russian.) It’s the White Russian but even better so it really should have its own name.

And here’s the recipe for you to make at home if you can’t get down to Seal Beach.

Male Order Bride (320 White Russian)
By Jason Schiffer, 320 Main

• 1 1/2 ounce Firelit coffee liqueur syrup (2:1 Firelit to granulated sugar)
• 1 ounce Beefeater gin
• 1 1/2 ounce handwhipped cream

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe. Grate coffee bean to top.

320 Main
320 Main Street
Seal Beach, California 90740 (map)
(562) 799-6246
Facebook: 320 Main
Twitter: @320Main

Worst Moscow Mule ever.

A couple of years ago Esquire Magazine released a list of “Signs You’re in a Bad Bar.” On there were things like “Jager shot machine” and “kid-friendly.” But like most cocktail geeks and regular bar hoppers, I’ve got my own list in my back pocket. And when I walked into Bugatta on Melrose for the first time and spotted those telltale signs — the 10-ounce “martinis” on the menu, the Lavender Cosmo, the indifferent bartender with dead eyes — I decided to put away my prejudices and give the place a chance. You can never judge a book by its cover and all that. Besides, who knows, I could be pleasantly surprised.

The venue didn’t look changed much from its previous incarnation as the Bungalow Club, except to say that there were more people in it. Apparently there was a party going on. Very loungey, nice bar area. Not my type of hang, but whatevs. Loved that I was able to just get a seat right away at the bar.

But then I looked over the cocktail menu. Nothing appealed to me. Mojito-tini, raspberry lemon drop, blueberry lychee. Wasn’t this the same menu that Bungalow had from the early 2000s? So I decided to go with the Moscow Mule. I figured this straightforward classic was a safe bet even though the chances of it being served in its traditional copper cup here were slim to none. But how badly could you eff up a Moscow Mule?

Well. Turns out, a lot. The menu listed the cocktail as containing “fresh lime juice.” But unless that meant a fresh bottle of margarita mix, there was no such juice in this cocktail. I saw the bartender struggling with the cap on the new bottle and thought, “No, that can’t be my drink.” After a squirt of the mix she then dumped what seemed like a three-count of Peychaud’s bitters into the mix, turning it rose-colored. She then took a straw to it, you know, like how bartenders do to gauge whether the cocktail needs tweaking. Too much margarita mix, perhaps? But she threw out the straw and then placed the drink in front of me.

Wuuut? That wasn’t like any Moscow Mule prep I’ve ever seen. I mean, is she kidding me? Does she think people really don’t read the menu or watch her as she makes the cocktail?

Despite my better instincts I took a sip of it and, yup, it was the worst cocktail I’ve ever had. Over the top lime-y. Downright undrinkable. It in turn inspired my new favorite Twitter hashtag: #cockfail, to now be used with any horrible cocktail I encounter.

I would have said something to the bartender but 1) If she could fuck up this cocktail that bad, chances are she didn’t have the skills to save it and 2) we had dinner reservations so had no time for a redo anyway. The drink was $8; if it were more I probably would have asked for my money back. But instead chalked it up to a lesson learned.

To be fair, even though I didn’t like Bugatta, seems like 10 out of 13 peeps on Yelp do. So there’s that.

PS: Here’s a list of 10 Signs You’re in a Good Cocktail Bar, just for good measure.

Update 1/20/12: Bugatta’s social media person contacted me and said, “These problems were made aware to the bar staff. Our bar manager and owner are correcting these issues.  We strive to offer the freshest ingredients for our mixed cocktails and promise that the sour mix you spoke of in the review will not be used again.”

Still don’t understand why they listed “fresh lime juice” when sour mix was clearly the default ingredients. And how can they now say they “strive to offer the freshest ingredients”? Anyway, there it is for what it’s worth now.

Madame Chocolate Hasty Torres presenting her hot chocolate.

Renowned chocolatier Jacques Torres, aka Mr. Chocolate, makes one of the most amazing hot chocolate mixes I’ve ever had: Wicked Chocolate. The spiciness of ancho chili, allspice, cinnamon and chipotle chili peppers with that rich chocolate. The perfect mid-afternoon pick-me-up when mixed with steamed vanilla soy. Um. Yum!

When I was visiting New York years ago I had set foot into his Brooklyn store for the first time and instantly fell in love. With the chocolate chip cookies, the cookie mix (yes, cookie mix which makes these amazing cookies with huge chocolate chips) and the Wicked Chocolate mix.

Beverly Hills Wicked Chocolate stash.

Unfortunately, Jacques Torres isn’t on the West Coast so I had to restock by either ordering online and paying the $25 shipping or have my sister who lives in NY mail me a box.

But for the holidays, Mr. Chocolate is available in L.A.! His wife, chocolatress Hasty Torres, is selling some of his chocolates, chocolate boxes AND most importantly Wicked Chocolate mix at her store Madame Chocolat in Beverly Hills as well as at her pop-up store at the Americana and cart at the Grove. The Grove cart closes up shop tonight but you can always swing by her chocolate heaven on Canon Drive.

And if you’re dying for some hot chocolate on the spot, at the BH store Hasty has her own mix which she makes with steamed milk and serves with a chocolate spoon!

Yeah, at first I thought the addition of the spoon was just craziness — chocolate overload. (Yeah, I guess there is no such thing.) But Madame Chocolat’s hot cocoa was actually all creamy chocolate without the cloying sweetness. The chocolate spoon added just the right amount of sugar and even more chocolate. Win win!

Madame Chocolat’s mix and her husband’s go for $20 each. There are still tins available so snap ‘em up!

Hasty loaded me up with some of hers and her husband’s chocolates and a package each of both of their hot chocolate mixes while I visited her store. She literally is a sweet woman. I can’t wait to try making my own winter cocktails with these.

Heads-up: For Valentine’s Day look for Jacques’ chocolates to return to the store. You’ll be able to make a special package combining bon bons from each chocolatier.

Hit the jump for a video of Jacques Torres making hot chocolate.

Madame Chocolat
212 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, California 90210 (map)
(310) 247-9990

Cocktail punch with Solerno blood orange liqueur

Last night’s boozy Boxing Day Social charity affair at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Spare Room raised about $2,000 in addition to collecting blankets and clothes for downtown’s Hospitality Kitchen. For the $10 donation at the door, guests were treated to turkey-on-rye sandwiches, Wild Geese Irish whiskey tastings and a Jenga tournament as well as three free-flowing cocktail punches created by hostess and SR beverage director Naomi Schimek. (Hit the jump for the Boxing Day Punch recipe — and for more pictures.)

Naomi also came up with the idea of auctioning off L.A. bartenders and their respective bar tabs. Since it’s usually against policy for bartenders to drink at the bar where they work, the bar tabs were thrown in a hat and then each bartender had to draw one out. Luckily no one pulled out their own tab.

The mixmasters who drew the highest bids were Spare Room’s Lauran September who raised $200 for a date with her at Harvard & Stone and Naomi who was snapped up by both Aidan Demarest (Neat) and the event’s emcee Dan “The Imbiber” Dunn for $200. The trio will be enjoying beers and shots at La Cita. Someone should make a reality show about THAT date!

The significant others of some of the bartenders took the auction as an opportunity to score a budget-friendly date night. Hilary Straus, wife of Alex Straus of Hemingway’s Lounge, won her husband and a $175 bar tab at Baby Blues BBQ for a cool $100. While La Descarga’s Kenny Danger and the Hemingway’s bar tab was won by Kenny’s girlfriend.

The cocktail community turned out in full force to support the charity. It was fun hanging out with fellow cocktail enthusiasts like LA/OC Foodventures and Faux LA Hipster as well as mingling with Georgia of Alie & Georgia and The Savory Hunter. My fave moments of the night had to be tippling that intense cocktail punch made with Salerno blood orange liqueur and getting Dan Dunn, Aidan Demarest and Spare Room co-owner Marc Rose to jump in the photo booth for me. That photo strip is going up on my refrigerator.

If you missed out last night, not to fret. Naomi said that this will be a yearly event so start saving up your cash now. Who knows who will be up for bid next year?

Boxing Day Punch

by Naomi Schimek