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

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

If you haven

Still don’t know what to get that special foodist in your life? How about the gift that keeps on giving, like entree into one of the best beer clubs ever or a delicious cupcake a month, all delivered to their door?

Wine Clubs

Colorado Wine Company’s Wine Club — $50 – $80/month
This is the perfect gift for someone who is geographically challenged and is therefore missing out on this fab Eagle Rock wine store. Here, they have three types of memberships. The Yummiest Trio is two outstanding reds and a mind-blowing white. Me and CoWineCo – Best Friends Forever is CoWineCo’s favorite picks of red, white, bubbly and dessert. While the Seeing Red Club is their favorite reds.

Domaine LA’s Gastronomist Wine Club — $50/month
For $50 you get one to three bottles totaling the $50. And if you want to buy additional bottles you get 10% off as well as 2-for-1 bonus coupons for in-store tastings (one for every three months of the club you sign up for). The Gastronomist wine club wines are ones that you’ll find on the best restaurant lists in L.A. as well as Europe and the States. Occasionally there will be a recipe by a local chef for the ideal pairing.

Silverlake Wine’s Wine Club — $25 – $75/month
If your giftee is a fan of this Silver Lake wine shop’s Sunday tastings then this is the perfect gift for them. The wine clubs here ar available in three price tiers to suit any budget. For $25 to $75 a month (plus shipping), you get two hand-picked bottles. And you have the option to upgrade the selection where they have a higher-grade one bottle instead of the two.

Other Beverages

This gift will make any beer lover giddy.

The Bruery Reserve Society — $295
I can’t believe that there are still slots available for this club considering memberships usually sell out every year. Fortunately, the Bruery opened up some spots so you still have a chance to sign up, or get one for your friend, you generous so and so! This gift will make any beer geek weep tears of joy openly. It’s not a beer-of-the-month club but for $295 you get about 9 bottles of special edition Bruery beers including Chocolate Rain and Black Tuesday as well as special growler fills and access to that Reserve Society Initiation Celebration, among many other goodies.

Intelligentsia at Home — Depends
One of the best gifts for any coffee lover, the gift of not having to stand in a long, slow-moving line for a great cup of coffee. With this home subscription, your giftee will get a fresh bag of beans dropped off at their doorstep. You can customize the order to suit your wallet. Choose type of coffee, amount (12 ounces to 5 pounds!), grind and quantity. And when you order at least two 12-ounce bags you’ll get half off shipping.

Sunset Beer Company’s Beer Club — $30 to $60/month
The Echo Park beer store just kicked off this club today (12/22)! Take your pick of the $30/month or $60/month membership. The higher level gets twice the beer and one free pour at the bar each month. Beer club members will also get first dibs on special releases!

Treats

Imagine having these dropped off at your door once a month.

The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills’ Cheese Club– $120+
One of the best cheese shops in town has a cheese club where you can get gourmet cheeses delivered once a month for three, six or 12 months! And none of the cheeses will repeat in the entire cycle.

Magnolia Bakery Cupcake Club– $220 (3 months to $880 (12 months)
For the ultimate cupcake fiend — yes, they still exist (raises hand). The membership includes a tin, tote, Magnolia cookbook and a $25 gift card. And we can’t forget the cupcake a month which includes favorites like the Hummingbird, caramel and truffle chocolate.

Mel & Rose Chocolate of the Month Club — $250 (6 months)
Give the gift of gourmet chocolate every month. This West Hollywood specialty food store’s chocolate selection spans from the Amedei Porcelana to Vosges Dark Bacon Bar. In other words, it’s allll good.

Coctel Unico by Spare Room Hollywood

Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt is launching a $75 cocktail, Coctel Unico, tonight. Yup, a muy caro tequila drink.

This baby is made with Milagro Unico, a new “micro-distilled tequila with Milagro’s rarest and barrel-aged reserves” (from the press release) that isn’t available in stores or for distribution anywhere yet and once it is, the bottles, of which there are only 1,000, are projected to retail for $300 each. But Spare Room was lucky enough to score two bottles. 

The bowling alley/cocktail lounge’s Director of Beverages Naomi Schimek said that in creating this special drink, she wanted to make sure the delicate spirit was showcased so she didn’t add too many mixers. And when she did it was only eyedropper-size amounts. “Unico is earthy agave with grapefruit and black pepper, opening up top vanilla and caramel notes. Very delicate on the palate,” says Naomi. You can still appreciate the rare tequila in this cocktail but enhanced with dry vermouth, Pernod and Aperol essences to bring out its flavor notes.

Or if you’d rather taste the spirit unenhanced, you can order it neat for the same price.

Would be the perfect gift for your favorite cocktail geek (ahem), or yourself!

Spare Room at Hollywood Roosevelt
7000 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90028 (map)
(323) 769-7296
Facebook: Spare Room
Twitter: @SpareRoomHwood

Tastes so good when it hits your lips.

With the explosion of high-quality coffee places and roasters all over Los Angeles — Intelligentsia, Handsome Coffee Roasters, LAMILL, Dripp and Brew Coffee Bar — there’s bound to be a growing dependence and, let’s face it, addiction to that fine cup of Joe. For super picky coffee drinkers, workplace K-Cups and the regular drip just won’t do anymore.

Believe me, I understand. I am an admitted coffee snob. Here’s the basic setup that I bring everywhere with me, from the office to the road. Affordable and simple, and great for those just starting out.

• Hario Mini Hand Grinder ($28+)
• Clever Coffee Dripper ($15)
• #4 brown or white Melitta filters ($5) — Trader Joe’s sells them
• Coffee Tin with de-gas valve ($4.65) –  to keep the beans fresh
• iPhone coffee brew timer — I use Intelligentsia’s free app which offers a variety of brew process options

What I like about this setup is it’s so simple and all I need is hot water but I can pretty much make coffee wherever; and I do. Now if only someone invented a coffee travel bag so I wouldn’t have to lug this stuff around in my reusable Fresh & Easy shopping bag.

Since I was curious about taking my coffee obsession to the next level, I asked renowned coffee geeks 2010 U.S. and World Barista Champion Michael Phillips of Handsome Coffee and Scoops Westside proprietor Matt Kang (Mattatouille) for what their suggestions for travelling java junkies who want to be able to make their black gold anywhere, especially with the holidays coming up. (My mom and pop make horrible coffee. Horrible! Sorry, M&D!)

Even restaurants, like Akasha, are getting in the pourover act.

The Handsome Coffee Geek Travel Kit

Michael started by telling me what’s in his own coffee travel kit.

“My standard super travel kit that goes on pretty much every flight with me (TSA friendly):

• Aeropress
• Porlux hand grinder
• Tiny digital scale (goes to .1gram and has a 1000 g capacity)
• 8 oz ceramic mug
• Black towel
• Paper filters
• Slim bullet thermos (the silver type with a screw off cap)
• iPhone overpriced timer and brew calculator

“This allows for a super accurate nerd brew to be made at 3,500 feet and all fits into my Patagonia midsize shoulder bag [could he be talking about this Daily Grind bag? heh] with my laptop, notepad, books and other travel goods.  The thermos fits in the outside pouch designed for water bottles, the Porlux slides into the Aeropress, your towel and filters can cram into the mug, the scale and coffee are on their own.

“This can be budgeted by dropping items in the following order with the following consequences:

1. Drop scale – you can use the Aeropress reasonably accurately without a scale but as your travel coffee ages and elevations/pressure changes it is difficult to really “nail it.”
2. Drop mug – you can almost always find a paper cup that will work but you have to be careful (the whole method of the aeropress involves pressing down on the receptacle) and if you’re going to the effort of making a fresh cup, don’t you want to drink it out of something nice?!?
3. Drop slim bullet thermos – you can get hot water from a flight attendant/airport coffee shop/misc kettle in your travels but the nice pour that these guys have works great with the tiny mouth of the Aeropress.  It is also way more safe when you are stuck in an economy seat on U.S. air to have something so well sealed…
4. Drop hand grinder – you can totally pre-grind your coffee for travel.  You could also just use Via, you savage…”

And for those going home for the holidays who don’t mind checking luggage, hit the jump for Michael’s more serious setup.

• Clever coffee dripper
• #4 filters
• Bodum mini electric kettle
• Hario Skerton hand grinder – moves a bit faster than the Porlux but bulkier
• 8 oz mug
• Towel
• Stir stick
• iPhone timer
• AWS sc 2kg scale

“This is not TSA friendly and takes up a bit more room in the suitcase. But… the electric kettle is a huge win as a surprising number of hotels do not have kettles available for your room.  Also if you are grinding by hand you may not want to go downstairs to the kitchen at a family gathering to very publicly make a super tasty brew of Kenya up. It will destroy both your forearms and the next hour of your life… the tiny Bodum allows for early morning covert bedroom brews.  The AWS scale is a little bigger but goes up to 2,000 grams and is just sweet.

“If you’re big pimpin’ spending G’s and do not care about the room it takes or the mess, throw a Capresso Infinity burr grinder in the mix.  It is probably the smallest acceptable quality electric grinder out there and would elevate your game to brewing for the whole family status.  I’d pair this with the Clever package, replacing the Skerton.”

Coffee Travel Kits for Campers and Rich Folks

Matt, who actually got me started with the basic kit, provided me with a variety of coffee geek travel kit ideas tailored for whatever you’re looking for, whether you want something rugged enough for camping trips or if you have money to spend.

At Mammouth 2011 blogger trip, Matt was in charge of cooking as well as making the pourovers.

Camping Coffee Geek Kit: Something durable that can make more than one cup of coffee for you and your camping buddies.

• Metal or hard plastic French Press — makes and holds more coffee
• Hario Skerton hand grinder
• A durable kettle, like the MSR Titan tea kettle ($59.95), with a handle on the side to control pour

High-End: If you want to take your coffeemaking to the next (price tier) level.

• Hario V60 cone ($19) or Eva Solo Coffee Brewer ($79) and white filters
• Hario Buono Kettle ($56)
• Porlex Tall hand mill ($75)

If you’re wondering what the difference between Aeropress and pourover (using Clever Dripper) is check out these videos:

By the way, if you’d like to get started with a pourover setup or are looking for the perfect gift for your favorite coffee geek, Thrillist Rewards just happens to currently offer a deal with Handsome Coffee Roasters where you get the Clever Coffee Dripper and coffee beans delivered to your home for $60 for three months!