Bar at Parlour Room of Hollywood by Vintage Bar Group

A brand-new bar opens in a really old space in Hollywood tonight. Some of you may remember Red Buddha Lounge (one of my first CoC blog posts ever!), Play or even Goldfinger. Well, now Craig Trager — the man behind The Well and NoBar, both long-standing establishments — has transformed it into the Parlour Room of Hollywood.

True, its name may not be all that compelling but maybe the thought of enjoying classic style cocktails ($5 house martini to $10 specialty cocktails) in a swanky room with antique chandeliers, gold mirrors, puffy green seats, marble-topped tables and lots o’ booths will entice you. The bar will serve up old faves like Blood and Sand, Southside and Pimm’s Cup in addition to a few of their own concoctions. I’ve included the recipes here in case you want to try them at home before you commit.

The Paddy Cocktail, $10

• 2 ounces Powers
• 1 ounce Sweet Vermouth
• ½ ounce Grand Marnier
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir and strain into martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

The Maple Julep, $10

• 3 ounces Woodford Reserve
• 6-8 mint leaves
• ¾ ounce maple syrup

Muddle maple syrup and mint leaves in a bucket glass.  Add ice and bourbon.  Shake and serve on the rocks with a sprig of mint for garnish.

The Metropolitan, $10

• 3 ounces Absolut
• 3 sugar cubes
• Lemon wedge
• 4 raspberries
• Splash of lemonade

Muddle raspberries with sugar cubes, lemon wedge and splash of lemonade.  Add ice and vodka.  Shake and strain into martini glass and garnish with a raspberry on the rim.

Cucumber Cooler, $10

• 2 ounces Bombay Sapphire
• 3 sugar cubes
• 3 slices cucumber
• Lemon and lime wedge
• Splash of soda

Muddle cucumber slices, sugar cubes, and squeeze of lime and lemon wedge in a bucket glass.  Add ice and gin.  Shake and serve on the rocks with a splash of soda and a slice of cucumber garnish on the rim.

The Parlour Trick $10

• 2 ounces Ciroc Coconut Vodka
• Lime juice
• 2 sugar cubes

Muddled ingredients with fresh kiwi, shaken and served in a martini glass garnished with a kiwi.

Don’t feel put off by the Parlour Room’s lux-looking interior, though; this place is for the neighborhoodies, a cool place to chill and get your drink on. Any place that’s serving Schlitz and Old Speckled Hen in cans and has a jukebox can’t be too uppity. Trager said his goal is ”to make everyone who walks into my establishments feel like a celebrity the minute they walk through the door, and to provide those customers a place where the staff not only knows its customers by name but their drink as well.” Nice! I’ll drink to that. I might give that Maple Julep a go.

The Parlour Room of Hollywood
6423 Yucca Street
Los Angeles, California 90028 (map)
(323) 463-0609

Cathy Danh of Eat My Blog.

Last year’s blogger charity bake sale, Eat My Blog, was such a huge success that it just makes sense to make it a biannual thing. Not only is it for a good cause, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, but I can only go so long without such yummy fare. This summer’s bake sale will feature over 2,000 baked goods, priced between $1 to $4, from over 70 bakers which include some of your favorite bloggers like Lindsay from LAist, Jo of My Last Bite, and Evelina of Two Hungry Pandas as well as KCRW’s Good Food host Evan Kleiman, Drago Centro and Scoops Ice Cream. This must-do event will take place next Saturday, June 19 on Tender Greens West Hollywood‘s outdoor patio.

There are SO many goodies to look forward to but I have to say that of the many making their brief appearance on the table (as I’m sure all will quickly sell out) my instant faves are Eating LA‘s chocolate Guinness cupcakes with maple syrup frosting, Domestic Divas‘ bacon brownies with bourbon caramel sauce and the Ube cupcakes of Let Me Eat Cake blogger/Manila Machine food truck mastermind Nastassia Johnson. Fortunately, the blogger bakers were good enough to share their recipes so if they sell out at the event I can at least go home and try to make ‘em myself. Hee! Hit the jump for the recipes.

Hope you can make it! I’ll be volunteering at the sale so come by and say hi. I’ll be the girl stuffing her face.

EVENT: SATURDAY, JUNE 19 from 10am to 4PM

Tender Greens West Hollywood
8759 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, California 90069 (map)
(310) 358-1919

Bacon Brownies with Bourbon Caramel Sauce by Domestic Divas
Makes 9 brownies

Bacon Brownies with Caramel Sauce by Domestic Divas

Bourbon caramel sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Cook the sugar over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and caramelized. Add the bourbon and stir to combine. Then, add the butter and cream and stir to combine. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the sauce comes together.

Brownies

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup thick cut bacon, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon in a saute pan over medium heat until crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and sugar until smooth. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring to combine. Add it to the eggs/vanilla/sugar mixture and stir to combine. Then, sift together the flour and cocoa powder, and fold into the wet mixture. Fold in the bacon.

Spread the batter into a parchment-lined 8 inch square pan. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool in the pan. Cut into 2 inch squares.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Maple Frosting by Eating LA
Makes 12 cupcakes

The recipe for Eating LA’s maple-frosted beer cupcakes actually came from two other blogs — Big City, Little Kitchen and Vanilla Garlic. Together, they make one killer cupcake.

Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 stick, plus 1 tablespoon, unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350; butter a muffin tin.

Combine the Guinness and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan, and heat to melt the butter. Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture. Sift together the flour and baking soda, and fold into the batter. Pour into muffin molds and bake for 25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from muffin tin, and cool completely on a rack.

Frosting

• 1 stick butter
• 4 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 2 cup of powdered sugar
• 6 strips cooked bacon, finely minced

Combine the syrup and butter until combined. Add the sugar, a bit at a time, and whip at high speeds until combined. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes. Sprinkle minced garlic evenly over the frosted cupcakes.

The Manila Machine Ube Cupcakes by Let Me Eat Cake
Makes 3 dozen cupcakes (adapted from Martha Stewart white cake)

Ube cupcakes with coconut frosting by Let Me Eat Cake

But I have a special place in my heart for Nastassia’s Ube cupcakes because, you know, it’s a Filipino treat that I wish my mom knew to make for me growing up. Mmm, purple yams! This lilac bit of lusciousness is a great way to sate that craving you’ll probably get after tasting the Filipino fare from Nastassia and fellow blogger Burnt Lumpia‘s food truck, Manila Machine, which debuts tomorrow at the Downtown Art Walk. Nommy!

Cake

• 4 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 7 large egg whites
• 1 20ml bottle of ube extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter. Gradually add sugar to butter and beat until mixture is light and fluffy about 3 minutes.

Next, add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar in 3 batches. Add milk to mixture in between batches of flour. Continue to mix in batches until all of the flour and milk are added to the butter and sugar. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula. Mix until batter is well combined. Do not overbeat! Once mixture is combined add ube extract and stir together until entire mixture is completely purple.

In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Take beaten egg whites and gently fold into cake batter in three batches. Be careful not to deflate egg whites when folding into batter.

Pour batter into prepared cupcake tins 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350 for about 16-18 minutes or until a cake tester is inserted and comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut buttercream frosting

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut (for garnish)

* You can also use shredded sweetened coconut for a garnish*

Cream together butter, salt, sugar and shortening. Next add powdered sugar and milk. Finally add coconut extract and stir until combined.

Domaine de Canton's Silamith Weir with The Edison's Joseph Brooke

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to be one of the judges at the Domaine de Canton cocktail competition held at downtown’s First & Hope Supper Club. I know. Squeeee! Along with renowned mixologist Alex Day (formerly of Death & Co., now cocktail consultant with Proprietors, LLC), Dan “The Imbiber” Dunn and Domaine de Canton founder, John Cooper, I was charged with picking one winning Domaine de Canton cocktail out of the nine created by some of the best mixologists in L.A. Boy, what a tough gig. Heh.

Each cocktail was judged based on its appearance, aroma, creativity and taste. We also had to award points for whether the cocktail showcased the contest theme and the Canton flavor, as well as our overall impression of the drink.

The Contestants

Malo‘s Rachel Shaw brought forth a honeyed El Wood of Barenjager honey liqueur and Yellow Chartreuse. Gus, formerly of Copa d’Oro and now at the Edison, went with Ginger Pastis Sour while Palihouse‘s Grady Purdell had a Maison Sour of cognac. Patrick Kelly at Bar Keeper created an unusual drink he dubbed Rhythm or Rhyme which employed a chocolate chili bitters, tequila reposado and a unique garnish of grapefruit rind string wrapped around a bundle of sage. Juan Sevilla of Soho House made the French Oaxacan with crema and cru and Daniel Eun of The Varnish ended the night with a Triple Double using Laird’s Apple Jack and Antica.

The Runners-Up

Out of all the lovely drinks, the judges and I were able to narrow it down to the top three. The second and third runners-up cocktails were impressive showings but only missed the top slot by mere points. Still both were very deelish. I’ve included the recipes should you want to try them at home.

Tricia Alley of Providence and First & Hope created her Granny Smith & Wesson, a cocktail with Old Overholt Rye as its backbone and fennel seed and muddled Granny Smith apples. This one was a beautiful peachy color with a single baby basil leaf floating on its surface. The flavor combination of basil and apples was just gorgeous, and the rye and ginger with that was a natural fit.

Granny Smith and Wesson
By Tricia Alley of First & Hope

• 1.5 oz Domaine de Canton
• 1.5 oz Old Overholt Rye Whisky
• .75 oz fresh squeezed lime
• 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• 1/2 Granny Smith apple
• Barspoon fennel seed

Muddle Granny Smith Apple, Fennel Seed and Peychaud’s Bitters in mixing glass. Add the rest of the ingredients, shake, fine strain into cocktail glass. Float Basil leaf garnish on liquid.

Joseph Brooke of The Edison created a tasty and refreshing Appleseed Cooler. He wanted to focus on the Canton so used that as his main spirit. The cocktail was so simple and yet made a strong impression, successfully highlighting the ginger flavor. The drink was sweet but not overly so. I liked how, even though his apple garnish went missing, he was able to improvise by butterflying a grapefruit which ended up looking like jewelry.

The Appleseed Cooler
By Joseph Brooke of The Edison

• 2 oz Domaine de Canton
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz fresh-pressed Granny Smith apple juice
• 2 dashes celery bitters

Shake all and pour over rocks. Apple fan garnish.

But there could only be one winner of the title for best Domaine de Canton cocktail whose mixologist would also score $500. And that winner was…

Winner's proxy: Rebecca Windsor

Rebecca Windsor! Well, Damian Windsor of the Roger Room. Since he had to work this night, his wife, Rebecca, was kind enough to be his proxy. She’s an experienced bartender so it was no problem for her. Yay, Rebecca! Now, Damian’s cocktail is a variation on an existing cocktail at the Roger Room, so if you don’t want to make it yourself (recipe provided below) you can always visit the bar on La Cienega for the original version, or ask Damian to make you his winning cocktail. This drink was a beaut — fresh, effervescent and light.

Winner

Four Aces – updated
By Damian Windsor of The Roger Room

• 1.5oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
• .5 oz Hennessey VS cognac
• .5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• 6 grapes and 4 basil leaves

Add grapes and basil leaves to a mixing tin and press to release oil and juice add liquid ingredients, ice, shake and strain on to fresh ice in a double old fashioned glass. Top with club soda and garnish with a basil leaf.

Congrats to all the contestants, and cheers to my fellow judges. Especially Alex Day who clued me in to the use of a spit cup!

Mixologist Pablo Moix will take it to the next level tonight.

So tonight is the launch of La Descarga‘s much talked-about cocktail, The Next Level. Mixologist Pablo Moix had hinted at its arrival when the East Hollywood bar first opened back in February. But since Josh Lurie of NBC LA’s Feast already did such a great job of covering this cocktail made of hollowed-out ice spheres, I’ll just list the brand-new cocktails’ recipes which also debut tonight. Thanks to Steve Livigni, general manager and mixologist, for sending them over.

Bonus is that one of the cocktails, the Brisa de Oaxaca, is actually named after Bricia Lopez of Oaxacan restaurants, Pal Cabron and La Guelaguetza. Funny thing is that I just met her for the first time this week and she IS adorable and worthy of being commemorated in cocktail. And some of you may remember the tasty Bad Spaniard that was mentioned on LA Times‘ Daily Dish blog when the bar first opened but never made it on the menu. Well, it’s there now so yay!

Anyway, here are the recipes if you’d like to try them at home…should you have pineapple gum syrup or tres leches liqueur lying around:

Bad Spaniard:

• 1 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
• 1 oz Averna Amaro
• 1 oz Tres Leches liqueur
• 1 egg yolk

Shake and strain into a coupe glass.

Barbados Buck:

• 2 oz Cockspur fine rum
• .75 oz lime juice
• .25 oz simple syrup
• Dash of old fashioned bitters

1) Shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with cubed ice.

2) Fill with ginger beer.

3) Garnish with a lime wedge.

Brisa de Oaxaca:

• 1 oz La Vida Mezcal
• 1 oz Yellow Chartreuse
• .75 oz lime juice
• .25 orange juice
• 1 barspoon of sugar

1) Shake and strain into a coupe glass.

2) Garnish with a lime wheel.

La Aurora:

• 2 oz Herradura Tequila
• .75 oz Port
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• .5 oz Cane Syrup

Top with Soda Water

Poco de Pina:

• 1 oz Gran Sierpe Pisco
• 1 oz Benedictine
• 1 oz pineapple gum syrup
• .75 oz lemon juice

1) Shake and strain into a coupe glass.

2) Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Trio of absinthe cocktails at First & Hope.

Earlier this week I had a chance to check out the not-yet-opened First & Hope Supper Club thanks to Aidan Demarest, its cocktail consultant, who was hosting a Pernod absinthe event for a bunch of journalists. Apparently the party guests started off at the Varnish and then were taken via horse-drawn carriages up the long hill to the new bar/restaurant. Poor horses. Unfortunately I wasn’t part of that group, but I did get to hang out at First & Hope with a few close friends of the bar before they arrived.

Fried oyster with bbq sauce and blue cheese.

The main restaurant wasn’t opened yet, or even completely constructed as the table tops were still missing, but the back room was up and swinging complete with a jazz band and chanteuse. Appetizers offering a sneak preview of what we can expect from Memphis native and executive chef Shelley Cooper were being passed around.

I couldn’t bring myself to complete a whole strip of the chicken-fried bacon but did take a tentative bite. Shudder! Now, I love bacon but that was too much friedness for even me. But the fried oyster with barbecue sauce and blue cheese was a tasty mix of salty sweet and the oxtail bone marrow bread pudding tea sandwich was a scrumptious, rich bite o’ meatiness.

And naturally there were the cocktails. Absinthe isn’t going to be a big thing at First & Hope which will offer a more champagne-intensive 20-drink cocktail menu but for this night Marcos Tello (Aidan’s partner in their new cocktail consultation firm Tello/Demarest Liquid Assets) was serving a trio of drinks made from the green stuff. These cocktails aren’t going to be on First & Hope’s cocktail menu but here they are anyway for your perusal, complete with links to their recipes.

• 21st Century: Created by Jim Meehan, mixologist of PDT and Pegu Club in New York, this baby is made with absinthe, creme de cacao, lemon juice and tequila.
• Doctor Funk: Created by Don the Beachcomber, this one has absinthe, black rum, pomegranate syrup, lemon/lime and a splash of soda for effervescence.
• Death in the Afternoon: Created by Ernest Hemingway. Of course you can’t have an absinthe party without this classic cocktail of absinthe topped with champagne.

Absinthe bottles.

The great thing about First & Hope is that even though there will be shows, there won’t be cover charges. And although the food has been described as sophisticated Southern fare, it’ll be moderately priced. “It’s a five-star restaurant with two-star prices,” Aidan said. We’re talking a massive beer can chicken — a whole chicken cooked on a beer can — that can serve four, according to Aidan, priced at $26. He also said the 24-ounce steak will be $40 but most entrees will range in price from $14 to $24.

Normally, I’d be intimidated by a supper club. What if I don’t want a show with my meal? Well, First & Hope will also be open for lunch and for brunch, and will also serve a variety of portions for the theater-goer who’s trying to catch their curtain to the cocktailer who just wants a snack to the hungry diners. Can’t wait for this to open up on March 15…or let’s just say, mid-March.

First & Hope Supper Club
710 W. 1st Street
Los Angeles, California 90012 (map)
(213) 617-8555