Recharge After Christmas at the Boxing Day Social

Christmas is such a tiring day of the year.  So much preparation. So many dishes to cook, presents to wrap and stockings to stuff.  The day after you need to recharge after one last helping of Cousin Florence's fruitcake.  What better way than at the Boxing Day Social at the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel?

A $10 minimum suggested donation gains you entry to the "Social" event of the year on Monday the 26th.  The event is a fundraiser for the Hospitality Kitchen, which feeds and cares for the homeless.  Live music will be provided by Hobo Jazz, who contrary to expectations are not homeless clients of the Hospitality Kitchen.  In addition to the live music, your donation gets you a bottomless glass of punch (which puts any bottomless cup of coffee to shame), bar bites and entry to the legendary Jenga Tournament.  If you strapped for cash after being guilt tripped into buying too many presents for friends and relatives, blankets, sleeping bags or warm clothes will also be accepted as entry donations in lieu of cash.

In addition to all proceeds from entry benefiting the Hospitality Kitchen, there will be the First Annual Bartenders with Bar Tabs Auction.  You can bid on drinks with one of the top bartenders in LA at one of the best bars in the city.  Each bartender is generously donating their time and a bar tab at their establishment; the tabs will be mixed and matched and you can bid on an evening with folks such as Kate Grutman, Aidan Demarest, Marcos Tello, Dave Kupchinsky, Lacey Murillo, Lauren Osbourne and more.

This Social will be hosted by Naomi Schimek, so you know it will be legit.

Monday December 26th, 7 - 11 pm @ the Spare Room at the Roosevelt.
7000 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood.  Phone: 323.769.7296 | Website: http://www.thompsonhotels.com/hotels/la/hollywood-roosevelt/drink/the-spare-room

Ladies, Start Your Engines: Speed Rack Comes to the Roosevelt

Cocktails, Food, Beer, Punch, Charity? Check to all of those at Speed Rack Los Angeles, taking place this Sunday afternoon from 3 - 7 pm at the Blossom Room in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.  This benefit pits some of LA's best female bartenders against each other in a competition to see who can make cocktails accurately in the least amount of time.  Dr. Cocktail himself, Mr. Ted Haigh, will be one of the four judges.

Tickets are only $20 in advance ($25 at the door) and all proceeds go to fight Breast Cancer.  Yes, thanks to the generosity of sponsors, 100% of the proceeds go to charity. Competitors include the Spare Room at the Roosevelt's own Naomi Schimek, as well as Danielle Crouch of Cana Rum Bar, Devon Tarby of The Varnish, Kiowa Bryan of the Eveleigh, and Mia Sarazen of Harvard & Stone among others; in total 18 women will compete.  This promises to be quite a party.  Ivy Mix and Lynette Marrero of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) in New York are the hosts and organizers of Speed Rack, which is stopping in cities coast to coast to raise funds for charity and showcase the talents of female bartenders.

Tickets: http://speedrackla.eventbrite.com/

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood.

Moustache Madness Tonight at the Spare Room

In honor of Movember (formerly known as November), the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is hosting a benefit tonight.  The Movember movement raises money for prostate cancer research through guys growing mustaches for the month.  For the rest of this month, the Spare Room will be featuring a mo-cocktail with the proceeds going to the Movember Foundation.

The festivities kick off tonight with the benefit event featuring music from Warpaint, Tim Nordwind of OK GO DJing and actress Malin Akerman hosting.  So rock your stache and get to the Spare Room tonight.  Be among the first to try the mo-cocktail.  Channel your inner Tom Selleck; it's for a good cause. 

Below is a great Movember video from Google Chrome

Tiki Night at the Spare Room Tonight!

Tiki Night at The Spare Room is tonight!  The bar with a bowling alley atop the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is hosting a special island-themed blowout in honor of Aidan Demarest's last night as General Manager.  Guest bartenders Marcos Tello of the Varnish and John Lermayer (The Florida Room) will be concocting tiki drinks featuring Kraken Rum for your sipping pleasure.  If only for tonight, find yourself on a tropical island and relax with a cocktail befitting festivities such as these.  Wear a grass skirt for bonus points.


The fun begins at 10 pm and lasts until close or until Aidan & Marcos fall over.  This is a party not to be missed!


Spare Room: Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd. Phone: (323) 769-7296.  Website:  www.spareroomhollywood.com

Twitter:  @SpareRoomHwood
Facebook:  facebook.com/SpareRoomHwood

Paris J'Adore LA at The Spare Room Tonight

When you think of France, what comes to mind?  The love affair between Paris and Hollywood of course!  So where could be more appropriate to celebrate Bastille Day than the au courant epicenter of Hollywood chic, the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.  Tonight you can see Adele Jacques's band Paris Loves LA sing the classic repertoire of the Serge Gainsborg songbook.

You might find your self singing along to Bonnie & Clyde as you sip Aidan Demarest and Naomi Schimek's cocktails, all featuring French ingredients:

Duke For a Day
2 oz of Cognac, .75 oz lavender, 75 oz lemon juice

Champs Elysees
1.5 oz Cognac, .5 oz Yellow Chartreuse, 0.5 oz lemon juice, 0.25 oz simple syrup and a dash of Angostura bitters

Champagne Flip
.75 oz Cognac, 0.25 oz Cointreau, 0.25 oz simple syrup, 0.25 oz cream, egg yolk
Top with champagne and nutmeg

La Prise
1.5 oz Armagnac, 0.75 oz Cointreau, Luxardo Bitters

Champagne Cobbler
3 oz Champagne and 0.75 oz simple syrup muddled with 3 strawberries and 1 lemon wedge

The evening's soirée is presented by Cointreau and begins at 8 pm. The music performances begin at 9 pm and will include a DJ set from none other than Nils Kock.  I have it on good information that some of the greats of classic French cinema will be playing while guests dance and mingle with the haut monde.

The Spare Room: The Mezzanine at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood. Phone: (323) 769-7296. Website: http://www.spareroomhollywood.com/

The Cape Comes to Hollywood This Summer at the Spare Room

Wednesday nights this summer you don't have to go to Cape Cod to experience some old fashioned New England summer breezes as the Spare Room hosts a Wednesday night Nantucket special.

Nantucket Sound cocktails are only $7, with mini lobster (pronounced lob-stah for you non Yankees) rolls for $5, beer for $3 and best of all half off bowling (a $50 savings).  What is in a Nantucket Sound you ask?  Naomi Schimek's recipe is:

1 1/2 oz. Chamomile and lemon balm infused Plymouth gin
3/4 oz.    Bianco vermouth
2 oz.       Fresh pressed cantaloupe juice
Fresh lemon juice and Peychaud's Bitters to taste

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain over a scoop of spiced ginger sorbet.  Garnish with a candied lemon balm leaf.

Sounds like a perfectly civilized way to while away a Wednesday evening.  The Spare Room becomes your "Cape House" every Wednesday this summer from 6 - 9 pm.

The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt: 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood. Phone: (323) 769-7296. Website: http://www.spareroomhollywood.com/

Punch Party at the Spare Room

The Spare Room has become one of the premier cocktail spots in Los Angeles for punch bowls due to the diligent and creative efforts of General Manager Aidan Demarest and Head Bartender Naomi Schimeck.  Last month the lounge was the scene of a fundraiser for Share Our Strength and Schimeck and team created several punches for the occasion, two of which are featured below.

Talbert's Tub 

Talbert's Tub is named for the tub in Talbert's Barbershop on the lower level of the hotel, in which Errol Flynn used to mix up large quantities of gin during Prohibition.  The Genever-based punch was refreshing and the citrus rinds added to the festivity of the bowl.  This punch goes down easy, so beware.

Talbert's Tub Recipe (by Naomi Schimeck):
2 pineapple rings
3 whole lemon rinds
3 T demerara sugar
4 oz housemade raspberry syrup
6 oz lemon juice
2 oz orange juice
2 oz maraschino liqueur
.5 oz Regans Orange Bitters
16 oz Bols Genever

Muddle lemon rinds and pineapple into sugar until it has completely dissolved
Add the rest of ingredients - stir well
Ice down and add 12 oz club soda

Tobacco Road

The Tobacco Road is a rye based punch with a large dose of tea and grated nutmeg at the end to garnish.  The nutmeg adds a scent to the flavor of the punch as well as a zesty visual touch.

Tobacco Road Punch Recipe (by Naomi Schimeck):
3 oz lemon juice
5 oz demerara syrup 1:1
30 oz chilled lapsang souchong tea
20 oz rye

Dry shake lemon juice and demerara syrup to emulsify
Pour into punch bowl and add tea and rye
Ice down and serve with a touch of grated nutmeg

If you haven't made your way up to the second floor of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, these punches are the excuse you have been waiting for to visit the Spare Room.  The space is elegant and is old school without feeling forced.  There is a two lane bowling alley straight out of There Will be Blood and a lounge area where you can play Connect Four and Jenga with custom sets.  The shoes for the bowling alley are more comfortable than any street shoes you probably own.  So grab five friends and order a punch bowl and reserve a lane of bowling.

The Spare Room: The Mezzanine at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - 7000 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood.  Phone: (323) 769-7296.  Website: http://www.spareroomhollywood.com/

Public: Opening up the Roosevelt Lobby

Public Kitchen & Bar Dining Room

The main lobby in the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is one of the more dramatic spaces in town, yet for years it has been neglected and sat largely empty as there was nothing to drive energy to it.  Library Bar is small and off to the side and entrance to Teddy's is nothing but discreet.  Now the newly launched Public Kitchen & Bar has opened up the space both literally and figuratively to provide a needed focal point and locus of energy.  The restaurant, from Chef Tim Goodell, is in the former Dakota location, although this restaurant suits the location and the times much more than the steakhouse ever did.

Pineapple Express

The bar faces both the lobby and the restaurant and offers a dozen classic and classically inspired cocktails for $9, a bargain in this setting and neighborhood.  On a recent visit I enjoyed the Spiced Cucumber Collins with Hendrick's Gin, lime juice, shishito pepper, cucumber and mint.  The gin was the forward flavor element in the cocktail and the Hendrick's paired well with cucumber.

You cannot go to Public without ordering a round of the Parker House Rolls ($5), which come in a set of six and arrive with Vermont Creamery butter.  They are Chef Goodell's grandmother's recipe and are wonderfully fluffy and light.  These set the tone for the restaurant: well executed, delicious, American and unpretentious.

Burrata with bagnet vert and cherry tomatoes is marvelously creamy.  My tablemates and I did not let even a spoonful go to waste.  The kitchen appears to love mason jars with hinged lids as the burrata, the pickles and the chicken liver terrine all came in them.  I found them to be a fun playful touch that speak to the use of the chef's grandma's recipes and traditions.

Pickles

The House Pickled Seasonal Vegetables ($6) are crunchy and vinegary and go beyond the standard pickled cucumbers.  The Chicken Liver Terrine ($14) is served with a kumquat marmalade and grilled rustic bread.  This dish defines decadent.  The layer of red wine gelee on top of the chicken liver only enhances the richness of the dish, which I was not shy about eating.  The marmalade is served in a white oval dish that when filled resembles an egg with the yolk in the middle.

The Cured and Smoked Salmon ($10) is a light appetizer that is served with a fingerling potato salad and finished with yuzu juice.  The fish is silky in texture and not too smoky; an appetizer that lives up to the promise of whetting your appetite.

Another popular appetizer at my table (yes, we were very hungry) was the Potato and Three Cheese Fritters with basil aioli.  The fritters are miraculously crisp on the exterior and melty on the interior.  Even if you are tempted to order them just to have an excuse to say the word "fritter" do so.  These little guys are best eaten warm; not that you'd let them get cold.

The Crispy Oxtail Gallette ($9) with a poached farm egg and frisee is like shredded short ribs with a beautifully run egg on top.  This dish (unpictured) hits two of my sweet spots in one: secondary meats and runny eggs.  The galette is not for the faint of heart but it stops short of being too much.  Don't be afraid and go for it.  I bet you'll be eating it with as much gusto as I did.

A special of a Foie Gras and Duck Sausage was ravenously set upon by our table as if we had not eaten any of the previous dishes.  I can't divulge too much about this dish, except that it didn't last long.

Now when it comes to dessert, it better be worth it.  The duo of Chocolate and Butterscotch Puddings ($8) delivered.  The butterscotch wasn't afraid of venturing over to the savory side with a healthy dose of salt and the vanilla bean cream was a luxurious touch on top of each.

The Valhrona Chocolate Souffle ($8) is a way to end your meal in style.  Nothing quite says celebration like a souffle (and some bubbly), so get both and toast to your good fortune.

Souffle

Public is a fun restaurant that makes tasty food in a beautiful environment in a cool hotel for way less money than you would expect.  Cocktails are only $9, appetizers are $6 - $13 and mains are $14 - $26 (except the steak category which are $34 - $75 for the cote d boeuf for two).  The room is great, the food delicious, the service professional and as a bonus when you are done with dinner you can get a cocktail at the Library Bar or at the new Spare Room upstairs.

The only weak point I found was that the cocktails often read better on paper than they tasted in my glass.  If Goodell and company raise the caliber of the cocktails to that of the food and the room then they can't go wrong.  As it is, I feel confident recommending Public.  The Hollywood Roosevelt finally has a restaurant worthy of the public spaces of the hotel.  If you go, please report back.

All food and beverage on my visit were hosted.

Public Kitchen & Bar: 7000 Hollywood Blvd (in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel).  Phone: (323) 466-7000.  Website: http://www.thompsonhotels.com/hotels/la/hollywood-roosevelt/eat/public-kitchen-and-bar

LA's most expensive cocktail?

Matt Biancaniello of the Library Bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt is known for his market fresh cocktails, utilizing fruit and produce he buys at the Santa Monica and other farmers markets. This summer he created a cocktail called the Krisomou, which means "the Golden One" in Greek and is built around a violet infused grappa. At launch the cocktail was priced at $35. Now, thanks to buying the ingredients in larger quantities, what had been perhaps the most expensive cocktail in the city is now available for the more attainable price of $15.



The Krisomou includes 2 ounces of violet infused grappa, 4 lime wedges, 4 mint leaves and 1/2 ounce of agave. It is muddled like a mojito and then double strained into a rocks glass with a single large ice cube. It is finally garnished with edible pansies.

The Krisomou is much smoother than I had expected a grappa based cocktail to taste, without the bitterness that can be found in some grappas. The drink can also be served in a martini glass, as is shown in the photograph above. The double straining ensures that no mint leaves or lime flesh make it into the glass. The Last Tango in Modena is still my favorite Library Bar cocktail, but the Krisomou is now in rotation. Now that it is priced comparably to the other drinks at the bar, get it while the violet infused grappa lasts.