Try This: Lamb Meatballs at The Eveleigh

Chef Jordan Toft at the Eveleigh introduced a new winter menu this week and one of the winning dishes is the Sonoma Lamb Meatballs.  These meatballs are served with a crunchy breadcrumb salsa and "lamb chopper" cheese.  The meatballs are served pink in the middle, which I had never seen before.  They are juicy and have a  distinct lamb flavor to them.  The thin shredded lamb chopper cheese added a salty element to the dish.  The meatballs are served three to an order and are relatively large.  They are priced at $16.

If you haven't tried the Eveleigh yet, this is a great excuse to get there and try Toft's food and Dave Kupchinsky and Kiowa Bryan's cocktails.

The Eveleigh: 8752 West Sunset Blvd, the Sunset Strip.  Phone: 424.239.1630  | Website: www.theeveleigh.com

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.

Farmers' Market Fresh Cocktails Sunday Evenings at The Eveleigh

Kiowa Bryan (above) and Kevin Tidwell have brought a new tradition to The Eveleigh, the comfortable spot on the Sunset Strip that makes rather good cocktails.  Each Sunday evening will feature a list of four original farmers' market inspired creations and Bryan and Tidwell will rotate weeks crafting the menus.

This past Sunday was Bryan's week, and the Fig Ol' Bitties was downright delicious and attractively garnished with a fig in a lemon peel on a skewer.  The cocktail is made with Willet rye, house-made fig syrup, and Miracle Mile Fig Bitters.  Even with the double dose of fig, the rye was able to stand up to it and come out on top.  This drink was so enjoyable that a drinking companion of mine finished it off once he had drunk a sip.

Another winner was the Mai Cherry Amour, made with cherry infused rum, orgeat, lime juice, Royal Combier, Allspice dram.  It is finished with a float of Goslings Dark Rum and garnished with a sprig of mint and some nutmeg sprinkled on top.  Nutmeg appears to the trendy ingredient of the hour in cocktails, having seen it everywhere lately from the Spare Room to Library Bar.  I worried that this drink might be too sweet but it was not; rather it was refreshing - the perfect cocktail for a lazy summer afternoon.

The other cocktails on offer were the Kentucky Beet Down (below) with beets, bourbon, lemon juice, honey and ginger; and the Midori Sour with chamomile infused tequila, green chartreuse, sage syrup, lemon juice and a honey dew ice cube.  Flavored ice cubes are a Bryan signature which she previously showed off at Lexington Social House, and add a flavor dimension to a cocktail that continually changes as it melts.

Bar manager Dave Kupchinsky had already created a noteworthy cocktail program and the Farmers' Market Sunday Cocktail series kicks it up another level.  Now you know where to find me on Sunday evenings this summer.  Next week Tidwell is up at bat.  Arrive thirsty.

The Eveleigh: 8752 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood.  Phone: (424) 239-1630.  Website: http://theeveleigh.com/

Lexington Social House: Kiowa Bryan Goes Hollywood

Lexington Social House is the latest addition to the burgeoning Hollywood restaurant and cocktail scene.  Its opening brings back Kiowa Bryan, who garnered significant attention in her previous role as the head bartender at Fraiche in Culver City for her creative cocktails.  You can find her Thursday - Saturday evenings at the bar in the back patio at Lexington Social House.

This patio area can get crowded and become quite a scene but a few sips of Bryan's cocktails and you can forget that you are in Hollywood and just enjoy the beverages and the cool evening air.  The Lexington (below) is a great way to begin exploring the menu.  It is made with Earl Grey infused Woodford Reserve Bourbon, honey, lemon juice and orange bitters.  The Lexington is well balanced and  the citrus plays well with the bourbon.

The Lexington

For a frothier touch, the Smoke and Mirrors brings mezcal to the forefront.  Del Maguey mezcal, Herradura Silver tequila, honey, lemon juice, egg white, barbeque bitters and smoke sea salt are all shaken together and served in a couple glass.  The smoke from the mezcal comes through yet the cocktail is light and frothy.  This is an excellent cocktail for those who may not have tried mezcal and the combination of mezcal and tequila and is a deluxe way to continue celebrating Cinco de Mayo all summer long.

Smoke & Mirrors

Bryan uses custom ice cubs in several drinks.  The Name Dropper (not to be confused with Dave Kupchinsky of the Everleigh's legendary Panty Dropper) utilizes hibiscus water ice cubes and the Wicked is cooled by an cucumber-water ice cube.  The Wicked (below) is made with Plymouth Gin, lime juice, simple syrup, lavender bitters and is served in a rocks glass with a large cucumber-water ice cube that is bright green.  The cocktail was named for the musical, which played at the Pantages theater nearby, due to the green hue, which reminded Bryan of the color of the wicked witch.  The cucumber flavor becomes more pronounced as the ice cube melts and its fun to see the flavor profile of the drink change.  That said, it is difficult to let this cocktail sit long enough for too much of the cube to melt.

Wicked

Bryan's playful side comes out in the Super Hero, made with cranberry-infused Absolut vodka, lime juice, simple syrup and Red Bull pop rocks.  The pop rocks are served in a glass alongside the cocktail and the guest can add the pop rocks all at once or bit by bit.  Bryan made the Red Bull pop rocks in-house, in collaboration with Executive Chef Mette Williams.  Bryan said it took a lot of experiments to get it right.  The drink, while on the sweet side, is fun to drink.  Who doesn't love pop rocks?

Super Hero

The food menu includes several small plates, which are just the right size to accompany some cocktails.  The Lamb Pita is recommended.  Four house-made pita pockets stuffed with generous portions of roast lamb served with hummus, raita and pickles on the side.  The hummus is good enough to request extra pitas to scoop up any leftover dip.   Chef Williams spent years working for Wolfgang Puck at Spago and Cut, so it is not surprising that she knows how to run a kitchen.

All cocktails are generally $14 each.  On the evening I visited cocktails were $7 or $10, for Cinco de Mayo pricing.  The small plates were $6 on this visit.  I am unsure of regular pricing.  I was told that happy hours or other specials may be in the works.

The back patio (photo courtesy of Lexington Social House)

Hollywood is now home to a variety of spots that make legit cocktails including The Spare Room and the Library Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel, B Side Lounge at Rolling Stone, Hemingway's Lounge, Harvard & Stone, and the forthcoming Writers Room in addition to Lexington Social House.  What a great evolution in the neighborhood.

Lexington Social House: 1718 Vine St, Hollywood.  Phone: (323) 461-1700.  Website: http://www.lexingtonsocialhouse.com/