Mixology on Main Street: Areal Opens in Santa Monica

If you've stopped by Harvard & Stone and Black Market and wondered where Rich Andreoli and Mia Sarazen are, the answer is Santa Monica.  Andreoli created the cocktail program at the new Areal and brought in Sarazen as his partner behind the bar.  Areal is located in the longtime home of World Cafe, so don't be surprised if you see several confused patrons enter the bar wondering what happened or where they are.  If they try one of Andreoli or Sarazen's cocktails, they will know that intentionally or not, they have come to the right place.

Fans of mezcal will enjoy the Single Village Fix pictured above which contains mezcal, fresh lime juice and pineapple gomme (syrup).  I couldn't resist talking a (rather large) sip before snapping the photo.  The smokiness of the Del Maguey Vida mezcal and the citrus of the lime and pineapple make a robust balanced but refreshing cocktail.

The White Wedding, pictured below, may appear like a tall glass of sweet but looks can be deceiving as the base of the drink is white whiskey, the term for unaged whiskey.  Fresh lime juice, maraschino, Chartreuse, tonic and creole bitters round out the ingredients.  I am not a fan of quinine, but the tonic did not predominate.  Another balanced cocktail; the Chartreuse binds all the flavors together.

Cocktail Menu

The Lily: Reposado tequila, fresh lemon and lime juices, agave, grapefruit soda.

Moskow Mule: Vodka, ginger, fresh lime juice, soda water, bitters.

East Side Fizz: Gin, fresh lime juice, mint, cucumber, soda water.

Cameron's Kick: Scotch, Irish Whiskey, fresh lemon juice, orgeat.

Anejo Old Fashioned: Anejo tequila, agave, bitters, grapefruit essence.

Secretariat: Bourbon, pistachio honey, walnut liqueur, sweet vermouth, lavender bitters.

Negroni: Gin, Carpano Antica, Gran Classico.

Corpse Reviver: Gin, Lillet, Cointreau, lemon juice, absinthe rise.

Original Sazerac: Cognac, bitters, sugar, absinthe rinse.

Infante: Bianco tequila, fresh lime juice, orgeat, rose water, nutmeg.

Single Village Fix: Mezcal, fresh lime juice, pineapple gomme.

White Wedding: White whiskey, fresh lime juice, Maraschino, Chartreuse, tonic water, creole bitters.

Areal: 2820 Main Street, Santa Monica.  Phone: 310.392.1661 | Website: www.arealrestaurant.com

Black Market - Cocktails & A Top Chef in Studio City

Black Market Liquor Bar is a welcome addition to the San Fernando Valley dining scene.  The new venture, with a cocktail program curated by Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix of La Descarga and Harvard & Stone, is a comfortable local bar that happens to serve destination worthy drinks.

The star of the cocktail menu is the Smokin' Monk.  No two ways about it, this is a gorgeous drink.  It is made with mezcal, yellow chartreuse, lemon and orange juices and served with some large ice cubes with a lemon wedge for garnish.  The mix of the mezcal and citrus is magical and the mezcal provides just the right amount of smokiness to keep it intriguing sip after sip.  This might be my favorite new drink of 2011.

The Amber and Embers is made with Laphroig Scotch, Clement Canne Syrup Rum, Angostura and Orange Bitters.  Note, only a dash of each type of bitters is used.  The version I had used Ardberg in place of Laphroig.  I sampled versions with 2 dashes of bitters and one dash, and the one dash was superior.  Counterintuitively,  the version with two dashes was smokier and tasted more of the Scotch.

Red Hot and Bothered: Jalapeno-infused vodka, strawberry, blood orange, agave syrup and ginger beer.  There is nothing shy and retiring about this damsel.

The Boulevard Sour, a dangerous concoction of rye whiskey, cynar, lemon juice and egg white, is pleasingly frothy.

Punch is all the rage this days, but Black Market takes this trend one step further with its Punch for One, a pisco based cocktail with pineapple juice, agave syrup, angostura bitters and lime juice.  This is a mellow cocktail that is easy to sip on.  This has been a pisco week, after some pisco sours earlier at the new Picca.

Black Market has an all-star bartending staff, including Zach Patterson (below) of STK, Mia Sarazen of Harvard & Stone, and Tricia Alley, formerly of B-Side Lounge.  If any of these assassins offers to make you a drink, accept.  You are in good hands.

Zach Patterson

In addition to bringing in a stellar team of barkeeps, Livigni and Moix brought chef Antonia Lofaso of Top Chef fame to the equation.  The menu includes some Italian influences, not surprisingly.

A highlight of what I tried was the Ricotta Gnudi, served in a brown butter sauce.  The gnudi were soft and had a light consistency.  The only off note for me was the crunch of pistachio nuts, which were unnecessary.

Gnudi

The Duck Rillettes with bourbon raisins were served in a jar with ample toasts alongside.  The rilletes required some mixing to get the sweet and salty components into proper proportion.

My other favorite of the night was Oxtail Ragu with perciatelli pasta and perorino cheese.  The dish is rich and savory.  The noodles were perfectly cooked and were heavy enough to sustain the meat.  It was attractively plated as well.

I only managed a bite of my dining companion's Crispy Poussin with french fries, which was unremarkable.

For me Antonia's pastas were the highlight of the food menu.  With the cocktails, I enjoyed all that I drank, although the drink that is going to lure me back to Studio City is the Smokin' Monk.  Absolutely delicious.

Black Market Liquor Bar proclaims itself "purveyors of cocktails, bites and candy." I can vouch for the first two; the third you will have to explore for yourself.

Black Market Liquor Bar: 11915 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA.  Phone: (818) 446-2533.  Website: http://blackmarketliquorbar.com/

Harvard & Stone: Ivy League Drinks in the land of Pad Thai

Harvard & Stone, a new craft cocktail bar focusing on American spirits, opened in the former Stone Bar location on Hollywood Blvd in the heart of Thai Town.  Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix, the creative team behind hot spot La Descarga, partnered with the Houston brothers (same owners as Descarga) to completely revamp the space and create a bar that delivers quality without pretentiousness.

There are two bars; the bar in front serves a classic menu that is continuing to expand and the bar in the back focuses on one spirit per month, with the drink menu changing nightly.  My favorite drink on the front bar menu is the Scaffa (below), which is made with Aviation Gin, Benedictine and Angostura Bitters.  The cocktail is served neat, at room temperature and garnished with lemon peel.  The scaffas that Steve Livigni serves at La Descarga and Harvard & Stone are the only ones of their type I have tried and they are both excellent.  Most evenings you will also find Bar Manager Matt Wallace, formerly of Seven Grand, making cocktails and keeping things running smoothly.  The staff of the bar is impressive and includes Mia Sarazen and Rich Andreoli, both formerly of Big Bar, as well as several other alumni of the better joints in town.

The back bar is known as the R&D Bar and is located in the former kitchen of the Stone Bar.  Each month the R&D bar features a spirit, for February it was the products of Heaven Hill, for March it is gin.  The featured gin for the first week of March is Aviation; that is likely to change next week.  The R&D bar features American spirits and the menu changes nightly, so if you want to get a particular drink again, you are out of luck.  This brings a whole new meaning to "limited edition."  Each night a different bartender on staff creates a short list of cocktails and that is all that is served there.

On my various visits Francois Vera, Nathan Oliver and Mia Sarazen have each created the drink list for the night and manned the R&D bar.  I missed Pablo Moix's tiki night, which sounded especially fun.  On this past Friday night, Sarazen (below) created four cocktails.  The standout was the Farm to Bar top (below, bottom), with Aviation gin, egg white, lemon, strawberry, basil, sugar and topped with black pepper.  The egg whites gave it a wonderful frothiness and the black pepper on the top contributed a savory note.

Harvard & Stone is more casual than La Descarga and fits in its East Hollywood scene.  It feels a little incongruous to step out of Ruen Pair, walk down the block and find some of the best cocktails in town behind a very low-key signed wooden door.  There is some serendipity in "finding" the bar and it feels like a hidden gem.  The space and concept has been designed to be accessible, quality and fun.  The cocktails are mostly $10, which is less than other spots in town charge for drinks of lesser quality.  There is a doorman and some sort of dress code (no bright colors or logos?) but once you are inside it feels honest and authentic.  Cheers to the latest star on the cocktail scene!

Harvard & Stone: 5221 Hollywood Blvd, @ Harvard St.  Phone: (323) 466-6063.  Website: www.harvardandstone.com