Art Beyond the Glass: Today!

If you want to see the full talents of Los Angeles's cocktail community and support a great cause then there is no better place to be this afternoon and evening than Sadie, the site of the inaugural Art Beyond the Glass fundraiser.  Tickets are $50 at the door, cash only.  Daniel Djang of ThirstyinLA and Zahra Bates of Providence created this event to celebrate the many talents of the bartenders in Los Angeles and to benefit Inner-City Arts.

So many bartenders create cocktails that are worthy of being described as works of art.  Beyond that a number of bartenders, and liquor industry vets are artists in their own right, beyond what they mix in a drink.  Whether it is chalk art from Justin Pike of the Tasting Kitchen, live music from Erik Trickett of Roe Restaurant (former head bartender at 320 Main), DJ skills of Steve Livigni and Dave Fernie of Pour Vous or the magic skills of Josh Lucas of the Writer's Room, there will be perfromances to delight all of the senses.

The event runs from 3 pm - 8 pm and includes cocktails from 30+ bartenders, music, performances, art and spirits tastings and nibbles from Sadie chef Mark Gold.  This is literally the event of the year for cocktail aficionados in Los Angeles, so whether you have been wanting to try cocktails from Julian Cox of Sotto/Playa/Rivera/Short Order, Matt Biancaniello of Library Bar, Sangrita from Cari Ha and Jaymee Mandeville, now is your chance.  At $50 the event is a bargain for 5 hours of deliciousness and festivities.

Sadie: 1638 N. Las Palmas Ave, Hollywood | 323.467.0200 | www.SadieLA.com

Zahra Bates at B-Side

On Wednesday B-Side Lounge at Rolling Stone continued its weekly guest bartender series with Zahra Bates of Providence behind the stick.  The proceeds of the evening went to benefit Japanese relief efforts towards the recent earthquake and tsunami tragedies.  Tricia Alley has been curating the series and on Wednesday Bates was not only making her own cocktail recipes but those of several other local bartenders such as Jason Bran, Brent Falco and Alley.

A highlight of the menu was Bates's Bamboo Gen made with Bols Genever, tokjai, manzanilla sherry, shiso bitters and a shiso leaf.  Genever can be hard to work with but when it works it really works and it did in the Bamboo Gen.  The shiso flavor acted as a unifying influence, bringing together the spirit and the two wines.  The Bamboo Gen is also a salute to two Los Angeles bartenders, Marcos Tello who has evangelized about Genever and Alex Day who has advocated for sherry in cocktails.

Go and see Bates at the bar at Providence to explore her other creations and be sure to stop by B-Side on Wednesday to see what Alley and her rotating guest bartender have up their sleeves this week.

Providence: 5955 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 460-4170. Website: providencela.com

B-Side: 6801 Hollywood Blvd (entrance on Highland), Hollywood. Phone: (323) 464-4000

Zahra Bates of Providence @ Test Kitchen

Zahra Bates did a two night stint at the bar Test Kitchen this weekend, on her nights off from Providence, where she has run the cocktail program for the past three years.  Zahra was named one of the top five female bartenders in Los Angeles in a recent article, and her drinks at Test Kitchen last night proved her to be among the top bartenders of any gender in the city.

She welcomed me with an amuse of a Moscow Mule gelee on a spoon.  It was spot on and beautifully presented, like something from Grant Achatz or Jose Andres.  The flavors of a Moscow Mule were concentrated in this frozen gelee and it certainly whetted my appetite to try her cocktails.

I began with the Belle Vert, featuring Miller's Gin, cucumber juice, yellow chartreuse, ver jus, shiso bitters and garnished with a cucumber slice.  It was refreshing and crisp and I am a sucker for cucumbers so I knew this would be in my wheelhouse.

I followed this up with the Rye Sense, featuring Old Overholt Rye, Kyoho grape-sherry reduction, Kina Lillet, and Anise Bitters.  This drink was much more aromatic and alcohol forward but in the words of one of my companions, it "had a lot going on" with layers of flavor.

My favorite may have been the (unpictured) PB n J, which I got a taste of, which featured Cruzan Rum, pineapple and lime juice, jalapeño honey and basil bitters.  For me the jalapeño was the essential ingredient.  It made what could have been a too sweet drink into a spicy drink and the sweet and spicy balanced each other out.  This and any other drinks Bates makes with her homemade jalapeño honey are worth seeking out at Providence.

My other favorite was the Caribbean Queen, an off the menu creation that began when a customer ordered the Virgin Tickler (a non alcoholic bartender's choice featuring juice) not realizing that it didn't have booze. When the customer mentioned he couldn't taste the alcolhol, Bates added rum on the fly to the rosemary, earl gray marmalade, freshly muddled tangerine, ginger beer and lime juice that were already in the cocktail. The resulting Carribean Queen was delicious and fruit forward without being one dimensional or a sugar bomb.

Zahra Bates can be found most Sunday - Thursday evenings at Providence Restaurant at 5955 Melrose Avenue. For the next two Fridays you can also find her at Copa D'Oro in Santa Monica.