Blogger Bar Hop 2: The Mustache Ride

Last year bar impresario Aidan Demarest and Plymouth & Beefeater Gin Brand Ambassador Erick Castro led a group of cocktail bloggers on a journey across Los Angeles in the Trolley of Death.  This year the trolley was nowhere to be seen; in its place was the infamous Mustache Ride, only partly named for Castro's legendary stache.  The van that ferried us from bar to bar like thirsty lushes had an enormous mustache on the front of its grille, the better to deliver a full service and satisfying experience.  Blogger Bar Hop 2 was on!

The evening began at Neat, Demarest's bar in Glendale, where head bartender Arash Pakzad used Beefeater 24 to create a special cocktail with Spam and rosemary which were then torched to imbue the cocktail with their scent.

The next stop on the adventure was the Golden Road Brewery, where we munched on giant (enormous) pretzels that were served with legitimately spicy mustard.  To wash it down we sipped on pitchers of their signature Point the Way IPA and Hefeweizen.  Golden Road is only a short ride from Neat and it was a chance for two new neighbors to celebrate their openings and for us to get some foodstuffs in our bellies.

Aidan kept us on track, so we could be on time for our third stop at Tiki Ti, the home of Tiki cocktails in Los Angeles since 1961.  For 50+ years, Tiki Ti has been located in the same small spot on Sunset Blvd in Los Feliz.  It is only open four nights a week (Wednesday through Sunday) as the only employees are family members.  The small capacity can sometimes lead to lines at the door but Aidan had made arrangements and our merry band of revelers was welcomed with a round of potent cocktails that made us thankful for our designated mustache driver.

Tiki Ti in all its glory

Above Caroline on Crack enjoys her cocktail while Daniel Djang of ThirstyInLA photographs his beverage.

Below is a closeup of the cocktail from Tiki Ti before it was consumed, rapidly and gleefully.

Tiki Ti is cash only and thankfully there was enough cash on hand among the sponsors to pay for our cocktails as they don't take credit cards, even the Pernod Ricard corporate card.  Bartender Marcos Tello joined us at this point as Tiki Ti is his favorite bar, and he couldn't resist joining in the festivities.

Marcos Tello, Aidan Demarest and Erick Castro at the Three Clubs

Three Clubs was the fourth stop on our journey and it was nothing but efficient.  We walked into an almost empty bar and took  it over.  The bartender lined up ten martini glasses at the corner of the bar and proceeded to shake dirty martinis into all of them.  Within minutes of downing our chilled martinis, we were back on the bus.  There was no perusing the jukebox for tunes as we had to stick to the schedule as there were many bars still to come.

Number five is alive, or our adventure at Bar Marmont:  We found a robot made from liquor bottles and bar tools such as spoons, shakers and strainers.  The robot begged us to take him with us when left.  We got some light snacks and sipped on champagne cocktails but were not permitted the use of cameras inside.  The doorman/management was rather rude about the whole thing, so I cannot recommend this establishment.  Alas we have no pictures of our new robot friend, due to the camera prohibition.  I can only hope that he has escaped rather than be decommissioned.

Our spirits were revived and hunger and thirst addressed at the Eveleigh, where head bartender Dave Kupchinsky prepared a bevvy of farm fresh cocktails with Beefeater 24 and blood oranges at our sixth stop.  There was also a beautifully laid table of cheeses and oysters.  While I could not partake of the shellfish, they looked beautiful as did everything else Chef Toft prepared for us.  Kupchinsky's cocktail was a highlight of the evening.

Above, the Eveleigh cocktails.  Below bloggers in our crew celebrated at the Eveleigh.

Ah Skybar.  The seventh stop on our magical journey turned out to be a lame detour.  They gave our group much grief at the door before finally letting us in on the condition we do bottle service.  Once we were seated on a large bed adjacent to a couple who thought they were in their room with the drapes closed based on how they acted, we discovered that they were unwilling to sell us a bottle of Beefeater, despite prior arrangements having been made.  We had had enough and decamped to the eighth stop, an audible of Harvard & Stone.

Harvard & Stone was rocking on this Saturday night, which was also the farewell session for Lindsay Nader at the R&D bar there.  Bartenders such as Jaymee Mandeville and Nader's Pour Vous compatriot Devon Espinosa were there to show their love and the energy level rose to a crescendo.  Any annoyance at Skybar was forgotten as we celebrated the wonderful talent of LA's cocktail community with hardcore bloggers, talented bartenders and delicious spirits.  Such a great bonus that our final stop before returning to Neat included so many people who have worked to develop the cocktail scene in LA including those mentioned above, Pablo Moix of La Descarga and Alex Straus "in the House" of Hemingway's.

The ninth and final stop of the evening was back at Neat, where thanks to Caroline I was able to partake of one final round of beverages, as she was gracious enough to provide me a ride back.  Erick, Aidan and Caroline organized a blast of an evening.  This time there were no altercations with homeless people and we kept to the schedule; needless to say this was a classic night.  Good times to hop across town on a magic mustache ride with @carolineoncrack @thirstyinla @mikeprasad @squashblossom @mattatouille @LAOCfoodie and @foodgps

Caroline on Crack presents a Taste of the Nation benefit at The Spare Room

What are you planning Thursday night?  If the answer is anything other than going to the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, change your plans as Caroline of Caroline on Crack has organized a benefit for Share our Strength's Taste of the Nation that you are going to want to be at.

So what is in store for you on Thursday evening at this swanky spot?  The evening's design consists of a Connect Four tournament of 4 games going on at the same time as well as the two lanes of bowling for three hours (an hour a game).  A $50 donation gains you entry to the festivities with punch and appetizers as well as one hour of bowling.  Bowling normally costs $100 for one hour so this is a pretty good deal.  Even better if you win the bowling tournament, you will get a free night's stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt and 2 tickets to Taste of the Nation in Culver City.  Now, that's my kind of prize.

For a $25 donation, you get entry to the party, punches and appetizers and entry into the Connect Four Tournament.  The grand prize for the gamers is an hour's bowling at The Spare Room and 2 tickets to Taste of the Nation in Culver City.

Now if you are too chicken to bowl or play Connect Four against the fierce competition, you can still attend this sure to be infamous evening by paying an admission fee of $15.

Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for Taste of the Nation at a discount from the regular $100 price.  Bowlers get $25 off and gamers and non-competers get $15 off.

How to get on the guest list for this party?  It's easy!  Just  sign up for the games, specifying which tournament you would like to participate in, by RSVPing to Caroline at carolineoncrack@gmail.com.

The party runs from 6 pm - 9pm and you must RSVP to get on the list.  It is for a great cause and is sure to be a lot of fun, so join me at The Spare Room this Thursday evening.

The Spare Room @ the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

For more information, see Caroline's website.

Blogger Bar Hop: I Lived to Tell the Tale

It all started so innocently with an emailed invitation from Caroline on Crack: a blogger bar hop organized by Aidan Demarest and sponsored by our host Erick Castro from San Francisco, the West Coast Brand Ambassador for Plymouth and Beefeater Gins. What could possibly go wrong with such a delightful plan?

On the night in question I met up with our crew of esteemed cocktail writers and aficionados at the Spare Room, the new bar and bowling alley on the second floor of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where Aidan is the General Manager. My fellow passengers on the bar hop included Caroline on Crack, Daniel from Thirsty in LA, Esther from E*starLA, Lindsay William-Ross, the editor of LAist, Josh Lurie from FoodGPS, Elina Shatkin of Squid Ink and Toque, HC from L.A. and O.C. Foodventures and Aaron Vanek from the Examiner.

The evening began with games of bowling on the twin lanes at the Spare Room.  The shoes available with lane rental (1 hr = $100 for up to 6) are more comfortable than any street shoes I own.  Despite ample servings of the Blogger Punch (top picture), I bowled my highest score ever.  This was an auspicious beginning to the night.  We were issued score cards to keep track of the drinks we consumed and were tasked with trying five different cocktails at each of the five bars we were visiting. Thanks to Thirsty in LA, we all got lei'd and were properly attired to hit the town.

Above, Caroline on Crack (center) and Lindsay (right) photograph the punch as it was served by the bowling lane.  Once we had all had our fill of the first round, Aidan herded us like cats downstairs and outside where we boarded what would become known as "The Trolley of Death."  In the photograph below, Aidan is exhorting us slowpoke bloggers to board the trolley.  He was his usual subtle self.

And oh what a trolley it was.  We rode down Hollywood Boulevard as some more excitable members of the group shouted at passersby.  Was there booze consumed on the trolley?  Of course.  We followed the cardinal rule of bar hopping and were never more than fifteen feet from a source of liquor.  In transit, that meant we brought beer and champagne with us.

The evening was amply recorded on many cameras, as HC (below) snaps a shot of me photographing him.  Not only did our merry band of bloggers continue onto the next bar, but we absconded with bartender Naomi Schimek of the Spare Room and somehow managed to persuade her to join us for our next stop at Big Bar.

At Big Bar, my photography began a hiatus that continued until our fourth stop.  When we arrived at Big Bar, thankfully Juan Sevilla, the head bartender, had planned ahead and arranged food as well as Plymouth cocktails to sate our hunger as well as our thirst.  The crowd was impressed by the vittles and Juan mixed some very tasty drinks.  He and Mia Sarazen then each pulled a Naomi and joined us on the trolley.  Smart move!

The next stop was 1886 in Pasadena, where Aidan and Marcos Tello had collaborated on the menu together.  Below, the Rose Parade cocktail, a drink named after one of the signature traditions of Pasadena.  Tello had opened the bar especially for our group, as 1886 is usually closed on Monday nights.

Now we had a quorum of bartenders in our trolley (including Marcos Tello) and we headed downtown to the Varnish to stop number four.  We took the most direct route, the Pasadena Freeway, at a very high rate of speed.  It was cold and wild and one bartender or friend scared me by getting too close to the door.  Luckily everybody stayed in the trolley. Unlike on the way to Pasadena from Hollywood, I figured out that it was warmer inside so rode in greater comfort.  January in California gets cold at night.  One excitable person called some of the people "cats" for riding inside, but he had partaken of too much beverage, a cardinal sin for a cocktail blogger.

As Thirsty in LA noted in his write up, the Varnish stop seemed to go incredibly quickly.  GM Chris Bostick and bartender Devon Tarby made several tasty concoctions, including some Plymouth Gin Fizzes (below) which were out of this world.  I had to drink mine quickly as it was time to go onto the next and final bar, Seven Grand.  As we boarded the trolley, one blogger got into a verbal altercation with a homeless person.  The situation was defused and we left peacefully, but our veneer of sophistication was wearing thin.

Seven Grand was hopping but we had reserved a nook at the 7th Street side of the bar.  The fizzy drinks with gin and lime juice were barely presented to us when we were told we had to leave in a few minutes.  I gulped down as much of mine as I could before we had to head for the exit.

Five bars in one night and then the trolley pulled into what would be my downfall, The Original Tommy's in Hollywood where I had chili fries and a burger. It was my first and last chili fries. We headed back to the Roosevelt minus FoodGPS who insisted on walking home from the burger joint. Back at the Spare Room there was a line to get in, but Aidan ushered us past the line and the paparazzi and we said our goodbyes and headed into the night.

After the evening of excess I was in no condition to drive home and was preparing to take a taxi when Elina Shatkin graciously offered to drive me home in her car. I took her up on this generous offer and before I knew it was home. Next time I see her, I owe her a drink!

So much of the night is a blur and it is remarkable how many bars we hit in such a short time. I was neither the most sober nor the most inebriated and had a great time from start to finish. The night would not have been possible without the organizing skills and energy of Aidan Demarest. A big thanks to Erick Castro and Plymouth Gin, both for sponsoring the evening and for coming along the ride. I'm sure he got more than he bargained for. Lastly, thanks to Caroline for inviting me to join in the festivities. What little I remember of the night, I will never forget.

Domaine de Canton Cocktail Competition

Last week many of the top bartenders in town gathered in the Fedora Room at First & Hope, the new restaurant, bar and music venue downtown, to compete for the title of best cocktail and for $500 towards this week's Manhattan Cocktail Classic. Each contestant had to create an original cocktail featuring Domaine de Canton, a ginger liqueur.



The judges for the competition included Alex Day, formerly of Death & Co and soon to be of an upcoming Dave Kaplan bar in Los Angeles, and Caroline of Caroline on Crack, both pictured above. The other two judges (not pictured) were Domaine de Canton founder John Cooper and Professional Drinker and author Dan Dunn. Each judge sampled an original drink from each of the dozen contestants before setting on the winner.


Contestants included those pictured above (Rhachel Shaw of Malo Cantina, Daniel Eun of the Varnish, and Joe Brooke of the Edison) as well as bartenders from the Edison, Copa d'Oro, Roger Room, SoHo house and others.

In an unusual twist the winning cocktail recipe was represented by someone other than its creator. Damian Windsor's beverage was represented and shaken by his wife Rebecca, and won first place.


Always the consummate host, Aidan Demarest, the beverage director for First & Hope and half of Tello/Demarest Liquid Assets, is pictured above with Domaine de Canton founder John Cooper.

For further coverage of this event, see Caroline's post.

To learn more about Domaine de Canton, visit their website http://www.domainedecanton.com/
First & Hope: 710 West 1st Street @ Hope St. Phone: (213) 617-8555. Website: firstandhope.com/