Roll The Dice: Three Threes Is A Winner at the Tripel

The Tripel is on the main drag in Playa del Rey, which means that it is still relatively quiet, although parking on Culver can be difficult.  The neighborhood, just North of LAX, is cut off from the rest of the city by the Ballona Creek and wetlands to the North, the airport to the South and Lincoln Blvd and LMU to the East.  Hemmed in right off of the Pacific, Playa del Rey is not on the way to anywhere else and feels like a hidden secret.

Last spring, Chef Brook Williamson opened The Tripel with her husband and fellow chef Nick Roberts as a follow-up to the Hudson House in Redondo Beach.  Williamson is the primary chef at the Tripel and she has developed a tasty menu of small plates and sandwiches.  I was recently invited to see how the menu has evolved. 

I began tasting my way through the menu with the Fried Gigante Beans, which appeared more like fried seafood than beans, but were crunchy and delicious.  These beans were indeed gigantic and the batter was thin and they had none of the greasiness often associated with fried food.

A must order is the signature Poppy-Parmesan Biscuits.  They were served with orange blossom honey and clotted cream (in the bowl).  Williamson always has biscuits on the menu but varies them with the season.  They taste as good as they look; nice and light and moist.  Nothing is worse than an overly dry biscuit but fortunately that is a hazard you will not need to fear encountering at the Tripel.

The sandwiches are the most popular menu items.  Having tried the lamb burger (just ok) on a prior visit, I made straight for the Turkey Pastrami Melt: turkey pastrami with cambozola blue brie melted on sourdough bread.  With the accompanying stout mustard and pickles this was a solid dish.  Another favorite was the Chicken Waterzooi (unpictured) which included carrots, leeks, kale, fenugreek, gremolata, chicken and a potato pancake in a stew.  This was hearty and exceeded expectations.  Who knew you could get a great Belgian waterzooi in a beach bar in Playa del Rey?  The dish is a nod towards the Belgian beer theme of the gastropub.

The Tripel lacks a hard liquor license but serves beer cocktails including the seasonal special of Holiday Spice Cake with sparkling wine, Scaldis Noel (a Belgian Strong Ale), ginger beer and bitters.  This beer cocktail evokes winter, even by the beach in Los Angeles.

Another enjoyable beer cocktail was the Shandy with amber ale, ginger beer and a twist of orange peel.  This was light and refreshing and perfect for a warm afternoon.

The Tripel is small with the only seating at two communal tables and at the bar.  They have a strong Belgian and craft beer list on draft and it is a comfortable ambiance.  I recommend making a detour over to Playa del Rey to try some of their new dishes, sip on a few brews and perhaps try a beer cocktail, especially if you have never had one before.  They open at noon on Friday - Sunday and later afternoon may be the perfect time at this spot as it is still light out and warm and the evening crowds have yet to wander in.

The Tripel: 333 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey.  Phone: 310.821.0333  Website: thetripel.com

The Holidays Have Arrived at the Cantina @ Border Grill

It is the time of the year when visions of dusting of nutmeg dance in the heads of mixologists all over town.  The Cantina at the Border Grill downtown brings some South of the Border flair to their new holiday cocktail list.

Bar manager Mary King and head bartender Alexander Fazio collaborated on six new festive cocktails:

The Sloe Sugarplum Fizz is made with Slow Gin, holiday plum, lemon juice and soda.  A twist on the classic Sloe Gin Fizz, this version substitutes the holiday plum for the standard sugar, to provide the sweet element.  Slow gin already contains sloe berries, which are related to plums, so this is a double down on the plum.  The drink is tart and gin forward, but still light.  Not too sweet.

A take on the classic Manhattan, the Cranhattan is made with Herradura anejo tequila, fresh cranberry puree, cranberry syrup and garnished with brandied cranberries that have been soaked in simple syrup and brandy for three luxurious days.  This cocktail is boozy and has strong cranberry flavor.

The pumpkin is known as the King of Squash, so this cocktail pays tribute to the squash-in-chief by combining Herradura anejo tequila, mezcal rinse or mist, pumpkin syrup and garnished with rosemary and candied ginger.  The pumpkin syrup includes cloves, cinnamon, brown sugar in addition to the pumpkin.  The King is on the sweet side, despite the hint of mezcal.

Taking the locavore movement close to heart, the Kumquat Caipirinha used kumquats from a staff member's yard to make kumquat puree, which is combined with cachaca, agave and thyme.  This drink is very sour as it includes both muddled and pureed kumquats.

When its time for dessert but you want to stick with liquid refreshment, the Marco Pisco may be calling your name.  The cocktail is made with pisco, green apple puree, coconut milk, cinnamon and chocolate bitters.  The cocktail uses coconut milk and apple foam in place of the froth usually generated by egg whites.  It is very rich and the chocolate bitters are quite strong.

One more time you say to the bartender as you order another Otra Vez, made with tequila, yerba mate tea, mint, agave and lemon juice.  Forget gin and juice, tequila and tea may be the next combination that breaks across the airwaves.

For those of you who have tried it all, one selection remains: Cantinero's Creation.  The bartender can create a surprise cocktail for you based on what they have in that day, your mood and how the holiday spirit moves them.  Put yourself in the hands of the trusty bartender and soon you will be shouting Ole!

Cantina at Border Grill: 445 S. Figueroa St, DTLA.  Phone: 213.486.5171 | Website: bordergrill.com

Milking It For All Its Worth: Duggan McDonnell Brings Milk Cocktails Home for the Holidays

It is the holiday season and what comes to mind but seasonal cocktails? Duggan McDonnell, the owner and bartender at Cantina in San Francisco, came to Los Angeles last week to share some festive cocktail recipes and demonstrate how to make them, but he had a twist: all the cocktails included milk. Now if you think milk is best left to be mixed with Fruit Loops, McDonnell is ready to throw you for a loop of a different kind.

The event at Bar Lubitsch was sponsored by the Got Milk? campaign, hence the secret ingredient.  Duggan shared some of his favorite milk cocktail recipes and Fiona from Gourmet Pigs and I got to make one of the cocktails together.  The blender was leaking and we made a bit of a mess, but had fun. As to the drinks themselves, they were a mixed bag, some were tasty and some not so much.

My favorites among Duggan's recipes from the event were:

Caribbean Milk Punch (serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 quart of milk
1 cup of spiced rum
¾ cup agave syrup
Cinnamon powder to taste
Nutmeg powder to taste

Directions:
Whisk thoroughly in a punch bowl until all of the ingredients are thoroughly integrated
Add ice
Dust either with cinnamon or nutmeg powder and serve


Frothy Vanillanog (serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 quart milk
8 egg whites
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
Cinnamon powder to taste
Spicy chile powder to taste

Directions:
Whisk thoroughly in a punch bowl until all ingredients are thoroughly integrated
Spike with an alcoholic elixir if so desired (of course, I recommend an aged rum)
Add ice
Dust with a blend of cinnamon and spicy chile powder

P.B. & J. Granita (serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 pint milk
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
½ pack raspberries
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup simple syrup
Ice
Salt to rim glass
Dark rum

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blender with ice
Blend thoroughly for 20 seconds
Pour into individual glasses with a salted rim
Pour one ounce dark rum on top of the cocktail as a float

The PB&J recipe above has been adapted to make it alcoholic.  If you want it without the booze, then skip the dark rum float, but then where would the fun be in that?  This is the cocktail that Fiona and I made to much comic effect.  You can see evidence at ThirstyInLA.

I was initially skeptical of the idea of milk in cocktails but found that for drinks like those above, it worked well.  However citrus based cocktails like a gimlet were a poor match for the milk and should be avoided.  Rum is a particularly good pairing alcohol for the milk as they play off of each others flavor profiles and create creamy drinks in the nog and shake styles.

So look in your fridge, you may have all the ingredients necessary to create a sinful holiday treat right there.  For more milk recipes, click here.  For more cocktails from McDonnell, who was named one of the top mixologists in the US by Food & Wine magazine, click here.