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

ColLAboration: A Pop Up Craft Beer Garden

Saturday's ColLAboration event combined two trends of the Los Angeles food and drink scene: pop-up restaurants and craft beer.  The event was a collaboration between four of the leading members of Los Angeles's craft beer scene: Ryan Sweeney of Eagle Rock's Verdugo Bar and West Hollywood's The Surly Goat, Brian Lenzo of Blue Palms Brewhouse in Hollywood, Clay Harding of Alhambra's 38 Degrees Ale House and Tony Yanow of Tony's Darts Away in Burbank and the soon to open Mohawk Bend in Echo Park.

The event celebrated the 1 Year Anniversary of Tony's Darts Away and was the first in a planned series of pop-up beer gardens.  The inaugural event was held in a parking lot in Burbank, a block away from Tony's.  Tickets were sold in advance online or at any of the participating bars.  Your ticket came in the form of a glass and cost $10 per person.  Beers were either $6 or 4 for $20, via an efficient token system.

ColLAboration was by far the smoothest run food or drink festival I have ever been to.  Tickets sold out in advance, although a limited number were available on-site the day of.  They deliberately avoided selling too many tickets, so that attendees could get beer with minimal lines.  If you had purchased your ticket in advance there was no line to get in and most of the afternoon the lines for beer were nonexistent to two minutes with the exception of when a rare beer was announced over the speakers and a ten minute queue developed.

They provided ample bathrooms (port a potties) and even had a fenced in "smokers pen" for the cigarette fiends in the crowd.  No lines, a genial crowd, fair prices - what's not to like?  They even arranged for several local restaurants to deliver to the event, so people could get food to wash down their beer.  Tony's was also selling food on-site in the form of folks wearing hot delivery cases, ballpark style, walking through the crowd selling their vegan treats.

Sweeney (above) had told me about a Sierra Nevada Dubbel, called Oliva, which he thought I would like.  A couple hours later I was the first person at the event to get a glass of the elixir, which was even better than I had hoped.  I didn't know that Sierra Nevada made any Belgian style beers.  Their stock went up a lot with me.  I ran into several of LA's beer aficionado crew, including Jimmy Han of the soon to open Beer Belly,  HC of L.A. and O.C. Foodventures, Chris Day of Sotto, Steve Armstrong of ShangriLA Food Blog and Brand X, among others.  Unfortunately I left before Josh of FoodGPS and Esther of E*StarLA arrived.

There will be several more pop-up ColLAboration beer gardens this summer and I am looking forward to attending as many as I can.  If you went this past weekend save your glass, as it is your admission ticket to the next event.   Unlike some beer events where you pay one price for all you can drink, ColLAboration was all about quality over quantity, although the pours were rather generous.  Good beer, a good vibe and good weather; this event hit the trifecta.  Stay tuned for news on the date and location of the next fest.

Follow ColLAboration on Twitter and on Facebook.

Le Saint Amour: Walter Manzke does Fried Chicken

Le Saint Amour, the French brasserie in Culver City, recently hired former Bastide and Church & State chef Walter Manzke as a consulting chef to help them with their menu.  As part of the changes, a new Sunday night fried chicken served family style special has been added to the menu.

The chicken with sides and a dessert is $29 per person and included slaw and french fries on the evening I visited.  The meal is described as "A Volonte", which means as much as you would like, which is a more polite way of saying that the family style meal includes second helpings.  The waitress told me that "if my stomach told me it wanted more then I could tell her I wanted more and she would bring it."  Very cute.

The chicken itself had good flavor and was more moist than the version I had tried the week before at Vertical.  However, it was largely served off of the bone, which is a big drawback to making excellent fried chicken.  Despite this drawback I felt the chicken was better at Saint Amour than Vertical, though Vertical's side dishes were superior and overall offering felt more bountiful.  All in all, it was a draw, and I'd recommend either, if you are in the area, though neither is worthy of a long detour.

The slaw was light and I enjoyed it so much I had seconds of it.  The french fries were nice and crisp.  If the chicken had been on the bone, I would have been thrilled.  Although the menu emailed to me and on the chalkboard advertised dessert inclusive with the meal at $29, perhaps because I was alone it was not offered to me on this basis.

The brasserie itself has the genuine feel of a casual and lively brasserie in Paris.  If you have seen the film Avenue Montaigne, Le Saint Amour is reminiscent of the cafe at the center of the movie.  I would happily return but cannot place the fried chicken there in the top echelon in the city, as it does not compare to what Josef Centeno is making at The Lazy Ox Canteen or to Flossie's in the South Bay.  The hunt for the best fried chicken continues.

Le Saint Amour: 9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City.  Phone: (310) 842-8155.  Website: http://www.lesaintamour.com/

Artisanal LA Comes to Santa Monica this Weekend

Artisinal LA will be hosting their Spring Show at the newly revamped Santa Monica Place this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday.  The event, a celebration of local craft food and beverage makers will include chef demos, expert panels, talks on craft beer and local honey and opportunities to shop and learn.

The location is a 50,000 square foot space off of the 3rd Floor Dining Deck at Santa Monica Place.  Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.  A full list of participants is here, but be sure to look for the hand crafted pizzas from Mystic Pizza LA and don't miss Library Bar head bartender Matt Biancaniello's market fresh cocktails demonstration (Saturday at 1 pm).  Sunday's highlights include a butchering demonstration and a local craft beer panel.

There will also be an opportunity to get a sneak preview of "The Market" at Santa Monica Place and the vendors there before next month's grand opening.  In addition to getting to shop and learn, attendees can nosh at two cafe areas, one from Intelligentsia and the other from the soon to open Daily Dose.  The icing on this delicious cake is that some of the proceeds will benefit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, which brings hot nutritious meals to homebound senior citizens in Los Angeles.

LA Loves SF: Mixtape Mixology at Big Bar

Two weeks ago, legendary San Francisco barman Erick Castro (above) was the guest host & bartender for Big Bar's weekly Mixtape Mixology, a weekly event with a themed soundtrack curated by bartender Eugene Lee.  The event was sponsored by Plymouth Gin, which was the featured ingredient in eight cocktails, four each from San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Castro is one of the best bartenders in the business, bar none, and should you have the opportunity to try his cocktails, do so, wherever you find him.

The drinks were top notch as both Castro and the Big Bar team were shaking their hearts out.  Above, the Raspberry Buck, made with Plymouth Gin, Lemon Juice, Raspberries, Ginger Beer and Bitters was a refreshing highlight of the night.  Just the thing to savor on a warm evening.

While the cocktail menu will be different this Thursday, Lee's mixes make for a festive evening.  He danced his way through the bar (below) with his "DJ equipment" and ensured that all who wanted one got a copy of the mixtape.  Last week's theme was singer songwriters.  You'll just have to show up in person this Thursday to learn what this week's theme is.

Big Bar: 1927 Hillhurst Avenue (Los Feliz). Phone: (323) 644-0100.  Website: alcovecafe.com/bigbar

A Garden Grows in Your Glass: Michael's Restaurant

Michael's Restaurant in Santa Monica was one of the originators of California cuisine and focuses on the seasonal bounty available locally here in Southern California.  Founder/owner Michael McCarty still aims to provide his customers with the freshest ingredients simply prepared to let them shine.  Now he has brought that same approach to the cocktails at his restaurant.  Michael's hired bartender Jason Robey to revamp the cocktail program and the restaurateur has such faith in the new program that he has reconfigured the restaurant to devote the entire interior space to a lounge setting with small bites and cocktails and with the garden functioning as the primary dining room.

Robey, most recently of Bar Kitchen in Downtown Los Angeles and Les Deux in Hollywood, has created a list of cocktails that emphasize the local produce, with lots of infusions and other house made ingredients.  I was recently invited to a media tasting to sample the new cocktails and bar bites.  I joined forces with Daniel of Thirsty in LA to try the full range of drinks and food.

The Regional Export is made with Jefferson Reserve Bourbon, Kelt VSOP Cognac, orgeat, vanilla simple syrup, lemon and egg white.  It is frothy and sweet but not overly so.  This take on the whiskey sour was a pleasant beginning to the tasting.

My personal favorite was the Karai Karai as it is spicy with a citrus tang.  It is made with Yamazaki 12 yr Single Malt Whiskey from Japan, Jalapeño-Bell pepper simple syrup, lemon, grapefruit and basil, with jalapenos floating in it as a garnish.  There was no denying the spiciness of this drink, even if the visible Jalapeño wasn't enough of a clue.  I am a big fan of the Yamazaki and it stood up well to the potent pepper.

The Schipol Layover is made with Bols Genever, Cynar, lemon juice, avocado honey and grapefruit juice.  The avocado honey, a new ingredient to me, is made with honey from an avocado grove and does not involve any avocados proper, although the honey tastes different than traditional honey.  The name of this cocktail is a tip of the hat to the Genever, as it refers to the airport in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where Genever is the national drink.

The Mary Rose is a mixture of Cranberry-Ginger Tito's Vodka, vanilla simple syrup, lime, and garnished with charred rosemary.  The charring of the rosemary adds a dramatic element to the cocktail.  When Daniel and I first got to Michael's, we saw Joel Black flaming some rosemary and the scent carried to us.  The cocktail itself did not have a lot of depth.

The final drink on the introductary list is the Big Red Hat, which is surprisingly yellow, not red.  The cocktail is made with Don Julio Reposado Tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, lime juice, lemon clove simple syrup, fresh lavender, and finished with a grapefruit foam.  The Big Red Hat is refreshing and light but with a backbone and strong citrus elements.  Each of the drinks is $12.

The new cocktail menu coincided with the launch of a new bar bites menu.  The options include Yellowtail Crudo ($12), Duck Prosciutto ($10), a Slider Duo ($12), and Sage & Lemon Popcorn ($8).

The Yellowtail Crudo arrived as three Chinese spoons of yellowtail sashimi topped with citrus, micro greens and sea salt.  These were light and tasty. Below, the Duck Prosciutto is served on top of crostini with arugula and pickled citrus.  The duck was good but the portion size feels small.

My favorite of the Bar Bites were the Duo of Sliders: one with Foie Gras and Market Berry Mostarda and the other with Wagyu Beef and Shaft's Blue Cheese.  These little sliders were rich and just a couple of bites each but full of as much flavor as a full size hamburger.

I'd agree with Daniel's assessment that the popcorn is the least interesting option, as it didn't taste of either sage or lemon.  The sliders and the yellowtail are attractive options to munch on while you enjoy Robey's new cocktails.

At $12 each, Robey's produce focused cocktails are fairly priced and it is great to see Michael's continue to evolve and extend its innovations from the plate to the cocktail glass.  The roof of the restaurant is being planted with produce for the bar program, so this summer expect some exciting things.  Robey is not afraid of spicy, even in Santa Monica, which bodes well for fans of well crafted cocktails.  Another big plus for the program is its setting as Michael's is relaxed but lively.  McCarty himself was there on the night I visited and he is enthusiastic about the changes.  It is commendable that McCarty is not afraid of making changes.  I recommend you check it out for yourself.

Michael's: 1147 3rd Street, Santa Monica.  Phone: (310) 451-0843.  Website: http://www.michaelssantamonica.com/

Lamb Chops @ Lindy & Grundy's

I thought there was a lot of fuss last year when McCall's Meat and Fish opened in Los Feliz.  That was just a tempest in a teapot compared to the hullabaloo that has surrounded the opening of Lindy & Grundy's butcher shop last week.  The shop, run Erika Nakamura and Amelia Posada, has gained national attention in publications from Bon Appetite to the New York Times and local press from KCRW and the Los Angeles Times to just about every food blog and newsletter in the region.  Nakamura and Posada source whole animals that have been raised sustainably on local ranches and butcher them on-site.

The two female butchers are the only shop locally that breaks down their meat from whole carcasses.  They have a track on the ceiling that takes the meat on hooks from the entrance to the back where they wield their knives.  They have cultivated relationships with ranchers who do not use antibiotics or hormones and who raise the animals on pastures, not in pens.  Their uniqueness both in concept and in gender in a male-dominated industry has led to extensive coverage which has caused them to sell out of most of their cuts of meat on a daily basis.

When I visited on Saturday I lucked out and visited during a time when they were less busy, although the shelves were rather bare as lots of other folks had the same idea as I did.  Fortunately the butchers were carving up a lamb and sliced four frenched lamb chops for me.  They were beautifully trimmed and Nakamura  gave me some of her famous "lamb mix" which I used to season the meat.  I grilled the lamb chops for ten to eleven minutes on my bbq using generous amounts of the seasoning and they came out wonderfully with a great lamby flavor.  There was enough fat to keep the meat juicy but not too much that it was fatty.

Posada and Nakamura have worked to become a neighborhood fixture in their only one week of operation.  They ask customers names and recognize repeat visitors.  It is old fashioned but likely better than most any butcher shop was "back in the day."  Breaking down whole animals means that they have all cuts of meat, not just the most popular, which gives them an opportunity to educate their customers on unusual cuts and try new things.

Lindy & Grundy also has dry aged beef, which they age on-site in their aging room in the back.  The dry aged product is expensive, reflecting the investment in aging the beef for more than a month, but looked like an enticing way to celebrate a special occasion at home.  If you want something in particular, I recommend that you call ahead so you are not disappointed.  Just don't take the last few lamb chops.  I want them!

Lindy & Grundy: 801 North Fairfax Avenue, just north of Melrose Avenue.  Mid City.  Phone: (323) 951-0804.  Website: http://www.lindyandgrundy.com/index.htm