The Happy Hour Tour: Mixology 101 at Planet Dailies

Welcome Mixology 101, a refreshing open air (when the weather allows!) bar sitting atop the Bath & Body Works at Farmer’s Market! The view is primo supremo and the cocktail concoctions offer a “whatever your pleasure” respite from a shop-til-you-drop excursion to the Grove.

Mixology 101 is the fancy sister-bar to its neighboring Planet Dailies, a Las Vegas-based eatery owned by the Planet Hollywood team. Both Mixology 101 and Planet Dailies focus on the fresh vegetables and fruits available from the Farmer’s Market – how’s that for a nice little sustainable ecosystem?!

Also nice is the insane cocktail menu curated by master bartender Salvatore Calabrese (aka The Maestro) and his head bartender, Joseph Brooke from the Next Door Lounge and The Edison. For our special pre-opening visit, we sampled the:

Spicy Fifty Martini - Vanilla Vodka, Elderflower Cordial, Fresh Lime Juice, Honey Syrup, and Chili Pepper.

Farmer's Martini - Frozen Stoli Elit, Blue curacao, Salvatore's Bitters (featuring Amalfi Coast lemons from Sal’s hometown!), and Champagne

Joseph Brooke and the Maestro making the Farmer's Martini!

Hollywood Bubbles - Bénédictine, fresh raspberry purée, pomegranate juice and champagne

Breakfast Martini –Bombay Sapphire, Cointreau, fresh lemon juice, and orange marmalade. Loved Sal’s story behind the creation of the drink, told in his charming Italian accent, “My wife, she wanted me to eat breakfast, so I created this drink!”

We also sampled from the small plates menu, though there wasn’t much for vegetarian me! Samples included:

Kobe Beef Sliders and Lemon Tempura Shrimp

Szechuan Eggplant and Black & Blue Steak

Watermelon and Feta Bites and Beautiful Dessert Arrangement :)

The drinks run on the higher side of The Happy Hour Tour’s budget ($12-19), so we recommend dropping by and seeing if there are any specials on any given day. If not, definitely worth trying a drink or so – making sure to get a solid recommendation for your tastes from the knowledgeable bartenders.