Get Your Drank On: Vino California 2013

We are ready to celebrate Vino California!

Vino California is back! The five-day celebration of food & wine is recognized as one of the largest native Italian wine extravaganzas on the West Coast - bringing together Italian winemakers, sommeliers, and chefs to promote fab eats & sips (or guzzles for the Happy Hour Tour :) at great locations throughout LA.

Setting the Scene

Inside Osteria

The fest wraps up on Friday, but there’s still time to check out its nightly Happy Hours at Locando Del Lago and Bar Toscana featuring Italian spirits and exclusive cocktails. Check out happenings here. As part of the fest, longtime HHT pal Carrie and I hit a special wine & dinner pairing at Osteria Mamma! I hadn’t been to the restaurant before and was totally charmed by the evening’s end! How couldn’t you be with this fantastic line-up?!

Pre-Appetizer Round - Aperol Spritz with Prosecco served with Italian bread and tomato sauce

Antipasto - Crab with cherry and orange salad paired with Gran Cuvée Rose Brut

The delicious sweet flavors of the fruit paired well nicely with the light and fun Rose Brut champagne.

Primi - Risotto with black cuttlefish ink paired with Chardonnay La Monacesca

I’d never had squid ink before and I’ve gotta say I was a fan of the savory and salty risotto and the texture of the calamari-like cuttlefish. 

 

Secondi - Grilled Scampi served with polenta and grilled vegetables paired with Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico superior
This dish led to a new word to describe Carrie and I - “Trassy!” We had felt like such classy wine drinkers before we got a little trashy trying to eat the scampi. But oh it was sooooooo good and the white wine paired terrifically.

Pasta - Tagliatelle with porcini mushroom and truffle oil paired with Tintilia del Molise
Loved this awesome mushroom pasta served with our favorite wine of the evening, the excellent Tintilia del Molise, a red wine from the Molise region of Italy.

Dessert - Tiramisu paired with Moscato Fior D'Arancio
OMG, we were so full by this point - but passing up tiramisu with sparkly bubbly champagne should be a criminal offense (if it’s not already :). Delizioso!

Even though the pairing was created specially for Vino California, we still wholeheartedly recommend checking out Osteria Mamma for a fancy Italian Dinner!

 

With our new friend, Angelo!

Thanks to Vino California 2013, Osteria Mamma, and Jen and Carl at Pivotal PR for treating us to an excellent dinner!!

The Proud Bird

11022 Aviation Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310) 670-3093
www.theproudbird.com
twitter.com/proudbird

Parking: Free lot (pretty awesome in LA!)
Days: Monday – Friday
Times: 4-7pm
Drink Deals: $3 Domestic Bottled Beers, $5 Wines by the glass and House Drinks, $6 and $7 Specialty Cocktails
Food Deals: $2-7 Appetizers and Small Plates

In LA, it’s not just a good friend who volunteers to pick you up at the airport, it’s a damn saint. Seriously, there are pockets of time that make airport rides quick and easy – too bad those times are usually during hours that anyone in their right mind should be in bed! Seriously, in a slightly brutal recent trip – it took me an hour driving to LAX from from Hollywood and then it took us an hour and a half to get back. So like 30 miles in 2.5 hours. Wowzahs! The good news is that I think I’ve finally discovered the key to inner peace on rush hour airport rides (well, besides giving your guests $30 for a Super Shuttle ride :). And that would be stopping off for a post pick-up Happy Hour at the Proud Bird, the delightful aviation themed restaurant a couple miles from the airport on the appropriately named Aviation Blvd!

I’d been to the Proud Bird once before, well outside it. The Alamo Cinema Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow brought JACKIE BROWN (1997, d. Quentin Tarantino) to screen in the area where it was filmed. When something or other fell through at the original Torrance mall location, the roadshow traveled up to the Proud Bird, where an appreciative audience could watch the film on an inflatable screen under the stars… and the jet stream of all the incoming aircraft!! Suffice to say, we couldn’t hear sh*t and left shortly after the movie began. But the experience was fun and memorable!

Hi Mom!

Cut to several years later – my little sis, Amelia, came to visit LA for the first time in 9 years and for the first time as an of age drinker. Soze, I figure we’ll kill a little rush hour time and baptize her in the name of the Los Angeles branch of The Happy Hour Tour with a Proud Bird Happy Hour!

The Proud Bird is a great stop after LAX – the parking lot and “back yard” area host a museum of old planes from many eras, ripe for any photo shoot! The actual restaurant reminds me of a steakhouse from back home in the midwest – carpeted floors, wood panels, you know what I’m talking about.

The Lounge where Happy Hour is served.

After taking a look at the planes, we headed to the lounge where Happy Hour is served on Monday to Friday from 4-7pm. The HH menu is pretty fair with quite a few items at good prices. Amelia & I started the evening with a round of $6 cocktails – the Rock Coconut Mojito (Bacardi Rock Coconut, fresh lime juice, organic agave nectar & a splash of club soda) for Amelia, and for moi – the Sangria Blanco (Brandy, chardonnay, peach schnapps, organic agave nectar, fresh orange and pineapple juice, served with fresh fruit). Both were fine and dandy and sweet as candy!

Rock Coconut Mojito and Sangria Blaco ($6 each)

Proud Bird’s food Happy Hour options are diverse from $2 Street Tacos or French Fries to $5 options like Soup of the Day and Bruschetta all the way up to $7 options like Crab Cakes, Ahi Tuna Tower, and Sliders with Cheese. Our slightly older bartender who very much fit the bill of what I might expect at a slightly upscale airport bar didn’t seem amused when I asked him what the best options were. Maybe to him it’s like going to McDonald’s and asking what’s good (note to self, when in need of a good kick, try that sometime :)!

So we bravely faced the Happy Hour menu alone (haha) and decided on the $5 Hummus & Pita Bread and the $6 Calamari. The serving sizes were good – especially the former featuring three different hummuses (what is the plural of hummus, anyway?!). Everything tasted fine, fair-enough bar fare.

Hummus & Pita Bread ($5)

Calamari ($6)

Really, the best part of the Proud Bird experience is your proximity to the airport and that great yard for watching the planes fly in. And given that proximity, you’d think noise might be an issue (like for the JACKIE BROWN screening), but Proud Bird must have some strong sound-proofing because I don’t recall it bothering us once!

The view from the yard.

The worst part of the Proud Bird experience is the 15% service charge – which prior to my Aroma visit, I had not experienced in my 10 years living in LA. Sidenote: subsequent to both these visits, I stopped at the Tropicana Bar at the Hotel Roosevelt where 2 margaritas cost my friend $42 with a built-in service charge. For real, for real. What is the universe telling me with these LA service charges? At least Tropicana’s service charge clearly covers the gratuity (as their bartenders will tell you). At Proud Bird, the bartender showed me a note about the service fee:

As a tenant of the Los Angeles Department of Airports, the Proud Bird is governed by the Living Wage Ordinance of the City of Los Angeles. In order to assist us in honoring the Living Wage Ordinance, and in lieu of raising menu prices, we assess a 15% fee on all sales.

None of this fee is paid a gratuity to employees. We invite you to leave a gratuity separately. Your understanding and continued patronage is greatly appreciated.

I don’t know – something just seems strange about that. How is a service fee ANY different than jacking up your prices by 15%? And encouraging your guests to leave a separate gratuity works on bleeding hearts like me, but I’m sure other diners aren’t so friendly about it. Asi es la vida.

Still, even with the service charge – our trip to Proud Bird was a good airport ride/sanity saver as the drive home only took us half the time!

--JB

Rating: 3 Martinis

Get Your Drank On: Cinco de Mayo 2013 in Los Angeles

Howdy LA booze enthusiasts! It’s that time of year again, the old Cinco de Drinko and LA is ripe with excellent food and drank deals all over town! But first, did you know why we celebrate this special day? Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla back in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. Impress friends and strangers alike with that fun fact, preferably after you’ve had a tequila shot or four – Drunk History tales are the best!

Apparently, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a huge holiday in Mexico, but Americanos certainly love it – elevating the spring holiday to a boozy celebration only second to St. Patrick’s Day! In this spirit, we offer you these fine events and specials all over the city.

Have another deal that must be shared? E-mail us at TheHappyHourTour@gmail.com!

Cheers! --JB

La Cuevita – 5922 North Figueroa St.
Highland Park Hipster Heaven with live music and DJ + $5 Margaritas or Dos Equis w/ tequila shot!

Holy margarita, Batman! Highland Park’s popular neighborhood joint formerly known as the Cave celebrates its 1st anniversary as La Cuevita (meaning “little cave”) with a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta running from 4pm to 2am. Don’t miss $5 margaritas and Dos Equis drafts w/ tequila shot all night! Plus, live music (Los MuerTones and El-Haru Kuroi start at 6pm) and DJ Jimmy James at 10pm. Pow! Bam! Boom! I’m excited like a fight on the old Batman show!

Tortilla Republic – 616 N. Robertson Blvd.
WeHo Block Party with DJ’s, Mariachi Band, Tacos, Margaritas, and a Pintata Pit!

West Hollywood’s margarita mecca, Tortilla Republic, is going all out for 5/5 – can you say Grande Cinco de Mayo Block Party?! The party is truly a Sunday Funday affair running from 2-7pm, and in drink & do good news – proceeds will go to a great cause, Project Angel Food. A $10 donation gets you in and $20 offers VIP access - looks like the donation is just to get in, your margaritas and goodies will be extra. The open-air party will feature DJ sets and a Top 40 Mariachi Band; tacos, tacos, and more tacos; margarita pitchers, and a Pinata Pit. I don’t know what a Pinata Pit is, but it sounds AWESOME! Those WeHo boyz & girlz sure know how to throw a partay!! Get your tickets now here.

The Mission Cantina – 5496 Sunset Blvd.
East Hollywood Cantina with food & drink specials on Saturday and Sunday

¡Ay, carumba! One of my personal favorite East Hollywood Mexican bars (great food, cool regulars, sweet décor) offers up double the fun with Cuatro & Cinco de Mayo. On both May 4th and 5th, Mission Cantina will be open from noon to 2am and will feature mariachi music, a photobooth, food and drink specials, and giveaways (what, oh what, are they giving away?!).

The Mixing Room – 900 West Olympic Blvd., 1st Floor
Celebrating the Cinco with a roaming Mariachi band, food & drink specials on Saturday & Sunday

The Mixing Room at the beautiful Ritz Carlton in downtown LA will also be featuring a double-header of Saturday and Sunday deals including Made-to-Order stations (Burritos - $12, Tacos - 2 for $10, Nacho Bar - $10), House-made Guacamole for $7, and Chocolate Tamales at 2 for $7! Drink specials haven’t been listed yet. And I know, I know – you can get the best burrito of your life for a third the price at Cactus Taco, but sometimes, well, sometimes it’s just fun to be fancy!

Las Perlas – 107 East 6th Street
Downtown tequila bar offers nice tequila shots between $5-7 213’s tequila bar

Las Perlas is offering up sweet deals all day long – from 4pm-midnight. They’ve got: $7 Herradura Blanco Shots, $7 Herradura Reposado Shots, $6 El Jimador Margaritas, $6 Palomas, $6 Batangas. $5 El Jimador Tequila Shots. For vittles, Julia Arenas will be serving up street tacos. I don’t know what the means, but I trust the 213 group to provide a fun evening of tequila and tacos!

Border Grill – 1445 4th St.
Santa Monica’s rad restaurant features $3 shots and $5 draft beers and margaritas + food deals on Cinco de Mayo

Promising the best Mexican fiesta in town, Border Grill is going to keep fun going from Friday, May 3rd – Sunday, May 5th with $3 shots and $5 beers or margaritas! Stay on the 5th for $3 Tacos, $5 Ceviche & Taquitos, $7 Carne Asada Fries, plus Karma Tequila prizes, a photo booth, and more! I’m gonna hold them to this being the best fiesta, umkay?!

Angelenos, as you can see, there are plenty of great options to get your drank on! However, should you choose to stay at home and booze while watching ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO or something equally lame (CUT TO: me sitting home boozing and watching ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO :)  – here’s my personal favorite au naturel margarita recipe!

1. Ya start with 2 oz. of Tequila in a glass. I prefer Hornitos Reposado and Milagro Silver.

2. Squeeze in juice from half of a lime.

3. Stir in ½ tablespoon of agave syrup.

4. Pour the mixture over freshly made ice in a cocktail glass (home bartenders take note, a terrific homemade cocktail starts and ends with fresh ice)!

5. Add lime-flavored club soda. Stir one last time to mix the soda and tequila-lime-agave mixture.

6. Ta-da! Drink up!!

Aroma Bakery Café

7373 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-8120
www.aromabakery.com

Parking: Valet is free for first hour ($3 after); Metered Street Parking
Days: Mon-Fri
Times: 3-6pm
Drink & Food Specials: Wide selection of $5 appetizers & cocktails

Aroma!

Aroma Bakery Café has been in JG’s (former) and my (current) hood for the last 4-5 years. Even with its close proximity and having been open for years, I’d somehow only been once before. I vaguely remembered it being good overall – nice patio seating, interesting Sunset Strip views, the food was good, but there seemed to be something that wasn’t quite right. It only took me one Happy Hour trip to remember what that was – the prices!

Inside Seating

Generally speaking, the Happy Hour deals are great; Aroma features a large selection of $5 appetizers and beverages. However, Aroma assesses a 15% service charge to every bill – no matter the size of your party or the time of day. Logically, I thought this was our waiter’s tip, but when I asked him – lo & behold, the service charge is paid directly to the restaurant and he only received any left by the customer.

In my 3-and-a-half years covering Happy Hours around LA, I can honestly not recall running across a service charge (unless it was a large party), so I was rather baffled. So were plenty of unhappy Yelpers (read their comments here). Ironically, the next week, I ran into my second service charge at Proud Bird near LAX (review coming soon) – not sure if the universe is trying to tell me something or if this is a new trend!

This is me - not comprehending the 15% service charge. But good mojito!

In any event and in fairness to Aroma, the service charge is noted on their menu. In unfairness, the menu is pretty massive and the charge is bit buried. And also - on the website, it’s noted that “In some cases a 15% gratuity will be added for groups of four or more.” They should probably change that if their printed menu says otherwise.

Not to dwell on the service charge (though it’s kind of hard not to) – the Happy Hour deals really are good. Longtime HHT friend Adbot and I feasted like kings, enjoying a number of $5 apps: 

Mozzarella Sticks

Avocado Rolls

 Feta with Grape Leaves

Labane (a sour cream-like dip served with flatbread)

Guacamole Dip (chopped guacamole served with pressed French bread)

Sweet Potato Fries

4 non-Happy Hour, but delicious macaroons ($5.98 for 4)

For drinks, we were intrigued by the name of a new drink – The Muchito, assuming it was a new Spanish style cocktail we’d never heard of. LOLzzz, not quite – it was a mojito spelled… well, differently (honestly, about half the items on the HH menu were spelled phonetically). Whatever you call ‘em, the muchitos/mojitos were delish. Adbot sampled the regular and I tried the day’s special Berry Muchito. For rounds 2 & 3, we had 2 glasses of white wine apiece at $5 a glass.

It's muchito time!!

We had a great time overall, there was a good number of other diners, our servers were nice and checked on us regularly, so we were feeling pretty happy by the end of Happy Hour (3 cocktails will do that too!). Too bad we had a bit of a rude awakening with the service charge, nothing to snap you out of a Happy Hour reverie like getting less of a good deal than you had originally thought...

C’est la vie.

--JB

Rating: 2.5 Martinis

Spoonful

3413 Cahuenga Blvd W 

Los Angeles CA 90068 

323-512-4800

www.spoonfulrestaurant.com
twitter.com/SpoonfulLA

Parking: Parking lot that’s sometimes valet and sometimes free (yippee!!), also metered street parking 

Days: Daily 

Times: 4-6pm and 10pm-close 

Drink Deals: $2 off all drinks

Food Deals: $6 Appetizers

Daytime and Nightime Happy Hours!

Henry’s Hat is gone. Long live Spoonful! Or something like that since they don’t feel all that different… That’s not a bad thing as JG and I always loved the multi-space set-up at Henry’s Hat. Both bars feature cozy small group dining areas, a nice bar with high-top tables and plenty of hi-def televisions for your sporting needs, and Spoonful even has a very cute lounge that I would totally bring a book to read at (while sipping on a mint julep, but of course!). 

 

The decor has a "masculine Gone with the Wind vibe!"

The change came about when Henry’s Hat changed ownership – from Luna Park’s AJ Gilbert to Frank Foley. The latter shuttered Henry’s Hat, updated the décor with what’s described as a “masculine Gone with the Wind Vibe” (thanks EaterLA for the apropos description!) and created a new Southern cookin’ menu – both food & drank (think Fried Green Tomatoes, Braised Pork Belly and the aforementioned Mint Julep).

Nice natural lighting!

The Happy Hour menu is pretty swell – all appetizers are $6 (they’ll normally run you anywhere from $6-12) and all drinks are $2 off. I’d say the food deal is better with potential $6 savings, but I feel like the drinks are still a bit pricey with specialty cocktails still costing $10 (down from $12 during non-HH). That said, the $2 savings put wines in the $7-9 range and draft beers around $4. 

Plus, they’ve got a sh*t ton of bourbons and whiskeys that HH discounts $7-12. Not bad, y’all! Longtime Happy Hour Tour friend Booze and I popped in Spoonful after an afternoon shopping and seeing a movie at Universal City, ready to get our Happy Hour fill from the exciting menu. For vittles, we had:

 

 Feast for Southern Royalty  

(descriptions below - running counterclockwise from top left)

-- Buffalo Shrimp ($6, normally $12) – Fried plump Gulf shrimp tossed in buffalo sauce with celery root puree and house made Ranch dressing. I’d never had buffalo shrimp before; they were pretty tasty as was the celery root puree that I want to try to make myself!

-- Sweet Potato Fries (from the $5 side menus) – These bad boys were awesome and served with a little aioli with curry undertones? Definitely share-able! 

-- Fried Green Tomatoes ($6, normally $7) – Cornmeal crusted and served with a spicy remoulade and micro cilantro. No Southern-fried Happy Hour would be complete without fried green tomatoes and these didn’t disappoint! 

-- Dixieland Salad ($6, normally $7) – Field greens, red onions, fresh strawberries, slivered almonds and bleu cheese. We totes enjoyed this sharing size appetizer salad with the right mix of fruity and savory.

On the drinks end, Booze ordered a traditional sidecar ($10 during HH), which was traditionally strong, and notably served with a big ball of ice – all the better to melt slowly in your sidecar! I went for the Mannish Boy ($10 during HH), mainly because I liked the name (not really, though I don’t think Boyish Man would be that much better?), a summery cocktail featuring Hendricks Gin, St. Germain, Crispin Apple Cider, muddled cucumbers, and lime juice.

Mannish Boy and Old Fashioned ($10 each)

Given the high alcoholic content of our first round, we opted to share one last cocktail and got the dessert-like Texas Flood ($10 during HH), a Tanteo Cocoa Infused Tequila based martini/margarita cocktail. I dig cocoa-tequila, but could see where this might not be everyone’s cup of… tequila! 

We finished the night with another “Can’t Leave a Southern Restaurant Without Eating This” – Pecan Pie served with Bourbon-flavored ice cream. Soooooooo good! Sweeter than sweet, but delicious! And not on HH pricing, but only $8 - not too bad.

Pecan Pie ($8)

The HH menu is definitely Good for Dinner, though HH runs from 4-6 and after 10pm daily – so you’ll either be eating an early or late dinner. Let me recommend early so you can spend the evening digesting all the delicious bites!! 

Ain't that the truth? 

-- JB 

Rating: 4.5 Martinis

Malibu Fish Grill

8000 W. Sunset Blvd. 

Los Angeles, CA 90046 

(323) 650-7700 

www.malibufishgrill.com 

twitter.com/malibufishgrill

Parking: Underground Parking (don’t forget validation for free 90-minute parking) 

Days: Daily 

Times: 4-7pm 

Drink Deals: ½-Off All Drinks (Beer and Wine only) 

Food Deals: $3-6 Appetizer Menu 

Sunset & Crescent Heights Strip Mall

LA is like the land of strip malls and one of my long-time favorites has been the one at Sunset & Crescent Heights. Back in my early days here, I’d venture to the movies at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 and make a stop at Virgin Megastore just to browse to my heart’s content and people watch (that store was a haven for celebs too – I remember seeing Jack Black, Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Berkley, Fonzworth Bentley, and more!). 

 

Alas, Virgin closed several years back and was replaced by CB2 and many of the other stores and restaurants have flipped as well. I’m glad to report that the mall has a great set-up now with a line-up including Trader Joe’s, Crunch gym, the new Sundance Cinemas, the offices of TMZ (for real), Veggie Grill, and the new Malibu Fish Grill. 

A lovely setting for a Happy Hour

In the past, the restaurants that have occupied this Crescent-Heights side space in particular haven’t lasted that long – even popular ones like California Pizza Kitchen. However, now the complex has split the large space into 2 different restaurants – PeiWei and Malibu Fish Grill. I think this choice of giving diners more options is very smart. And what I really like about Malibu Fish Grill’s layout is that they’ve incorporated a sliding glass wall into their architecture and so the space feels very open. Whether you’re sitting on the actual patio or inside the restaurant, it’s an airy space perfect for people watching. 

Nice open air space!

Besides the nice layout, Malibu Fish Grill has some great healthy eating options – a variety of rice bowls, salads, tacos, and more that you can customize with your own seafood selection. During my favorite meal of the day, Happy Hour (from 4-7 daily), they offer $3-4 draft beers and a number of a la carte seafood items on the cheap. Very nice! 

I’d long wanted to check out their HH and finally made it one March night with a new airplane friend M (we grew up 10 miles apart and only ended up meeting on an airplane from LAX to St. Louis!). As is custom when Happy Hour Touring, we sampled a number of HH menu items: 

Shrimp Skewers ($3 each)  and  Crab Cakes ($4 each) 

 

Feta Fries ($4) and Crispy Calamari ($6)

The food was all pretty good, though the calamari was a bit on the salty side and the fries could have used a little oil (or something) to bind the cheese better. All in all though, pretty good prices for dinner-sharing sizes! 

The drink deals were pretty great too – ½ of f all beer & wine – that’s $2-3 craft beers and $4-5 wines! So I got my favorite beer variant, Crispin Apple Cider, for $3! What a steal?! They’ve got plenty of other options as well though M, a true Midwesterner, went for the $2 Miller Light. 

Crispin Cider ($3)

I’m hoping that Malibu will be able to last longer in this location than some of its predecessors because the Happy Hour is definitely a fun one to check out – they’ve got plenty of tv’s for sports-watching; the crowd is lively and gets livelier near the end of HH; the staff is helpful and nice; and the open air wall and seafood cuisine really lends itself to chill Southern California afternoon drinking. 

Airplane Friends!

--JB 

Rating: 5 Martinis