Le Tandem Rouge. Photo courtesy of The Sofitel Los Angeles.
Valentine’s Day is two days away. If you’re celebrating at home, why not enhance this romantic day with a drink created by one of Los Angele’s premier cocktailians, Aidan Demarest? LA Director of Nightlife for the elegant Sofitel Los Angeles, Demarest has managed or directed some of the city’s best bars, including Seven Grand, The Edison, and The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The cocktail, Le Tandem Rouge, was named for the bicycles used by French farmers to convey elderflower blossoms to the St-Germain factory for use in the famed liqueur. Lightly sweet and floral thanks to the St-Germain, the drink offers balance and freshness courtesy of the fresh raspberries and lemon juice, with effervescence from the sparkling wine topper.
The recipe for this rosy concoction is below. Cheers! Continue reading →
Valentine’s Day is this Sunday and we have some dining suggestions for you! Though many Los Angeles restaurants have opened for outdoor dining again, not everyone is ready to return to restaurants at this point. On that note, we’ve provided plenty of options for enjoying a special restaurant meal at home, along with a number of eateries that will be serving on patios and terraces over Valentine’s weekend. You’ll find choices, from decadent luxuries to meals with more accessible price points, below.
On Valentine’s weekend, Chef Akasha Richmond’s healthy comfort food will be available for takeout, delivery, and patio dining. Some Akasha standouts: several amour-themed cocktails (Blood Orange Love Potion, Passion Project, Old Fashioned Hanky Panky, and more); champagne and pea risotto; and a Valentine’s Sweet Box ($20) with a variety of cookies and truffles, many vegan or gluten-free. For delivery or to-go, order via TOCK 24 hours in advance. The newly reopened patio will be open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on February 12-14.
Savor a luxurious Valentine’s dinner at home courtesy of Brentwood’s Baltaire restaurant. Dinner includes ahi tuna poke, mache and endive salad, your choice of prime filet mignon and lobster tail or blue crab crusted Chilean sea bass, along with dauphinoise potatoes and roasted baby vegetables, and dessert: strawberry and chocolate tart, plus a strawberry dipped in white chocolate. Choose between Laurent Perrier La Cuvee Brut Champagne or Joseph Swan RRV Pinot Noir. This feast for two, $220, is available both February 13 and 14 and can be ordered here.
The Sylmar earthquake was the first big quake in the Los Angeles earthquake since 1933, and the first of my generation. The 12 second-long 6.6 temblor hit at 6:00 a.m. in Newhall. 64 people were killed, many of them in hospitals, and one as far away as Downtown L.A. I was only four and we lived in Carson, but I can still remember my brother’s huge fish tank sloshing water and guppies all over the floor. Here is a Dragnet-style video with access inside the city, with emergency services in the air, and on the ground with the police. WARNING: There are a few bloody faces and bodies under blankets.
Valentine’s Day is next Sunday, and for those of us who want to celebrate safely at home while doing something a little different, a number of virtual tasting events are happening on Valentine’s weekend. Buy a ticket and your chosen libations will be sent to your home to taste as you follow along online. Read ahead for more info about a wine tasting, a cocktail-and-chocolate event, and a gourmet coffee tasting.
Sip wine with your valentine — and an esteemed winemaker — on Friday, February 19 (the date has been changed — this event was originally scheduled for February 12). Join master sommelier Caroline Styne of a.o.c. and David Wiater of Grapevine Wine Broker in a group Zoom tasting similar to events they’ve held in person at The Hollywood Bowl and Tavern. With your ticket purchase, you’ll receive a flight of wines in 5 oz. bottles. Styne, a James Beard Award winner, will recommend food pairings you can order from a.o.c. in case you’d like to match food with your flight. The first in an ongoing series called Friday Night Flights, this evening will feature LOLA wines. Each flight is $45 and can be ordered via TOCK, then delivered or picked up at a.o.c.
“Hard to Hold” (1984, Kino Lorber) Pop-rocker Jamie Roberts (Rick Springfield) contends with writer’s block, his ex-wife (Patti Hansen), and the attention of adoring fans while also pursuing romance with icy Janet Eilber. Much-maligned vehicle for Springfield, intended to springboard him into movie stardom after success as a TV soap star and singer, is hapless, though most of the errors are committed by Thomas Hedley‘s leaden script (he also wrote “Flashdance”). But it’s not the Compleat Turkey it’s been made out to be (by Springfield, among others): Springfield is a personable performer, even with nothing to do sweat and smile and briefly flash his ass; also, the soundtrack, front-loaded with Springfield’s songs (“Love Somebody” was the big hit), also features tracks by Graham Parker and Peter Gabriel, Hansen is amusing, and Springfield’s band features Bill Mumy, Robert Popwell, Mike Baird, and Tony Sayles. Certainly no worse than “Cool as Ice” or “Hearts of Fire,” both from the same time period and featuring more popular (and respected) performers; Kino’s Blu-ray includes commentary by journalist Bryan Reesman and an interview with director Larry Peerce, whose credits include the teen-oriented melodramas “Other Side of the Mountain” and “A Separate Peace” (and “Wired”).
Super Bowl Spread from The Raymond 1886. Photo credit: Fried Chicken Sandwich Studios
Super Bowl LV is on Sunday, February 7. Though Los Angeles reopened outdoor restaurants on January 29, there was a pandemic proviso: no big-screen TVs. The festivities may be smaller than usual, but that doesn’t mean the usual indulgences shouldn’t be part of the Big Game. Don’t feel like cooking? Enjoy the Super Bowl at home with a very small circle of your nearest and dearest, along with food to go from LA eateries offering great to-go and delivery specials.
Suzanne Goin of Lucques Catering is a voracious football fan, and now you can savor the dishes she serves her own family on game day. Graze on favorites like Too-Hot-To Handle spicy wings, pigs in a blanket with spicy mustard, deviled eggs with crème fraîche and chives, shrimp cocktail, and three-cheese mac and cheese. Or go full steakhouse mode and order Suzanne’s grilled rib-eye steak for two. In addition to a 32-ounce rare-cooked steak, you’ll savor hash brown potatoes, charred young broccoli, caramelized onions, and Suzanne’s steak sauce for $125. Order via TOCK for safe curbside pickup or for delivery via DoorDash.
Pasadena’s The Raymond 1886 serves some of the best cocktails in LA, so ordering their libations is a no-brainer. The Bloody Mary Kit ($28 for two servings) includes a bottle of 1886 handmade Bloody Mary mix, a bottle of vodka, lemon, cucumber, and olive garnish. Medicina Latina ($28 for two servings) is composed of tequila blanco, lime, honey, ginger, and a mezcal spritz. Standout food options include nachos al pastor ($15) and the Classic Burger & Fries ($18), 1886’s homage to In-N-Out’s beloved duo. The Raymond’s patio will be open on game day for brunch and dinner, while takeout and delivery will be available from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. More info can be found here.
Are you or someone you know suffering from food insecurity? Then you should know that the Hollywood Bowl will be home to a drive-through food giveaway on Friday, February 5.
As so many Angelenos are struggling during this pandemic and time of economic disarray, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the County of Los Angeles, and the office of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl have united to provide this help.
Please wear a mask, and note that this food giveaway is open to all — there are no eligibility requirements. Family-sized boxes of food will be provided.
Just like everything else, Super Bowl parties are going to be scaled down this year. Like down to the people living under your roof. That gives you the chance to make comforting food without having to slave over hot wings and ten other finger foods for a big crowd. It can be as simple as a big pot of something delicious, like chili or adobo. One-pot meals make clean-up easy while still pleasing your hungry guys. You can round it out with rolls or cornbread, maybe chips and dip and cookies.
Here are some of my family recipes I have been making for years:
Six people, including former Instagram model Julia Rose and YouTuber Jack Tenney, were arrested on Monday for attempting to change the Hollywood sign to say HOLLYBOOB. The group used tarps and the sign wasn’t damaged, so it technically wasn’t vandalism. Rose announced that the change was to raise awareness of breast cancer (because no one has ever heard of it), while Tenney said it was to prank the entire State of California. But you know they did it all for the LIKES.
