The Bon Vivant’s Companion

I’ve been working on this blog post since March.  Not because it’s so special, but because life happened, and then death did.

Originally, my plan was to write about the St. Francis Hotel’s newly opened Clock Bar and their best selling cocktail, the Persephone — a new drink done in a classic style by mixologist Marcovaldo Dionysos (who, unless he’s using a nom de plume, was clearly born to be a bartender.)

The Clock Bar, run by Chef Michael Mina, features world-class bar snacks and a cocktail menu that thinks it’s 1935.  But it’s not 1935.  It’s not even March any more, and this blog post has lingered unwritten long enough…

I’m a sucker for all things mythological and the Persephone, a cocktail made with Charbay vodka, homemade grenadine, and pomegranate juice, struck me as clever (and made me wonder why more libations aren’t named after Olympians…the Hephaestus anyone?)

Persephone, the goddess of spring, and daughter of Demeter (harvest) and Zeus (everything) was a hottie, devil-may-care kind of Olympian until Hades fell for her, dragged her to the underworld, and made her his queen.

Demeter, unable to find her daughter, rendered the earth barren while Persephone was missing.  Needing live people to worship him, and seeing no upside to mass starvation, Zeus stepped in and forced Hades to release his new bride.  Persephone was returned to her mother, but having eaten several seeds from an underworld pomegranate, she was tied to Hades forever.

(Travel advisory – skip the roadside snacks in hell.)

In a rare compromise, the gods decided to share, and Persephone spent the rest of her days splitting time between her mom’s house and her husband’s kingdom.

Mythology meets modern mixology. That was the concept.  That’s what I planned on talking about back in March, but as I said, life happened, and then, ironically, death did.

Shortly after I got home, and busy, and sick, my cousin Jamie died.  She was more than the word cousin implies, she was my little sister, my friend.  Jamie died suddenly, and young, and without much explanation.  Reeling is what I’ve been up to since it happened. In general, mornings have not been seen, work has not been done, and blogs have gone unwritten.

In dealing with the loss of Jamie, and my aunt’s grief, the myth of Persephone has taken on a whole new meaning.  I understand it better.  I know first hand that, if she could, my aunt would make it snow every day until someone gave her Jamie back.

So as the weeks have passed, and the fog has lifted, I’ve decided to revisit the Persephone.  After doing research, and discovering that there isn’t a definitive version of this cocktail (all apologies to Mr. Dionysos) I decided to come up with my own.

Because it’s summer now, I turned to gin as my base spirit.  I added homemade grenadine, pomegranate juice, and a little muddled mint.

Turns out, mint is a sacred plant closely tied to Persephone.  As the story goes, Hades cheated on Persephone with a nymph named Menthe.  When she found out, Persephone trampled on Menthe until she became a sprig of mint.

Maybe I find retribution funny, but I get a kick out of that story.  I think Jamie would too.

Here’s the recipe:
The Persephone
1 ½ oz Plymouth Gin
1 oz Pomegranate Juice
¾ Homemade Grenadine (I chose a recipe created by Jeff Hollinger, owner of Absinthe and author of “Art of the Bar”)
¼ Fresh lime Juice
3 or 4 pieces of mint
Fever Tree Bitter Lemon to taste
Mint for garnish
Put 3 or 4 pieces of mint in a Boston shaker, cover with Grenadine, and muddle ingredients until completely mixed.  Add gin, pomegranate juice, and ice, and shake until chilled.
Pour entire contents of shaker into a rocks glass.  Garnish with mint.

Jamie

The Gimlet was my first foray into big girl cocktails.  It taught me that alcohol wasn’t (entirely) meant to be consumed from plastic cups in someone’s dorm room…

After college, I lived down the block from Chicago’s iconic Green Mill, an old Capone hangout, and a really great jazz bar.  A serious establishment that, I felt, demanded a serious cocktail.  My novice attempt at “serious” was to order a martini — straight up.  It almost killed me.  I was 22 and had heard about martinis, had seen martinis (mainly in the Thin Man movies), but did not realize martinis were solid vodka, and an acquired taste.

Luckily, the Green Mill’s no-nonsense bartender was a highly trained professional.  He watched my seizure-inducing fist sip, laughed, and rescued me with a vodka gimlet.  (A drink that, to my untrained eye, seemed remarkably similar to the one I had just choked on.)  Using almost the same ingredients, the bartender tweaked the flavor profile by adding the Gimlet’s signature ingredient, Roses’ Lime.   I was amazed that such a small adjustment could transform a drink so completely.  The cocktail, still elegant in its up glass, now had a subtly, tart sweetness that cut through the chilled vodka making it far more palatable.   In an instant I went from being overwhelmed by bold alcohol, to having a new “go to drink” that was sophisticated, but simple enough to order at any bar.

These days I live in LA, appreciate a well-made martini, and prefer my gimlets with gin, fresh lime, and homemade simple syrup.  But I recognize that the Green Mill Gimlet was my gateway cocktail, and my introduction to mixology as conversation.

Gimlet

2 oz. Vodka or Gin
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup*
1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice*
(*Or substitute 1 oz. Roses’ Lime juice for Syrup and Lime Juice)

Pour ingredients into a Boston Shaker over ice
Shake until chilled
Strain into a martini glass
Garnish with a lime

Today is the 75th anniversary of the death of the 18th Amendment, otherwise known as Prohibition, and celebrations are ringing out across the land.

But first some history:

Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when at the stroke of midnight, all of America became a dry county.  The government’s intention was to end crime and drunkenness, but instead the 18th amendment crushed the country’s spirits industry, uprooted vineyards, and put the “organized” in organized crime.  To enjoy a sip of alcohol, formerly law abiding citizens turned to gangsters, smuggled it in from Canada, or made their own (with ingredients like turpentine no less).

Prohibition ushered in the birth of the dive bar and the death of mixology.  (Actually, mixology didn’t die — it’s like it pricked its finger on an enchanted FBI agent and fell into a deep dark sleep for decades.)  Bartenders like Harry Craddock (of Savoy Cocktail Book fame) and Fernand “Pete” Petiot (an architect of the Blood Mary), who had been lauded as artisans, became drug dealers overnight.  Suddenly making a gin and tonic didn’t just break the law, it violated the Constitution.  Drinking was forced into back rooms and basements as the country’s watering holes were shut down — and shut down hard.  To make a living top bartenders fled to Cuba or Europe (creating a pretty nifty cocktail culture in their wake).  The next time you have a Harvey Wallbanger in Paris, thank Prohibition.

Prohibition turned ordinary citizens into criminals for 13 years, and echos of that ill-fated amendment exist today in the form of “blue laws”.   Laws (usually socially or religiously motivated) that restrict the sale and consumption of alcohol.  Try to purchase beer before noon on Sunday (or any day in most of Utah) and you’ll see what I mean.  Seems that Americans still love righteousness and liquor in equal parts.  One can only hope that we’ve learned our lesson about making changes to the Constitution based on religious outrage….

Sorry — I just cracked myself up….

To celebrate Repeal Day:

At Home:

-Wine from California, Oregon, or Washington.
-Leopold’s Gin, small batches and American made
-Hudson Whiskey, New York’s first Post Prohibition Whiskey.

On the town:

New York
This city is chock full of bars infamous, famous, and old.  To me, this is the center of all things Prohibition. Click here for a list of the oldest bars in New York.

Chicago:
You can’t throw a bottle cap without finding a speakeasy in this city, but I recommend you head straight to The Green Mill.  One of Capone’s guys owned a stake in this place so it was open for business during most of the 20’s.  I used to live around the corner from this bar, and miss it more than you can say.  They can fit an entire jazz band on a stage that is the size of a small living room, and somehow there is still room for dancing.  If you go (and you must)sit at Capone’s table (the booth with its back to the wall, and a view of all the doors) and have a gimlet for me.

Los Angeles
The Golden Gopher has had an active liquor license since 1905.  It seems the Feds overlooked the liquor license for serving spirits to go when the confiscated the one in the bar…. Today they are celebrating Repeal day with 75-cent Dewar’s cocktails.

The Edison Downtown has a lovely celebration planned for this evening. It will include a batch of their own special Woodford Reserve Bourbon Mixture and a midnight toast to the Women’s Temperance League. Nice Touch.  Click here for my review of their cocktail hour.

New Orleans:
Well—as you can imagine—there are multiple bars celebrating this day.  Click here for an informative article, as well as a list of Nola watering holes.
Cheers.

Michigan Ave

Did you spend election night dancing in the streets?    Does your head hurt from all of the excitement?

Well, whether you’ve been screaming in celebration or smashing things in anguish, I have a morning after cocktail “experience” for you – how about a bloody Mary the size of your car?  That’ll fix what ails you….

Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap, has been dishing out soul food in Chicago’s Lincoln Park since 1993.  The place is kitschy watering hole designed to feel like a ramshackle Louisiana shack (the pre-Katrina, Disneyesque version), complete with gingham curtains and Christmas tree  Stanley’s has a full menu, a weekend brunch buffet, and plenty of high tops and big screens for sports watching.  So go ahead and torture yourself with (insert name of Chicago sports team here)  while sipping bourbon, and munching ribs.  If you feel like a little heavy lifting, belly up to their “build your own” Bloody Mary bar for a Bloody Mary experience (yes, I am going to keep calling it that).

You begins with a Big Gulp sized paper cup filled with ice, 3 ½ shots of vodka, and a straw for your sipping convenience.  Next, take the cup to the main bar where you’ll find every Bloody Mary ingredient known to man.  Want Tomato juice?  Clamato?  Both?  There’s plenty of room in that cup, so knock yourself out.  I lumped horseradish, worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco into my cocktail, and finished it off with pickles, and a shake of black pepper.

On the way back to the table I grabbed a heaping plate of fried chicken and waffles, and settled in for one of the most pleasant (if not calorically shameful) breakfasts of my life.

I plan on stealing the “build your own” idea for my next brunch.  Lining up condiments in a thoughtful way is very easy to replicate at home. It’ll get my guests moving, and keep me from playing bartender all day.

Now, how to replicate the fried chicken experience….

As a displaced Chicagoan I take my hot dogs very seriously. They have to be Vienna Beef with neon green relish. Sport peppers, celery salt, and poppy seed buns, need to be involved too. I’ve had zero luck replicating this experience in Los Angeles.

Don’t even talk to me about Pinks – it’s a lovely place – but I’m always the yahoo holding up the line while acting out what a sport pepper is. I’ve given up. Now I order take-out from Chicago — yes — the City of.

I get my fix from Lou Manati’s Tastes of Chicago, a nation wide delivery service wittily named for the city’s renowned food festival. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria is famous for deep-dish and they’ve partnered with legends like Portillo’s Hot Dogs, Carson’s Ribs, and Eli’s Cheesecake to deliver Chicago delicacies anywhere — overnight. Think about that. You could be eating authentic Chicago deep-dish tomorrow.

I’ve ordered from Lou’s for birthdays, holidays, Valentine’s Day, and recently had them cater my Presidential Debate party. (We gorged ourselves on the food pictured above while throwing back Biden Beer Bombs.)

Tastes of Chicago is an amazing party resource. They employ the most helpful service people to ever work an 800 number, have packages to feed 2 or 20, and their food will flip your guests out — especially the Chicagoans.

Lou Malnati’s packages ship quickly with the contents safely nestled in dry ice to keep them cold, and printed on the outside of their red white and blue boxes is the sentiment “Someone must love you.”

Lou — right back at you.

Order online at:

http://www.tastesofchicago.com/

Pizza by the month, and Holiday Specials are available.

It has gotten a little cocktail-centric around here, so I thought we’d stop for a snack and talk about Gyenari, a new Korean BBQ in Culver City.

Korean BBQ holds a special place in my heart.  Steve (the boyfriend) took me to one of these restaurants on our second date (in the year 400 B.C.).  He cooked, and served, and at one point failed to notice a sugar snap pea was still white hot from the grill. He spit that sucker across the table and made cartoon-like pain noises for about five minutes. No pause. No break in conversation.  No apologies.  The snap pea was hot–what else could he have done?  His unabashed commitment to the “spit-take” convinced me I really could date this guy, and date him, and date him….

The restaurant closed soon after and life has been a little darker ever since.  Then Gyenari opened in Culver City — like — five minutes ago.

Read the rest of this entry »

Enjoy the country’s current recession in a place that celebrates the Great Depression.

The Edison lounge in downtown LA had been described as a dark, industrial, 1920’s type speak easy.  Fearing it to have long lines of hipsters, and to be more design than substance, I was slow to check it out.

Mistake.  While the Edision gets close to being over-the-top, it doesn’t slip over the edge.  Their use of original metalwork and exposed brick from the power plant it once was lends a gravitas to the space that can’t be manufactured — at least not with a straight face.

I met a friend for drinks after work and we experienced no attitude, no lines, and depression era pricing.  The Edison’s Cocktail hour (happy hour for the post 1950’s world) runs weekdays 5-8 pm and is billed as “classic cocktails at vintage prices”.

The staff is beautifully tatted-up, and they move quickly against a backdrop of silent movies played in constant rotation on every available wall.  The cocktail hour menu is in effect until 8 pm, and features classic cocktails from the 20’s and 30’s.  We ordered a couple of rounds of “The Hemingway” (a mixture of sugar, champagne, and absinthe).  Absinthe, a spirit made infamous during Europe’s Belle Epoque, has been an illegal substance until very recently, and is a welcome addition to the Edison’s intriguing cocktail menu.

At 7:30 the bar began to gracefully switch from the suit and briefcase crowd to burlesque dancers and men is spats.  We headed out an hour later and the colorful crowd we encountered made me sad to leave.

For laid back, well priced drinks in an amazing setting, enjoying cocktail hour at The Edison is a powerful choice.  There is a dress code, so look sharp.

*** Update *** As mentioned in the comments below, on Wednesday nights The Edison features Lucent Dossier, a group of  Moulin Rouge style performers.  Check out their web site for shows and information.  Well worth checking out!

Ah, cupcakes, small fistfuls of baked goodness dressed in mile-high frosting.  

Cupcakes are not news.  They are ubiquitous, big business, and in Los Angeles, the center of a frosting lawsuit.   Apparently “circles” have been trademarked….

Given the hoopla, discussing these little snacks is not exactly breaking news, but I can’t keep silent about Vanilla Bake Shop anymore. Last year I received a dozen of their cupcakes for my birthday and was amazed –not only by my ability to eat twelve in one sitting–but by each cupcake’s rich flavor, incredible moistness, and frosting good enough to roll around in.  (Okay, that part might be an over-share.)

Vanilla Bake Shop’s artistry does not stop at cupcakes.  Their Parisian macaroons favorably compare to the definitive version served at Angelina’s Tearoom on the rue de Rivoli, and Vanilla’s clever dessert shots cry out to be included at your next party.

For a diverse line of delicious desserts, skip the line at Sprinkles and head out to Santa Monica for a fistful of cake.

Vanilla Bake Shop
512 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Sweets@vanillabakeshop.com
Plenty of metered parking
Prices listed on their website

A few friends came over to help me yell at the TV during the first Obama/McCain debate on September 26th. We dined on cheese-laden pizzas, apple pie, and Obamartinis — a little Obama cocktail I whipped up to take the edge off.

I assumed I was not the first person to try such a punny concoction, and in doing my due diligence – thank you broadband – I was proven right. Most Obamartini recipes were either Kahula or Bailey’s based. And while that may have been delicious, I thought perhaps it was a little too race-based for my taste. Instead, I chose to pull together a bipartisan cocktail that relies on its closest allies for support. Here’ how:

French Grey Goose Vodka or “Freedom Vodka” is the base of the cocktail. Blueberry juice provides the DNC blue, and reaching across the aisle for RNC red, I added a touch of raspberry liqueur for good measure.

Although the Obamartini stands on its own, a flag pin of a garnish lends some gravitas. I obliged with an all-American blueberry, slice of fresh strawberry, and fluffy white marshmallow layered between the two. Marshmallow was key; I needed filler that would float. Pork seemed disgusting and earmarks sink.

Stay tuned for cocktails inspired by the next round of debates!

Obamartini
2 oz original Grey Goose Vodka
1 oz fresh pressed blueberry juice
½ oz simple syrup
¼ oz Chambord
¼ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pour all ingredients over ice into a Boston Shaker
Shake until cold and strain into a martini glass
Skewer blueberry, marshmallow, and piece of strawberry (in that order) onto an olive pick and garnish away.

Repeat as needed.

Other Partisan Pours:

McCain’s Cocktail: The Maverick

The Yukon Sarah

The Soolip Wedding Show Crew

Welcome to our very first blog.

I’m in the events business in Los Angeles, and for the last five years I’ve owned a company called Bon Vivant Events. I started out by sending event staff to parties (some of the crew is pictured above). Over the years I added managing special events and planning the occasional party to the list of “things I do”.

Recently, friends began asking me to staff their parties (a dinner party runs smoother with some help in the kitchen), for cocktail suggestions, and general tips on where to get things, and how to get it all done.

It occurred to me that by cataloguing the information friends could check in and use it at their leisure. A blog is born. Its name? The Bon Vivant’s Companion.

Besides the obvious (my company’s name for one), The title comes from the first collection of cocktails ever published, How to Mix Drinks: or The Bon Vivant’s Companion was written in 1860 by Jerry Thomas and remains remarkably relevant today. That is — if shaved ice and fruit garnishes apply to your life at all in 2008.

Tipping my hat to Mr. Thomas I’ll share one cocktail a week from his book in a series called “Companion Cocktails”. Other posts will touch on general mixology, recipes for entertaining, great places to eat, and venues to throw your own events in. I’ll also talk about vendors I use as resources, and introduce you to my team of mixologists.

Most of my blogs will deal with life and times in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but I travel a bit and plan on sharing what I find while I’m out on the road.

Knowing exactly how to begin this blog or when has proven to be a challenge for me. I’m still working on the site’s design,  and want to make sure it’s easy to use, but in order to speed things up I’ve decided to make changes as I go. Please excuse the occasional dust.

My goal is for The Bon Vivant’s Companion to become a casual conversation with friends and those who stumble across us because they too enjoy good food and drink. So I’m going to do what I do best –and just start talking —

Thanks for stopping by.