Archive for the ‘The Edison Lounge’ tag
The Edison Downtown LA
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!
