Posts Tagged ‘drinks’
Good afternoon tea spots are hard to find. Los Angeles has a diverse collection of tea houses that range from traditional English to sleek and modern—you just have to know where to look. All the classics are present, from luxury hotels to Asian-inspired tea rooms. Here are our top 10 favorite spots:
10. Tudor House, Santa Monica
This Santa Monica tea room is classic English, casual, and perfect for tea followed by some beach time or shopping at Third Street Promenade. You won’t be fawned over by white glove waiters, nor hear harpists strum. Instead you can relax, enjoy classic English fare and pastries, then grab a pint at the English pub next door.
Tudor House Santa Monica
1403 2nd Street
Santa Monica, California
310.451.8470
Sweden is home to the famous Ice Hotel, located way up north in Swedish Lapland, where you can sleep on ice beds in an artistically sculpted ice room and dine on ice dishes with drinks in ice cups in the dead of winter. Adventurous couples can even get married in the ice chapel. (I fully considered this.) If your plans don’t include a northern jaunt during the winter months, you can still get your icy fix at the Icebar inside downtown Stockholm’s Nordic Sea Hotel.
We were recently invited to tour the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin to see what Irish magic goes into brewing the world famous porter. Join us for a glimpse behind the curtain.
Along Washington Boulevard in Culver City is a nondescript barber shop. Step inside and you’ll likely see customers getting spruced up in the barber chair. But head on to the back of the joint and give a knowing nod to the man by the unmarked white door and you’ll find yourself inside a hidden corridor behind the barber shop.
The St. Regis hotel in Beijing is home to a number of the city’s hottest dining spots and watering holes. Highlights range from Cantonese to Italian cuisine, and from a cigar lounge to a steakhouse with city views. Yet one standout among these is the Press Club Bar, a stylish find located just off the hotel’s opulent main lobby.
Outside the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, a giant Polynesian Moai statue greets those seeking a little tropical bliss. Wedged between a brightly-lit bridal shop and a model store on a quiet strip of Victory Boulevard sits the oldest remaining tiki joint in Los Angeles, dating back to 1958.
The Birth of the Tiki Bar
The tiki bar itself was an L.A. concoction, pioneered with Don’s Beachcomber Cafe in the 1930’s, which quickly became popular with Hollywood celebrities. This ushered in an era of south seas chic that saw the spread of tiki establishments across the country, famous for their exotic cuisine, rum-based cocktails, and wonderful island atmosphere. Created to give late night revelers dreamy island vibes to swoon over, tiki bars served as houses of island kitsch filled with the rich iconography of far away destinations like Tahiti, Fiji, Easter Island, Hawaii, and The Cook Islands, to name a few.
Why use ordinary, everyday ice cubes in your drink when you can add some style to your booze? Here are 3 drinks to pour over these themed ice cubes from Fred & Friends:
1. The Godfather
What’s in It:
1½ oz Scotch
½ oz Amaretto
How to Make It:
Pour the Amaretto over the Scotch and stir well. To make The Godmother, substitute Scotch with Vodka.
Today’s elixir of the week is a warm winter favorite: the Hot Buttered Toddy.
1/4 cup of bourbon
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
boiling-hot water
a small pat of butter
Combine the bourbon and lemon juice, then and add boiling water and stir in a spoonful of honey. Finally float the pat of butter on top, and enjoy!
Los Angeles insider tip: Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie in Agoura Hills serves up a fabulous Hot Buttered Toddy that goes down nicely with their equally delicious soft pretzel starter, which comes with multiple gourmet dipping mustards.
[ photo via Ireland Whiskey Trail ]
The Green Dragon cocktail’s got substantial bite, and you gotta love its mystical green glow.
2 measures vodka
1 measure green Chartreuse
Yep that’s it! Shake with ice and strain before serving.
The special thing about the Green Dragon is the Chartreuse. Consisting of an aromatic grape brandy base flavored with over 130 herbs and plants, it happens to be made by a silent order of Monks near Grenoble, France. Chartreuse is typically aged in casks for up to 5 years and comes in both a yellow and green variety, the green being quite intense compared to its sweeter sibling.
The Bloodhound
All the rage in 1920′s London, order a Bloodhound for a refreshing punch of strawberry.
On a recent evening out on the town, I encountered a bar with a cocktail list so long and exotic I was compelled to look up individual drinks on my phone first just to figure them out. This made me realize how in need of expansion my staple cocktail list is. This led to more thinking, and more drinking.
Voila! Culture Vixen’s elixir of the week was born. As each work week comes to a close, why not break up the monotony of endless gin and tonics, cosmos, and tequila sunrises? We’ll be bringing you a fresh new cocktail to help you unwind into the weekend. As always, your suggestions are welcome.
Here’s our pick of the week:
Bloodhound
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz sweet red vermouth
1/4 oz crème de fraise
6 strawberries
[ photo via cocktail culture ]
