“Sun Also Rises” at MB Post

March 2, 2012 Leave a comment

"Sun Also Rises" at MB Post

Any drink with Blood Orange can't be too bad: Sun Also Rises

I cannot eat often enough at Manhattan Beach Post.  In less than a year, it has gone from South Bay newcomer to So Cal institution. The most recent of their many noteworthy accolades was the announcement that Chef David LeFevre and his very popular “social house” are up for two 2012 James Beard Awards (“Best Chef, Pacific” and “Best New Restaurant”). Unlike at one of their newer neighbors with an ocean view, the food at MB Post is the center of attention, and rightfully so.

That said, the drinks are a a worthy compliment to chef David’s consistently kick-ass cuisine. GM Jerry Garbus has put together a lengthy, eclectic wine list, with an extra 30 labels available by the glass as 3- or 6-oz pours. There’s a strong beer selection too.  In addition, the folks behind the bar (Beau du Bois, Greg Westcott, and Sais Roses have been the mixologists) offer a constantly changing array of “hand-crafted cocktails” (their description) that invariably involve them putting their own spin on classic drinks. For example, there is “Virgil’s ascent:” negroni w/ hendricks, aperol, pomegranate seed, clove (it was good, not great).

For the most part, I’ve found their cocktails to be somewhere between pretty good and very good, though none of them have depth of flavor that the best ones can have.  I will give them credit for going well with the food, and if the objective was specifically to create drinks that would pair with Chef David’s food without overpowering it, then mission accomplished. The one cocktail I’ve had there that could stand on its own was the “Manhattan Avenue” — a Manhattan w/ Sazerac rye, vanilla, caramel, and bacon dust — now that was good stuff.

The first time I ever ordered a drink at Milk & Honey in NY, I asked for something scotch-based and they brought me a Blood and Sand.  I’ve had a soft spot in my heart (and liver) for it ever since, so last night, I decided to try the “Sun Also Rises” — a riff on a Blood and Sand with Compass Box “Oak Cross” scotch, rhubarb, and blood orange. Compass Box seemed like an extravagant, if tasty, choice as the base. In the end, the whole concoction was enjoyable, if a bit one-note. The rhubarb and blood orange matched up together nicely, but I would have preferred a little more scotch flavor coming through.

I’ve also tried having them make a Penicillin for me once, but  it wasn’t quite right.  I wondered whether or not they had actually used any Islay scotch because there was no hint of peat or smoke whatsoever.  Moreover, the honey and ginger flavors were a bit cloying and out of balance.

Next time I’m there, I’ll probably go back to drinking wine or beer — at least until they change the cocktail menu again.

Related Post:

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Photo credit:  CK Dexter Haven

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Visiting the speakeasies of New York: Death and Company

December 17, 2011 Leave a comment

The name might scare you, but don’t let it.  There is nothing frightening here, especially if you want a grown-up place to get a good drink and hang out.

Strictly speaking, Death and Company is not a speakeasy since it isn’t hidden from view, it’s location is public, and it even has a guy out front manning the door even on a weeknight.  It also has some magnificent drinks, a vibe that feels contemporary without being hipster, and a staff that is refreshingly cordial and friendly.  I like to think of it as Milk & Honey without the mystery or, alternately, Milk & Honey gone to grad school.

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Visiting the speakeasies of New York: Please Don’t Tell (PDT)

December 7, 2011 1 Comment

The legendary entrance to PDT. . . . Seriously, it is.

At first blush, Please Don’t Tell (or “PDT” as it is often called) takes the nouveau speakeasy concept of Milk & Honey — nondescript entrance leading to bar with limited seating manned by a mixologist — up a notch or two.  Despite those similarities, a visit to the two venues feels completely different:  where Milk & Honey is a hideaway where the focus is on the beverages, PDT seems like more of a gimmick destination that luckily happens to have some very good drinks.

The most famous thing (dare I say, the best thing) PDT has going for it is its kitschy entrance:

  1. You first have to go into Crif Dogs hot dogs, easily identifiable by the large hot dog shaped sign hanging over the sidewalk with “Eat Me” scrawled across it in faux mustard.
  2. Once inside, you will find an unmarked phone booth (BTW:  have any twentysomethings ever used a real working phone booth before in their lives?).
  3. Once inside said phone booth, you pick up the phone, follow the instructions in front of you, and voila! — the “wall” of the phone booth opens to reveal a person who asks if you have a reservation.

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Visiting the speakeasies of New York: Milk & Honey

November 15, 2011 2 Comments

Penicillin. Will cure any ailment. Maybe.

For me, Milk & Honey is kinda like the music you listened to in high school:  regardless of how much your everyday tastes may have changed or your repertoire has diversified, you’ll always have a soft spot for it and return to it often.

It may be tough to say who reignited the speakeasy and mixology movements, but a case could probably be made for Sasha Petraske, Sam Ross, and the other folks associated with this SoHo watering hole.  What began as a small, unassuming neighborhood place on an unlikely street near Chinatown is now a legend.  Some things have changed over the years, but its primary appeal remains constant:  it is a great spot for you and a few friends to enjoy truly amazing drink concoctions while actually being able to carry on a conversation without having to shout.

If you only go to one New York speakeasy in your whole lifetime, make it this one.

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Visiting the speakeasies of New York: A prologue

November 5, 2011 3 Comments

For about ten years, I used to travel to New York regularly for business — as often as once every other month. Work took up most of my time, but I usually had opportunities to take in the local scene, both high-brow (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Broadway, among others) and low-brow (Broadway, Meat Packing district, insert various lounge/club/dive here). Then the economy started to slump, priorities changed at The Day Job, and before I realized it, it had been two years since I had visited Manhattan. Even though I am decidedly NOT a NY apologist, I actually found myself missing my visits there.

My recent and upcoming trips to the city have given me cause to revisit old haunts and find some new ones, especially since some of the folks accompanying me have only done touristy New York. As the work schedule unfortunately conflicts with any hope I may have of seeing a concert, opera, or other such thing, I decided to concentrate my off-duty time (and that of my associates tagging along) on exploring the burgeoning speakeasy scene in Manhattan.

This is not exactly a new trend, and New York certainly does not have a monopoly on the concept. I remember the first visit I took many years ago to an unmarked grey box on Melrose that went by the name Smalls K.O. where you had an equal chance to be drinking next to Pasadena preppies, local bikers, and/or Anthony Kiedis and Flea; Smalls would morph into Kane, and eventually became the legendary Forty Deuce, itself an homage to the raunchier past of 42nd Street in NY. In the 90′s, countless Trents, Mikes, and other hipsters would head to the corner of Vine and Santa Monica and search for the “Bargain Clown Mart” sign, the marker for the nondescript building below it which housed Three of Clubs (or “Three Clubs” as it is now called).

All that said, there are two important differences between such local places and the New York spots that I began to frequent in the new millennium:

  1. The rise of “mixology” and the return to hand-crafted fancy drinks using fresh ingredients, non-generic alchohol, and a little imagination. These were cocktails that a guy could drink without fear of sullying his coolness; there wasn’t a single pink umbrella in sight.
  2. Some of the locations were actually real-life speakeasies back in the days when the 18th Amendment and Volstead Act were the laws of the land. And even if they weren’t, there was some inherent New York grittiness (the dank smell on the sidewalk and piles of trash in front of the unmarked door) that added to the authentic feel.

Of course, being able to walk — er, um, stumble — from place to place, or take a $10 cab ride if needed, makes the idea of going to a strange location to try out multiple stiff drinks a bit more tolerable than, say, having to convince one of your friends to be a designated driver as you jaunt from Downtown to Hollywood to the Westside exploring the L.A. scene.

So that’s what I’ve been doing lately in my spare time away from home. It’s been an interesting exploration so far. Details are forthcoming.

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Photo credits:

  • “Speakeasy:”  University of Southern California
  • Bargain Clown Mart sign:  Three Clubs

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