THE QUAFF: End of the World Cocktail Hour

This may come as a shock to you all, but the weather here in Los Angeles is often wonderful. Such was the case this past Saturday, which aside from being absolutely beautiful was also supposed to mark the End of the Days. Well, Doomsday be damned, I was going to celebrate the weather with a …

Drinking Around The World at Epcot

As promised, here’s a video of my friend Meeshie and I “drinking around the world” at Epcot. Highlights include belly dancing, fireworks, and an unexpected (for us) concert by Nelson. Hope you enjoy! (and yes, I know the video is long, but we had to go through eleven countries!)

Trying Out Ramona Pinot Grigio

When Ramona Singer of The Real Housewives of New York City announced that she’d launched her own brand of Pinot Grigio, I knew I had to try it. The wine, aptly named Ramona Pinot Grigio (as opposed to something silly like ‘TRUE Pinot Grigio’) isn’t available in stores on the West Coast, but as luck …

THE QUAFF: 11 Amazing Cocktails From Library Bar

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or Orlando), hand-crafted cocktails are all the rage these days. It’s all about mixology, and Los Angeles (as well as San Francisco) seems to be at the forefront of the whole movement. Whether it be a speakeasy (Roger Room), a hideaway (La Descarga), a restaurant (Hungry Cat), …

THE QUAFF: Roasted Red Pepper Juleps

How dreadful that it’s been practically three weeks since I last updated anything in The Quaff category. Well, I’ve been behind on all my posting in general, but I’m determined to catch up, beginning with a new addition to this category. I’m happy to report I have a fun item that I whipped up with …

THE QUAFF: The Mysterious Stranger

Some things look beautiful but taste average. Some things look nasty but taste really good. And some things look bad and taste worse. When my friend IndianJones and I endeavored to make The Mysterious Stranger cocktail from Paul Abercrombie’s Organic, Shaken & Stirred cocktail book, we had some serious fears that the cocktail would fall …

Happy Hour At Nick & Stef’s in Downtown LA

Recently I enjoyed a media comped Happy Hour experience at esteemed downtown LA steakhouse Nick & Stef’s. I’d never eaten at the trendy establishment, but when I saw a glimpse of the cocktails on display, I was more than intrigued. $5 Moscow Mule? Drop EVERYTHING (although, ironically I didn’t have one). Anyway, I didn’t get …

Judging the Southwest Regional Barista Competition, or How I Learned To Live With Abdominal Cramping

Photo via LAist This past weekend I had the supreme joy of judging the Southwest Regional Barista Championship, which saw baristas from California, Hawaii, Arizona, Colorado descend on Hollywood all with the hopes of advancing on to the U.S. Championships. Some of you may have read my tortured account of getting certification for this event, …

THE QUAFF: More National Margarita Day Fun

Since today is National Margarita Day, I knew I had to post a bonus Quaff. The only problem is that I haven’t recently created or sampled a new margarita to profile (actually, not true — I tasted my friend Sly’s margarita at the Thompson hotel last week, but I neglected to take photos; so that …