6.24.2009

Stay Gold, Ponyboy

Name: Copa d'Oro
Coordinates: 217 Broadway Ave. Santa Monica 90401
Neighborhood: Santa Monica, brah!
Happiest Hours: All night Mondays, 6-8 Tuesdays-Fridays




I don't usually go in for fads.

I got my first Nintendo in 1997. I bought the first Interpol album last week. And I plan on getting one of those fixed-gear bikes the kids are riding sometime during Obama's second term.

There is, however, one current trend that I've been on the cutting edge of from Day One, and that is for the renewed appreciation for classic, well-mixed cocktails that hearken back to halcyon days of yore.

I offer the following as proof -- as my wife, my gastroenterologist, and my sponsor can all attest, I've been sucking back Manhattans for years now, I have a Moscow Mule instead of my morning OJ, and to me, coffee isn't real unless it's "Irish-ed up." Look, I don't need to defend myself to you.

But I'm just saying that this recent interest in cocktail culture is one trend I can get behind. After all, we covered Cole's in this blog already, and I do believe it got a pretty solid review. Much like, I'm comfortable in saying, the review that Copa d'Oro is going to get in 3...2...1.

I heard through the grapevine that Santa Monica's Copa d'Oro was, just this week, getting a new bartender who had a reputation as being quite the cocktailsmith. He had set up the bar at Comme Ca, a place well-known for its handcrafted drinks and attention to the kind of details that all of us fin de siecle fetishists go wild for. His name is Joel, and I knew he was my kind of barman when, after being asked if he preferred the title "mixologist" or "bartender," he replied, "I don't care what you call me as long as you don't call me late to cocktail hour."

Sigh.

The Vitals: Copa d'Oro is a small, dark place just off the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Don't let the adjacent horribleness sway you, though -- this place has EVERYTHING going for it. Great drinks -- the Gold Rush, the Moscow Mule, the Aviation, and Tommy's Margarita were all standouts. Great prices -- the Happy Hour (6-8pm Tuesday-Friday, ALL NIGHT Monday) gives $5 signature drinks and great paninis between $4-$6. And, just in general, this place has the best bartenders...uh, mixologists, that I've come across in LA. These guys know their stuff, and they share it proudly with the patrons. Fresh ingredients, gleaming barware, and obscure but delicious liquors are all on clear display, but the most obvious display is the talent and passion of the guys in the vests.

Oh, by the way...

HappyHourLA is hosting its first ever HappyHour! On Friday, June 26th (that's in two days), we're gathering at Citizen Smith in Hollywood to celebrate...well, Happy Hour. Don't you understand by now that the only reason you need is Happy Hour? Click on the invitation-looking-graphic to your right for more info...

6.19.2009

The Well Is Dry. It Will be Filled Again.

Fear not, fans, fellow tipplers, Irishmen, dockworkers, and various drink enthusiasts.

We haven't gone away. We've been here all along. The year is 1962, and we're private detectives on the motorcycle circuit.

No, wait. That was my dream last night. In reality, we here at HappyHourLA have been busy working on a big, big Happy Hour-related project. We're not telling what it is yet, but we will give you a hint. And that hint is over at our HappyHourLA Facebook fan page. Join the page. Look under "events." And do what the page says.

I'll leave you with the following sentiment. On June 26th (that's next Friday for the chronologically-impaired), the Happy Hour landscape of Los Angeles will be forever changed. In a good way.

A very good way.

6.11.2009

Panic On The Streets Of Woodland Hills

Name: Pickwick Pub
Coordinates: 21010 Ventura Blvd. 91364
Neighborhood: The Valley outside, Dickensian London inside
Happiest Hours : 5-7, M-F


I've never claimed to be a world traveler.

For example, I've never been to England. I don't know what makes a British pub in, say, Santa Monica, more authentic than one in Woodland Hills. I have no way, as yet, to compare either establishment, neither of which are located in England and therefore equally inauthentic in that regard, with the real McCoy.

I just have to take their respective words for it.

And by that, I mean I literally take their words for it. Pleasing English accent on the barman/maid? Authentic. American accent? Charlatans. When I belly up to a bar that flies the Union Jack outside, I want to be called "governor," not "dude." I want to see darts being tossed, football on Sky, and shepherd's pie being devoured. If I walk through the door and I don't get at least two out of three, I'm out of there.

I guess I have high standards like that. I tend to have high standards for places I've never been to. And, in keeping with those standards, I deem Pickwick Pub in Woodland Hills to be the real deal.

The Vitals: Pickwick Pub on Ventura Boulevard is a pleasing enough English transplant here in Los Angeles. It's a lot like, say, Minnie Driver or Kate Beckinsale -- you don't really think about them unless they're right there in front of you, but when they are, things works out pretty well. As far as Happy Hour goes, it's a pretty English one. It goes from 5-7pm, and it's $5 for all draft beers with a few food specials scattered about. Needless to say, I stuck to what England is known to do well and not with what they're known to do badly. In all, though, not a bad place to throw back a pint, talk Lakers, and dream of the days when Britannia ruled the waves.

6.07.2009

Not-So-Sweet Valley High...


Name: Kabuki Japanese Restaurant
Coordinates: 20940 Ventura Blvd.
91364
Neighborhood: The Valley. Like, duh!
Happiest Hours: 3-6pm, M-F












Let me tell you something about being from the Midwest.

Growing up on the Heartland isn't all catching fireflies, the smell of freshly mowed grass, and bottle rocket fights. It's not like the Coug says in "Jack and Diane" -- well, at least not entirely. There's a dark side to it that you don't read about in "Winesburg, Ohio" and the like. A dark suffering overlays the whole area at certain times and in certain ways. But what ways, you might ask?

Well, for one, you can't get good sushi.

















I know. Shocking, right? But being 600 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, 1200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and 2500 miles from the Pacific Ocean does not augur well for the freshness of any given catch. Lake Erie perch and walleye are all well and good, but you'll likely not find those on the special board at Urusawa.

Let's just say that our favorite staple from the bounty and bosom of the seas, aside from the aforementioned native species, comes in a box with the picture of a man in a yellow slicker.

Mmmm....fish sticks.





















But I digress. My point here is that when a Midwesterner like me moves to California, he's bombarded with all these options as to where to get sushi. I mean, that first drive down Ventura Boulevard was something to behold. Sushi place after sushi place, each with deals and each with beckoning signature rolls...how's a barefoot boy with cheek of tan supposed to decide?

My first decsion, and first favorite sushi place in LA, shows these six years later my stunning naivete. Kabuki Sushi, although rife with deals and value, just doesn't have that great of sushi. It's well-priced, and to the uninitiated, it'll do the trick, but there's many a better option for sushi, and even for Happy Hour sushi, in this fair city of ours.

If you have a rube that's fallen fresh off the turnip truck, though, I say you stuff him with it.




















The Vitals: As I mentioned, Kabuki's sushi is pretty mediocre. If you can deal with that, though, then by all means, roll in between 3pm and 6pm. There's a variety of rolls, sushi, and appetizers that are priced between $3.95 and $5.95, and giant beers are $4.95 with deals on various cocktails, wine, sake, and the like. The Ventura Boulevard location in Woodland Hills is nice and clean, if filled with Valley high schoolers (shudder!), and parking is ample. If you can overlook the gnawing feeling in your gut that keeps telling you that you could be doing better -- a LOT better -- then you should, like, TOTALLY go. You know?

6.03.2009

By Way of Explanation...

I'm sure that, upon reading the post beneath this -- not coincidentally, our first new review in some time -- that you, gentle reader, were struck by a few things. First, I'm sure you were taken aback by its wit, clarity, and commitment to excellence in every way. That, of course, goes without saying.

But if you're like me -- handsome, a helluva dancer, and a certified menace on the squash AND racquetball courts -- you probably also noticed something else -- an unfamiliar graphic at the bottom of the post. You know, the one with some circles on it, and maybe some words nearby...you know the one?

Well, fellow imbiber, that graphic is not just for looks. Sure, it looks good -- that's part of the "commitment to excellence" to which I was referring earlier -- but it also serves a very important purpose. You'll note the word "rated" on the left side of the graphic. That, friends, means that the graphic serves as a quick, visual reminder of our highly subjective, often Byzantine, and sometimes downright cruel rating of any given place.

It's sort of a sop to this fast-paced, infographic, USA Today-esque world we live in. If you want to see what the team here at HappyHourLA thought of a given place, and you're too busy or too emotionally dead on the inside to bask in some truly beautiful language and cutting insights, you can just look at the pictures and know, instantly, how kickass this place really is.

Here's the breakdown:


One Ring: This rating means do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be dragged here. If you're the proprietor of this establishment, you should probably sell this dump and go man a tollbooth somewhere. In short, avoid at all costs.


Two Rings: OK, now we're getting somewhere. A place with this rating attached to it probably has at least one thing going for it. Cute chicks, good jukebox, nickel beers...something. Maybe worth poking your head in if you're feelin' frisky.


Three Rings: This is a place where you might find yourself even AFTER Happy Hour ends. I know, it sounds crazy, but this place might even have something that's worth...gulp...paying full price. Not a bad joint, in our estimation. Why don't you buy a round for the group to celebrate?


Four Rings: Why haven't you heard about this place yet? I'll tell you why...because you're busy spending your hard-earned money on a place that doesn't care if you live or die. The place with this rating, on the other hand, DOES care, and makes it easy, enjoyable, and highly enriching for you to come here. At a place like this, you never know what you'll see, but you can be damn certain that if we gave it this rating, it's going to be good.


Five Rings: Shangri-fucking-La. Drop what you're doing. Put the papers back in the "To Do" box, shove your stupid boss's stupid cornflower blue tie in his mouth, walk out the door, drive immediately here, and plan on calling a cab to get home. You're in it for the long haul. This place is the best of what's around.

C'est Formidable!


I took six years of French in school, spread out between high school and college, and "C'est Formidable!" is the best I can muster to describe our recent HappyHourLA outing at La Poubelle. Sure, I can tell you the finer plot points of "Les Jeux Sont Faits" or quote you a poem by Paul Verlaine, but ask me a simple question in French, and I'll just stare back blankly. In fact, you can actually see the gears in my mind turning as I vainly struggle to come up with an answer.

Oh, I know "C'est formidable" is an apt enough description, and I know that any attempt to dabble in the mother tongue of a place is always appreciated. I just wish I could come up with a little more of a flowery, verbose, and otherwise laudatory description of a place that so tickled our assembled coterie's fancy.

In fact, scratch that. "Formidable" doesn't even come close to describing the many hours we spent at this place -- hours that passed by like minutes, accented (get it?) by fine food, hearty drink, and, much to my chagrin, a Lakers' victory. I guess you can't have it all.

But we came awfully damn close at La Poubelle. Not only did they ensure that we had the virtual run of the place, but the owner, Francoise, made it her personal mission to make sure we were doing well. I like that. You know, feeling like a big man? It's why I almost joined the police force.

But that's a story for another day.

The Vitals: La Poubelle is a great French place tucked away in Franklin Village, and it offers all that you could hope for and more in such a place. It's small-ish, dimly-lit, and has a lively scene out on the smoking patio. The food is outstanding (I recommend heartily the fries, the mussels, and the white pizza) and well-priced for Happy Hour. The drinks are also well-priced ($3 house beers, $5 drafts and well drinks) and well-poured, and you know how important that is to me. In all, it was indeed "tres chouette."

In all, La Poubelle was one of the more satisfying Happy Hour experiences our crew has had to date. It almost had me on the table, belting out "La Marseillaise" while waving the tricoleur.

Almost.

6.01.2009

Open the Pod Bay Doors, HAL...

http://roddysrockinreviews.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/hal.jpg

After an unplanned (and unfun) hiatus, I'm proud to report that HappyHourLA is back up and running.

It's amazing how much computers (or the lack of them) can cripple you and your everyday life. I suppose it's only a matter of time before Skynet (led by Cyberdyne's Miles Bennett Dyson) really does control everything.

Anyway, we're back, and lest you think otherwise, we haven't been exactly resting on our laurels here, eating grapes hand-fed to us by our wives' handmaidens. We've been all over town -- Westside, The Valley, Franklin Village, and so on. I've got a major backlog of reviews to get up here, so stay tuned.