Hot Bartenders in Hollywood Bar Crawl Recap

The Hot Bartenders Crawl rolled through Hollywood last week. Our first stop was Wood & Vine. We managed to snag a couple of seats at the bar and lay down a foundation of food that night for our long night ahead. I enjoy the food quite a bit at Wood & Vine and it’s a great option before seeing a show at the Pantages. I tried the market salad and the red wine risotto with pork belly while friends enjoyed the charcuterie plates. Pricing is very reasonable.

At first I wasn’t sure what the red wine risotto would be like but it turned out to be rather smooth and creamy. I liked the crispy bits of pork belly in the dish but some found it a bit salty. I made the right choice with the market salad as it came with burrata.

My friend asked for a Blood and Sand and Stefanie Seifer, the bartender asked if we were into craft cocktails. My friend mentioned I was and so the bartender asked me for the specs. I knew basically what was in it but not the proportions. In case you ever want to make it at home, it’s .75 oz each of Scotch, Orange Juice, Cherry Herring and Sweet Vermouth. After tasting it, I would actually probably do a bit more Scotch and cut down the OJ. But I like my drinks less sweet. I would never be that specific at a bar though as that’s probably annoying to a bartender. I was drinking a Derby (Buffalo Trace bourbon, Benedictine, Peychaud’s bitters, flamed orange) and was ready to try something else.

Stefanie decided to make me something with Bols Genever and Redemption Rye. We were suddenly new best pals because she knew what I liked! There was also Benedictine and Miracle Mile yuzu bitters as well as grapefruit oils. It was lovely and I wished I could stay all night but we had to move on to the next stop. Actually, when I originally planned the crawl, I had Hemingway’s in mind but they were closed that particular Wednesday and Osaka just closed. Next on our list was Lexington Social House but we spent so much time at Wood & Vine, we went directly to Sadie.

Wood & Vine

6280 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 – (323) 334-3360

Over at Sadie, I was welcomed back along with my crew of lovely ladies.

I normally don’t go for sweet sounding cocktails but having had success with every cocktail I tried from Giovanni Martinez‘s list, I decided to try the La China on whim. Made with lychee black tea infused tequila, Velvet Falernum, lime and agave, the cocktail is shaken and served up. My friends loved Pontchatrain, Oaxacan in Italy and the custom cocktails Greg and the boys came up with at the bar.

Greg brought these Mozart Chocolate Bitters back from London. He discovered the bitters while at London Cocktail Week last year. A single drop is potent enough to make a cocktail luscious smelling.

We couldn’t leave without having the Bitter Float. It’s still one of my favorites there. This time we had it with Aperol and the Peychaud’s ice cream. I wonder how it’d go with another amaro next time.

On to the next stop!

Sadie

1638 N Las Palmas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028 – (323) 467-0200

We arrived to Library Bar where Matt Biancaniello was holding down the fort with his charming bowls and baskets of fresh produce. What should we get today?

I’m the whiskey girl so Matt made me a tangelo whiskey sour. It was lovely and light and kept me extra loquacious.

I’m sure everyone thought their own drink was their favorite though I have to give a special nod to the mezcal and tequila cocktails Matt whipped up. The Mezcal with the homemade sriracha was so pretty with the purple flowers.

When we left, the other bartender called goodbye after us. We were dubbed Matt-sters. Well, what an honor! He surely is the hottest bartender of Library Bar and perhaps the other ‘tender may have been a wee bit jealous?

 Library Bar

Roosevelt Hotel 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 — 323-466-7000

At the Spare Room, Milagro Tequila Brand Ambassador Gaston Martinez was guest bartending. We enjoyed a bevy of beverages featuring the tequila including trying the Milagro Unico which is the base of Spare Room’s Coctel Unico (Milagro Unico, Dolin vermouth, Pernod & Aperol essenses – $75). There are only 60 or so bottles of this tequila in LA county and Spare Room had the majority of them. We tried it straight with a sangrita made with chile, lime, cilantro and pineapple. It was lovely. Spare Room Beverage Director Naomi Schimek later told me the sangrita got even better the next day.

Would a green sangrita be a verdita? Well yes, that’s what Milagro calls it!

All cocktails at Spare Room were made with Milagro. My fave turned out to be the tall Collins style one. Some liked the one garnished with an orchid and the berries was easy drinkin’.

What a beautiful night! We found plenty of hot bartenders and even hotter cocktails. Stay tuned for the next Minty crawl. You never know where I will end up next for a good cocktail and hot bartenders.

Spare Room

Mezzanine Level of the Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 – 323-769-7296

 

© The Minty 2012