The Winter 2011 dineLA Restaurant Week list of participants is now live, with nearly 300 restaurants throughout Los Angeles County offering specially-priced three-course lunches and dinners. Now in its sixth season, the Winter edition of the bi-annual dining event will take place from January 23-28 and January 30-February 4, 2011. dineLA is an initiative created by LA INC. and American Express to showcase Los Angeles as a premier dining destination, and offers diners a chance to sample from some of the city’s top restaurants.

“We are fortunate to live in Los Angeles, where we have access to such a variety of dining options, from long-standing institutions to new restaurants by nationally acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs,” says Mark Liberman, president and CEO of LA INC. “dineLA Restaurant Week is a testament to our local talent and consistently offers an impressive list of participants.”

For this edition, dineLA welcomes newcomers Beechwood (with Top Chef All-Star Jamie Lauren), the iconic Inn of the Seventh Ray, and after many dineLA fan requests, The Hungry Cat. In addition to The Hungry Cat, some of L.A.’s finest cocktail destinations are returning as dineLA participants, including Bar | Kitchen, The Bazaar, Comme Ça, Drago Centro, First & Hope and The Raymond (1886).

dineLA Restaurant Week offers three dining categories (Deluxe, Premier, and Fine Dining) with specially-priced prix fixe meals for lunch and dinner. Diners can choose from three options for each course, including appetizer, entrée, and dessert.

Lunch / Dinner

• Deluxe Dining: $16 / $26
• Premier Dining: $22 / $34
• Fine Dining: $28 / $44

American Express Cardmembers will be able to register any eligible American Express Card to receive a $20 statement credit when they dine three or more times during dineLA Restaurant Week at participating restaurants.

dineLA’s Hotel Program is being offered again this year, which allows hotel properties with participating restaurants to offer special dineLA rates and culinary packages.

For more information, visit: dineLA.com/RestaurantWeek.

Win the Ultimate Culinary Road Trip: “Eat Your Way from SF 2 LA”
dineLA is partnering with Acura and The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau for the “Eat Your Way From SF 2 LA” sweepstakes. One lucky winner and a guest will win a culinary road trip that takes place from Jan. 27th to Feb. 1st. The tour begins in San Francisco, travels down the West Coast, and culminates in a two-day, food-filled stay in Los Angeles during the Winter 2011 dineLA Restaurant Week. The chariot for this journey will be the all-new Acura TSX Sport Wagon. Entry and contest details are available at the official dineLA website.

On Thursday, August 5th, the Hatchi Mix Series returns to Breadbar Century City, featuring guest mixologists Max Seaman and Jeff Knudsen (Comme Ça) and their menu of specialty cocktails. As reported by Josh Lurie, Matt Biancaniello (The Library Bar at The Roosevelt) cancelled his previously scheduled Hatchi Mix appearance. With only two weeks to go before the event, Hatchi Mix curator Devon Espinosa (The Tasting Kitchen) was able to bring in Seaman and Knudsen, who are presenting “Cedilla: A Suite of Cocktails” on Thursday night.

Inspired by the popular Hatchi Guest Chef Series, Hatchi Mix invites imbibers to experience the evolution of the cocktail, from the classic era to its cutting edge, through a monthly series of special one night-only menus. Taking a cue from its name (hatchi is the number “8″ in Japanese), each unique Hatchi Mix menu features eight cocktails, priced at $8 each.

To go with the Comme Ça duo’s libations, Breadbar will serve its Pizza Mixo menu, featuring crisp pizzas made with its famous bread starter, as well as the full bistro menu.

The Hatchi Mix launch featured “Vive le Cocktail,” a menu of classics from Espinosa. Subsequent installments have showcased cocktail menus from former Caña GM Joel Black (“Rum Amok”) and Rivera mixologist Julian Cox (“Tequila in 3 Magical Acts”).

Hatchi Mix 4
Thursday, August 5, 2010
6pm-10pm
Featuring:

• “Cedilla: A Suite of Cocktails” by Max Seaman and Jeff Knudsen
• “Pizza Mixo” menu by Breadbar
• Eight specialty cocktails for $8 each

Breadbar Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd. (R-2)
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 277-3770
www.breadbar.net

Wines by the glass or beer are half price, while the following signature 18A cocktails are $6 each:

• Vodka Daisy – vodka, lemon, house-made curaçao
• Mojito – rum, lime, simple syrup, mint
• Rye Smash – rye, lemon wedges, honey, mint

The Hourglass Menu also features dishes available exclusively at the bar, including: fried oysters with sauce gribiche ($9), pulled pork sliders with pickled shallots and arugula ($8), and Poutine made with pomme frites, topped with Vermont white cheddar curds, sausage gravy and sunny side egg ($8).

You can view the Hourglass Menu here. Just make sure you’re at Comme Ça before time runs out!

Hourglass Menu at Comme Ça
Nightly from 5-7pm
8479 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 782-1104
www.commecarestaurant.com

Cheers to a fantastic 2010!

NEW YEAR’S EVE 2009
Thursday, December 31, 2009

8 oz. Burger Bar
Govind Armstrong’s Melrose eatery closes its doors to throw a private New Year’s Eve Party, and you’re invited.

• Passed appetizers, dessert buffet, Champagne toast at midnight, and a DJ
• $35 pre-sale, $45 at the door

8 oz. Burger Bar
9pm-2am
7661 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
www.8ozburgerbar.com
Reservations: (323) 852-0008

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Comme Ça
“Les Années Folles”
Take the Wayback Machine to 1920′s Paris with Comme Ça’s prix fixe menu, featuring Amuse, Relevés, Supplement, Entrées, Pièces de Resistance, and Le Dessert courses.

• Five-course tasting menu: $95
• Wine pairings: $35 (standard) or $60 (premium)
• Champagne toast
• Period attire encouraged but not required

Comme Ça
Seatings begin at 5pm
8479 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
www.commecarestaurant.com
Reservations: (323) 782-1104 or maria@commecarestaurant.com

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Copa d’Oro
Just in time to ring in the new year, Copa d’Oro recently debuted four punches, including the appropriately-named 2010 (Sazerac Rye, Sweet Sherry, Elderflower Liqueur, fresh lemon juice, organic pear juice, Prosecco). No cover, two price points for table reservations.

Premium Tables

• $50/person (minimum four guests)
• Includes 1 bottle of Louis Roederer

Standard Tables

• $25/person (minimum four guests)
• Includes 1 bottle of Prosecco

Copa d’Oro
Featuring: DJ Kid Japer
8pm-2am
217 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90401
www.copadoro.com
Reservations: (310) 576-3030
NOTE: Copa d’Oro mailing list members who reserve a NYE table receive an additional complimentary bottle of Prosecco. RSVP: events@copadoro.com

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The Doheny
“Divine Lang Syne”
Cedd Moses’ private cocktail den opens its doors to non-members on NYE, with reserved table dinner packages and luxe amenities.

Reserved Table Seating:

Divine Deluxe – $525

• Bottle of Perrier-Jouët La Fleur Brut Champagne
• Dinner for two at Rivera
• One night stay at the O Hotel

Platinum Reserve – $450

• Bottle of Perrier-Jouët La Fleur Brut Champagne
• Dinner for two at Rivera

Gold Reserve – $350

• Bottle of Perrier-Jouët La Fleur Brut Champagne
• One night stay at the O Hotel

Silver Reserve – $200

• Bottle of Perrier-Jouët La Fleur Brut Champagne

Amenities:

• Tableside punch service
• Flights of luxury scotches and cognacs
• Complimentary artisinal cheese plate
• Handmade French chocolates

The Doheny
Featuring: DJ busbus
8pm-2am
714 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
thedoheny.com
Reservations: joel@thedoheny.com

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The Edison
“The Nautilist’s Ball”
The Edison’s second annual NYE bash features live music, performers, dining, and of course the Green Fairy.

• Individual tickets: $75
• Limited table reservations start at $300/table
• Entry includes Champagne Toast and Desserts at Midnight.
• All table reservations include a bottle of Champagne, midnight toast, desserts and entrance.

The Edison
Featuring: DJ Imagika, Gifted Performers, and Abney Park
Doors at 8pm
108 W. 2nd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
www.edisondowntown.com
Table reservations: (213) 613-0000

NOTE: Pre-sale tickets for NYE are sold out! Tickets will be available at the door and space will become available as guests exit the venue. Tickets purchased at the door are $75.

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The Foundry on Melrose
“Hello 2010″
The Foundry is offering two seatings for Eric Greenspan’s special tasting menus, as well as a cocktail party in the lounge with passed apps and live jazz.

• First seating, 6-7:15pm – $95 ($135 with wine pairing)
• Second seating, 9-10:15pm – $150 ($200 with wine pairing)

Lounge Cocktail Party – $35

• 10pm-2am
• All you can eat passed hors d’oeuvres
• Complimentary champagne toast at midnight
• Live jazz all night

The Foundry on Melrose
7465 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
www.thefoundryonmelrose.com
Reservations: (323) 651-0915

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The Hungry Cat
“la nochevieja”
Hollywood’s Gato Hambriento is saying adios to the Aughts with an Iberian-influenced menu and an open bar.

• Spanish-influenced, multi-course feast
• Open bar featuring Hungry Cat Cocktails, Spanish wines, draft/bottled beers
• $135/person

The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
www.thehungrycat.com
Reservations: (323) 462-2155

Rivera
If you’ve ever thought about tasting Julian Cox’s entire top notch cocktail menu, NYE is your chance to do so…in ninety minutes. Oh, and there’s John Sedlar’s wonderful food, too.

Bottomless Cocktail Party

• 11pm-12:30am
• Unlimited cocktails from the Rivera Specialty Cocktails menu, plus “special punches”
• $50 pre-sale for a seat at the bar or lounge

Dinner options

• 6:30-7:30pm: 6-course menu ($75/guest)
• 9-10pm: 7-course menu ($110/guest)
• Wine pairings: $50 & $75
• Luis Roederer Brut Premier: $18/glass & $75/bottle

Rivera
1050 S. Flower St, #102
Los Angeles, CA 90015
www.riverarestaurant.com
Reservations: (213) 749-1460

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Seven Grand
Get warmed up at downtown’s Whiskey Wonderland with $8 Manhattans til 9pm, then choose from three party options.

Seven Grand Private Reserve Seating

• Jackalope Drawing Room
• Choice of bottle: Perrier-Jouët La Fleur or Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon
• $180 for two guests

Seven Grand Top Shelf Seating

• Choice of bottle: Perrier-Jouët Champagne or Sazerac Rye
• $140 for two guests

General Admittance

• $20 after 9:30pm
• Complimentary East Coast Toast at 9pm, L.A. Toast at Midnight

Seven Grand
7pm-2am
Featuring: Deacon Jones Blues Review, DJ Slick Rick
515 W. 7th St., 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.sevengrand.la
Reservations: (213) 614-0737

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The Tar Pit
The new venture from Mark Peel and Audrey Saunders is hosting what promises to be a classy evening of food, cocktails, and music. There’s no cover, instead Tar Pit is requiring food and beverage minimums per person.

• First seating, 6:30pm – $75 (dining room) / $60 (bar) food & beverage minimum per person
• Second seating, 9:30pm – $95 (dining room) / $75 (bar) minimum per person
• Live entertainment starting at 9:30pm
• Champagne midnight toast, party hats, and “festive sundries”

The Tar Pit
609 N. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
www.tarpitbar.com
Reservations: (323) 965-1300

The Varnish
Downtown’s preeminent cocktail bar is offering a two-part New Year’s Eve.

Part One, 7-9:30pm – $9 Champagne Cocktails designed by the Varnish
-or-
Part Two, 10pm-close

• Open Bar with Varnish Cocktail List drinks
• Bottomless punch bowl with Grand Marnier Centenaire
• Champagne toast
• Limbo!
• Tables for parties of two, four, & six, or standing room at the bar
• $125/person

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Southern California USBG.

The Varnish
118 E. Sixth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.thevarnishbar.com
Reservations: Eric at (213) 622-9999, or thevarnish@thevarnishbar.com

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New Year’s Eve Guides

• Citysearch
• e*star LA
• LAist Parts I, II, III
• LA Times
• Los Angeles Magazine

“What America needs now is a drink.” ~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Amendment XXI (click to enlarge) | Source: NARA

While the quote above may be more appropriate than ever, FDR said those words back in 1933, after 13 years of Prohibition were finally ended.

From repealday.org: “On December 5th, 1933, Utah, the final state needed for a three quarters majority, ratified the 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition and restoring the American right to a celebratory drink.”

Although it’s been 76 years since the end of Prohibition, Repeal Day is a relatively new tradition, the brainchild of Portland mixologist Jeffrey Morgenthaler. You can read the story behind Repeal Day on his blog.

REPEAL DAY
Saturday, December 5, 2009
www.repealday.org

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This Saturday, December 5th, some of L.A.’s favorite cocktail venues are hosting Repeal Day celebrations. So do your patriotic duty, exercise your rights as an American, and raise a glass (or two) to the 21st Amendment!

The Edison

As we’ve come to expect from the Edison, when they do an event, they go all out. Repeal Day is no different, as the Edison will be offering ice skating with Santa at Pershing Square, then a special cocktail featuring its exclusive blend of Woodford Reserve back at the Edison.

6pm-8pm
Ice Skating in Pershing Square
532 S. Olive St.
With a gift from Santa
Hot chocolate and treats for the first 100 guests

8pm-9pm
Cracking the Barrel of Edison’s Christmas Blend of Bourbon
108 W. 2nd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-0000
www.edisondowntown.com

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Comme Ca & Pizzeria Ortica

David Myers’ Comme Ça and Pizzeria Ortica will be celebrating Repeal Day (in West Hollywood and Costa Mesa, respectively) with a mix of classic and new school cocktails.

• Classics: Old-Fashioned, Sidecar & French 75
• Mary Pickford (rum, pineapple juice, grenadine, maraschino cherry)
• Colony Cocktail (gin, grapefruit juice, maraschino liqueur)
• Barbary Coast (Scotch, gin, crème de cacao, heavy cream)
• Bacardi Cocktail (rum, lime juice, grenadine)

Buy the first cocktail for $11, give ‘em the password (“Roosevelt,” natch), and pay just 76 cents for the second (limit one per guest).

Comme Ça
Repeal Day menu
Friday, Dec. 4 – Sunday, Dec. 6
8479 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood, CA
(323) 782-1104

The Repeal Day menu will also be available at Pizzeria Ortica, from Dec. 4 through Dec. 11.

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Casey’s Irish Pub
Repeal Day Party
9pm-2am
Feat. live music by The Damselles & TC4
DJs Pony vs. Tiger

Dinner & drink specials
Prize for best 30′s attire
Free fedoras while they last

613 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 629-2353

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Word is that Tony’s Saloon and Rivera also have special Repeal Day shenanigans in the works, so stay tuned…

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Update 12/5: Julian Cox announced that Rivera’s Late Night Cocktail Menu will be specially priced at $5 in honor of Repeal Day. Classics like the Manhattan, Corpse Reviver, and Blood and Sand will be available from 10pm to close.

Rivera
1050 S. Flower St, #102
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 749-1460
www.riverarestaurant.com

The Block Party guest of honor.

Last Sunday, Comme Ça hosted a special “Block” Party to celebrate the start of its Bastille Week festivities. For this occasion, the restaurant featured a special menu with $5 cocktails and $7 appetizers. To chill their drinks, bartenders chipped ice from a huge 200 lb. block strategically placed on the bar. By the time my fellow imbibers Scot and Ku arrived, a lively Sunday afternoon crowd had filled the bar area, while the bartenders quickly chiseled away to keep pace with drink orders.

First up for me was the AF 69, made with Martin Miller’s gin, Cointreau, honey and lemon verbena. According to the L.A. Times, the AF 69 was named after the daily Air France flight from L.A. to Paris. It’s a cocktail worthy of its transatlantic name: the Martin Miller’s floral notes were very prominent, balanced nicely by the bitter orange of the Cointreau and the sharp fragrance of the lemon verbena.

Scot chose the Mr. Rogers, made with Matusalem Platino rum, thyme, apricots, Angostura bitters, and grapefruit peel. We all thought it was a solid cocktail, but of the three Block Party drinks it was probably our least favorite. It was certainly an enjoyable drink, it just wasn’t one that was at the level of the other two.

The Girl From La Cienega

Ku opted for The Girl From La Cienega, made with Three Olives vodka, cachaca, house made blueberry syrup, lime and basil. Colorful, refreshing and delicious, the Girl was hands down our favorite of the three Block Party drinks. The Girl’s refreshing flavors worked marvelously together and she’ll no doubt be very popular this summer.

The bar area was too congested for us to stand around and enjoy our cocktails, so we were seated in one of the dining rooms, all the better to refresh our drinks. We didn’t try any of the Block Party apps, but instead ordered up a large steak tartare (Coleman Ranch beef, capers, and cornichons), delicious as always.

A chip off the old 200 lb. ice block.

We closed out with another round over at the bar, which by this time had cleared up a bit. The ice block was now a mere shadow of its former self, but the chips continued to fly as drink orders rolled in. The Block Party was a fun way to spend a warm Sunday afternoon, and a great kick off for Comme Ça’s Bastille Week.

Don’t worry if you missed the Block Party; Comme Ça continues the festivities with a $40 prix fixe “Quatorze Juillet” dinner. Available through July 18, this special Bastille Day menu features three courses, the Block Party cocktails, and special wines for New Wine Bastille Day. Vive la France!

Comme Ça
8479 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 782-1104
www.commecarestaurant.com