LA in NY: The City of Angels at the 2011 Manhattan Cocktail Classic

It’s May 13th, and on this day last year I was in New York on the eve of the inaugural Manhattan Cocktail Classic to toast World Cocktail Day and celebrate my First Blogiversary with my blogger twin, The Dizzy Fizz. And even though I’ll be in L.A. this year and have to settle for vicariously drinking through everyone’s tweets and posts, I’ll be content in knowing that Los Angeles will be well-represented at MCC.

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Zahra Bates Rocks the House at B-Side

Downtown is still be the place to be when it comes to the greatest concentration of craft cocktail bars in Los Angeles, but Hollywood is making some noise of its own. The latest to join the burgeoning Hollywood cocktail scene is B-Side, an intimate speakeasy-style bar tucked within the Rolling Stone Restaurant & Lounge at the Hollywood & Highland Center.

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All the Booze That’s Fit to Print – March 2011

With a slew of bar openings and more on the way, there’s never been a better time to be a cocktail enthusiast in the City of Angels. In recent weeks media coverage of the L.A. cocktail scene has ramped up, which makes it as good a time as any to collect some highlights from the last few months.

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So Long 2010, and Thanks for All the Fish!

As 2010 draws to a close, many of L.A.’s favorite cocktail destinations are preparing to send the year off in style, with champagne-soaked events that include a downtown L.A. bar crawl, prix fixe dinners, and a black tie party set in Havana from a century ago. Stay tuned for updates as more events are announced.

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Zahra Bates Guest Bartends at Test Kitchen, Next Up is Copa d’Oro

Zahra Bates mixes her Old Pal variation at Test Kitchen

The ongoing culinary experiment known as Test Kitchen continues to bring in stellar guest chefs and mixologists, and last weekend was no exception: Alain Giraud was in the kitchen, while Zahra Bates (Providence) and Davidson Fernie (La Descarga) were behind the stick. As I sat down at the bar (the restaurant is frequently booked but…

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