5 Things to Know if You Go to Portugal

Maria da Mouraria, Lisbon

Our recent trip to Portugal only lasted six days, barely enough to scratch the surface of all there is to see, eat and drink in the compact country. We quickly learned not to speak Spanish -- Lisbon residents speak excellent English and though many words are similar in writing, the languages are by no means interchangeable.

Here are a few other things to know if you go to Portugal:

The best gin 'n tonic at Palacio Estoril, Portugal

1) All the national drinks

So many kinds of favorite drinks! Buckle up for some serious drinking if you go to Portugal, because there are a lot of national specialties to sample.
Port: Start with port, obviously, which comes in both white and red varieties and several degrees of aging. It's not only consumed as an after-dinner drink -- port and tonic is a popular aperitif.
Vinho verde: It means young wine, but actually it's a wine region in the north of Portugal that was once known for its un-aged, naturally fermented wines. They're apparently no longer naturally fermented and now sometimes aged as well, but either way the whites especially are incredibly refreshing with the country's bounty of seafood and warm days.
Ginja: Neither gin nor ganja-related, it's a sour cherry liqueur that packs a pretty good punch and also works well mixed with tonic and ice. It's available pretty much everywhere, but the Time Out market in Lisbon has a popular ginja stall if you want to start there.
Gin: There are a few varieties of Portuguese gin but Portugal is in love with pretty much any kind. Fevertree tonic water comes in several varieties to pair with the various characteristics of different gins, and the Palacio Estoril hotel, where Ian Fleming used to hang out in the bar, serves a particularly delectable one in the country's favorite large, bulbous glasses.
Capirinha vs. Capirao vs. Caipiroska: The cocktail list at most restaurants will include Brazilian favorite, the Capirinha, made with lime and the Brazilian cachaca spirit. For a Portuguese twist, try a Capirao instead, made with the sweet, herbal Portuguese liqueur Licor Beirao. The Caipiroska is made with vodka instead of cachaca.

2)  The hose next to the toilet

"What's the hose next to the toilet for?" I asked Matt. "Probably for hosing down the bathroom floor," said my notably squeamish partner. Upon Googling, I had to inform him that is definitely not what it is for. It's a Portuguese and Brazilian version of a bidet, and it's actually required by law in all new construction like our renovated Airbnb bathroom.

3) How to order coffee

Six days wasn't quite enough to nail my coffee order. The usual choices are espresso or coffee with milk (meia de leite), but that's going to result in a pretty weak drink with a lot of milk with just one shot of espresso. It might have been easiest to order one coffee with milk and one espresso and combine them. But if you want to get more specific, here's a guide to ordering coffee in Portugal. Although nata does also mean cream, just don't order a coffee + nata unless you want an espresso and a pasteis, a common breakfast order that is a total bargain at around one euro.

The inevitable but still delicious Pasteis de Belem

4) Food tips 

The pasteis de nata --custard tarts -- from Antigua Confeitaria de Belem are deservedly famous. It's not necessary to get a table among the tour bus hordes, since the to-go line moves fast. But make sure to eat them while they're still warm, possibly in the park across the street.

croissant integrale, Pastelaria Garrett, Estoril

One of my favorites of the zillion of other pastries was the croissant integrale -- a whole wheat croissant studded with seeds that gives you the slight impression of actually eating fiber, which is otherwise elusive when travelling.

Don't forget to eat fruit and vegetables: Order whatever sides are available besides French fries, even if it's only chickpeas. Stop at one of the fruit stands and get some of their terrific strawberries, or at a market if you don't run across a stand. We liked the Mercado Figueria in Praca da Figueria, a convenient gourmet market with fresh fruit, a very reasonably-priced coffee and snack bar, and a selection of food gifts like salt and sardines.

In addition to traditional Portuguese food (At Cozinha da Felicade in the Time Out market, I had a traditional yet elevated dish of cod in a cream sauce olive dust and pennyroyal over sweet potato chips), make sure to try food from some former Portuguese colonies. Tentacoes de Goa has terrific vindaloo and other Indian dishes much spicier than most places in Europe. Just up the Beco Surradores stairs from there is Cantinho do Aziz. We didn't have time to try it, but I'm sorry I didn't get to try the cuisine of Mozambique for the first time.

5) Go to the places the tourists don't go! Or go really early.

- Castle timing: Don't skip the Castelo de Sao Jorge atop the hill above Mouraria and Alfama, which has an amazing view around the whole city, ancient ruins and a camera obscura. It's not that hard of a walk, especially if you find the free Elevador Castelo that zips you partway up the hill. I recommend getting there between 9 and 10 am before the tour buses arrive, when it's uncrowded, the greenery is freshly watered and the peacocks are wandering freely.

- Belem hack: Everyone goes to Belem for the famous custard tarts, the Tower of Belem and the monastery. The tram ticket is included if you have an all-day transit pass, but the tram was slow, hot and crowded. Instead try the train that leaves from Cais do Sodre station and whisks you to Belem in a few minutes. Just don't try to board the train in Belem to return to Lisbon without a ticket, because you won't be able to exit in Lisbon, as we found out when we had to appeal to a long-suffering station agent!

Atira-te ao Rio, Almada, Lisbon

- We're on a boat: Although the restaurants on the pier in Almada are shown on Phil Rosenthal's "I'll Have What Phil's Having," the package-tour folks are not that into taking a ferry across the river and walking 10 minutes along a semi-deserted warehouse street, despite its great street art. But it's well worth it to sit in this semi-remote spot along the river watch the sun set, and although Ponto Final restaurant fills up fast, Atira-te ao Rio next door is also good.

- Little-known gem: We visited the Palace of the Marquises because James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was filmed there. But the private villa is also known as the "Sistine Chapel of tile" and I'm so glad we were able to see the elaborate tile and mosiac work. Even if you miss the tour inside the villa, the gardens are worth seeing. The palace is an easy 15-minute walk from the Lisbon Zoo, which has its own metro stop, but few tourists seem to make the trip.

Marisco Na Praca, Cascais

- Cascais by the sea: If you're not exploring other beach towns, Cascais makes a nice day trip from Lisbon. The train (the same one that stops in Belem) takes around 45 minutes and although the charming port town is crowded with day-trippers, they seem like mostly locals. (If you haven't figured out by now, I'm kind of allergic to tour buses.) We tried razor clams and giant red shrimp at the tranquil and classy Marisco Na Praca, which is upstairs in the marina and also at the Mercado da Vila.

But probably the most important thing to know is that we'll definitely need to return another time to investigate all those wines some more and get that coffee order right!

Salazar: First Impressions of the Eastside's Stellar Summer Spot

Belly up to the covered bar if it ever rains...as if!

Many of us have been imagining a restaurant like Salazar practically forever. A place where kids are welcome, that takes advantages of L.A.'s temperate climate, where you can sip a good margarita while eating some equally good Mexican food. A place kind of like Birba in Palm Springs. We didn't imagine it would spring up in the shell of a former car repair shop hard by the freeway where Atwater peters out and Frogtown industrially begins, but that's L.A. for you, always full of surprises.

Plenty of heat lamps just in case. Love the old school chairs.

And Salazar, conceived by Billy Silverman and Mexicali Tacos' founder Esdras Ochoa, turned out practically identical to that vision many of us had...so many, in fact, that's it's been packed since day one, and the bike-parking area in front has become a de facto playground for waiting families.

So many people already biking to dinner

Who knows what it will be like when the heaters have to come out -- the restaurant is almost completely outdoors, except for a small bar area, but for now, the long, shaded tables are one of the best places in the city to enjoy a summer evening.

Checking out the tortilla-making station

The spot-on Sonoran-style wood-grilled meats and much-more-than-margaritas cocktail menu from Aaron Melendrez makes it the rare spot that's more than just a pleasant patio. The menu promises "full menu coming soon," so it will be interesting to see what gets added to the simple list of tacos, grilled meats and fishes, and a few sides. I would recommend heating the plates so the tacos stay warmer when cooled by evening breezes, and adding chips for the guacamole. The tostada-style crisps are nice, but people do like their chips.

This crazy cocktail has mescal, brown-butter washed corn whiskey, ancho chile, huitlacoche and Mexican fernet

Lots of pretty elixirs behind the bar

Esquites - charred corn with crema 

Terrific housemade tortillas complement the grilled meats

One Yelp commenter said that Salazar can't really be part of Frogtown because the prices are too high for the locals. It's certainly true that dinner here will set two people back $60 or more. But that's the price you pay these days to build out an entire restaurant, pay the large staff, get a liquor license  and generally offer full service. Of course the tacos are more than at Tacos Leos truck -- if it's too expensive, you can get the same style of tacos at Mexicali, but without the patio and cocktails.
But if you can afford it, Salazar was definitely worth the wait. And don't miss the ridiculously retro website.

Salazar 
2490 Fletcher Blvd.
Los Angeles

Idle Hour Rolls Out a Barrel of L.A. History in North Hollywood

The original Idle Hour is now restored to look much the same

There aren't many better restaurant backstories in L.A. right now than last week's opening of the Idle Hour on Vineland Ave. with a bar, restaurant and spacious back patio. Built in 1941 and made to look like a trio of giant barrels, the Idle Hour functioned as a bar in L.A.'s unique programmatic architecture tradition for years until it was converted to La Cana flamenco dance spot, with tacky aluminum awnings obscuring the barrels for many years. In 1984, La Cana closed, with owner Doris Fernandez retreating to live in the top of the barrel for the next 25 years or so, Spanish Kitchen style, while just a few blocks away NoHo restaurants and theaters were starting to flourish. She died in 2010, and preservationist and Los Angeles magazine editor Chris Nichols was able to help secure historic monument status for the dilapidated building. When it came up for auction, he recruited the Bigfoot Lodge owners Bobby Green's 1933 Group to restore and re-open the historic spot.

It's taken three years for a top-to-bottom restoration -- it basically had to be completely taken apart and rebuilt -- but last week I checked out the woodsy new bar, which is sure to be quickly packed with Valley dwellers who have only recently been getting some decent drinking spots.
The look: The interior is just like being inside a barrel, with curved wood-covered walls and a tall round roof. Outdoors is another surprise: the Bulldog Cafe from the Petersen Auto Museum, a smaller replica of the one that once stood on West Washington Blvd., has been relocated and can be rented out for parties. The rest of the patio is comfy with a firepit and picnic tables, and dogs will be allowed.

The drinks: There's a selection of draft cocktails (I liked the Maid with tequila, aloe liqueur, mint and lime), a few updated but fairly simple house cocktails and two bottled and carbonated choices, all $12. About 20 taps of California-focused beer include rotating choices like an autumnal Sonoma Bourbon Cider, Ladyface Red Rye and Smog City Porter.

The food: The casual menu is made to go with hoppy beers and stiff cocktails, and the pulled pork sliders, brussels sprouts with bacon, bbq chicken wings all hit the spot. Or try a pretzel with chipotle chocolate sauce.

Idle Hour Bar
4824 Vineland Ave.
North Hollywood

Bourbon.Pomegranate.Cinnamon: Christmas in a Glass, a cocktail or punch

Christmas in a Glass can be made as a sour or as a punch

This cocktail is an hommage to Julian Cox's Sherry Manilow cocktail at Picca, but a simpler version that packs a lot of the same flavors can be created at home with just a bit of preparation. Cox's version expertly combines Oloroso sherry, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon syrup, lemon and brandy. I don't usually have sherry in the house, so I decided to base mine on bourbon, usually my favorite spirit besides tequila. Someone at work gave me a bunch of pomegranates from their tree, so I decided to juice some of them (blend seeds briefly, then strain), since pomegranate molasses on their own are sometimes bitter or overly sour. Now, cinnamon syrup? I had some cinnamon sticks from Nicole's Gourmet purchased for some forgotten recipe, so I made simple syrup and simmered some sticks in it for a while. It made extra, which keeps in the refrigerator and can be used in coffee, cocktails, mixed with pancake syrup, in mulled wine, etc.

So here's the recipe. I just made up these proportions based on what tasted right to me, so adjust to suit your taste:

Christmas in a Glass pomegranate bourbon sour

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 oz. bourbon
4 oz. unsweetened pomegranate juice, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses (it's probably just as good if you don't have these)
1 tablespoon cinnamon-infused simple syrup
dash of cranberry bitters
Stir together, shake with ice, strain and serve in a Manhattan or martini glass. Garnish with a touch of freshly-grated nutmeg. Makes 2.

And here's another version using cranberry juice that can be easily made into a punch to serve several people: 

Christmas in a Glass cranberry-bourbon-lime punch

1 cup bourbon 
3 cups cranberry juice
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup cinnamon syrup
3 cups club soda
Serve over ice. Makes 6-8 glasses.

Picca Peru Freshens Up with Carrot Habanero Air, Peruvian Fish 'n Chips

Making a Dante Bellpepper cocktail at Picca Peru

So many restaurants forget that it might be a good idea to freshen up the menu every so often. Not so at Ricardo Zarate's Picca Peru, which adds new dishes and even more imaginative cocktails several times a year so its still-enthusiastic diners won't get bored.

New look:

The upstairs mezzanine area has been bedazzled with a gold tile ceiling and twinkly lights. It's still a bit cramped up there, but the tiny bar and seating area are handy for private events or when it's even more crowded downstairs.

Among the new dishes: 

Fish 'n chips, Peruvian style: Tender filets of the giant Peruvian Paiche fish are fried up with a savory dipping sauce and served with homemade sweet potato chips.
Paiche with dried potatoes: pan roasted paiche, papa seca risotto, aji panca tomato sauce  (unusual and delicicious!)
Glazed lamb chops: gochuchang marinade and aji amarillo miso give them an Asian-meets-Peruvian vibe

new tuna causa

Spicy tuna causa: A pretty and delicious bite of tuna on a smooth potato bed
Ceviche: There's already plenty of variations on ceviche, but Zarate is always trying out new combos, with paiche, salmon, tuna and Madagascar prawn joining the various raw preparations.
Papa rellena: Potato stuffed with truffle-braised chicken
Alfajores: We didn't get to try

these but I love these Peruvian shortbread cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche so I'm going to have to go back and try them.

New cocktails include:

The Dante Bellpepper cocktail: If you've become jaded from too many sweet or boring drinks, here's something a little different: vegetal, spicy, and rather challenging in a gazpacho-meets-booze kind of way, it includes Mezcal, lemon, red bell pepper, agave, carrot habanero air and cracked pepper.
Sherry Manilow: Oloroso sherry, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon syrup, lemon, brandy. A cocktail for a proper lady who gets a little crazy now and then. My favorite of the bunch
Fig old-fashioned: A stiff, autumnal, well-balanced drink.

Picca's new fall menu: Why you should put aside prejudice and order a sweet potato cocktail right now

Caigua (Peruvian cucumber), stuffed with beef, raisins and feta

Picca chef Ricardo Zarate has come up with a swath of new menu items, despite being busy with the more-recently opened Mo-Chica downtown and plans for a new restaurant, Paiche, in Marina del Rey. Even though Picca is nearly always buzzy and full, it seems like a fine idea to freshen up the menu at the year-and-a-half old Pico Ave. Peruvian spot.

Sweet potato sour

When a restaurant opens or debuts new menu items, the food blogger scrum at the table can get a bit ridiculous. The food cools, enormous lenses swing around the table, iPhones lights are deployed in low-light situations. And then the L.A. food blogosphere reverberates with the sound of many similar meals. Here's Caroline on Crack's photo-intensive tour of our dinner. We can only be grateful her camera was pointed at the guy in the cap instead of the frowsy blogger next to him.

lobster tartare, mango, yuca chips

But since Picca opened, it's been the kind of restaurant where you make a point of getting there even when you or a friend are actually paying for your own meal, so I feel justified in recommending you stop by for a cocktail with a breath of fall and some causas, ceviches and anticuchos (grilled skewered meats).
The cocktails, as always, are stand-outs. Picca's Pisco Sour is always excellent, but it's fall, and I recommend putting aside fears of sweet or murky cocktails and ordering the Sweet Potato Sour. I know, potatoes in cocktails, ew, right? Nope, this one is perfectly balanced, with aged rum, brown sugar, honey, egg white, and just enough sweet potato to clue you in to what you're drinking without going anywhere near the liquified-pie aspect you might suspect.

Causas of spicy albacore, lobster and tricolore with burrata and tomato

I loved the other two we tried almost as much: Pants Down incorporated one of my favorite flavors, apricot, melding apricot brandy, lemon, Aperol, soda water and Cochi Americano aperitif into a refreshing Indian summer cooler. And Cold War Kids is the ideal fall cocktail for those who are still dubious of sweet potato: cognac, sherry, lime and Pisco brandy meet Vietnamese cinnamon syrup for a restrained yet potent holiday feeling.

Lengua with red potato crisps

Don't worry, much of the old menu remains intact. But the new items provide even more reason to go back to Picca if you haven't been there for a while. I usually concentrate mostly on the seafood items - I love the Peruvian style of ceviche, and the scallops with uni were a sensual pleasure. The half lobster with garlic bechamel, paiche fish teriyaki, branzino with huacatay butter and octopus with twice-cooked potato were all worth checking out. I wasn't as taken with the insistently chewy skewered gizzard as some people were, but the tender braised ox tongue (Anticucho lengua) would be enough to change any tonguephobic's mind. Caigua was similar to a stuffed Mexican chili dish but made with the unusual Peruvian vegetable from the cucumber family. Here's to freshening up the menu -- let's toast with a sweet potato cocktail!
Picca Peru
9575 W. Pico Blvd.
Beverly Hills
310-277-0133

La Cuevita opens Friday: More mescal, but the bats remain

for now, the sign remains the same

The Little Cave on Figueroa was aways a low-key place to grab a beer, with adorable Bettie Page-esque dj's spinning PIL and heavily-tattooed bartenders who invited you to the premiere of their horror movie at the bar. But despite the charm of the pitch-black interior and spooky clientele, all things must evolve. This is especially true in Highland Park, home to increasing hordes of newcomers who don't really have that many bars to choose from, compared to say, Echo Park and Silver Lake. 

A freshened-up interior has Mexican flavor

So the Little Cave is now La Cuevita, turning from goth bar for Latinos to hip Mexican bar for those who don't flinch at $12 cocktails. The interior has been spiffed up with bare rafters and touches of Mexican decor, as well as more tasteful artsy bats than the previous mascots. Who knew there were windows in the crepuscular space?

taps and tequila at La Cuevita

We tried several cocktails created by Thirsty Crow's Cooper Gillespie and Jared Mort of Oldfield's, including the namesake La Cuevita with smoky mescal and ginger beer, the jalapeno margarita with grapefruit juice, the unusual mole Manhattan with a slight chocolate taste and the refreshing Mezcalada with Clamato, Corona and mescal. There's a solid selection of tequila and mescal, the same beer taps as before, and the same two outdoor drinking areas.
On Taco Tuesday, $1 tacos and $5 margaritas help keep drinking costs down. And conveniently for the olds, there's now a highly generous happy hour that stretches from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Now if they can just bring back that dj once in a while...
La Cuevita
5922 N. Figueroa
Highland Park
(323) 255-6871

Short Order: A first taste

Everyone's heading to Farmer's Market to see what Mozza's Nancy Silverton, Bill Chait and the late Amy Pressman have done to wow the city's burger enthusiasts  So for now, an early lunch at Short Order is the best way to avoid the fledgling burger destination's inevitable early service glitches.

Arriving at noon on Friday, we had our choice of tables and found a cozy corner upstairs opposite the bar. Short Order's decor is as adorable as can be, with Eames barstools, Danish modern chairs, vintage kitchen utensils, tiny tabletop thyme pails and filament lights hitting just about every possible design note at once. Servers in perky striped Ts complete the picture.
I had a hard time choosing between the Frisee lardon raft -- a burger topped with frisee, egg and lardons; or the pork burger with rapini or turkey burger with sage cheddar. Since I had recently eaten at Gott's Roadside in Napa, I tried Ida's Original Burger ($11) for purposes of comparison. While Gott's serves a fine, non-grass fed Apple Pan-type burger for $8, Short Order's grass-fed model, with cheddar, pickles and tomato, was far more indulgent with a pillowy bun and deep beefy taste. Creamy secret sauce on both pieces of the bun makes it a little too messy, but the flavor is inarguably terrific.

Our table's other orders weren't quite as successful: One friend's lamb burger (above) could have used more seasonings to mellow the overly-assertive Sonoma ground lamb -- neither of us enjoyed the one-note flavor despite its feta topping. Another friend's grilled cheese looked extremely greasy; like other "gourmet" grilled cheese sandwiches it was nearly deep-fried, ruining the subtle balance between bread, cheese and frying that the sandwich requires.
So far at least, it seems the beef models are the way to go, but we barely grazed the menu which also features pies, malts, signature "Short Order Spuds." Coming in January is a brunch menu featuring a Benedict Burger and Breakfast Cobb Salad.

Despite the early hour, it was my day off and I couldn't pass up one of Julian Cox's superb cocktails, made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, lemon and pomegranate agrodulce. It was small but delicious and we immediately decided that cocktails and fries would have to become a regular thing. Downstairs, the seating is more exposed to the sun and only the more basic burgers are available, so upstairs is the way to go if you want cocktails or lamb or pork burgers.
The Verdict: I rarely eat burgers, so the chance to have a good grass-fed one is worth $11 to me, and all Short Order's ingredients are top flight. But order a $17 tuna burger, Spuds ($4) with truffle salt ($2 extra) and a $12 cocktail, and Short Order turns out to be one pricey lunch for a casual spot. With the bar open until 1 a.m. on weekends, it's a shot in the arm for Farmer's Market, which generally closes down much earlier.
Short Order
Farmer's Market (6333 W. 3rd St., Stall #110
(323) 761-7970

Birba Pizza & Cocktails: A cool Palm Springs spot, even in summer

Tricolore salad is the poster child for this popular dish

When Cheeky's came on the scene in Palm Springs a couple of years ago, it was a breath of bacon-scented fresh air in the mostly moribund desert. Now, the owners of Cheeky's have taken it a step further, turning the large adjacent garden into Birba, a mostly-outdoor evening pizza and cocktails lounge. Even without burrata and charcuterie, this patio would be a lovely place to sip an icy carafe of rose as the temperature finally sinks below 100. But add some wood-fired pizza and sophisticated salads, and there's little reason to explore other Palm Springs dining options. Large shards of good parmesan were scattered over the tricolore salad, which had a bright lemony dressing and perfectly fresh radicchio, arugula and endive. Burrata salad made a pretty plate, and pizzas were topped with the likes of homemade sausage or braised greens. There's also a specials menu with mains like roast chicken and more creative salads, if you're not in the mood for pizza.

The patio is pleasant even in summer heat -- and dog-friendly

In the summer, it's still pretty hot in the evenings, but omnipresent desert misters help take it down a notch. My only quibble would be the trendy lucite chairs, which are a little sticky in the heat for all the shorts-clad diners. Cocktails include the Habanero Margarita, Lemongrass Rickey and French Lemonade, and both the rose and white La Veille Ferme wines are a great value at $28 a bottle.

margarita pizza has a very respectable crust

Birba

622 N. Palm Canyon Dr.
Palm Springs
760-327-5678

Opening up Mas Malo's tequila vault

This type of tequila bottle used to be made by nuns...but why would they make the bottle look like that?

Mas Malo Downtown is a different animale from Silver Lake's original Malo -- located in a former jewelry store that was later Clifton's Silver Spoon cafeteria, it's a cavernous room that holds a few secrets in addition to plenty of tables and a long bar extraordinarily well-stocked with tequila.

Downstairs, there's a '70s styled lounge, while tucked away at the back of the restaurant is the cozy Tequila Vault. The compact room can hold about a dozen people, and it can be used for everything from a romantic anniversary dinner to an exclusive tequila tasting session, and the selection of rare tequilas that lines the walls is muy rico indeed. I was invited to try some of the top-notch tequilas for a tasting ranging from Silver to Reposado to Anejo to Mescal. (Work the next day kept me from ingesting the supposedly-hallucinogenic worm.)
Tequila bottles are always fascinating, and while AsamBroso is known for its extremely phallic bottles, the El Carbonzado variety aged in Tennessee whiskey barrels is also a fine sipping tequila with a hint of butterscotch flavor.
Fortaleza  is from one of the first families to sell tequila, and the Reposado (or "rested") variety has a heady vanilla nose. But the mejor de mejor we tasted in the vault was Casa Noble single barrel Anejo, aged for five years, which is just about the smoothest tequila I've ever tasted, with a buttery, silky finish.There's also a selection of mescals, and Malo beverage director Fred Warner is an able guide through the world of tequila. Mas Malo is also introducing a menu of traditional style cocktails made with tequila, from a Tequila Sazerac to a Tequila Aviation, and you don't need to be in the exclusive vault to order any of the tequilas or cocktails.

Merry Christmas cocktail!

Hibiscus Christmas cooler

I love the deep, fruity flavor of jamaica or hibiscus flowers. Their bright red color makes the perfect holiday cocktail. Here's a festive hibiscus Christmas cooler inspired by the Sterling Daiquiri in the L.A. Times, by Allan Katz of Cana Rum Bar, but minus the ginger liqueur. (Steeping some grated ginger in the agua de jamaica would probably impart a similar flavor). Cheers!
Ingredients:
2 oz. agua de jamaica (from L.A. Times recipe made with dried hibiscus flowers, available at Latino markets. Optional, add grated ginger to the steeping mixture.)

1 oz. rum, spiced or regular
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 oz. club soda
Mix and serve over crushed ice with a wedge of lime and sprig of mint.
(Taste and add simple syrup if it's too tart for your taste.)

Let Jose Andres take you to Spain: The Luxury Collection Destination Guide

I wouldn't mind having Bazaar chef Jose Andres as my tour guide in Spain. Unfortunately, he hasn't invited me. But I was invited to the SLS rooftop party and Bazaar dinner for the Luxury Collection hotels Spain guidebook of art, culture and food from Assouline publishing, with recommendations from Andres. Each of Assouline's destination guides has an expert host, like Mario Batali for Italy, as well as an enticing list of all the Luxury Collection hotels from Phuket to Peru.
Also included are cocktails themed to various locations from Greg Seider, the farm-to-glass mixologist who runs Summit in New York. Seider knows how to have a good time, to say the least, so our end of the table was infused with a non-stop parade of jamon iberico and a double dose of New York suggestively snarky banter. We talked with Seider about cinnamon-infused agave, the best bourbons, and cocktails with sun-dried tomatoes while 20 or so wonderful tastes unfurled from Andres' kitchen. Among the highlights:

• A delicate eel taco enfolded in a tortilla-thin cucumber slice garnished with chicharron



Not Your Everyday Caprese flavors popped with liquid mozzarella

• tuna ceviche and avocado roll with coconut dressing -- it sounds like something nearly any restaurant would offer, but the silky slices of avocado wrapped around top-quality tuna elevated the roll way above the usual sushi bar fare



salt-crusted papas canarias

• Norwegian lobster - a rectangle of perfectly-cooked lobster on a bed of briny seaweed, paired with a shooter of creamy, deeply ocean-flavored lobster essence; and
• Papas canarias -- a favorite nearly everyone at the dinner, the pequeno potatoes are cooked until a salt crust forms on their skins, then dipped into a tart mojo verde sauce. I'm going to try the recipe for these in Jose Andres great-looking "Made in Spain" cookbook which is almost all real, hearty Spanish food with nary a glimpse of lemon air.

If a trip to Spain isn't in the cards, an evening with Bazaar's jamon and baby squid in its own ink is certainly a good substitute -- or at my house, maybe an evening from the Made in Spain cookbook combined with cocktails from Seider's globe-trotting Cocktail Collection booklet.

Edendale Grill: Eight years in, it's still a work in progress

The Edendale Grill back when it was a fire station

This month's Los Feliz Ledger took me back to the Edendale Grill, which recently changed ownership. There's a new menu and a few tweaks inside, but the same problems remain: there's enough business from the bar that food is an afterthought -- too expensive for a not-very-interesting meal. But even the bar side could use a tuneup -- the beer selection is pitiful, wine service is non-existent and while the classic cocktails are fine, they could be doing a lot more with modern mixology.
The review was trimmed for space (or snarkiness?), so here's the rest of the piece. I'm not trying to take anyone down -- just wishing this was a place that I looked forward to eating at.

Silver Lake's Edendale Grill: Love the space, wish I loved the food.
Whether Edendale is more of a bar or has ambitions to be a real restaurant, it's not particularly good at either. The bartenders always seem to have fans, but the wine and beer list could use serious work. Wine from a middling list is even harder to enjoy served in cheap, heavy glasses. With nearly every bar and restaurant in town seriously stepping up its beer program, the best Edendale can offer is Racer 5 and Stella valiantly holding down a list of bland commercial brews. Special cocktails are on the overwrought side, though the standard ones are fine.
The restaurant recently changed hands, with former bartender Eddie Ebell taking over from longtime owner Melanie Tusquellas. Ebell kept the former chef but changed up the menu a bit, adding more contemporary-sounding dishes like wild blue crab salad, pork confit sopes and quail eggs on toast with proscuitto. The longtime tableside Caesar is gone, replaced by salads like pear, stilton and butter lettuce with a curiously flavorless lemon tarragon dressing. Alas, adding burrata cheese and pea tendrils to a menu isn't always enough, as the food continues to hover between competent and careless. Sea bass with grilled eggplant ($19) is a perfectly fine piece of fish. But a Harris Ranch burger requested medium rare has to be sent back since it's basically raw, and the rare replacement tastes only of blood with no apparent seasoning. It comes with fries that are just ok. Considering the huge number of non-meat eaters in the area, there could be more choices than salad, mac 'n cheese or veggie sopes.
But Ebell hasn't been overseeing the place for long, so maybe there's still hope. In case he's wondering how to get a little more respect in the neighborhood and sell more than just fried calamari at the bar, here's a few suggestions:
1) Locals appreciate the historic character, but they'd like to love the food as much. Bring in some guest chefs to stir things up, and ask patrons what they'd like to eat.
2) If it's really more of a bar, then go gastropub. Craft a killer beer list, add some taps, get some decent wineglasses and enlist a local wine store for advice on the wine list. Add a great burger (for $14, it better be excellent), learn to make irresistible fries, and add fish 'n chips or good pizza or reasonably priced small plates ($15 for tuna tartare?).
3) Continue to transform the inner dining room into a livelier space. Add some art and flowers, let people drink there even if they're not eating and make sure service keeps pace.