Please The Palate |

Bar Mattachine – Downtown LA’s First Craft Cocktail Gay Bar

What was once the largest concentration of historic theaters and movie palaces on one street in the nation in the 1920s and 1930s, Broadway in downtown Los Angeles had been a street of disrepair for many years. But now The city of Los Angeles is in the process of revitalizing Broadway and new restaurants and retail stores are starting to open. One of the bars that has opened in the area is Bar Mattachine.

Bar Mattachine, part of a small but growing group of downtown gay bars, isn't just a part of the revitalization of Broadway, but it is also the first gay craft cocktail bar in the area. Bar Mattachine honors and pays tribute to the 1950s Mattachine Society. Created by Harry Hay and a group of Los Angeles male friends, Mattachine Society was one of the earliest gay rights organizations in the United States, built to protect and improve the rights of gay men.

Bar Mattachine is a two story lounge owned by Vianey Vee Delgadillo and Jigger Mercado (Bar 107, The Down and Out, The Little Easy) and Garret McKetchnie (formerly head barman at 1886, Cole's). The cocktail menu includes seventeen cocktails, including nine signature cocktails, six classic cocktails and two frozen drinks.

12 November, 2015

A Taste of Monterey at a Pop-Up Dinner at Redbird

When two renowned chefs from Monterey came down to Los Angeles and partnered with Neal Fraser at Redbird to create a pop-up menu using fresh Monterey ingredients and paired with the wines of Monterey, this taste of Monterey definitely whet my appetite.

Chefs John Cox, Neal Fraser and Tim Walter

Chef John Cox is the Executive Chef at Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn, one of the most celebrated restaurants and retreats in the world. Chef Ted Walter is a Classic French-trained chef who opened Pacific Grove’s Passionfish with his wife Cindy in 1997. He sources ingredients from Carmel Valley farms, local markets and the fishers of Monterey Bay and has earned a national reputation as an advocate for the Sustainable Seafood movement. Chef Neal Fraser, along with his wife and business partner, Amy Knoll Fraser, opened Redbird in one of the city’s most historic architectural gems, inside the former rectory building of Vibiana – the cathedral-turned-event-venue.

11 November, 2015

Upscale Korean BBQ Comes to Culver City at Hanjip

Korean BBQ has come to the westside! Located in Culver City, on Main Street next to The Wallace, Hanjip Korean BBQ is the result of partners Stephane Bombet (Terrine, Viviane) and Francois Renaud (Terrine) and Chef Chris Oh (Seoul Sausage).

Inside, the decor is modern and eye catching. The walls, as well as the ventilation systems above each table, are covered with black and white geometric lines.

Korean BBQ is meant to be shared with friends. While you can sit at a table for two or four people, the booths and round tables in the center are better for parties of six. With the amount of food you will probably eat, the bigger the group, the better! As soon as we sat, we were served an array of banchan. Fish cakes, kim chi, potato salad, spicy cucumber and bean sprouts are some of the banchan. The standout was the crispy octopus banchan.

09 November, 2015