Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Office Holiday Party Pop Up at Severance Wine Bar

Written by Allison Levine on December 7, 2019

Lifestyle Cocktails

The Holiday season is here! If you are looking to get into the spirit, head to Severance Wine Bar in West Hollywood for their Office Holiday Party Pop Up, inspired by everything from Planes, Trains, & Automobiles to The Office. Drinking Champagne and Sherry based cocktails, eating some sweets while surrounded by tacky holiday decorations make the Severance Office Holiday Party Pop Up the Please The Palate pick of the week.

Owner Evan Charest was laid off from a tech job on Christmas Eve in 2017. In 2018, he opened Severance Wine Bar with the severance money he received. And here we are at Christmas time again, so what is better than drinking cocktails inspired by the one of the worst yet funniest workplaces, Dunder Mifflin.

Through the month of December, the space next to Severance Wine Bar on Melrose Avenue has been converted into a tacky office holiday pop-up. Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, for $20++, you will get a complimentary cocktail or a sparkling wine flight. So get into the holiday spirit!

The cocktail offerings are all Champagne and Sherry based. Each is named after a Christmas themed movie that will test your trivia knowledge. Read More +

Warrior Los Angeles Opens on the Sunset Strip

Written by Allison Levine on December 5, 2019

Food

If you are heading to the Sunset Strip for a concert at the Whisky A Go Go, you can now grab a bite to eat or order a drink before or after a show. Warrior has opened in the next door space which used to be the home of Pearl’s Rooftop space.

Based on its location, it is easy to quickly jump to conclusions about what kind of space Warrior is. Yes, it is a lounge/bar and yes, it will attract the scene-chasers. But, there is an open-air rooftop restaurant run by Top Chef Season 3 winner Chef Hung Huynh who has come to LA from New York to oversee the Warrior menu. And, the cocktail menu has been created by consultants Sweet & Chili, a specialist drinks agency.

Entering Warrior, you walk down a long hallway, with exposed brick on one side and funky Japanese-inspired wallpaper on the other side. On the left is the bar, a boldly decorated art deco lounge that should be named the Peacock room due to it’s bright blue colors and the peacock images. The bar is warm and inviting to sit back and enjoy a cocktail.

If you continue down the hallway, you will come to a set of stairs. Head up the stairs and just at the top is a large table for a private party. While the space will not be closed off to outside noise, it is quite stunning with a live green wall and the fresh air above.

Continuing past the stairs, you will pass another bar which leads to a lounge deck.

And up a few more steps, you will find the rooftop dining area.

The menu at Warrior is Asian-influenced and two standout dishes were the crispy cauliflower and roast chicken with yucca fries. Other dishes include Wagyu beef potstickers, drunken noodles, tempura avocado, sea bass lettuce wraps, tomato tofu salad, crack cucumber and filet mignon with black garlic sauce, yu choy and mushrooms.

Warrior Los Angeles
8909 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Pedra Cancela Seleccao do Enologo Tinto 2016, Dão, Portugal

Written by Allison Levine on December 4, 2019

Wine

The Dão region in the heart of Portugal is a special region. It is surrounded by mountains, including the Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain on mainland Portugal. Historians have said that Portugal’s most famous grape, Touriga Nacional, was born in the Dão. Other indigenous red grapes of the region include Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz. These are the three grapes blended to create the Pedra Cancela Seleccao do Enologo Tinto 2016, Dão, Portugal, the Please The Palate wine of the week.

Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz are grown in granitic, sandy soils. The grapes are fermented and aged for six months in French oak. The resulting wine is a ruby red color with intense aromas of red and black fruits, plum, violets and hints of cocoa and coffee. On the palate, the wine is elegant yet structured. It is fresh with soft tannins and acidity.

This wine is easy and enjoyable to drink. It is not overpowered by oak or by fruit. It is a wine that is ready to drink now or can age for a few more years. This is a wine to pair with red meats and soft cheeses. To top it all off, the price will blow you away! The Pedra Cancela Seleccao do Enologo Tinto 2016, Dão, Portugal retails for $10! It is almost a crime that this wine is so inexpensive but take advantage and order by the case because this is a wine you can enjoy every day.