This story originally appeared in ATOD Magazine.
My interest in food and wine began when I was living in Italy. Every town I traveled to, I would ask what was a...
There is no sign outside. But the deep red panels interspersed with wood panels and large glass windows that are open on a warm day, sitting on the north corner of Santa Monica Blvd, just west of the 405 freeway, will catch your eye. This is The Nickel Mine, West Los Angeles's newest sports bar.
The long v-shaped bar is surrounded by large flat screen televisions playing a variety of live sports games. But, The Nickel Mine is more than a sports bar. It is a cocktail bar, a whiskey bar, a gastropub and a fun neighborhood spot to hang out with friends.
Unlike your typical sports bar, The Nickel Mine has an impressive whiskey selection with more than 50 choices, two dozen draft beers and one dozen wines. There is also a fun cocktail list that goes beyond typical well-drinks.
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of eating and drinking my way around France. The breads, the cheeses, the meats, the wines, the pastries.....the good food and drink was endless. It is really hard to pick one thing as a stand-out for the week. But, during lunch one day, it was not the cheese table that I was drawn to, but rather the dessert table. Sitting on the table were delicious looking pastries that looked like they could be doughnuts or cronuts. What were they? Chocolate covered pogne de Romans. So delicious and so memorable, it had to be the Please The Palate "pick of the week."