Cocktails

Portland is a small city filled with great restaurants and bars (as well as the most strip clubs per capita, as my taxi driver pointed out).  It may be more like a big town but the number of great cocktails bars can rival some larger cities. While in Portland for the first time for Portland Cocktail Week last October, I went through the list of bars and was able to visit many of them.  Here is a quick summary of some of the best spots!
06 March, 2013
As I travel to cities and visit bars, I am reminded of a great bar tour I took last October at Portland Cocktail Week. What better way to tour the bars of Portland than on a bright red double-decker bus for the Cognac Tour. Experience Cognac  
05 March, 2013
Every year for my birthday I try to find a new restaurant to try with my family. What better way to celebrate than to enjoy a new place with family while getting to try lots of dishes and sharing. In perfect timing, David Myers' Hinoki and the Bird opened just in time to be the restaurant of choice. I had been sad when Sona closed as some of my first real foodie experiences were at Sona. But, David is back with Hinoki and the Bird, located in the basement of a luxury condo building in Century City that is not so easy to find (my GPS was confused and I had to make 2 calls to the restaurant to make sure I was in the right place).  We arrived and were greeted by the valets, still not sure what to expect. But, once the big wooden doors opened, we stood looking out over the entire restaurant.  From the bustling bar to the open kitchen, the room was filled with energy. Chef David Myers100_2376
09 February, 2013
A birthday is a perfect excuse as any to go out to dinner. It is a guarantee to have a group of people which means ordering lots of different dishes and sharing. So, for this year's birthday, I picked Josef Centeno's newest restaurant Bar Amá in downtown LA that recently opened. Inspired by the memories of the women who raised him, Josef Centeno has created a menu of elevated Tex-Mex favorites that he grew up on. Bar Ama
08 February, 2013

Happy 2013 and welcome to the first newsletter from Please The Palate! 2012 was our full year in business, and an extremely busy one at that!...

08 January, 2013
Chef Rick Bayless newest book Frontera: Margaritas, Guacamole, Snacks is a collection of recipes of his prized margaritas, guacamole and snacks. I got a sneak preview when Rick Bayless hosted a cooking demo and book signing at his Red O Restaurant in Los Angeles and have since had fun trying recipes at home.
28 December, 2012
Since David Kaplan and Ravi DeRossi opened Death + Company in 2007, it has been one of the top cocktail bars not just in New York but internationally. Named in honor of the people known as Death and Company who drank alcohol during Prohibition and were thought to “live a life shadowed by death,” I was finally able to visit this famous bar in the East Village during a trip to NY. Arriving around 7pm on a Saturday night, there was already a line in front of the nondescript doors.  Reservations are not accepted and the policy is "first come, first served" as there is no standing-room inside the bar. The doorman was taking names and numbers and sending people to neighboring bars for drinks while they waited for a seat.  I patiently waited, hoping a single seat would open up, and it did after a 20 minute wait.
21 December, 2012
RANGE is the newest restaurant to open in Washington. D.C.  Not much of a foodie town when I lived there over a decade ago, today Washington, D.C. has transformed into a food and cocktail destination. RANGE, led by Chef and Owner Bryan Voltaggio (Bravo’s Top Chef season 6 finalist) and an amazing team including co-owner Hilda Staples, general manager Steven Fowler, wine director and Master Sommelier Keith Goldston, beverage director Owen Thomson, chef de cuisine Matt Hill, pastry chef John Miele and pizza-maker Edan MacQuaid, is no exception. RANGE is a 14,000 square foot space located on the third floor of the Chevy Chase Pavilion. Located in a mall and surrounded by neighboring malls, the modern space shares an atrium with the Embassy Suites hotel and other retail shops.  However, it is not a hotel restaurant, or for that matter a typical mall restaurant.  
18 December, 2012
MessHall is the newest incarnation of the original Brown Derby in Los Feliz. Built in 1929, it was originally the home of Willard's Chicken Inn until 1941 when director Cecil B. DeMille bought the restaurant and turned it into the Brown Derby, birthplace of the "Cobb Salad." It was Michael's of Los Feliz from 1960 - 1992 and then became The Derby nightclub, home of swing dancing. After The Derby, the space became Louise's Trattoria and then a Chase Bank and in 2006 the building was declared a Historic Cultural landmark. Today, MessHall Kitchen is a 14,000 square foot space with seating for 175 people and a corrugated metal bar located in the center of the room. The long wooden communal tables and fire pits on the patio will transport you to an upscale version of an army mess hall or camp.
17 December, 2012

ABSOLUT has always stood for innovation.  They are a company that has always asked the questions “What if?” and “ Why Not?” Absolut is a...

14 December, 2012
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