Please The Palate |

It’s Fowlplay at Upstairs at the Ace Hotel

The cocktails have "gone to the birds" at Upstairs Bar at the Ace Hotel in downtown LA. That is, the new menu at the rooftop bar is dedicated to the birds with a "fowlplay" menu. It's a pretty creative theme and the result is a very tasty menu!

Did you know that there are 477 species of birds that live in and around downtown LA? According to the new menu, a family of Cooper's Hawks have made their nest on the radio tower across Broadway and you can see them if you squint hard enough (or have super vision). Also, in the fall and spring, thousands of Voux's swifts fly across the skyline to the Chester Building chimney on Fifth and Broadway where they roost. And, on the top of the US Bank Building, you can find Peregrine Falcons nesting there.

While people-watching can be fun, the rooftop patio of the Ace Hotel is the perfect spot to do some bird watching while enjoying a cocktail from the descriptive menu Daniel Sabo, Bar Manager Evan Enderle and their bar team have put together.

23 November, 2015

Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant Celebrating 50 Years

This story originally appeared in Beverage Industry News November 2015

Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant has been a San Francisco staple since opening its doors 50 years ago. This is an impressive feat! With rents multiplying and economies shifting, it is a challenge to be in the restaurant business, especially in San Francisco. But, Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant has made it and is celebrating their 50th Anniversary. Tomas “Tommy” Bermejo came to the US from the Yucatan as a guest worker through the United States and Mexico’s Bracero Program, which ran between 1942 and 1964. Tommy’s first business was a small café on MacAllister Street called Elmy’s Café, named after his wife. When Tomas decided to start a restaurant in 1965, he found the space on Geary Street and bought the building. It was very fortuitous that Tomas and Elmy purchased the building. “I am lucky that my parents bought the building,” explained Julio Bermejo, son of Tomas and Elmy. “We were able to ride out any early struggles and never had the threat of our rent being tripled in price.”

19 November, 2015

What’s Your Perfect Martini?

How do you make your perfect martini? Do you like it with gin or vodka? Do you like it dirty, wet or dry? The original martini, which dates back to the 1880's, was a combination of gin and vermouth. By the 1950's, vodka was introduced to the martini and rose to fame with James Bond. By the 1990's, many variations of martinis were made, using a martini glass and adding fruit juices and other modifiers. This was the time that Lemon Drops, Appletinis and the Cosmo became popular. But, let's got back to the basic martini. A martini is made with 3 ounces of spirits. Pick your gin or vodka and your vermouth (fortified wine) of choice and do what ever ratio combination you want (2:1, 3:0, 1.5:1.5). At a recent event at Big Bar with Absolut Elyx, we got to play with different combinations to come up with our own preferences.

16 November, 2015