Please The Palate |

Celebrating New Year’s Eve…..Again and Again

When the clock strikes midnight, does the world change? No, not really. Truthfully, it's like any other night at midnight.....it's late. But, on New Year's Eve, we wait all night to shout out "Happy New Year" and then it's all over. So, why not celebrate it over and over again, hour after hour? After all, over a 24 hour period, there is someone celebrating almost every hour somewhere in the world. This is the way to do it! For the last four years, Big Bar in Los Feliz has taken us on a journey around the world as we celebrate New Year's Eve in another city starting at 3pm until midnight. The bar crew at Big Bar become our flight crew as we start in Paris and end in Los Angeles.

The idea was born four years ago. Bartender Eugene Lee had worked as a DJ at the UCSD campus radio station when he was in college. He came up with the idea to start Mixtape Mixology (which is now on week #196). From Mixtape, the idea for the playlist for each timezone was born. "At 4pm it was Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland ... 6pm Brazil, 9pm New York, Boston and Jamaica.... I spent like 9 hours making the first playlist to go with the countdown," Eugene told me. "I remember making them perfectly sync into a pre-recorded countdown that I recorded with a bunch of friends in the language spoken."

08 January, 2015

Returning to S.Y. Kicthen, Santa Ynez

I went to S.Y. Kitchen for my first time last summer and loved it. So, when I drove up to Santa Barbara wine country for the weekend recently, I knew I wanted to go back. I remembered that the chef and sous chef are Italian brothers Luca and Francesco Crestinelli and I have actually known Luca from when he lived in Los Angeles and worked at Vincenti and then Bar Toscana. Luca hadn't been there the last time I was in so this time we got a chance to catch up. But, suddenly, I realized that I was surrounded by Italians - the chefs, the bar manager Alberto Battaglini and many of the waiters. The wine director Emily Johnston is American but, like me, an Italo-phile. I almost felt as if I was in Italy.

I took a seat at the bar and started with cocktails (and wine). SY Kitchen is one of the only places in Santa Barbara wine country to get well-made cocktails. And, truth be told, after a day of wine tasting, a cocktail is what is needed. Bar Manager Alberto Battaglini focuses on fresh ingredients and makes all of his own garnishes. There is a wall of jars with candied citrus, herbs and other housemade garnishes. Alberto has created a good menu but really likes to hear what guests want and he has trained his staff to do the same.

22 December, 2014

Acabar Los Angeles

Growing up in Los Angeles, Dar Maghreb was LA's premier Moroccan restaurant. I remember my parents going there on special occasions. I even remember going with them once when I was a tween and being mesmerized by the decor, the belly dancers, sitting on pillows and eating with my hands. But after 40 years, the restaurant closed and a new restaurant opened in its place last year - Acabar.

Over the past year, I have seen Acabar at various events around Los Angeles, including LA Food and Wine and LA Times Taste. At these events, Chef de Cuisine Kevin Luzande was behind the table serving up the amazingly delicious crispy lamb buns. Every time I tried one of these, I told myself that I needed to go to Acabar.

15 December, 2014