Please The Palate |

Get Glam and Celebrate the Oscars with Piper Heidsieck

Awards season is here and nothing says celebration more than a glass of bubbly. So, to get in the spirit of the Oscars, we headed to a little pre-glam party hosted by Champagne Piper Heidsieck, the official and exclusive Champagne of the Academy Awards.

We sat down for a little pampering, compliments of the newly launched The Glam App, which lets users order from a menu of services covering hair, makeup and nails, at various levels of pricing based on experience. It's really beauty on demand at your door.

22 February, 2015

Big Bar Winter Cocktail Menu

It's hard to say that it is winter here in Los Angeles. After a few chilly and rainy days, followed by hot sunny days, we are only reminded when we see how cold it is in the rest of the country. But, no matter the temperature, it is winter and with the season comes a new cocktail menu at Big Bar in Los Feliz. Big Bar is a friendly, neighborhood bar and this is reflected in the bar team. A passionate group of bartenders who work together and share ideas, it is through their collaboration that this new seasonal menu has been created. And, the story behind each drink gives reason to the name and choice of ingredients.

Aaron Alvarez has been at Big Bar for 8 months and this is the first cocktail list that he has been very involved in creating. So, it was all the more appropriate that we started with the very first drink Aaron ever made at Big Bar. The Redrum (Bacardi 8, Smith and Cross Jamaican rum, cherry, bitters, lime) has a classic daiquiri base and was made to pay homage to The Shining, which was shown at Big Bar's movie night.

19 February, 2015

Monday is Valencian Putxero Night at Smoke.Oil.Salt.

Monday night may be the night you like to stay in. And, perhaps it is a good night for cooking at home as many restaurants are closed on Mondays. But, if you want to have that home-cooked meal and don't want to do the work, head to Smoke.Oil.Salt in West Hollywood. Smoke.Oil.Salt is an authentic Spanish restaurant and wine bar known for its traditional Catalan dishes (paella, fideua, wood-grilled fish and seafoods). But, on Monday nights, Chef Perfecto Rocher is preparing a traditional stew from Valencia, a region south of Catalan. At Smoke.Oil.Salt., Chef Rocher's Valencian Putxero is served on a “TV Dinner/School Cafeteria Tray” with the items in different sections. Traditional Valencian Putxero is a Spanish stew made with rice, lamb, beef, pork, pilotes (Valencian meatballs), chickpeas, potatoes and other vegetables. This stew may vary from household to household in Valencia but it always contains meat, vegetables and sometimes sausage with ingredients typical to the area where it is prepared.

16 February, 2015