Lexington Social House: Social Hour and Fried Chicken

Good cocktails in the heart of Hollywood, for cheap? We're not talking dive bars, here. It's possible during Lexington Social House's Social Hour, where all specialty cocktails are priced at $7 on weekdays 6-8PM and all night Sunday.

With the launch of Social Hour they also launched a bar menu (items from this menu are also $7 during social hour!)
Do try the Chipotle Pork Belly biscuits with aged gouda, fried egg ($14)

I have a soft spot for McD's sausage egg mcmuffin, but this is (of course!) so much better! Everything you'd ever want from a breakfast sandwich, even if it isn't breakfast time. Great buttery biscuits, thick and tender pork belly, fried egg with runny yolk. I will definitely get this again.

The cocktail menu was created by barman Kyle Ackley, who used to work at XIV, and the cocktails are quite good and interesting (well, the bottom half. The top half consisted of mainly vodka drinks catered to the usual Hollywood crowd).

For my first drink I ordered the Palmera made with Zirbenz stone pine liqueur, pineapple juice, lemon juice, velvet falernum, angostura bitters

This refreshing drink is a great one to start the night off with. Frothy, velvety, nice light grassy note.

Next bar food: Short rib panini, port salut, pickles, IPA mustard ($12)

One word to describe this would be "rich". Very rich. The bottom slice soaks up the juices from the braised short rib and melted cheese.

My friend got the SPANISH HARLEM with tanteo cocoa infused tequila, maraschino liqueur, agave nectar, chocolate-chili bitters

As you lift the glass, you'll get a strong chili aroma, but the drink itself is actually not spicy. Strong and balanced.

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A WP24 Lunch with Iron Chef Morimoto, LA Food and Wine Festival

The first LA Food and Wine Festival kind of snuck up on me. Suddenly there are a slew of celebrity chefs in town doing special lunches and dinners, and grand tastings, totaling to about 70 events!

Thanks to Lexus, I was lucky enough to attend a lunch at Wolfgang Puck's WP24 (normally not open for lunch) prepared by WP24's chef Sara Johannes and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.

Chef Morimoto

I've always admired the view from WP24, but this was the first time I've seen it during the day. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful day!

The party started in the front bar area with some Scharffenberger Cellars "Brut Excellence", Mendocino (Anderson Valley). This sparkling wine was made with a base from 2007, using 2/3 Chardonnay and 1/3 Pinot Noir. I missed out on most of the passed hors d'oeuvres - they went fast. If I had known the bao was filled with foie gras instead of pork belly, I would've tried harder to procure some.

Oh well, I had a great meal ahead of me anyway.

We alternated courses made by the Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and WP24's chef Sara Johannes.
The first course was by Morimoto: Kin Medai Snapper with geoduck, papaya, peanuts and coconut foam.
This was paired with a glass of Grieve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa 2009

I loved the Southeast Asian flavors that come out in this dish, especially from the peanuts and chili. I don't think I've had sashimi with southeast asian flavors before, but it certainly worked wonderfully.

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Spanish Olive Oil Tasting, and a Feast at Playa

What country do you think of when you think of olive oil? Italy? Greece? How many thought of Spain? Well, Spain is in fact the number one producer of olive oil in the world. It's not just the quantity, either. Apparently the winner of the latest international olive oil contest is an olive oil from Spain.

I had gone to a Spanish Olive Oil tasting last year, but it was so much fun that when they invited me again this year, I went. The tasting was led by Alfonso Fernandez, an olive oil expert from the LA trade commissioner of Spain

The formal tastings are done using this dark blue tasting glass, as they do not want to see the color while tasting. Perhaps they don't want to have any misconception based only on visual elements.

We tasted four of the main varietals from Spain: Arbequina, Hojiblanca, Cornicabra, and Picual. For each one, we determined whether the aroma is of ripe fruit or green fruit, and if there is any bitterness and astringency to the olive oil.

The arbequina smelled of ripe fruit (banana) and was sweet with no bitterness. There's a spiciness at the back palate as you swallow.
The Hojiblanca had a medium intensity in aroma and smelled of kiwi. There's bitterness and piquancy in this oil which is great for cooking.
The cornicabra smelled of ripe apple and bananas. It had some astringency but no bitterness and there's less spiciness which came deeper in the throat. This varietal is apparently only found in Spain.
The Picual was many people's favorite. The aroma is much more intense and smelled of green tomato. It was very bitter with some piquancy. It was much thicker. Everything about this olive oil was intense yet it was well balanced.

For more detailed tasting notes, you can see my post from last year!

The tasting was followed a lavish meal prepared by Chef John Sedlar (all incorporating olive oil, naturally). Even though we knew it would be a four course tasting menu, little did we know that each course would consist of four dishes!

Before the courses started we also had a rather big "amuse bouche" in the form of Rivera's famous flan de elote with quinoa. I've had this dish a few times at various festivals and I still fall in love with it all over again, every time.

The first dishes we had were served with a blend of gewurtztraminer and riesling.
Papas salsa verde, serranos, micro cilantro

Picual, fried chiles gueros, crab. The picual varietal is good for dishes with bold flavors such as this.

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