Caliche Rum Launch Party

To celebrate its launch in Los Angeles, Caliche Rum converted the Stone Rose Lounge at The Sofitel hotel into a Puerto Rican party house. Fedoras were given out and a photo room were decorated with bottles of Caliche and aging barrels. Celebs like Cindy Crawford were supposedly in attendance (although I didn't see any).

Inside the lounge, there were basic drinks like rum with ginger beer, a creamy coconut concoction, and others. Appetizers like empanadas and chicken tinga tacos made the round. Trying the rum itself, it was pretty smooth and smells sweet and coconut-y. Upon venturing out into the patio, who do I see? Michel Dozois! What a pleasant surprise!

At his station, Michel and his crew were making four of the more "interesting" cocktails.
Our favorite was the Cali Kick: Caliche rum, Thai chili, fresh lemon juice, cream

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Sadie (Hollywood)

The former Les Deux lounge space had been transformed into a Sadie Restaurant, with a beautiful, quiet, large back patio: a dining space that's a respite from the Hollywood scene (at least before the Hollywood drinking crowd starts hitting the bar inside).

Other food and cocktail bloggers have had great things to say about Sadie and their cocktails (and food), so I looked forward to checking it out with LA & OC Foodie. The cocktail list indeed look quite interesting.
We started with the La China: lychee black-tea infused Avion Silver Tequila, fresh lime juice, organic agave syrup, Velvet Falernum ($12), and Kentucky Ninja: Japanese single malt whisky, bourbon, fresh lemon juice, lavender-infused wild honey, served in a Peychaud-rinsed glass ($13)

Both of them were a great start to the night. Kentucky Ninja is one of the most popular cocktails at Sadie, and I can definitely see why. A strong drink but sweet and balanced.

Recently, Chef Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant had jumped on board as a consulting chef at Sadie, so the menu has slowly been changing and Gold will soon be launching a new Spring menu. Some of the things I had are still on the menu now, like these oysters:
Oysters, Deer Isle, Maine (1/2 dozen blue hill blonde oysters, $18)

Market Chop salad: kale, beets, cucumber, peas, carrots, quinoa, lemon vinaigrette ($11)

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Check Out Plan Check: Craft Cocktails on Sawtelle

There have been plenty of exciting new places on Sawtelle recently, including Tsujita and their amazing tsukemen, but Plan Check brings something completely new to Little Osaka: cocktails! I've been looking forward to the opening since learning that Pablo Moix and Steve Livigni are consulting and created the cocktail menu for this new place.

I was able to attend their friends and family night before the official opening, where they brought out the signature dishes for us to try. The kitchen menu is the creation of Ernesto Uchimura, the chef who was at Umami when they first opened, so think heavy drinking food: burgers, fried chicken, and the likes just a stone's throw away from all the curry and tofu houses.

Out of the two burgers we tried I liked the Bleuprint Burger: akaushi red wagyu beef, smoked blue cheese, pig candy (candied bacon), fried onions, steak sauce, peppercress, "crunch bun" ($11)

The buns are made especially this restaurant and they described it as a Portuguese milk bun with extra crunch. I liked how it's moist and sweet, though it makes the burger a tad richer. There's a lot going on in this burger, as you can see, but since I liked every component, I enjoyed it as a whole.

Their "standard" burger is the Plan Check Burger with akaushi red wagyu beef, americanized (?) cheese, ketchup leather, onions, pickles, "crunch bun" ($10)

You've probably read about the "ketchup leather" elsewhere, but yes. Remember the fruit leathers you might have had as a kid? They've made their ketchup into one of those, to avoid the buns getting soggy from ketchup. I think I still like regular ketchup better, though, since it's a bit drier with the "leather." You can taste the flavors of the wagyu patty better in this simpler burger.

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