Revisiting The Little Door

It's been many years since I last came to Little Door, and their outdoor dining area is still as charming as ever. The regulars still pile in for happy hour and dinner, and Executive Chef Nicolas Peters still personally makes runs to the farmer's markets after 17 years at Little Door.

I came in the fall for a tasting menu. Preparing for the colder weather, we started the dinner with a bowl of Celeriac soup with pomegranate and shaved walnuts

Maple sherry vinegar glazed chanterelle and frisee salad

Beautiful mushroom salad, perfectly complemented by the glaze and evoking the flavors of fall.

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Insomnia, An Intimate Magic Show at Hotel Casa del Mar, Santa Monica

Starting on January 26, Hotel Casa del Mar will host magician ("modern conjuror") Derek Hughes for his new comedic magic show, Insomnia. 

The $55 ticket (which can be purchased here) not only includes the show, a beer/wine reception ...

 ... with some hors d'oeuvres, but also parking. That's invaluable in these parts of Santa Monica! Given the price of shows in Los Angeles these days, this is quite a good price.

It's hard to capture a magic show with photos alone, so check out this video preview on youtube.

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Winter Cocktail Pairing at Trattoria Neapolis (Pasadena, CA)

Ken Baranda has left the bar at Trattoria Neapolis, but his successor, Chris Doyle, is doing just fine, as exemplified by his winter cocktails.

The first cocktail I tried during a recent tasting was a warm one, a variation of hot buttered rum: Fireside (Appleton dark rum, Matusalem light rum, butter, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest)

Not too heavy, warm, and would be perfect on chilly nights.
The cocktails were paired with some bites. The Fireside was paired with some Beef short rib "manwiches" on house focaccia

Darling Clementine (Tito's vodka, fresh clementine juice, housemade cranberry ginger chutney, Combier, fresh orange and lemon juices)

Clementines are a great citrus alternative for cocktails! This drink was so refreshing but with some spice from the ginger chutney. We all loved this one. Despite my usual snobby tendency to avoid vodka cocktails, this was my favorite.

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