The Churchill Ups The Game: New Cocktails By Mia Sarazen And Menu By Chef Bruce Kalman

Big changes are taking place at The Churchill in West Hollywood. Chef Bruce Kalman (formerly of The Misfit, Urbano Pizza Bar) is taking over the kitchen, and Mia Sarazen (Harvard and Stone, Black Market) has created a whole new cocktail menu ($12 each).

It's only been a couple of months, but The Churchill Old Fashioned (Old Fitzgerald Bourbon, house bitters, sugar) has already been touted as the city's best.

The charcuterie section features plenty of housemade products including pancetta, duck prosciutto, coppa picante. The cheese selection is small but excellent. Try the Hopscotch cheddar from Fiscalini in Modesto or Glacier goat cheese from Drake Farms in Ontario.

The warm Gougeres with gruyere and garlic chives ($6) are dangerously addictive, I couldn't stop popping one in my mouth.

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AMMO's New Slinger

There's a new face behind the bar at AMMO. Jonny Ericsen is a Portland transplant and Clyde Common graduate who will be taking charge of AMMO's cocktails (speaking of Portland mixologist moving to LA .. have you watched this Portlandia episode?)

A few of the cocktails remained from my last visit, but a number of new ones have popped up. The Currant Affair is a strong but sweet drink that's perfect to start the night off (Old Overholt rye, lemon juice, cassis, maraschino, Angostura bitters -$10)

I had a more aromatic beginning with the Copper Cup (Citadelle gin, Cynar, Dolin Blanc vermouth, orange bitters - $11)

Both drinks were well balanced and went down dangerously easy.
After a while, we started having Jonny play around with off-menu drinks, both classics and his own creations. The Van Cleef was a drink he made when he opened Little Bird in Portland. He calls it a "cowboy drink", made with scotch rinse, Buffalo Trace bourbon, and burnt orange oil.

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Casa Botin, The Oldest Restaurant in the World (Madrid, Spain)

What's the oldest restaurant you've been to? Well, unless you've been to Restaurante Botin (also known as Casa Botin), then you still have ways to go. Casa Botin in Madrid goes back to 1725, when it was operating as an inn and restaurant, and the space is reminiscent of what it was.

Tight spaces and narrow wooden stairs took us to the upper dining area. On the walls were menus from special dinners dating to the 1800s for the royalties and visiting government officials.

A visit to Casa Botin isn't just about visiting the oldest restaurant in the world - the food is actually quite good. For the most part they still serve simple fares. Appetizers include salads, soups, and jamon iberico or a plate of ham with melon.

The rest of the menu is divided into egg dishes, vegetables, fish, and meats.
They list two specialties on the menu, so naturally we had to get those. The two specialties are the roast suckling pig and roast baby lamb, both roasted slowly in a wood-fired oven.

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