Riva Happy Hour

With no better day to celebrate than Friday, I met up with my roommate and my boyfriend at Riva for happy hour.

With my subjective well being high, I ordered the only glass of red available at the happy hour price of four dollars:  Sangiovese Vignedileo from the Marche region of Italy.

The attentive waitress brought the bottle to the table and filled my glass in front of me. Delicious.

For food, we ordered the House Made Meatballs ($6) and the Margherita Pizza ($8). So yummy. I especially enjoyed the pizza’s thin sourdough crust.

You can find happiness at Riva on weekdays from 5:00-6:30pm. However, I must recommend that it is a great restaurant to eat at any hour.

Riva
312 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.451.7474 (RIVA)

The Tavern

Brentwood is not the same as it was when I first moved here. And that is a good thing. For quite a number of months, I have watched the slow transformation of a Hamburger Hamlet (a restaurant I have never been) turn into a beautiful hot spot, Tavern (a restaurant I want to go to everyday). Tavern (and Larder) is the product of renowned restaurateurs Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne. Their other amazing restaurants include A.O.C. and Lucques. Also, Suzanne Goin and her husband, David Lentz, own the delicious Hungry Cat.

A few weekends ago, my roommate and I decided we would go for drinks and appetizers at the bar. We went around six, which was early enough to avoid the dinner crowd. The stools at the bar counter were full, but the chairs and tables surrounding the bar were still available. The bar is beautiful. The design of the bar (and everywhere else) is well thought out; fluidly chic from the lighting to the upholstery on the chairs. The service was also excellent and consistent even as the place progressively became more crowded.

First drink: I had a glass of Cabernet. Instead of writing down the exact wine or trying to memorize what I ordered, I thought I could just go online and check their wine menu. Sadly, they don’t have it up. So I don’t know exactly which one I ordered.

Second Drink: Lucques Gimlet - Hangar One Vodka, fresh lime juice, and mint. Delicious. In my humble opinion, I prefer the cocktails to the wine. And in no way is that a criticism to the wine list, but instead a compliment to the cocktail menu. All their cocktails are creative and delicious. I would order any of them and be satisfied.

While I was there to just have a few drinks, my roommate ordered some bar food which I was fortunately able to sample:

Steak tartare with quail egg - It is hard to believe that I was a vegetarian for eight years, because I could eat this perfectly seasoned tartare with quail egg everyday. And part of me wants to only to catch up on the lost carnivorous years.

Gougères with french radishes - A gougères is a choux pastry (light  pastry dough made from butter, water, fllour and eggs) filled with cheese. I think Tavern follows tradition and makes their gougères with gruyere cheese, but I could be wrong and plan to return soon to taste again. A French radish, also known as French Breakfast Radish, is an elongated red-skinned and white root base. I only had one, but that is all I needed to fall in love. It’s a cheese pastry in a ball form that you can pop into your mouth. What’s not to like about it? 

The Tavern and the Larder (marketplace/café) are wonderful additions to my neighborhood. I love that in a short walk I can be consuming tasty drinks and amazing dishes. I plan to go back in the future, repeatedly.

Quick Update / Thoughts

I haven’t posted in forever. I have a really bad cold right now. It sucks. This week has been very hard for me to get through. But, in more interesting news:

1. I went to Intelligentsia Venice. I love the way it looks. I enjoy the personalities found behind the counter and in fellow patrons. However, I think I prefer the Silver Lake Intelligentsia more simply because I find their assembly line of baristas (one to take your order, one to make your order, one to ring you up) works smoother and faster than Venice’s one stop barista (one person takes your order, makes your drink, and then finally rings you up). Maybe this is just a sign from above for me to put down my to do list, take a deep breath, and enjoy the processes of life.

1½. Speaking of Intelligentsia, I currently am sipping on the in season, direct trade, single origin,  El Machete, Panama. Yum. Not the best part of waking up, but really the only reason I wake up.

2. I went to the Tavern with my roommate for drinks and bar snacks. I loved everything about this restaurant. I hope to write more about it soon. I know I have started the post, but have not gotten around to finishing it.

3. I just bought my first loaf of Woman’s Bread. I really like it. If you’re not a woman, there is also Men’s Bread. If you are not a woman, nor a man, there is gender unbiased / androgynous bread. French Meadow Bakery is healthy, organic, and tasty. I’ve used it for mainly turkey sandwich purposes.

4. I wish I could take some HiberNol.

5. Hope to update more this weekend. Have a happy Friday!

Forming Traditions; the Best Way to End the Day of a 10k

Father’s Office II.

Melville Syrah Wine (one of my favorite vineyards).

Beet Salad - with blue cheese and walnuts (and some lettuce hidden underneath it all)

Scaldís Noel Beer - A Winter Ale

Strangely, FO wouldn’t let me have the Scaldís bottle. Apparently there is a rule that they can’t let the bottle cross over the bar counter. Weird, huh? They did let me take a picture. This beer is a seasonal and delicious. It is thick, creamy, and had a hint of cherry and clove to it. It’s one of those beers you can’t drink too many of because it’s so filling and rich, but it was nice to sip on and perfect for the winter.

Bottle Rock

I truly want to like Bottle Rock. I have given it many many chances, but in the end I always leave feeling ripped off and in a bad mood. Don’t get me wrong, they have a good selection of wine. But, if you want to order more 2 glasses and some food, expect a bill well over 30 dollars. Thirty plus dollars just for wine and tapas. Not the best deal in my book. Although they have “fixed” the uncomfortable seating in the main room (sadly, by moving the old metal seats to the patio), they have not fixed their lighting problem. It is too bright. The room is not comfortable. Their service is borderline terrible. My roommate and I have been harassed by an older woman who was convinced we were underage. In general, the servers are not the friendliest. Right now, I am sick of bad and rude service (like Gingergrass in Silverlake). I used to say “I don’t want to write bad reviews on my blog,” but now I feel like I have to.

I am sure some day I will return, but not anytime soon. Although, they do have a happy hour - I am not willing to fight traffic to get there. There are better, inexpensive and tastier options to choose than Bottle Rock. Sorry.

Bottle Rock
3847 Main St
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 836-9463

Lies & Regifts

My boyfriend recently was given a bottle of red wine (Kono Báru 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon) and some candles from a friend for his birthday. Although it sounds like a sweet and innocent gift, it is not. First, who gives their friends candles for their birthday or ever? (Bizarro). Second, everyone that is friends with my boyfriend knows that he does not like red wine. To add to this shadiness, his friend claims the wine came from Mel and Rose’s and was worth thirty dollars. However, I accidently found this upside down label selling at Trader Joe’s for $3.99! I also called Mel and Rose’s to confirm the price, but they told me they had never heard of the brand and did not sell it. Thus, confirming the sketchiness of the story. Even though all signs point to regifting and lying, it did work out to my benefit: I got a free bottle of wine.

The wine was better than expected. It was low complexity and sweet. It had a medium body, monotone flavor, and a short finish. No notes of dryness. It was inoffensive and uninteresting, but still palatable. Overall, a good buy lie.

Bodega Wine Bar (Santa Monica)

Not so long ago I was having a high stress day. I was driving home from an important meeting and was sitting at a red light. My foot was on the break for a good 10 seconds. And then out of nowhere, bam!, someone had rear ended me. I screamed in terror. Apparently, the man who hit me was looking for an Altoid. God damn you curiously strong mints. My bumper was bruised with screw driver marks from his Mercedes license plate. The man said he would pay for it and we decided to not involve insurance. I immediately went to my body shop (cars like to hit my car) and got an estimate of six hundred and three dollars. Because the man said he would pay, this wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it would take three days to repair my bumper. I needed a drink. In order to forget about the bad, my roommate and I went to find some good. Good in 5 dollar glasses of wine at Bodega’s Happy Hour. Sadly, the happy hour used to be 4 dollars a glass but had gone up a dollar since we had last gone.

The layout of the bar is relaxing, hip, sexy, and kind of dark. It is bigger than the flagship Bodega in Pasadena. The service is usually always attentive and friendly. They always have a wide variety of wine options with different kinds of reds, whites, and sparkling. They also keep it interesting by rotating the wine list every few weeks. When I arrived at the wine bar, I planned to order wine that I would not normally order (like the episode of Seinfeld where George does everything opposite of how he would normally do it and everything comes up roses). Instead of tuna salad, I ordered a a pinot noir. Sadly, I was too shook up from the accident to think to write down the name of the wine or the pleasant adjectives used to describe it on the menu. What I do know is that the wine is always pretty good and hits the spot, especially when you’re having a bad day. I do consistently find their red wines to be more on the light/thin body side of the spectrum.

We also ordered from their happy hour meal menu. They offer a few items from their menu for happy hour price of 5-6 dollars: margherita pizza, pepperoni & mushroom pizza, hummus and pita, pepperoni and cheese plate, a bruscetta and olive tapenade, and I think a warm goat cheese crostini. We ordered the pepperoni & mushroom pizza because my roommate had hummus at home (and what’s the point of ordering something you can make/have at home?). We are professional happy hour goers and have tried most of their menu and all of their happy hour menu so I can tell you off the bat the the best options for happy hour are the pizza, hummus, the bruscetta, and the crostini. The cheese and pepperoni is not worth your money; It’s like a cracker barrel rectangle of orange cheese (I’m assuming cheddar) and slices of pepperoni that obviously came out of a plastic bag in the kitchen along with little pieces of toast; nothing special and not very healthy! If you have money to spend, I always enjoyed their smoked turkey breast panini ($10 - w/ goat cheese, tomato, arugula & pesto may) and their big chopped salad ($10 or $13 w/ chicken - mixed greens, mozzarella, mushrooms, jicama, chickpeas, zucchini, & tomatoes with balsamic vinaigrette).

They also offer beer, cold sake, and soju cocktails. What’s a soju cocktail you ask? Soju is distilled beverage native to Korea commonly made from rice (but sometimes potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca)! Soju is clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about 20% to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 20% ABV being most common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter because of the sugars added in the manufacturing process.The liquor licensing laws in the states of California and New York classify soju in the same category as beer and wine, allowing businesses with a beer/wine license to sell it without requiring the more expensive license required for other distilled spirits. The only stipulation is that the soju must be clearly labeled as such and contain less than 25% alcohol. The cocktails are nice, but I find it’s lower alcohol content less fun than regular hard liquor.

In the end, I recommend Bodega Happy Hour to everyone. When it is not happy hour, wine is 8 dollars a glass (which I probably would not recommend). It is a fun to go with friends and co-workers and will always have a place in my heart. The location is kind of hidden and easy to miss. It is a few stores away from Swingers on Broadway. It always looks dark. Happy Hour is from 5-7pm. Street (metered) parking and valet.

List of weekly events:

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Andrew Jackson Night (any bottle = $20, but that’s not much incentive because any other day the bottle = $21)
Wednesday: Modelo Madness - (Modelo in the can = $2)
Thursday - Saturday: DJ’s play
Sunday: Service Industry Night - Happy hour prices and $1 sake shots all night long

Bodega Wine Bar
814 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 394-3504