Recess happy hour at Public School 612

If you’ve been to the downtown L.A. Daily Grill lately, you may have noticed a separate bar space just past the host stand. That’s Public School 612 (AKA PS 612), a new gastropub concept from the owners of the Daily Grill restaurants. This is the first of what the owners hope will be many PS 612 locations.

The bar opens every day at 4:00 p.m. and features food and drink, including a nicely edited beer list. There’s also a Recess happy hour on weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a bar bites menu that tops out at $4. The drink specials don’t include the bar’s cocktails, but there’s a $4 handle of beer (that’s actually available all night long), a $5 Skinny Margarita and a $10 carafe of wine.

I was recently invited to try out the Recess menu, and I definitely found some favorite items. The Adobo Short Rib Tacos are tasty and tender, even though I didn’t really find the vinegar flavor I was expecting with a name like adobo. But no matter; the tacos were good (and hearty) anyway.

Adobo Short Rib Tacos

The Schezwan Calamari surprised me. I was skeptical at first, but the spicy Chinese flavors worked really nicely with this traditional Italian dish. I think I may actually prefer this preparation.

Schezwan Calamari

I also tried some items that are on the regular dining menu, and the 1903 Fish & Chips served with remoulade was a standout. The fish was light and flaky, and the fries were nicely fried, too.

1903 Fish & Chips

There’s also a dessert menu that’s kind of a secret, mostly because the items aren’t listed. Why aren’t they listed? Because they ran out of room on the menu! Seriously. So make sure to ask for these two delicious items: the beer float and the peanut butter and jelly cookies with milk.

This beer float, made with vanilla ice cream and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, is my favorite beer float. The chocolate stout just makes sense — it’s not too bitter, but just bitter enough to give it some bite.

Beer float

The peanut butter and jelly cookies are also a great choice. The peanut cookie is rich, and the sweetness from the fruit jelly balances that out.

Peanut butter and jelly cookies

As for the drinks here, stick with the beer. There are beers from Craftsman, Allagash, Unibroue, Telegraph and The Bruery, among other quality breweries. Oh, and you can play darts in the back. It’s a recipe for good times.

Note: This meal was hosted.

Smashed Irishman at Les Deux

The nightclub formerly known as Les Deux (of “The Hills” fame) is now the gastropub Les Deux. Les Deux Estate, actually, but you can keep calling it Les Deux. Anyway, the folks behind The Buffalo Club in Santa Monica took over the former nightclub space and turned it into a classy restaurant and bar with a more-than-respectable food and drink menu.

I recently visited the new Les Deux during happy hour, which goes until 7:30 p.m. but applies only to food. Boo. But the cocktails are really pretty great, so that makes the $12 to $15 price tags a bit more bearable (not really; those are steep prices!). Anyway, if you’re going to shell out for one of the drinks on the menu, try the Smashed Irishman made with Jameson whiskey, lemon, basil, red bell pepper, honey and a Guinness reduction float. It’s reminiscent of Rivera’s Blood Sugar Sex Magic, which is one of my favorite cocktails. If you’d like something custom made, ask the friendly mixologist behind the bar for a Dealer’s Choice, which he will create for you based on your preferred flavor profile.

The grilled cheese with caramelized onions is also a good choice, though the tomato soup that comes with it is just OK. When I was there, it seemed that the staff was still working out some kinks: I ordered the grilled cheese off the happy menu, which listed fries as the accompaniment, but got the soup, which is part of the dish on the regular menu. Oh, well. The mac and cheese is another worthy menu item, with its topping of bread crumbs and a bruschetta-like mixture giving it a little something special.

Grilled cheese sandwich with caramelized onions

Mac and cheese

Les Deux is definitely going to become one of my go-to Hollywood happy hour spots. Now, if only the cocktail menu were part of the discount…

Further reading: Les Deux Estate, a Hollywood Sequel You Need to See by Thirsty In LA

The beer garden menu features yakitori skewers ($2 each) grilled on the patio on new hibachis and include chicken, short rib, beef tongue, shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. I was recently invited by the restaurant to try the new skewers, and I liked the chicken the best, which shows mastery in grilling skills, I’d say. All the others were good, too, though the shiitake were a bit dry for my taste. Maybe top them with some of that teriyaki or chimichurri sauce that come on the other skewers?

Yakitori, from top: shrimp, beef tongue, shiitake, short rib and chicken

I also tried some of the other items on the beer garden menu, including grilled corn with mayo and feta cheese ($5), sake-steamed mussels ($8) and albacore tuna poke ($7). While I wasn’t impressed with the mussels, I did enjoy the grilled corn (a huge ear cut into fourths) and the tuna poke (the seaweed garnish really made this).

Grilled corn with mayo and feta cheese

Sake-steamed mussels

Albacore tuna poke

I also ordered a Russian Blues cocktail ($5) off the regular happy hour menu made with lemon-infused vodka, blueberry puree, house-made sweet and sour, soda, and garnished with a fresh blueberry. For a $5 cocktail, this was pretty decent. $5 cocktails make me smile

Russian Blues cocktail

True to its beer garden moniker, you can get pitchers of Kirin for $15 here during this time. There are also other beers available on the regular happy hour menu ranging in price from $4 to $5. (All cocktails are $5, and wines range from $5 to $6 a glass.)

I’m glad I finally experienced this place because now I have another good option for happy hour!

Note: I received 5 complimentary skewers, one of each kind. I split the cost of everything else with fellow bloggers Esther of e*starLA and Bill of Street Gourmet L.A.

Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that three yakitori skewers could be ordered for $5. This is no longer available.

Oliverio at Avalon Hotel. From Curbed LA.

Oliverio, the restaurant that took over the old Blue on Blue space at the Avalon Hotel last fall, now has a twice-weekly happy hour. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Oliverio’s bar and cocktail menus are half-off, which means all cocktails are $7 instead of the regularly priced $14. The Lombardia made with bourbon, apple, cinnamon and orange sounds good to me (I love bourbon!). Food includes a goat cheese and black summer truffle pizza for $11 (normally $22) or truffle and parmesan fries for $4 (normally $8).

Note: I haven’t been to the Avalon’s restaurant since it was Blue on Blue under Chef Scott Garrett. Now that the space is Oliverio under Chef Mirko Paderno, I’ll have to go back and check it out.

• Friday: Get into the fall spirit with a free 12 oz. pumpkin ice blended or latte from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Oh, and did I mention it’s free? It’s free. I love free!

• Saturday and Sunday: Nurse that hangover with a Brats and Beer special at Rush Street in Culver City. For $10, you’ll get a brat, fries and a PBR. You’ll even have your choice of truffle fries, sweet potato or seasoned tater tots. And if that PBR isn’t strong enough for you, for $20 you can get bottomless mimosas or Bloody Marys (you can even build your own at the restaurant’s Bloody Mary bar).

• Sunday and Monday: 25 Degrees, home to a very tasty burger, now hosts NFL nights with game-time specials of $2.50 cans of PBR, half-off all other beer (which comes out to $3.50), $8 for half dozen and $12 for a dozen wings (either buffalo or spicy soy BBQ), and $10 for a plate of chili cheese fries. And for the rest of the week, 25 Degrees has happy hour deals every day — yes, you read that correctly — from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (early, I know) of half-off selected wines and cocktails, beer, milkshakes, and side dishes.

From Looka!/Gumbo Pages.

Normally I wouldn’t dedicate a whole post to just one cocktail, but the Blood Sugar Sex Magic is like nothing I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been thinking about it, on and off, since first trying it a couple weeks ago before heading over to Rosa Mexicano’s par-tay. And then at a dinner last week, Matt of Dig Lounge brought it up, and now I’m thinking about it a lot again. So now I have to blog about it, plain and simple.

I had some time to kill before Rosa Mexicano, so Caroline of Caroline on Crack met me for some pre-party drinks at Rivera, which is conveniently within walking distance of L.A. Live downtown. After perusing the cocktail menu, my eye landed on the Blood Sugar Sex Magic: a perfect combination of rye whiskey, agave nectar, basil and red bell pepper. Yes, you read correctly. Since Caroline, who knows her whiskey, said she’d had the cocktail and liked it, I though I’d give it a try. And I’m sure glad I did. It’s absolutely amazing: fragrant, well-balanced, intriguing even.

The only downside is it’s a whopping $14. This was my first time at Rivera, so I haven’t had any of the other cocktails, save for a sip of Caroline’s Donaji made with mezcal, citrus, agave nectar, pomegranate seeds and chapulin (grasshopper!) salt. The Donaji wasn’t really my cup of tea, so to speak, and smelled like a Band-Aid, which Caroline expertly pointed out. But I would go back not just for the Blood Sugar Sex Magic but also to try the restaurant’s happy hour menu, which includes a list of standard throwback cocktails that’s so trendy right now.

Gripe: I probably would have tried one of the drinks on the happy hour menu had I know there was a happy hour menu. When we asked for a menu, we were given the bar’s regular menu despite it obviously being happy hour time. When we went to pay, we asked, out of curiosity, if there was indeed a happy hour menu, and that’s when the bartender handed it over. Poor form.

Pomegranate cosmo (foreground), Berry belini

Like any smart hotel, Le Merigot’s Le Troquet bar in Santa Monica is now offering a happy hour deal, but it’s slightly different: it’s a late-night happy hour, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Food on the bar menu is 30 percent off, and well drinks are 50 percent off.

I had never been to Le Merigot, so when the hotel invited me in to experience the new happy hour deal, I accepted the offer. The hotel is on Ocean Avenue near the Viceroy and Loews hotels, so I figured it would be a nice property and possibly a place I’d go to when I’m in the area.

Le Merigot is a J.W. Marriott property, so it is a nice hotel even if it’s a bit outdated in its decor. It’s more my parents’ style and not mine, which is decidedly more like the Viceroy’s. That said, there’s nothing wrong with Le Merigot’s. Le Troquet bar has indoor and outdoor seating (I’d go with the outdoor area, which is larger and more comfortable, even though the ocean view is obstructed by a wing of the hotel).

But the hotel’s decor isn’t the only thing that’s outdated: the bar’s menu could use a revamp, too. I was given a sampler platter of shrimp cocktail (regular price $12), spicy tuna tartare ($13), vegetable spring rolls ($10) and chicken quesadilla ($16), and while none of it was bad, none of it stood out, either. The most creative item is the tuna tartare, served with avocado and wonton crisps, and even that has become pretty much ubiquitous in Southern California. The cocktail menu, which isn’t part of the happy hour deal (neither is beer or wine), could use some new drinks, too. I tried the pomegranate cosmopolitan and the berry bellini (which is really a champagne cocktail made with St. Germain Elderflower and sparkling wine), both of which were two of the least sweet-sounding drinks (all cocktails on the menu are $12). Neither drink stood out to me. I mean, it’s no Copa d’Oro, but I don’t think Le Troquet is trying to be Copa, either.

From top left: shrimp cocktail, tuna tartare, chicken quesadilla and vegetable spring roll

tuna tartare

Where Le Troquet’s menu does shine is in its entrees. The Cesar salad, which I had with salmon instead of shrimp ($18), was great. It’s served unchopped, which is a nice change. I also had the Tuscan Turkey Sandwich ($15), which is a basic sandwich with turkey, swiss cheese, applewood smoked bacon and dijon mayo, but the flavors were great here, too. The bread was my favorite part: not so big that I had trouble biting into it, not too flimsy that it wouldn’t hold its contents, and perfectly chewy. The french fries were also respectable. Portions were large; even half of the Cesar salad was a lot!

Cesar salad with salmon

Tuscan turkey sandwich

I checked out downtown Los Angeles’ The Association bar last week for the first time, and I was pleasantly surprised at finding this hidden gem (just about literally — it’s right next door to Cole’s, but I’ve never noticed it before and passed it by this time because there’s no sign!). Esther of e*starLA and I stopped by the bar for its Twitter Tuesday special: $2 off cocktails from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and a free plate of cheese, crackers and grapes from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. I love free bar food!

The Association’s decor is what I like to call Shanghai Chic: flowery carpet, Chinese-style wood screens, leather couches and low light. It’s a little too dark for me, especially when you arrive when it’s still light out and leave when it’s still light out. The eyes take a while to adjust. But I digress — on to the drinks.

I had an Indian Summer, a mixture of vodka, elderflower liquor, grapefruit and lemon. At $8 (normally $10), it was a good deal as it was served in a large (wine?) glass. It had a nice light flavor, though I found the grapefruit a bit overwhelming and therefore was disappointed that I couldn’t taste the elderflower, which I’ve been obsessing over lately. Esther’s Mumbai Fizz, made with rum, bourbon, pineapple, lemon, egg white, cardamom and ginger beer, seemed better balanced to me, with all the flavors distinct yet complementing each other well. Surprisingly, even the pineapple worked well in this one, which normally is too sweet for me.

Indian Summer

Mumbai Fizz

All in all, The Association is a pretty decent option if you find yourself downtown. Even though the drinks are large, I’d like to see slightly lower prices, maybe for a weekday happy hour, which the bar currently doesn’t have (hint, hint). In this economy, no happy hour? Really?

And in more happy hour news…

I’m a sucker for good, inexpensive food and drink. Cheap eats, as it were. And you can always find deals during happy hour, right? (Sometimes, if I can muster the appetite that early, I’ll make happy hour my dinner. But I digress.)

So e*starla and I went to check out the happy hour at Hokusai, a Japanese restaurant near the intersection of Wilshire and San Vicente boulevards in the space that used to house Continental. It’s pretty darn close to where we live, and just across the street from e*starla’s place of business. (This was a while ago, but you know you still want to hear about it — because it’s happy hour!)

From 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. weekdays, the Japanese restaurant offers well-endowed bar bites for between $1.99 to $4.99 each, including hand rolls ($1.99) to fried calamari ($4.99). There are also drinks specials that include beer and sake $3 or $6 depending on size, glasses of wine for $7, and well drinks and house martinis for $5.

I liked the food better than the drinks we had here. We tried the lychee, fuji apple and guava sunrise martinis. They were too sweet for my taste. But in terms of the food, everything we had was pretty good.

California and spicy scallop handrolls

Assorted sushi

We tried the seafood cigars, stuffed with shellfish and fried like eggrolls. They were decent, but a little over fried. Better were the crispy rice tacos, which basically resembled a California roll in taco form. Since I like California rolls, this was really appealing to me, and it didn’t disappoint. I appreciated the whole slices of avocado; no skimping! The rock shrimp tempura was tasty in a spicy sauce and came on a bed of greens, like a salad. The handrolls and sushi were tasty, too.

Seafood cigars

Crispy rice tacos

Rock shrimp tempura

So while Hokusai might be an overlooked happy hour destination, stop by if you’re in the Mid-City West/Beverly Hills neighborhood. Good food at good prices.

Asia de Cuba cocktail. From mralenlin (Flickr).

Seems like every restaurant has some kind of happy hour deal these days (as they should!), so here are some of L.A.’s latest offerings:

• Asia de Cuba‘s “Out of Office” Fridays: For those of you who can get out of work early (or if you don’t have that problem, this is great!), this restaurant at the Mondrian hotel is now offering a $5 menu on Fridays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: $5 food, cocktails and valet parking. At the Asia de Cuba Bar in the hotel’s lobby, there’s also a happy hour from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, with half-off the lounge’s menu items (excluding bottles); that means just about everything on the menu is less than $10.

• Rowdy Red Wine & Burger Bar: This downtown burger joint tucked away beneath the City National Plaza building has launched a weekday happy hour starting at 4:00 p.m. until close (7:00 p.m.) with $3 select wines by the glass and 30% off all wine bottles. You can also get a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $2 and appetizers for less than $5.

• Patina Restaurant Group‘s Locals Night: On six consecutive Thursdays, starting this Thursday, July 9, and ending Aug. 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., three of Patina’s downtown restaurants — Cafe Pinot, Nick and Stef’s, and Zucca Ristorante — will be hosting a rotating happy hour. The offerings include themed $5 appetizers, drink specials, a complimentary appetizer, live music and the chance to win prizes.

Here’s the schedule:

July 9:  Café Pinot — A Taste of the French Riviera
July 16:  Zucca Ristorante — Pizza & Peroni
July 23:  Nick and Stef’s — Artisan Beer Tasting
July 30:  Café Pinot  — French Culinary Masters & Wine Flights
August 6:  Zucca Ristorante — Tuscan Summer
August 13:  Nick and Stef’s — CA Wine & Cheese Tasting

Additionally, Nick and Stef’s has just introduced its own weekday happy hour deal, from 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (a score for business types working downtown!). Bar bites range from $2 for one oyster on the half shell to $12 for various flatbreads. Well drinks, house wines and a daily beer special are $6. There are also $10 food and drink pairings that vary by the day (Wednesday’s zucchini goat cheese fritters and a glass of rose sounds yummy!).